“Oh ho,” Doc Louis growled, “Nobody messes with Doc’s choc and gets away with it!”
Doc stepped forward, his fists a blinding flurry of impacts. Zagreus instinctively raised his sword to block the attacks, resting the flat of his blade against his arm to brace. But the blows were too numerous, too varied in their direction. After about a dozen blows, Zagreus brandished his blade while stepping back, hoping to create space. Doc seemed to read this feint and closed the distance, giving Zagreus no space to breathe.
Zagreus, sick of Doc’s advances, swiped at the large man’s ankles. Doc quick-stepped over the first swipe, but was unable to dodge the follow-up stab. Zagreus intentionally aimed for Doc’s tendon, then swiped at it to make a small cut.
From the small cut, a torrent of seawater lashed out in a storm of hydration. The sheer force of the localized tide kicked forward at Doc Louis’ heels, sweeping his legs out from under him. The boxer managed to land again on his feet, albeit with his weight unbalanced. Noting his advantage, witty Zagreus slashed again at Doc Louis’ torso with Poseidon-blessed Stygius. Doc Louis raised his arms to block, but it was for naught.
The slash cut through Doc Louis’ sleeves, but did not puncture skin. Zagreus’ eyes widened in confusion. Just as Doc was about to gloat about it, another torrent of seawater splashed him in the face. With all the force of a flood, the spout of water shoved him back again. Now that Doc was off-balance, he was fully knocked off his feet and landed on the ground.
“Back off,” Zagreus muttered as he brandished his blade. Saltwater traced the tip of Stygius in an elaborate series of arcs.
Seizing the advantage, Zagreus leapt on top of the large man, placing his smoldering foot on Doc’s neck. Zagreus raised Stygius above his head, the blade pulsing with tide and splashing seawater everywhere.
“Surrender,” Zagreus said tersely.
“Hell nah,” Doc Louis said.
With a quick series of punches to Zagreus’ shin, Doc Louis relieved all feeling in the godling’s leg. The son of Hades stumbled back, shocked, just as Doc Louis rolled to his feet.
“You got no heart, kid,” Doc Louis said, reloading his arms like they were some sort of shotgun. “Come on, you said you were showing me what you got.”
Zagreus roared in frustration as he charged forward, sword trailing behind him. His burning feet left scorch marks that were promptly extinguished by a trail of salt water splashing from his blade. The godling jumped into the air and smashed his sword against the ground, releasing a giant shockwave that rippled through the ground.
Doc Louis stumbled back, grunting as the shockwave hit him hard. Zagreus used this opportunity to zip in, giving a flurry of jumping slashes to pressure Doc. To Doc’s credit, he was still parrying all of the nimble cuts with great skill. However, with each slash Doc was getting shoved back about five feet.
It was at this point the other hunters around New Abraxas began to take interest in the duel. One of them cackled to the other at the sight.
“Hey Jonesy, looks like someone’s fighting Doc Louis again.”
Jonesy scoffed and smirked. “Fool of a man. Look at the little guy go, though.”
“Must be new, eh?” a third hunter interjected, “To think that people don’t know the Chocolate Rule around these parts.”
The three of them nodded in unison. “Don’t fuck with Doc Louis.”
Neither Zagreus and Doc were uncomfortable fighting in front of an audience. Not that either particularly noticed the crowd gathering. Both were now too immersed in the duel, Zagreus aggressively searching for openings in Doc’s guard as Doc Louis’s arms shifted almost chimerically from position to position.
Eventually, nimble-footed Zagreus hacked at Doc Louis with both of his hands on his accursed blade’s handle. The blade clanged loudly against Doc’s muscled forearms, before more seawater splashed out from the blade’s core. The seawater roiled into a tidal wave, surging against Doc’s torso. The wave pushed him back like a high-pressure water pump, launching Doc all the way into the fence that bordered Doc Louis’ little backyard. Doc grunted as his back crashed against the fence.
Zagreus seized the opportunity, lunging forward with a thrust of the blade. Seawater coursed through his weapon again, shoving Doc fully through the chain-link fence. The other hunters who had gathered round all stepped out of the way as the large man crashed through, sending shredded wire everywhere. Zagreus barely had any time to celebrate this little victory before Doc Louis launched back at him, his fists a blur of brown leather.
At this point, bets were starting to go around the other hunters. Some were impressed with the short stranger, who seemed to wield impressive divine magic. They would later say they were impressed that he recognized Doc Louis’ sheer strength, and fought without going easy on him. Most, of course, bet on their local fighting ring’s champion, the one and only, the legendary Doc Louis, who had beaten so many of them down before. Some even bragged that they could beat Zagreus.
Zagreus and Doc Louis were still uninterested in the rabble. The two found in each other a worthy opponent. True warriors such as these fought to the last-
“Gods, I’m tired,” Zagreus grunted.
Well, perhaps even true warriors need their rest.
“You can call this off whenever you like, son,” Doc Louis gloated, “Just admit that your fancy magic couldn’t break me.”
Zagreus fell back onto his behind, grinning with satisfaction. He used the last of his strength to embed Stygius into the ground.
“I see what you’re trying there, old man,” he said to Doc, “But I really am quite tired. You win.”
There were some angry boos coming from the crowd. One glare from Doc, however, and the crowd fell deathly silent. Doc Louis glared at Zagreus.
“Well, you ain’t losing without a mark.”
“How do you mean-”
In the blink of an eye, Doc Louis flew forward and knocked Zagreus out.