Episode 17 : Ragon Arises - Part 4

"Are you ready?"

 The wise man's voice, low but clear, rang out across the silent square, where all the spectators were waiting with bated breath.

"Very well."

 The brave Dodo nods slowly in reply. Guin follows suit.

 A thousand, maybe even two thousand of Ragon's warriors, old men, women, and children, all eyes focused on the stadium, as if they could not miss a single thing. It must be well past midnight, but no one, not even the tiniest baby in its mother's arms, shows even the slightest sign of having given up on this place.

 It must have been a perfect spectacle for the people of Ragon, who were belligerent and had an extremely strong warrior spirit, and even their rank within the tribe was determined by their strength and weakness as warriors, and could not be overlooked no matter what.

 From the perspective of the giant race of Ragon, Guin, who is two taels tall and weighs a hundred scones, is rather small. He is a tremendously large man among the races of the Middle Plains, but here, the only people of comparable stature to him would be young boys and slightly larger women.

 He stood in the same square as Guin, naked but for the leather footpegs on his hips, and he outweighed Guin in height by a tar and in weight by twenty or thirty scones.

 On the whole, Ragon seemed to be light in weight despite his height, but this Dodo was probably not as strong as Guin in terms of height to weight ratio, but he was still extremely strong for a Ragon. Its back was covered with a mane of hair, and its belly, chest, and arms were covered with brownish hair.

 Moreover, one of the characteristics of the Ragon is that they lack weight despite their stature, and they lack the sluggishness that is common among giant tribes, even though they are all large men with an average height of more than two tars. The movements of the ragons are agile in spite of their huge stature, and it is for this reason that they are able to roam from rock to rock, hunting wolves and lizards in the mountains.

 Ragon's gaze, of course, did not favor the intruder, the blasphemer, and the fearless challenger, Guin. Most of the staring eyes were not interested in whether the dodo would win or whether Guin would win. Rather, it was the eyes that were excited and bloodthirstily curious to see how Dodo would deal with, cook, torment - and even kill - the naive and unscrupulous little fellow. It is the eye that is stirred with excitement and bloody interest.

 Guin knew it well. Perhaps no one knew it better than Guin. But neither Guin's yellowish leopard eyes nor his huge leopard head showed any sign of emotion.

"Come on, kid."

 The Dodo challenged him. He raised his big fist and slammed his heaving chest hard.

 Guin was not fished in. He kept a cool head and kept his footholds to his left and right. Ragon warfare, at least between ragons, is generally weaponless. It may seem fair, but in this case, Dodo's enormous weight, long arms, and fearsome strength were all more deadly weapons than swords.

 Once caught in the arms of the Dodo, even the greatest of Guins would have difficulty repelling the overwhelming weight difference and escaping the circle of its arms. As he struggled desperately, all he could do was wait for the dodo to pull him closer and closer and break his neck or spine.

 Seeing that he would not stand a chance if he fought in close combat, Guin began to slowly reposition his feet. He began to move slowly around to the right. If possible, he planned to dodge the attack and jump back to the rear to attack him from behind.

 The dodo chuckled and took a careless step forward. He seemed to see through Guin's thoughts and at the same time underestimated his opponent's physical impotence.

 He no longer waits for Guin to come at him, but steps forward again. He is not so reckless as to suddenly stretch out his hand and try to catch him, but he moves to the left with his big toe, blocking the direction in which Guin tried to move.

 His hands were outstretched and his fingers were folded like hoofed spikes, pointing towards Guin.

 Seeing that he had been read on the right, Guin moved quickly around to the left and to the side.

 Immediately, the dodo turned to him. Guin had no choice but to retreat as he was caught in time.

"What's wrong?"

 The dodo taunted.

"Aren't you supposed to be stronger than the dodo? You can't prove you're stronger than the dodo if you keep running around like that."

 The lagoons around them shouted in derision. Guin bared his teeth in answer to their taunts.

 In the meantime, his feet continue to make an effort to go around.

 Suddenly, the dodo seemed to grow impatient.

 He abandoned his previous cautious movements, and immediately stretched out his hands and jumped to grab a small animal. It was an unexpectedly quick and nimble movement.

 Guin scampered away. The dodo pursues. Guin dodged again. However, Dodo is too quick to get back on his feet, and he is unable to use the opportunity to gain an advantageous position.

 The dodo howled again, but this time Guin tried to fight back by putting his foot on it and trying to make it fall. The dodo almost staggered, but held its ground by swimming a few steps. Guin jumped back and reopened the gap between them.

"You're going to be running around until dawn!"

 The dodo is getting annoyed. He spread out his long hands and challenged him to join him. Guin still wouldn't go near him.

 There was a shout of reproach from the surrounding lagons. None of them seemed to want to interfere with the battle that was going on in the circle, or to give either side an advantage, but they were beginning to be angry that Guin had not teamed up with them. There were whispers of "What kind of battle is this?" and "He's trying to get the dodo caught!

 That was the moment!

 Guin's on the move!

 As soon as he saw that Sten had jumped into the dodo's inner thighs, he dodged both of the weapon's arms like a flash of lightning and swatted it away with his foot. It was a brilliant decision, and the dodo's heavy body was flipped over.

 Guin didn't see it coming. He had stepped back from the screams of the ragons, and was in a safe distance from them.

 Dodo's face was red with rage as he got up.

"I'll never forgive you.

 Dodo barked.

"You devil!"

 He yells, stretches out his hand, and lunges with terrifying force. Guin did not dodge. Just as Dodo's ape's arms and shoulders were about to be grabbed, he stooped low, ducked underneath and threw the giant's body forward with all his might.

"Ahhh!"

 This time, there was a slight but obvious lament mixed in with the shouting.

"I threw the dodo! With his little body, he lifted the dodo!"

 Dodo's body thudded and he fell head first to the ground. Below him was a rock. He seemed to have struck his neck and back violently, and when he got up with a frown on his face and his hands on his back, he roared, "Oof!

 He didn't even try to curse anymore, his eyes glaring at Guin, bloodshot and mad with hatred. It was understandable for the dodo. The Emir of Ragon would be decided by the tournament. When his reputation as Ragon's greatest warrior was called into question, that was when he was discredited as chief. Having been thrown to the ground twice by the small Guin, and having crawled to the ground in front of the villagers, he would probably have to fight several warriors who would come forward after he had torn Guin to pieces.

"Gah!"

 The dodo roared. However, the experience had made him somewhat more cautious. He stopped stretching out his hands to grab Guin, and instead began to assess Guin's movements with bloodshot eyes. Guin was standing with his hands slackly lowered, as if luring him in.

 For him, using his own strength to throw the opponent away is the most logical way to fight. But the dodo is not stupid.

 When he finally read his opponent's plan, he bared his teeth and clenched his fists as if he would not be taken advantage of any longer, threatening Guin as if he were a fool, and gradually began to hunt down his prey.

 Guin dodges. Dodo follows. When Guin turns to the left, he moves to the left; when he moves to the right, he moves to the right.

"Dodo! Dodo!"

 From among the crowd, who were watching this scene with irritation, a voice of frustration began to leak out little by little, as if they could not stand it any longer. They were convinced that the Dodo would not take long to seize and drag away this small army.

 With the unexpected turn of events, little by little, the expectations of this thoroughly shobu race are beginning to cool.

"Form! Form up!"

"Get him, Dodo."

"Night is coming. Take it down."

"Doodoo!"

 However, the dodo did not even try to listen to the scolding voices that came from all over the place.

 He does not try to force the game under the irritation of his compatriots. He simply folds his hands like a key, and with his legs spread wide apart, he slowly and tirelessly makes his way around the stadium.

 Rather, in Guin's expressionless eyes, there was a hint of concern.

 Ragon warriors, women, and children with greedy faces were pushing and shoving each other on the stone steps around the stadium, ranting loudly night and day. On one of the stone chairs perched atop a very high tier, crouched with half-lidded eyes, as if uninterested in what was going on in the arena, was the white-haired, multi-fingered wise man, Kaa.

 Behind them stood a black rocky mountain, and above it, Guin saw a dreamy sky.

 It was infinitely beautiful, refreshing, and fuzzy. No matter how carefully a master painter mixes the finest paints, it may be difficult to approach it even once in a lifetime. That is why the sky before dawn is filled with mysterious colors, infinite meanings and subtleties that only nature allows.

 Before you know it, the night is slipping soundlessly through its darkest moments.

 The fiery chariot of the sun-god Lure has not yet revealed its morning majesty on the mountain's edge. Not even the first flash of the glorious red cloud, which is nothing but a sign of it, can be seen yet.

 Nevertheless, the night had already passed. Those who fight, those who indulge in battle, those whose hearts are taken up with the earth, without a single one of them shouting at the sky, one day, the air around them will be filled with a sense of foreboding that is about to emit a piercing sound, and the sky will wake up with all the nuances of shifting from indigo to blue to light blue. The sky is about to wake up with all kinds of nuances.

 It is nothing less than the beginning of the fourth and final, fateful day of the promise.

(...)

 Guin clenched his teeth as if he were trying with all his might to twist away the fierce anxiety that was secretly, uncomfortably rising in his chest.

 In that one moment, there was an opening.

"Gwaaaaah!"

 A moment later the surroundings went dark!

 The dodo had thrown off its hushed silence. His iron arms, which had the arm strength of Gabor's great gray ape, caught the Leopard-headed warrior by the shoulders and pulled him back!

"Gah!"

 Guin howled. He fought back with all his might to wriggle free. Immediately, his muscular upper body turned crimson, and his shoulders, chest, neck, and arms were filled with twisted, rope-like muscles.

 The dodo, with its weight of over 150 scones, did not move a muscle against Guin's resistance, as if it were a huge rock growing out of the ground. On the contrary, he gathered all his strength in his arms and tried to pull Guin's body towards him.

 His hand suddenly loosened.

 Quickly, Guin shakes off the iron-like fingers that are dug into his shoulder - but this is a trap.

 Ragon and the others cheered loudly. Dodo was determined to finish him off at once. He clamped his arms around Guin's torso and snapped his spine with tremendous force.

 Immediately, a bestial rant erupted from Guin's mouth. He turned his already reddened upper body away and pulled his hands to his opponent's chest in an attempt to free himself. The iron shackles tightened with a force that twisted his massive torso in half.

 Dodo's eyes widened as he looked at Guin. Guin turned his leopard's head back and dug his fingers into the muscles of the other man's arm, struggling unsuccessfully to stifle his strength. For the first time, a tremendous, triumphant sneer came from the mouth of the brave Dodo.

 But it was cut short in mid-sentence. Guin, whose whole body was dyed from crimson to purple by the intense pain of having his spine broken, suddenly caught up the steel arm that was crushing him with his own arm, and counterattacked by crushing it with a cane.

 The dodo's face paled with intense pain.

 For a brief but seemingly eternal period of time, they both exerted their rock-shattering power, frozen in place like pale statues, unable to even move. When such tremendous power and force collide head-on, it no longer appears to the casual observer to be mere stillness. Only the cold sweat dripping from the faces and bodies of the two men barely revealed the true ferocity of their deadly struggle.

 No one dared to raise his voice or to call out either of their names. The 2,000 spectators were waiting for the clash of power and power that was rattling them as if they were holding their breath and biting with bated breath.

 That's when the balance broke.

 The arm on the dodo's cane made a muffled sound, and suddenly the terrifying force that had been trying to break Guin's spine weakened. Guin didn't miss that moment.

 Guin's body arched back and slammed into Dodo's massive frame with all his might.

 The dodo's huge body spun around in a circle and fell from his back to the rocky ground. The recoil of the throw knocked Guin's body directly onto his opponent. With all his strength, Guin slipped through the shackles of the Dodo's arms and jumped out of the way, but he bent his back like a shrimp and fell to his knees on the ground.

 But the dodo could not move for a while either. The crowd believed that he was dead, or at least unconscious, when he was struck from behind with all his might.

 And when a breath of air, neither fear nor astonishment, came over them, which they had been holding in their breath, and was about to explode in a great shout--

 The brave Dodo staggered back to his feet!

 There was a little blood coming from his mouth. His left arm hung limp. But his eyes were blazing with a fighting spirit that would not go away until he could hold his last breath. He was the Dodo, the brave Dodo.

 Guin's blurry eyes saw his enemy staggering toward him. He stretched out his usable right hand, and without even a grunt of pain, the dodo strode forward. The anger, hatred, and scorn were gone from his eyes. Only the will to fight - a will that is stronger and fiercer than anger.

 Guin tried to step aside to intercept it.

 A horrible pain shot through his back. Guin managed to stifle a groan. However, he stretched out his back, knowing that he did not have the strength left to fight such an enemy, even with only one arm.

 Of course, I have no intention of giving in without a fight. The blood of the warriors who inspire the brave Dodo is making the golden eyes of this Leopard-headed warrior blaze with a fire that he cannot even face.

 Guin's hands searched the area without effort. It was an almost unconscious, instinctive movement to find something to support himself.

 His hand touched something hard and cold.

 Without knowing what it was, Guin grabbed it and, in a posture that left him blinded by pain and his knees shattered, thrust it at Ragon's long arm as he staggered forward. It wasn't that he thought it was a sword. It was only that, quite unconsciously, his hand had taken upon itself the defensive gesture of a warrior.

 When the area suddenly became quiet, Guin had not yet realized the cause or the nature of the strange phenomenon.

 That's when the miracle happened.