"He's a g*ddamn monster!"
"He's unstoppable!"
"Dracula Von Death! Dracula Von Death!"
The crowd chanted my name, their initial doubts and ridicule now replaced by unbridled admiration and excitement.
The Coliseum had witnessed something extraordinary, and I had become the new sensation in the arena.
After the crowd calmed down, I retreated to the waiting room to prepare for my next bout.
The atmosphere in the room was a mixture of tension and camaraderie as fighters of various backgrounds and abilities readied themselves for their upcoming matches.
I checked the schedule for my next match, noting the time and my opponent, a hundred hell hounds, basically mutated zombie dogs.
Actually, they weren't really zombies just like the zombies they were mutated by radiation mutants who had been infected by an unknown pathogen.
They still had to breathe and needed their hearts to circulate blood, well a death knight was obviously an exception though.
But even he would die after the leftover oxygen inside his brain ran out.
In a corner of the room, I found a quiet spot and sat down, entering a state of half-sleep and half-wakefulness.
My augmented senses allowed me to stay alert to my surroundings while conserving energy and maintaining a mental focus that would be crucial in the coming battle.
As other fighters began their matches, the sounds of clashing weapons, cheers, and cries of pain filled the waiting room.
I remained calm and centered, mentally preparing for the next challenge that awaited me in the Coliseum's unforgiving arena.
...
As the unconscious Hope continued to lie inside the ice-cold water which was constantly being cooled off by the high-tech bathtub.
The serums continued to rewrite her DNR, removing any defects while at the same time upgrading her DNR and cells.
The bathtub was slowly getting black as her body expelled the dead cells, any residue radiation, and toxins from her body through her pores.
Slowly her features became more refined and perfect, her bones grew while her muscles became more compressed.
And most importantly her two sizes also increased while any unnecessary fat on her stomach got burned In the process.
Although Hope would be more than satisfied with the end result, her new appearance would bring her countless troubles In her timeline.
But that's where Drac came In he was basically the problem solver arranged for Hope, fate was really a mystery, It almost felt like someone arranged all the events behind the scenes.
After all the chance that she would travel to the future just at the right time before Dracula decapitated himself was really low.
Speaking about Dracula, Hope would come to realize that even though he would certainly be attracted to her more than ever.
Her charms would still hardly sway the man's thoughts, well she would be able to still Influence him In certain ways.
But sadly the man had his own plans and ambitions, which even the behind the scenes entity that orchestrated this whole mess.
Would find it frustrating beyond words to stare him Into the path the entity had planned out for him.
But with a little bit of trickery, It would achieve Its goals, despite Dracula's unwillingness to accept his role In the grand schemes of things.
...
MC POV
As I entered the arena, the deafening cheers and applause from the spectators engulfed me once again.
My armor and clothes bore the scars and damage from the countless battles I had faced over the past five days.
The fights had been varied, from battling mutated dogs to weaponized with cold weapons civilian grade construction robots.
I was now a true gladiator in this post-apocalyptic coliseum, and my reputation had grown with each victory.
The same announcer's voice pierced through the commotion, and the digital board displayed my name.
"Dracula Von Death, the reigning number one challenger! Ladies and gentlemen, the white-haired prince of death is back for another thrilling battle!"
The announcer introduced me and my nickname which gained quite a popularity over the 5 days.
The anticipation reached a fever pitch as the crowd waited to see who my opponent would be.
The announcer continued,
"And now, introducing our reigning champion... an adult bonebane!"
The armored doors slowly split apart, as they did large claws that by the looks of It could pierce an MBT's armor grabbed the doors.
"Bonebane!"
"Bonebane!"
"Bonebane!"
The crowd chanted the thing's name with a deafening tone as they did a massive, overgrown lizard-like creature slowly stepped out from the darkness.
As It did the spectators roared with excitement.
The bonebane was a formidable opponent, with its razor-sharp claws, armored scales, and powerful jaws.
It was the wasteland's number one predator, but I couldn't decide If the thing looked more like a mutated T-rex or an overgrown armadillo dragon.
I debated in my mind as I readied my different kinds of dried blood-covered combat katana.
As I faced off against the massive adult bonebane, the tension in the arena was palpable.
The crowd fell silent in anticipation of the epic battle about to unfold.
Bonebane let out a deafening roar, shaking the arena's foundations.
Its armored scales glistened under the harsh lighting as it advanced toward me with an agility that wasn't proportional to Its body.
Its golden reptile eyes locked onto me, filled with a primal hunger.
I remained steady, my katana at the ready, ready to use my full strength.
Because from what I could tell this fight wouldn't be easy but the amount of money I was going to get If I won was too enticing for me to pass up.
With incredible speed, bonebane lunged forward, its enormous claws slashing through the air.
I deftly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the deadly attack, the crowd gasped in awe at my previously undisplayed agility.
In response, I raised my blade and brought It down with all my strength, my katana sliced through the air and struck bonebanes armored hide.
I could feel the stofness In my hands as my blade ricocheted off the bonebanes body, leaving only a shallow gauge drawing dark green blood.
Enraged, bonebane swung its massive spiked tail toward me, attempting to knock me off balance.
With a quick backflip, I avoided the attack and landed gracefully on my legs.
"F*ck this thing Is tougher than a goddamn MBT"
I couldn't help but curse as I looked at the chipped nanocomposite katana, the thing was made from the toughest and most advanced alloy known to man yet It actually got chipped.
"If the outside doesn't work then how about your belly?"
I muttered to myself as my eyes cybernetic lense scanned the thing's abdomen, after a second my AI had deemed that the belly was the weakest part of Its body.
Seeing this I grinned as I placed my katana on my right shoulder and assumed a sprinters start stance.
While the bonebane with a thunderous roar started running towards me.
The ground Itself trembled as the bonebane closed the distance between us, finally seeing that the distance was just right my taunt muscles exploded with a burst of speed.
I sprang forward like a rocket, leaving cracked craters where my legs were before the bonebane could rip me In half with Its claws.
I ducked down and slid under him.
"Time to die f*cker"
I snickered evilly as I plunged my katana into the thing's abdomen and continued to slide forward with my remaining kinetic energy.
While the things Inards spilled out onto the ground soaking the sand that greedily absorbed the dark green blood like a sponge.
Finally with a defiant roar the bonebanes legs gave out, seeing this I quickly yanked out my combat katana and rolled to the side.
Just In the nick of time before the thing's massive body entirely collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.