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The catalyst collection.

章節 1: A Real Fight

A real fight.

I have been fighting for pretty much my whole life. As a kid, I lashed out at other kids in school and my neighborhood. Beating other kids for whatever reason always came naturally to me, I was usually bigger and stronger so I had my way with them most of the time.

In a situation where I wasn't bigger, I made up for it with "dirty" tactics and the genuine intent to harm whoever I was fighting.

I got so good at it that I turned it into a career; kickboxing, MMA, Boxing, bare-knuckle brawling, etc. You could name any fighting sport and I have probably participated in it.

One thing I was too much of a knucklehead to realize over the years though, was how devastating CTE can be in the long term and how shattering your fists more than five times was not normal for any martial artist.

At this point in my life, I'm currently a washed-up has-been with his glory days far behind him. I was barely scraping by enough to keep myself alive and definitely not able to get myself a decent job much less a prestigious one, given I dropped out of high school long ago and never looked back.

Now here I am, wasting away in a dingy bar nursing my 4th beer of the night. The bar, though rundown and sparse, was practically a second home to me. I chugged my beer and slammed the bottle on the table as I felt it drown out my inhibitions and gave me a light buzz.

Then I suddenly noticed a figure sitting across from me. I squinted a little as I looked at them to make sure someone was actually there and she still sat there, I was pretty sure I didn't notice anyone when I sat down and no one took a seat across me so I immediately turned all my focus on her.

She was dressed in some fancy black dress that was probably worth more than every single patron in the bar right now and she looked breathtaking, no seriously I held my breath when I saw this woman. Her face seemed to have this otherworldly quality to it which made me wonder if she was even real.

After I stared at her for an inappropriately long time she then said.

"Good evening Mr Neba. I'm Valentina, and I have a proposal for you."

Her voice was calm and measured, she also had a slight accent I couldn't make out so I didn't bother to and responded with.

"Well, you certainly picked the right time to tempt me into making reckless choices. So, what do you want from me?"

I replied with a drunken smile on my face.

"It's simple really, I want you to participate in a competition of sorts. A fight, the type you have always been looking for. A Real fight."

I frowned a bit and said.

"Why do you think I would participate in this "real fight"? That sounds shady as fuck. Right now you just sound like a creep who wants to kidnap me or something. If you have nothing else to add lady please leave me alone."

As I spoke, I signaled the bartender with two fingers who just nodded and brought me two more beers.

Now I don't know if I remember this right but the bartender and the other patrons seemed oblivious to the woman's presence. It was like she was invisible to them, but in the moment I was too buzzed to care.

When I turned back to the woman, she was smiling faintly she then placed a hand on mine and I felt... something move from her hand into mine.

My stiff pinky and ring finger felt strange for a few moments then she took her hand away and just observed me.

I flexed my hand and it was now perfectly fine, hell it was better than fine, all the slight pains and stiffness I usually felt were now completely gone. My head snapped back to her as I asked.

"How did you do that?"

"That's just a taste of what I can do. If you accept my conditions and succeed at the task I assign to you, miraculously recovering from all your injuries will be the least of your rewards. Now, do we have a deal?"

She didn't have to ask me twice after that display.

______

«Ladies and gentlemen!! Tonight is a rather special night in our Black Fist Fighting Club. We have a very special match organized by our very own lady Valentina herself. This is a fight to the finish! A fight between man and monster!! Hope you have placed your bets cause this will be an exciting one.»

As I heard the announcer scream all of that cheerfully it finally settled in; I was in a fight to the death, a real fight. Before I could think deeper a voice ran out in my head.

«The match begins in 60 seconds, remember your opponent is no mere mortal, it is a Ghoul. Give it your all because there will be no second chance Mr Neba.»

I just took in a deep breath and checked my taped-up hands and gear for what has to be the hundredth time in the last 30 minutes, I then looked around the cage one last time.

I was currently wearing black and grey fight shorts with my feet wrapped up in black tape.

The cage I was in was not a standard MMA octagon, the mesh walls were replaced but thick chains, and the mental fences were more of a metal wall. There was no padding anywhere to be found. I couldn't tell what the floor was made of but it was black and very hard.

As I waited for time to wind down, I did some jabs, side kicks, and a few of my combinations to get my blood pumping. I felt great. I felt at my prime again, that Valentina woman had not just completely healed me, it felt like I had returned to my youth.

As I went through combination after combination, the voice of the announcer broke me out of my rhythm.

«Introducing first, from the neutral corner, weighing in at 95 kilograms and standing at 211 centimeters. Neba "The Badger" striker!!! »

The crowd I couldn't see roared and I pumped my right fist in the air with a smile, I missed this feeling. The metal door then flung open as a dark figure crashed in. The announcer then said.

«Standing opposite the neutral corner, weighing in at 75-95 kilograms and standing at 170-200 centimeters. The ghoul of Meongo!! »

The crowd roared once more and while the announcer was saying some other lines I watched my opponent.

He looked.... off. His skin was dark, when I say dark I mean charcoal black, he also had cracks running through its rough and dry-looking skin. The few strands of hair he had on his head were oddly long and wirey. His eyes were red and bloodshot like he had been smoking crack since he was in the womb.

He was oddly crouching on all fours and was also watching me intently. I just took a basic stance and watched him as well, waiting for the announcer to call the fight.

«Both fighters get ready to rumble in 3,2,1...FIGHT!!»

The strange man or rather ghoul as I was informed by Valentina rushed at me on all fours, moving with surprising speed and agility. Not willing to be intimidated I rushed in as well.

When it got into range, it tried to leap at me with its mouth wide open revealing rows of jagged fangs.

But before its legs could leave the ground, I delivered a crushing knee strike to its face. The force of my strike made it stumble backward as I steadied myself, and lashed out with a side kick, hitting it in the left side of its stomach since it didn't put any guard up.

In that exchange one fact became abundantly clear to me, it was wholly lacking in any fighting skill compared to me. This fact unsettled me slightly but I brushed it off and rushed in to press my advantage.

The ghoul growled and clawed at me which I sidestepped and countered with a left cross, rattling its skull and then followed up with a leg sweep which put it on the ground before I mounted it and let loose a barrage of punches on its face.

Four punches in, it caught my hand with surprising strength, and tried to bite down on it. Instead of trying to rip my right hand from its grip, I continued raining down punches with my left. At this point, its jaw was obviously broken and it was bleeding from its nose and right eye but all that abuse didn't seem to phase it as it still bit down on my hand.

I felt a sharp pain flair up as it sank its fangs further into my flesh, its teeth seemed to hook themselves on my flesh as it ripped off a decent chunk of my arm. I immediately got off it and created some distance between us.

It lay on the ground for a few seconds before its eyes took on a deep red glow, I could hear its bones cracking and immediately understood that was not a good sign.

The ghoul then slowly stood up on its two feet visibly taller now and cracked its neck, then it looked at me. Its face twisted into a very toothy grin.

/Fresh.. meat.../

It said in a very raspy voice. I frowned and looked at my bleeding wrist then grinned as well as I said back.

"We'll see about that, Nosferatu."

I then rushed at it again, with no ounce of fear in me just the thrill of the fight boiling in my veins. It just stood there looking at me like a cat watching its prey.

When I got in range I delivered a sharp jab. It didn't react as my fist smashed into its face. It just stood there. I followed up with two more strikes then an upper cut. My hand got caught mid-swing as it tried to sink its teeth into me again. This time, however, I delivered a swift crotch kick causing it to immediately let go and stumble back in pain.

I then delivered a running knee strike to the side of its face and prepared to continue my onslaught when it suddenly growled and dived at me, sinking its teeth in my neck and smashing me on the ground.

I let out a yell as I struggled to get it off me, but it was much stronger and seemed to have a vice-like grip on my shoulders. Seeing as I could not budge it, I got frantic and ripped my flesh from its bite, I then bit it back on its neck.

Its flesh was rather tough but I didn't care as I bit down harder causing it to bleed, and I ripped off a piece of its flesh. It roared and let go of my shoulders and tried to claw at my neck, but I caught its hand and in a surge of strength, rolled over and had it under me.

I cocked my fist back ready to smash its face in as my fury boiled over but it just shoved me off it like a child. It was considerably stronger than me now.

I stood up and felt woozy. The blood loss was already catching up to me and my adrenaline was fading as I started breathing heavily and bled profusely from my neck and arm.

It, on the other hand, was as fresh as a daisy, it leisurely stood up and licked its bloody lips. Now it stood almost at my height, its hair regrown and the cracks on its skin now had a red substance flowing in them.

/Tasty... thanks for working up my appetite./

That sentence for some reason caused my anger to overwhelm all feelings of tiredness and pain. I rushed at it with this renewed anger. It rushed at me as well, its fingers now had sharp claws.

It clawed at me and I parried its strike just barely, its other hand lashed out like a snake from its burrow, causing me to back off. It rained down claw strikes that got more and more refined like it was remembering a fighting style it hadn't used in years.

Each attack came in faster and faster from sharper and sharper angles till it scored a gash on my hand, two more on my chest and then it suddenly appeared behind me and raked at my back producing a massive gash.

It then stopped and stepped back a few meters away from me and licked the blood off its hand with that same toothy grin

It was now toying with me. I clenched my fist and my furious expression became steely, my eyes became razor-sharp. Anger and killer instinct wouldn't be enough to win this fight.

The few minutes I had spent in this cage felt like a lifetime. All my previous fighting experience could not measure up to a single moment in here. I loved it.

I then rushed out again knowing this was probably my final push, if I could not pull something off now I would die the next time it sank its fangs into me.

It stood there and taunted me.

/Rushing to your execution? How brave. Kehehehe/

I didn't respond and just rushed in slightly faster, suddenly, a black shape almost covered my entire vision. It was a clawed hand moving at blistering speed.

I barely reacted in time to get my head out of the way and its hand scratched the side of my face, causing blood to spur out. I suddenly felt its other hand clench my shoulder with so much force it cracked, in that moment I felt death approach as it then lowered its head to bite into me.

Everything was now moving in slow motion as I struggled with all my might against its grip and bit into its clawed hand like a rabid dog, its black blood pooled into my mouth as it growled and tried to claw me off itself.

I ignored everything else as I held on tight to it like it was a long-lost lover and bit into it with more and more ferocity. I accidentally drank some of its blood but I didn't care. I just felt like I should fight fire with fire, even in my dying moments.

In my frenzy, I felt a clawed hand dig into my neck and rip me off it, some black piece of flesh still in my mouth. The ghoul roared in audible anger and flung me off.

I crashed and tumbled on the hard floor like a rag-doll, blood now pooling around me. In a daze, I could hear frantic footsteps rushing towards me accompanied by angry growls.

I felt amused by this for some reason and had a strange thought.

"Seems Nosferatu is quite pissed at me for returning the favor."

I could feel my death approaching quite literally and with the injuries I had racked up already, I was not sure I could move anymore but one thought still bothered me.

'Is that it? This is all "The Badger" amounts to in a real fight?'

'Noo!!!'

I roared in my mind. I then rolled to the side just in time to avoid a claw to the face from the ghoul. With my heart beating frantically in my chest I hastily stood up and roared.

"Round 2 motherfucker!!"

It responded with its own roar which was far more primal but equally as bloodthirsty and ran at me with inhuman speed.

As I watched it turn into a black blur something snapped in me, I positioned myself perfectly to counter its dive into a rolling guillotine choke.

I held on to its neck as if my life depended on it, it did in this situation. I could feel a sharp pain in my previously injured shoulder but I shoved it to the back of my mind and squeezed even tighter than I thought possible.

My plan was simple, I just had to choke it out. No matter how inhuman the ghoul was physically it still probably needed air to function, so my busted shoulder just had to hold out long enough for it to pass out.

It struggled and thrashed around trying to get out of my hold, reminding me of the one flaw in my plan as it lifted me still in my hold.

It was far stronger than me.

It then started rushing towards the far wall like a bullet train with me on board, about to be turned into meat paste. I roared and hung on even tighter, trying my best to use my weight advantage to weight it down. This was it.

*Bang!!*

Everything suddenly went black, I suddenly felt a white-hot pain on the back of my head and my body failed me.

I struggled to will my limbs into motion but I couldn't budge them. I couldn't even open my eyes. I felt a pinch on my neck and everything... Faded to black.

———

Valentina POV

I watched on as the ghoul fed on my most promising human yet. Drinking the blood of its prey in feral glee.

«There you have it folks! The ghoul of Meongo is now 4-0!!»

As I heard Simon's ever cheerful voice announce the death of my would-be champion I could only sigh and think to myself.

'Maybe next time.'