Last from Chapter 15

Tiwa stood over the bodies of the men she had just defeated, breathing heavily. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and turned around to challenge Ejo, despite her state. Her eyes widened in shock and fear as she saw him rushing towards her about three steps away with a dagger in his hand. In that moment, she felt her heart stop.

Chapter 16

She moved slightly, causing the dagger to horribly slash her cheek. It left a horrible searing pain and a trail of blood. Before she could have time to wince, Ejo punched deep into her tummy and she fell to the ground. Most fighters know when to accept defeat and recoil in the pain, but not Tiwa. She. Was. Pissed. She couldn’t believe she had allowed this inferior fighter leave such a ghastly scar on her face and cause her to fall on her knees. The hair on her skin rose and her heart raced faster than ever. Her entire body was on fire with anger as she glanced up with murderous eyes at Ejo who was wiping off the blood from his dagger, clearly being cocky. Like a bolt, she lurched, toppling him over on the ground.

Ejo was no slacker himself. After being toppled, he dug his knee into her stomach in an attempt to get her off him, but Tiwa was not in the mood to back down. She bent his elevated knee until it reached the ground before then twisting it to an unpleasant angle. Ejo tried to punch her, but she simply rammed her head into his, causing the bleeding from her tooth to restart and drip onto Ejo’s face. Ejo’s heart trembled as he saw a glimpse of that crazed murderer Tiwa actually is, her psychotic eyes and smile were enough to cause any man to fall to his knees. They were definitely enough to make Ejo’s eyes widen in fear. She kept twisting his knee until she heard a bone snap. Still not satisfied, she pressed on a crucial pressure point on his knee to ensure that his leg was completely paralyzed.

“Remember that fear, Ejo…Remember that I am the blood daughter of M.K…I am not to be taken lightly.” She pressed further “I would have killed you right now if not for your bond with my father… Next time, you wouldn’t be so lucky.”

She pushed herself off him, leaving him twitching in pain and drenched in sweat. A dry laugh burst through her lips as she realized how good it felt to feel as powerful as she used to be. Grabbing her jacket from the floor, she smoothed her sweaty hair and spat out her bloody saliva. Before she exited the room, she gave one last glance to Ejo, who was barely hanging on to consciousness.

“I have to thank you though. You brought Tiwa back to life” she said, strutting out of the room, leaving behind bruised, fear stricken men in her wake.

 

“Dad, I’m scared… why are all these men looking at me like that?”

M.K. grabbed her gently by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

“It’s because they think you are weak. Are you weak, Tiwa?”

“No” she said with so much fury burning in her eyes.

“Love that fire. Now prove to them that you aren’t. So far, your combat skills have been getting better, but with your size, you will never be able to beat any skilled fighter.”

“But I have been training so hard…” she muttered sadly.

“Not to worry, sweetheart. You can use your size to your advantage.” She raised her big hopeful eyes to him. “You can become fast…as fast as lightning…”

“As fast as lightning…”

“Do you want to be that fast?” he asked, leading her to the door at the extreme right of the mat.

“I do!”

She would do anything to make sure her father never thought she was weak.

“Great.” M.K. said smiling.

He pushed open the door, revealing a new arena with burning red coals arranged form wall to wall with a large picture of Sophia and her family hanging on the wall opposite them.

“What i-is this?” she asked fearfully, moving backwards, but M.K. stopped her.

“This is the Room of Fire. Prove to me you are not weak. Slash your dagger across that picture and come back here. Do that 20 times. Remember the faster you run, the quicker it’s over.”

Tiwa wanted to run away. She was scared, but her fear of disappointing her father was stronger.

She cautiously took her first steps into the room.

“AHHHHH!” 

Tiwa screamed and jumped forth from her bed and immediately grasped her feet. Plastic surgery can conceal what had happened in that room to the rest of the world, but it can never take away the pain.