4.25

It was the next day of the tournament and Hunter was still feeling nervous. Opponents were going to be tougher, and he still hadn’t gotten over losing his first fight.

“We ready for another day?” Stick asked.

“Yeah. You gonna watch us this time?” Silas asked.

“You betcha.”

Stick and Silas prepared them all a healthy breakfast of meats and vegetables and fruit.

The five of them made their way back to the stadium within the trunk of the Elder Tree. The seats were already packed, and the announcer was already revving up the excitement.

“It’s the second day of our tournament today. Yesterday was exciting, but I get the feeling today will bring more excitement than you can shake a stick at. All the teams that made it through have proven they can fight, so its only going up from here.” The crowd cheered and whooped.

Hunter scanned the remaining twelve teams, he wasn’t surprised to see the hulking fighter, Guul, was standing among the crowd.

“Can the team leaders please come to the stage and pull out your new numbers?” Hunter approached the stage and was greeted by Guul.

“I’m surprised your team made it to the next round. You better hope you aren’t against us. I’ll wipe the floor with you.” Guul chuckled and once again, Hunter struggled to stay standing in his presence.

Hunter pulled out his number and saw that it said four. He was a little relieved they didn’t have to fight first.

The announcer called out the pairs and Hunter suddenly felt his gut try to rip itself apart.

They were going to be facing Guul’s team. They had already met Guul and Kyson. The other two members were just as intimidating to look at. A tall man with hair as long as his knees stood behind the rest of the team and the fourth member was covered head to toe in a cloak. The hood was pulled over their head, keeping their appearance hidden.

“Well, well. Looky here gang. Our opponents are the puny team of teens we saw yesterday. They barely won, and two of them only did because their opponents burned out. You won’t be winning with those tactics against us.”

“I thought I recognised you. Why don’t you save it for the ring, Guul?” Stick had joined the teens and shot a glare at Guul.

“Ah, Jadell, these your kids, are they?”

“Yeah, they are. So you better show them a little more respect. Or do I have to whip you really good again?”

“You’ll be lucky if you can scrape them off the slate when I’m done with them.” Guul chuckled and Kyson, the kid, joined in. The teams made their way to the mezzanine, keen to watch the fights below.

“You know that guy?” Hunter asked.

“Sure. He’s competed in this tournament every year. Absolute brute of a man. I’ve fought against him three times. He’s still pissed because I won two out of three of our matches.”

“Any inside tips then on how we can fight him?” Freja asked.

“He’s dangerous. He seems like a shallow hothead, but he’s not. He comes to life in the ring and burns with intense focus. He lives to fight. He travels the world to fight in every tournament he can find.” Stick’s tone was that of cold seriousness.

“But what of his powers?” Jimena asked.

“He’s only got one power. The rest is raw strength.”

“Which is?” Silas asked.

“His dominating willpower. That force you feel crushing you when you’re around him, that’s him. It gets stronger when you are in the ring with him.”

“So how did you beat him?” asked Hunter.

“With speed and not letting him grab me. If he gets in close to you, you’ll probably lose.”

“So then I probably shouldn’t fight him,” said Silas. “My whole power works by getting in close and ramming into someone. The three of you are able to fight at a distance. Keep him away.”

“We’ll decide on that when we come to it. Can you tell us anything else about him?” Hunter asked.

“He comes from an island in the middle of the ocean. He comes from a species of giants. They’ve been used and abused and manipulated by different powers for wars and bodyguards. Most of them are dead now, I think there might be four or five left. He’s the shortest of them, but he’s the strongest.”

“He’s the shortest?” said Silas.

“He fights to keep his strength about him. He fights to show the honour of the giants, so they aren’t forgotten by the people of the world. He’s a proud warrior and he does it for a reason.”

Tatsuta from Loose Change approached Hunter with a smile on his face.

“Congratulations on making it to the next round. I wanted to wish your team luck for the day, and we’ll be watching you.”

“Thanks,” replied Hunter. He looked over the elderly man’s shoulder and saw the rest of the team. Lena awkwardly waved, the robot stared at them, and Tobias shot a quick glance before looking away again.

“You’re a good fighter, but you struggle too much internally. That’s your main downfall. If you can calm the storm within, you’ll become a raging storm on the battlefield.”

“Thanks.” Tatsuta bowed and walked back to his team.

“You’re always eating Guul. You’re gonna make yourself too sick before the fight.” Kyson was trying to pull Guul’s arms away from his face. Large quantities of food in each hand.

“No I won’t. And have you seen who we’re up against today? They’re a joke.” Guul shot a look at Justice Punch and locked eyes with Hunter. “You’re my opponent today. Don’t think you can back out of it.”

“I won’t.” Hunter’s voice surged with a confidence he didn’t realise he had.

“Can the first two fighters of the teams please step forward. We are about to begin the next round of the tournament.”

Hunter joined his team and looked down at the slate below. The two fighters readied themselves.

“Ready? Go!” the crowd cheered and the fight began.