Chapter 14- The Two-on-Two battles
The arena stood in eerie silence, the air thick with tension as the final twenty warriors gathered to hear the rules of the next round. The announcer, a towering man cloaked in crimson robes, raised his hands, his voice booming across the coliseum.
"The next round will be a two-on-two battle! Choose your partners wisely, for only ten of you will remain by the end of this round! A team wins by either forcing both opponents to surrender, knocking them unconscious, or outright killing them. Remember, warriors, there is no mercy in this arena!"
The crowd erupted into a chorus of cheers and jeers, the bloodlust in their voices undeniable. Helios glanced at Bow and Prometheus, already knowing they would team up. That left him with whoever remained.
A voice, calm yet brimming with intellect, spoke beside him. "Looks like we're partners."
Helios turned to see a tall, slender woman with jet-black hair cascading down her back. Her piercing violet eyes held an eerie glow, intelligence dancing behind them. She wore a robe lined with geometric symbols that pulsed with a faint golden light.
"Ariadne," she introduced herself. "I specialize in Math Magic."
Helios raised an eyebrow. "Math?"
Ariadne smirked, lifting her hand. Instantly, a golden triangle materialized in the air before shattering into thousands of shards that reformed into a massive spear of pure energy.
"Mathematics governs the universe. Those who master its magic can control reality itself."
Helios nodded. "Alright. Just don't slow me down."
She chuckled. "I was about to say the same to you."
The matchups were set, and the first battles began. Blood splattered against the sand, limbs flew, and the roars of the crowd drowned out the screams of the fallen. The tournament had turned into a true battlefield.
Helios and Ariadne found themselves facing a pair of monstrous warriors. One was a hulking brute covered in obsidian armor, wielding a jagged war hammer. His partner, a lithe figure draped in shadowy robes, moved with the fluidity of smoke, daggers glinting in the arena's sunlight.
The brute slammed his hammer into the ground, sending a shockwave toward Helios, while the assassin disappeared into thin air.
"I'll handle the big guy," Helios muttered. "Find the other one."
"Understood," Ariadne replied, already tracing complex symbols in the air.
Helios lunged, dodging the hammer's next swing by inches. The sheer force of the strike split the ground open, debris flying in all directions. Helios countered with a surge of moon energy, his fists glowing with silver light as he delivered a devastating uppercut that sent the brute stumbling.
Meanwhile, Ariadne closed her eyes, her mind calculating the assassin's movements. With a flick of her wrist, an intricate mathematical equation appeared in the air. She whispered, "Velocity zero."
A horrific shriek filled the arena as the assassin materialized mid-air, frozen in place. His eyes widened in terror as Ariadne, with a mere gesture, shattered his body into countless geometric fragments, reducing him to nothingness.
Helios saw an opening. With a primal roar, he grabbed the brute by the face and channeled raw solar energy into his skull. Flesh melted, bones liquefied, and within seconds, the massive warrior was nothing more than a charred husk.
The battle was over.
Bow and Prometheus faced a different kind of challenge. Their opponents were twin brothers, clad in crimson armor, each wielding a massive glaive. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, their attacks seamless.
Bow grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Alright, Prometheus, let's see if we can keep up."
Prometheus drew his twin swords, his stance calm but ready. "Try not to slow me down."
The battle was a whirlwind of steel and blood. The twins attacked with merciless precision, their glaives carving through the air in perfect unison. Bow deflected a strike, countering with a devastating punch that sent one twin flying, while Prometheus weaved between the attacks, slicing at exposed flesh with his lightning-fast blade work.
One of the twins attempted to outmaneuver Bow, but Bow smirked. "Not today."
With a single stomp, he shattered the ground beneath them, sending a shockwave that destabilized both brothers. Seizing the moment, Prometheus dashed forward, his swords moving like a storm, slashing one twin's throat open. Blood sprayed in the air, the warrior gurgling before collapsing.
The remaining brother howled in rage, launching himself at Prometheus—only to be met by Bow's fist. The impact sent his skull splintering inward, his body hitting the ground in a lifeless heap.
The battles continued, each more brutal than the last. The arena became a massacre, the sands soaked in crimson, the cries of the dying blending into the roars of the crowd.
By the end of the carnage, only ten warriors remained.
Helios, Ariadne, Bow, and Prometheus stood among them, their bodies bloodied but their spirits unbroken.
The announcer stepped forward, his voice triumphant. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have our final ten! They have proven their worth, but the greatest challenge is yet to come!"
Helios wiped blood from his cheek, his eyes burning with determination. He could feel it—the weight of destiny pressing upon him. He had come too far to stop now.
The heavens trembled, and the world watched. Helios was ready to carve his legend into the fabric of history.