The crowd's roar slowly began to die down as the remnants of Gorath the Behemoth's shattered body dissolved into the air, leaving nothing behind but the echoes of battle. The arena was filled with a strange silence, broken only by the soft sound of footsteps approaching from the far end of the stadium.
I wiped my hands off, the smirk still plastered across my face. The battle had been far too easy, and the adrenaline from my previous fight was still coursing through me.
"The next challenger has arrived!" the announcer's voice boomed across the arena.
I turned toward the entrance, watching as a figure cloaked in shadow stepped into the ring.
Rak'zul the Devourer.
Rak'zul was a monstrous beast, standing taller than any human. With four massive arms, each lined with sharp bone protrusions, and a hungry, bloodshot gaze that was enough to send shivers down anyone's spine, he looked like a creature pulled straight from the darkest corners of nightmares. His sharp teeth glistened, and I could smell the faint scent of decay in the air as he growled.
His body rippled with muscle, his form shifting as if he could break free from his own skin at any moment.
"I will feast on your soul, little man!" Rak'zul roared, his voice a terrifying growl that reverberated throughout the coliseum.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Do you even understand who you're facing?" I asked, my voice dripping with amusement.
Rak'zul snarled and charged forward, his four fists coming down like a rain of hammers, aimed at crushing me in one devastating blow.
I vanished in an instant, using Void Step to evade his attack, and appeared behind him, standing on the edge of the arena.
"You're too slow."
Rak'zul swung around, his eyes narrowed in fury. He bared his teeth, letting out a furious growl as he threw another punch, but I dodged effortlessly.
"You should be faster than this," I taunted, watching as his attacks missed me by mere inches. "How do you expect to land a hit when you can't even keep up?"
Enraged, Rak'zul rushed me with all his strength, his multiple arms coming at me like a storm of destruction.
I waited.
At the last second, I used Void Step again, slipping behind him and grabbing one of his arms.
With a twist, I yanked his arm backward, snapping the bone with a sickening crack. He screamed in pain, but before he could react, I slammed my elbow into the back of his head, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Pathetic."
He struggled to rise, blood dripping from his shattered arm, but I was already on him. I grabbed him by the throat with one hand and lifted him off the ground, using my other hand to punch him repeatedly in the face.
Each blow cracked his skull, each punch a brutal reminder of how outmatched he was.
Finally, with a ferocious roar, I lifted him high and slammed his body into the ground with such force that the arena trembled.
"I warned you," I muttered, watching as his body went limp.
As the crowd erupted into applause, I stood tall, not even breathing heavily. It had been too easy, too quick.
I didn't care about the blood or the screams of the crowd.
The only thing on my mind was the next challenge.
"Who's next?" I asked, my voice cold and filled with disinterest.
"We have a special challenger!" the announcer shouted, his voice crackling with excitement. "It's the Undead Gladiator Legion!"
I smirked.
The horde of cursed warriors that appeared in the arena was enough to make most challengers hesitate.
But not me.
"Bring them on."
The arena trembled as the massive iron gates creaked open. A deafening silence filled the air before an eerie, guttural chorus of growls echoed through the battlefield. Then, one by one, they stepped forward—The Undead Legion.
Their armor was rusted, their bones cracked, but their hollow eyes burned with unrelenting malice. Some carried swords still stained with the dried blood of fallen warriors, while others wielded jagged spears, axes, and shields riddled with battle scars. Their numbers stretched into the hundreds.
The crowd fell into an uneasy hush.
"The Undead Legion…" the announcer's voice was filled with dread. "A cursed battalion of fallen warriors, unable to rest until they consume the life of their enemies!"
I rolled my shoulders, my black coat billowing as I stepped forward.
"Hundreds of rotting corpses against one man?" I smirked. "I almost feel sorry for them."
The first wave rushed me, their broken weapons raised, their speed unnatural for decayed bodies.
"Heaven's Wrath."
With a flick of my wrist, I swung my hand downward. The very air cracked. A colossal shockwave exploded forward, splitting the first line of the undead in half as their shattered bodies flew across the arena, limbs torn asunder.
But they kept coming.
A towering knight, still wearing remnants of his golden armor, raised his greatsword and brought it down with enough force to split a mountain.
I sidestepped, his attack crushing the ground where I had stood, sending tremors through the battlefield. Before he could lift his weapon again, I grabbed his skull and squeezed—bone cracked, then shattered. His body collapsed in a heap of broken armor.
Another undead lunged at me with a rusted spear.
"Void Step."
I vanished, reappearing behind him. With one swift kick, his spine snapped, and his upper body went flying into the horde.
They still didn't stop.
More came. Faster. Angrier. Stronger.
"Dragon Fear."
I exhaled, and suddenly, the battlefield froze.
A terrifying aura of pure dominance burst forth from me, an invisible wave of pressure that slammed into every single undead soldier. Some stumbled, others collapsed outright, their cursed bodies trembling at the sheer weight of my presence.
For the first time, they hesitated.
"What's wrong?" I taunted, cracking my knuckles. "Is death afraid of me?"
The hesitation lasted only seconds before the legion let out a bloodcurdling roar and charged again.
I smiled.
"Breath of Destruction."
I inhaled deeply, feeling raw power swirl in my lungs before I exhaled.
A monstrous shockwave erupted from my mouth, a crimson storm of destruction tearing through the battlefield. It consumed everything in its path, turning undead warriors into nothing but dust. Their cursed souls screamed in agony before being obliterated completely.
The entire battlefield was engulfed in a fiery cyclone of annihilation.
When the dust settled, all that remained was silence.
The Undead Legion had been wiped out.
The crowd was speechless. Not a single soul dared to speak.
I adjusted my black coat, brushing a speck of dust from my sleeve.
Then I turned to the announcer, my emerald eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.
"Next."