Hunter drew a sharp breath, heat surging in his throat. He covered his mouth, pupils dilating. Then, he spat out a mouth full of blood.
"Hunter, are you okay?" The referee asked worriedly, preparing to end the match.
Hunter panted and locked eyes with the ref.
"I can…go on." He stated.
"Are you sure about this?" The ref asked again.
"I can…go on." Hunter repeated, standing up.
The referee curled his lips, nodding. He stepped back and signaled for the match to continue. The crowd mumbled amongst themselves, intrigued by the man's decision. Cain laughed, running his fingers through his hair.
"You're crazy, man."
He whirled his weapon. The meteor picked up speed. Right then, the commentators voice rang throughout the stadium.
"Hunter has seven points and Cain has four, for those not counting." Dante spun in his chair.
Hunter limped forward. Cain felt a flicker of pity as his opponent approached. He deactivated his attribute and threw the meteor hammer. Hunter raised his spear. The two weapons collided. Hunter grunted as Cain pulled his weapon back. Cain rotated the meteor once again. He let his rival approach him. He tugged again, sending the meteor into Hunter's leg. Hunter's face twisted as he fell to his knees.
The meteor circled back. Hunter furrowed his brows and rolled over. The meteor swept past him. His heart thumped rapidly. He stood up and locked onto his opponent.
'Just once…more…'
He squeezed his spear and raised it high. Locking onto his target's weak points, red marks appeared all over Cain's body – openings, injuries and weak points. He pressed his feet against the floor and twisted his body. The spear escaped his grasp and flew towards Cain. Splitting the air, it reached inches from Cain's face. But in the last moment, Cain bent his body back. The spear flew past as he fell on the ground.
He groaned and stood up. He peered at his opponent, who had collapsed to his knees.
"This is just embarrassing man." He stepped closer.
"Yeah... it is… but y'know… at least I tried…" Hunter coughed.
Cain heaved a sigh as Hunter raised both his arms.
"Just do it." Hunter said.
Cain began twirling his meteor hammer. With precise control, the weapon hit his rival's wrists – shoulder and legs. Hunter flinched after each strike – pain surging through his body like a rising tide.
"One, Two, Three, Four, Five and that's game." Cain stopped his meteor hammer.
The referee whistled – ending the match. Cain reached his hand out. Hunter looked at it and took it. He stood up shakily as the medics rushed over. He coughed up more blood as he was placed on the stretcher. Cain stared at him for a moment before returning to his locker. Just then, Mack announced something with a loud tone.
"And the winner is Cain Rodrick!"
Then, Dante added to his sentence.
"With that, ladies and gents, the Armed league's semi-finals have concluded. Please make your way out of the stadium and we'll meet again the day after tomorrow."
***
After an hour…
The people exited the stadium at a steady pace. Eventually, only the black ops and staff remained in the building.
Outside, Janus walked side by side with Taylor and Adam. They strolled through the streets, squeezing between the crowds of individuals. After a few minutes, they finally arrived at a certain building. A massive display hung above the entrance spelling;
[RECOVERY FACILITY]
The trio entered the facility. As they stepped in, a cold wind blasted them. A mesmerizing scent crawled throughout the building like a ghost. They strolled through, passing by other participants and staff. Eventually, they reached the chamber. Janus approached the door and scanned his participant ID. A click sound and the door opened.
"I'll see you guys in a minute." Janus waved.
"Recover well." Adam replied.
The door closed behind their friend and the duo left from their hotels.
***
Within the recovery facility, he was escorted by a staff member. The room was dimly lit by blue light but mostly it remained in darkness. Janus gulped, feeling a chaotic presence in the room. He glanced around, trying to find the cause but failed. He exhaled, calming his nerves.
'It's probably nothing…'
He shook off the uneasy feeling. He continued following the man ahead of him. They halted in front of a machine. The man turned around.
"Please take your clothes off."
Janus complied, taking off everything except for his underwear. He stepped onto a platform of a thick cylindrical structure. The staff tapped at the controls and activated the machine. Then, small scanners began moving up and down and, left and right from the cylindrical structure. Green light covered his entire body. Every few seconds, he would shift his position to better expose his body to these lights.
After a few minutes, the scanner returned and he stepped out. While putting his clothes on, the results of the full-body scan arrived. The staff transferred it to his tablet and coughed.
"Mr. Janus. It seems you've sustained minor injury to your back, muscle tears across your entire body and a few cracks in your bones."
He scrolled as Janus finished suiting up.
"You've lost some blood but not in serious amounts and your lungs, heart and other organs seem to be fine but your brain is under some stress."
Then, the man locked eyes with Janus.
"It looks like everything is okay. Let's fix you up quickly."
Janus nodded and trailed the man. He lead him to a pod. The man gestured for him to step inside. Janus took off his shoes. He stepped inside and lied on the cold, metallic surface. The pod closed shut as the staff member fiddled with the control panel. An oxygen mask descended and Janus placed it on his mouth. Suddenly, a robotic voice sounded.
[Collecting data… Analyzing injuries… Selecting recovery methods… Forming plan…]
Then, it dinged.
[Initiating phase one of recovery.]
Suddenly, the temperature dropped, causing Janus to flinch.
'I always hate this bit…'
***
Around an hour passed before the pod opened. Cold air escaped from the inside, chilling the surrounding. Janus stepped out, panting. He stood up and looked at the man in the lab coat.
"The recovery plan went well. Just make sure to rest up tomorrow." He smiled.
"Thanks, I will." Janus put on his shoes.
Then, he exited the recovery facility and headed towards his hotel.