Shattered Sanity

For a brief moment, as Riven watched the weaponless Gary trembling several meters ahead of him, the simplest path towards victory seemed almost embarrassingly obvious.

Gary had abandoned his longsword, his injured shoulder had rendered one arm practically useless, and judging by the unsteadiness of his legs, he was in no condition to evade another sudden extension of Sky-Cleaver.

’If I point Sky-Cleaver towards his neck, Professor Jude will have no choice but to declare the bout in my favor.’

Riven thought, as his fingers tightened around the halberd while he contemplated ending the fight before Gary had enough time to recover.

It was undoubtedly the safest decision available to him, especially considering how badly the opening exchanges had gone and how narrowly he had escaped what should have been a humiliating defeat.

Yet as Riven looked towards Gary, something about ending the fight so easily no longer satisfied him.

’No...’

The refusal emerged almost instinctively, as Riven remembered being driven helplessly across the battleground while hundreds of students laughed from the surrounding stands.

Gary had dominated and mocked him throughout the opening exchanges, practically declaring the fight over before Riven finally found a way to turn everything around.

And so, after everything he had endured during those opening exchanges, merely pointing Sky-Cleaver towards Gary’s throat somehow felt insufficient.

’Not yet.’

Riven thought, as he finally made his decision.

Rather than raising Sky-Cleaver towards Gary’s neck, he loosened his fingers and tossed the ancient halberd several meters away.

CLANG!

Sky-Cleaver struck the battleground and vibrated against the stone, immediately drawing confused reactions from the surrounding stands as hundreds of students struggled to understand why Riven had willingly discarded the weapon that could have secured his victory.

”Huh? Why the hell did Dawnriver throw away his weapon?”

”What is he doing? He could have ended it!”

”Has he completely lost his mind?”

Their confused voices spread throughout the arena, yet Riven paid little attention to any of them as he stared towards the equally bewildered Gary standing across from him.

”Well, Ironveil, I suppose it’s my turn to give you the same advice you gave me a few moments ago,” Riven said, as he slowly curled his blood-covered hands into fists. ”If you have any special spells hidden in your arsenal, I suggest you use them now.”

Gary’s expression changed immediately as he recognized his own words being thrown back at him, but before he could formulate a response, Riven charged.

SWOOSH!

Riven’s first punch tore through the air towards Gary’s face, forcing him to jerk his head aside as the blood-covered fist missed his cheek by mere inches.

’He’s definitely lost his fucking mind.’

Gary thought, as he stumbled sideways and immediately began circulating Aether towards his uninjured arm.

’It feels like I’m not fighting a fellow student but rather a wild beast that doesn’t even want to kill me, but rather wants to toy with me.’

The realization caused anger to surge through Gary as Flame Aether rapidly gathered around his good hand, with the beginnings of a Fireball taking shape above his palm.

However, unfortunately for him, Riven did not give him enough time to finish, as before the unstable flames could properly condense, Riven planted his foot and drove another punch towards his face, with the attack finding its mark this time around.

THWACK!

Gary’s head snapped violently backwards as the half-formed Fireball immediately dispersed, the gathered Flame Aether scattering uselessly into the surrounding air.

For a moment, Gary remained conscious enough to understand that he had been hit, yet when he attempted to move his legs and regain his balance, his body refused to respond properly.

’What...?’

His knees buckled beneath him.

’Why can’t I move?’

Gary collapsed onto the battleground before he could understand what was happening, landing heavily on the ground as dust rose around his body.

THUD!

Riven was already moving before Gary finished falling.

He stepped over him and immediately launched another punch downwards, forcing Gary to raise his uninjured arm across his face while instinctively curling his body around his wounded shoulder.

BAM!

Riven struck his guard.

Another punch followed before Gary could recover.

BAM!

Gary desperately tried to protect himself, but with one shoulder badly injured, his sword gone and his attempt at casting Fireball interrupted, there was little he could do except tighten his guard and endure the relentless assault.

Riven gave him no opportunity to recover.

Punch after punch crashed against Gary’s forearm and body as Riven continued hammering down upon him, refusing to create enough separation for Gary to regain his feet or attempt another spell.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The defensive posture that had initially protected Gary’s face gradually began falling apart beneath Riven’s superior physical strength, until one particularly heavy blow knocked his guarding arm aside and left his head completely exposed.

”Night night, Ironveil...” Riven mocked, as he immediately seized the opening and drove his fist towards Gary’s face.

THWACK!

The punch connected cleanly, snapping Gary’s head sideways before Riven followed with another brutal strike directly against his jaw.

Already badly disoriented, Gary finally lost whatever strength remained within his body, as his consciousness faded and he collapsed limply against the battleground.

”That’s enough! Get away from him!” Professor Jude yelled, as he immediately grabbed Riven and roughly forced him away from Gary’s unconscious body before stepping between the two to prevent any further damage.

The entire arena fell silent, as although Riven had undeniably won the fight, the manner in which he achieved that victory left nearly everyone watching deeply unsettled.

This was not how nobles were supposed to fight.

An exhibition match was traditionally an exchange of skill fought in good faith, where two challengers displayed their abilities and proved which of them possessed the superior foundation as a warrior.

Yet Riven had treated the bout as though his life depended upon its outcome, willingly sacrificing his own flesh to create an opening before discarding his weapon and beating an already injured opponent unconscious with his bare fists.

To those watching from the stands, there was nothing refined or honorable about his victory, as instead of resembling the heir of one of the Four Great Ducal Houses, Riven had fought with the ruthless desperation of a savage who cared only about winning.

And without knowing enough about his past to understand why he fought that way, almost everyone watching found his actions difficult to accept.

By the time Professor Jude officially declared the bout over, there was not a single cheer from either House Argent or House Aureate celebrating Riven’s victory, as Riven stood at the centre alone, with his bloody fist raised towards the sky.