The Colosseum was a terrible scene of violence, and Subaru had become its centerpiece. He lay on the ground, battered and bruised from Julius's relentless assault. His face was a mess of blood, with each beating his expression contorted in pain until he looked almost unrecognizable.
"Is this all you have to show after you called yourself a knight? ... " said Julius as stood over Subaru with fire in his eyes, then he swong his wooden sword very hard at his head crashing him from above
"Gehhk!!" The wood cracked as it landed on Subaru's skull, each strike sending a shockwave through his body with no reprieve in sight.
"You comes boldly to the royal palace and insults the knights and in front of the wise men at that ?... "
"Gehhhk" His eyes rolled back into their sockets as he tried desperately to avoid each hit - though all efforts were futile against Julius'
"Where is your courage?, where is your self-esteem?, you dishonorable person, you disgust me ... "
"Kehhhk" and With every impact his skin stretched tighter against what little flesh remained before finally giving way beneath an ever-growing pool of red that stained the dusty floor below them both.
But still Julius would not relent, striking again and again without mercy.
"Say now, where is your boldness, from before? ... " He said again before striking
"Kehhh!!"
"Where is the one you claimed to be her knight ? ... "
"Gahhh"
"Where is she to defend you as you defended her ?... "
"GEHHHK!!"
Not only Julius used extreme physical violence, his words were just as destructive, and so.
"You are weak and unable to do anything, how it occurred to you to call yourself a knight?, you are not worthy ... "
"GehhhK"
Again and again, Subaru was struck mercilessly by Julius' wooden sword across his head. and his words across his heart, He lay helpless on the ground, unable to defend himself from the onslaught of blows and words that rained down upon him.
"P-Please s st o KEEEK!!"
Subaru pleaded for mercy, but Julius only raised the wooden sword above his head. His knuckles turned white. There was a loud crack louder than the previous ones and Subaru felt an immense pain course through his skull as he again fell to the ground and struggled for consciousness, unable to move or speak. He lay there helplessly.
"I'm not done with you yet" again he said with a fierce glare in his eyes, then another hard hit came crashing down on him.
"pl-khekk!!"
Around them a crowd had amassed - knights like Julius shouting encouragement for him to inflict greater damage while others cried out demands for death.
"Yes, hit him more and more, avenge our honor as knights." A blonde haired knight shouted happily while waving his fist.
"Kill him, kill him. He deserves to die. Kill him now. What are you waiting for sir Julius?" A blue-haired knight shouted while standing, waving his sword in the air.
"Come on, show that weakling what it means to be a knight" A green-haired knight shouted as he waved both hands in the air.
"Come on, is this all you have, weak kid? Get up and fight, as your words say" A guard in a full suit of armor shouted.
And also Many in attendance were increasingly turning away from this sight out of disgust, quietly leaving through what few exits remained open.
"This is too much... He's just a boy, how can they do this to him?" A gray-haired man said lowly with a disgusted face, as he headed for the exit.
"As expected of knights, they are useless in the face of a real threat, but they become strong when there is someone they can bully a poor boy... Tsk, come on Arthur let's get out of here" said disdainfully, a beautiful girl with blue eyes looking at the boy with pity. She is in her thirties, holding Her son's hand, leading him together towards the exit.
"Is he even a knight? I just hope someone stronger than him comes along and shows him the true meaning of bullying".A boy around Subaru's age said angrily, on his way to leave as well.
Within moments it seemed only those that truly relished in violence remained.
"Come on, hit him more and more, don't leave him a chance to ask for mercy"The pink-haired knight shouted while laughing.
"Come on, just execute him quickly and let's get out of here" shouted a bald knight with a clearly bored expression and also a look of disdain directed at the boy.
In the corner, a knight with red hair and blue eyes watched the scene unfold. Unusual for his kind, this knight was known to be one of the strongest warriors in their kingdom, yet he looked at Subaru's severe beating with pity in his eyes. He stood tall and silent as he observed what was happening around him.
"Felix we need to stop this ... This is just going to far" Turning his face to his cat-like friend, Reinhardt said.
"Nyooo~ it okay nya~ Julius-kun knows when to stop...and besides, that boy totally deserved what happened to him nya~" Was Felix's response, and in the last half of his words Felix's glare turned to hatred towards the boy.
But the red-haired knight didn't seems to notice that.
"Felix pleas-!!". Reinhardt tried to say but.
"Would you be quiet for a moment, Reinhardt-kun? Who would you choose? To take the side of a boy you barely knyoo~...or the side of your dear friends" Felix said with a challenging look to Reinhardt, who looked wide-eyed in shock.
"―― This is..!!"He wanted to say something but he couldn't as he was faced with a difficult decision—whether to take the side of a boy he barely knew or remain loyal to his dear friends. It seemed like an impossible choice, one that required him to look deeply within himself and choose between what was easy and what felt right. In the stillness of contemplation, he had no clear answer, he only had his heart's quiet whisper urging him on toward greatness or greatness-in-the-making.
"So nyo~ what is your choice " said Felix as stared into Reinhardt's eyes, demanding an answer.
Seeing his friend acting like that helped Reinhardt made up his decision , as He drew a deep breath and took a moment to open his eyes. He felt an undeniable sense of clarity, as if the universe was guiding him in the right direction. He knew what he had to do—he made his decision and turned away from his friend.
"Reinhardt-kun wha-!!"
"Sorry Felix but this gone too far "He said in a firm voice, interrupting Felix's words as he walked toward the boy whom he barely know.
"NO, PLEASE STOP. SOMEONE STOP HIM, PLEASE!!"
Suddenly a horrified and shocked scream came from above, making Reinhardt stop and look at the source of the sound.
"Emilai-sama?" Reinhardt exclaimed with shoke as Emilia screamed with tears in her eyes, as she was not the only one present. With her were Crusch, Anastasia, and also Priscilla. Some of them looked at the scene with amusement and others without interest, but Emilia was the only one who showed her compassion and sadness for the poor boy.
She asked someone to help him. But Of course, no one was interested in carrying out her request, but one person.
"As a knight, I can't ignore this anymore... So Don't worry, Emilia-sama, I'll help" he murmured to himself as Hearing her screams of pain and seeing her tears only confirmed Reinhardt's resolve to help Subaru.
So, As he began to take a few steps towards Subaru who was still being beaten mercilessly.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Suddenly, a gigantic roar of thunder shook the ground and a massive bolt of lightning shot down from the sky like an arrow. It struck square into the center of the Colosseum, illuminating it in blinding white light. The crowd was cowed by its power and everyone present covered their eyes to protect themselves from that powerful light.
" FELIX!!! " Even Reinhardt stepped back instinctively to shield Felix with his body as it seems that they are the closest to the lighting striking place.
all was still once more except for reverberations echoing through air and hearts alike, until.
"FELIX REINHARDT are you okay!??" Suddenly Julius burst from the cloud of dust that had been raised by the thunderbolt that struck in the center of the Colosseum, He was running with frantic haste.
"JULIUS-KYOON !"Felix saw his friend running, and without hesitation called out. And With adrenaline coursing through him, Felix pushed Reinhardt aside and ran to where his friend was.
"Julius are you okay? are you hert anywhere nya!!? " In an instant he was by the side of his friend, searching with frantic care for any wounds sustained as a result of the thunderbolt's strike.
"I'm fine, don't worry,... my spirits formed a shield to protect me at the last moment... So, there's no need to worry."Julius said as he smiled while six shimmering orbs of light, spun around his finger like tiny planets.
"Thank god " Felix sighed in relief, his tight shoulders relaxing as the tension slowly began to ease from his body after hearing Julius words as he indeed found no sign of injury on his friend.
"See i told you" Julius chuckled softly and shook his head before patting him on the back with assurance.
"Julius what happened? there and more importantly where is Subaru". Reinhardt voice was tight and nervous, but
"Julius-kun?" Anastasia called out in a worried voice interrupting Reinhardt as she strode towards her knight, and she wasn't alone since She was accompanied by Emilia and crusch and also Priscilla.
"Anastasia-sa-!!" He tried to say
"JULIUS WHERE IS SUBARU"He tried to speak, but Emilia was faster than a sprite. She raced ahead of Anastasia, Priscilla and Crush, she reached Julius first and with tears in her eyes desperately pleaded for Subaru's whereabouts, confusion and sadness clouding her face.
And not only her, but Reinhardt, Crusch, Emilia, Anastasia felix, and even Priscilla who thought herself too grand to be part of any group - were waiting expectantly for him to tell them what had happened when the lightning bolt struck, Their eyes were wide with a mixture of fear, interest, grief curiosity.
Seeing those eyes he was left with no choice so He cleared his throat.
"Well about subaru he is unfo-!!!."
BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!BOOOOOOOM!!!!BOOOOOOM!!!!
He was abouts to deacalr Subaru' death when suddenly a lightning bolt struck the center of the Colosseum again . Then, another and another quickly followed suit, engulfing Julius and those around him in a blinding light.
Some attempted to cover their eyes from its searing brightness while others scrambled to flee the arena in panic-stricken terror. The deafening vibrations of thunder shook them all as they cowered together beneath this sudden tempestious onslaught.
"REINHARDT PLEAS TAKE ANASTASIA-SAMA AND THE OTHERS TO SAFTY" Julius shouted with panic to his friend, who merely nodded in agreement as he proceeded to lead the four princesses out of the range of the lightning strikes.
"But ...." Emilia could feel the words gathering at the back of her throat, ready to be spoken. After they been told to ran, She wanted to tell them that subaru is still ther and he need to be saved but her father held her back.
'Forget about him lia he is dead anyway so thers nothing we can do.. really sorry.'
So she closed her mouth in a thin line and with reluctant steps she followed along with their evocation.
Completely forgetting about Subaru, everyone decided to retreat for now.
"Come on, Felix!" The sky was lit up by giant streaks of lightning and the thunder roared like a huge bear. so before it got any worse. Julius grabbed the choked Felix ' arm and tried to ran for a cover.
"AND WAHT ABOUT ME !!???"
A bellow of rage reverberated across the Colosseum or even all over the capital, shaking the very foundations of that which lay beneath. Its intensity was such that princesses and knights alike even Reinhardt stopped what they were doing to trace its origin. In a momentary pause as if predicting its arrival, a streak of lightning illuminated an angry figure standing tall atop a burned ground.
" oh my god " Julius exclaimed unable to belive his eyes.
All present were stunned by the overwhelming presence before them. Even Reinhardt felt a tremendous power emanating from him that stirred within him some fear and awe at once. Eyes wide, mouths agape, they could only watch in silence as he surveyed every one of them with an impenetrable shining glare that seemed to penetrate their very souls. No one moved or spoke until his gaze finally settled upon Julius.
"OH I WILL ENJOY THIS ~ "
He spoke with a deep and booming voice, triumphant yet almost comedic. His eyes shone bright as lightning, accentuated by his black full-body suit which revealed the musculature of his body in golden lines. On his chest was stitched a large gold lightning bolt, its power reflected outwards in small sparks that seemed to dance around him. He fixed Julius with an intense gaze – like he wasicing to pounce on him – and gave a fierce smile, confident yet menacing at the same time.