Sel could feel his grip loosening slightly, the fatigue from the fight slowly catching up to him. His vision blurred and refocused again as he strained his eyes, regaining his purchase on the bloodied holster of the handgun aimed right at the gang member’s head.

His gaze met the other eight and the smirking Chira, all of whom were already in a semi-circle facing him, hugging the pillars of the temple, handguns at the ready. Yet the sight of the black barrels heralding death hardly fazed him.

Not when Mason and the Shaman were both badly injured, groveling at Chira’s feet.

Each slow, sarcastic clap from Chira only irritated Sel even more, as Chira pressed his heels into Mason’s arm, evoking a muffled howl from the bleeding leader.

“So, the prodigy returns.”

“Give it up, Chira. Police will be here any minute.” Sel held a stern gaze.

Chira was taken aback before a small, growing grin erupted on his face. “The police? You really think the police is going to show up? Don’t you know who is on my fucking side?!”

“These eight men?”

“Still able to joke, huh?” Chira grunted as he delivered a scathing kick to Mason’s head, sending him sprawling onto the ground before Chira pulled out his own handgun and aimed it at Mason. “You think I wouldn’t dare? HUH?”

A gunshot rang out as Sel winced, the bullet impacting the stone floor and ricocheting upwards uselessly. The bullet grazed across the forehead of Mason, blood seeping out of the scratch.

Sel’s heart palpitated at that split moment, his finger nearly pulling the trigger himself, yet he kept himself firm. There, the two stood in a deadly silence, staring each other down.

“Let’s make things very clear, Sel– you owe me money.” Chira began, returning to the bound Shaman next to the altar, aiming his handgun at the Shaman’s breathless face.

“I don’t owe you shit.”

“You fucked up the FINALS!” Chira roared. “If you weren’t such an impertinent brat, none of this would happen. Now you’re going to give me all of the money you made betting on the tournament so far, and I’ll let everything slide. We can both go our separate ways.”

“I never made a single bet.”

Chira had a knowing smirk on his face. “But I know your cousin and sister did. Now, who do you want to sacrifice for your pride?”

Sel’s face faltered for a moment, Chira catching immediately and knowing he hit the spot. “Sel, Sel, Sel. You can’t believe that these are the only men I have with me? I’ve been watching your family and temple for months! You think I’m going to let all of them off the hook? I have you in my palms.”

“Where are they?” Sel spat through gritted teeth.

“I won’t tell you until you pay up. It doesn’t have to be like this, Sel. Just hand over the money, and we’re done here. You won’t see us in your life ever again.”

“The last time you made a promise to me….”

“Things change, Sel. People change.”

“Seems like you’ve hardly changed.”

Chira was unfazed. “Perhaps. Perhaps I’ve always been the same as before I came to this accursed city. Tired of being fucking rats scurrying around, afraid of being found out, scared of being arrested. Now? Now it’s different. I have the freedom to do whatever I want!”

Sel racked his brain, trying to figure out what gave Chira such confidence that even Mason would not have. Weren’t they just recently afraid of the undercover police officers watching the temple everyday?

“I can see the neurons in your small little brain firing away, trying to think as hard as you can. Those people ‘spying’ on you? All paid by me. Best service I’ve ever bought. Ten out of ten. And the police? They won’t even know this is happening, not with the arena owner on my side.”

Chira grinned as he fiddled with his handgun. “That’s right, the arena owner is pissed too. Anybody would be when the match was supposed to be fixed.”

“I didn’t get the memo.”

Chira slammed his handgun’s holster against the Shaman’s temples in anger, knocking him out. “ENOUGH! Now you’re going to give me the fucking money OR you can watch everyone you fucking love die a slow, painful and horrible death! You think your mother is out of my reach? I can fuck her senseless with my boys anytime of the day, old or not!”

Sel instantly stepped forward, shoving the gang member forward with the handgun and using him as the body shield. As if on cue, the safeties on all of the handguns clicked off, echoing through the stone wall.

“Take that back, you fucking piece of shit.” Sel snarled.

Chira chuckled. “You’re really a stubborn piece of shit, aren’t you? Fine. Have it your way. Kill him and string up his sister for the betting cash; we’ll pimp her out.”

Sel had no more words left in him, his brain instantly kicking into combat mode as he dropped his combat knife in his spare hand and grabbed the handgun in the pocket of the hostage member in front of him, dual-wielding and firing wildly at Chira.

Without even flinching, Chira smiled as the shots went wide, Sel unable to properly control the recoil. The surrounding men immediately shot back at Sel, the bullets tearing through the hostage like a pincushion, buying time for Sel to roll into a nearby pillar, using it as cover.

“Corner him!”

Sel huffed and panted; his entire forearm grazed along the rough stone floor, the skin inflamed. He focused his senses, using his peripheral vision as he tried to see the enemies coming in. He stowed the second handgun away in his own pants, knowing he was not competent enough to dual wield.

Instead of waiting for them to encircle him, Sel suddenly leaped out at the nearest enemy, his first shot instantly nailing him in the head with beginner’s luck. With two steps, he grabbed the neck of the already slumping body, using it as a shield while it earned shots from the opposing row of pillars. The next few return shots Sel fired went wide, drilling holes into the ancient stone on the temple’s walls while both sides cowered with every shot.

Sel ducked into cover on the next pillar, hugging the back of his body close while he caught his breath, planning his next move.

“Suppress him! I’m going!”

Tossing the dead body to the side and ignoring the copious amount of blood on his hands, he hastily tried to reload the now empty handgun, only for a gang member to get close enough to shoot him from around the pillar.

His instincts raring, Sel quickly shifted out of the way, but it was too late, the bullet already hitting him right in the waist, lodging itself in his abdomen. The searing pain and high friction of the bullet was synonymous with the raging pain from his nerves, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.

With a twist of his body, he quickly grappled the gang member’s handgun, wrestling for control while the remaining six rushed forward, knowing Sel was pinned down.

Instead of struggling for the handgun any longer, Sel instead used his legs and pushed right into the gang member’s left knee, the cartilage folding it on itself as the kneecap gave way, the leg bending in a sickening twist just as horrifying as the member’s scream.

Sel quickly moved to the next pillar, before realizing that he was near where Mason was in the center of the temple, still bleeding. Yet as they exchanged glances, a glint of defiance could be seen in Mason’s eyes, prompting Sel to take a chance.

In hopes of a miracle, Sel pulled out his stowed handgun and tossed it across the floor towards Mason, earning the attention of the six converging gang members. With a sudden resurgence as though he had never been injured, Mason quickly snapped up the handgun, shooting with alarming precision and hitting two on the spot.

The sudden attack had the gang members ducking for cover, cowering onto the ground and scrambling between the pillars and prayer mats. Mason himself did not stay out for long, quickly dashing for the opposite row of pillars, taking cover from the now enraged Chira.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE ALL OF YOU NUMBSACKS DOING-“ Chira’s tirade was cut short as Sel shot at him, the bullet closer than ever as it grazed across his cheek, forcing Chira to take cover behind the altar and use the Shaman as a hostage shield. “FUCKING KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!”

With two maimed and four active gang members, Sel felt a certain feeling of hope, that they could win this. Yet as he glanced over to Mason’s side, he could see Mason clutching his thighs in obvious tension, trying to stem the bleeding.

Mason caught his gaze, returning a smile just like always, as though everything was perfectly fine. “Go get them kid, I’m right behind you.” Mason mouthed to Sel.

Sel didn’t hear the words, but he knew it instinctively, turning onto the hunt with his reloaded handgun at the ready, stalking through the temple’s pillars. As he approached the cover of the gang members, he quickly stuck out his hand, earning a few suppressing shots from the now trigger-happy gang members.

Peeking his head around the corner, he spotted a single gang member aiming right at him, his head quickly retracting as the shots nearly nailed him right in the face. Taking a deep breath, Sel reached for the empty magazine and threw it out into the open, earning the attention of the gang member.

Summoning all of his energy into his thighs, his legs pumped as hard as he could to rush right at the gang member, sliding just as the gang member turned to shoot at him and immediately tackling head-on.

The two of them rolled down into a scuffle, the other three gang members aiming right at Sel, but were suddenly reminded of Mason’s presence, one of them instantly being shot in the chest from afar. The sharpshooting of Mason forced the gang members to basically stay down, unable to help as they could only watch Sel and the member duke it out.

With a ruthless barrage, Sel pummelled the gang member’s face with his bare fists and elbows, grappling and throwing hits like a mad animal. Before long, Sel was only punching an already unconscious face covered in blood and snot as well as broken teeth, reminded to stop by the peril that the Shaman was in.

The sight of his gang members dying one by one caused Chira to be shell-shocked, wondering what the hell was going on. “WHERE’S OUR DAMN BACKUP? HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO KIDNAP ONE GIRL AND BOY?”

As if answered by the gods, the sounds of cars approaching the front of the temple wafted in through the shattered windows, heralding the arrival of gang members. Sel’s heart plummeted as he quickly slunk back into hiding, unsure of the allegiance of the new arrivals.

Yet instead of a triumphant entry of Chira’s men, sounds of fighting and cars crashing could be heard outside, another firefight breaking out beyond the walls of the temple. The double doors were opened with a bang as a half-damaged sedan car slammed right through the doors, its tires skidding over the prayer mat with a smoking bonnet.

Both Chira’s men and Mason’s loyalists had arrived, having heard the rumors of the sounds of gunshots near the temple. The same burly gang member from the changing room stepped out of the car with a gleeful face. “Sel, we’re here to help you!”

The arrival of support felt like an entire weight had been lifted off Sel’s shoulders, but the fight was not over yet – the battlelines were a complete chaos as Sel ducked and weaved between the chaos unfolding, members all who once drank or smoked with each other before turned on each other, both sides pledging allegiances to their respective leaders.

“Mason is injured, we need to help him!” Sel roared into the burly gang member’s ear over the din of gunfire and fighting.

“I’m on it!” The burly gang member fist-bumped Sel, bravely stepping out into the center of the temple and heading right for Mason. However, before he could take a second step, three shots from Chira’s gun railed into his chest, sending him spiraling on the floor, scrambling for cover as he desperately tried to keep the blood in.

Sel’s anger reached a new boiling peak, his target now solely locked on Chira. Every other variable did not matter to him – they were either helpers or obstacles to his target. Moving through the battlefield quickly before Chira’s men could regroup, he eventually rushed up towards the altar, shooting three shots to force Chira to take cover.

“CHIRA!” Sel roared, lunging at the cowering Chira behind the altar and punching him right in the jaw, sending a reverberating impact into the skull. Chira was sent stumbling, his handgun clattering onto the floor before Sel kicked it away from him, aiming his own handgun at Chira.

Before Sel could say anything, Chira rushed forward with alarming courage, ignoring the threat of the handgun and catching Sel off-guard, smacking the handgun out of his palm and tripping him with a martial art flip, Sel’s world spinning as his head slammed onto the floor.

Sel immediately rolled out of the way before Chira could stomp on his limbs, recovering into a fighting posture, hands at the ready to jab. Chira adopted a similar posture.

“You’re not the only fighter around here, kid.” Chira spat out a glob of mixed blood and saliva onto the floor. “COME ON!”

Sel gladly accepted, charging in with the fury of a storm and throwing punches. Chira blocked and parried nearly all of them, yet the first blow on his jaw was already distorting his balance, the damage slowly creeping in.

Rock Solid!

Sel hardened one of his knuckles, slamming it right into Chira’s forearm and fracturing the bone, yet Chira hardly whimpered. Instead, Sel felt a wincing pain as Chira’s leg drove into his already injured waist, the bullet wound aggravated and bleeding profusely as Sel stumbled.

Capitalizing on the opportunity, Chira instantly grabbed Sel’s head and pummelled it with two rapid jabs, sending Sel staggering backward three steps.

“One thing before I kill you – these handguns? They were smuggled by you!” Chira strode forward with a brisk movement, delivering the final blow to Sel’s chin.

Yet instead of feeling flesh and bone, he felt a metal-like structure, his hand numbing from the rebound vibration. Stunned, Chira had no time to react as Sel grabbed his arm and twisted as hard as he could, Sel using his entire body weight to flip Chira onto the ground. With a final devastating punch into Chira’s face, Chira’s head lolled, unconscious, and soaked in blood, now erupting from his crushed nose and gum.

Sel heaved, the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He sensed someone approaching him, quickly turning to get ready to fight, only to find that it was the injured Mason.

“STAND DOWN!” Mason bellowed with all his remaining strength across the temple. “STAND DOWN NOW!”

The sight of Chira lying unconscious on the floor dealt a severe blow to his followers, some of them immediately surrendering. Others started to run, while the more desperate ones who knew that they would be severely punished by Mason fought to the death, only to be perforated with a dozen bullets before they could even move.

More and more of Mason’s gang started to pour it, eventually outnumbering Chira’s men three to one. Mason and Sel still took cover for a minute, waiting for the last death throes of the resisting traitors to die out.

As the din of the gunfight began to die out, another familiar tone could be heard blaring in the distance. “Fuck, the police.” Mason grunted, slumping to the floor, his hand still pressing hard on his thighs. Sel panicked, realizing Mason had suffered a few more bullet wounds to his body over the course of the gunfight.

“Shit! Someone, somebody, help!”

“Urk… I’ll live, kid. Go check on the Shaman!” Mason urged, pushing Sel away. Sel realized that Shaman Peris was still unconscious nearby, his limbs still bound.

Sel quickly undid the ropes, trying to wake the Shaman. “Shaman! Shaman Peris, can you hear me?”

A muffled groan from the Shaman’s slowly waking face only brought a smile to Sel’s face. “…Sel…? Sel… you’re hit…”

“Don’t worry about me, it’s just a wound, it’ll heal in no time.”

The Shaman struggled to get up to his feet, Sel hoisting him up to the colors of police klaxon blanketing the temple, the cars now at the temple door.

“…Sel… what have you done?”

Sel didn’t know how to reply, knowing that his toughest obstacle was up next – confronting the police. Would I get charged? What about Felicia? Mom? Gideon? Mason? He could see the police already approaching, the gang members all pensive about the coming confrontation. Some of them were already thumbing the safety mechanism on their handguns.

Before another firefight could break out, Sel quickly walked up to the police officers, about to explain everything that had happened there and try to find a way out of it.

But just as he reached the double doors, a resounding gunshot echoed from the altar, Sel’s head spinning only to see the Shaman falling to the ground between Mason and Chira, Chira’s face wild with rage.

“The police? How? Why are they here? But that's impossible, he promised me.... he fucking sold me out! Fucking - I’M NOT GOING DOWN ALON-“ Chira roared before seven bullets hit him in rapid fashion, Mason emptying his entire clip. The sound of the bullets deafened the thud of the Shaman’s body to the ground.

“NO!” Sel cried out, running back to the altar as the police officers began to enter with rifles, arresting anyone who was still in the temple.

Mason crumpled to his knees, next to the dying Shaman. “Dad! Dad, stay with me!”

Sel sprinted with all his might to the Shaman, immediately kneeling next to the Shaman, who had a gaping bullet wound on his chest, puncturing his lungs and heart.

“I… I can fix this! I can fix this! System, heal him!” Sel frantically called out, placing his hands over the bubbling wound.

[Target is not a Deity System User]

“Faith, Trust, ANYTHING!”

[Faith cannot be directly converted into external vitality of non-users]

Sel quickly pulled up the forge, trying to create a healing patch.

A bandage.

A reviver.

Something.

Anything!

[Warning: Requested automatic designs will take more than five weeks to craft based on current Deity Rank. Continue?]

“I DON’T HAVE FIVE WEEKS!” Sel roared. “HEAL HIM NOW! AREN’T YOU A DEITY SYSTEM?!”

The System did not reply, but before Sel could go on a cursing spree, a trembling hand grabbed his wrist tightly, a familiar hand that held him since his father’s death. One that had accompanied him for his entire childhood, guiding him through thick and thin.

The Shaman’s mouth moved, but no words came out, Sel leaning it close to try and hear everything. “Shaman Peris, I’m here, I’m listening.” Sel gripped the hand back tightly.

A croaking gasp escaped the Shaman’s mouth, along with a long exhale, Sel putting his ear close, listening intently.

Yet no words came.

Sel still waited, staring at the Shaman’s face, listening closely as the tears welled up in his eyes.

Still, no words came.

Sel waited regardless. That was what he was good at.

To be tenacious.

To never give up.

Yet two minutes passed in silence, and it wasn’t until the police officers dragged Sel away from the body that he soon realized the Shaman’s eyes were wide open in shock, his face locked in a deep expression of regret.  

A man who Sel spurned at the last moment, a man who was killed by the very handguns that he had smuggled in, Sel wanting to blurt out everything he was sorry for. Yet all Sel could get out was a defeated murmur as he was hauled away through the carnage of the temple.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry….”

He hardly paid attention to where he was being hauled, his entire being in a complete state of shock. It did not even register to him that he was being led to a completely different vehicle from Mason and the other gang members.

It was only when he snapped out of his despair-laden trance that he noticed he was sitting inside a unmarked black van, with only an individual sitting opposite him, twiddling a idol totem necklace in between his white gloved fingers.