Blood dripped from Waraabe's teeth as he backed away, laughter tearing through the smoke.
Vorran clutched his shredded shoulder, veins bulging beneath thick black-and-white skin.
His roar shook the cracked arena floor.
"You…" he growled, each word trembling with rage.
"You think you can beat me, hyena?"
Waraabe wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, grin stretching ear to ear.
"Beat you?" he echoed, tilting his head.
"Keh keh keh… don't be stupid."
His eyes glinted with feral joy.
"I was just leveling the playing field."
Vorran's glare sharpened.
"You—"
Waraabe lifted both hands and stepped back casually, still grinning.
"That one—" he jerked his thumb toward Gaja, still struggling to rise, tusk broken, aura flickering—
"—he's the one fighting you."
He laughed again, sharp and unhinged.
"Me? I'm just helping him get to round two."
Vorran's jaw tightened, fury twisting across his face.
"You coward. You think you can run?"
Waraabe winked.
"Don't get distracted now."
Vorran's eyes widened—too late.
BAAAM!!
A thunderous punch exploded against his jaw, the impact shaking the entire arena.
Vorran's massive frame lurched sideways, skidding across cracked stone as dust blasted outward in a shockwave.
Something white flew through the air—
spinning—
glinting—
and clattered across the ground.
A tooth.
A huge, jagged orca tooth.
Waraabe let out a whistle.
"Oooooh… look at that. Now you're even."
And disappeared.
"Round two," Gaja growled, voice rumbling like the earth itself.
"Let's finish this."
On the other side the fight between Duma and Voltis was still happening.
Duma stumbled back, breath ragged, arms trembling.
His skin twitched violently where the electricity had crawled across it — tiny arcs of static still dancing over his shoulders.
Voltis stood a few meters away.
Completely unfazed.
Not even breathing hard.
His entire body hummed with electricity, veins glowing faint neon-blue beneath his skin.
He tilted his head, smirking.
"What's wrong?" Voltis asked, sparks crackling lazily from his fingertips.
"Getting tired?"
Duma gritted his teeth, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Not even close," he panted.
He vanished in a blur—
—only to reappear a heartbeat later, skidding violently across the stone.
A burst of electricity exploded across his chest as he hit the ground.
Voltis didn't move.
Didn't even blink.
"Idiot," he said. "I told you. Touch me, and you fry."
Duma pushed himself up, legs shaking, dark golden arcs of his own aura flickering weakly.
"Tch… I'm not done yet."
He sprinted again — faster this time, lightning trailing off his heels.
CRACK!!
Another shock blasted him backward mid-stride.
His muscles spasmed uncontrollably as he tumbled across the floor, smoke rising from his skin.
Voltis laughed — a cold, buzzing sound.
"Go ahead," he said, raising his hand as electricity danced between his fingers.
"Keep coming."
Duma is on one knee, panting, electricity still crawling across his arms.
Chunks of shattered stone littered the ground—debris from Gaja and Vorran's earlier blows that had cracked the arena like brittle clay.
A rock bounces off Voltis' forehead.
Voltis: "What—? WHO THREW—?"
Waraabe walks by, laughing.
"Come on, Duma, You're the Golden Flash!
Why are you getting cooked by this lightbulb?"
Duma glares.
Voltis growls.
Waraabe shrugs.
He tosses another rock lazily.
"Use your brain, kitty.
Not everything needs claws."
He walks off, laughing.
Duma stares at the rock.
Then his eyes sharpen.
Lightning cracks around him.
"…Oh. That works."
Duma swallowed hard, vision swimming.
"But I've only got one shot at this…my body's already giving out…"
He clenched to a rock tighter, lightning crawling weakly across his arms.
And started rapid-fire throwing.
Dozens of stones. Fast. Almost invisible due to speed.
Voltis blocks a few but gets hit repeatedly.
"You little—STOP THAT!"
Voltis snaps.
Lightning erupts around him, making a huge explosion.
"YOU CAN'T BEAT ME!"
But Duma leaps into the air right before it hits.
His lightning aura flickers around his legs.
He soars above the blast.
Voltis looks up—too late.
Duma is diving down, palms full of rocks
He slams all the stones downward with a supersonic palm strike.
BOOOOM.
The rocks hit Voltis' skull like a cluster meteor strike.
Voltis collapses instantly.
Dust rises.
Silence.
Duma lands, panting, wiping blood from his face.
He glared at Voltis.
The man was collapsed on his back, chest rising in shallow breaths.
"Finally… down…" Duma muttered, staggering to his feet.
His legs nearly buckled beneath him.
Every part of his body screamed.
His nerves felt raw, like they'd been filleted open.
Electricity still danced along his arms, crawling beneath his skin like burning needles.
For a moment, Duma just breathed—slow, heavy, pained.
His vision blurred at the edges.
He looked toward Gaja's battle, trying to refocus, trying to keep moving—
A thought slipped into his mind, uninvited:
Am I… at my limit?
He clenched his jaw.
No.
He refused to collapse here.
Not before helping Gaja with his fight.
He dragged one foot forward—
—and froze.
A faint crackle touched his ankle.
Slow. Weak.
But unmistakable.
Duma looked down.
Voltis' hand was clamped around his leg.
His eyes were half-open, lips twisting into a tired, vicious grin.
"I'm not done yet…" Voltis rasped, voice trembling.
"…I've got one last move."
His grip tightened.
"This is my max output…" His voice cracked.
"Let's see if you survive it, kitty."
For one final breath, he pulled Duma closer.
"FORTY THOUSAND VOLTS!"
KZZZZZTTTTTT—!!
Lightning exploded upward like a pillar, swallowing them both in blinding white.
The entire coliseum froze.
Not a whisper.
Not a breath.
Every fighter fell silent as the column of lightning ripped into the sky like a spear from the heavens.
Heat washed across the arena, carrying the metallic taste of ozone.
Loose dust lifted off the floor in trembling waves.
The cracked stone glowed faintly blue, spiderwebbing with new fractures from the sheer force.
Gaja and Vorran halted mid-swing, the shockwave rippling through their fur and skin.
Gaja's eyes widened; Vorran's pupils constricted to pinpoints.
Kongu paused mid-charge in a distant lane, letting out a low grunt.
Falko's wings trembled, instinctively reacting to the sudden surge.
Even Arbokh stopped mid-slither,
"I didn't know he was capable of that," he said.
The trapped spectators leaned back as the shockwave hit the stands.
Some covered their eyes.
Others clutched the rails with white knuckles.
"What—WHAT'S GOING ON?!" one yelled, voice cracking.
Even Waraabe turned, his laughter dying in his throat.
"Holy shit…" he gasped, ears flattening as the pillar illuminated his shadow.
A crack of thunder rolled through the arena—
a sound so violent every fighter felt it in their bones.
Duma's scream was swallowed by the thunder.
His body arched, then collapsed instantly, twitching on the cracked stone.
Voltis also lost consciousness, the last spark fading from his fingertips.
They both lay still.
Smoke rising from two broken bodies.
Two fighters.
Two threats.
Both eliminated from the war in one brutal heartbeat.
© 2025 Moku. All rights reserved. INSTINCTBOUND is an original work by Moku. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.