Tower of Endless: Death Granted Entry

”YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Lexie shouted, throwing punches with her delicate arms into the air. ”Pew Pew Pew, die Dorbish!”

Boa and Talia were no longer surprised. In a way, they had spoken about a few things while sitting together for a while, one of which was Lexie’s grudge with Dorbish, and Nola’s gratitude toward him.

Lexie felt like an entire lifetime of grudges was settled at last, finally relaxing in her seat with a stupid, empty smile on her face.

”Sister, you okay?” Nola asked.

Without looking, Lexie replied, ”You have no idea.” She shook her head. ”That was too awesome.”

Lexie turned her head to Nola, excitement reigniting in her eyes. ”Another villain has fallen.”

”Sir Savior is a hero,” Nola said.

”How many punches did he land on that villain’s face, 20, 30?” Lexie breathed heavily. ”I lost count after the 15th.”

Boa looked at her. ”Aren’t you needlessly excited?”

Lexie ignored her. ”Nola, remind me, we must find a way to learn fist fighting.”

Nola looked concerned. ”Should we?”

”Of course, just think about it,” Lexie started explaining. ”If you want to settle a grudge with a villain, does stabbing him, or even...” She clicked her tongue and moved her arm like a blade across her neck. ”Or send his head flying, would that feel satisfying?”

Nola started thinking, but Lexie kept talking. ”Then imagine throwing fire arcane, or even lightning at them. Does that feel satisfying?”

Nola’s eyes darted back and forth, unsure how to respond. Lexie placed her arm on Nola’s shoulder before putting on the most unimpressed look she could muster. ”Of course not, it won’t. Not slightly.”

She stood and started punching the air again. ”Only when you drop these fists into the damn mug you hate, only then you would feel satisfied.” She smiled, sitting down again. ”Like now.”

”Has she lost her mind?” Boa inquired.

Talia waved her hand at Boa. ”You shouldn’t say that.”

Lexie wasn’t done though. ”Lost my mind? HHHHAAAA...” Lexie shook her head. ”Only now did I find my path in this tower.”

Further away, Samuel and Ed were still watching.

Ed nodded. ”That kid has crazy endurance,” and he meant it. He doesn’t praise, nor sugarcoat.

”His body is decent,” Samuel confirmed.

”What do you think? I think I’ll split his Echo sooner than expected.” Ed touched his chin. ”Don’t you think he can learn that?” He poked Samuel with his elbow.

Samuel didn’t answer immediately. He thought for a moment. ”It’s not something that could be taught in a month.”

”Drop the act, are you teaching him or not? I’ll teach him anyway.” Ed was dissatisfied with Samuel’s detachment.

”Don’t rush, this round might have not ended yet,” Samuel said, getting Ed to turn his attention to the new commotion brewing below.

The spectators, those who came and didn’t get into the ring, were gathering outside the ring.

Moon realized what exactly was going on.

Scavengers.

He met that type of people before, those who wait till wars are over, kill the downed warriors, and loot the dead.

And he was now, and here, the downed warrior.

Moon turned his gaze around to see the last guy in the arena still standing, unmoving. Without much thought, Moon squeezed what remained of his strength...

Slam~

Into a punch into his face, leaving a tooth hovering for a moment before falling on the sand.

’This is really bad.’ He realized now how much his physical condition was preserved far longer than his natural limits.

His eyes went for a quick look at Fate Alert, which had also changed.

The base was no longer 30%, but 31.01%.

It was a cursed place on so many levels that even now he was starting to misjudge his own physical capacity.

Fighting on the first floor, the trial and here were so much different. He was different in a way he couldn’t assess.

Regardless, not much of a choice was left for him. He had to keep fighting regardless of anything.

He turned to look at Uon. ”Can I have a piece of cloth?”

Uon nodded. He fished one from his pocket and had it float into Moon’s hand.

Moon started cleaning his face roughly, attempting to seal some of the wounds. He wasn’t exactly concerned about the bleeding, but the blood going into his eyes was bound to be a problem sooner or later.

He glanced at Uon, unsure if he needed this cloth back, but Uon waved his hand, dismissing his worries.

Moon stared into the faces of everyone waiting at the borderline and started counting them.

Thirty-six.

All in perfect condition.

Moon had heard from Ed that some within the facility didn’t arrive with their affiliated groups, so even though they are not of a lineage and don’t have a master with them, they belonged somewhere and were waiting for their orders.

He recognized the newcomers as members of that very category, but he wasn’t sure if his body could keep up, and he was also concerned.

It wouldn’t be wise to lose it completely here.

He rubbed his head, trying to regather wild strands of hair while at it, but he didn’t have but one solution.

To dance again and actively attack, but that was going to be even worse if it went wrong. He was confident he could take a couple more hits, but he wasn’t sure if he could sustain the rhythm or even attack along the way.

He started playing the scene in his head, taking one step after another. He started counting how many he could do, but suddenly, his left leg didn’t move.

’What’s going on?’ He felt an invasive feeling creeping into his mind. ’This has never happened before.’

Moon decided it would be best to move. If his body started getting cold, it would become tough to move, or even breathe, considering the state of his ribs.

He lifted his right foot just fine, but when he was about to lift the left one, sharp pain ran through it, too sharp that even for him it felt rather crippling.

He tried to lean forward and inspect it, but he couldn’t find the source. He didn’t know where the pain was coming from. He at least knew his bones were intact, though most of his muscles were torn one way or another.

He tried again to play it in his head, but his leg was now failing without any chance for him to walk. The invasive feeling was coming again.

He didn’t know what injured him. He couldn’t even remember when that happened. The injury, if even an injury, didn’t make any sense to Moon.

On their seat, Ed and Samuel watched the scene.

Ed pursed his lips. ”Brat tore every single ligament holding his foot into place.”

”That’s the price of messing around for so long.” Samuel seemed dissatisfied.

”Well, it’s fine, I guess. Young and wild is fine.” Ed didn’t mind, even though his agreement with Moon was about to get broken. Regrettably, postponing it for a week was better than never.

”He might as well get himself killed playing.”

”Grumpy guy, I don’t remember you being born that old, or grumpy.”

”This is a different matter. We had our backs to one another.”

”And we lost. Locked ourselves here... fuck you, bastard... I shouldn’t have left my back to you, or that son of a bitch who’s hiding somewhere.” Ed lashed out without a warning.

Samuel went silent for a moment. ”How are you planning on judging the winner if there are more than one man standing in the ring?” He changed the subject.

Ed rubbed his chin. ”I guess based on who stayed the longest in the arena.” He glanced at Moon. ”Don’t you think that would be fair?”

Moon watched the group entering, unable to lunge at them, or even walk properly.

’Ah, guess I’m fucked.’