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Tower of Hell: Caged and Confused, Book 1, Chapter 114
🕑 Added 2022-10-02 23:49:06 +0000 UTCRalph was holding his own against Michael Davis, and the big man had yet to be knocked unconscious like the dummy slaves and low-ranking fighters. However, just as there was a significant size difference between the two, there was also a difference in Sin; Michael was a much more experienced and adept Sinner. The conclusion of their fight had yet to come, and there was still time for Ralph to overcome his adversary.
A short distance away, Jaden Jackson could barely open his eyes as Rodney White repeatedly punched his face. Although the young Thief was young, talented, and willful, he was way too inexperienced to take on someone of Rodney's caliber. The old him would have considered falling over and faking sleep, but the present-day version of himself was hungry for victory and greedy for freedom. His handsome face was bleeding profusely, and as the crimson liquid poured from his body and onto the stone floor, the only thing he could think about was how disappointing it was that he hadn’t had more time to come into his talent: to grow just like Jonas had done.
“Young blood!” He heard Pete's voice. “Help is on the way!”
“Young Brother!” Another voice called out, and Jaden didn't recognize it. “Bone Crusher is here to assist!”
‘Who?’ Jaden had no idea who Bone Crusher was, but his opponent did. Rodney White froze, looked behind himself, and his face became horror-struck as an unlikely duo of Pete Ingram and Bannji Balewa charged toward him.
Rodney 'Killshot' White wasn’t confident in his ability to beat the both of them, but he slid his foot into a stance, and Wrath spread through his body as he readied himself for an all-out brawl. However, he felt someone grab his leg and looked down to see a half-conscious Jaden using his last bit of willpower to hold onto his leg. Rodney panicked, lifted his head, and watched Pete spear-tackle him onto the ground. He tried to defend himself, but it was hard to do because Bannji had started kicking him in the head. Rodney White saw stars, his vision turned bloody, and then he was knocked unconscious.
“Are you good, Jaden?” Pete helped the young fighter up.
“Of course, OG,” the young Thief was sore, half-conscious, and could barely keep his balance. “Who's the African dude?”
“Bannji’s with us now,” Pete smiled. “This ain’t over yet.”
“Gotta help Ralph,” Jaden mumbled, and Pete caught a glimpse of his best friend. “Oh, we could help Ralph, but he doesn’t need it,” Jaden tried his best to squint through his swollen eyes.
Ralph turned the tides against an opponent who had outclassed him at every step, and Jaden could see the outline of his giant figure giving Michael Davis the beatdown of his lifetime. Ralph picked him up by his throat and choked the life out of him, sometimes banging his head against the stone floor. Michael was spluttering and drooling, and his eyes began to roll back as he approached death.
“He’s a slave, don't forget,” Pete said as he walked over to Ralph. “The choice is yours,” Ralph turned his head, and his face was bloodthirsty and mean-looking. His Sin Scars were glowing like neon lights, and Pete knew that if he hadn’t said anything: Michael would be dead.
“Just a slave,” Ralph growled, and he picked up his opponent and tossed him against the stone wall, where he cracked his head and slid to the ground.
“Woo, you are a big boy,” Bannji couldn’t believe the sheer size of Ralph as he looked him up and down.
“We ain’t got time to admire Ralph,” Pete readjusted his eye patch as he examined the remaining fights with a grimace.
Jonas was barely holding on against Howard Hurts, Ahmed kept Garth at bay, and Yuki was on her last legs against Thomas Vale. From Howard's reinforcements: Carl Prince, Don Marino, and Billy Von Trip finished off the slaves and blue-collared fighters who had tried to bring them down—there were bodies littered around them, some unconscious and some dead.
“Young Brother," Bannji patted Jaden on the shoulder. "You and I will give Billy Von Trip a hell of a fight. “Only if you still have some energy left. He's one of the weakest gang leaders, and I think I can take him with a little help.”
“Fuck yeah,” Jaden could barely see straight, but he found the power to stand up on his own two feet and face his new opponent.
“Ralph and I will go after that skinhead-looking mother fucker, Don Marino," Pete watched as the big gang boss smashed two slaves’ heads against each other and fell backward like dominoes. "We'll try and get them down before that other gang leader can finish off the rest of the slaves."
“Fight!” Ralph boomed, and the four of them charged toward their new targets.
It seemed that the deciding factor of the battle would be how long Jonas, Yuki, and Ahmed could hold out against their respective opponent while the rest of their crew tried to take out the three remaining gang leaders: Don Marino, Carl Prince, and Billy Von Trip.
However, it wasn't long before a riot leader lost their fight and broke the fragile balance they had been maintaining for so long.
Ahmed was on his knees, and Garth held his hair in one hand while continuously punching his face. Garth showed no mercy for his opponent as he beat his face in, and he laughed as he felt facial bones fracture beneath his knuckles.
Jonas turned his head for a split second and saw the horrifying spectacle, and it kicked his protective instincts into overdrive. He tried ignoring Howard Hurts because he wanted to run to help Ahmed, but trying to get past the strongest person in Little Wrath City was an impossible task. Howard Hurts looked fine besides his messy hair, and a bit of Jonas' blood speckled his gray suit.
“Focus, Jonas,” Howard saw Garth was about to kill Ahmed and got in his young opponent's path to prevent him from leaving to help. Then he launched a roundhouse kick that hit Jonas’ forearms so hard the force blasted him backward in the opposite direction of where Ahmed was.
“Everyone!” Jonas screamed as he got up from the stone floor. His body was beaten and bloody. “You need to help Ahmed!” he pointed across the room. “Simon, Johnson, Theo, everyone!” His voice cracked with anxiety. “Save Ahmed!”
"Go!" Ralph yelled at Pete, Theo, and two other slaves. "Go help Ahmed. I've got this."
There weren’t many fighters to spare because most had been knocked unconscious or killed. However, Bannji and Jaden were fighting Billy Von Trip to a standstill, and a handful of blue-collar gladiators were fighting Carl, which left Ralph to hold off Don Marino on his own.
“I’m surprised because they listen to you so well,” Howard nodded his head approvingly, “You'd make a good gang leader.”
“Maybe I’ll try it once I get out of here,” Jonas spat blood onto the stone floor.
“So confident,” Howard took a quick look around. “Sure, you outnumber us right now, but as long as me, Thomas and Garth are still up, you have no chance in hell.”
“Doesn't matter,” Jonas smiled a bloody smile. “I haven't even gone all out yet. I can fight you all day, and eventually, our numbers will win,” he wasn't just boasting: Jonas hadn't used any of his True Sin abilities yet; he had held Howard Hurts at bay using martial arts alone.
Why hadn't Jonas tried using his powers of Sin to win the fight? He hadn't had much inspiration because he had been on his toes the entire duel, getting punched and kicked around the room without much time to consider a strategy. However, now that Howard had graciously given him a breather, Jonas' imagination was spinning with ideas, some old and some new.
Pride flooded his heart as he imagined himself beating Howard Hurts, and he knew that if he lost the duel, everything he worked so hard for would collapse all around him. The pressure of losing wasn't too great for Jonas, and he never felt more confident in his abilities than he did at that moment.
Perhaps his confidence had leaked over to his crew because it wasn't long before the tides had turned for the better. Bannji and Jaden had knocked Billy Von Trip unconscious and joined forces with a few fighters to bring Carl Prince down. Moments later, a small crowd of gladiators swarmed Don Marino while beating him senselessly.
“All the gang leaders are down!” A loud voice broke through the fighting. It made Jonas and Howard turn their heads to look. It was such a shocking development that even Yuki and Thomas had stopped their duel as they looked to see what had happened.
‘Since when is Bannji helping us escape?’ Jonas smiled at the new development. “See that, Howard? Can you afford to look down on us now?” He turned his head around to check on Ahmed. It seemed that Garth was starting to breathe a bit ragged because two slaves were hanging off his shoulders. Along with those two slaves, Theo dangled from his neck while Johnson and Simon used it to their advantage. They weren't going to hold Garth back for long, but it gave Ahmed enough time to sit on the sidelines while trying to recover.
“They only have three left!” Yuki shouted. “This is the moment we’ve been waiting for!”
“Ralph and Bannji!” You guys attack Garth!” he shouted, “Pete, Jaden, you guys help Yuki!” Those four fighters followed his directions without complaint, even though they were beaten, bleeding, and looked very miserable.
“Howard,” Jonas felt his heart racing with excitement. “It’s time to call it quits. Just let us go.”
“I didn’t think it would come to this,” Howard looked meaningfully toward Jonas, and although it seemed like he was considering Jonas’ proposal, his cold expression told a different story. “Do you understand what it means when you are at the level I’ve reached?” His hands stretched out to his sides, and his flame-like Sin Scars began to glow. “It’s hard to get angry when I’m fighting someone I know is weaker. I also find it difficult to be wrathful even though you’ve embarrassed me and caused problems for my organization.”
“Talk is cheap, Howard,” Jonas chuckled. “As long as we hold you and Thomas off, eventually Garth will go down, and it will be a dozen of us against the two of you.”
“Numbers don’t matter, Jonas,” Howard shook his head. “I wouldn’t be worried even if the last man left,” a small smile crept up on his handsome face. “Who needs an army when you can do this?” Suddenly, as if from thin air, large flames began to rise from the palms of Howard’s hands, and those nearest to him looked on in shock as something from their greatest dreams had just materialized.
“When you’re a Sinner of my caliber,” Howard laughed while channeling all his Wrath toward his hands. He kept feeding the flames until they reached the proportions of a soccer ball.
Of course, Howard Hurts was one of the few people in all of Little Wrath City capable of True Sin. Jonas hadn't considered that his opponent would summon red hot flames, but he did expect Howard to use True Sin at some point.
“Jesus Christ!” Jonas took a step back as the flames had grown so hot he could feel them from six feet away, but apparently, the heat didn't bother Howard, and he seemed to have some immunity.
Jonas' instincts were screaming not to be touched by those flames, and his Sin told him that even one of those balls of fire could cause death. The real fight had just begun, and Jonas needed to decide how to counter Howard's Sin.
The gang leader wound his body like a baseball pitcher and threw one of the balls of flames toward Jonas.
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