The sun hung high, casting shadows along the the coliseum. The heat shimmered across the sand, and the scent of dust and sweat clung to the air.
After half an hour of a break, it was now the time for the quarterfinals. The crowd was even more packed than ever.
"Welcome folks! Your intermission has concluded, and the quarterfinals are beginning!" The crowd erupted once again, cheering the same line: "Harmony!"
"The first match of the quarterfinals will be very tough! Both gladiators have had no trouble defeating their first opponent and gained a lot of fans during their performance! Lower the gates! The Queen and the Feral Maiden shall be battling!"
As the rattling of the gates sounded across the arena, the crowd cheered violently. Some of the viewers even jumped from their seats in excitement. The first gate creaked downward, and Aria stepped out, composed and commanding, her white robes fluttering with each step. The crowd roared, chanting her name. Then came the second gate. The moment Nymphia's bare feet hit the sand, the cheers twisted into howls—raw, frenzied. She cracked her neck and smiled.
"One..
The opponents walked forward to the center to face off against each other.
"Two..
"Three!!"
***
The two immediately lunged at each other. Aria without wasting a second, slammed her foot against the sand as she lunged her body forward to deliver a devastating punch. However the punch was met with no resistance as Nymphia immediately pivoted her body to the right and took a hold of Aria's arm.
When she was going to pull Aria into her, she was met with resistance that she had not accounted for. The queen did not budge from her place and pried her arm away from her grip, pulling Nymphia close with it and immediately swung her elbow into her face.
There was a dull crack. Nymphia's head snapped sideways, and her vision blinked white for a second. Nymphia staggered backwards as her brain was clouded with a lot of pain, blood trickled from her nose. She immediately backed away from Aria to secure herself and took a defensive stance. But it seemed that Aria was not going to attack Nymphia while she was dazed.
'How generous of the queen. Pity she won't get another chance.' Nymphia thought.
As Nymphia came to her senses rather quickly, instead of a murderous smile on her face there was a cold and a furious expression. She emanated killing intent that made her last match seem like a joke.
Without wasting another second, Nymphia immediately sprung forward and went for a fast kick to Aria's side, which was blocked by her forearm. Just as Aria was going to grab her leg, Nymphia's other leg kicked off from the ground, spinning her hip in a fast motion she instantly swung her heel to Aria's head.
Aria's head snapped to the side from the impact—but she didn't fall. It was Nymphia who hit the ground with a heavy thud, forced to retreat. Aria did not show any ounce of pain as blood dripped from her eyebrow, she immediately raised her foot to slam into Nymphia's face, but when she did so Nymphia immediately rolled away and shot up to her feet with nimble movement.
With a step forward Aria immediately started her assault with a powerful jab. Nymphia was a bit too late to dodge it, so she decided to block it. When the punch landed into her block she immediately staggered backwards as the punch contained a lot of force that the wind that emanated from the attack made her hair wave wildly.
'What the hell are they feeding you wench?!'
Nymphia thought as she immediately ducked the next coming blow, sShe seized her arm again without hesitation. This time, however, when Aria tried to pry her arm away and pull Nymphia with it once again, Nymphia immediately loosened her grip on her arm and dug her nails into Aria's skin. When the Queen pried free, blood trickled down from several shallow gashes on her arm.
As Aria had put a lot of force into that pull, she staggered back. And before she could comprehend what had happened to her arm, she saw that Nymphia was already on the offence once again. Nymphia immediately throw a hook into her stomach, light but effective and then she immediately followed it up with a palm thrust into her unprotected breast.
Aria winced sharply as the palm struck her chest—sharp pain flared through her ribs, stealing a half-breath and knocking her off rhythm. It wasn't lethal, but it sure as hell hurt.
"You fight dirty." She said firmly.
"Fuck you!" She shouted as she lunged her fist forward to punch Aria in the face.
Though the punch never landed.
Aria immediately tilted her head to the right to avoid the punch. Then closing in, she immediately backed her head and brought her forehead down to Nymphia's with full force. Nymphia could not even understand what had happened before falling onto her knees, then to her face.
The crowd erupted into cheers as Aria raised her fist once again. They started chanting her nickname: The Queen.
"An astonishing victory though a very hard battle! Although the Feral Maiden gave her a lot of trouble, The Queen emerges victorious! She will be moving into the semi-finals!"
***
Egeria watched as he sat on the ground in his cell, he felt disappointed that his friend lost. But he was glad that he would not fight Nymphia in the semi-finals. Other than that, he also wanted to pommel the mayor's daughter in front of everyone to prove them that privilege does not define ones strength.
"And now, we are going to move onto the next round of the quarter-finals! Lower the gates!"
As the gates lowered and sun shined into the cell, Egeria got up from the ground and walked outside. The sand was hot against his bare feet. His opponent was a boy that looked like he was 20. Although Egeria was tall, he was barely able to reach the man's shoulder.
"The contestants have been given nicknames! Scion of the Lui clan has received the nickname: Muscular!"
"On the other hand, Shi Egeria! A Lowborn! Has received a vote from the Mayor! His nickname is False Prodigy!"
For a second, there was silence. Then it started. Laughter rippled through the stands—sharp, mocking, cruel. The noble seats in particular erupted with condescension.
"False Prodigy! False Prodigy!"
"Look at him! He's not even wearing shoes!"
Some mimicked his name with exaggerated sneers. A few raised banners of their own champions, proudly waving them above their heads as if Egeria's mere presence was an insult.
Yet not everyone laughed.
Surprisingly even someone like Egeria had some fans to cheer for him as many shouted his nickname proudly. But he didn't pay attention to them, his attention was on the legacy in front of him.
***
"Let the fight commence!" the announcer shouted as the horns erupted.
Muscular immediately sprung forward, going for a tackle as he opened his arms wide to grab Egeria. What he didn't expect was that Egeria dashed forward into his embrace and kicked his foot off the ground to slam his knee into Muscular's face.
Seeing his move, Muscular immediately stopped and threw himself to the right before the knee struck him. Without wasting any seconds his fist shot forward to slam into Egeria's face, but it was met with no resistance as Egeria simply tilted himself to the left and threw a right hook to Musculars side and then followed it up with a left hook.
The muscular was not affected by it as much as he simply winced and struck him with a front kick, which was dodged as Egeria pivoted backwards by using effective footwork. As muscular was going to lunge at Egeria, he was bested as Egeria moved first and aimed his strikes at Muscular's stomach once again.
Their fight did not last long as Egeria dodged all the attacks Muscular threw in his way. Due to the insane durability the guy possessed and the height advantage he had, Egeria had directed all his attacks on the the guys sides of stomach. Each time Egeria's fists struck his ribs, Muscular winced a little deeper, his swings growing sloppier, breath louder. Still standing—until suddenly, not.
His stomach failed quickly as the guy randomly collapsed to his knees clutching his stomach in pain.
"Another quick victory from the False Prodigy! I am very interested to see his next match!"
The crowd was rather bipolar. Half the coliseum rose to their feet, clapping and cheering. The rest stayed seated, arms crossed, some even booing louder—like refusing to believe what they'd just seen.
Egeria turned his back to the crowd and walked back to his cell. The gates closed behind him almost immediately.
***
The other two matches of the quarter finals commenced rather quickly. Vex had attained the name "Genuis of the Valerius." He had finished off his opponents quickly and skillfully in both the first matches and the quarter-finals.
Egeria sat quietly, alone in the shade, watching the arena being cleared.
Vex was exercising in his cell, preparing for his next round both mentally and physically.
Aria sat, her back laid against the cold walls of the cell. A stoic expression had settled on her face.
And now, with the semi-finals only an hour away, the tension in the air was impossible to ignore. The crowd murmured with anticipation. The real war was about to begin.