The last song of the ancestors

The day after the raid on his room, Akachi woke up with burning eyes. He had a slight fever due to the inflammation. He had a runny nose from having inhaled the metsubuchi solution. Luckily, he wasn't going to fight that day. He blindfolded himself with cold compresses to reduce the inflammation. He groped around the walls until he bumped into someone.

"What happened to you? I don't remember being hit in the eye."

"Mr. Tuponili?"

Akachi recognized the man by his voice. He felt two more breaths around him, one of them more agitated than usual.

"Who did this to you, kid?"

"Well, let's just say I had an unwelcome visitor last night. I had to throw her out, she was a bit too loose."

"It must have been some fighter from the teams fighting today, Trent. These guys waste no time. You won't have to fight today, just go to the stands. Keep up the good work, you're making me a lot richer."

Tuponili walked to the end of the corridor. Trent and Fadala waited until he was gone. Akachi leaned against the wall. He looked dejected.

"You look like a zombie, kid. Go on, spit it out. Who did this to you?"

"It was the ninja, the Japanese guy with the funny name."

Fadala crossed eyes with Nyatui. The ex-sage went over to the teenager and leaned on his shoulder.

"I didn't hear anything last night, I'm sorry, kid."

"You couldn't have, the walls are armored and there's an acoustic lining. Lucky you're alive, Akachi."

"It wasn't luck that saved me… it was General Luena. That woman is a monster. She came out of nowhere, immobilized the ninja with just one hand. It was horrible."

The hitman couldn't understand how Akachi had survived. He had realized how strong the ninja seemed, he had recognized his origin. If General Gahiji's Phalangites had proved so powerful, he couldn't measure how powerful a general could be. He accompanied his companions to the amphitheater of the Grand Arena.

⸎

The third round of the tournament was about to begin. One team was made up of women only, and the opposing team was made up of people in disguises.

The manager of the girls' team made his choice. Olabunmi was chosen to fight the first match. She was a young woman with very dark skin. Her hair, in blue dreadlocks, was tied in a ponytail with a greenish ribbon. Her body was robust and curvy. She wore faded jeans that were torn at the knees. She wore a similarly colored halter top with a golden band between her breasts.

A short fighter called Eji had been chosen from the team of underdogs. His earth-colored hooded cape and clay mask hid his face. His two expressive eyes showed through the two holes in the terracotta mask.

The two walked over, stood facing each other and stared at each other. The signal to start the fight was given. Olabunmi immediately made an offensive move. But his opponent remained calm and raised his right hand to curb the enemy's advance.

"What are you doing, boy? I'm not going to take it out on you just because you're a kid."

"Hunf… you fool. You're the only child here. Young people these days no longer know what it means to respect their elders. You should know that, since you're a medium."

"After all, did you come to fight or not?"

"What made you come to this tournament, Olabunmi?"

A drop of sweat trickled down her face, ran down her cheek and almost reached her thick lips.

"Difficult times demand difficult choices of us. I can't survive being hunted like an animal by the authorities. If I show my worth here, with my potential, I could even become a phalangite."

"The best choice you've made to survive is to join up with your enemy. It's a shame."

Eji shook his head, disconsolate. This angered Olabunmi. Her spirit appeared behind her. It was a woman in a long, white and blue dress. She wore a torso of bluish colors, and brown and white Conch beads.

"Iyabotokun, lady who was born amidst the oceans, and to the oceans she has returned. Pour your sacred waters of strength into me, and may my waves carry away the strength of my enemies. Firm Spirit."

The two women became one. The medium spread her Axé in the room and concentrated the water molecules around her.

"Water Whip."

He modeled everything on a water whip. His strategy was simple: hit his opponent from a distance. Even if he retreated, she could extend her weapon to hit the enemy.

She cracked the whip on the ground, Eji realized that it was as solid as those made of reinforced leather. The young woman struck, and instead of his opponent fleeing, he just held on to the whip, which coiled around his forearm like a snake. Olabunmi tried to pull him away, but couldn't. The other seemed to weigh tons. She tried with both hands, to no avail.

"How can someone so small be so strong?"

"If that's all your strength is, girl, you'd better give up while you're ahead."

"No fucking way!"

The medium concentrated her Axé along the whip, and emitted an electric discharge. The water, as a good electrical conductor, intensified the electrocution. Eji was hit hard. Even with the electric currents coursing through his body, he didn't seem to be suffering any effects.

"I told you to give up."

With a wave of his hand, he caused the electric current to return and hit Olabunmi. The medium was electrocuted by her own blow for the first time. The unprecedented event left her bewildered. No other person had struck back. The inside of her body was dehydrated. Immersed in the pool of water, she had a series of muscle spasms that caused an avulsion. Her heart began to fibrillate.

"It's a shame for a medium to serve the interests of the enemy so willingly. The greatest enemy is the one born within."

Eji left the ring. On the other side, a team of paramedics climbed in. Despite respiratory failure, the medium would survive. She looked at him. The tranquilizer was already entering her veins, and the tracheal intubation process was beginning. She had time to dismiss one last thought: 'He was a medium too, but not an ordinary one…'.