Monsters

His large mass loomed heavily, and his eyes continuously pulsed in and out. Maah stood, stepping off the rough hill of bodies.

"W-what the..."

"Jo listen well. I am Maah, we're going to kill this thing and in turn, I will then kill you."

Jo simply looked at the glisteningly white lad, astonished, yet understood. He took such a notion of the future and waved it by. Right now, only 'this' mattered.

Jo took a glance at both figures, he nodded hesitantly and said, "How shall we beat him?"

"We punch him, hard."

"What?!"

Jo was even more surprised by this straightforward answer than he was by the declaration of his future death. He was imagining this holy figure to bring about a strategy as elegant as his looks, but instead, he just wanted to punch him hard.

"Sir Maah, I hope no offense is taken, but that sounds like a terrible strategy."

Jo gulped wondering if he made his due date that much earlier.

"Well then do you have some type of better plan?"

"W-well..."

Tired of standing in pain, Fachtna leaped, rough black branches sprouted from his flesh as he darted toward Maah. He swiftly took notice and avoided every punch, branch, and powerful force thrown at him. Though he was holding well, he couldn't find a smooth opening.

"Shit! Why are you just standing there? Help!"

Jo popped from his stupor, trying not to think, his body released heavy steam, and his legs began to leave cracks in the stone plates below. Spreading rapidly throughout the arena. Shooting forward his right leg came down like a swift axe through the wood.

'Did I do it? I think I broke his color bo...'

Thinking with the strike he landed on the lower end of Fachtna's neck and did the damage. It soon spun so that it did nothing, as the muscle on the top completely shut out all force Jo placed into his leg. The dark branches then spouted slicing Jo's leg as he tried to lean back from the rapidly growing black wood.

'What the heck is all this?'

Jo was stunned beyond anything he could ever think of, things like this were only narratives on the island. Mystical slanderings of tales people would bring up from the mainland. Yet here he was, watching a giant with a hideous body that pulsated vigorously and sprouted branches of dark and eerie wood.

Maah stood to the side of Jo, giving a glance, seemingly understanding, Jo pulled his courage and went along with it.

'Punch him hard he says. Meaning he wants me to give him an opening where he could finish him off. Fine then.'

Jo then squatted low, his knees bent at a ninety-degree angle, his fist tightly coiled near his ears. Fachtna after Maah's separation regained composure and rushed forward his mouth blistering with yellow that formed a crust around his mouth. His swift hand-to-hand strikes were somehow quick and precise. Jo could only handle the brunt of the onslaught, swerving his body to the left, pushing all his weight and momentum on his left knee. Quickly he stomped back, the breaking made his muscles snap as his knee ground through the cartilage within. Shooting off he disappeared leaving only a footprint in the stone. Above though was where he was at as he threw down his right heel smashing it into Fachtna's head.

Maah gave a pleasant smile as Fachtna quickly retaliated smacking with a large back fist that tossed Jo's body, slamming it into the large stone pillars.

Maah's opening came about as he rushed forward, Fachtna pushed with intuition, and rotated his body. And with a mighty roar released thousands of thorns protruding from his forearms. He slammed down his fists as Maah's body came into close visual proximity.

Just as his fists were about to tear through Maah, he disappeared, Maah's body could not be seen, yet his presence was there. Maah was leaning deeply with his left foot forward, his right leg back sitting under him in a frog-like pose. His spine pulled as far as it could, stretching and twisting, lifting his left arm and reaching as high as he could. Cocking his right arm, his elbow practically touching his left shoulder blade. In a blinding flash of white light, Maah pulled and pushed, and like a cannon fired into Fachtna.

'White Void.'

A move so fast that even light itself can't catch up. Minutes passed till a large boom and a clouding white rose above the trees. Fachtna's 'body' was blown to smithereens, shattered completely as it fell into a bloody pool.

'What in God's name have I witnessed? Am I truly still alive or am I just dreaming somehow in the afterlife.'

Jo's consciousness was fading as he questioned his entire life.

"Seems the boy is out of it. My body hurts, haah, when was the last time my body truly hurt? Well, matters not now. When he wakes up..."

***

The morning was bright and noon couldn't come much closer as Jo's eyes slowly opened. In front of him was the white monster he saw obliterate the thing he couldn't even hurt with all his might.

'Now I will die.'

Jo was foolishly wrong as Maah handed a slip of paper taped at the connected ends of the paper.

"W-what's this?"

Jo was puzzled yet his body and mind were torn to horrible insanity that he bothered not to question it.

"Jo, I will die."

"Huh."

Jo's face was incredibly stupid looking, more so than before.

"Yes, I will die in about a month at most, possibly even tomorrow. I am sending my body to the best hospital I can. Jo when you recover, do it quick, for I shall bout you at 'Calmidron'. I will then fork over my title and leave in peace. Read it when I die. Well for now it is goodbye."

Maah simply walked off into the woods, his figure illuminating all that was around him.

"What just happened?"

Jo had his mouth gaping, feeling as if what was the point of what he was doing. His blurry vision only saw the cold and dried blood all around, and the high mound of dead bodies.

'I may need a therapist.'