27 Fruitless bounty (2/2)

”They must have said something that pissed him off.” Jessica state which everyone nodded softly. ”Do you think it has to do with what Riyku told us a while back. About the incident and about Bell Perez?” Mel seemed to inquire. ”Probably,” Rick stated as he tried to compose himself. ”Most likely. After you guys explained it to me, I did some digging. Turns out Bell stopped showing up to school and canceled her all of her concerts around the time Riyku showed up. If anything, she is probably the mastermind behind everything.” Nora put in her own statement. ”But why? All he did was beat up Jack. I mean if calling her a whore as well is not enough of a reason to warrant this kind of behavior.” Rick stated to which Nora would shake her head. ”I don't know. I never paid much attention to Jack his girlfriend or his sister for that matter.” Nora would reply to Rick who sighed heavily. ”Well, I feel sorry for the next combatants. I don't think Riyku has cooled off enough, he hasn't taken that stance at all.” Rick stated having made note of the fact that Riyku had the tip of his sword dipped into the ground. His posture appeared as if he were hunched over.

'Darling?' Seraphina called out through a mental link. ”Putting a bounty on me is fine.... but putting one on everyone associated with me...” Riyku would growl darkly as he tightened the grip on the hilt of the blade. 'I understand how you feel, but if you lose composure you may end up making a mistake. You need to recollect yourself, my love.' Seraphina tried to soothe him, and thankfully it worked out. He would shake his head after a brief moment and bring the blade up to rest along his shoulders like before. ”Thank you, Sera,” Riyku stated softly and Seraphina would make a delighted noise. The next team seemed to take place before him and the smoke had long since cleared so they could easily see each other. Riyku only saw the look of frightened faces. ”You know... Can we just give up?” One of the teammates asked their groupmate. ”I'm fine with that.” A groupmate replied. ”Fuck that!” The last groupmate seemed to disagree with the others and began to rush Riyku down. ”Taking this guy out after the performance he has made in his previous three matches will give us a high reward.” The guy shouted as he tossed small orbs towards Riyku which seemed to bounce off the ground before exploding giving off a bright light. Riyku would cover his face with his free hand, but the feeling of something pierce through his flesh caused him to grit his teeth. His eyes shifted towards his shield points as text appeared upon his UI.

'Minor puncture wound detected! Healing with Shield Points.'

'Wound healed!'

'Minor puncture wound detected! Healing with Shield Points.'

'Wound healed!'

'Minor puncture wound detected! Healing with Shield Points.'

'Wound healed!'

The text would repeat over and over as he felt minor sharp pains dip into his skin, though he was incapable of even seeing anything. The blinding light wasn't the only thing that masked his sense. The loud bang happened to have distorted his ability to hear, and for whatever reason, he was unable to pinpoint the person dealing damage to him with his ability to detect presences or intent. His sense of smell would do no good since everything was mixed and mushed together and his sense of taste was useless at this moment in time. Clicking his tongue Riyku would release a beastly roar while stomping upon the ground. The shadows below him would spike up which caused the attacker to leap back to his team. ”Damn, that was close.” The male shouted as he twirled his daggers passively in his hands. ”Damn it, now we HAVE to fight!” The other man shouted in frustration. ”Yeah yeah. Besides, what was that skill he just used? Was it a martial skill? I know those of the Legion can use unique skills, like Flash Step, but I have never seen that one.” The male stated.

”It didn't feel like a skill, but like someone or something was protecting him.” The second member of the team decided to speak up. ”Oh? So, like a beast tamer like you?” The first member inquired. ”Hmm... Not quite. I don't get that feeling from him. It's more than just a pact or a contract. Still, since we came this far, we might as well fight. He didn't kill those of the first two matches, so he might not kill us. It seems like he is only after certain people.” The woman would state merely through observation. ”So, we won't die?” The attacker from before inquired while licking his lips. ”I wouldn't test his patience though. Something the previous team did, made him snap. So we should still be cautious as ever.” The woman stated which caused the two men to nod. The first one who was holding a sword and shield would sigh heavily while the second one was still playing with their daggers had snickered. ”Fine fine. Are you going to use it here then?” He inquired. ”I might have to if we want to make it to the finals.” The woman replied. ”Alright, I and Aevin will distract him while you prepare the summon, Maulin.” The tanker would state, but it seemed the damage dealer had already dashed ahead yet again. Tossing another set of those small orbs in Riyku's direction. Riyku would grip his Soluna Blade with both hands before giving it a mighty swing. The force behind the made would shoot out an arc of wind which pushed the orbs back towards Aevin who blinked rapidly. ”Yo, Brisk!” Aevin shouted back to his teammate who sighed heavily and jumped in front of him. Using his shield to shield them from the blinding light. ”I've told you before several times not to charge in like that!” Brisk exclaimed. ”Yeah, yeah! Thanks for the hel--” Aevin was caught off when he noticed Riyku had circled around them. ”Shit!” He shouted turning on his heel to pivot after the man. ”Brisk, shield Maulin!” Aevin shouted and Brisk seemed to jut towards his comrade with haste. ”On it!” The male seemed to have slipped past Riyku, but not with pure speed alone. Aevin would catch up to Riyku who had slammed his Soluna against Brisk' shield which caused the male to dip down a bit from the pressure. Avein would leap towards Riyku from behind him as if preparing to jam his daggers into the male; although, Riyku had ducked down, rolled his body around with a pivot to avoid Aevin which only make the male hit nothing by air. Kissing his teeth he turned around only to see the large blade come crashing down upon his body which cratered him into the ground.

”Aevin!” Brisk shouted, though did not seem to have time to check up on his teammate since Riyku had pulled the heavy shield aside while bringing the Soluna around to take out him. Brisk would use his sword in an attempt to guard. Brisk would redirect the force of the attack away from him with either luck or skill, it served to keep him in this bout longer. ”Maulin!” Brisk called out as if asking for help and as if on sync a large summoning circle would appear below them. Taking note of this Riyku would jump back out of the circle thinking it was some kind of attack spell, but no, it was something else. A large creature would rise from the circle, resembling that of a minotaur with both height and body build. In fact, it probably was a minotaur all things considered, with the exception of the crown on top of its head. ”Thank you, Tarrus for answering my call!” Maulin called to her summon. ”Of course Milady. I have gauged the situation through your mana. Might I inquire as to why you are fighting this battle.” The minotaur asked, his eyes still upon Riyku. His large hands gripping both of his battle axes tightly. ”Well, the Death Games. Why else?” Maulin stated as she helped Brisk retreat further back. ”Yes, I get that. But, this battle itself. You should have forfeit. This person is not a man, but a monster. I detect the aura of a caged beast. One waiting to break free. I must say, even I may not come out of this battle unscathed. Get your friend and fall back as far as you can. I'll do what I can.” The minotaur stated which caused Maulin to raise a brow. ”What do you mean, caged beast? He isn't human?” She asked to which the minotaur shook his head. ”No. He is not.” Tarrus stated which caused Maulin to gulp heavily. She would rush towards Avein who was still breathing, barely... he wasn't inflicted with any outside wounds though. ”Wait... you did cut him down?” Maulin looked towards Riyku when she confirmed that Avein was not in a critical state.

Riyku looked towards her and shook his head. ”You are not my target. I don't mind taking you three... four.” Riyku would correct himself before continuing, ”out. However, you are more than welcome to give up. I don't know anything about summons, so if you take damage equal to that of what I inflict on your summon. I can assure you, you won't feel fine by the end of this.” Riyku stated firmly, withdrawing the second blade from the Soluna as he crouched low to the ground as if he were about to take off. ”We've already come this far. If you don't plan on killing us, I see no reason to give in. Tarrus give it your all!” Maulin shouted which the minotaur smirked. ”Of course Milady. You!” The minotaur pointed his battle ax towards Riyku. ”I, King of Minotaurs, Tarrus, challenge you to a one on one duel. Winner takes all!” Even though this was a pointless feat, somewhere deep down inside the minotaur had this feeling that Riyku would accept. A smirk curved across his face, ”Very well. I need to let off some steam. So you'll do just fine. I accept your challenge.” It was then that Riyku would kick off of his heel and the battle would commence.