Chapter 6: One man army

"Well, that's new."

Harvey said as he held a baton in his hand. He was currently in his garage shirtless. A thin layer of sweat covered his body. Harvey's musculature had increased from before when he once had the body of a competitive swimmer. He now stands with a physique similar to that of a lightweight MMA athlete.

'Hm, This is surprising. You shouldn't have access to Hell Fire in your current state.' Spirit looked at the now flaming baton in Harvey's hand. The effects of their power altered it; the baton's texture was rough. Almost like jagged concrete, cracks of fire were scattered around while bleeding fire. Embers slowly floated around it.

"Really? This isn't a normal thing we can do?" Harvey slowly twirled the baton around, watching it with almost a childish fascination.

'What you are doing is imbuing Hell Fire into an object, altering its form and making it much more powerful than before. It's but a fraction of our power. But you shouldn't have access to that skill outside our true state.' Spirit was confused. How could this be possible? Could Harvey have access to other aspects of Hell Fire?

"Really? I can do this to any object?"

Harvey was excited at that prospect. He placed the baton down on his work table. His eyes widened when the baton returned to normal. It looked like the object needed constant contact with him to retain the Hell Fire amplification. That was good to know. Harvey then walked over to the bat that rested in the corner of the room.

"Okay, Let's see if I can do it again."

Harvey closed his eyes and focused, trying to remember what he was doing when he held the baton. Harvey opened his eyes and saw the bat unchanged.

"Why?"

'Good question.' Spirit was also disappointed; perhaps what happened to the baton was a fluke?

Harvey dropped the bat and returned to the work table to pick up the baton. He focused on the weapon and tried to infuse Hell Fire into it again.

"Nothing! Damn, why?" Harvey was getting frustrated. Just as he thought he made a breakthrough, he ran into another wall.

'Calm down. Getting frustrated won't help. What were you thinking when you held it the first time?'

"I don't know! It just- Happened! What was I thinking? What was it?" Harvey started to pace around his garage, trying to remember.

"I'm drawing a blank... I don't know what it was." Harvey relented as he sat down on a nearby chair.

'I see, that's disappointing. But we can't stop and focus on something you can't do. Let's focus on what we can do; we must finish today's training. Tonight, we head back to the city.' Spirit reminded Harvey. This caused Harvey to freeze, and his hand started shaking slightly. The memories from his last time in the city sprung up in his mind, alongside all the pain he felt from when he was beaten.

'Enough. Letting fear rule your mind will only result in the same outcome.'

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one going out there! You're not the one who's gonna get hurt! That's right, it'll be me!" Harvey yelled as he closed his eyes tightly. He then opened his eyes and found himself inside his soul space. The area around him was still engulfed in fire, which helped him relax. He turned and looked up at Spirit.

'No, this time you'll have me to watch your back. This time, you will be much stronger than before. Your strength and speed are far superior than before.' Spirit spoke to Harvey

Harvey stood there and stared at the flaming skull. Its words helped him calm down. He was scared. Who wouldn't be? Just because he suddenly has a new body and abilities doesn't mean he'd immediately become fearless; he was just an average teenager not too long ago.

"...You'll have my back?" Harvey said, looking down.

'Yes, after all. We are now partners. We will be working together for a long, long time.' Spirit answered, What he said was true. Their souls were tied to one another for all eternity; one cannot exist without the other.

"Partners?"

'Partners.'

•••

'Seriously?' Spirit asked dejectedly.

"It's the best I got; I don't mind running, considering the unlimited stamina. But I think this will be slightly faster." Harvey rubbed the back of his head as he threw the blanket covering his mountain bike onto the ground. He was currently dressed in a grey hoodie underneath a black leather jacket. He wore dark blue jeans with black boots, covering his hands with black impact gloves. Finally, a dark grey face mask rested around his neck, ready to disguise half his face immediately.

'...It'll do. For now.' Spirit sighed, and a large burst of fire blew out his mouth.

"Yeah, well, let's get moving. My head has been buzzing for a while now." Harvey closed his garage door after pushing his bike outside; he lifted his head and felt a strong pull toward the city.

'I feel it too, let's go.' Spirit said, feeling the mass of sin. There were plenty of evil souls there as well. This could be more than what Harvey can handle now 'Just reconnaissance tonight.'

"...you got it." Harvey felt Spirit's trepidation; He had to be careful.

•••

"This is the place."

Harvey looked down at the large gathering of people. They surrounded two women in the middle; the women wore exercise clothing while their hands were covered in protective wraps. This was an underground fighting arena. Harvey looked around the seemingly abandoned commercial block. A long bridge stood tall next to the buildings and people.

'What I wouldn't give to burn their souls.' Spirit said in frustration.

"Easy. There's not much we can do here. The most we can do is try to remember them all for later." Harvey said from his perch on a roof. He stood in the shadows with his hood over his head and face mask on.

"And the winner is the vindictive Veretta Vendetta!"

A Hispanic man with his sleeves cut off announced as he held Verretta's arm up in victory. The crowd cheered as another man in a black tank top carried off Veretta's opponent. Harvey saw another man, Asian in heritage, walk up to the Hispanic man and whisper in his ear. Harvey couldn't hear what they were saying, but his head hurt just looking at the Hispanic man. His soul was particularly evil. It made him growl, something that surprised him.

'We can sense and detect those that have committed great sins and evil with ease; that's what you're experiencing.' Spirit explained. Harvey nodded as the Hispanic man started speaking to the crowd again.

"Okay, we got the next fight. Over here we got this guy, Bone. He seems to think he can come here and take all our money. But tonight, he's gotta put it all up against the man with the golden grill." The Hispanic man spoke condescendingly. He motioned to the tall black man next to the Asian who initially approached him.

Another tall man covered in tattoos and a white tank top bounced in place, a smile composed of golden teeth resting proudly on his face.

"Yeah. Now, we've already seen what he does to a dude that he likes. And l don't think he likes this guy Bone very much, does he?" The Hispanic concluded as the fighter with the golden teeth started shadowboxing at Bone's direction. Harvey couldn't help but stare at Bone. He had a deep, intense focus as he stared at his opponent.

"Okay. You guys ready? Fight!"

The man without sleeves announced. What happened next caused Harvey's mouth to drop in awe. As the man with the gold teeth stepped in to punch Bone with a fast left punch, Bone slipped to his left and landed a powerful right hook. Immediately knocking the man out and causing him to fall on the hard concrete floor, this made the crowd go wild with cheers.

"Holy crap!" Harvey whispered.

'Hmm.' Spirit hummed.

"You ever see some shit like that? I've never seen no shit like that. My man Bone will wreck shop on your punk-ass fighters, man. Two at a time, bitches! Two at a time! Pay me, Tattoo. Pay me." The Asian man walked around celebrating and hollering, he then walked up to the now-named Tattoo.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What'd you say, two at a time? ls that what you said, two? Hey, everybody heard that? Two at a time, okay? That's the bet. Two at a time!" Tattoo announced to the crowd, causing the Asian man to backpedal and argue against it immediately.

"Fuck that, man. Fuck you!" The Asian man said in anger.

"Fuck you, Homie Fuck you!" Tattoo said, lifting his shirt and showing off the gun in his waistband. "Your man as good as he says he is? Let's do it."

"This is bullshit!" The Asian man said.

"Double or nothing." Bone said without a trace of fear.

'This human is odd..' Spirit said to itself, but due to their connection, Harvey heard his comment.

"What do you mean?" Harvey asked.

'This human, Bone. Possesses a complex soul and body. He doesn't completely align with either good or evil. A strong sense of righteousness rest within him.' Spirit told Harvey. Harvey's eyes widened when he expanded his senses to reach Bone. He could feel what Spirit meant.

"Hey, Carlos, Manuel." Tattoo said as he walked off. The two men started to walk towards Bone; the odds were unfair for one side.

The man with the black beanie, Manuel, approached Bone and jumped up, presumably to deliver a kick. Bone interrupted him when he landed a devastating kick that launched Manuel away. Immediately, Carlos, the man in the red long-sleeved button-up shirt, rushed Bone and tried to throw two punches. Bone expertly dodged both strikes but caught Carlos's right arm in a lock. He then twisted Carlos's body around and launched him over a quick shoulder toss to the ground. Bone then dropped to the ground with him and performed a series of twists and turns until he arrived in a kneeling arm bar. With a violent yank, Bone broke Carlos's arm.

"What the fuck was that? What the fuck was that?" Tattoo said in shock and disbelief.

"That's double. Wanna double up again?" Bone said as he stood up.

"Seriously?" Harvey whispered.

"David, Jesus, Lorenzo, get this motherfucker, man!"

Tattoo said as he sent out three more fighters. David rushed Bone in a panicked rush, which Bone used to his advantage when he grabbed David's arms and used his momentum to twist and slam him into the ground. Immediately, Jesus and Lorenzo rushed Bone but responded with a roundhouse kick to Jesus's sternum, launching him back. He then spun around and landed a reverse crescent kick towards Lorenzo's face, knocking him out. Bone saw David get back up, so he twisted his body to the ground and kicked David's feet from under him. Causing him to fall on his head, knocking him out cold.

Bone then calmly stood up to his feet. The crowd around him went wild. "First bet was $5000. Double or nothing on the second made it 10."

"No fucking way, homie." Tattoo said in denial. He had his hands on his head as he stood there in disbelief.

"Double that made it 20. You wanna triple?" Bone said as he held out his hands.

"Hell no, motherfucker. Hell no! Hey, you said this motherfucker was a beginner!" Tattoo yelled in anger. He looked at the Asian man accusingly.

"No. No, you took the bet. I ain't having it, man. You took the action. Time to pay up!" The Asian man yelled from behind Bone.

"You want your money, homie? You want your money? Give me the fucking money, man. You want your money? You see it? lt's right here, baby. Come and get it." Tattoo motioned to another man in dark clothes to give him the sizeable rolled-up stack of bills. He then shoved it down his pants.

"What, motherfucker? Come and get it. Pussies. These pussy motherfuckers, man." Tattoo said with a smile. He then looked around at his crew, believing he would come out on top.

"What will you do now?" Harvey asked no one, peering down.

Bone then looked annoyed; he shook his head in disappointment and started walking forward. One of Tattoo's men ran up to Bone but received a lightning-fast one-two combo from Bone. Bone then split his attention to another opponent who tried to rush him. Bone delivered a fast right punch at him, knocking him away. He then dashed back to his right and threw a strong right backhand to finish off his original assailant.

Soon, another man in a yellow shirt started to run at Bone but received a heavy forward kick to the stomach, knocking him away. Bone then looked to his side and saw another man in a headband try and attack him. Bone unleashed a potent three-punch combo onto him, causing him to stagger. Soon, another man in grey tried to rush Bone but only received a spinning back kick to the face. Without pause, Bone spun once again and kicked the man in the headband in the face as well.

Foolishly, a new opponent in a patterned white button-up tried to swing at Bone. Bone expertly backed up, causing the man to miss. Bone then kicked the man's legs, causing him to fall awkwardly on the ground. Bone turned his head and saw four men try to rush him together. Their plan of attacking one by one was failing. Bone, without hesitation, rushed the four men, jumped high into the air, and performed a gravity-defying series of kicks that landed perfectly across all four men's faces—knocking them out cold.

Harvey's eyes bulged, he then rubbed them and blinked quickly to make sure they were working correctly.

'Impressive, very impressive.' Spirit spoke from within.

Bone then walked up to Tattoo, who tried to pull out his gun but was stopped by Bone. Bone then swung Tattoo's gun up and hit him in the jaw, stunning him. Bone then reached down, grabbed the wad of money, and ripped it cleanly out of Tattoo's pants. Bone then threw it at the Asian man; he and the rest of the crowd were in awe. Never before have they seen such feats of combat ability.

Harvey turned away from the scene and looked at the night sky in shock. Just what was that? That was something one could only find in older martial arts movies! With a serious look on his face, Harvey came to a decision.

"I need him to teach me!"