Tie Up Loose Ends

Though he’d managed to win, he still felt a little dazed.

Ivan lay there for a while, breathing hard, then struggled to his feet.

“Sir, are you still alive?”

Ivan asked in a slightly anxious voice. His opponent wasn’t someone he could afford to hold back against.

He’d gone all out and beaten the old man senseless, but surely he hadn’t killed him···?

“···Cough.”

A faint cough came in place of an answer.

Ivan sighed in relief. At least the old man seemed to still be clinging to life.

“That’s a relief. I never meant to kill you, at least.”

“···It’s even more terrifying to hear that you weren’t trying to kill me.”...