Martial Arts Worlds
Author: Alekzi
Chapter 837: One-Versus-One
Aoi dipped a sponge in a bucket of cold water and then pressed the sponge against the blood on Kiernan’s arms.
"...Huff."
Kiernan finished drinking couple healing potions, and the wound in his chest started slowly healing.
He still had the hole on his chest that was caused by Prisoner, and the only reason he wasn’t dead yet was because of Tight Binding.
After drinking a couple of healing potions, it slowly healed, and so did the rest of the injuries he sustained from the tournament.
Lastly, Aoi cleaned him off nicely, and he didn’t look anymore like someone who had just crawled out of a battlefield.
Knock! Knock!
At that moment, someone knocked on the door. It was rapid and loud knocking. It definitely wasn’t Ellie.
"Come in!"
Aoi shouted.
The door opened, and a familiar face—Lucky—entered the nice-looking shack, and after seeing Kiernan fine and dandy, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Nice seeing you healthy, and I heard about your victory... Most impressive... Unfortunately, there is a serious matter that I need to discuss with you."
"And what’s that?"
Kiernan asked with a raised eyebrow.
Without answering, Lucky walked to the box-shaped television instead and turned it on and put it on the news.
[Mysterious Man Is Killing Everyone!]
It was quite a crazy title for the news segment, and there was nobody talking, but it was showing hundreds of empty ships.
The ships were just floating aimlessly in the water.
The camera then zoomed in on the mysterious man, who was just sitting on the deck of one of the ships, cleaning his sword.
A small smile played on his lips.
"...This..."
Kiernan’s eyes narrowed.
"This guy appeared from nowhere while you were over in the Heavens, and he killed everybody that lingered near the Dead World.
"The reports say that he came from the Dead World. I guess he is guarding Dead World or something.
"However, Human Government is panicking quite a bit.
"They’ve sent many Emperors to meet with him, but they all died in seconds!"
Lucky said with a serious look on his face.
"That guy is Metsudo. I remember him from Dead World. He is True God and definitely someone that you cannot reason with."
Kiernan said with a serious expression.
"True God?!"
Lucky suddenly felt lightheaded, and he started to wonder, "Where the hell did all these True Gods come from?"
First it was Kiernan, and now another one, Metsudo!
During the entire recorded time, there probably had never been a True God before, as most Martial Gods only reached False God or Demi God.
"Who is he?"
Aoi asked.
"Metsudo is the strongest Black Knight of Mercedes Rosburg. I killed all the other Black Knights, but Metsudo wasn’t present during my escape.
"If he was there, I am not sure whether I could’ve escaped."
Kiernan said.
"What does he want?"
Lucky asked.
"...When I was imprisoned, Metsudo did meet me a couple of times and talked about how he wanted to fight me if I someday became a Martial God.
"That guy is a fighting maniac.
"And undoubtedly extremely skilled. In one-versus-one fights, nobody has ever beaten him, even if they were higher-ranked than him.
"I guess I have now become worthy enough of an opponent for him."
Kiernan said with a sigh.
"...You don’t have to fight him, right?"
Aoi said with worry.
Hearing about how dangerous this guy was made her not want Kiernan to go anywhere near him!
"I am sure he is here for me. So far, he is being patient, but that will run out soon. And then he’ll start looking for me by himself.
"And when he does, he will kill everybody in sight until he finds me. I’d rather fight him over there where there is no danger of random casualties."
Kiernan said, and then stood up.
He grimaced slightly as his body was still in the middle of healing itself, and even though healing potions healed his surface wounds, there were still deep internal injuries that needed time to fully recover.
"You’re injured! You cannot go there!"
Aoi begged.
"Head back to Montrael, Aoi. I’ll meet you and Ellie back there."
Kiernan said, and stepped out of the shack, and soon after, he was already out of sight.
"...I’ll take you there."
Lucky said while Aoi silently nodded, and she went to the side room, where Ellie was currently having a nap.
She let out a deep sigh, sat down on the edge of the bed, and lovingly looked at the sleeping face of her daughter.
’Why can’t it all turn back to normal? Why does he always have to leave?’
...
Afterlife, Hell Realm, Death’s Castle.
"Aaaaaaaargh!"
With a shout of anger, Death punched holes into the stone walls and tossed furniture across the room.
The burned servants just stood with their heads hanging low, not daring to let out a single sound.
This was the second time they had seen Death this angry, and the last time it lasted an entire year.
The first time he was this angry, he was bested by a mere mortal and had a gift of reincarnation stolen right in front of his eyes.
’...Is it that mortal again that caused this anger?’
’...It must be that mortal. He came from the Feast of the Gods early, and the first day should’ve been the Battle of the Champions...’
’...That mortal must’ve competed in the Battle of the Champion, and defeated Death’s own champion.’
The burned servants thought.
When they arrived at the Death’s Castle, they saw Prisoner being escorted back to the prison to be punished for his loss.
"That bastard... I won’t let him get away with this... What do you mean his crimes have been forgotten?
"Fucking idiotic Gods... Zero brain cells shared between all of them... Yeah, just keep drinking, laughing, and eating, like some fucking pigs!"
Death screamed.
’What about the humiliation I’ve suffered... I am not done with you Kiernan, and what I am about to do... Hehe, you’ll come to me willingly!’
...
Screech~ Screech~ Screech~
Metsudo sharpened his blade while the seagulls flew over him, and the sea churned calmly in the background.
The sea was actually a living thing, and it was watching everything that was happening on its surface.
However.
It was too afraid to make big waves in case It accidentally angered Metsudo!
Even the Living Embodiment of the Ocean Malice realized that Metsudo was in a completely different realm of strength compared to It.
If he wanted to, Metsudo could kill the Living Embodiment of the Ocean Malice, and there was nothing It could do to stop him.
"...Hmm?"
At that moment, Metsudo lifted his head as he sensed something, and from the clouds, a man slowly descended.
Below his feet, there was a black cloud that kept him afloat.
The man’s gray hair billowed behind him, and his gray eyes glared down at Metsudo with an intense, piercing gaze.
"You’ve finally arrived!"
Metsudo laughed.
"...You are not welcome here. Go back to Mercedes, or I’ll send you back there in a body bag."
Kiernan said with a malicious tone.
Meanwhile, the cameras of several news networks were capturing this entire exchange, and the video feed was transferred live to billions of viewers around the world.
Those gathered in their televisions realized who this gray-haired man was and recognized him as Kiernan Hunter!
"I am not leaving until I’ve fought you first. If I die, so be it, but I haven’t lost yet, and I don’t think I will lose today."
Metsudo grinned.
"...Where’s Mercedes?"
Kiernan asked with a serious look.
"She is still resting, but she’ll also visit this place soon enough. You can maybe stop me, but you cannot stop her.
"She has almost finished absorbing the Starfather’s divinity, and when she is done, she will truly be a god.
"I would even go as far as to say... That she’ll be above those lazy gods and goddesses who sit around all day doing nothing."
Metsudo said with a grin.
When Kiernan visited the Heavens, he noticed the way that the Gods and Goddesses were living, and they were lazy slobs.
If proper martial artists—like Kiernan or Mercedes—absorbed divinity and became a god or goddess, they would be the strongest beings that there were.
There was only one ’God’ that was not like the rest of them, and that was Death.
"Shall we start?"
Metsudo asked with a grin, and then, he tapped the tip of his sword at the deck of the ship, and suddenly, the entire surrounding area was shielded from the outside world.
It was like they were in a completely different realm from the rest of them.
Still, the cameras were also inside the realm and still recording everything that was happening.
"This is my Martial Ability—One-Versus-One—and with this ability activated, there is no one that can intervene in our fight.
"The fight will end with one of us dying. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to leave this realm. It is the rule of this One-Versus-One Realm.
"Even I cannot undo it anymore."
Metsudo said with a smile.
"...Huff."
Kiernan finished drinking couple healing potions, and the wound in his chest started slowly healing.
He still had the hole on his chest that was caused by Prisoner, and the only reason he wasn’t dead yet was because of Tight Binding.
After drinking a couple of healing potions, it slowly healed, and so did the rest of the injuries he sustained from the tournament.
Lastly, Aoi cleaned him off nicely, and he didn’t look anymore like someone who had just crawled out of a battlefield.
Knock! Knock!
At that moment, someone knocked on the door. It was rapid and loud knocking. It definitely wasn’t Ellie.
"Come in!"
Aoi shouted.
The door opened, and a familiar face—Lucky—entered the nice-looking shack, and after seeing Kiernan fine and dandy, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Nice seeing you healthy, and I heard about your victory... Most impressive... Unfortunately, there is a serious matter that I need to discuss with you."
"And what’s that?"
Kiernan asked with a raised eyebrow.
Without answering, Lucky walked to the box-shaped television instead and turned it on and put it on the news.
[Mysterious Man Is Killing Everyone!]
It was quite a crazy title for the news segment, and there was nobody talking, but it was showing hundreds of empty ships.
The ships were just floating aimlessly in the water.
The camera then zoomed in on the mysterious man, who was just sitting on the deck of one of the ships, cleaning his sword.
A small smile played on his lips.
"...This..."
Kiernan’s eyes narrowed.
"This guy appeared from nowhere while you were over in the Heavens, and he killed everybody that lingered near the Dead World.
"The reports say that he came from the Dead World. I guess he is guarding Dead World or something.
"However, Human Government is panicking quite a bit.
"They’ve sent many Emperors to meet with him, but they all died in seconds!"
Lucky said with a serious look on his face.
"That guy is Metsudo. I remember him from Dead World. He is True God and definitely someone that you cannot reason with."
Kiernan said with a serious expression.
"True God?!"
Lucky suddenly felt lightheaded, and he started to wonder, "Where the hell did all these True Gods come from?"
First it was Kiernan, and now another one, Metsudo!
During the entire recorded time, there probably had never been a True God before, as most Martial Gods only reached False God or Demi God.
"Who is he?"
Aoi asked.
"Metsudo is the strongest Black Knight of Mercedes Rosburg. I killed all the other Black Knights, but Metsudo wasn’t present during my escape.
"If he was there, I am not sure whether I could’ve escaped."
Kiernan said.
"What does he want?"
Lucky asked.
"...When I was imprisoned, Metsudo did meet me a couple of times and talked about how he wanted to fight me if I someday became a Martial God.
"That guy is a fighting maniac.
"And undoubtedly extremely skilled. In one-versus-one fights, nobody has ever beaten him, even if they were higher-ranked than him.
"I guess I have now become worthy enough of an opponent for him."
Kiernan said with a sigh.
"...You don’t have to fight him, right?"
Aoi said with worry.
Hearing about how dangerous this guy was made her not want Kiernan to go anywhere near him!
"I am sure he is here for me. So far, he is being patient, but that will run out soon. And then he’ll start looking for me by himself.
"And when he does, he will kill everybody in sight until he finds me. I’d rather fight him over there where there is no danger of random casualties."
Kiernan said, and then stood up.
He grimaced slightly as his body was still in the middle of healing itself, and even though healing potions healed his surface wounds, there were still deep internal injuries that needed time to fully recover.
"You’re injured! You cannot go there!"
Aoi begged.
"Head back to Montrael, Aoi. I’ll meet you and Ellie back there."
Kiernan said, and stepped out of the shack, and soon after, he was already out of sight.
"...I’ll take you there."
Lucky said while Aoi silently nodded, and she went to the side room, where Ellie was currently having a nap.
She let out a deep sigh, sat down on the edge of the bed, and lovingly looked at the sleeping face of her daughter.
’Why can’t it all turn back to normal? Why does he always have to leave?’
...
Afterlife, Hell Realm, Death’s Castle.
"Aaaaaaaargh!"
With a shout of anger, Death punched holes into the stone walls and tossed furniture across the room.
The burned servants just stood with their heads hanging low, not daring to let out a single sound.
This was the second time they had seen Death this angry, and the last time it lasted an entire year.
The first time he was this angry, he was bested by a mere mortal and had a gift of reincarnation stolen right in front of his eyes.
’...Is it that mortal again that caused this anger?’
’...It must be that mortal. He came from the Feast of the Gods early, and the first day should’ve been the Battle of the Champions...’
’...That mortal must’ve competed in the Battle of the Champion, and defeated Death’s own champion.’
The burned servants thought.
When they arrived at the Death’s Castle, they saw Prisoner being escorted back to the prison to be punished for his loss.
"That bastard... I won’t let him get away with this... What do you mean his crimes have been forgotten?
"Fucking idiotic Gods... Zero brain cells shared between all of them... Yeah, just keep drinking, laughing, and eating, like some fucking pigs!"
Death screamed.
’What about the humiliation I’ve suffered... I am not done with you Kiernan, and what I am about to do... Hehe, you’ll come to me willingly!’
...
Screech~ Screech~ Screech~
Metsudo sharpened his blade while the seagulls flew over him, and the sea churned calmly in the background.
The sea was actually a living thing, and it was watching everything that was happening on its surface.
However.
It was too afraid to make big waves in case It accidentally angered Metsudo!
Even the Living Embodiment of the Ocean Malice realized that Metsudo was in a completely different realm of strength compared to It.
If he wanted to, Metsudo could kill the Living Embodiment of the Ocean Malice, and there was nothing It could do to stop him.
"...Hmm?"
At that moment, Metsudo lifted his head as he sensed something, and from the clouds, a man slowly descended.
Below his feet, there was a black cloud that kept him afloat.
The man’s gray hair billowed behind him, and his gray eyes glared down at Metsudo with an intense, piercing gaze.
"You’ve finally arrived!"
Metsudo laughed.
"...You are not welcome here. Go back to Mercedes, or I’ll send you back there in a body bag."
Kiernan said with a malicious tone.
Meanwhile, the cameras of several news networks were capturing this entire exchange, and the video feed was transferred live to billions of viewers around the world.
Those gathered in their televisions realized who this gray-haired man was and recognized him as Kiernan Hunter!
"I am not leaving until I’ve fought you first. If I die, so be it, but I haven’t lost yet, and I don’t think I will lose today."
Metsudo grinned.
"...Where’s Mercedes?"
Kiernan asked with a serious look.
"She is still resting, but she’ll also visit this place soon enough. You can maybe stop me, but you cannot stop her.
"She has almost finished absorbing the Starfather’s divinity, and when she is done, she will truly be a god.
"I would even go as far as to say... That she’ll be above those lazy gods and goddesses who sit around all day doing nothing."
Metsudo said with a grin.
When Kiernan visited the Heavens, he noticed the way that the Gods and Goddesses were living, and they were lazy slobs.
If proper martial artists—like Kiernan or Mercedes—absorbed divinity and became a god or goddess, they would be the strongest beings that there were.
There was only one ’God’ that was not like the rest of them, and that was Death.
"Shall we start?"
Metsudo asked with a grin, and then, he tapped the tip of his sword at the deck of the ship, and suddenly, the entire surrounding area was shielded from the outside world.
It was like they were in a completely different realm from the rest of them.
Still, the cameras were also inside the realm and still recording everything that was happening.
"This is my Martial Ability—One-Versus-One—and with this ability activated, there is no one that can intervene in our fight.
"The fight will end with one of us dying. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to leave this realm. It is the rule of this One-Versus-One Realm.
"Even I cannot undo it anymore."
Metsudo said with a smile.