"The rules are simple. Make your opponent's back touch the floor or throw them out of the ring. Use whatever abilities or techniques you find appropriate."
"Begin"
Dante didn't wait for Li as he exploded forward in a blur, moving so fast it looked like he teleported. Shifting his body mid-air, he lifted his left foot and slashed in a downward arc, it should have connected with Li's shoulder but at the last moment, he sidestepped it, making the leg pass him by an inch.
Rotating his body mid-air in an unnatural angle, Dante brought his right leg to Li's temple like a canon ball and it hit something solid, but not his head. At the last moment, Li blocked the strike with his left arm as he smiled at Dante.
Pushing Dante's leg back with a force that made him rotate in the air, the brawler was left vulnerable for a moment. Taking advantage of that, Li brought his right fist down like a comet.
Before it could land with his head, Dante threw his head back and Li's fist only managed to graze his cheek.
Grabbing Li's arm mid-air, Dante used it like a pulling bar and pulled his whole body upwards, standing on Li's hand with one of his palms, he rotated his body with his legs and remaining hand and kicked Li in his snout.
"Got you" he said, grinning as he jumped away from Li.
Not anticipating this level of acrobatics, Li was momentarily stunned, which left him open for Dante's kick to land. With a shock wave, Li was pushed back as a small amount of blood danced in the air. Catching themselves, they looked at each other with a dangerous grin and shot forwards.
Their fists clashed in a furious shock wave as Dante seemed to lose the battle of strength as his hand jerked back behind him. With a laugh he threw in another punch, and then another and another more as their image was blocked by hundreds of blurry lines of their clashing fists. None seemed to give in as the lightning-fast exchange continued, air pushed to the sides by the display.
The ground below them groaned as Dante was pushed back, his hands above his head. Using the moment, Li threw his left fist at his opponent's side, aiming for his liver. Seemingly caught, Dante shifted his body awkwardly in an attempt to dodge the fist but it was a faint. As soon as he stepped to his left, a massive fist landed on his face.
The force was so great that Dante was shot at the opposite wall of the dojo and crashed with a Boom, winning the battle of strength was none other than, Li. After the dust settled laughter could be heard at the place where Dante clashed.
Sitting there and laughing with pure delight, was Dante. Everyone held their breath at the sight as he got up, his left cheek bruised but not broken. Shaking the dust off of himself, he walked to the center of the room and grabbed Li's hand in a handshake, smiling ear to ear. They shook hands as Instructor Rock watched with a genuine smile.
"The winner is… LI"
.
.
.
The rest of the night went on as Li continued to beat up everyone that came after, Iseul and Gael tho, didn't want to fight. Each of them fought greatly, they had their fighting style mastered as much as they possibly could.
But alas, they all lost to him, none managed to beat him that night and the four left the class feeling closer than ever. Saying their goodbyes they headed to their dorms to sleep.
Unaware of the storm they've caused, they slept peacefully as four names continued to spread around the academy. They were soon named, the Four Devils.
***
'Wake up Aian, it's still here' Night was trying to wake his injured brother, the fight wasn't over.
'SHIT' Night threw Aian—Li—aside as the strange black goo clung to him, devouring his soul.
'What is happening…' Aian was still dazed as he opened his eyes, watching the scene unfold in front of him.
The form of Night was being consumed as his body began to twitch and morph into something… not human, the black goo entered his body from any opening it could find, nose, eyes, ears, and his mouth. He couldn't breathe.
'Well, at least I saved someone, that is all that matters. Sorry, you have to deal with me later brother.' Night thought to himself as he was being suffocated.
'I can't breathe… someone… please…' he freed his hands to claw at the beast holding him down, but his hands weren't there. Looking down, they were tiny and weak, one of a child's but still, he persisted.
'Why are you… doing this…'
'Mom'
Li was awoken by a scream as he clawed at the space in front of him, tears rolling down his face. Who he was, he didn't know anymore.
With a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. One-two, inhale-exhale, one-two, one-two, inhale-exhale. He said those words to himself in a strange melody, He wasn't sure when he'd started doing this, but it has worked ever since.
His mind was in pieces and his heart beat so fast that for a moment, he thought he might have a heart attack. 'Was the last part of the dream from Night or someone else?' He didn't know, and frankly, did not want to find out. He hated water.
With a deep breath, he got up and went to take a shower. He had classes to attend to.
.
.
.
Taking a shower was indeed relaxing, he now could think about what happened in the dream without having a panic attack. The emotions this time were intense, much more than he had experienced before.
Doing the routing of drying and applying the products, he went out for breakfast. Today was supposed to be a good day, he and his friends had to talk about the duals last night. So he pushed all the negative thoughts aside.
Reaching the cafeteria, he looked for his friends and spotted them at their usual table. Picking his mountain of food, he headed out to their table, his friends finally saw him when he got close enough, but before they could speak, Li cleared his throat and asked in a polite tone.
"Good morning to you all, can I have a seat?"
"Always" Gael answered with a smile, as he moved aside for Li to sit.
"Sorry I was a bit late, I had a bad dream."
They all stopped what they were doing and looked at him with concern. Finally, Iseul asked in a hesitant tone.
"What kind of dream? It is related to your first nightmare?" realizing that he made them worry, he began to speak.
"Yes. Sort of. It's one of my attributes. When I kill something or someone, I get parts of their memories and when I sleep, I dream about their life. The one last night was just a bit… intense."
"Well… that's not spooky at all… which unfortunate fool was it about?" Dante was intrigued and concerned at the same time.
"It was about the brother of the guy I woke up as, he was also the one I had to fight. It was the moment the brother—night—turned to a nightmare creature." Their eyes widened at the last part. Although it's possible in theory, they had not seen or heard about someone turning into a nightmare creature except in the first nightmare.
"That must have been hard to watch. Wait, When you get their memories you also feel their emotions right? That is weirdly fascinating." Gael asked, suddenly deep in thought.
"Yeah, but it was not that bad, the worst that happens is that I get confused about my own identity when I wake up. But I will get be alright a few minutes later." Li could feel from the way they interacted with the essence around them that, their worry now had turned to fascination. He was getting better at reading the people from their essence.
"I also have a weird attribute. I can somehow interact with the dead, or their soul at least." Iseul said, wanting to share her own experiences.
They started to share and analyze each other's weird attributes, some moments were full of laughs, and some were full of deep talk. Now knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses they could fight better alongside one another.
After they got permission last night from Instructor Rock to use one of the rings for late-night training, they now had access to it for the remaining four weeks and they could train thereafter until every class was finished, But under the supervision of instructor Rock.
Soon they were done with breakfast and went to their class. The wilderness survival.
***
After finishing the class, the four devils headed for a late supper as the class had finished early today. They had learned a variety of things from teacher Julius today. Like how to make a fire from makeshift tools, making tools from dead nightmare creatures, skinning and butchering various types of nightmare creatures, and also making pastes and makeshift dressings for covering wounds.
All and all, today was very productive.
.
.
.
The cafeteria was packed with sleepers, some arrived with them while some were already leaving. Filling their plates, they headed towards an empty table and sat down.
They usually repeat the thing they had learned in class for each other and explain things that one didn't fully understand as they eat and today was no exception. They talked and ate and ate as they talked.
Finishing their meals, they headed to the garden at the back of the academy as they still had some time before the combat class finished. The garden was spacious and full of strange flowers, with a cool breeze rushing past the branches of the trees.
The flowers glowed like the pale moonlight as their shadows danced around in a beautiful display by the wind, making the garden a sight to behold. Finding a place, they sat in silence as there was no need for words to be exchanged.
It has only been three days since they had known each other but it feels like they have been friends for a lifetime. The silence wasn't uncomfortable anymore, so they sat there watching the flowers.
Taking a deep breath, Li enjoyed the pleasant smell of flowers that filled the air. He had come so far since the day he got to the academy. At first, he always arrived early just to not interact with anyone.
But today, he was the one who approached a table and asked if he could sit with them, with his friends. He never really had any friends at the orphanage and was okay with being alone. But the three had warmed up to him and still kept coming back to talk to him every day. So much so that they even talk through their communicators in their dorms.
He had acted rudely towards them the first day they met, just cause he was mad at others. He had apologized the next day and they've been good ever since.
Iseul stood and others followed her to the combat ring, now the class should be over. Reaching there, they were greeted by Instructor Rock. He told them again to be careful and that he would be watching them.
Dante and Gael nodded and went to take a sit, today is someone else's turn. Today, Iseul would spar with Li.
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[A/N: how was the fight between Li and Dante? it's the first long-ish fight i've done :D
i really enjoyed writing this chapter, i've put a lot of thought into making the next few chapters and i like them a lot. i hope you will like it as well :)]