Swirling a silver bastard sword in his hands, Dmitri soaked in the deafening cheers around him, a wide grin spreading across his face.
His brown eyes gleamed with pride as he spread his arms wide. 'Keep praising me. Just like that, yeah!' he thought, his grin widening with each chant of his alias.
Dmitri, an Awakened of three years with a fully saturated core, stood confidently in the center of the largest circular iron pit. The arena's walls towered ten feet high, with heavy metal chains crisscrossing above to form a cage-like roof.
Two bald, muscular men dragged away the remains of Dmitri's last opponent, or what was left of them. Dmitri had efficiently severed the man's legs before prolonging the fight to entertain the roaring crowd gathered at Eclipse just for him. At least, that's how Dmitri saw it. In truth, most of the audience would forget about him the moment someone stronger entered the pit anyway.
And someone did.
"Let the Bastard Sword meet his next enemy!" a sharp, cheeky voice boomed through the underground arena, amplified by massive speakers bolted to the ceiling. The announcement sent a fresh wave of cheers rippling through the crowd, their voices echoing off the dark walls and creating a chaotic atmosphere.
Dmitri grinned and pointed his sword toward the entrance where his next opponent would emerge. "One more for fun," he muttered under his breath, chuckling as the crowd's roars intensified. 'I've made enough money here, soon it'll be time for my next Trial hehe. But a little extra entertainment won't hurt.' The thought only broadened his smug smile as he shifted his weight, preparing for the last fight.
The booming voice from the speakers echoed through the arena, drawing every eye to the pit's entrance. "Prepare yourselves, spectators! Here comes the next challenger! They paid a huge sum to be let into the main pit so let's hope they will provide us with a good show!" The crowd's roars grew deafening as every light in the pit converged on the now-unveiling entryway.
Metal bars rattled and groaned as they slid into the ground, revealing a dark tunnel. From the shadows, thick clouds of smoke began to pour out, swirling across the iron floor, making the scene overly dramatic.
Step Step Step
Dmitri cracked his neck and swirled his bastard sword repeatedly. Once the smoke cleared, he -along with the rest of the crowd- could clearly see the new contestant.
"Meet! Wrath!"
Blonde, nearly white hair glistened under the bright, white light cast down by the gigantic lamps, ensuring that everyone could witness the pit in all its glory.
What caught everyone's attention after the bright hair was the white porcelain mask, depicting three different faces. Wrath gleamed in the light; his features angelic yet horrifying at the same time. It was akin to seeing something so beautiful that it was simply unsettling.
The crowd erupted into excited roars and shouts, with most of them chanting in favour of Dmitri, the Bastard Sword.
"That's a cool mask you've got there, Wrath," Dmitri teased, stepping to the side and circling his opponent. The metal bars slid back up, signaling that the battle had officially begun.
Wrath only nodded in response, the two slits in his mask revealing nothing but two glowing golden orbs. 'Fresh meat, just look at him in his fancy clothes,' Dmitri thought with a snicker, pointing his sword towards Wrath, who was dressed in a crimson shirt and beige trousers. No weapon in hand. Oddly enough, those were also simply inside his pockets. 'Does he not take this seriously? Let me teach him a lesson~'
"The fresh meat hasn't left us any information except for the alias, so let's hope they'll deliver!" the commentator continued shouting into his microphone, his voice amplified through the speakers.
Dmitri furrowed his brows, ready to dash forward and gauge his opponent's strength, but then he felt it, something really strange. A suffocating pressure gnawed at him as Wrath took a single step.
'What is this?!' Dmitri thought, his instincts kicking in as the pressure grew heavier. He fought back the urge to step back, his grip tightening on the sword as he instinctively raised it, shielding his torso and face.
With each step Wrath took, Dmitri could feel the space around him bend inwards, the very air seemingly vanishing. But it wasn't just the sensation of pressure; it was something more. It felt as if the pressure wasn't coming from Wrath himself, but from something far darker, like the devil himself was standing behind Dmitri, grinning wickedly from the young man's shadow.
A droplet of sweat immediately went down his brow, but he braced himself. 'This is probably his Aspect Ability! Yes!' Dmitri thought, as if he already cracked through his enemy.
Dmitri's own Aspect Ability allowed him to see his opponent's moves before they even took shape. He could predict each strike with insane precision. His senses were also honed to an extraordinary level, even for an Awakened.
"Come on Wrath," He snickered, observing his enemy who stopped moving.
Dmitri was wearing a very light set of iron armour and was equipped with his bastard sword, while his opponent was equipped with… Nothing?
He shrugged and thought, 'Well easy win for me, I guess? Let's make this entertaining though'
With one last glance at the beautiful porcelain mask, he dashed forward, vanishing from his current position in an instant.
Wrath seemed momentarily caught off guard; Dmitri could clearly see the two golden orbs on his mask widen, and his stance shifted slightly.
Dmitri's dominant hand whipped forward as he materialized in front of Wrath, slashing at his side with the bastard sword. The tip of the blade barely grazed Wrath's side, cutting through the crimson shirt and drawing a thin line of blood. 'How did I miss?!'
Not wasting a second, Dmitri raised his sword again and feigned a downward slash, meanwhile activating his Aspect Ability to gauge how his opponent would react.
But Wrath didn't move, standing still as ever, so Dmitri shifted from feinting to fully committing to the attack.
A thought flashed across his mind as the sword descended at incredible speed, 'What is wrong with him?'
That thought immediately disappeared, though, when Wrath attempted to catch the sword with his bare hand, leaving him startled. But the blade simply slashed through the man's palm, cutting it in half diagonally.
The crowd roared and laughed at Wrath while Dmitri quickly adjusted his stance, slashing diagonally up from below across his enemy's chest.
"Never seen someone this arrogant. Is this your Flaw, maybe? Acting crazy and arrogant?" Dmitri snickered, loud enough for the crowd to hear, drawing even more laughter from them.
Wrath tilted his head slightly and raised his mutilated hand. Blood ran down in rivers, and pieces of flesh dangled from it.
"Well, our new contestant sure is a crazy one!" the commentator roared as hard rock blasted through the speakers, energizing the crowd. Lights flickered in different colors all around the pit, adding to the spectacle. The pit itself remained bathed in pure white light, casting an ethereal glow on Wrath. With his porcelain mask and skin to match, he looked almost angelic, contrasting the amounts of blood flowing from him.
"Hold on! Look at our newbie!" The sharp voice boomed again as the crowd leaned forward.
They were shocked by what they saw.
Wrath's hand, sliced clean through up to the wrist, slowly began to move back together. The flesh fused, leaving no trace of the wound behind. No scar, no mark, just the smooth, pale skin as if it had never been touched. The only reminder of the injury was the already dried up blood on his hand.
"That's a neat trick you got there?" Dmitri said, hiding his initial shock as he saw every single wound close.
"Thanks," A cold voice echoed from behind the mask as he flicked his newly healed hand.
Dmitri, who wanted to snicker something again, was suddenly caught off guard as Wrath disappeared from where he stood.
If not for his enhanced reflexes, Dmitri would have never noticed the young man shoot toward him with blinding speed. Though still slower than Dmitri himself, the dash carried an immense force and energy behind it.
His bastard sword shot up, intercepting the fist that was hurtling toward him. The sheer force behind the punch was so overwhelming that Dmitri nearly stumbled back. Luckily, his instincts kicked in, and he dug the soles of his feet into the ground, only shifting back a couple of inches.
But that single punch wasn't all. No. After the initial strike, a barrage of devastating punches followed. Each one shot toward the Awakened with blinding speed and ruthless force. One coming from the front, one from below, one from above and so on.
Utilizing his Aspect Ability, he overstrained his eyes to block or deflect every single one of them.
"Maybe our newbie isn't as bad as we thought?!" The commentators sharp and annoying voice shot through the underground level. The music only intensified as the crowd screamed and cheered, some even throwing money in and others making new bets.
Dmitri grunted as he parried the next punch with the flat side of his sword. Using the momentum, he twisted his hips and delivered a spinning heel kick, the metal of his iron greaves connecting with the air with a sharp snap.
The iron hit Wrath wide into the side of his porcelain mask.
Boom
Wrath didn't attempt to block or parry the attack; Dmitri could only assume he couldn't. As a result, Wrath was sent crashing into the wall to his left, his body slamming through the air like a ragdoll before smashing into the hard surface. Dust and debris erupted from the impact, filling the air with chaos and roars.
Countless cheers immediately exploded from everywhere.
Dmitri huffed and wiped the sweat from his brows, a grin wide on his face.
He had used one of the Enchantments that his armour had to deliver such a devastating kick. This particular Enchantment allowed him to convert his Essence into raw force, amplifying the power of his strikes to a level far beyond his natural strength.
'That wasted some Essence, phew,' he sighed and straightened up, waiting for his opponent.
Once the dust finally cleared, everyone saw Wrath embedded in the wall, his limbs twisted and contorted at unnatural angles.
For a moment, the entire arena fell silent, the only sound being the hard rock blaring in the background. Yet even through the music they could practically feel Wrath's limbs return to the right place, his bones snapping. Any injury that was once on his beautiful body was now gone.
Wrath's crimson shirt was in tatters, barely clinging to his form, leaving his toned and pale body exposed. In that moment, he resembled more of a marble statue of a Greek God. His flawless, sculpted physique almost glowed under the lights.
'Is he a damn zombie?! Is he even ALIVE?!' Dmirti asked himself, but he decided not to waste any more time.
Shooting forward, he raised his sword and readied to cut his opponents head off.
The golden orbs widened once more and Wrath propelled himself forward as well, kicking himself off the wall.
All of this happened in the span of a second and no normal human was able to follow whatever was happening. Only master's and above could truly appreciate the beauty of what was about to happen.
Wrath, already right in front of Dmitri, opened his palm and shot it forward, attempting to grab his face.
In response, Dmitri's bastard sword cleaved through Wrath's collarbone, slicing effortlessly through his muscular frame and emerging from his back. Blood poured in torrents from the wound, staining the floor as it sprayed outward.
If anyone could see through Wrath's mask, they would've noticed a demonic smile and his eyes wide, sparkling with sadism.
"Wha-?!" was the only thing Dmitri managed to utter before his body lurched backward, collapsing to the ground. His bastard sword remained embedded in Wrath's body, blood continuing to leak from the wound, showing no sign of stopping.
Boom
Another loud explosion resounded through the pit, only making the roars and cheers louder.
Dmitri could feel the air escape his lungs as he hit the floor hard enough to crack something in his dense Awakened bones.
'What the hell was that?!' he winced in pain.
His hand still gripped the hilt of the bastard sword, desperately attempting to pull it out, but it was futile. Normally, he would've driven it deeper to inflict as much damage as possible, but against his demonic opponent, who effortlessly regenerated from every wound, that tactic was clearly useless. He had to do more than just ruin his body. He had to go for the head.
'This monster isn't even using any weapons or armour!'
"Is our dear Bastard Sword really about to die?! Ladies and Gentlemen please ready up your bets, because the fight is about to end!" the sharp voice brough Dmitry back from his stupor.
'I'm not dying here! What do you mean I'm about to die you stupid gremlin!?'
He strained his muscles, pulling the air back into his lungs, preparing himself for what was to come.
Dmitri could already feel a punch descending from above.
With a roar of effort, he grimaced and gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands, bracing for impact.
With a guttural groan, Dmitri dragged his Ascended sword upward, cutting through the muscles that connected Wrath's chest to his neck and left shoulder. Rivers of blood cascaded down onto him as he wrenched the blade with all his might.
Somehow, Wrath's body wasn't as durable as Dmitri expected it to be. Cutting through it felt satisfyingly easy, different to the monstrous regeneration that Dmitri could only assume was his Aspect.
'What is his damned Rank?!' Dmitri's mind raced.
The fist stopped mid-air as his sword finally broke free from Wrath's body. With great effort, he fought against the inertia and slashed his sword in the opposite direction. His muscles burned as he strained his whole body.
"No way! Bastard Sword actually managed to come back?!" the speakers boomed.
With a clean slash Dmitri decapitated his enemy, the blade slicing through Wrath's neck. His head got severed from his body in one smooth strike.
Guttural roars and cheers erupted from the audience, their voices shaking the underground level itself as they witnessed the brutal spectacle.