I heard from the conversations of others that Benny was actually a natural born fighter. He had won many titles and was well versed in the arts of wrestling, boxing, karate, and judo. The only problem with this champion was that winning by any means necessary was his policy, as it served as the only means of keeping Kenny alive in a hospital as the latter battled against a life-threatening disease. When Kenny pulled through and was healed completely, Benny gave himself all the credits, believing that his unjust acts of winning is what saved his brother, and continued in that line. He made many enemies, but they were nothing but ants before him as this brute always stood tall in every fight he had, never losing once.

One would normally say that Benny would be far too dangerous to beat, also considering the fact that we were fighting upon the sands, where anything was allowed as long as it concerns your life. I learned that the challenge issued by Benny was one that involved only one man left standing alive, a condition perfect from the tyrant. But little did he knew that his opponent was not a man, but a beast.

I could hear the crowd roar in excitement as I got prepared. This time I was given a breastplate and leggings armor along with a pair of leather boots, at least better than the last time. While I was tying the laces, I heard heavy footsteps and looked up to see Benny approaching me, his face radiating disgust and vengeance. I sat up straight and stared at the unbeaten as he looked down at me.

"I hope you've find a place to bury your corpse after I kill you", said Benny with a smirk on his face.

"I hope you don't die too easily like your brother did", I replied while smiling.

"Why you little--!", Benny yelled while attempting to punch me, only for the deafening sound of the whip on his back which brought him back to his senses.

"Enough!", ordered Ananias as he came from behind, "Leave him alone. Thou should prepare as well and not waste words here".

He looked at Ananias and then stared back at me. "You will die Joe. Mark my words", he warned and then left. We both watched him leave and sighed. While I continued getting ready, Ananias looked and me and asked, "Thou art ready?".

"I'll just do him the favor of sending him to his brother", I replied, "He'll be a nuisance if he lives, so it's better he dies today".

He sighed again and said, "May the best man stand victorious upon the sands".

***

The crowd roared as I stepped out upon the sands and stared at them. Another roar indicated the presence of Benny as he too stepped out from the other side of the arena. He ignored the crowd and had his eyes fixed only at me, his heart of vengeance focusing all his attention on me. Neither of us had no weapons yet, as we were yet to be gifted from Boss Jack, who sat and watched the game with amusement.
On seeing us, he stood up from his seat, calmed the crowd and explained how conditions. Each man would choose his desired weapon and declare how he would kill the other. Only one must survive, and the killing condition must be executed without fail. If killed in another way, the winner will face severe consequences even if he emerged as the victor. When asked which weapon he wanted, Benny stated his weapons to be gloves clothed with sharp pieces of glasses on top. A blow from such would be fatal, I thought when I saw him equipped with them. I requested for two jack knives, much to the expectations of the crowd. We were made to stand some meters apart from each other, armed and waiting for further instructions.

"State your method of killing!", yelled Jack as he stared at us.

"Any means necessary!", yelled Benny as he raised his fists into the air, gaining the crowd's cheers. Their cheers quickly died down so as to listen to my method.

I looked at Benny so coldly that the latter felt a small shiver down his spine. "Death by a hundred cuts", was my response, shocking the crowd and making them whisper among themselves.

Benny laughed and spoke scornfully to me, "You think you can kill me like that? I laugh".

"Trust me. You have no idea who you are messing with", I replied and took my battle stance.

Boss Jack smiled and signaled for the game to begin. Benny immediately broke into a run and rushed towards me. However, he suddenly stopped and scooped the sand towards my face to blind me. I was quick to see this and immediately covered my eyes. I heard his yell and ducked to avoid getting a punch from him. I tried to make a cut on his right leg, but he was not only quick to avoid it, but he also turned and kicked me right in the face with his left leg, much to my surprise. I quickly got back to my feet, only to see him receiving praises from the crowd.

I felt something tickling down from my right nostril and touched it to feel the touch of blood. It was at that moment I heard the voice again, "Free me!".

I looked round to see who was saying that, but quickly realized that I was in a fight for my life. I quickly looked back to see Benny charging at me with killing intent, making a left jab towards my face. I barely dodged it, escaping with a few cuts on my chin, and had to move back to avoid a right hook from him. He spared no effort to give me chance to compose myself, and all the while I kept hearing that same voice in my head. It's intensity kept increasing. It was so loud, as if the person was screaming the words right beside me. I couldn't concentrate on the fight at all, and ended up getting grabbed by Benny, taking heavy kicks on the stomach from his right knee and a left punch that made the left side of my face a bloody mess.

I fell to the ground, defeated, and bloodied, awaiting my death once more. Everything was going numb, but the voice in my head kept ranting on. Then I saw him, I saw me, standing behind Benny. His scars ever fresh, his vengeance insatiable. I could see his body was making room for more wounds, the ones I bore.

"Free me", he said for the last time, "And we won't have to bear these any longer".

Benny spat on my face and knelt before me with a smirk on his face. "Guess you ain't so tough aren't ya huh? This is for my brother", he said while rising his right fist to finish me off. The only thing I could do was rise my left hand towards the other me, towards my insanity. Benny laughed, thinking I was trying to appeal for a surrender when none of such was allowed, and brought down his fist to strike my face and end me once and for all.

Fate wouldn't let him have his way as the hand I raised up quickly grabbed his fist and held it back, even though the sharp glasses pierced it. Benny was shocked as he saw some form of new strength surging within. The crowd gasped as I slashed his forehead with the knife on my right hand. He fell backwards and managed to get back to his feet, only to feel an enormous murdering presence behind him. He quickly turned and saw nothing, but then felt a slash suddenly from the back which made him fell on his right knee. He groaned and held his back with his left hand, then looked up to see me looking down on him with so much killing intent he wanted to vomit. Never in his life had he seen someone with so much murderous aura, with so much hatred that could even destroy the world.

"Do you really know what it means to lose someone? Do you?", I asked slowly while staring at him in the eyes. "You try to kill me because of one man. Do you know how many I've lost?! Do you?!", I suddenly yelled and slashed his left cheek. It didn't stopped there. I continued slashing his body, repeating the last two words over the top of my lungs. The crowd watched in horror as I disfigured Benny. Even Boss Jack could watch no longer.
It remained one more slash, and I looked at the tyrant would was now a bloody mess.

"Y... You... are.... Insane...", was the words he managed to say even after getting cut multiple times.

"Indeed I am", I replied and delivered the final cut on his throat. He fell on the floor, dead. I received no cheers even though I looked at the crowd. They were horror-stricken, wondering what kind of beast I was. Suddenly, Boss Jack began clapping and soon the crowd joined him and celebrated. I dropped my weapon and made way for the exit, but as if an evil spirit suddenly left my body, I fainted.

***

There I was, floating into the infinite darkness behind me. My eyes were closed, and my mind was numb. My thoughts were empty, my soul longing for rest. I continued to drift down into this abyss, knowing not how deep it was. I didn't care. I longed for the peace; the tranquility robbed from me. Every day was hell, every minute was chaos, every second was disastrous. If drifting into this void forever was the best solution so escape that hell, then by all means necessary, I shall have that peace.

"The suffering will never end, Joe", said the voice, this time very closely. I opened my eyes and saw him face-to-face, the personification of my insanity. He still had the wounds all over his body, including the ones I received from Benny.
"Why do you still have those wounds?", I asked with concern as I touched his face with my right hand.

"They will never go away, for the suffering will never end", was his reply as he looked to his right. I followed his gaze and saw dead bodies ahead, the victims of those cursed to die before me, including Blue and White Fangs. The sight of them made me remember my original purpose: To kill the person responsible for all of this, else we'll forever be cursed.

"If this suffering has an origin, then it definitely has an ending. Tell me how to end it once and for all", I said this while getting angry at the same time.

"You know our adversary, Joe. He must die, so we can finally be free. Accept me, and together we will end this suffering once and for all!".

I looked at him in the eye and replied, "I accept".

With that, he exploded and turned into flesh and blood that went into my mouth and enveloped me at the same time. It was painful and unpleasant, but by the time I was done I felt even stronger, so strong that not even the world could handle the rage within. And with that, I flew up towards reality to continue with my vengeance.