The attack crashed into Rui's vulnerable abdomen, a gigantic impact wave rippling through his body. He did his best as he tried to mitigate as much of the impact as he could with Elastic Shift, Acute Edge and Inner Divergence.
Yet it was sorely insufficient. Rui closed his eyes as he experienced a level of suffering that he hadn't since the conditioning training of the Stinger technique. Every cell in his body ached as he was launched across the arena. Large swathes of his skin were sheared off by the rough ground as he landed into a tree in the arena.
Yet what he did next shook those who beheld his mangled bloody form.
He grinned.
"...Gotcha." He stared into Fiona's eyes with a hauntingly ecstatic smile that cut through his mangled bloody face.
Fiona felt a shiver climb up her spine as she gazed into his intense bloodshot eyes.
Then, and only then, did the pain follow.
SPLURT SPLURT SPLURT!
Blood pissed out of her neck, shocking everyone who witnessed it.
What had happened??
"...Huh?" Fiona murmured, not understanding. Her body was saturated with pain-suppressing endorphins that the human body naturally released in states of extreme excitement.
But reality soon took a grip of her.
She immediately pressed her hand to her neck, suppressing the blood flow as her eyes widened in shock at what she felt.
A hole!
A hole in her neck!
She glanced at Rui in shock.
"...Ha... Haha..." He laughed unsteadily.
THUD
He put one foot on the ground.
THUD
The other foot soon followed.
He grabbed onto the tree, pulling himself up.
He struggled to stand. His body was a mess. No one would be surprised if he simply collapsed that very moment.
And yet.
He took his stance, grinning weakly.
He was exactly where he wanted to be.
"Come..." He squeezed out. "The fight only ends when one of us falls."
She stared at him in disbelief and shock.
Had Fiona known that launching that attack then would have resulted in a toe-sized hole in her neck, she would not have done it.
But she did do it, and consequently, it did.
Rui had thrown her caution of his Stinger off by feinting a weight shift onto his right leg, making her think he was not going to move it and eliminating it as a threat in her mind. And only when the timely blink during the attack came, did he launch the Stinger.
A person's defense was most vulnerable at the moment of their attack. Rui had taken the role a patient hunter, waiting for the right moment to strike.
And yet, even the combination of a never-before seen trump card, along with her own mental blind spot was not enough by itself.
No.
It needed a sacrifice, a sacrifice Rui had to provide. A sacrifice he did provide. He sacrificed defense as he abandoned his guard to land the Stinger quicker, harder and deeper.
That was the price of landing his critical Blink Stinger successfully.
It was a costly price.
He was certain he had broken, a the very least, a few ribs. His bleeding had accelerated. His skin had been torn in multiple areas. His body was bruised essentially all over, even his balls hurt.
Yet, it was not in vain.
The carotid arteries and the jugular veins transported an enormous amount of blood. Furthermore, they carried blood not to any ordinary organ, but to the very brain itself, among all organs.
And Rui had severed nearly half of them in her neck.
So what if he broke a few ribs? So what if his skin tore? So what if he was bleeding from open wounds?
Did it hurt?
Yes, it hurt more than words could describe.
Yet he was more than willing to endure it.
Now he had brought her down to the same level. She no longer had ample time to crush him slowly.
Rui just needed to outlast her!
As long as he could do this, he could win!
Everything rested on whether he could succeed!
"That's right..." He said unsteadily as he wobbled as he began losing his sense of balance. "I just need to... last."
"Last..." His breathing grew more laboured. "...long enough."
His vision blurred, darkening.
"The fi..ght.. Isn't..."
His hands fell limp, as they dangled helplessly.
"...over."
THUD
He collapsed in a pool of his own blood.
...
He didn't get up.
Not a single person moved. Countless people had gathered in the colosseum with immense excitement and anticipation.
Yet, they all froze.
An eternity passed, seemingly, as everyone waited.
Waited for Rui Quarrier to get up.
And yet.
"Winner; Representative Fiona Roschem!" The referee declared.
"...And there you have it folks! Fiona Roschem persevered through the finals, defeating Representative Rui Quarrier to become the Martial Champion of the twenty-seventh Martial Contest!"
His excited voice cut through the silence, as bands and celebratory crackers lit up, drawing people outside of their reverie.
Medics had long since rushed towards Rui and Fiona, and had long begun treatment after rushing the former to the medical quarters after initial stabilization. Fiona had been supplied with a single healing potion as medics took over the task of applying pressure over her wound.
Rui on the hand was surrounded by medics, that worked furiously to contain his bleeding as they administered depressurized gaseous potions were forcibly pumped into his lungs via medical breathing-aid instruments that resembled masks.
Soon, his skin and flesh healed, followed by his ribs, bones and muscles. Eventually they completed the regeneration of blood as well. It was only then had his skin regained its healthy complexion.
Yet he didn't open his eyes until much later. The potions may have healed him, but he was exhausted on a much deeper level. His body and mind needed to rest organically after being stressed and strained to such a degree during the Martial Contest. Potions restored the body, but they also pushed it. Nobody wanted to push Rui Quarrier after witnessing what he had gone through.
