Chapter 3: Bloodline Trait
It was almost like a western showdown. It was just past noon when Bolton and Avic stood face to face in the middle of the town. It was the quietest Initium Town had been in years. All eyes watched from different sections of the town, filled with anticipation and fear. Some watched through the wooden windows of their houses while others looked on from their front porch. Some mothers even hid the faces of their children and businesses had been put on pause.
Eliisabet and Amon were the most worried out of everyone in the town. They knew Avic had done his best to resolve the situation peacefully but they wished he could have held out just a little longer.
"Mister Amon, isn't there anything we can do to stop this..?!" Pleaded Eliisabet.
Amon did not provide her with an answer. Instead, he adjusted his old grey eyes onto the pending battle that was about to begin.
"I guess what I heard about you was true after all," began Bolton. "You have a lazy attitude to everything around you but as soon as someone insults your past, you suddenly start acting as if you care. That's so hypocritical."
"What's so hypocritical about that?" Asked Avic, cracking his knuckles.
"You'll see what I mean before too long. Don't you worry about it..!"
"Yeah, yeah, I don't really care. One way or another, I don't plan to lose to you after everything you've done, even if you're a Sicarius."
"Haha! Kid, I'm going to teach you the importance of fear. I'm going to beat your ass like a Cherokee drum. As a matter a fact, I won't even use my weapon. I'll show you the difference between a Sicarius and a regular citizen!"
"If you ask me, Sicarius like you are overhyped. Everyone has a bloodline trait. The only difference between Sicarius and normal people is that Sicarius train their Bloodline Traits for battle while normal people use them for their everyday tasks. That's not such a big difference."
Bolton didn't answer. Instead, he got himself in a battle stance, arching his fingers into tiger claws while lifting his left hand above his head and his right arm before his chest.
"Come at me..!" He taunted with a wide grin.
Despite not having a weapon in hand, Avic charged toward Bolton, ready to challenge him to a fistfight. He then doubled back his fist before throwing a forward punch toward Bolton's face. However, dodging this was mere child's play for Bolton. He easily sidestepped Avic's attack with a massive grin drawn across his lips.
Avic hissed with frustration as he quickly tried regaining his balance.
"Damn it..! I'm not done with you yet!" He shouted, charging towards the Sicarius once more.
Putting everything he had into it, Avic took a deep breath before throwing a barrage of wild punches at Bolton. Finding them all easy to dodge, Bolton took advantage of Avic's inexperience, climbing beneath his guard. He then came up with a powerful punch to Avic's chin for a painful uppercut.
"Avic!!" Shouted Eliisabet from the sidelines in worry.
Avic's teeth clamped shut from the force as he was sent airborne momentarily before falling flat on his back with an excruciating thump.
"Urgh! Damn it!" He cursed as he picked himself up.
"Oh? I didn't punch you that hard but I honestly didn't expect you to get back up from that one, kid."
"Shut up..! This isn't over yet!"
Avic then got himself back on his feet before using the back of his hand to wipe a drop of blood from the corner of his lip. He now knew he had to be careful. Just one of Bolton's punches felt like it had enough power to dent iron. It was evident that his massive size and height of over six and a half feet weren't just for show.
"This time, I'll land a hit for sure!" Shouted Avic as he charged in again.
Bolton immediately prepared himself as he anticipated Avic's next attack. However, this time, Avic was determined not to make the same mistake. He knew that a forward attack would never work on Bolton. Due to this, instead of starting with an attack, Avic scooped up a pile of dirt in his hands as he ran before tossing it at the Sicarius.
Bolton hissed with frustration as he was forced to close his eyes and protect his face from the dust with his arms. This was exactly what Avic wanted. Doing his best to take advantage of the opportunity, Avic launched himself at Bolton by jumping high into the air. He was determined to land at least one solid punch to the Sicarius' face.
However, Avic should have known better. As soon as he was about to land his punch, a grin reemerged on Bolton's face, immediately signaling to Avic that he had walked right into a trap. Before he could even react, Bolton looked up and caught Avic as if he was a mere twig.
"As if a cheap trick like that will work on me, kid!" He shouted before delivering a thunderous headbutt to Avic's forehead.
The force of the headbutt was so great that Avic did three backflips before falling back to the ground, bouncing along the stony streets like a basketball.
Not able to watch the fight go on any longer, Eliisabet ran from Amon's side, bolting towards Avic who was lying motionless in the streets.
"Avic! Avic! Please tell me you're okay!" She shouted.
Quickly, Eliisabet then stooped by Avic's side, inspecting him as if she was a doctor. This was when she noticed that his eyes were shut and that he was bleeding from his head. He was also covered in small cuts and bruises from bouncing along the stony streets. Avic had been knocked unconscious.
Immediately, Eliisabet then brought out a water pouch before throwing it on Avic's face. He immediately began coughing and moaning in pain as he regained consciousness. Slowly, he then sat himself up, holding his head in agony.
"Avic, don't move around too much! You're seriously hurt!" Pleaded Eliisabet.
"Damn it all... Did I just get knocked unconscious?"
Without even a hint of hesitation, Avic got back on his feet, ready to continue the battle. This caught almost everyone by surprise, including Bolton who was still watching.
"Avic! You need to stay down! You can't defeat him..! Just forget about fighting that Sicarius, please! It's not worth your life!" Continued Eliisabet desperately.
"You should listen to the girl, kid," agreed Bolton.
"Shut up! There's no way in hell that I'm staying down! Not until I win!"
Bolton frowned, "What is it that you're fighting for? Earlier, you said that you had no dreams. So if you have no dreams, why are you trying so hard to defeat me? Is it pride?"
"As if I give a damn about pride..! You know the truth about my parents' deaths as well as who I am! I want to know how you got your hands on that information!"
No one knew why, but for some reason, Avic's question irritated Bolton. His frown grew more intense and his overall demeanor looked much more aggressive.
"Even if I do tell you, what difference does it make you? You'd just waste the information in the same way you've been wasting your life."
"What..?"
"Someone like you who has no goals or dreams doesn't deserve to know anything! All you do is talk and act big without placing any effort into the things that are truly important!"
Avic then folded his fists and clenched his teeth in rage. He didn't want to hear any of it.
"What do you know about me anyway, huh? You judge me as if you've known me all my life when you know nothing!"
"I'm done arguing with an idiot. You said you'd kick my ass so hurry up and do it then. I've been waiting for the past ten minutes. So let's finish this, kid!"
"If that's what you want then I'll make your wish come true!"
"Hmph! Before we start, let me ask you something, kid. What's your Bloodline Trait? Mine isn't anything special. My Bloodline Trait is only an Uncommon Trait. But Uncommons like me have one thing that stands out among the rest of the Bloodline Traits! Apart from the most powerful Bloodline Trait, Uncommons are the only ones that have a Double Affinity! So I'll show you my Affinity of Lightning!"
Immediately, electrical sparks began crackling around Bolton's body. He doubled his fists and smiled broadly, preparing a powerful attack. Avic could tell that this meant trouble. Lightning was a very powerful affinity to have. A single direct hit had a high chance of ending his life in an instant.
Without warning, Bolton lunged toward Avic at breathtaking speeds. Avic knew he didn't have much time to respond. He had to find a way to counter the attack or there was a chance he could easily die.
"Bloodline Art: Lightning Spear!" Shouted Bolton as his fist become shrouded in lightning.
As quickly as he could, Avic kicked Eliisabet out of the way to prevent her from being caught up in the attack. He then promptly turned back toward Bolton, ready to confront him with everything he had. Apprehension and fear seeped through the souls of everyone that watched. Their hearts raced faster than any heart rate monitor could read. It seemed like death was about to make itself known.
"You wanted to know what my Bloodline Trait was?!" Shouted Avic. "I'm an Uncommon just like you so I'm not anything special either! But that doesn't mean I plan to lose!"
Time seemed to slow down as Avic prepared his attack. Ice particles and frost gathered in the air. A cold chill crawled on the skin of everyone who was watching. One attack. One life. One moment. It was now or never.
"Bloodline Art: Ice Blockade!"
Large pieces of ice, the size of a full-grown adult man, shot upwards from the ground. Bolton's eyes widened with shock as soon as he saw this. For someone who wasn't trained to be a Sicarius, Avic's attack was nothing short of impressive. This made Bolton grin with delight. It would be his lightning against Avic's ice.
"You still can't defeat me, Avic! Someone without a dream is someone who lacks direction!! And someone like that can never defeat me!!"
"Shut up! What the hell do you know about me anyway?! I do have a dream! And that dream is to get my FAMILY BACK!!!"
With a thunderous explosion like that of a military-grade rifle, the Bloodline Arts clashed. Bolton shouted at the top of his lungs as he smashed through the field of dangerous ice Avic had created. He was scratched, cut, and cold, but he refused to stop. Finally, taking a deep breath of the frosty air around him, Bolton slammed his lightning-covered fist into Avic's gut.
The air was forced from Avic's lungs like a deflated balloon. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and blood spewed from his mouth.
"THEN IF YOU WANT YOUR FAMILY BACK, WORK FOR IT!!!!"
With a final shout, Bolton sent Avic crashing into the tavern, followed by the heavy sound of thunder from his Bloodline Art. This caused half of the tavern to come crashing down on Avic, filling the air with dust, debris, and sparks of leftover lightning. The battle was over.
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