CHAPTER 00012
Akar was brought down to the basement of the mansion, which was incredibly large for the size of the house.
In it, a group was lined up against one wall, clearly unhappy with his peering into their activities. Akar recognized some of them as some of the people sitting at the dining table a few minutes earlier.
The guards carrying Akar dropped him before the group, kicking him forward with no regard to his comfort or safety.
"So, spy," the likely boss said. "I'm assuming you already know everything about us."
"No," said Akar, looking up at them, clearly unfazed by their intimidation tactics. "Enlighten me."
"Well," he said. "In that case, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kitzimo, and I will be the one to take your head today." From the line, someone stepped out, interjecting.
"No, sir, it will be me." It was a man of mild stature. He had spiky turquoise hair, and held an empty glass liquor bottle in his hand. The man who called himself Kitzimo scrunched his face, pondering. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, an evil look cast upon his features.
"Actually," he said. "I've changed my mind." A horrifying grin encompassed his face as he spoke. "Why don't we let this gentlemen fight. After all, it wouldn't be entertainment if the prey didn't squirm!"
He made a motion with his hands, and the two men holding Akar released him, dropping him to the ground. He quickly regained his footing, standing before the man who challenged him. Retrieving his swords from his back, he crouched, ready for the fight that lay ahead.
At both Kitzimo's proposition and Akar's stance, the challenger only smiled. He clenched the fist the bottle was in, shattering it almost instantly. Kitzimo seemed exhilarated by the exploding glass.
"I don't believe I've explained how this will work yet. Let me first introduce you to my elite squadron of power users: Ultimo 10!" He ushered in the direction of the others, who now formed more of a cluster than a line, looking collectively less formal. Kitzimo continued. "They all possess inhuman abilities, part of the mythical magic Goji. Each of their powers is different, and they'll all pose a different level of threat."
He walked over to a nearby chair, where he seated himself. "If you truly want to entertain me, then you'll stay alive longer. Good luck." He nodded in the direction of the first challenger. "Your starting opponent will be Kiji."
At the mention of his name, the man dropped the shards of glass from the broken bottle, snickering as he cracked his knuckles. He prepared a fighting stance, but it didn't matter. To the utter bewilderment of both him and his comrades, Kiji had already lost the fight.
Akar no longer stood in the readied stance that he had previously occupied. Instead, he now stood behind Kiji, sheathing his swords. The slashes across the other man's chest were evidence of the outcome of this battle.