Flipping The Board [II]

I pulled back my fists, feeling the sickening sound of bones crunching under my knuckles for the last time as Jake fell unconscious.

I stood up.

The Rite of Valor was over.

Just like that.

Yet, something didn't sit right with me for some reason.

I exhaled, stepping off Jake's unconscious body.

The moment I did, his head lolled to the side, blood pooling from his busted lips.

His face — swollen, bruised, and mangled — was barely recognizable anymore. A broken tooth lay beside him on the bloodstained ground.

I didn't bother looking twice.

Instead, I gently rolled my shoulders, and my gaze shifted to my right arm — more specifically, toward my shoulder where Jake had managed to hit me.

Blood had poured out from an open wound there and painted my vest red. 

To be honest, I let him do that.

But still.

The brutal force behind his punch was actually very impressive.