The Lord of Rot

He leapt with such strength and ferocity that Konrad barely doubted that the man had wings. But no longer could he doubt that the man was a human - he spoke to carefully, and even when he would strike and run like the most beastly of creatures, he would stop and admire his own actions - there was nothing more human than him. This would make him terrified. 

But his terror wasn't in the fact that he was a human, it was the fact that he was far too strong. 'Can I even kill him?' He doubted himself. 

The man had already gotten to the side of him...

With a strike with his whole body Konrad lifted off the ground and flew towards one of the walls of the arena.

Cough! He spat up a bit of black blood, the blood itself seemed to be moving and curdling right before his eyes. But he couldn't focus on it for too long, there was something else more important in front of him. Perhaps the man calling himself chosen by the gods pummelling strikes into his body... 

Luckily none of the strikes would hit him - nor were they meant to, he slowly got closer towards the side of the arena. He crawled backwards with his hands slowly moving behind his back. 

No matter which way you look at it - Konrad was in the losing position. He coughed up a bit more of the black blood, it dripped down the right side of his mouth. He wiped it with his hand and gritted his teeth in anger. 

'Damn...' 

He pushed himself of the ground and stood up. He had remembered one day when another of the children of the housings would lift his hands - calling it a battle position, he was struck by one of the church lords, this would be a commonality within the facilities. But Konrad remembered it, perhaps because of the few times that it had happened. 

He raised his hands in the same way, both arms bent, raised in front of his face. He stood up straight, both of them much more like fighters than any supernatural creature of the night - a human fight, gruesome, bloody, filled with brute anger and missed punches.

"Damn you!" Konrad would yell in irritation, his battles would never last this long. 

He focused all of his strength towards his hand. A bony protrusion sprung forth out of his arm, he smiled as he did so - feeling his victory close. 

The angel laughed, he laughed with pity. This made Konrad even more irritated. 

"That won't work you know..."

"Why's that? Watch me!" 

Then Gabriel the angel walked even faster than usual - it almost looked like time stood still as he moved. He tapped his left arm on the side of the shoulder, he felt a burning sensation all through it - then his armed dissolved into nothing - all that was left was the original arm he had before.

For some reason now, he couldn't form the blade again. 

Then the angel struck him against the head - straight on his noise. 

He groaned in pain, gritted his teeth and heard at terrible ringing and piercing noise from all around him. 

...

"I'll tell you a bit more about the other side - - - I'm kind like that. The other side, I haven't seen you there - - I wonder why you were always on this side..."

He scoffed a bit, then continued. 

"Well, there are a lot more people there - I mean a lot of them, three or four times this side. This is more of an execution to them. I mean, I understand it, who would want to watch a single person die a day?" 

He walked around like a battle wasn't even going on.

It was easy for the bastard, he didn't feel threatened at all. 

They moved both on opposite sides, he would just keep on talking...

"All the people who fought there were either the strong or the weak - and I was their best. I was their best! I got everything then - a better cage - a better diet - a better... but still not freedom - - - why do you think I do this?"

Konrad looked confused.

Then he continued.

"I do it for the same reason everyone does it. Freedom. I laugh at it though, I am still chosen. But why?" 

Then someone with an angry voice yelled from the audience. "Fight! We pay you to fight! Come on! Come on!"

"Shut up" said Gabriel, "We're not paid." 

"Look" he continued. "It's do or die, its die or die. it doesn't matter, so fight and fight, and then fight some more." 

Konrad was visibly confused, he was writhing in anger, he was being disrespected after all. 

He had one thing to ask though - then Konrad asked Gabriel... "Wait, have you seen an inmate named Viktor? Black hair, frail, a strange accent?" 

His anger disappeared for a moment as he spoke of the inmate he had spoken with for the last few weeks - perhaps even months. 

"Viktor... I think... I apologise..." 

No matter the kindness he heard in his ears - it was all lies, wasn't it? It must have been, he was sure that all that the angel said was lies. He didn't know that person, he didn't fight for freedom. He saw the devilish nature of the man. He could see it clearly. 

He disrespected everything he stood for... 

Konrad couldn't even think anymore. He thought about it only for a moment.

Then he ran towards the bastard. 

He ran towards him with all the speed he had. 

As soon as Gabriel struck outwards, he fell to the floor, then turned all of his strength into his body - twisting it and hitting towards his chest region with a closed fist.

It felt like hitting metal. He didn't even move. 

But some damage must have been done. After all, he heard the coughing breath of Gabriel - the "angel" had been struck.

He coughs, then says "you're strong." 

Then he said: 

"I don't understand why you keep hitting me. We don't have to fight..."