These words from Tenebrol had managed to awaken the sleeping anger and resentment in Faxul for losing his parents.
It was something he had squashed down and put to the side ages ago, but now that the perpetrator was actually in front of him, he found himself being consumed by the rage.
This man was responsible for killing his family and making him flee to an unknown place with unknown people. Regardless of the old man's existence, these words had proven that that act had been something wholly done by the one in front of him.
As if in response to his thoughts, even the newly bonded Raven on his shoulders let out an angry squak, as if it wanted to take revenge for its partner.
DING
As the gong sounded, Faxul took off at a running start towards Tenebrol after drawing the standard sword that was given to all contenders.
Tenebrol had already worn the trinket that limited his power. Right now, he was again an Eminent Human Fighter.
Seeing his opponent losing himself to anger, he felt a little surprised but very content that his simple ploy had worked.
Throwing someone off balance using words or actions that stung was something basic in war.
For him, this was a battlefield where he would do anything and everything to obtain victory, short of depending on someone else.
TING
The first clash of their swords itself set the tone for how the fight was going to be.
In his anger, Faxul had focused more on speed rather than technique and strength.
Hence, a proper placement of the sword by Tenebrol had sent his to the side, leaving him open for an attack.
Using this opening, the Raven on Tenebrol's shoulder flew forward swiftly with its talons outstretched in order to tear apart Faxul's skin. Yet, Faxul's Raven was there to stop it.
Entangling together, the two Ravens fell to the ground to one side and began a bitter fight where neither would back down.
Meanwhile, due to the first strike that had gone awry, Faxul was already at a decided disadvantage in the fight. Although they were on the same level, each of Tenebrol's attacks seemed to have more power behind them due to him using the entire force of his body to drive each one.
Besides, he was scrambling to defend himself against each one as the frustration inside him at being pushed back kept mounting.
TING TING TING TING TING
As these rapid sounds were heard throughout the stadium, the crowd watched with bated breath as they saw their savior being pushed back easily by the present King. Many were ex-soldiers or mercenaries, hence they were able to see that Faxul had lost himself to emotion, and hence was now losing the fight.
SLASH
The first injury he sustained was on his thigh. Although it was shallow, it stung like hell and made Faxul almost miss a step and fall down, which would have been fatal.
Tenebrol, who had been steadily advancing till now, decided to press the advantage, seeing that he had managed to wound his enemy.
His sword technique was the same one he had used against Elanev, but it was more refined now to decrease the number of openings he had while pushing the enemy to fall into a disadvantageous state faster due to his repeated state.
That first gash had finally served to wake up Faxul. This was practically his first fight, and he still wasn't mature enough to be able to ignore something so vile and keep a level head in the fight.
As if the pain had drenched him in cold water, he came to his full senses and realized his folly.
Cursing at both the cunning actions of his opponent and his foolishness for falling for it, he calmed his mind and started to put his full focus on the fight.
As he did so, all the training sessions he had had back in the Palace and the tips given by Elanev started to appear in his mind.
Apparently, the King was hyperaggressive when it came to fighting. Whenever he got even the slightest scent of blood, he would pounce on it like a starving shark.
This was one of the faults gleaned by Elanev which he hadn't used in his spars against the King so that he could save it for later. After all, if he did use it, the King was astute enough to notice it and work to shore up his mindset so that he wouldn't do so again.
Just as Elanev had said, Tenebrol started to go into a frenzy of attacks with no concern for his own life.
Faxul only barely managed to fend off this barrage of attacks. If it weren't for his reflexes which had been honed for months during his daily spars, he would have been dead by now.
Each sword blow was deflected at the last moment, and his hands were starting to get numb due to the force they were sustaining repeatedly each second.
Ignoring everything, Faxul had his eyes fixed on Tenebrol like a hawk.
All he wanted was one opening, which he could use to take back advantage.
There it was!
On one particular strike of his sword, Tenebrol had lunged too far forward, leaving his entire left side open.
SWISH
Bursting forward with all the strength he had left, Faxul let himself be grazed by Tenebrol's sword while aiming to plunge his deep into his enemy's body.
As the tip of the sword reached closer and closer to the King's skin, Faxul was about to smile but stopped as he suddenly felt an ominous feeling come over him.
Something was wrong.
Deciding to trust that feeling, he tried to stop his body from completely moving forward in order to put as much strength as possible behind the attack that was meant to impale Tenebrol.
Suddenly, his vision became blocked by the King's knee which he had disregarded till now due to the heat of the battle.
Indeed, at the last moment, Tenebrol had managed to bend his side to avoid the sword while also using his knee to launch a devastating attack on Faxul who was moving forward.
If he hadn't tried to stop his forward momentum at the last moment, that knee would have impacted his jaw and snapped his head back, making him lose the fight and his life.
Due to the unconventional attack, the King landed on the ground for a moment.
Yet, Faxul couldn't take advantage of this as he had also collapsed backward due to his awkward movements before.
This essentially brought a pause to the fight, making everyone watching cheer out loud again for Faxul.
Dusting off his clothes and looking at Faxul who had also gotten up instantly, Tenebrol said, "I wonder how they will cheer when they see you crushed under my feet. And did you really think you would win just because that traitor told you some tips? How naïve, just like your father. He actually thought I would fight fair! What a dumb king he was."
With the last word, he rushed forward to continue his attack.
This time, Faxul managed to ignore the jibe.
Yet, the rest of what Tenebrol had said had made him realize something.
This was a man who had been on numerous battlefields and had walked on a path of blood and crushed bones to reach where he was today. How could he hope to win against him using tricks?
It was impossible, and even, as the King as said, pretty naïve.
Faxul just had one advantage in this fight: his true blood of the Black Raven which the King didn't have.
It had helped him in some way to bond with the Raven. Glancing to the side, he noticed that his Raven was winning in the fight between the two.
"Easy to win now. Send command if I should come."
This thought came from the Raven, indicating that it was actually intelligent enough to prolong its fight and keep the enemy's eyes off of it by acting like it was completely occupied.
Had the true blood done something else during the bonding?
Faxul had no time to think about it now. If he wanted to win, he would have to use the Raven, and he would only have one choice.
Yet, when he took the first blow from the King, he realized that something was different.
It seemed as if some switch had turned on inside his enemy, as each blow was so devastating that his hand trembled and almost dropped the sword.
Somehow, he held on, but the injuries kept piling up.
Although Elanev's tips were still relevant, he no longer had any chance to use them.
After taking 6 more gashed that were much deeper than the first, he finally collapsed to the ground after staggering back after an attack.
Not wasting the opportunity, Tenebrol leaped forward to finish him.
This was the exact moment when Daneel appeared in the air. Seeing his friend almost about to die, he was tempted to go down and save him.
Yet, something told him that although Faxul was down, he definitely wasn't out yet.