Flashback….
Anthanasia couldn't help but replay the words Hael had spoken outside the coliseum. She recalled how he'd compared himself to the king, describing them as having something in common.
"We have the same energy flowing through our bodies," he had said. She furrowed her brow, trying to make sense of what he meant.
What could be the same between them? As she pondered this, a sudden thought struck her.
"No way..." She jumped out of bed and quickly headed toward Hael's room. Fortunately, he wasn't asleep yet and had just finished his nightly meditation.
When she knocked on his door, he looked at her with curiosity and invited her in. "Sorry to bother you," she said, her voice a bit tentative. "But there's been something on my mind, and I need to know if my theory is right."
Hael raised an eyebrow but gestured for her to continue. Anthanasia nodded, taking a deep breath as she met his gaze.
"When you said that you and the King share the same kind of energy… were you referring to divine energy?"
Hael studied her for a moment, then glanced at Loki, already fast asleep. He nodded. "Yes, that's correct."
"I-I see... that makes sense." She exhaled, feeling a mix of relief and disbelief. Demigods were rare in Trojas, even though they were more common across the continent. To think that one, besides the king, was living in her house was almost too much to process.
"...This changes everything," she said after a brief silence.
Hael tilted his head. "How so?"
"Well, for one, it means there's a much higher chance you'll win your fight, but it also means you'll need to be registered as a special being. If you were to fight another demigod without any restrictions, you could end up destroying the entire city."
She chuckled nervously. "Good thing I asked you when I did."
Hael didn't fully understand, but he nodded in acknowledgment. He trusted Anthanasia's judgment and was confident that she knew what she was doing. As long as he could go ahead with the duel, he didn't mind how things unfolded.
End of flashback…
The crowd fell completely silent, their awe and fear directed at the man who ruled over them. Hael could sense their growing anxiety, frowning as he noticed the terror in their eyes. He couldn't understand why they were so afraid of this man, but then he remembered the stories Anthanasia had told him, and his expression darkened.
The king entered, dressed in the same attire as Hael, but his armor was made of gold, encrusted with diamonds. His golden eyes swept over the crowd, and the people flinched under his gaze. The dark, oppressive aura around him seemed to grow stronger with every second. Even Hael could feel the powerful, malevolent energy radiating from the man before him. For the first time, he stood face to face with the king, and up close, the king was even more breathtaking and formidable than he had imagined. His long, wavy hair was swept back, and his golden earrings swayed with each step he took. When he finally came to a stop, his attention shifted to Hael, appraising him carefully.
To others, Hael was an impressive figure, but to King Ceremus, he was nothing more than another obstacle, a mere pest in his path. The king's gaze lingered on the limiters around Hael's neck and wrists, his expression unreadable. As he studied him, he realized that the strange pull he had felt when they last crossed paths was gone.
"So it was just my imagination," he thought.
The announcer cleared his throat, breaking the silence, and began explaining the rules of the duel. It would follow the same format as the previous battle, with the fight continuing until one combatant was unable to continue or conceded.
As soon as the horn blew, the fight began.
Hael was the first one to move, striking the man in the face. Unlike the previous he had fought, Ceremus didn't go flying across the air, but his head did move to the side, feeling the sting from the slap he had just received.
The crowd gasped.
Ceremus was stunned. For the first time since he'd been alive, someone dared to strike him on the face, and from the looks of things, Hael didn't pull back a single bit. The King could only imagine how much damage he would have received had Hael not been armed with the limiter.
Ceremus turned his head, his eyes widening as he stared at the white-haired man, his mouth hanging slightly open in shock. "You!" he shouted, after a stunned pause.
The next thing that happened would shock Hael greatly. The king raised his head, and returned the slap ten fold. His head flew back and felt an unbearable pain on his left cheek.
He brought his hand to his face and stared at Ceremus with wide eyes.
The crowd fell into a hushed silence, watching with bated breath to see what Hael would do next. It was already astonishing that he hadn't collapsed after that blow, and they couldn't help but wonder what kind of strength his body possessed.
Hael took a few deep breaths, his mind racing as the shock of the hit still lingered. He couldn't believe that another human—even if they were half-god—had struck him with such force.
Despite the initial shock, Hael wasn't backing down. He quickly regained his composure and threw another strike, which Ceremus easily blocked.
The fight escalated rapidly, their pace quickening as each blow landed with increasing power. The ground trembled beneath them, the walls of the arena shaking with the force of their exchange. The spectators could feel the sheer energy emanating from the two warriors, their awe turning to nervous anticipation as the battle raged on.
The battle grew so intense that the spectators began evacuating the amphitheater, fearing for their lives. The ground shook with every blow, and the force of the strikes was enough to cause widespread destruction. Hael and Ceremus fought on, neither willing to relent. Anthanasia watched anxiously, her heart pounding as Hael took blows that could easily have killed him.
Loki, fully aware of the danger, knew they couldn't stay any longer—especially not Anthanasia, who was just a mortal. Reluctantly, he flapped his wings and used his beak to tug at her sleeves, pulling her away from the arena and forcing her to run.
With no one left in sight, Hael felt the weight of his limiter disappear, granting him the freedom to unleash his full power. Ceremus, sensing the shift, did the same, choosing to no longer hold back.
There was a strange thrill in Ceremus as he removed his restraints, a sense of liberation washing over him. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he wasn't holding anything back. He couldn't recall a single battle where he had fought with everything he had.
A rare, almost gleeful smile crossed his face, and the King felt a rush of elation—something he had never experienced before.