Sanctuary Agency-Chapter 35: King of Kings [2]

〘Date: 2/13 - Wednesday〙

〘Time: 6:30 PM〙

〘Location: Texas, Royal Creek - Royal Creek Arena〙

Fredrick stared at me with a mix of caution and readiness, holding his stance with grounding sturdiness. He watched as I stood still, watching as my energy pulsed with perfect stillness, shades of pale green breaking through my gray Essence, the energy shifting similar the moonlight on obsidian.

Fredrick couldn't wait any longer, rushing toward me with a swift sprint and an incoming blow. I read his body language, projections of his next moves flashing before my eyes, allowing me to dodge each of his strikes.

I countered with a thunderous blow to his cheek, staggering him then began dishing out his receipts with crushing strikes upon his body. Fredrick stumbled backwards upon my next attack, recovering quickly and countering my charge with a hip-toss, but I landed on my feet perfectly.

I struck him with a kick to his midsection, causing him to hunch over then delivered a devastating blow to the back of his neck with an elbow. "How the tides have turned once I start trying.."

Fredrick grunted heavily as he held the back of his neck, reeling in from the damage I dealt to his body. Slowly, he began to recover off the ground, pushing himself up quickly to evade my Superkick then grabbed my leg, taking me to the ground.

Fredrick mounted atop of me, hurling blows aimed at my face, but I blocked his first few strikes, countering with a clean straight to the center of his face. I pushed Fredrick off me, getting back onto my feet and dusted myself off.

"He's actually holding his own here folks! Many have tried to challenge, Mayor Rich, but only few have ever landed significant damage on our Mayor," One commentator said, glancing over at his partner.

"That is true, Rick, but you've got to remember, Fredrick has gone undefeated for the last 4 years. What makes you think some random from Trinity Valley is going to make a difference?" Rick's partner asked, continuing to watch the fight with a critical eye.

Momo bit her nails nervously as she watch, listening to the crowd cheering and roaring around her. She knew all she could do in this moment was hope for the best, banking on me finding a way to beat Fredrick.

"C'mon! We should be cheering him on! We gotta let him know we believe in him!" Allie exclaimed, readying herself to cheer but stopped as Desiree placed her hand upon her shoulder.

"You weren't there when they were training my brother to become an Agent, but right now...Ryder can't hear you. He's in his Heartless State, he's detached himself emotionally to perform at his berh best," Desiree explained, keeping her gaze upon me with a protective expression.

Allie grunted softly at the information, looking at Wendy for confirmation. Wendy nodded at her, validating Desiree's information and turned her gaze back to the fight ahead. Allie wanted to show support, but knew it wouldn't be of much use now.

Fredrick began standing onto his feet, wiping his nose and chuckling lowly as he refocused his gaze onto me. He exhaled heavily, catching his breath for the moment. "Hmm...I haven't been this challenged since The Swords were still a thing. You are stronger than I anticipated, but that's where the praises end. Now, I will proceed to eliminate your presence from my city!"

I stared at Fredrick, unmoving and unwavering like a still ocean on an uneventful day. My gaze was empty, my eyes devoid from any emotion other than peak tranquility, my aura never missing a still beat along my skin.

A bead of sweat began to roll down Fredrick's face, echoes of questions gradually playing mentally. 'He's calm... too calm...too still...just too relaxed. His Essence is Gray, the Perfect Neutrality. I can't even tell what he's thinking...he doesn't do anything until I do. What is he planning..?'

I hopped up and down, loosening my body and began hopping from one foot onto the other, blue lightning crackling around my body as it began to become Energized. Fredrick watched me closely, knowing I was now going into the offensive.

I got into a low stance, letting out a slow exhale, smoke escaping from my mouth as I calmed my mind. With perfect exertion, my body began to flicker, Fredrick's eyes widening as I appeared in front of him with an aerial spinning kick.

Tony's jaw dropped as he witnessed my flickering speed, watching as I rushed Fredrick with strikes even he couldn't see. "What the heck?! How is he moving like that?!"

Matt grinned as he noticed me taking Fredrick more seriously, shooting up from his seat with his fist pumped in the air. "Yeah! Rush him down, my boy! Let's go!"

'Faster...Move faster!' I thought to myself, grunting heavily as I began to push my body further, lightning beginning to surge around me with each movement.

〔Warning: Overcharge has risen to 15%〕

〔Phroa: Master! You have to slow down, or else you'll overcharge with energy!〕

I ignored Phroa's warnings, continuing to rush Fredrick with strikes reaching lightning speeds. Fredrick tried to counter my attack, but was too slow to react, groaning in pain as I struck him with a step up knee strike to his face, driving him against the barrier.

Valerie watched the set up, her eyes twinkling with slight recognition of my running bulldog finish. "Hey...that's The Fool's move," she gasped quietly to herself, her hands gently clutching her skirt.

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I pulled Fredrick off the wall, holding the back of his head and driving him down into a single knee facebuster, Fredrick's face bouncing off my knee and his body dropping to the ground. I panted softly, listening to the mix roars from the crowd, looking around and seeing the flashing lights all around me.

"Damn! What the heck was that move? He never did that with us!" Momo laughed, looking over at Karin with a mix of awe and impress.

Karin's gaze stayed focused on the fight, knowing Fredrick was only putting on a show for the crowd. "It was a nice move, I'll admit...but do you honestly believe these attacks are hurting him?"

Momo grunted softly at Karin's realist response, turning her gaze back to the arena and softly exhaled. "Maybe some are...but I don't know. I just want Ryder to come out of this okay.."

〔Phroa: Master, are you okay? You nearly Overcharged!〕

I looked at my hand, noticing my blue lightning flickering between light red and violet. I shook my hand, the crackling lightning returning to its natural blue hue. "I'm alright, just a bit of exertion. It's nothing.."

Fredrick chuckled softly as he began to rise back into one knee, looking up at me with a bit of sweat dripping from his brow. "Heh, who are you talking to? Don't tell me you've gone mad already, Ryder."

I turned around to face Fredrick, my gaze remaining blank yet resembling a look of determination. "Mad..? I've gone mad 12 years ago after an event, I just haven't shown how mad I've been until now. Unless...you mean insane..."

"In case you are..." I continued, pausing for a moment and my lips began to curl into a sly grin. "You haven't seen anything insane yet..."

Fredrick grunted softly as he noticed my Essence darkening into a dark gray hue, the sight of obscurity in reality starting to unsettle him. He noticed my tribal tattoos shifting into a crimson red, feeling a more combative energy from me.

'Now, I can feel his intentions...yet...I still can't read him. That look in his eyes...that false emotion. I know that look...' Fredrick thought to himself, static images of a woman flashing in his head.

"Get ready... because now I'm coming at you with full force! First, a Destiny Flash!" I announced, charging toward him and leaped toward him with a Superman Punch.

Fredrick quickly got up, dodging my attack, but I quickly got onto the ground, striking him with a lightning fused Capoeira Kick to the side of his head. Fredrick grunted loudly in pain, falling onto one knee.

"Next, a Superkick!" I called out, walking backwards then crow hopped forward, extending my leg out of a powerful kick.

Fredrick blocked my attack, but a second impactive force broke through his guard, opening him for a running lariat, taking him to the ground. Fredrick rushed back toward his feet, his face shifting with anger as he threw a wild haymaker at me.

I ducked under his strike, lifting him up for a Uranage, but Fredrick shifted his weight to land on his feet behind me, shoving me toward the barrier. I ran toward the energy screen, performing a roundoff and planting my feet gracefully upon the surface.

"Now...you will be hit with a Spear. And I will cut you in half!" I declared, lightning crackling around my body as I boosted off the surface, directly toward Fredrick.

Fredrick grunted as he barely avoided my Lightning Dash, watching as I rushed around him at lightning speeds. As I rebounded off each barrier, I began leaving behind threads of lightning, trapping Fredrick within a web of lightning.

"Do you see this folks? The challenger, Ryder Dawn, seems to be an expert in Alchemy! That has to be one of the best Web Builds I've seen yet!" Rick announced, adjusting his headset as he braced himself for my next move.

"I'll give it to him, his speed and creativity is great, but as I've sait before, Fredrick has dealt with the shenanigans before!" Larry said, tapping his pen against the desk.

"You know, Larry, you sound like a real hater right now! Fredrick is having his best challenge yet, and you can't even give the kid one good praise! You know what I think it is, I think you're starting to believe that Fredrick's power might actually be challenged!" Rick chewed out, letting out a short laugh and continued to watch the fight.

Valerie listened to the two commentators bicker like brothers, her lips curling into a soft smile. Her gaze was focused on me, wondering what new stunt I was planning to pull this time.

"You honestly think trapping me in the Spider Trap is gonna help you win?" Fredrick asked, glancing around himself and surrounded his hand in lightning energy, tearing off a thread. "News flash, it won't."

I stared down at Fredrick, chuckling lightly at him and shook my head. "No, the threads aren't to hurt you. In fact, they hold no electricity. These are webs of essence...look around yourself. Do you see the points within the webs?"

Fredrick began glancing around himself once more, seeing multiple larger orbs of rippling energy within the webs. He hummed with curiosity, glancing back at me with intrigue. "So what are you planning? What's your next big move?"

"This..." I said, my body flickering as I used a burst of speed to appear below him.

Fredrick stepped back to evade my strike, but I dashed behind him, striking his back with a Destiny Flash, knocking him toward one of the orbs of Essence. Using Retro upon the orb, a line of thread vanished, the orb shifting into a spiritual clone of myself, striking Fredrick with a Destiny Flash.

Fredrick stumbled back toward me, walking right into a devastating Superkick in between the eyes, causing him to stumble toward another orb. Using Retro again, another thread vanished, the orb shifting into another spiritual clone and striking him with another Superkick.

"You're finished!" I bellowed, letting out an echoing Tribal Howl, a burst of crimson black energy surging around my body, the twinkle returning back into my eyes.

I charged toward Fredrick at full speed, driving him to the ground with a crushing Spear, popping back to my feet for a primal pop off. The crowd erupted into roars after my Spear, Valerie also gasping with excitement from my Star Move.

Fredrick grunted softly as he rolled over onto one knee, looking up at me with a soft chuckle and a ruthless fire in his eyes. He got up and charged toward me with a clubbing blow to the back of my neck, knocking me onto one knee.

"You think you can make a fool of me with those weak moves?!" Fredrick roared, driving his knee into my jaw.

Majority of the crowd roared as Fredrick began plummeting me with continuous blows, measuring each strike to my nose to make my eyes water, blurring my vision. Without missing a step, he rose to his feet, shifting the barrier around the arena into energy ropes and pushed me toward them.

Fredrick charged toward me as I rebounded back toward him, striking my face with a running knee. I grunted heavily in pain as I hit the ground, holding my face and blinked a few times to regain vision. Fredrick chuckled as he looked down at me, bending down to grab my hair.

"I hope you had a nice exhibition because I was only acting to give you hope," Fredrick taunted, driving his knee into my midsection, taking me to the ground into an armbar submission.

I groaned in pain as Fredrick began bending my arm against its will, attempting to break it and pop it out of its socket. I gripped my hair as I tried to resist the pain, hissing loudly as my arm began searing with irritation.

"Oh Gaia, he's trying to break his arm! How much more can Ryder take before his arm finally gives in?!" Larry announced, watching in horror as Fredrick began bending my arm unnaturally.

"This is how he put Escobar out of commission four years ago! By breaking the man's arm, now he's going to do the same thing to the poor kid!" Rick gasped, his stomach coiling with disgust as he watched my arm continue bending.

Momo and the others watched in horror, both Momo and Karin remembering the sight of Fredrick's dismantling upon Escobar. Leona grit her teeth with anticipation, secretly wanting me to break out of the damaging submission.

I growled lowly, tapping into my inner reserves and rooted strength, pushing myself off the ground then rolled forward to take frontal position. Gripping my wrist, I began to use all of my strength to lift Fredrick up with one hand, bellowing out as I planted him with a devastating powerbomb, forcing him to release me.

"Of all my days! Did you see that display of strength? Planted him with just one hand gripping onto his shirt! Now that's power!" Rick exploded, hyping up the moment as the replay began showing on the large screens above the arena.

"Now I can't lie, that was very impressive in regard of physical strength. Picking Fredrick up with one hand is a spectacle," Larry praised begrudgingly, nodding his head in subtle agreement.

I powered down to my normal state, reserving energy as I groaned softly and held my dominant arm. I began using the middle energy rope for support to my feet, grunting softly with each movement. I looked ahead, my eyes meeting Valerie's for a split moment.

Valerie met my gaze as well, her expression growing soft as her heart began to thump against her chest with hints of light recognition. 'Why do I feel as if we've met before..?'

Fredrick began to rise again, holding his back as he rose to his feet again, turning around to look at me, watching as I began to recover onto my feet as well. "You're resilient...I'll give you that, but that was only a taste of what I will do to you.."

I backed myself against a corner of the arena, staring at Fredrick with a renewed gaze. I began to hear the crowd again, their mixed chants and cheers between me and Fredrick. My lips curled into a confident smirk, my eyes flashing with renewed focus.

'I already know you're putting on a performance, Fredrick... Trying to reclaim your dominance. If that's how you want to play then let's dance... I'll just out perform you first,' I thought to myself, feeling Valerie's gaze focusing upon me, my heart beginning to race against my chest.

I pushed myself out of the corner, getting down upon one knee and gently knocked onto the ground, bowing my head and praying to Tengoku. "Maluhia..."

I stood up with a Tribal Howl, a burst of Silver-Blue energy spiralling around my body as I entered my Tengoku Mode. My tribal aura began to rush around the arena, the high winds pushing Fredrick away with combative force.

Allie and Desiree cheered loudly as I tapped into my Tengoku Mode, the two of them knowing I was planning on ending the match quickly. Momo grunted softly as she felt her Love Sigil awakening, the glow giving her a satisfying burning sensation.

Valerie's eyes widened as she noticed the energy around my body, her hand subconsciously rising to her heart. 'No way...The guy that I'm supposed to hate...is The Fool..?'

Fredrick grit his teeth as he felt the overwhelming pressure of my energy striking against his body, awakening his own energy around his body to keep himself grounded. "Hmph...so my thoughts were correct, you are a Moji."

"No... I'm not just a Moji. I am a Mojisola, there's a difference! I don't represent only one half of my Tribe! I represent to Mojis, and the Solas! Enough are the days of hiding who I am, everyone will know my name!" I declared, stomping my foot down and stared at Fredrick with tribal determination.

"I am Ryder Moji Dawn, son of Whitney Dawn and Tribal Prince of the Mojisola Tribe! You all...will acknowledge me!" I declared, charging toward Fredrick at high speeds.

Fredrick felt an unusual fire surging inside of him, now knowing more of who I was, he felt the sudden urge to strike me down at full force. The two of us charged toward each other, striking each other's jaws with powerful blows.

I staggered slightly as Fredrick overpowered me, pushing me onto the back foot. Fredrick began launching quick jabs, but my Autonomous Reflexes began activating, my body evading each strike up on its own.

"Let's pick up the pace!" I taunted, getting down onto the ground and sweeping Fredrick off his feet with a spinning sweeping kick.

I spun around once more, keeping Fredrick airborne with rapid NY Flares, finishing my chain with a double kick to his chest, knocking him further into the air. Using a burst of wind, I propelled myself above him, crashing my leg down for an axe kick.

Fredrick recovered in the air, blocking my kick and grunting from the force of my strike. 'This guy is a Tribal Prince..?! Why is he in my city?! What is your goal?!'

Fredrick grappled onto my leg, throwing me toward the ground with full force. I flipped backwards rapidly, using wind energy to safely land on the ground then used a burst of speed to evade Fredrick's falling stomp.

"What the fuck..? I've been beefing with an actual prince this entire time..? A Mojisola Prince..? Who the hell is this dude's father..?" Tony questioned under his breath, processing the information with genuine disbelief.

Matt was too engrossed in the match to focus on Tony's grovelling, cheering me on loudly and smacking his hand against the barricades. "Get him, Ryder! Blow him away!"

"Do you hear this crowd?! These people are starting to believe! No one expected Ryder to be the Prince of the Mojisola from the Island of Duality, Hope'i!" Rick roared, watching as Fredrick and I began taking our fight to new levels.

Valerie could feel her heart thumping against her chest with conflicting emotions, her heart swelling with a mix of joy and fear of her own feelings. 'I don't know who to cheer for...The love of my life or the man who saved my life...'

Fredrick blocked my series of attacks, countering with an elbow to my face and an desensitizing uppercut to my chin. Seeing I was dazed, he lifted me up for a Spinebuster, but I quickly countered with blows to his head, weakening his hold on me.

I shoved him off me, pushing him toward the ropes. Fredrick charged toward me again, countering my grapple attempt with a flying clothesline, taking me to the ground. I stood up once again quickly, grunting as Fredrick took me to the ground again.

"C'mon, Prince! You want to take down a King, show me that royal power!" Fredrick challenged, landing a sickening knee strike to the side of my skull.

I fell onto all fours, holding my head in sharp pain as it began buzzing slightly. My body began to react on its own, shifting upwards to evade his second knee strike. I stood up quickly, pivoting into a clean blow to his jaw, knocking him to the ground.

I panted heavily as I began to feel my body grow more exhausted by the second. I stepped away from Fredrick, stomping my foot onto the ground. I continued to stomp on the ground, pulses of energy rippling along the ground with each crash of my foot.

"He's looking to put an end to this match folks! Another— Oh, what's this?! Who are those hooded figures?!" Rick gasped, watching as a group of hooded figures began pulling me out of the arena onto the ground.

I covered myself as best as I could, trying to protect myself from the crashing feet and fists upon my body. The crowd began to boo as the the figures began jumping me, leaving me no room to catch myself.

"Ah hell nah! We ain't playing this shit!" Matt yelled, vaulting over the barricade and charged toward the hooded figures, leaping toward them and crashing down upon them, pounding away at one of the hooded figures.

The hooded figures noticed Matt beating one of their allies, shifting their attention toward Matt and taking him down onto the ground. They began ganging up on him as well, dishing heavy blows onto his body.

Fredrick recovered onto one knee, looking up and noticing the hooded figures slugging away at Matt, his lips curling into a cruel smirk. "And my Royal Ace has arrived...better late than never I suppose.."

The leader of the group, rose to his feet and laughed softly, unzipping his hoodie and putting down his hood, revealing a charming man with wavy brunette hair and angelic orange eyes. He rose his hands in the air, the stadium cheering as he revealed himself.

"What's this?! Tomi Geto, The Royal Ace of Hearts, has entered the fray, taking down Ryder and what looks to be Trinity Valley University's star Quarterback, Matt Hunt!" Rick marvelled, standing up as Tomi's allies began dragging me and Matt toward the announce table.

"Put them down! Break them!" Fredrick commanded, walking toward the ropes and smirked as he watched as Tomi and his crew began trying to prop Matt on the table.

Valerie, Rick, and Larry began to move out of the way, watching as Tomi began placing Matt upon the surface of the table. I began to recover from the sneak attack, looking up and noticing Matt being propped up, my heart skipping a beat with rage.

With a tribal roar, I pushed the two men holding me away, breaking out of their hold and charged toward Tomi, striking him with an off guard Spear onto the ground. The other three men rushed toward me, but I quickly got up and struck the first Royal with a Hawaiian Slap.

I ducked under the second's lariat, popping him up and driving him down with a pop up chokeslam. The third Royal charged toward me with a Superman Punch of his own, but I swiftly dodged and countered with a Destiny Flash disguised as a devastating right hook.

"Y'all not taking nothing down! Who do you think you're messing with!" I popped once again, patting my chest and bulking up with each pop.

Tomi snuck behind me with a clubbing blow to the back of my neck as I went to help Matt, taking me to the ground with powerful force. He grabbed onto me, rolling me back into the arena then rolled inside as well, letting out a cold devious chuckle.

Fredrick and Tomi began their assault upon me, beating me down while I was still reeling in front Tomi's blindsided attack. The crowd roared with mixed emotions, one side booing the unfair numbers against me while the other side cheered for Fredrick and Tomi.

Matt began to recover from his beating, pushing himself up and ran toward the arena, sliding inside under the bottom rope and pounced onto Tomi, unleashing blows onto his body like a wild animal. "Get off my bro!"

Tomi managed to shake Matt off, rushing toward him with a Spear just as Matt stood back onto his feet. He rolled forward and stood back onto his feet, leaning against the ropes with a calculated smirk. "It's time to end this!"

Fredrick chuckled coldly, holding me up in a Full Nelson. The moment Tomi charged forward, Fredrick pushed me into a big boot from Tomi, sending me crashing onto the ground, but Fredrick wasn't done, getting down on the ground and putting me in another armbar submission.

"This time, there's no one to save you from your fate!" Fredrick laughed, pulling upon my arm with greater force than before.

I groaned loudly as I felt my arm bending unnaturally once again, the physical pain causing my entire body to burn. I groaned louder as Tomi stepped on my other arm, preventing me from escape as Fredrick tried to break my dominant arm.

"Tribal Prince or not, you will fall just like the others!" Fredrick taunted, finally snapping my arm out of place, the crowd exclaiming in a mix of shock and disgust.

I roared out in pain, flailing and holding my arm withloud groans, lightly hitting my head against the ground. Fredrick stood up with a cruel smirk, looking down at me before walking off with Tomi after dismantling both me and Matt.

"I can't believe it! Fredrick might've just ended Ryder's career before it even began! The poor kid's gotten his arm broken like Escobar!" Rick gasped, looking at me and Matt laying in the ring defeated with a look of sympathy.

"That's the power of Fredrick for you, the top of Royal Creek's food chain for a reason. I mean can you hate a man who's got a full deck of cards to use? I mean, we all knew the Royal Hearts would get involved one way or another," Larry retorted, tapping his pen against the desk, his tone remaining realistic and stern.

Momo watched as paramedics began to put me and Matt on stretchers, grunting as she rushed out of her seat and toward the medical area of the arena. Karin and the others got up as well, quickly following Momo through the stadium with concern etched on each of their faces.