I’d barely gotten my feet planted on the ground when two more monks came at me from my left and right. I had to block with both arms and turn a blinding flurry of punches aimed at both sides of my face. I managed to plant a solid right hook on one’s jaw, then snapped the other’s head back with an uppercut, before I pivoted in a half-turn to smash a straight rear kick into the midriff of another monk who charged at me from behind.
I jumped over another one who came at me attempting a double-leg takedown, rolling over his back and kicking two more monks in the face in the process. As I landed, I dropped into the full-splits position and dick-punched another monk. He grunted and staggered back.
“So, I guess you guys aren’t eunuchs then?” I said as I jumped to my feet.
The monk gasped as he gripped his balls.
“You have sullied the Order and found our secret place,” the head monk said as he approached me. He settled into an unorthodox combat stance, both arms lifted high above his head, and a single knee raised to chest level. “For that,” he continued, “you must die.”
We both launched flying kicks at the exact same moment, colliding in midair and somersaulting backward from the impact. His kick hit me hard, smashing the air out of my lungs, but mine hit him harder, and I could see his face scrunching up with pain.
We circled each other more warily this time, before he darted in, coming at me with a series of punches so rapid that his fists were a literal blur of motion. As fast as he was, though, I was faster, and my own fists, hands, and wrists moved with a speed he couldn’t match. Every punch he threw my way was blocked or turned, until finally he left an opening in his guard. I didn’t waste the opportunity—I slipped my hand through and smashed a vicious right hook across his chin. This was what finally dropped him.
Panting, I turned around, and saw that every other monk had already recovered from the injuries I’d dealt them, and they were closing in again.
“Fucking hell,” I said. “Don’t you assholes know when to stay down? Come on, I don’t want to have to kill any of you.”
“STOP!” a new voice roared.
We all paused, and everyone turned to face the direction the yell had come from. Standing at the other end of the room was Zhenwan, holding the Dragon Gauntlet high above his head.
“The man you’re attacking is no man,” he said. “He is Lord Vance Chauzec of Brakith, God of Death, and he comes bearing one of the sacred Dragon Gauntlets. He is the only living being with the strength to wield them since the days of Uger and Kemji.”
It seemed that the monks could “see” the gauntlet, somehow. They could certainly sense its presence because they all stood from their fighting stances and bowed their heads a little.
A monk walked over to Zhenwan and said something to him in Yengish. Zhenwan allowed the monk to touch the gauntlet, and the moment he did, the monk dropped to the floor and pressed his face into the ground. He said something in Yengish to the other monks in a shaky tone filled with excitement. Immediately, every other monk, including the head monk, joined him in this position of prostration.
“All hail the God of Death!” The head monk brought his jade necklace to his mouth and kissed it. “The prophecy has finally come true. He is here, after a thousand years—he is finally here!”
Chapter Twenty-One
“I like the way this whole thing has turned around,” I said to the monks. “Please, stand up. Like my friend said, I’m Vance Chauzec, God of Death, and yes, that’s one of the lost Dragon Gauntlets. I need to find the other one and resurrect a dragon so that I can kill the Blood God.”
What I’d just said was probably too much for them to handle in one go, but I figured we were running short on time so I might as well tell them everything as succinctly as possible.
The monks all got to their feet, and the head monk beckoned to me.
“Come here, please, God of Death, that I may look upon your face,” he said.
“I thought you were—”
“Blind, yes, but there are other ways to see. I must touch your face, if you don’t mind.”
I shrugged, then remembered he couldn’t see me. “Sure,” I said. “Go ahead.”
He approached me and started to gently feel the contours of my face with his fingertips.
“Since we’re already at the petting stage, do you mind telling me your name?” I asked him.
“I am Ji-Ko,” he said. “You are a very handsome man, very handsome indeed!” He laughed. “You must have a vast harem.”
“It is, and still growing,” I answered with a chuckle. “Quality over quantity though, that’s my motto when it comes to women.”
“Ah, women, one of the pleasures we Blind Monks must forgo on the path to enlightenment,” he said wistfully. “But we do miss the female body, do we, brothers?”
“Yes, brother,” they all answered, with no small measure of regret and reluctance in their voices.
I stepped away from the monk. “Let’s get straight to it,” I said. “I understand your order is affiliated
