CHAPTER 84: BEFORE THE CROWD

"I’ll try and hide in a safe place within the crowd so it won’t be obvious when I whisper instructions to you," Riven said to Tatehan, her tone serious and focused.

Tatehan nodded in the affirmative, understanding the gravity of what they were about to do. He carefully wore the earbud device, making sure it sat securely and invisibly in his ear, then activated his helmet so it covered his face completely and concealed his features.

If he was caught cheating in any way, that would put him in a tremendous amount of trouble, and frankly, that was exactly what he needed to avoid at this critical point.

He absolutely needed to avoid being caught with the device. But that seemed increasingly unlikely if he wouldn’t be able to keep his helmet on throughout the entire duration of the fight. Mub might demand he remove it, or it could get knocked off in combat.

He summoned his full armor as well, the dark plating materializing across his body, and gripped his sword firmly. Extending the other hand that wasn’t holding anything, he offered it to Riven, who took it without hesitation. They shook hands firmly, and Tatehan said, his voice now made deeper and more bold by the helmet’s audio modulation:

"Wish me luck out there."

Riven smiled slightly, though there was genuine concern in her eyes.

"You should be wishing that to me, honestly," she said. "If I’m caught helping you cheat like this, that could very well be my end. They’d probably execute me on the spot."

Tatehan glanced toward the door, suddenly feeling the weight of what he was asking her to risk.

Riven used her hair strategically to cover the ear where she wore the communication bud so that it wouldn’t be easily seen by anyone in the crowd.

—

As Tatehan walked confidently out of the room, sword gripped in hand, the guard standing at the entrance that led to the main lobby looked at him and was visibly surprised by his appearance.

Tatehan cut him off sharply before the guard could utter any questioning word.

"This was exactly what I wore when I slayed the Hexapod Mauler," Tatehan stated firmly.

He pointed the gleaming sword in his hands directly at the guard for emphasis.

"And this was precisely what I used to slay that beast and take its core."

For some inexplicable reason, that statement seemed to spook the guard greatly, and Tatehan could see the fear becoming visible on the man’s weathered face.

The guard seemed to be absolutely drenched in terror, his eyes wide.

Riven furrowed a brow slightly at the mention of this "mauler" creature. She shrugged internally. Whatever it was, it was none of her business anyway. She had her own problems to worry about.

As Tatehan and Riven stepped together into the large open compound where the other clan members were gathering, the assembled crowd immediately stared at him in visible surprise and shock.

"Oh, the Mauler Slayer has come fully armored up for battle," the commander observed loudly from her position. "But how sure are we that it’s actually you inside that armor and not some imposter?"

Tatehan looked directly at her, and placing one hand carefully on the ear where the earbud device was hidden to make sure it stayed secure, he suddenly unsummoned the entire armor in one smooth motion.

The commander’s eyes widened in visible shock, and so did the eyes of all the others gathered around. They were absolutely stunned to see the impressive, brave-looking armor suddenly turn into wisps of dark smoke that spiraled dramatically around his body before vanishing completely.

Tatehan immediately summoned it back just as quickly, the armor rematerializing across his frame. He gripped his sword tightly in both hands and marched purposefully toward the fighting circle without saying another word.

The members of the clan lining the path on both sides stared at him with what appeared to be... fear. He even heard some of them murmuring nervously to each other:

"He actually slayed the Hexapod Mauler himself. Of course he’s incredibly powerful."

"Did you see that? The armor just appeared from nothing!"

But this was all carefully calculated show on Tatehan’s part—performed specifically to make them fear what he could potentially do. The mysterious armor that materialized and vanished on command was a great testament to that intended impression.

It made them look at him with genuine awe and respect.

Soon after, Mub stepped forward confidently from somewhere within the crowd, entering the fighting circle from the opposite side. Tatehan was initially startled by the sudden appearance at first, as it was somewhat unexpected, but his facial expression wasn’t visible inside the concealing helmet, so he gave absolutely nothing away.

Mub was an imposing sight to behold. He stood well over six feet tall, with a powerfully built frame that spoke of years of brutal combat and intense training. His chest was bare beneath a modified Viking-style costume that had been slightly updated with futuristic elements—reinforced leather straps with metallic plating, advanced fiber weaving that provided both flexibility and protection.

His massive arms were covered in old scars and newer wounds. His thick beard was full and wild, braided in places. In each hand, he gripped a large double-bladed axe, the weapons looking well-used and deadly sharp.

Tatehan stared at Mub, taking in every detail. The man’s beards were impressively full and intimidating. His gaze was completely unflinching and intense, though Tatehan noticed that Mub’s eyes were visibly surprised and intrigued by the armor Tatehan was wearing.

"Nice armor, stranger!" someone shouted enthusiastically from somewhere in the crowd.

Tatehan raised his sword up high in acknowledgment, feeding off the praise and letting it bolster his confidence.

"You dare face me with full armor, completely concealing your entire body like a coward!" Mub shouted aggressively, his voice laced with viciousness. "I tear through armors for a living! Metal means nothing to me!"

Tatehan scoffed quietly inside his helmet. It seemed this was going to be one of those typical scenarios where opponents exchange threatening words and posture before actually fighting. Basically a pre-battle intimidation talk.

Tatehan decided to play along. He turned to face the crowd now, projecting his voice loudly and clearly, the helmet’s modulation making it sound more bold and commanding than his normal speaking voice.

"This is the very same armor I wore when I slayed the Hexapod Mauler in single combat," he announced dramatically. He raised the sword in his hand up high for all to see. "And this was the exact sword I used to pierce its hide and slay it!"

Normally he knew he shouldn’t be doing all this boasting and grandstanding. From what he had learned throughout his life, the person who boasts excessively before a fight tends to be the one who loses.

But he felt he had no real choice in the matter, Mub was boasting and posturing too, so he needed to match that energy.

And the words seemed to accomplish exactly the trick he was aiming for. The crowd were visibly awed and impressed by what he had just declared.

"I’m no mere mauler!" Mub said quickly, wanting to regain control of the narrative. He looked out to the assembled crowd.

"This man here, I would have said ’kid’ but ’man’ is far more respectable, at least before he dies today," he paused deliberately for dramatic effect, then continued loudly:

"This man standing before you! He came here carrying the bio-neutral core, the very same one that Kael went desperately searching for. He reported to our commander that the mauler killed Kael in battle..."

The crowd exploded in shocked gasps and murmurs. They all knew that this was a great and terrible dishonor. They knew that Kael had broken rule number two of the clan by allowing the mauler to kill him instead of taking it down with him.

"...BUT!" Mub shouted, raising one hand high to silence the crowd. "The man standing in front of me also slayed that same Mauler afterward! He took its valuable core and then decided to do something genuinely good by returning it here to help save Kael’s daughter, which he has successfully done. He has saved Kael’s daughter from certain death!"

Mub paused strategically, allowing the crowd to cheer loudly for Tatehan, who made no gestures or acknowledgment in response to these praises.

"Well, I don’t believe any of this noble story!" Mub suddenly declared, raising his voice to the absolute highest volume. "I say this man’s a complete fraud! His true aim for coming here wasn’t actually to save Kael’s daughter out of the goodness of his heart. Although he did save her, I firmly believe there’s something more sinister to it, there is a hidden reason he did this!"

Mub began pacing around the circle now, occasionally hitting his two axes together, creating loud metallic clangs that echoed.

"There are no truly good men on Mars! They might appear good on the surface, but we all ultimately want to survive, and that’s it. That’s the only thing that matters. It’s basically part of the fundamental law on this goddamn planet! Survival above all else!"

Tatehan held his sword in a protective stance, half-expecting Mub to suddenly rush forward and try to hit him during this speech.

But then, he found himself actually thinking about what the man had just said, that no one was truly good on Mars. Although Mub had specifically used the word ’man’, it seemed he might have been implying both genders—male and female alike.

’No one is truly good?’

Tatehan’s mind flashed back to when Kael had saved him back at the amphitheater during their first encounter. Had the real reason for Kael saving him been so that Tatehan would help him in return later?

Had the real reason Kael saved Tatehan’s life been purely because he’d be useful in helping him fight the Mauler afterward?

’Nah...’

That shouldn’t be it. That couldn’t be the whole truth.

The reason Kael saved him must have been because it was simply the right thing to do... right?

"I don’t think the so-called Mauler Slayer is here for any good reason whatsoever!" Mub proclaimed loudly to the crowd.

The commander watched everything in complete silence, saying nothing and giving away nothing with her expression. Her face remained characteristically stern and stoic.

Meanwhile, Riven had already carefully settled herself in a spot where some children had gathered in the crowd, a strategic place where she would be able to see the entire fight clearly and give Tatehan real-time information through the hidden communication device.

"Now, as to why we are about to duel to the death," Mub continued his speech. "I tried to voice my objections since everyone else wasn’t thinking in my logical direction, and this stranger insulted me directly. He claimed he was holding my brain in his hands, implying I’m brainless!"

The crowd gasped loudly at that disrespectful insult.

’Well, that’s not exactly what I said, but... eh... alright, I guess.’

Tatehan decided to let Mub say whatever he wanted at this point. Mub had clearly twisted Tatehan’s actual words to fit his own preferred narrative, because that was definitely not how Tatehan had phrased it originally.

"You all know very well that this breaks rule number three of this clan: Never let a stranger insult you and walk out alive," Mub spat forcefully on the ground and used his boot to step on the saliva with contempt.

"I would have killed him immediately the very moment he spoke those insulting words, but I respected our commander and I respected what the Mauler Slayer had accomplished. He did do a genuinely good thing by coming here, at least. That’s why I’ve taken it upon myself to slay him properly before all of you as witnesses."

He slammed the two axes in his hands together forcefully, creating a deafening clang.

"I will slay the Mauler Slayer!" he roared with savage intensity. "And I will do it right here, right now, before all of you!"