27 Fruitless bounty (1/2)

Since it seemed that May, Terry, and Luke were not going to come after him Riyku decided he would go after them. A quick dash would be intercepted by Luke who clashed his bastard sword against Riyku's Soluna. ”Oh? Not bad...” Riyku smirked as he felt the struggle to which Luke would give off a grin of his own. ”Don't plan on getting past me any time soon, kid.” The male stated as the two continued their deadlock for a moment longer. ”I will, one way or another.” Riyku brought his free hand upward to Luke's gut. The jewel embedded in the glove giving off a faint glow before an explosion occurred between the two of them. The explosion seemed to push Luke back with a growl while Riyku had slid back from the force himself. ”Sorry Luke, I was a little late on the follow-up,” Terry called out after landing beside him. May seemed to race towards Luke and proceed to provide him with some kind of healing aura. ”No. You did fine. That guy knew what you were doing. For a second I noticed his eyes shift in the direction you were coming from.” Luke explained before pushing off the ground, having used his bastard sword to keep him steady. ”What? But how? I completely masked my presences.” Terry would reply to which Luke shook his head. ”No sure. We need to be careful about how we take him on. It doesn't seem like he is out to kill us, but if we let our guards down just once...” Luke's eyes would widen when he noticed that the smoke was not clearing out. ”Speaking of careful....” Riyku's voice parted from the haze before Terry cried out in pain. The sight of their comrade being flung to the other side of the arena caused them a bit of shock. ”Terry!” May cried out before her voice was muffled by the fact that Riyku had his free hand cupped around her cheeks.

”You three should've known that it would take time for the smoke to filter out of this box. Stopping to heal your comrade was a foolish move when you know naught of your opponent.” Riyku would fling May to the other side of the arena who would clash with Terry as the man tried to stand up. This sent them back into the ground. Luke would give a battle cry which drew Riyku's attention. Bringing his Soluna Blade upward, he would parry the Bastard Sword by knocking it aside before pressing the palm of his free hand against Luke's chest. ”Checkmate,” Riyku stated. Luke was prepared for the worst, yet nothing came. ”As you said, I don't plan on killing you three. You three are not my targets. I won't shed unnecessary blood.” Riyku stated as he turned on his heel, resting his sword against his shoulders while he walked back to his side of the arena. ”So you want us to give up!?” Luke exclaimed in frustration which caused Riyku to shake his head. ”I never said that. You are more than welcome to come at me once you three have recomposed yourselves.” Riyku would turn to face Luke who was accompanied by May and Terry. The smoke was now filtered out which left everyone a clear field of vision. May seemed to be healing Terry and Luke again, and Riyku was giving them time to recover.

”Tell me something. Why didn't you take us out as you did with the previous team?” May inquired as she finished healing them. ”Hmm...” Riyku would close his eyes for a moment as if to think of a response. ”Honestly, there is no reason. I just felt like it.” He would state with a shrug. ”Though, if that does not quell your thirst. Perhaps, it is to learn more about team play.” Riyku stated which caused them to give a shocked expression. ”Is that why you are fighting alone?” Luke inquired to which Riyku would shake his head. ”No. I have my reasons for taking the battlefield solo. Well, we have wasted enough time. Let us continue.” Riyku would take to his stance yet again, giving off the same impression of a fake opening.

The three seemed to change up their formation. Luke was upfront like before, but Terry was off to the side with May standing between both of them. If anything they were all on the front line. A wise choice since that meant that they need no worry about any backline. ”Terry!” May shouted just before she began to chant. Terry would dash towards Riyku, and Luke seemed to come from the other side with a pincer attack. A smirk curved across Riyku's lips as dashed towards May who was left open. Though the fact that Luke and Terry had dropped down in speed was a bit worrisome. It was not until Riyku was with blade's reach did May release her spell which happened to have been a massive amount of wind that not only pushed Riyku back but even cut down his Shield Points. If that wasn't troublesome enough, Luke and Terry had been prepared for this. Luke was already in midswing with his Bastard Sword coming from behind Riyku. Meanwhile, Terry was in mid-air as if riding the wind to keep Riyku from jumping over the blade. Sure he could try to duck down, but the wind pressure was preventing him from doing so. His escapes would have been on lockdown if he wasn't smart enough to withdraw the second blade from his Soluna. Kick off of his feet to ride the wind and use the second blade as to means to glide along with Luke's Bastard sword and use the Soluna Blade as a means to shield himself from any kind of attack that Terry was going to throw his way. Though he took it a step further, when he kicked off his feet, Riyku threw himself in a spin which caused him to spiral through both of them like a bullet.

Slamming both the second blade and the Soluna blade into the ground would yank him back into a proper position, and thanks to his indestructible bones, he did not receive any internal damage. Though, he would dash towards both Luke and Terry now, a grin wick across his face as he swung the Soluna Blade at Luke and the Second Blade at Terry, exchanging both blades to attack the other when they attempted to defend. Pressuring both them again back to May, now that the spell had ended.

”Whoa...” Rick seemed rather excited, having witnessed how Riyku went from being pressured to putting on the pressure in a matter of seconds. ”I see what you meant by him being the strongest in all of the Eastern Region, however....” Nora had narrowed her eyes at the screen. Her serious expression drew upon her group's glances. ”There is only so much one can do alone. Even if he is of the Hunter Legion, and he has always fought solo... There are some things that one can never experience alone.” Nora seemed to express, which drew upon a more serious atmosphere than necessary. ”Well, I am sure he has his reasons. But look at him, he is having fun.” Ion would state. ”True, that grin on his face isn't there for show.” Jessica would add. ”Let's just ask him when the Death Games end,” Rick stated to which everyone seemed to agree. ”Alright...” Nora would give in and enjoy the rest of the bout.

Unable to break from the string of attack set upon both of them, they were completely forced back to May who was in the middle of chanting another spell. ”May, move!” Luke called out to which broke her concentration and the woman hastily move around her teammates to face Riyku's back. Though the moment she completely at his backside, Riyku would pivot off of his heel and dash towards May who had started up another chant. ”May!” Terry called as he chased down Riyku with the attempt to take him down before he could reach May. Though the several lunge attacks did nothing, not even slow him down. The moment he reached May he would bring his Soluna Blade around to force her off her feet. Interestingly enough though, the weapon did not cleave her in half. Attaching the second blade to the main blade he would grip the hilt of the main blade with both hands and curve the weapon around with an upward strike as if he were hitting a ball with a baseball bat. This strike would send May towards the ceiling of this large box, and Riyku would follow up by kicking off the ground and ascending past her only to drop down by bringing the Soluna Blade downward. The weapon would carry May with her during this attack and the moment of impact shook the ground. ”May!” Luke and Terry shouted in sync as they searched for their comrade through the haze as best they could. ”Don't worry. I didn't kill her. I coated the edge of my blade with harden clay.” The statement Riyku gave was false; his weapon wasn't coated in clay, but more so a mixture of elements that would temporarily dull the blade.

”Bullshit!” Terry shouted as she frantically looked around for any sign of May or even Luke. ”You can be the judge for yourself after I knock you out next.” It was then that Riyku seemed to have risen from Terry's shadow like some kind of monster. He was aiming to reach for the back of the head, but Terry had turned around when he felt the presences of another so Riyku ended up grasping his face. Without delay, Riyku would slam the male into the ground with enough force to put him unconscious, but not enough to break anything or cause any lethal damage. All that was left now was Luke who was trying his best to look through the smoke, but everything was clouded for him.

”Not a bad team, I must say. If I had not reacted as fast I did, then you may have been able to beat me.” Riyku stated as his shadowy figure became visible to Luke. ”Where are May and Terry!?” Luke shouted to which Riyku would chuckle. ”As I said, they are fine. I kept my word, I had no plans on killing you three. So, the final question is are you going to fight or flee?” Riyku became completely visible the moment he was within a few meters of Luke. ”Fight!” Luke shouted as he charged at Riyku who smirked. ”Good.” Riyku would step into Luke's space the moment the male brought his blade down to cut him in half, but Riyku had intercepted the weapon by grasping hold of Luke's blade with his free hand. The jewel giving off a shine as an aura enveloped his hand. ”What!?” Luke exclaimed and was about to pull back, but Riyku's Soluna Blade had come from the side and sent Luke off his feet. ”Now then... I know that won't knock you out soo...” Riyku would dash towards the male holding the hilt of the main blade with both hands again, only to bring it down upon the male to force him into the ground. Dragging along the ground before flinging the male off into the wall of the box as if he were hitting a hockey puck into the goal. Riyku would rest the blade against his shoulder and proceed back to his side of the arena as he waited for the medical team to come up and take away May, Luke, and Terry who were all unconscious.

”Geez... he doesn't know how to hold back, does he?” Kristen inquired as she sighed softly. Lira would chuckle softly. ”Probably not.” She would reply to Kristen. ”Well, that is what we are going to be up against. I doubt he will hold back at all when the times comes. We should make sure we are thoroughly prepared.” Vex would state in a serious manner which caught Lira and Kristen's attention. ”True.” ”Let's make sure we are ready.” Lira and Kristen agreed with Vex. ”Oh look, the next match is about to start,” Vex stated as she pointed to the screen to which Lira and Kristen looked up at.

”Hooh... if it isn't you three,” Riyku stated as with a mono-expression. ”Huh? We don't know you.” One of the guys would retort. ”Really? I thought you three would, since you three had been checking me out earlier.” Riyku's statement caused them a bit of a shock which seemed to give him an answer on if they were after him. It wasn't hard to connect the dots on who hired them. ”So, what is Bell doing nowadays?” Riyku would narrow his eyes, the grip upon his Soluna blade tightening. Kissing his teeth one of the men shook his head. ”None of your business. We were just hired to do a job.” The male stated. ”Yeah! So nothing personal, but you gotta die.” The other man stated which caused Riyku to sigh. ”Well then, before you kill me. Tell me if there are others you plan on taking out.” Riyku pretty much demanded but seemed to hold back his demeanor of such.

”Well, It really doesn't matter to you. But yeah. We have three more targets after this. Then another two more... it is a shame they are participating, but there are ways to take down our targets without alerting the authorities.” One of the men stated, in truth, they looked like the Bandits from the Lower District, but more of an upgraded version. ”Is that so...” Riyku's tone of voice darkened. He would remove the blade from his shoulder and let the tip clash onto the ground which caused them to give him a weird look. ”Enough chitchat, let's take him out, boys!” The man shouted before the three of them charged him down. ”Honestly....” Riyku would mutter as he just stood there. ”Take this!” One of the men shouted as they leaped at him, bringing two blades down towards him. Another guy had begun to fire off his pistols in Riyku's direction while the last guy seemed to be tossing out land mines or some kind. ”You three....” Riyku would bring the Soluna Blade upward; the tip of the blade piercing through the first male. The man did not even release what had happened until he felt a sharp pain in his stomach a moment later. It was then he felt several more sharp pains penetrate through his back which caused him to scream. Riyku had used this man as a meat shield for the bullets before tossing the critically wounded male into the land mines that were displaced around him which set them off in chain reaction.

”Are not even worth my time.” Riyku would activate 'Shadow Step' to rapidly travel towards the gunslinger. Bringing his blade around he made a clean cut which separated the head from the neck. All that was left was the final guy who was cursing under his breath, pulling out two pistols to unleash a barrage of bullets onto Riyku. ”Blink,” Riyku muttered before his body vanished and appeared behind the guy. Grasping the man by the neck he would pull the guy back while pushing his blade through the man's backside, piercing the man entirely before Riyku kicked him off of the blade. In a matter of seconds, Riyku had killed off three guys. Making his way back to his section he would glance around through the smoke, even though it was cloudy he could see clear as day largely due to his supernatural senses. It didn't take long for the medic team to arrive and interestingly they came prepared. Easily navigating through the smoke and cleaning up the mess that was made. Of course, it took a bit longer than the last two matches, but it got done.