The opponent approached. Mouth filled with saliva. This was a sort of challenge to Genesis, a challenge of worthiness. Genesis felt nothing to the malice no longer because his soul was now divine.
He knew the true essence of the malice now. The malice targets your soul not your mind. If it targeted your mind the damage would be permanent.
Genesis thought if mind damage would be more vital, rare, degrading and lethal than soul damage because your soul heals over time, but was brought back to the problem at hand. There was a tall woman with a battle-axe, that was quickly approaching.
Genesis had no time to get his armor. If he got hit by the axe even a single time it would be like drinking liquid pain. He prepared his sword and he obsessed over it. He was a little fatigued because of the practice he had just done.
The woman's armor was painted in a deep black. It explained how she hid in the dark waiting until Genesis was tired.
'The fire isn't as bright as it seems.'
Genesis realised as he was battle ready.
She dashed forward with miraculous speed. Each step her armor making the noise of a
thundering horse, yet the sound awaked none of the members of the blue team.
Genesis clashed with the beast of a woman. Sword and axe erupting into a staggering display of weaponry. They attacked each other. One having the obsession of battle art the other having the invasion of soul.
They grunted in the dark as Genesis struggled to see in the dimly lit room. It was as if the woman could smell Genesis. Smell him to his very core.
They struggled each of them having the advantage for only a slight moment. The woman brought her axe down with absolute and dominating power. It was as if thunder crashed against the tallest building but the building remained still.
Genesis took advantage of the weight of the woman's weapon. When she swung he nimbly evaded, saving his nerves by the skin of his teeth. He clashed and swung against the woman's towering frame and armor.
On one of their many interactions his blade bounced back almost knocking Genesis's teeth out. Genesis knew he was in trouble. He had to act now.
The woman's previous heavy swing left her axe attached to the ground. Genesis tried to use the opportunity to his advantage but the woman was faster than she looked. She grabbed Genesis by his throat leaving him straggling for air. Her towering figure making Genesis cower.
She kept squeezing of his throat. Leaving each second more miserable than the last. This was pain. If this kept going he would truly die.
He thought of ways to escape, but none came to his mind, until he saw it an opening, the slightest crease between the armor plates. This was it a once in a lifetime chance, a golden opportunity he attempted to stab the tall woman...
He missed the crease completely and the woman started to laugh. That was utterly pathetic. What were the chances of that even happening Genesis used to be extremely lucky on Earth, he was extremely lucky until he met the Purposeless Wanderer.
What that what the being meant by it would hate him? Did the Purposeless Wanderer mean that fate would hate him? Wait, does that also mean that he was flirting with fate?
In a last attempt he kicked. With his leg hitting against metal it hurt, alot. When he struck the woman it hit her outstretched arm and directly at a ligament in her elbow.Genesis could see it caused her pain and he kept striking until the woman finally let go.
Genesis's shoes were bloody due to the repeated kicks against the armor. It reduced his speed significantly. The reduction of speed was so much that when the next swing came he could do nothing but watch.
His body was slammed into the ground. Leaving cracks in the tiles of the imperfectly, pristine White Room. He body was slightly above the ground because of the strength of the slam and he looked up.
His vision blurry but just good enough to see another dynamic swing of the axe...
It was then he saw it. A time and a position where he made himself. No luck or fate made that way for him. If the world was against him, then this would be his first rebellion. A time where he lashed out and saw the time and place that was to decide his fate.
He swung his sword in quick succession. Twice, each aimed directly at her open face. It connected delivering a bounty of pain. The beast of a person screamed as she pushed threw it.
She attempted to deliver the slam but the slashes at her face where not for nothing as in the brief moment she closed her eyes, Genesis stabbed his sword into the ground and pushed with all the force in his previously feeble bones.
He recovered a sliver of stamina from the strike he could not evade. His eyesight was clear now there was no messing this up. He had missed once before but he understood it now. He used to push from his sword and he proppeld under the woman's legs. He scanned the woman as her weapon had missed him completely.
Using all the strength in his legs he jumped upwards. Blood rushed from his feet like a speeding train as he soared into the air. With his head high and his sword even high he brought down his silver blade. It attacked her nape an and immense pain was brought upon her.
It did not pierce her skin, nor did it make her stop, but Genesis accomplished his goal anyway. He bounced away, the strength of the swing being used as a trampoline. He avoided the next swing leaving her unbalanced. The flip landed Genesis right behind his opponent.
Genesis thanked God that he was born with long legs as he kicked behind her knee dropping her face first into the ground.
He took this thin opportunity to strike the back of her neck. He kept slicing at her nape as Genesis had been watching too much Attack of Mitan. He knew much about the body but he had not finished the class about the head area so Attack of Mitan was the only thing he went off of.
Every time he struck his blade into her nape she tried to get back up. And every time she got tried to get back up only made Genesis swing harder. In one of the raged swings he swung so hard his grip on the sword lost all meaning and the sword was sent into one the towers in the massive fortress made of mattress.
Now without sword, Genesis used his hands which quickly turned red. He kept attacking her nevertheless. Until the woman finally fainted. Genesis took a breath, a breath of pure victory. He had won against, arguably the hardest force he had ever faced. He flipped the woman over and looked at her. He was going to remember her face as the challenger who almost won.
In a haste Genesis almost missed the changing of her armor from pure and pitch dark, to a light, silver, ivory. He looked in bewilderment, until a golden text was printed on the armor by no pen. It read out.
"You have defeated the White Room's vessel, you will be heavily punished and rewarded, congratulations Genesis Blotch for achieving a great feat, the White Room now wants your head."
'Well this was... an experience. What does it mean for the White Room to want my head. It's not like the White Room is a person. It cannot kill me, besides if I defeated its vessel who is to say I cannot beat it and survive this White Room.'
Genesis confidently believed as he was still bleeding from the feet and was drenched in blood and sweat. He dragged the woman over the border and threw her axe with all his might. The ardent border spread light to the room and the axe was almost incinerated, but only the other side of the axe was burnt to crisp, giving it the shape of a hatchet.
Genesis was so glad he decided to be lazy when the axe was sent partly into ashes. Genesis took off his shoes and socks which both gave off a horrible stench. He looked at his injured feet and ripped a piece of fabric from his sweatpants, making them shorts.
He sighed and went to his bed, he sunk into the cotton sheets and was fast asleep.
***
He was awoken by Lautaro and he was screaming in a panicked state as he said.
"The room's gas is here again!"
Genesis instantly got up and saw that the lights were dimly lit as the clock said 4:07 and Genesis heard the cries of battle hungry beasts outside. Lautaro, Jae, Noel were attempting to awaken the warriors of the blue team to save them from the fate of the malice that came at night. If the Miasma of Malice came while they all slept then there would be no protection against it.
Almost automatically the whole of the blue team arose, but they were not themselves no longer. They were taken by the malice at night. They picked the closest weapons close to them as they rushed into battle against the other recently arisen team. This was a terrible scenario.
Genesis, Lautaro, Jae and Noel produced the loudest noises they could make all ordering them to stop. But they did not listen as Genesis saw the result of his actions as the battle between him and the vessel. The cracks caused damaged the unholy White Room and the White Room fought back. Genesis panted and heaved as he ran all the way to the battlefront.
He assisted his frenzied comrades with his improved battle arts. His movements were still slow and sluggish as he was no master of the sword and his feet were crimson red. His knuckles also were beaten and injured.
The training from yesterday along with the battle against the vessel took energy out of him. Too much energy in fact. If not for Lautaro's sword he would have been slacking off in bed in the middle of war.
Lautaro stood in front of Genesis protecting him from a man with a sword and spear. The spear almost missed the flat side of Lautaro's titled sword. He adjusted his movement and with overwhelming strength, along with the fact that the man had a sword in his off hand he knocked the spear out of the man's hand and subdued him.
Genesis almost fell face first into the ground due to exhaustion. He brought him self back from the clutches of unconsciousness and he kept fighting. His adapted quick, turning his tired body into a deceitful one. He was slow and stagnating but that was what he wanted his opponents to believe.
He attacked first with a feint and then finished it off with a swing. The pattern earned him 2 victories against, albeit easy opponents. Those who had no sense of coordination in battle. It was almost disappointing to Genesis and as he fought and fought, the battle was reaching its climax.
He energy was running low and nevertheless he kept fighting. Genesis was a zombie on the field. As close to one as a human could be, half dead, devoid of energy but seeking blood. Genesis's sword struck true against those below him.
He faced someone who was older than him and he was bulky. He went for the same strategy but the man did so much as to not flinch, he kept a stone cold face when threatened by his feint and when the true strike came he evaded. The man lifted his sword and struck him aiming at his neck. It was as if Genesis's body had became skinnier as he avoided the blade cutting off the locks from his hair.
'An added bonus of having no armor I suppose. But did this random just cut my hair?
Genesis's body quickly jerked forward at the man's face. The man reacted but was fooled as Genesis redirected his sword hand away. He used his off hand to strike at the side of his head and used his quick leg to attack his head.
Both arm and leg stretched to hit the man at the side of his head as well as kick him at the other side of his head. Hitting both sides of his head causing massive damage to the temple, which knocked the man out. Genesis fell to the ground and saw the edge of a blade fall upon him. He was hurt multiple times but couldn't scream as he had no energy to.
Suddenly the malice left the peoples minds and the screen said.
"Daylight saving time has arrived the clock has been moved forwards one hour it is now 6:01 it is time for breakfast. One needs a clear head to eat, now retracting the Miasma from your minds."
They were put at a breakfast table and Genesis was badly hurt and he was so exhausted. He took the spoon and ate a bit of the soup prepared for him but even that took more energy than his body was willing to handle and he gave out, his only thought as his head slammed into the bowl of hot steaming soup was that.
'Who serves soup in the morning?'
His answer was never given and he fell into the scalding bowl and he fell asleep. His mind was hazy and was beginning to have another dream. However it was the same one as the last time and he saw the figure lead him into the room again.
That was the worst time his mind could have tried to devour its self. He screamed in madness, although his praise was more uneventful than the last time. However he still saw the madness. This time he finally find out the color that he had never seen before, but it changed colors again and he was punished immensely.
He awoke with Lautaro and Sephina at his bedside. They gave him a hug as he woke up, Lautaro seeming like his eyes were watering. Sephina voice rung out.
"I thought you said you would sit next to me."
Genesis chuckled and then coughed he touched his face remembering what happened before he went to bed and the burns were better than he anticipated. He looked at the clock, he had just missed lunch and was just in time for training.
'I'm basically a crippled man and they want me to train?!'