NATALYA POV :

I was woken by a knock on the door, indicating that it was already morning.

Time for business as usual, which practically meant I needed to get my ass off the bed and get ready, at least if I didn’t want to get dragged out of it, especially if my father heard of me being late to the company.

I jerked up when the knock came again.

“One more knock on that fucking door and I’m gonna send your head rolling on the floor!”

I said, because I was already pissed off, and they didn’t want to know what it’s like to get me pissed off. I got up from my bed and stood on my full height.

“Ah, what the fuck did I drink last night?” I cursed, because my head was practically aching, but my body was active though… I’m already used to it, by the way.

I walked over to my bathroom to freshen up. I took my time to groom for the day, and today seemed like a good day to use my skincare products.

It’s been long since I made use of those.

Not when I have a busy schedule down my neck, practically looking for an opportunity to choke me.. but that’s not gonna happen.

I was already trained for that… when I was about five, I think, because since I could remember it vividly, it meant I must have been really smart.

Then, when my father got the title of being the Russian mafia boss, he became so focused on shaping me into guarding myself. I didn’t have a mom.

I didn’t know what it looked like to have one, so it wasn’t a big deal to be brought up tough then. The very day I turned thirteen, my dad passed out an order that was to be carried out immediately.

I was sent to Base Two.

It was a training ground where you would be treated like an animal and made to go by strict orders.

Unlike Base One, where you get princess and king treatment, the training there is not tough.

Base Two was specifically made for prisoners my dad bought whenever he won a war. He bought most captives, at least that’s what he would say.

If it was most other mafia leaders, they would just drag you, leaving you with no dignity well, that’s if you still had one after losing a bloody war.

My dad went by the name Boris, which means butcher in English. He was so skilled that he could do anything with a sword. Twenty men with five guns each didn’t even stand the slightest chance they were better off dead already than being killed by him.

It’s not always a good sight to behold, and not to say the least that he is the most powerful and feared man in the history of the Russian mafia.

He held great wealth, which he got from how many wars he had won and through his wisdom. He could be anything you wanted him to be, but he could never be a dad to me.

He didn’t even let me call him that. On one occasion, I casually called him “dad” it was just a slip of the tongue but I was put in chains and beaten to a pulp for calling the mafia boss “Dad.”

So when I was taken to Base Two, I was locked up in a very dark room. I guess because I was practically blindfolded all the way to the place, so even if my brain was thinking of escaping from this horrible and inhuman place, it was impossible.

I mean, even if I did escape, where would I run to? To Boris, of course then I would be tortured to death.

Normally, women are not given the privilege to be trained in Base Two, because the first and second candidates who went actually died even before the practice was over, according to rumor.

But Boris, being a ruthless man, sent me to the training. It had a duration of two years, but it’s better you die and go have punishment in hell than experience this and be alive.

When I was thrown into the dark room, I didn’t stay for long before my body was exhausted. My eyelids were already on the verge of disappointing me. I couldn’t hold it in anymore, and my eyes went shut.

Not long after I fell sound asleep, I felt a ray of brightness shining directly into my closed eyes. I immediately blinked them open.

I thought maybe I had already died and gone to heaven, but utterly, it was the opposite. I took a glance at where I was, then I noticed a figure staring down at me.

“Hey, cutie, get your ass up there. The training is starting soon, and yeah before you start to act stupid, you were switched to this room when you fell asleep.”

I was still taking in who was talking, because my sight was a little bit blurry. Maybe I was drugged or something, because I’m never this lame-looking.

The figure stretched out its hand and gave me something.

“Here, drink it. It’s water… it would help you see clearly for the meantime, yeah.”

I wanted to take the water, but I stopped midway. Yeah, I’m thirteen, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid enough to take whatever from a stranger not when I had been drugged without my consent.

“Princess, just take the goddamn water already. We don’t have all the time, and I’m not ready to be punished for being late to practice because of your dull ass.”

Without hesitation, I took it from her and shoved it to my lips and drank it. I just took one gulp, though, just in case it was something else so the effect wouldn’t be much. But to my utmost surprise, it really did clear my sight. That was when I had the opportunity to take a close look at… a GIRL. I was more than shocked.

I thought they said girls can’t survive here, so what the hell is she doing here? And the funny part about it was that she was my age I mean, from her height and stuff.

“Stop staring and get your ass up. Let’s head for the training,” she said, and started walking toward what I presumed to be a door, though it looked weird, like we were in a military base or something.

I immediately followed her suit, because if I sure wanted to survive here, I should start by following whoever saved my drugged ass from turning blind.

She was already about to take a turn when I called out, “Hey, slow down, please. I can’t keep up with you,” I said, almost screaming.

“Then try to run faster, princess. We’re already late,” she retorted, but not before she practically stood in one spot and waited for me to catch up.

When I got closer to her when I was sure I was close enough not to lose track of her when she started walking as usual I told her, “I’m Rose, actually, not Princess.”

The statement made her turn her head at me and say, “Every new inmate here is called Princess if you are a girl, and Prince if you are male, not until you get a name for yourself based on your fighting skill on your first day. And if you act dumb like you are acting right now, you might get a dumb name that you would carry for a lifetime.”

“So what name did you get when you passed your first day trial?” I asked. I was seriously interested at least to know what name she got on her first trial.

“Anastasiya (Nightingale). That’s my base name,” she said proudly. I mean, who wouldn’t be proud of that name?

“Now that really is something, Tasi,” I immediately cut her name short, giving her a nickname.

“Are you okay if I call you Tasi?” I asked, looking in her direction.

She just shrugged and said, “Okay, but you gotta keep it low. Don’t call me that at the main base front, or I’ll get in trouble. Do you get me, Princess?”

“Yep, sure… I mean, it’s not a… waoh, what the hell is that stuff?” I asked, staring at an open place we stepped out on.

“It’s the base, Princess. Now move, and when you get there, keep your head low. You don’t stare into a commander’s eyes unless you’ve gotten your base name. Do you understand, Princess? I don’t wanna get beaten for not telling you the rules, okay?” she said, staring right at me with a serious face.

Oh crap, she really wasn’t joking.

We walked for a short distance before I saw the view of most people talking and chanting away, but I noticed just about two or three with their heads down at a particular corner. Great .. I already knew the category I fell into.

I took my steps one after the other slowly, so I wouldn’t mistakenly trip and disgrace myself on my first day at the front base yeah, that’s what Tasi called it, and I got it stuck in my head.

I took a seat next to the very few whose heads were down. Tasi had already joined her friends. Not long after I took a seat, a loud trumpet was played.

It was loud enough to make a high blood pressure patient surrender their soul to God, because the sound of that shit scared the crap out of me. But I still kept my face down. I didn’t want to get Tasi in trouble just yet, though I desperately wanted to look up and see what the hell a trumpet was doing here. It was fancy, though, because we didn’t have it at my former Base One.

After the sound of the trumpet, the already fully pledged inmates stood at attention in a straight row, like they were literally acting like robots. Because tell me how the hell did they get into order with just the sound of a trumpet? Seems like I’m in for something way more than me.

I immediately heard the voice of a man who, from his tone, I assumed was the head instructor. “Are they the new inmates?”

“Yes, sir, they are the new in..”

He immediately cut the man off. “Bring them in,” he said with great authority. It was obvious, as the man who answered him was stuttering his voice was shaking.

“This way, please,” he said, directing us to a different stage. It looked like a fighting ring, which it obviously was but what the fuck were we doing here?

“You guys are well aware that on the first base you are to look down, so since we are past that, I would like you to turn your dumb faces up and stare at me, idiots.”

“Now that’s what we call rotation of power,” I muttered to myself, because he was the same man that almost peed his shorts when the commander was talking to him. Now we were under him, and he suddenly wanted to take it out on us.

“So here’s the rule for the fight, don’t be surprised. Mummy or daddy won’t save you inside that ring. You either kill your partner or you get killed, and I’m not letting you guys off until one of you stops breathing,” he said, with satisfaction written all over his face.

The statement made my fellow inmates stare at each other. They were scared as fuck. I can’t say I wasn’t, because I could feel my legs trembling under me. So this really was a game of kill or be killed.

“And by the way, my name is Thomas, just for the few of you that would be dead and disposed of. So I’m gonna start picking, since we’ve not got all the time to ourselves,” he said, laughing like a maniac. I mean, what’s funny? You’re literally killing us and still got the guts to laugh.

He looked around for a bit and pointed at a young boy quite my age, but he was very muscular and tall, with a death-trap face.

“Yeah, Prince, get your ass up the ring.”

The boy did as he was told. He scanned the room to get a partner maybe definitely a boy his size that he could challenge but I was snapped out of my thoughts when his gaze fell on me.

Nah, it can’t be me. At least he’s not dumb enough to send a young girl like me to face this hefty-looking boy. It’s pathetic but his gaze was still on me, then I heard it.

“Hey, you Princess with the black hair doing an eye contest with me, come over and get your stupid ass up the ring.”

I remained still where I was. Maybe he was joking. Then I noticed everyone’s gaze on me. That’s when I said my last prayer and moved toward the ring, because I just knew I was dead before I even got there.

Natalya Pov :

I practically dragged my feet up to the ring and stood opposite the boy, but not too close.

He was obviously staring at me like he had already killed me and won.

I give it to him. I mean, when I was in Base One, nobody stood a chance with me, because I always won.

But before I did so, I made sure I beat the living brightness out of your normal self so you wouldn’t have the nerve to come at me again.

But this actually seemed to be the same scenario, only reversed, I was the prey and he was the hunter.

The man in charge of us, I didn’t seem to grab his name when he introduced himself came closer to us and slowly gave out the instructions.

“The rules here state that you are not allowed to hit anybody’s sensitive parts, but you are allowed to attack the person when you find out their weakness. And finally, two don’t leave the ring. It’s required to have only one survivor, and that’s it. So as you two can see, I’ve got all the time in the world. We could stay here for a week if it means only one person gets off that ring and leaves a dead soul. Yeah, let’s wrap it here,” he said, and moved to a seat adjacent to us so he could have a clear view.

The game didn’t start yet until the man I assumed to be the commander came in, followed by the Tier Two inmates those who had already graduated. They took their seats respectively, and everywhere went dead silent when the man blew the whistle.

“Game on!” he screamed with joy all over his face. I stared at him and was disgusted by how he was happy putting two thirteen-year-olds in a ring and asking them to box to death.

Although I knew I would be the one to die, I just didn’t imagine myself dead in this kind of place.

Still in my thoughts, I felt something hard and very hurtful hit my head, and I zoned in immediately. It was the death-stare guy that blew me.

“Ouch!” That really hurt, no kidding. I faced him fully with my hands squeezed, ready to blow him, but I wasn’t too fast. I was just in my stance, and I watched him move from one angle to the other, hopping like a frog.

I have watched a frog hop, and I’ve calculated how far they go, but the difference is that a frog is a little slippery while he is just human.

He moved forward, throwing another punch at my.. what! my ankle. This boy just wanted to break my bones before he killed me, jeez.

Just as I was still groaning in pain, he aimed at my stomach and hit it. Bloody Mary… I felt my whole intestines leaving their comfort zone. Nothing is more painful than a hit to the stomach.

Still in pain, this guy didn’t even give me a chance to recover from the stomach blow. He hit me very hard on my shoulder. He was practically attempting to weaken me in places that would stop me from fighting back.

I stood up from where I was practically kneeling, trying to reduce the pain I was feeling in my stomach. That was when this idiot of a man blew the whistle, which forced the boy to halt in what he wanted to do.

“Princess, are you just gonna stay there doing nothing while receiving the end blow? Do you think this is a joke?” he shouted. The way he said it pissed me off, and I had to talk back.

“Sir, what the fuck were you thinking, giving a girl a death-stare-faced human to fight with? You wanted me dead in the first place.” What I said drew a hole from him. Yeah, that’s right you don’t mess with me and act like nothing happened, I muttered to myself.

“Who the fu..” Before he could complete the sentence, the commander shut him up. Yeah, that’s what I thought.

“What’s your real name, Princess?” he asked, which took me off guard.

“I’m Rose, sir,” I answered with an innocent look in my eyes. He stared at me for a little bit, then I heard what I never needed to hear in my life. Now I was starting to regret why I ran my mouth.

“Hey, get me one of our best inmates from Tier Two. I want the person to finish this dumbass off. Ain’t nobody going against me in my territory, do you hear me, Princess?” he said, motioning at my lifeless self. I just nodded at least now I knew they really didn’t want me alive here.

When I thought I had had enough, they brought in a very muscular guy. I could guess he might be fifteen already.

He looked proud as he walked. Yeah, he must feel honored to be running a stupid errand for this commander.

The new guy climbed into the ring, and they signaled the first guy to get off the ring, which he did obediently.

I didn’t need anyone to tell me to get into the ring. I just walked in and faced him. Let’s give this a trial. I stood ready to take him when I heard the whistle blow.

Before I could analyze where to hit him, I already found myself on the floor. My back was no good at all, but good thing I knew he was fast.

I jerked up immediately, and I heard chants of “woah… wow… she looks confident.” My head started to grow big, because I enjoy it when people think I’m cool. I aimed at his jaw and gave him a quick shot just when he wanted to avoid it.

I diverted the blow to his stomach and took him by surprise. He groaned a little, and I smirked.

Now I liked the look of that. But just as I wanted to celebrate my victory a little bit, he hit my knee, and I stumbled to the floor. That one got me. It hurt like hell, man. I cursed under my breath.

He rushed to grab me from where I was still on the floor, looking pathetic. I stood back up immediately, but I was obviously limping, and he smiled at the sight of that. He really was enjoying this.

I looked around me and realized that I was on my own in this one, and nobody would save me. So if I wanted to die, at least I would die as a fighter, not a pathetic loser. I stood firmly, but my knee was seriously aching. Still, I held my stance and faced him.

“Princess, don’t waste your energy. At least you’ve had enough already. Just tap out or something,” he said with a teasing grin.

I wasn’t finding it funny, so I told him, “Not after I deal with you. I think you should be the one tapping out.”

The statement made him laugh hard at me, but not before saying, “Now I’m seeing why your dad ditched you off. You are nothing but trash to roll over.”

That one hit me real hard. I hate to admit it, but my dad really did hurt me, and I hate it when a stranger spits those words at me. It hits differently.

I didn’t want his words to affect me, so I ignored him and stared at him with my hands still in fists, waiting for his next move.

That was when I remembered what my coach once told me that if you strike an enemy and they seem stiff and strong, use their weakness, whether emotional or physical.

This joke of a guy thought he could get me emotionally, whatever he thought he was doing, but nah. I already passed that phase. I went through that shit back in Base One.

My dad ordered his men to beat me mercilessly when he heard that I was beaten through emotional stuff. The idiots almost beat me to death.

They always had fun beating me and leaving marks, so I don’t think this ass right here knew that I don’t fall for emotional shit.

He stared at me for a while, drifted to my side, then jogged backward like he wanted to hit me into a stupor. But he wasn’t quick enough this time.

I aimed at his side, just beside his stomach, and gave him a hard blow. I could guess his rib might have been broken because he groaned, trying to hold onto the pain, but blood rolled out of his nose since he didn’t let it out through his mouth.

I gave him an “I knew it” smile and ventured further.

I grabbed him by his leg and made him lose balance, and he fell to the ground. I didn’t let him take a break. I raised my leg as high as I could and threw it at his face. He curled into a circle in pain.

Now I liked the sight of that. The Tier Two inmates were so quiet, unlike earlier when they were all “woah” and stuff.

I stood aside and gave him the privilege to regain the remaining dignity he had left, at least for the sake of his fans, because he seemed to be the crowd favorite.

But I wasn’t done yet, because I wasn’t ready to die just yet.

He gently stood up, but he was visibly shaken. Maybe I really did break his ribs. He locked his hands into fists and aimed at me. I dodged it and changed position.

The crowd was cheering me, and I liked it. Then he did something that surprised me, he went on his knees.

“Wait, what… bro, what the fuck are you doing?”

I questioned him, just to know whether he was trying to lure me down or something. He hit his hand on the floor and said in a loud voice, “I tap out, please. She’s too strong for me. I can’t… I can’t breathe… please, Com..”

He said in a shaky voice, but the commander held his hand up in the air and motioned for the guards to take the guy out. Maybe I really did hit him hard for him to tap out in just two blows.

The commander motioned to the death-stare guy who left the ring earlier and gave him the sign to get into the ring. Okay, this was getting interesting.

“Now this one isn’t the one you tap out on, Princess. You face death. I was gonna ask him to go easy on you, but you just injured my favorite Tier Two so badly. If you kill this one, then I’ll give you a name no one would challenge,” he said with pride, because he knew there was a possibility that I wouldn’t win this next match. I mean, I didn’t want to die myself.

I stood and faced the death-faced guy. When I heard the whistle, I was a little weak because I had just fought a tough person.

The death-faced kid rushed me, but I was quick to shift to the side.

That made him stumble because he came with force, his back facing me. I hit his spinal cord real hard. That’s a major place that can paralyze a human.

He stood stiff immediately. Yeah, that one got him. I lifted my leg to the side of his neck and hit it hard. He fell to the ground and rolled in pain, it was unbearable.

I knew, because I had been hit like that before. Just before he made an attempt to move his hand to support his body, I raised my leg real high this time and struck his neck. It cracked, and his body became still without much struggle.

I went closer to him and shook his hand. Then I realized he was dead.

“He’s dead!” I screamed, and the commander took a close look at him and shouted, “Natalya,” which means **THE NEMESIS**.

I mean, my name sounded cool… and yeah, you wouldn’t want to face the Nemesis, would you?

Natalya Pov :

That was where and how I got my name, Natalya, meaning “THE NEMESIS”.

Yeah, so when I got off the ring, there were chants of my name here and there, and God, that felt so good.

Then I noticed the commander motioned for me to come closer, which I did, and he drew his hand out for, what!

He literally gave me a handshake and patted my back, muttering, “Natalya, you are gonna make it big, yeah. I love your style.” With that, he stood up from where he was sitting and exited the place.

Whatever. I kind of mingled with the crowd, and I noticed Tasi. But before I could scream her name, she motioned me over, which I did without wasting time.

“Hey guys, this is Natalya. She’s my roomie and the first tier champion, yeah,” she said with pride. I mean, who wouldn’t be proud of me, not after I almost got my ass whipped out there.

We stayed there for a while, and the trumpet sounded again.

I didn’t need Anastasiya’s help to get back to my base. I practically pictured the whole place in my head from the morning when she was leading me out. Immediately I got to base.

I drifted off immediately into a deep sleep, but not long after I shut my eyes, somebody tapped me. Of course, I already knew who it was.

“What is it, Tasi? I just wanna sleep. I’m tired.”

“Natalya, get your ass up there. You are not yet done for today. We were gonna take lunch, then go for a few laps and back to the ring,” she said.

Her voice was practically growing out of patience with the way she talked.

“What do you mean we are gonna run a few laps and go back to the ring? Please don’t tell me I’m gonna still fight again. I’m exhausted.”

I groaned. “I mean, who the fuck stresses a seventeen-year-old like this?” I muttered to myself.

“I heard you, Natalya, and yes, you are still gonna fight again today, but with a different opponent. We are getting him from Tier Three. Those ones go to school and study at the same time, so I think you might get your ass whipped this time. But you are not to die in this one. You just have to break bones like make the person not be able to move, though they can eventually fix it through an operation. We have a surgeon who takes care of shit like that.”

“What… Tasi, did you go through all this shit before you settled in this base?” I asked, because this seemed to be going zig-zag.

“Yeah, I passed it all, because I wasn’t ready to die yet. But I lost my first two inmates before you on their first trial, so since you survived the first one, I have high hopes that you are gonna pass other levels.”

“Wait, how many levels do they have?”

“Just five, which is almost a week. Each day goes to two trials, and you are given a day of rest before they give you the fight back to back.”

“So, how long have you been here?” I asked, because she sounded like she was already done with this Base Two stuff.

“Natalya, I’m two weeks gone already, so me and you are gonna graduate together if you don’t die after the whole trial stuff.”

“So are you a prisoner or what? You seem tough. I mean, I have met your age mates who aren’t into mafia stuff, and they are out there sticking their butts in the air and acting like babies in front of their parents, having nice sleeps and other boring shit.”

“Look, my parents just sold me here. They needed money to sort some stuff, so I was the only valuable thing they had to sell. So that’s it. Come on, enough with this pathetic talk. Let’s hit the field,” she said, practically dragging me up with her.

“Wait, I thought you said we were gonna eat first before we go to the field,” I said, whining.

“Yeah, and we both wasted the time by talking about personal stuff.”

“Don’t tell me we are gonna go hungry for the day.”

“Yeah, exactly. First time you thought with your brain, that’s impressive,” she teased me.

“So I’m gonna fight on an empty stomach with somebody who has already had enough energy,” I said, almost groaning.

I was seriously hungry. I hadn’t had a proper meal since the last thing I had was the water Tasi gave me before the first match.

And now I was getting the news that we missed a meal, and clearly it seemed they served food only once a day. Oh gosh, can this get any better? I don’t see that happening.

We moved over to the field with Tasi leading the way, and I followed suit. When we got there, they were already standing in line, and we joined in.

The Tier Three seemed special, because they were quite far from us and had the same cool clothing patterns and stuff.

Still checking them out, I heard a voice that made me move my gaze away from them.

“Take it easy, tiger. You are gonna get there if you survive tonight and a hell of two years here,” Tasi smirked at me.

I didn’t retaliate or say anything. I just scanned the room with my eyes, being observant of my environment. At least I needed to take a glance at it, because my hopes were not really high right now on the issue of winning the second fight. I was so goddamn hungry, I would surely drink blood if I was offered one now.

Not long after we settled down, the coach came in and started guiding us on what to do, but I just kept falling or going out of line. I was seriously hungry.

“Hey, Natalya, what the fuck is wrong with you, huh? You think this is a joke, huh? Because you won the first stage, you suddenly think training here is not worth your time, huh?” he spat out, obviously fuming. I mean, what the fuck did I do? I was just hungry.

“I’m sorry, I wo..” Before I could complete it, he cut me off immediately.

“Keep your sorry ass to yourself. One more stupid mistake and I would make you run laps till it’s your turn to enter the ring. Do you get me, Natalya?”

“Yes, sir…” I silently sniffed.

“That’s coach to you, yeah. So guys, let’s get back to the training,” he said, diverting his gaze away from me to the base that were staring at him.

We continued with the exercises, and it was my turn to show how much I learned for the day, because we went by turns. I used the opportunity to rest my aching back.

I stood up and walked forward to the space that was kept for us to do the stuff, and I felt someone’s foot on my leg. I wasn’t fast enough to hold my stance, and I found myself tripping to the floor.

“Ouch! That hurts,” I groaned, still not realizing how much I had embarrassed myself just yet. As I struggled to get myself up, I looked up to see where I was clearly, and my eyes fell on the commander and all the base. They were literally staring at me, and it was obvious they wanted to laugh, but not without permission.

“Oh shit.” Now this is what we call a worst-case scenario.

“Cut the practice. Everyone to the front base. I wanna get Natalya done for,” he commanded, and everyone sped up immediately. I wasn’t even stressing myself this time.

I took my time with how I walked, unless I wanted to embarrass myself twice in a day. I felt something touch my shoulder, and I sprang into action immediately to take the thing down.

“Hey, it’s me. What was that back there, huh? Do you wanna get yourself killed? Now the commander is gonna get whoever it is you are gonna wrestle with drugged so they can finish you off,” she shouted at me, but it was out of concern, at least.

“Nah, just hungry. Wait, do they drug them to fight?”

“Yeah. If the opponent seems to be hot-headed like you, they drug them so they could take you out without blinking twice. Just please win this match for me. I just need a roomie, alright?”

“Yeah, I got you,” I teased her.

“You betta,” she winked at me and started walking over to where she was gonna sit and watch the match, while I was stuck here with hunger pangs and frustration. Whatever it was that I was feeling right now, I was really gonna take it out on both my opponent and that shit they called drugs.

Immediately the commander walked in, everywhere went mute. At least, as far as I could remember, I could hear the sound of my intestines pleading for food.

He motioned for me to move to the ring, which I did without hesitation.

At least when I was done dealing with this guy, whoever he was, then I could have a nice meal and enough rest at my base tomorrow. Wait.. what the fuck was I doing thinking about tomorrow? I hadn’t even seen my opponent yet.

I noticed a huge guy walk in. He was sweating all over his body, so I thought maybe he fought with my opponent before escorting him here or something, because I didn’t want to believe I was going against this giant.

I mean, y’all know how it is with David and Goliath.

it was real lit but I think I’m gonna be the David this night, though I’m little, because this beast here I don’t wanna call him human is gonna eat me raw. Don’t get the wrong mindset.

He walked over to the ring where I was and was jumping up and down or panting.

I just couldn’t get a word for it, but he was hopping like a frog, like the way the first guy that I broke his neck did before he met God.

The annoying guy from the first game blew the whistle real hard. Maybe he wanted me to hear it one last time before I died. His actions were obvious.

I practically turned and faced the huge guy. He ventured toward me with speed, and I darted aside and let him crash flat to the ground.

I mean, why wouldn’t he trip when he stupidly ventured toward me like that? Y’all should try a new style, please. I’m tired of breaking necks already.

I didn’t rush him like I would normally do. I didn’t blame him much for speeding like that he ate enough food before coming for the fight, and since I came hungry, I wasn’t ready to be hopping like a frog or running like a cheetah. I might trip again if I tried that shit.

I waited till he got on his feet.

“Ahh, he’s too slow for my liking.”

When he got on his feet, I was expecting him to go on with his clumsiness, but this bro jerked me up like I was a leaf and practically threw me to the extreme end of the ring.

My back hit the bricks they had carelessly kept there.

“Ouch, that hurts like shit,” I cursed and rolled myself into a ball, at least to put my sight in order before standing up. It took me all the remaining functioning bones in my body to stand up, and the weird guy let me take my time.

Maybe he was returning the favor of what I did to him earlier. I placed my hand on the floor for support to stand up, and to my surprise, it didn’t disappoint me. Maybe my hand wasn’t that hungry just yet, unlike my stomach, which was already groaning unnecessarily.

When I was sure yeah, I needed to be sure that I was standing firmly on both my legs, I put my hands into fists, ready to take him. But he showed me that he still had the upper hand. He struck my stomach.

“Ouch… oh crap,” I screamed. It was loud enough. Then I noticed something liquid spit out of my mouth. It was… blood.

“Oh shit.”