The Wielder of Death Magic

Chapter 458: Trial by combat

“Hold on there,” said Jen holding the guard’s shoulder, “-can you explain the meaning of this?”

“What is there to explain?” he refuted to shrug off her hand, “-your idiots for wanting to do a Trial by combat in the first place. Should have been more careful when reading the papers. Such a waste to see and know someone is going to die,” paused during the onslaught of words, “-sorry about that,” he lightened. “Tis bad memories of when I was a student here. I lost a friend in a petty squabble similar to yours.”

“There’s nothing we can do?” wondered Rena with slow articulations.

“We’ve been had...” gritted Leonard, “the dorm-mother knew of the contract. That’s why she didn’t tell us anything.” The murmurs of inside grew into cheers.

“Guys,” said Igna lowering his head, “-I’m sorry for putting the idea of TBC in your heads. If only I was more careful in saying my words. Well, what is done is done. I’ll have to fight I suppose, what’s the harm in that?”

“IGNA!” screamed Jen, “-you know full well you’ll die in there.”

“I’ll do my best to win.”

.....

“FOOOL!”

No other words be said, the guard took him to the changing room. There, the smith from the evaluation stood with a mediocre expression. Filled with lockers and posters of past events, “-really got into the deep end, didn’t you.”

“Are you here to blame the mistake I made?” returned he putting on shoes.

“When did I say that?” he chuckled, “-I’m part of the Trader’s Guild. Lady Haru told me to keep an eye on you.”

“Is that right?”

“No need to glare at me,” he patted the boy’s head, “-here’s the sword. Consider it yours. I’ve enchanted it with the blood of a few fallen beasts. Go and fight, it’s hard, however, I think you can do it. Fighting against people can be a boon in itself. Observe their action and act, tis the advice I can give.” On that, the door shut tight.

Alone in the company of only the faint scent of sweat, the murmurs of outside grew heavier by the second. ‘Can I even fight?’ wondered he staring at the ceiling. ‘-My body moved on its own when the goblin appeared. Is there maybe more to my past than I can remember. Why did I wake up on the opposite side of the Azure wall? Why does blood not bother me, is it perhaps that I’m a fighter too?’

“This is bad,” said Lampard taking a seat at the back of the arena.

“I know,” interjected Rena, “-if not for the shit we’ve been through... he’d still be here.”

“Don’t count him out yet,” said a reluctant Jen biting her nails, “-I’m sure there’s more than meets the eye. He did save me and killed a goblin. There might be hope, he said he doesn’t remember anything of his past.”

“You think he might have a background in fighting?” asked Rena focusing on the coming opponents.

“Welcome everyone to the first Trial by Combat in four years,” voiced Mr. Fletcher with the screens broadcasting multiple angles of his face. “Today’s event is a bit special. The contract states a four versus one. Steel ranked adventurers against a boy from the trader’s guild. Some of you might think it’s folly, yet, it’s what the contract states.”

Few left upon hearing those words. What remained were some teachers and around 30 students.

“Without much wait, let’s see the fighters!”

On the left side came fully-geared Adventurers. The shiny armor, the powerful and expensive looking weapons. “That’s unfair.”

“Money is an asset as well,” said a girl with green hair towards the right.

“Anna...” mumbled Lampard, “-what are you doing here?”

“I came to see what Group A was up to,” said she coldly to move over, “-Is that your friend?”

“Yeah,” said he with a hint of respect.

On the right side, ‘-let’s do this,’ approached Igna with a sword in hand. Stepping onto the dirt felt nostalgic, the empty seats filled with imaginary people. The manifestation of a girl with white hair stood at his side. The blurred face seemed to smile and vanish. ‘Is that a part of my memory?’

“Alright students,” voiced Fletcher without using the microphone, “-since it’s four versus one, anything goes. When one is unable to fight, I’ll call the game, is that fair?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Any questions?”

“Let say if by mistake one of us dies?” wondered a smug figure at the front.

“Nothing can be done about it,” said he, “-trial by combat is a game of who can kill the other. Good luck, and as an adventurer, do try to restrain the killing intent.” The arena settled into a pin drop silence. He who supervised the event stood up above.

“Group C, oh group C,” laughed the same smug figure of earlier, “-there’s nothing you can do now. Your friends have very nice bodies, especially Jen. If it wasn’t for that guild-assistant Melisa, we would have become men by now. Well, whatever, the teacher said we can do whatever to her since she broke the expensive model.”

“Come on brother, let’s take turns fighting the dude. I’ll go first.” In a weird twist, they decided to fight him one on one to draw out the event as long as possible. First up was a boy in red armor with a battle-ax.

“FIGHT!” the instant the bell dinged, a downward slash nearly ripped Igna’s head to which he narrowly escaped. ‘My shoulders,’ the blade made contact as shown by the ripped shirt and blood.

“Pay attention to me,” a punch fueled by enhancement magic sent Igna crashing against the arena wall.

“My turn now,” said a figure in blue armor. He dashed in with a spear to land multiple hits on the arms and legs. After the combo was complete, another in light-leather armor took to firing arrows at the barely conscious Igna.

“I’m calling the fight.

“Don’t,” came a shady personage out the dark hallway, “-let them have some fun. If you call the fight now, the repercussion might be harder on you than him down there.”

“Mr. Golej, what brings you out of the office.”

“Wanted to support a friend to my family. You know the deal,” he lent against a chair, “-don’t want to incur the wrath of the family, do you?”

“Yes, I understand...” the feeling of powerlessness had him turn a blind eye.

The four made a diamond shape around Igna. Each took turns attacking with full-powered blows. Blood flew left and right.

“Why aren’t they stopping the fight...”

“Calm down Jen,” whispered Leonard, “-getting mad here won’t do anything.”

“This is cruel...”

‘Can’t even take time to breathe,’ another punch had him startled, ‘-I really can’t do anything in this state.’ Another blow to the back of the head had him fumble and fall. ‘I’m weak... here I thought waking in the Azure wall was a sort of sign.’

“Juren, DON’T STAB HIM.” In the passion of battle, he who used the sword gave a downward thrust to the boy’s heart. Fletcher didn’t call the fight, the crowd sat in shock, the absurdity of letting four onto one was devastating.

“WHY DID YOU KILL HIM?” they hurdled over the body.

“I DON’T KNOW, IT HAPPENED!”

“He’s dead,” sighed Anna, “-Lampard, your friend couldn’t have done anything in that situation. Letting a comrade die is inexcusable.”

‘Heir to the First Progenitor, wake up. The fight has yet to end.’

‘Heir to the first progenitor?’ he sat upright with a sword impaled deep within, “-peculiar,” the blade was pulled nonchalantly. The four who stood were speechless, “-Jen.” He pulled himself up whilst holding onto a sword. Broken and disfigured by the countless merciless attack, “-the battle isn’t over yet.”

“You cocky piece of shit,” screamed the one with the battle-ax. The latter swung horizontally. Igna ducked and aimed for the hands. Two strokes later, the massive weapon fell. It didn’t take long for the other to react. Arrows flew for his head, the swordman dashed into close-combat whilst the remainder stood still from the fear of having killed someone. The battle sunk into a mess of counters. Igna blocked and slowly grew to read the movements. After five minutes, he delivered the final blow onto the three others to then fall himself.

“The battle is over; the victor is none!”

“Lampard,” said Anna, “-who is that boy?”

“Lyoko Igna, why?”

“The last five minutes was the best swordplay I’ve seen in a while. I take back what I said about him being weak. There’s the muscle memory of a master-swordsman in that Igna. Too bad he’s in the Trader’s guild.”

“Did he draw?”

“Yeah,” laughed Ren, “-IGNA DID IT.”

“Stop this charade right away,” came a demanding voice, “-Mr. Fletcher, I’m disappointed this Trial was allowed in the first place,” guild Leader Haru walked onto the field. “The battle is over,” said she to the crowd, “-go!”

‘The same white ceiling,’ he awoke beside lady Haru once more. A day had gone since the fight. “A feeling of Deja-vue?” she laughed, “-good morning.”

“Good morning Lady Haru, what happened to the Trial?”

“It was canceled,” she smiled, “-the fight was unfair to begin in both men and terms of the contract. I’ve taken care of the issue of the rogue teacher. I heard from your friends of the ill-treatment. As part of the Federation and originator of the Adventuring Academy, such behavior mustn’t be allowed. I did my part in making sure the man pays for what was done. Don’t rest easy, there are more shady individuals here that you’ll ever see and know. Let this be a lesson,” she gently patted his head, “-promise me that you’ll never fight unless it’s self-defense.”

“What if I’m sent to the Azure wall or the Tower?”

“I doubt that day will come,” she smiled, “-what happened earlier was luck. The awakening of the muscle memory, I told you before, didn’t I?”

“Yes, nightwalker,” the head bowed in shame, “-I promise to not cause trouble again.”

“Good,” from a pat to a hard pinch, “-take care, for now, I won’t always be here to save you.” The dim and quiet corridor flashed with the door opening.

“Go, he’s awake,” said she with a gentle smile.

“Thank you,” said Lampard. And so, it flickered to return to darkness. The fight didn’t hold much importance in the mind of those who watched. What they saw was a mediocre half-dead man trying to fight and landing lucky hits. Well, tis the narrative lady Haru spread to have the focus lowered. The Dorm-mother was severely reprimanded by the council as for the teacher – hanged. Not publicly, no, hanged by the guards she brought along.

“You’re alive,” whispered Jen who jumped into his arms, “-I’m glad.”

“Be a little tactful,” said he in pain, “-I’m still hurt you know.”

“Sorry.”

“Good job out there, Igna,” nodded Lampard, “-I’m sorry. We’ve decided that starting today, all the fighting will be done by us. The pain of seeing a comrade be beaten so badly for our sake is nauseating.”

“I appreciate it,” he smiled, “-I don’t want to fight either,” the sunny sky out the window gave a feeling of rest. “By the way, Lampard, what happened to the monster drops?”

“You mean the wolf-fangs?”

“Yeah, did you sell them?”

“No, why?”

“I’ll buy them,” he smiled.

.....

“What do you mean buy?” he chuckled, “-take ’em for free once you return.”

“Let’s go, he needs rest,” interjected Rena.

‘The week started strong,’ the room emptied, ‘-I landed two times in the infirmary. The battle was a blur, I don’t want to go through that again. Suppose the ends justified the means. Jen and Rena seem more joyous, lady Haru did do what she said.’ And so, Sunday was spend resting.

Damp and cold, Monday 8th was harsher on the body. The supply truck came with the Chef supervising the unloading. “Good morning, Igna,” said he firmly.

“Good morning, chef,” he replied, “-I’ll head to the kitchen.”

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