The Second Fight:
The second gate opened slowly, and out stepped Zara, the Silent Serpent. She was lithe and fast, with a set of crimson-bladed sickles strapped to her forearms. Her movements were fluid, almost hypnotic, as she twirled the blades in the air, making a soft, whistling sound as they cut through the wind.
Aditya raised an eyebrow. "Sickles, huh? You planning to harvest my soul, or are we just going for a dance?"
Zara gave him a cold smile but didn't answer. Instead, she lunged at him with lightning speed, the sickles flashing through the air. Aditya barely dodged, the blades grazing his arm. A sharp sting ran through his body, and he winced but quickly recovered.
"Nice try," he said, twisting around her. "But you've got to be faster than that."
Zara didn't slow down. She was all speed and precision, moving like a shadow, her sickles cutting through the air in rapid succession. Aditya's eyes narrowed as he calculated his next move. His opponent was fast, but he was faster.
Aditya reached into his pouch and threw a handful of Blinding Powder into the air. The powder exploded in a cloud of white dust, obscuring Zara's vision. She swung wildly, her movements less controlled as she tried to clear her eyes, but Aditya was already closing in.
He grabbed one of her wrists, twisting it and disarming her in one swift motion. With a sharp punch to her temple, he sent Zara sprawling to the sand.
The crowd cheered as Aditya stood over her, breathing heavily. "Two down," he said, a grin on his face. "Let's see if the next one can keep up."
The Final Fight:
The third and final gate opened with a heavy groan, and the crowd fell silent. Out of the shadows emerged Korin, the Earthshaker. He was enormous, with skin like cracked stone, and his massive hands were wrapped in spiked gauntlets. His weapon of choice wasn't a hammer—it was a gigantic stone mace, its head the size of a boulder, and it was dripping with molten lava that glowed ominously in the dim light.
Aditya's eyes widened. "Okay, this is more like it. A walking natural disaster. What is that? A mace or a volcano on a stick?"
Korin cracked his neck, ignoring the insult, and lifted the mace high above his head. "You're about to find out," he growled.
With a terrifying roar, Korin swung the mace with unimaginable force. Aditya barely managed to roll out of the way as the ground beneath him cracked open, the shockwave from the impact sending him tumbling. He got to his feet, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead, and shook his head to clear the daze.
"That's a bit more than I was expecting," Aditya muttered, wiping his brow. The impact had left a deep crater in the sand. Korin was strong, but Aditya was agile and cunning.
Korin swung again, and this time, Aditya couldn't evade entirely. The edge of the mace struck him in the side, the sharp molten spikes ripping through his armor and drawing a scream of pain. He stumbled backward, gasping for air as his body screamed in protest.
"Not good..." Aditya coughed, but he could still stand. He knew he had to finish this quickly.
Aditya reached into his pouch and pulled out a vial of Inferno Dew, a fiery liquid that was known to burn through even the toughest materials. He hurled it at Korin's exposed arm, and the liquid splashed across his skin, sizzling and eating through the stone-like flesh. Korin howled in pain, shaking his arm and trying to douse the flames.
Seizing the opportunity, Aditya darted forward, his speed a blur. He leapt onto Korin's back and drove a dagger deep into the warrior's neck, aiming for the weak spot where the stone flesh met the vulnerable skin beneath. The poison in the blade spread quickly, and Korin's massive body shuddered before he dropped to his knees, his mace falling with a deafening crash to the sand.
Aditya staggered back, covered in sweat and blood, his body aching from the brutal fight. He had done it. Barely.
The crowd erupted into cheers, but all Aditya could do was catch his breath. He had pushed himself to the limit.
"Three down," he said, his voice low, though a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "That was fun."
After the Fights:
Aditya, still bleeding and sore, staggered out of the arena, his pockets now heavier with the 150 celestial gold coins he had won and the storage ring. The crowd's applause rang in his ears, but he barely noticed. He wasn't here for fame. He was here to prove something.
"They think I'm a fool," he muttered under his breath. "I bet 500 celestial gold coins, and now I have a total of 1,150 including the reward. Enough to buy a decent courtyard, maybe plant a garden or some herbs."
He looked up at the arena one last time and smirked. "Not coming back here until I break through the balance seeker. These people think they know me, but they don't have a clue."