Ansel
My hands couldn't stop shaking. It wasn't fear that I was feeling; no, the excitement I felt was too much. I felt like a child excited to go play, but this play date was anything childlike. According to Peter, who explained the rules, we couldn't kill each other, but injuring them was allowed. Some could come out with a broken bone or a few cuts. Even knowing that, I still couldn't contain my excitement. It was something I'd never felt before, or maybe I've always had but never fully felt. I talked with Peter and Alea towards the end of the tunnel, where Levi, Amira, and Charlie were waiting. Besides me, Peter matched my steps with equal excitement. This new confident Peter was interesting and more fun.
However, Alea was just a step behind us. Glancing back, I noticed her subtleness and lack of steps. It was like she was fearing getting close. Deciding to talk to her, I pulled back and matched her steps. Alea flinched when I walked beside her.
"Are you scared," I asked. "It's just a match between some older kids."
Alea raised an eyebrow at me.
"Those older kids are members of the King's cohorts and the King himself; they're monsters among monsters. So yeah, I'm a bit scared, but it's not so much about facing them. Rather, it's about seeing Hailey."
From her small steps and slumped shoulders, it was easy to tell how much she didn't want to go. If her reason for not going is to see Hailey again, I wonder how she avoided her during school.
"Why? Did you piss her off," I asked jokingly. To my surprise, Alea nodded.
"I told you how Noelle trained me right. Hailey would stop by to help train me as well. We trained together, and Noelle helped me control my powers. But…" she hesitated, her face going blank. "After Noelle died, I couldn't bring myself to train my powers again. I guess Hailey got mad or disappointed. So I avoid her."
"But today, you're facing her without an opportunity to run. I say, face her head on and show her that your decision was correct," I said.
Just as we arrived where everyone was, Alea flashed me a smile and nodded. But her smile was forced like she herself knew that she wouldn't win. Before Peter could begin to discuss his plan, a voice behind us caused us to turn around.
"Hey, Hey, shorty, I got your sword, don't go," Eddie yelled. Not having enough time to stop, Eddy ran straight into me, knocking both of us down.
"Get off me, you dwarf," I yelled.
"Ah, sorry, sorry," Eddie said, getting up. "Here is your temporary sword."
Eddy shoved the sword into my arms—except it wasn't really a sword but just a sword handle. There was no blade attached to the sword handle, but it had an opening and four small metal diamond-shaped designs.
"I think you forgot the blade," Charlie said, looking at the handle.
"Hold on a sec, you didn't even give me a chance to explain. From what I've seen, no blade crafted thus far can withstand his aura, so I fashioned this particular type of sword. I reckon no matter what sword I craft for you, it's likely to snap the moment you pour too much aura into it. So, I've come up with a solution—a reusable sword. Whenever the blade breaks, a new one will grow back. All you've got to do is say "καλλιεργώ" Eddie said.
Instantly, a three-foot-long blade began to grow from the adamant handle, leaving one of the diamond shapes empty.
"So all I have to do is say grow, then a new blade will appear," I clarified.
"Aye, but you must utter it in Greek. They were imbued with Greek enchantments, you see. You've only got three more blades, so use them with prudence, and don't let too much aura flow into them. If not, you'll exhaust your blades sooner than you think," Eddie said.
I gripped the sword tight. It's too light, I thought. Instead of feeling like an extension of my arm, it felt like I was holding a piece of paper. Still, I couldn't particularly complain; Peter had expected this. So this was why he made me train my demiaura control on swords, plus that other thing. However, the main thing Peter had me focus on was demiaura control. I would cover swords in my aura so they would not feel too light or too heavy. The only downside was that I could exhaust my demiaura or let too much out.
"Thanks. I'll make them count," I said. Eddy wished us luck and ran oppositely, saying he better still find a great spot to watch.
The moment he left, all eyes turned to Peter, who was watching the center arena carefully.
When he faced us, he had the same fiery look he had three days ago.
"Here's the plan. Levi and Charlie two are going to tag team against Michael and Jake. Every ten minutes or as needed, alternate. You two have the best teamwork here, so use it. Alea and I will focus on Magnus and Hailey. Amira, you-"
"yeah, I know. Keep Enzo busy."
"No," Peter replied.
His answer caused Amira to raise an eyebrow at him. Even I knew the best way to deal with Enzo would be to have Amira fight him. They were both children of the big three.
"The one that will keep Enzo busy is Ansel. Amira, when the fighting begins, you'll hide in the water. Once you see an opening, attack Enzo."
Ah, I see, so I will fight Enzo. Cool. Cool. Wait…me! Everyone shared my surprise as they looked between Peter and me. They were confused, but Peter did not mind them. Instead, he was looking straight at me as if saying I'm giving you what you want, take it. I couldn't lie to myself. I wanted to fight Enzo, even though every bone in my body told me not to. While everyone tried to talk to Peter, he looked at me. This new Peter was scary.
"I'll do it," I said. "Look, I trust Peter, and if he thinks we have a greater chance of winning, I'll focus on Enzo."
Everyone turned to look at Amira, who was staring at Peter and me, trying to find a reason for Peter's line of thinking.
"Alright, brainy, let's go with your plan," Amira said, looking at Peter, who in turn looked at her.
They stared at each other for a while until Alea coughed, breaking the awkwardness everyone was feeling. Amira and Peter looked away, turning as red as a tomato, feeling awkward.
"Right, we said well we'd trust Peter's plan, so that's what we'll do," Alea said, looking at Peter with a teasing smile.
"Fine," Levi said, turning to face Ansel. "Don't lose miserably. We're risking our little respect as a cohort, placing a rookie against the King. As much as having to rely on a rookie kills me, I trust Peter's plan. The outcome is all that matters; our future as a squad rides on your battle. Win this, and we'll gain respect. Lose this, and we'll be the laughingstock of every squad".
"Idiot," I said as I walked ahead of everyone. "I don't care about what others think of me. All I care about is not letting any of you down. So let's see what the king is made of".
I grabbed the flag belt, placed it around my waist, and walked ahead.
I didn't look back at them; instead, I continued forward into the arena. The sounds of their footsteps echoed until we walked onto the grass. My eyes searched the arena. What I saw left me speechless.
To the right of me was a fire pit with black fire raging violently. When I watched them, they seemed to relax. The black fire stood out the most in the arena, not because of its color but because it was the only thing that wasn't beautiful. When they said Colosseum, I had thought the arena would just be a grovel, but looking around, there was no grovel. The entire arena was covered with healthy green grass. At the center of the arena, on each side, were two small ponds. The water was crisp and clear like no one had ever set foot in it. What disturbed the beautiful ponds were the wild vines coming from them.
The vines wrapped around the tall wall until it reached the first row of seats. The passage between the two ponds was the one spot in the arena with flowers growing from them. The arena was more like an oasis than an arena for battle. The crowd, who I hadn't noticed, suddenly erupted into cheers. From the other side, Enzo and his squad walked out. I watched them come out and line up, except for Enzo, who stayed behind them. On their right was a fire pit with black fire, but that fire was much smaller than the one on our side. The cheers intensified as Chiron stepped out of what looked like an announcing box way on top, overlooking the entire Colosseum. My friends moved before me just as Chiron was about to talk.
"Heroes, today's flag match is between the King's cohort and cohort 2. You know the rule: you may not kill or deal a deadly blow. You may knock out your opponents, remove their flag belts, or make them surrender. If you do any of these three, then your cohort will earn a point. Once all your opponents have been defeated, you win. If you are defeated, please stand by the wall, or if you are injured, walk to the medical room where a child of Apollo will help you. If you defeat an opponent, you may continue to fight or sit out. May the Gods be in your favor," Chiron said.
The crowd quieted, leaving an ere silence. No one made a single move. It seemed like time had stopped for a moment. Then, someone moved, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Hailey and Magnus parted so that Enzo could stand in front of them. He began to walk forward. Each one of his steps forward added another layer of pressure. The air around us began to feel colder and more dense. The smell of ozone began to fill the arena, just like dark clouds began to form above the Colosseum.
"A Bongcloud attack. They're mocking us," Peter mumbled under his breath.
In my left hand, I gripped my sword tighter. I knew my role; if Enzo was moving, my move was next. Letting out a breath, I felt my mind ease, and my body relaxes despite who I was about to face.
"Move you two," I said to Peter and Alea, who stood before me.
Without even responding, they parted for me. I could hear the giggles from the stadium, but they sounded somewhat far away. My vision was focused solely on Enzo, who stopped walking.
For a second, he was surprised, and then a grin began to form. The smell of ozone intensified, and then, in a flash, lighting struck where Enzo stood. I averted my eyes from the blinding flash. Enzo was holding a sword in his right hand when I could see again. I knew the sword from the multiple stories my mother told me. A sword with the top of the blade curved like a hook, there was no doubt that Enzo was holding the Harpe, the sword of Perseus. Forgetting the questions from the sword, I raised my sword at Enzo.
Your first step needs to be explosive, I reminded myself. As if pulled by some sort of gravity, both Enzo and I moved. Our swords clashed, causing the ponds between us to explode. The impact of our swords clashing was so strong that it sent both of us flying back. I stabbed my sword into the ground to stop my momentum. Enzo was already coming down with his sword just as I got up. Forced to stay grounded, I raised my sword, using the flat blade, and blocked his attack. I expected him to fall, but instead, he stayed floating as he pushed me down with his strike. I need to get out, I thought desperately.
I decided to gamble; I used what Peter and Levi had taught me. I allowed my demiaura to flow out but concentrated it on my arms. My aura responded perfectly; it covered both my arms like arm sleeves. Using my aura's reinforced strength, I pushed Enzo's sword to the side, causing him to jerk sideways and strike to the ground. I rolled to one side but moved my body to attack instead of putting distance between us. I swung my sword back just as Enzo turned around; it should have been a hit. Except that's when I felt the back of my hair stand in alarm. Deciding to follow my instincts, I stopped my attack and quickly put some distance between us. It was a good thing, too. The second I moved, a lightning bolt struck where I had been. Shit, I thought, looking up. The dark clouds were his; even the lighting was because of him. Around me, there was constant movement, but I couldn't pay attention to where anyone was. In front of me, Enzo stabbed his sword into the ground. Then, an explosion went off underground, causing the ground to explode upward.
Then, pulling his sword out, Enzo thrust his sword forward. The pieces of the ground that exploded upward were suddenly flying towards me. The wind, I realized. Enzo used his control over the wind to send them flying at me.
It was like an intense dodgeball match. I ducked, sidestepped, or jumped over the incoming pieces of the ground. Just as I cut down a piece of ground, Enzo was suddenly flying towards me on top of a piece of ground. Noticing his left arm was extended, and his sword arm outstretched, an idea came to me.
A really stupid idea, but the only idea I had was to injure him. Coating my legs in aura, I jumped towards him, my sword raised to strike. Enzo, seeming to expect this, readied his sword. Because of my sudden burst, I had the advantage in our clash, but I wasn't looking to win this clash. Just as I let my strength loosen, Enzo fell into me due to the force he was pushing with me. This was my chance; I reached for Enzo's left hand using my right hand. Gripping it tightly, I used it to swing myself behind him. Enzo yelled out in pain at his arm being twisted. His yell was muffled as I used my legs to push him down into the ground. I didn't let go as he crashed into the ground. His flag was right there, tied around his waist.
Breathing heavily, I reached for the flag, but just as my fingers brushed against the flag, my body exploded into pain. The smell of burnt flesh filled my nose.
My body felt extremely hot, as if suddenly inside an oven was being cooked. I felt my muscles twist in agony like every bone was just shocked out of place. Shock, I thought through the pain. I looked down at Enzo's right hand and then at the dark clouds. Of course, he could shoot lighting out of his hand. Feeling my grip loosen on Enzo's left hand, I tried to strike my sword down into his arm but couldn't. Before my sword could make contact, some invisible barrier stopped my sword. I tried pushing it down, but it felt like a piece of wood against a steel door. I tried to back away, but Enzo reacted faster. From his left hand, a gust of wind threw me back.
Despite the pain, I forced my head to focus. Why couldn't I strike him? I thought it was like trying to break a second layer of reinforcement. Although my body was still flying back, my mind came to a halt. Reinforcement, I thought again. If demiaura could be applied to your legs and arms to give them extra strength, couldn't it also provide some protection? The idea sounded insane, but it was the only one I could go off on. Deciding to test it, I allowed more demiaura to leak out and concentrated it around my body. It was a good thing because I was thrown straight into the wall. My insane idea paid off. The demiaura I used to cover my body had protected me from the impact. Pushing myself off the wall, I stood, my legs still shaking from being electrocuted. I wanted to catch my breath for another second, but Enzo suddenly flew into the sky. Maybe it was the pain, but I could swear that Enzo's eyes were glowing. Then, as if he was going to throw a ball, Enzo pulled his arm back, but instead of holding a ball, Enzo was holding a bolt of lightning.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me," I said.
Lighting came down like rain. Bolt after bolt of lightning struck the ground, leaving crater after crater. I dash and move, trying my best to avoid them. I intensified the amount of demiaura around me, trying to shield myself. Some bolts hit me, but my demiaura acted like a shield. For how long, I didn't know. I needed to get him down, I thought. That's when I noticed where Enzo had flown over.
Unknown
Levi, Charlie, Michael, and Jake were on the side of the wall where Cohort 2 had entered. Charlie sat on the ground, holding his left arm. Occasionally, he would grunt in pain but tried to muffle it by biting into his shirt. Sitting beside Charlie, Levi carefully wrapped the wound he received from Michael. Despite his strong physique, Levi still flinched in pain when he wrapped the bandage on his thigh wound. Levi also received other cuts and bruises alongside his thigh wound. Still, the biggest and most annoying was the black eye received from Michael. Both members of Cohort 2 were in pain but refused to leave.
Jake and Michael were quietly watching as Ansel sent Enzo to the ground.
"Wow, that's gotta hurt, even for Enzo. It looked like Ansel was using Enzo as a skateboard," Jake said, laughing.
Michael chuckled before adding, "his fighting style is rough around the edges and unorthodox but amusing."
He paused, then turned to look at Levi and Charlie.
"Are you two sure you don't want us to take you to a healer?"
"No way," Charlie said through horse breath.
"We just got to see our rookie king eat dirt."
Levi was going to add on, but then two new people came to join them. Hailey gently placed Alea against the wall. While Alea was bathed in a green glow coming from her body, slowly, the wounds Alea had received began to fade away, like water washing dirt off. Alea stood and moved towards Charlie, who seemed ready to pass out. Outstretching her hand, a green glow began to bathe Charlie.
"Aren't all of you going to join the fight?" Alea asked, looking between Hailey and Michael.
"No, why would we? We already did our job, so we just need to wait for those two to finish. Besides, there's a reason why Enzo decided to fight your group", Hailey answered sweetly.
"It's because of Ansel, isn't it," Alea said.
A look of uncertainty passed through the members of the King's cohort.
"What's so special about our goldie," Levi demanded.
Michael and Jake nodded at Hailey as if telling her it was okay to tell them.
"Enzo wants to confirm something," Hailey answered.
"We were surprised when you sent Ansel to fight Enzo willingly. You threw Magnus completely off, Peter must have something up his sleeve. This bold move could either be your downfall, or it could prove to be your winning move", Michael commented as he continued to watch Ansel fight.
"Don't insult our strategist like that. It wasn't a guess! Peter knew that Ansel could take Enzo", Levi said, looking at his squad members for backup.
"He's right. Peter made this plan with full confidence", Charlie said.
Charlie's wounds had all but disappeared.
The members of the King's cohort looked at each other, unsure of this new information. A single thought went through all of them: 'Does he know something like Enzo'? There was a brief silence among them despite lightning cracking and strong winds. Finally moving to heal Levi, Alea stopped to watch Ansel momentarily.
"Levi's right. Peter wouldn't just go this route unless he knew something. After lunch, Peter said that Ansel would be our ace. He knows something about Ansel; I mean, he did spend time with him in the mundane realm. Maybe he figured something out", Aella said.
"Well, we just have to wait and see then. Oh look, Magnus finished his match already", Hailey said as everyone turned to look at where Hailey was pointing.
On the far right, Peter lay on the ground as Magnus placed his sword and Peter's spear across Peter's neck, forming a deadly x. Peter raised his hands in surrender. Magnus helped Peter up and helped him walk to where everyone was. The raging winds and lighting made it almost impossible for them to walk over. After what felt like an eternity, Magnus and Peter arrived where everyone was at. Peter sat before his cohort while Magnus talked to his squad mates.
"I'm sorry, everyone," Peter started. "I had thought this was our best plan, but we figured it out."
Hearing this, Magnus walked over to Peter. Standing in front of Peter, Magnus glared at the sitting Peter.
"This hypocrisy in your plans has got to stop," Magnus scowled.
Magnus stared coldly at Peter. Levi, already healed, was getting up but was pulled back by Alea. Keeping her blank demeanor, Alea turned towards Magnus.
"Is this hypocrisy you speak of because Peter continues to let his emotions dictate his plans."
Magnus' cold gaze towards Peter replaced a tired and wary look. It looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
Finally, Magnus said, "It is related to using emotions. But not in the way you're thinking. I allow my emotions to dictate my plans at times, but if I choose to use an emotion, I see it through. Peter, you're using a specific emotion necessary in all plans. Still, the way you're structuring your plan showcases something else."
Peter, who had his head down, looked up at Magnus confused. Despite Peter's confusion, he took Magnus' word to heart. Athena disowned Peter, yet Magnus had advised him that it was enough to warm Peter's heart.
"I-I'll try," Peter said.
Peter turned to the ongoing battle. Ansel dodged lightning bolts, and the ones that hit him didn't hurt him.
"Amazing. Did all of you teach him to use demiaura defensively," Hailey asked.
Everyone shook their heads, leaving the members of the King's cohort puzzled. Slowly, a smile returned to Peter's face. Enzo was now flying above a specific pond. With a smile, Peter turned to Magnus.
"Hey, Magnus, when you have the king piece trap in chess, what do you call it?"
Magnus, looking confused, answered, "Well, you call it to check when the king is trapped and checkmate when the king is defeated."
Everyone's attention was on Peter now. Magnus looked at Peter and then at where Ezio and Ansel were at. Magnus' eyes landed on the pond below when realization dawned on Magnus.
"Enzo, get out of there," Magnus yelled, scaring Hailey, Jake, and Michael.
"It's too late. Check, brother," Peter said.