23 The Kronans of the Maw

My steps were calm, mace resting upon my shoulder as we all walked out into the Maw once again. I felt a sense of deja vu entering into here to face off against others in a battle to the death. This time though, there was no team waiting for us, it was empty with just a few spectators floating upon the same platforms that the guards stood upon.

One of which was the very Governor that was responsible for my current situation.

I felt my lips twitch up, a face that the Governor also had upon his smug little face. It was a smirk I'd crush into his face once I drove my fist down upon it. That was a death I would thoroughly enjoy.

However, I turned my attention away from the Governor as I took the lead of my cellmates and walked towards the lava pit. "It's empty," Elloe murmured, everyone, looking around to find our opponents for the day. Beside me, Korg came to a stop overlooking the lava, I looking around, but keeping the lava in my peripheral. I already knew that the Kronans were in there, but I was also cautious that they may be somewhere else.

Korg didn't say anything though, he had been silent ever since I revealed that it would be Kronans we would be fighting today. No doubt there was an internal struggle going on within him, which was a good thing I hoped. At least this time he wouldn't be completely blindsided by the reveal of Kronans because I wouldn't be able to save his life as the Hulk had.

I didn't possess the strength to match a Kronan of Korg's level and I just hoped that he stood as one of their strongest. If not, then I would have to worry about my own survival.

"There. In the lava." Korg pointed out, all of us turning to see something slowly and menacingly rising out of its fiery depths. Honestly, I'll give the Kronans this, they have style. The lava parting off their bodies which glowed a sort of orange due to being superheated by it. They cut a menacing and deadly figure, but hardly enough to scare me.

Though the same couldn't be said about all my compatriots.

Korg was one such figure who wasn't scared, but he was filled with trepidation. A fact made very clear by his tone as he spoke. "Whatever they are, they're big," Korg said quietly, watching as the lava fully parted and he recoiled slightly, his worst fears confirmed. "Margus? No."

"Korg! Drop back!" I snapped, pushing him and considering his shocked state, he rocking back in shock upon the sight of his brother, it actually made him move. Yet in turn, it sprung the Kronans to life who leapt towards me. "Lavin, Priest on me!"

As I shouted that, I dived to the side, rolling across the ground and avoiding having my body crushed by the rocky fist that smashed into the ground cratering it beneath its weight. Spinning round in a crouch, I took a moment to take stock of my situation and I would admit, to being slightly pleased with what I saw.

Miek, Elloe and the Brood were hanging back, exactly where I had asked them to before coming out. Miek and Elloe were our weakest links having them out of the way in this fight would only improve our chances. On the other hand, the Brood's dead hivemates had proved that going against a Kronan would only result in death. Instead, I had asked it to run interference, that was the best it could do in this fight.

Not the best considering out of seven, three of our fighters were basically useless.

However, Lavin and Hiroim were skilled fighters which would mean that they could distract and possibly take down a Kronan. Korg while surprised to see his brother, wasn't completely shocked and was actually moving away from the approaching Kronans.

The best news on the other hand was the sight of the damage that strike had done. If that was a showcase of Margus' full strength, then that meant while stronger than me, it wasn't overwhelmingly so like it was with Korg.

'Time to test that theory out fully.' I burst forwards, moving quicker than Hiroim and Lavin and heading straight for Margus. A quick spinning duck under a backhand strike from Korg's brother, I came round and slammed my mace into the side of his face. To my utter satisfaction, Margus' head whipped to the side, bits of rock splattering across the ground.

Was it a huge amount of damage? Not in the slightest, but it meant I actually stood a chance.

At that moment Lavin and Hiroim also arrived attacking the three remaining Kronans, distracting them while I dealt with Margus. He was strong, he was durable, but he wasn't very fast and that meant avoiding his strikes was easier. It was like my battle against Doomsday all over again, overwhelmed in terms of physical strength and not possessing the ability to do any serious damage.

Yet it was so much safer for me this time around.

Margus was nowhere near on the level of Doomsday and the worry I felt was almost entirely non-existent. There was still caution, I was very much aware that a single slip up on my part could spell serious injury. But there was no overwhelming fear or need to run away as there had been against Doomsday. Nor was there any need for me to rely upon the disciplines of Torquasm.

Instead, I solely relied upon Horu-Kanu, the third and final form of martial arts used by Kryptonians of the Military Guild. Why you might ask, do Kryptonians only have three forms of martial arts? Well, the answer is simple, at one point they possessed thousands. During the Age of Expansion, they fought thousands of different races, implementing their technology, resources and military tactics into their repertoire, including martial arts. Eventually, there was just too many and in search of finding the perfect martial arts, they condensed the thousands into one.

That one being Horu-Kanu.

Was it perfect? I doubt it despite the claims that it was. But it was fine-tuned by millions of Kryptonians that had picked the strengths of thousands of martial arts and none of its weakeneds, slowly creating this style.

Torquasm did not possess any martial techniques or forms. They were mental and physical disciplines, one allowing complete control over one's body and the other mastery of the mind and protection from psychics if I remember correctly. By that logic, Horu-Kanu was the only real martial arts that the Kryptonians had and it was by far one of the most deadliest in existence.

And I unleashed it upon Margus fully.

He was a durable figure, allowing me to unleash the full brutality of Horu-Kanu upon him and he could take it all. Dodging and weaving with masterful footwork as I landed devastating counterstrikes aimed at his face and theoretical weak points from angles that seemed unnatural and impossible. I relentlessly attacked as I moved forwards and as I moved backwards. Dodging single blows while striking with dozens of my own.

Bits of rock showered onto the ground around us, yet Margus still remained standing.

And as I heard the lumbering told my side, I saw a second Kronan break off from Lavin and Hiroim and come towards me. They were doing nowhere near as good as I was, they not possessing the strength I did to temporarily stall a Kronan and so we're forced to purely dodge and weave along the ground.

"Korg, snap out of it, you coward!" I roared out, breaking off my attack and jumping back to put some distance between me and Margus, the second Kronan joining him moments later. "So what if you know this person?! So what if you know them?! They're trying to kill us! US! Including you! Get your head out of your ass and fight or we all die!"

"They're my brothers!" Korg shouted back and whether he meant that literally or figuratively I didn't know nor did I care.

"So fucking what?!" I returned. "This isn't like the last test where we fight each other for the last spots! This is us vs them and you're not with them but us! Either you die or they do and they're coming to kill us all, including you!"

I watched as both Margus and the other Kronan lumbered towards me. There was a cautiousness there now, nothing like the confident gait they had previously. They knew what I was capable of now and it made them nervous, but I could see their gaze also acknowledging Korg as well.

Not for who he was, but as a threat to them.

Something I was trying to get across to him. "Those aren't your brothers anymore! They're just mad beasts that inhabit their bodies! Defiling and violating them!" I shouted at him. "Look at them, really look at them! They don't even recognise you! Would your brothers ever look at you the way they do now?! Remember what I said, in this situation, killing them would be a mercy."

As I said that, I moved forwards.

Convincing Korg was something I always knew wouldn't be very easy, but I needed to do so. He was the only one that possessed the strength to beat these beings quickly and I needed that strength on my side. So to do that, I needed to buy more time in which I could convince Korg to join my side.

Thankfully, the Brood also came swooping down, tail lashing out at the back of the approaching Kronans and momentarily distracting them. The sight made my lips twitch up into a small smile.

Teamwork made the dream work after all.

"How do you think your brothers would feel if you let those mad beasts that inhabit their bodies continue on like this?" I asked, my voice quieter but clearly heard over the shouting and jeering of the few spectators watching our fight. "They'd hate you for it, even more, if you let those mad beasts kill you. The only thing you can do is give them mercy and save them."

I didn't look towards Korg as I spoke, never once turning my gaze away from the Kronans, Margus now rapidly approaching me. The other Kronan trying to catch the Brood who kept flying out of his reach.

"Save them, Korg." I told him, meeting Margus' charge and clashing against him once more. Just like before, I held the advantage, ducking and weaving around his blows as I struck out at him. He weathered the storm, absorbing my blows and still attempting to crush me beneath him.

"Two legs!" Miek shouted out, I am already fully aware of the other Kronan coming up behind me. It having landed a lucky blow and clipping the Brood in the side. It wasn't dead, but it was certainly out of the fight.

Yet just as I was about to spin round the strike, Korg sprung into action. His hand gripping hold of the Kronan's arm and while his face gave nothing away, his eyes told a tale. I had to withhold the urge to smile victoriously upon the sight.

I had succeeded after all.

Korg would fight and he did it in a fashion that even surprised me.

The hammer he wielded was small, looking similar to that wielded by Thor from the comics. He swung it up and to my utter awe, killed the Kronan in one shot.

How do I know it died? Well when a Kronan explodes upwards, rocks raining down upon us in a stream, then I think he's dead.

Korg stood there, arm stretched into the air and then turned towards Margus. "Forgive me, brother." He begged and then struck out, I scrambling to get out of Korg's way. In a matter of seconds, even he was destroyed and Korg marched towards the remaining two.

Lavin and Hiroim rapidly back-pedalling away from their opponents upon the sight of the first Kronan's death. Their opponents turning to Korg and actually running towards him.

Yet they didn't stand a chance.

I watching the slaughter unfold with a triumphant smile upon my face. This couldn't have worked out any better for me and that made me so happy that I could barely contain myself.