I began to walk forward, slowly at first, then picking up speed as I got closer to the arena. The roaring crowd became louder and louder until it was deafening, and soon, the sounds were all around me.
I heard a huge cage began opening up, and my opponent came out.
with a pointer blade, the blade looks like a toothpick that can break by even hitting one stone or rock, I assume the sword isn't fully sturdy.
"Are you the man named Hiro Midnight?" Asks the person wearing green.
I silently nodded at him, without speaking.
"You short one, for a kid to be my opponent is disappointing."
He removed his cloak and revealed a robust figure underneath. His arms bulged with muscle and veins, the man had a face full of scars with a stubble beard, and I concluded that he was in his late forties.
This person who stood in front of me was huge and fat and muscular than me, I wouldn't win him using normal attacks.
The swords were created of simple steel with an edge honed to a deadly sharpness, sharp enough to slice a tree branch or wood in half, it can probably slice bones, too.
I turn around and look at the father of Reina and Yuna once again and he has this devilish smile, I assume it would be the time when I would fight or be dead, this whole arena was made by his authority.
I can sense a faint chill running through the air, causing goosebumps to appear all over my body.
The guard from before walks between both of us and asks, "Are you both prepared?"
My opponent nobbed, I hesitated for a moment and then shook my head, signalling the start of our deadly duel.
"Commence!" Shouted the guard as he backed away quickly from our duels.
I stood still and observed him; I had no intention of attacking him immediately, instead, I intended to see how he behaved, especially when confronted with such a strong adversary, "So, what's your name, old man?" I asked the person in front of me with no care at all.
"How disrespectful you are kid!" Scoffed the old man, "Don't tell me you don't recognize an expert who has come to an easy battle! You disappoint me!"
I shrugged, unfazed by his remarks, "I'm the one who asked first, just tell me your name!"
"Tch, annoying kid. What's the difference does the names make!, if you really want to know my name, this people who called me the Lord of Warfare."
"The Lord of warfare?" I question
"Why they call me the Lord of warfare? Is it because my life has been devoted to perfecting and mastering the art of war Through years of trial and error, countless years of practice and dedication.
My knowledge is derived from countless hours studying hundreds upon thousands of battles, and my skill and talent were acquired through gruelling, bloody combat.
I am the best there is, so much better than any other warrior. I have fought many times against the strongest warriors in this land, and defeated them every single time, proving myself superior to everyone else."
"Is that true?" I questioned him, not believing a word of it.
"Oh yes, it's absolutely true," He nodded confidently, "Now, let's get down to business shall we, I will kill you here today, and I'll take back everything that belongs to me!"
This huge guy seemed confident in himself, yet I wasn't scared of him at all, even though I knew he was stronger than me.
"Do you think that I can beat a God?", I asked sarcastically, making sure to insult him right off the bat.
"Ha ha, you're a funny little boy. I've seen plenty of Gods die before, I assure you that I can defeat whatever feeble deity you serve, now show yourself, or I'll rip your throat out!"
His words angered me more, and I decided to attack without giving him a chance to counterattack. As soon as I started swinging my sword, he rushed towards me and tried to grab hold of me, but I dodged his clumsy attempts and continued to swing my blade around wildly, trying to strike him anywhere possible. The Lord of Warfare managed to dodge most of my attacks, and he quickly realised that I was far too fast for him to block.
This Lord of Warfare charging me like a bull enraged me further, I attempted to dodge away from his charge, but unfortunately, he caught up with me faster than anticipated.
Before I knew it, he had grabbed my wrist with both hands and pinned me to the ground, and he raised his foot over my head, preparing to stomp my face into a pulp.
Luckily, I saw an opportunity and rolled it out of the way just in time.
As I got back onto my feet, the Lord of War turned to look at me, ready to deliver another devastating blow, but I was prepared for his next assault.
I launched lighting-fast kicks at him, aiming for his legs, hoping that I could knock him unconscious by kicking his knees. However, the Lord of War was able to deflect each and every kick with ease, showing no signs of pain whatsoever.
After several unsuccessful strikes, he finally landed a direct hit on my shin, sending shockwaves throughout my body, causing me to lose balance. My vision blurred and I stumbled forward, falling flat on my stomach.
"That's enough," he yelled angrily, "you won't win unless you learn when to stop fighting! You're pathetic, a waste of space, and a disgrace to your kind!"
The Lord of War lifted his leg high above my head again, this time intending to crush my skull beneath his boot, but I used my free hand to grasp the bottom of his boot and yanked it downward, throwing him off balance.
With one final push, I pushed myself upright and jumped straight into the air, landing on top of his chest and wrapping my arms around his neck, forcing him to release his grip on my arm.
To my astonishment, he didn't even flinch in the face of my challenge. Instead, with a swift and decisive motion, he seized my shoulders, his grip unyielding, and effortlessly hoisted me into the air before hurling me aside.
My body flew through the air and smashed against the wall, leaving me dazed and unable to move.
"Damn...!" I groaned as I struggled to get up.
I had no choice but to charge myself with lighting surrounding me once more. I been learn on this technique during my prison cell, and I've become quite proficient at using it since. It was also something that allowed me to increase my speed tremendously.
"Interesting ability," laughed the Lord of War, "let's see if you can survive another barrage of punches!"
Without wasting any further time, the Lord of War charged ahead, reaching me in mere seconds.
I managed to dodge at accelerated speeds, I might have handled this speed using a lot of mana I had left, and luckily the crowd went wild, they love us to show our potential in this arena.
"You fast, decided to get serious, huh? But you can't compare to me," said the Lord of warfare.
"We'll see about that," I shot back as I began unleashing a flurry of punches towards the Lord of war, aiming to incapacitate his torso or face.
After the third blow, however, my efforts became futile. No matter how many times I swung my fist, no matter how hard or fast I punched, I never hit any vital points. Even worse, every strike made contact with a part of the Lord of War that was already guarded.
But something else was happening, this warfare's arms became larger and muscle bigger, as if some type of energy flowed through them.
"Woah, what's going on?" Said the Lord of Warfare confused.
The sudden and unexpected growth in the size of his arms was not a trick of light or anything else.
The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers, their voices raised in unison as they exclaimed, "That's the Lord of Warfare's Behemoth ability!"
A Behemoth ability, I've never heard of one until now, but what did it mean? My battle experience is starting to fail, the only thing left is to dodge any attacks that could possibly get me hit.
One step forward and a giant-sized fist was thrown at me from the Lord of Warfare, luckily I dodged and sent a kick towards his knee, the biggest target beside his head.
It didn't go as I expected, I felt a sharp pain in my foot, as if my bones were breaking.