"He's Dead"
The words echoing around the battlefield.
But they struck hardest in one place — Genta's mind.
He froze. His fists clenched tightly. The world around him seemed to blur.
The battlefield around him was chaos — shouts, clashes of steel.
Jin pushed forward with unyielding resolve. He cut through The troops, eyes fixed ahead.
From behind the shattered remnants of a cart, emerged a towering Jorntur soldier, his face hidden by a massive helmet. He clutched a brutal, cleaver-like blade in his massive hand
Jin didn't see the brute who didn't waste any time.
The brute struck.
The edge of the jagged blade raked across Jin's back, just above the waist, ripping through fabric and flesh. Jin cried out, stumbling forward as pain lit up his nerves.. Blood spilled freely, but the wound was shallow— deep enough to burn, but not deep enough to cripple.
Before Jin could fully turn to retaliate, the hulking figure found another victim — his blade coming down on another bandit who had been fighting nearby.
A loud scream pierced the chaotic battlefield, cut short as the bandit collapsed at Genta's feet, a deep gash engraved in his chest with blood gushing out. The earth getting soaked crimson underneath him.
Genta stared at the bandit. It took him a moment to realise who it was.
The one that stuck with him since the beginning of his rise and stayed loyal to him ever since.
Genta looked as his blood ran across the ground mixing with the other bandit's blood.
All Genta could hear through the loud battlefield was that voice, trembling with disbelief, sealing the fate of a fallen comrade.
Another one. Gone.
They followed him and he led them. Now they lay dead, not a single speck of life in them.
With a growl low in his throat he launched himself back into the fray, each strike heavier and more brutal. What he was feeling wasn't grief.
ButRAGE.
He stared at the brute for a good three seconds. Fury reflected in is eyes.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Karn," the brute responded "Karn the Cleaver"
He punched Karn. squarely in the cheek making him stumble. He regained his footing but was met by a monstrous uppercut.
He landed hook after hook continuously, shattering the brute's helmet after consecutive repeated attacks.
"I'll kill you" Genta snapped.
That line repeating from him.
Every blow was heavy, not just the impact but also the weight of emotion it carried with it.
The brute had a crooked smile on his face "Is that all you got?" he said sarcastically "You hit like the little boy you're throwing a tantrum over."
Genta didn't reply. The only words heard from him was "I'll kill you"
Genta increased the tempo and intensity of his assault, each strike landing heavy and with the impact to kill lesser men.
Karn found himself being pushed back, but to keep his tough guy persona he pretended like it didn't hurt "Come on I expected better from you" he sneered.
His plan was to weather the storm and wait till Genta gets tired out.
"With this pace he shouldn't be able to last thirty seconds," He thought "Thats when I'll finish him"
Unknown to him Genta has crazy stamina. That's why you need the ability to weather a storm with no limits to defeat him.
"What the fuck," Karn's mind raced in disbelief "this brat...he keeps going on and on"
Genta was relentless. The damage began to add up and the brute's bones were under pressure.
One by one they began to crack with each of Genta's strikes.
The brute contained his scream "One must not show weakness in front of enemy"
He raised his cleaver high in the air. He spotted an opening and intended to capitalise on it.
The blade descended and aimed right for Genta's head.
Genta raised his arm up and blocked it. The blade embedded in his forearm.
He then used his other arm to land a heavy blow on the brute's chin.
Karn was being pushed back and collapsed on the ground. Unconscious.
Genta spoke in a low tone "I say when we're done"
He slapped the man. Still Unconscious.
He slapped him again. His eyes slowly opening.
The third slap finally woke him up.
"Get up. Me and you one on one with no weapons. Right here. Right now." Genta snarled.
Karn got up and got into a fighting position. His bones creaked from the earlier beatdown.
In the meantime, Jin still suffering from his injury fought on. Occasionally glancing back at Genta.
"I've never seen someone so angry." He pondered to himself while ducking under a sword.
Genta and The brute's fists collided.
They pressed against each other before retreating.
The brute had a plan in his mind "I'll target his little finger next time our fists clashed.
He did so. Genta's finger was dislocated.
He expected him to at least wince in pain.
However, to the brute's horror Genta just popped it back in place and continued on fighting.
"Tch... This bastard" The bigger man sneered.
They traded brutal blows, two monsters exchanging fists. The fight was a fierce, evenly matched storm of strength and will
Genta's fist slammed into Karn's solar plexus. The air whooshed out in a harsh gasp
Crack!
He then cracked the larger man's ribs with a body shot.
The brute grunted but would not yield just yet.
He drove a crushing blow into Genta's liver, winding him, then followed up with a rapid barrage of jabs, each strike snapping through the air with ruthless precision
Karn then pivoted as he evaded Genta's haymaker, HE stepped in, ducked then unleashed an uppercut.
Genta's vision blurred "I'm going to lose?," his vision returned "I can't lose, not to him."
Genta landed a low kick that was so hard It broke the femur of the brute.
Karn collapsed on the floor and Genta stomped him out.
Blood sprayed out with each stomp.
To Genta's surprise, Karn got up again though barely standing he got back in a fighting stance. "Not yet! I can't lose to some bandit" he groaned.
His leg twitched, he was struggling to stay upright.
Genta smiled darkly "You should know when to stay down bastard."
Karn's face was unrecognisable. It looked like a map of blood and bruises.
Genta lunged at Karn—but he didn't go for a punch, instead he tackled Karn to the ground. It was a successful tackle and Karn was on the flow underneath Genta who was in a mount position. Genta began raining down punches, the hammer fists colliding with Karn's guard.
Karn lifted his hips upwards explosively, forming a bridge. He then rolled Genta to his side and reversed the position. His massive hands now raining down on Genta's face.
Genta planted his feet, braced, and shoved Karn off with a violent shove to the chest, breaking free of the onslaught.
They got back up to stand-up fighting. This time Genta wasted no time. .With a guttural roar, Genta hoisted Karn like a sack of bones and drove him down onto the shattered cart with a crashing impact
Crash!
The wood gave way instantly, Karn was unconscious again. His eyes glazed over.
Genta looked at Karn, his breaths were coming in shallow gasps he really pushed himself to his limit.
"Stay down" His voice was rough but barely a whisper.
Jin pressed his back against the splintered wood of the cart, one hand clutching his wounded side. Sweat and blood mingled on his brow as he struggled to breathe. His eyes never left Genta, who towered over Karn like a storm unleashed.
Jin looked at the wave of defeated soldiers in front of him.
Their sixty troops diminished to fifteen since the start of their ambush till now.
"Come on, Genta... don't let him get up again," Jin muttered under his breath, fingers twitching, itching to jump in despite the pain.
He staggered away slowly.
"Genta's back," a bandit shouted "his lethargy is gone."
Genta himself believed he was back.
That sensation—of lethargy almost lifting but then crashing back over you—can feel like a cruel tease, a fleeting glimpse of energy before the weight returns. Here's how you might describe it:
"It's like waking from a dream of lightness, your limbs briefly remembering how to move without resistance—only for gravity to double its claim. The fog thins just enough to fool you into thinking it might burn away entirely, then rolls back in, thicker. A door cracks open to sunlight, but something always slams it shut. You hover at the edge of escape, then feel the old anchor drag you under again."
Or, more starkly:
"Energy flickers like a dying bulb—one bright surge, a false promise, before the dark swallows it whole."
He started slowing down more, his own body feeling like it tripled it's mass.
He collapsed shortly after.
The village bell tolled.
three rings split by a five second gap followed by another set.
Jin exhaled "Shit.. What are they signalling now"
Rrrrrr-rip!
A screeching, splintering sound filled the air as the gates were forced open by Jorntur soldiers.