Chapter 6 ~ Break The Nose

{Ragna’s POV}

The Arena roared before I even stepped onto the sand.

Another fight had just ended— two bodies separating, one dragged and one standing. And above it all, the King’s voice rang on cue.

Deep and commanding.

“Here is your victor.” He announced and the crowd roared, sounding unreal as usual.

Meanwhile, the Blood Gate opened to me— for the second time ever for which I poured out a calming breath.

I stepped onto the red sand, and this time, I didn’t look around. I didn't admire the structure. Didn’t listen to the crowd.

None of it mattered.

Selene stepped onto the sand opposite me, her movements loose and confident, revealing her familiarity with the system.

This wasn’t her first rodeo and the crowd swelled at that, hungry. I ignored all of that as I rolled my shoulders once with ready claws. 

This time, I’ll break the nose…

“Begin.” 

The Arena Master’s voice cut through the noise… and that was it. 

Selene moved first, slow at first. Then she exploded.

Her body surged forward with terrifying precision, her shoulder slamming straight into my ribs before I could fully brace. The impact cracked through me, knocking the air clean out of my lungs and stealing my balance.

I hit the sand hard and the impact was the kind that rattles your bones and makes your teeth click together.

I barely had time to inhale before she was already on me for which her claws came down in a vicious arc aimed for my face.

I jerked my head sideways.

Too slow.

They carved across my cheek, not deep enough to blind, but enough to split skin open and burn like hell. Blood followed instantly, fast, but I managed to shove her off and roll away.

“Surrender now, fingerling and I might consider not ending you here,” She said as she rose to her feet. 

My response?

I lunged and missed but retaliated with my knee to her stomach with enough force to make her grunt. 

It didn’t drop her, still it shifted her weight just enough.

And enough was all I needed.

I clawed hard against her right leg, sending her down while I shifted to the side to be able to—

Too late.

She was already steady, and her fist drove straight into my jaw, clean, after which the world snapped sideways.

I staggered, my vision blurring, but she followed without hesitation— her fist crashed down into my collarbone, and then her knee drove into my ribs again, right where I had been hit before.

Something in my side gave a sharp, sick sting while the lovely crowd roared, enjoying every second of it.

“You really thought someone like you could own a male all to yourself?” Selene said, stepping in again.

“They are thirsty social species and are for public satisfaction as they choose. So you’re dumb if you think you can claim one, especially without a womb!” She voiced.

I wiped blood from my mouth with the back of my hand. “Talk less so you’ll sound less stupid” I said. 

She snarled. Then she came again.

This time I saw it.

Her weight shifted slightly to the left before every strike and her shoulder dipped just enough to telegraph her power side.

It was not obvious, but I noticed it.

She swung… and her fist grazed my cheek instead of breaking it. I drove forward before she could recover, slamming my forehead into hers with a brutal crack.

The impact echoed and we both felt it but then I grabbed her.

No time for tears.

My fingers tangled in her hair and I yanked her downward, dragging her face-first into the sand.

I slammed it and the sound was not really satisfying so I did it a couple of times until I felt her teeth hit grit.

The crowd surged louder now but Selene retaliated stubbornly, her claws raking across my side as she swiveled. My skin stung at once, a hot, tearing sensation ripping across my sides.

Blood soaked into the sand beneath us.

Mine.

Fuck. 

Before I could counter, she twisted under me with force, her body rolling sharply as her leg hooked behind mine and flipped me off balance.

Shit.

I hit the ground again, and before I could recover, her foot slammed into my groin.

Air vanished. Useful air.

And then my body folded in on itself as she grabbed my shoulder and drove me back into the sand.

Her fist came down once. And then more, each hit sharp and measured to break, not waste.

“You’ve lost him to me,” she snarled now. 

Another punch.

“And now, you’re losing this.”

Another.

“Because I’m going to end you now.”

Another.

“And still suck his cock after. ‘Cause that’s what happens when the weak and pathetic forget their fucking place!”

My vision blurred, my ribs screamed and my body wanted to stay down.

But I didn’t. 

Her next strike came down… and I caught it.

I wasn’t planning on losing another fight and definitely not to a whore so my hand locked around her wrist now, stopping it inches from my face. With this, her eyes flickered; surprise. But I didn’t focus on that. 

Instead, I snapped her wrist bone to the left for which she let out a painfilled scream. But then I wasn’t done…

I pulled on her so that she stumbled forward while I roughly drove my knee upward, slamming it into her face with a grunt. The hit landed hard and I felt something shift under impact. 

I broke her nose… but I still wasn’t satisfied as I rolled, dragging her with me.

This reversed our positions after which my hand caught her jaw and I slammed her head sideways into the sand before dumping three properly measured fists on her.

The crowd was screaming now.

In retaliation, she clawed at my arm, digging into my flesh as she tried to pry me off. But I didn’t mind the pain.

I thrived in it as I now pressed down on her face and this led to me bleeding as she dug her claws deeper. I still didn’t stop.

I didn’t stop until I heard a CRACK. 

With this, Selene’s hands instantly left me and flew to her face as she started to yell.

Once again, she was screaming in pain, only that this time, it came out distorted and she had genuine fear in her eyes. 

Why?

Because I had shifted her lower jaw to the complete left, misaligning it.

I rose up to my feet now as she lay there screaming in her bloody mess. I wiped my bloodied hands on my rag skirt.

How do you such cock with a broken jaw?

Answer: You can’t.

The crowd erupted in cheers now, my victory incoming— but also something else…