My hands tremble. The person facing me is big, taller than me. Despite his injuries, he gives the feeling of an unbreakable wall.

  His gaze falls to my hands. "Why are you making such provocations when your body itself is wavering on its own? Do you have a final wish before meeting our creator?"

  Sure, his words are sharp, but leaving things as they are will mean the effort went to waste. I contributed the least in this deadly mission. I shall fasten my courage to delude him with bravery.

  "I used to be a fisherman. Well, I helped my dad who is one."

  The mountain of muscles before me stares, confused. "Why are you telling me that? Is it your way to make me spare your life?" He chuckles.

  "I'm saying that because the waves were sometimes ferocious. But not once have I ever faltered when I thought my life was in danger."

  When faced with the turbulence of the waves, I always thought I wouldn't make it. That experience only made me worry about stormy ones. On an average day, I even stopped paying attention to the calm sea.

  These words are to make me stop doubting.

  I look up with renewed will.

  This man isn't invincible. He's disheveled and down already. Like with the waves, I'll just reach the shore intact.

  "If you say so, then I shall show there's a fundamental difference." His hand approaches me slowly.

  It feels like he's showing me I'm fearing the moment. His hand is getting closer, and I realize what a difference of height we actually have. I don't move, frozen in place by fear, but the fear of dying is even stronger. Running away at this point isn't an option, so instinctively my hand pushes his away from myself.

  "Your eyes." He says. "They're showing me more strength than your body." A grin designs itself on his face.

  I take action. The first punch is thrown by me at his torso. He tanks it, sliding on his feet some steps away.

  He places himself in a stance, coiling his fist before launching a strike to the right of my face.

  Using my arms, I protect my face at the last minute. The impact is heavy, so heavy I feel like my bones are going to break. I can feel pain welling in my stomach like I'm about to drop everything I consumed, if there was such thing I even consumed today. The punch sends me up. My feet stop touching the floor. A kick is then sent, letting me slide on the ground.

  The contrast still terrifies me.

  I struggle to get back up. On my knees looking in his direction, I see red. My blood is flowing through my skull. My right hand hovers over my head. Enough blood to paint it all is the response I get.

  "You're barely posing any resistance. Is this all there is to your person?"

  I stand back up. If I hesitate, I die. With that idea, I charge again. He ducks under my fist, moving to the side. He punches me once more. Pain jolts through my nose. My focus diminishes.

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  I contract my eyes. Another punch is coming at me. I block with my arms. His mass pushes me away, then he comes closer, faster.

  I don't have time to evade, so I just strike back with a punch of mine at his face.

  My face enters in contact with his fist, but mine never meets his. I'm sent backward once more, struggling to keep my balance.

  The man keeps approaching. He's blurry. No, more like a shadow.

  My consciousness decays after each hit I take. I have to end this fast, but up till now, I've only been under the pretense I'll be fighting alone.

  "Why do you keep fighting after all what you're taking? You're only going to meet a dead end." The man says in an attempt to dissuade me from resisting.

  I put myself back on guard. "Whether it is for feeding, surviving, conquering, dreaming, we always have a certain reason to fight. At this moment, mine is simply to protect those I care about. Of course, I don't expect someone like you to understand. You take life with such indifference. I wonder if you've ever valued someone else's life."

  He smiles like I told him something so mundane, like he understood what I just said.

  "Protecting, huh? I too am onto something like that." He brings his hand to his face.

  My fist, my body is imbued with green energy in the color of emeralds. The wind. That's the feeling I have as this new sensation fills my being.

  Is this the difference between fighting alone and fighting alongside someone?

  The presence of Oran. I can feel him with me, in my body, in my soul, in my being. It's even better than the last time, like this energy can help me break mountains, yet unleashing a bit of it will cause my body to crumble.

  This will be my last and only chance to get him down. If I miss… No, if I doubt now, I'll surely miss.

  My eyes open with conviction, my gaze meeting his. His hands are covered in gloves of blue looking like claws.

  It's just as I thought. He understood this is the final showdown.

  I feel excited.

  We both run at each other. His movements feel slower, or rather I got faster.

  He swings his right hand in a form of an arc. I dodge the blow. The ground below me cracks from the shock of the swing.

  The feeling of danger fills my body. I understand that I'm dead if I'm touched only once.

  I pivot to the side opposing him. He turns with a horizontal slash. I step away. The arc looks like a blade. Each strike feels like a sword aiming at me.

  We keep moving around. His accuracy keeps sharpening. My pacing decreases.

  I stop running, staring as he passes over me. Eyes to eyes, we look at our adversary. He looks at me with realization, like I am a person.

  "Stopped running away?!" He runs toward me.

  "I'm just thinking of a way to put an end to this!" I jump at him.

  My punch aims at his face. His blade strikes, aiming at mine. I lower my head, dodging the strike, retracting my fist away.

  I break my pace, pivoting into a crouching position, my right fist about to unleash everything I have left.

  His left hand faces me, the blue aura about to chop away my face.

  We're in a deadlock. We're not getting out of this. He'll live. My fist bears no killing intent. But I'm going to die because of that decision.

  Scratch!!!

  A flashing gold light appears. The hand of my opponent is shattered.

  "Oran." I whisper as my fist enters in contact with the opponent. "Be done with him!"

  My consciousness fades in the process. I can't remember what happened after that.

  Melissa's Perspective:

  A prime example of suicidal. A man who can't do anything for himself but keeps trying to have things done for others.

  I've already seen that once, and those stories never end well.

  Everest, what are you trying to prove?

  I follow him from the back. Beaten, after all the talk he gave, his performance is disappointing. I feel sorry for the man facing him. It must be bothersome to have such a walking nuisance chasing you.

  That's what I thought, until the blazing green light. Everest's movements are getting faster. For a moment, I almost think we can win, but he's just struggling better than before. Nothing changed. He's still at a disadvantage.

  Then it happens.

  At the moment of the mutual dead end, the assassin's hand starts shattering. It is so fast I wonder what did that. My eyes dart around. The future of the fight is sealed.

  But then I see that thing. My eyes run back to Everest. A dragon. The crimson eyes coupled with that emerald face. That's all I can see before the snap.

  He didn't lie after all. He saved us.