My smile took on a ruthless edge, knowing he was lying to me. “Well, then, big boy, here’s your shot.” I opened my arms wide as I looked him up and down, trying to assess some weaknesses while it looked like I was taunting him. “Just know that I won't go easy on you because I fucked you. Once you enter the cage, all that shit is on the outside. Inside the cage I am just the bloodthirsty Darkstar who won't hesitate to take you out to win.” I winked as I finished with an ugly sneer, needing to look exactly how I felt.
He still didn’t get the memo when he stepped forward again, trying to implore me with his eyes. “Look, we can talk about this after the fight. Let’s give them a good show, beat the crap out of each other, and talk about us later.”
I let out a nasty laugh as I threw my head back. “Us?!” I cackled, letting my anger turn into Wrath magic, letting it fill me. It built up inside of me, filling my veins with hot, molten rage. I repeated the words over and over in my head that he’d tried to trick me, that he thought he was better than me, that he’d lied to me, and I hated liars. “If you think there’s an us after this, then you are fucking delusional. It was just a fuck. Let it go.”
It was his turn to get mad. I could see the hurt in his eyes, but also the annoying determination that said he wasn’t giving up. He wasn't going to let this go just because I was being mean about it. Well then, I just needed to make sure he felt my determination with my fists.
I backed up into a fighting stance, as we were at an impasse. He thought we still had a future, and I wanted to pummel that future into the ground and spit on it.
“Don’t you dare pull your punches or treat me nicely. Iwillthink less of you if you do.” I spat out the last part, hoping he knew how serious I was. If I was one thing in this world it was a pillar of strength and I won’t let his ass take that from me.
His eyes roamed over me again before they hardened, and he nodded slowly, finally understanding that I was not going to give this up and that fighting me at less than a hundred percent was degrading and disrespectful on a whole other level that Iwould nottolerate.
He backed up into his fighter stance and closed his eyes. It was like a switch was flipped and the whole cage filled with his power. It circled around us like an animal in a cage, bouncing off it while swirling around and around. It was different from any kind of power I had felt before. It was like Con’s, where it didn't resemble angelic or demonic, but was a massive amount of Other.
This power tasted coppery and savage, like a warrior fresh from battle or the vibrations in the air as soldiers lined up side by side, ready to head into a fight to the death. It was ruthless and brutal, and I couldn't get enough of it. That power was going to taste amazing in my belly.
He opened his eyes as I was inhaling the scent of his power, drinking it in, telling it that I would consume it soon, exhausting its host of its yummy savagery. As I focused on his face, primal lust consumed his eyes as he licked his lips. I guess he liked the idea of me taking down his power like a demon garbage disposal. Weirdo.
I started to build up my sin of Wrath magic into my limbs. It would help with speed, strength, and agility, especially since weapons were not allowed in the cage. As soon as we heard the ding, we both surged towards each other at superhuman speed.
Since I had a large amount of Con’s magic from the all-night-a-thon in reserves, partnered with the Lust magic I had collected from this beast, I had enough magic to really be able to pull off some moves I had been dying to try. I’d just been looking for the right opponent to work them on, and I’d finally found him.
Right before we crashed into each other, I faked going left, which I could tell he knew was a fake, so when he went right, I dove under his legs, rolled to my side, and used twenty-five percent of my strength to kick the back knee of his left leg. He fell to his knees. I tucked my legs in and rolled up my back, using gravity to push off the floor and jump into a fighting stance.
I took a second too long. He spun around on his knees and swung his left arm out to hit my kidney. I took a deep step back, so he barely missed me. I didn't think, using only my instincts. Taking more power from around me, I pushed off my leg and stepped back, pivoting to kick him in the face, but his hand snatched out and caught my foot.
He squeezed, and his power pushed against my skin, wanting to be let in but not yet meeting some requirement. That was an odd feeling, having his power talk to me with emotions.
His coarse voice disrupted my thoughts. “That wasn’t nice, goddess.”
He went to yank me to the side, trying to get me to the floor so he could top me, but I went with the throw, twisting midair and breaking his hold on me as I landed on my feet in the spot where he’d wanted me on my back.
“I told you I wasn't going to be.” Then I charged at him.
Since he was still on his knees, he thought I was going to try to bowl him over and top him on the ground, but I wasn’t doing such an obvious move. Before I collided with him, I surged twenty times my strength into my arms and looped them around his neck. He paused.
He was going to regret that.
I flipped my whole body over his head as I kept a tight grip on his neck. If I had done this move on a normal human being, their neck would’ve snapped, but he was no normal human.
As my body flipped and I was in a straight line above him, I heaved, lifting him off the ground with my strength. He had a moment to choose to either go with what I was forcing his body to do or to have his head ripped off his body. I knew his choice when I felt him relax, letting me flip him over my shoulder. His back slammed into the mat with a hard crack.
He had been doing a good job of not making a sound since the fight had started, but he couldn't help but let out a pained grunt as his back smacked into the mat hard. Guessing from the crack I heard, I think I’d snapped it in half. I let him have the seconds he needed for his regeneration to snap it back into place and fuse it back together, so I went around the ring, yelling into the crowd, getting them hyped up for my win.
I was taken by surprise as I veered near the edge of his arm span. He surged forward, grabbed me by the legs, and dragged me down. My hands shot out just in time for my face not to smack into the mat. I kicked out at him, but he maneuvered his body to cover mine, effectively caging me and pinning my hands above my head.
I growled, hating the position I was in. He looked down on me with triumph, lightning crackling in his eyes. I hated it. I hated that look so much that I yelled and smashed my head into his as hard as I could.
Some of his magic surged into me, dancing underneath my skin before being closed off again. That taste of fiery aggression had the same kick that my sin of Wrath felt like, but the taste and potency was different, like I had just gotten a taste of the turbulent viciousness that lay beneath.
His grip loosened for a second, and I took advantage of it. I slipped one of my arms out of his grip and slammed my palm upward, doing an open-handed uppercut right underneath his jaw.
Blood gushed from his mouth, covering my face, chest, and arms. He must’ve bitten his tongue or the inside of his cheek to produce so much blood so quickly.
Good.
I wiggled around, letting the blood slip between his fingers to lubricate my other arm. I ripped them from his hold and used both fists to punch his Adam’s apple.
