Fistfights were a numbers game. A one versus one would result in the more experienced fighter winning the majority of times. On the other hand the side with superior numbers would almost always win. If someone was taken to the ground or a concealed weapon was drawn that would also change the probabilities of winning.

  Location was also an important factor and had to be chosen with care. Baiting your opponents into following you into a less than opportune environment could flip the entire encounter in your favor. Once you controlled the board the game was yours.

  He breathed out slowly as he heard them catching up in the distance. He had chosen a tight alleyway so surrounding him would be harder. Starting a fight inside the school itself would've been far too irresponsible so he had simply taunted them into chasing after him.

  A figure rushed into the alleyway to face him, but his preparations were already finished. He rushed inside of their range before they could throw a punch and forced a clinch. He kneed them in the stomach before driving his elbow into their temples. Their eyes lost focus as the elbow landed, and he followed it with a hip throw that sent the entire weight of their body into the asphalt.

  He took a quick step back and responded to the next opponent rushing him with a quick jab to their chin as they tried to close the distance. He moved to their side before they recovered and delivered a brutal low kick to their knee. He heard the pop he had been hoping for and threw a roundhouse kick into their back, which sent them face first into the pavement.

  Two down and one to go. His alpha strike had all but sealed their inevitable defeat. He'd just have to blitz the last man standing and then make his exit.

  He tried to get into range, but they weren't taking any chances and had opted to keep him at a distance with kicks. Big mistake. He kept checking their kicks until they eventually overextended. The last kick came out far too slowly and left them unbalanced. He grabbed their foot by the heel and forced their leg up as he rushed in. The fear in their eye was palpable as he unbalanced them and sent them back first into the pavement. He stomped on the small of their leg and stepped out of the alleyway.

  They would know that retaliating would only end poorly for them, that much he had made clear when he had first taunted them. They had lost decisively and if they so much as thought of trying to get back at him in the future they would experience the nihilation firsthand.

  "You're awfully impulsive today," Jane whispered to him.

  He hadn't even heard her sneaking up on him. It was as if she had appeared from out of thin air.

  "They had it coming..."

  "Oh I'm sure they did, Al."

  He didn't feel bad about what he had done whatsoever, but it hadn't excited him either. Somehow it felt hollow and that made it feel so much more pointless. Not even succumbing to his rage and seeing others beaten before him was enough. Was simple violence not enough to satiate the void inside anymore?

  "My father is emerged and works with some kind of investigative organization for us types," he said as he took Jane's hand and walked down the street.

  "Have any of them discovered that you're a mage?"

  "One of them, but I've got her wrapped around my finger."

  Jane threw him a radiant smile and moved faster before stopping in front of him. She leaned in closer and whispered in his ear.

  "We've got someone tailing us."

  Her voice was grave and serious despite the smile painted on her face. That made him suspect that whoever was following them was no ordinary stalker, but he couldn't sense their presence like he had the with the other magic users.

  "We'll try losing them at the train station," she said before she started dragging him towards the central station.

  He kept looking around to spot the supposed tail, but he couldn't even catch a glimpse of them. Not a single person in their vicinity appeared to be following them.

  As they entered the central station, he heard Jane curse in frustration. Something had gone very wrong, but he couldn't for the life of him imagine what it was.

  "Those fucking overseer agents aren't reacting!" Jane exclaimed as she looked over at the security stationed around the platform.

  "Someone's bought them out," she muttered.

  "What the hell does that mean?!"

  "It means this is an official hit and that you're going to have to protect me with your life is what!"

  This was bad. Someone was coming for Jane and he had no idea what they would be capable of. He charged the spell within him to the brim and prepared himself as she lead him towards the train near the platform.

  "There has been a technical malfunction on platform A and the area will need to be evacuated," blared over the PA system as security began escorting people away from the platform.

  Jane dragged him along as she boarded the train on the track. The train was completely devoid of any life except for the two of them. The train car was a decently defensible position as far as he was concerned. An opponent could only approach from one of two directions if he held his ground.

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  "If this is what I think it is, you won't have to worry about them striking without announcing themself," Jane said as she leaned back in the seat.

  That worried him. If the opponent didn't care about the advantage of striking unseen, it meant they most likely outnumbered them or were so confident in their ability to defeat them that they felt no need to use the element of surprise.

  A large man dressed in a pair of shorts and a white tanktop stepped into the train car just as the doors closed. He had tan skin and a neat buzz cut. Their musculature was something well beyond the power of anabolic steroids, but despite their bulk they moved with all the grace of a large hunting cat.

  They raised their voice as soon as the train had started moving, "The Autumn clan has sent me to take your head, Winters."

  "Do you still follow the tenets of your sect, Immortal?" she asked him without even turning to look at him.

  "Of course, and I will assume you intend to declare the boy as your champion?"

  "I do."

  "Very well then! I will fight your champion, and should they somehow manage to defeat me I will abandon this mission and end my contract with the Autumn clan."

  While the large man was physically imposing, Al didn't really sense any magical power from them. He wasn't stupid enough to assume the man wasn't simply hiding his power, but something about the man inflicted a creeping dread that grew with every passing moment.

  "Boy! You may call me Garuda, and through my martial perfection I have been named Immortal."

  Al raised his hands and took a more defensive posture as he faced the man. If the man was actually immortal there wouldn't be a chance in hell of winning, but it sounded more like some kind of title in Al's ears. It didn't make the situation look any less grim, but if Garuda was capable of dying there would always be a chance of winning so long as the nihilation did its job.

  "Tell me your name, boy! I don't fight people if I can't properly mourn them in death."

  So Garuda wouldn't fight him unless he introduced himself. He doubted the man would let it go if he never introduced himself, but at the same time giving his name felt like it could be a mistake. One way or another he had to make his choice and fast.

  "It's Al, you can call me Al," he said as he clenched his raised fists.

  Garuda's face split into a massive grin. He wasn't even taking a stance or using any sort of guard. He just moved towards Al with his arms at his side. Then without warning he swung his arm in a wide hook.

  Al just barely managed to get low before the fist struck him. He felt the air pass over his head and saw a crater in the wall where the attack had landed.

  "What the fuck?!"

  Garuda's straight kick that followed hit him straight in the chest and sent him tumbling down the length of the train car. The wind had been knocked out of him as the kick landed with all the force of a sledgehammer.

  Al struggled as he used the seat next to him to pull himself to his feet. His ribs were aching and every breath was a struggle, but he couldn't let his guard down no matter what. He had to take control of the situation if he wanted any chance of winning. He aimed his left hand at Garuda as the man slowly inched closer and unleashed the spell.

  "Nihilate!"

  Garuda tilted his entire body to the side in the blink of an eye as the spell activated. The door at the opposite end of the train car crumpled in on itself with a loud bang as the magic struck it. The fucker was fast enough to dodge the nihilation. Was that man even human?

  "Nihilate, nihilate, nihilate!"

  Garuda's body became a blur as he sidestepped one spell after the other. Objects behind him crumpled in on themselves or exploded one after the other as he rushed towards Al like a bolt of lightning in human form.

  "You're good, Al, but you're not that good!" Garuda shouted as he crossed the distance in an instant.

  Al just barely caught sight of the roundhouse kick heading for his center mass and tilted his entire body back to narrowly avoid it. He lost balance and his back slammed into the floor as he tripped, but he just grit his teeth and raised his hand. He couldn't let Garuda breathe for even a moment.

  "Nihilate, nihilate!"

  Garuda jumped back the split second before the nihilation could land. The ceiling above the spot he had been standing in practically tore itself apart as the two spells struck it. The man had the speed of a cheeta and the reactions of a house fly. How was he ever going to land a hit on Garuda if the man was that fucking slippery?

  Al pushed himself up and desperately charged Garuda. He opened his hand to deliver an open palm strike to the man's chest the moment he got within range. Garuda raised his left arm to block the approaching palm, but he had just fallen into Al's trap. The fingers closed around Garuda's arm in a vice grip as Al's smirk grew wider and wider.

  "Nihilate!"

  Garuda tore his arm loose from the grip and jumped back, but he had been too late. The spell had blasted a good inch of flesh right off his arm in an instant. He tried moving his hand, but it had grown limp with the destruction of the tendons in his forearm.

  "Nihilate, nihilate, nihilate!" Al screamed out as he fired more spells in Garuda's direction.

  He had to keep Garuda on the back foot for as long as possible. One arm had been rendered useless, but there was no way that would be enough. The pain didn't seem to bother the man, and he still had the advantage of inhuman strength and speed. Al's trick surely wouldn't work one more time, so he needed to find another way to break through Garuda's defense.

  "My spirit is thunder!" Garuda shouted and raised his working hand towards Al.

  Al only processed the sound of the thunderclap as his body hit the door at the end of the train car. He didn't even see Garuda as the man raised his fist and delivered the finshing blow.

  The door gave in with a loud creak as Al's body went right through it. The world was fading fast, but if he failed it would mean the end of Jane. He could taste the blood in his mouth and his vision was growing blurry. The excruciating pain wasn't what prevented him from standing. His body had simply lost any and all ability to move.

  "I will remember you, Al, you managed to land a devastating blow on me."

  He couldn't fail Jane like this. If she died there would be nothing left for him in this world. Why was he so weak? All he had to do was win this battle for Jane and he had failed. Why did he have to be so pathetically weak?

  "We can't lose!" the shadow howled from the reflection of a nearby window.

  'I can't move my body,' Al thought in place of a verbal response.

  "We will not fail!"

  'We will get back up no matter what!' he screamed within his own mind as power surged through his useless limbs.

  "We will eviscerate him!" the shadow shrieked gleefully.

  "We will tear you apart!" they screamed in perfect unison as they rose to their feet.

  They were the darkness that snuffed out all light. They were the howling nothingess that devoured all life. All would die for the sake of protecting their beloved light. All they could see was an obstacle and the destruction would commence immediately.

  "The fate of your current employers has just been sealed by your hand, Garuda," Jane snickered.

  "What the hell is that thing?!" Garuda shouted in confusion before turning to look at Jane.

  "A mage and their soul in perfect sync, but as far as you're concerned it might as well be death itself."