novelraw Chapter 217: He Was Lost
Chapter 217: He Was Lost
Even after Ignotus had left, the Colosseum was still reeling from his surgical humiliation of Acer. The crowd wasn’t sure whether to be horrified or impressed by the man’s sheer disrespect.
High above, Lothar was nearly hysterical.
"Did you see that, folks?! Lord Acer—a Plant Element—was not just defeated! He was lectured! It was a masterclass in psychological warfare and anatomy! Truly incredible! Lord Acer was not even a challenge for the Demon Hunter!"
John took a deep breath.
"It was efficient, I’ll grant you that. Now, can we move on to the next match?"
"Oh, we certainly can, John!"
Lothar recovered quickly.
"Because the next bout pits teammates against each other! And these two have a history, folks! They have fought and survived where others have crumbled! Let’s meet our combatants!"
The massive projections in the air shifted.
"In the right corner, we have Gaia of House Gift! Daughter of Theodore! Lady Gaia is the new talent in the Stratum, having alleviated her House greatly! She is the unwavering foundation of her Cohort! If she keeps up this pace, her House might just ascend from a Lower House to a Main House! A heavy burden on those shoulders, but she carries it well!"
The crowd cheered respectfully for her. House Gift was well liked.
"And in the left corner! The Ice Prince! Lykos of House Calamity! Son of Remus!"
The crowd’s reaction was mixed, more curiosity mixed in than adulation.
"Lord Lykos, while incredibly strong in his batch, was abandoned by Great House Death."
Lothar took a more serious tone.
"But he found a new home! He joined House Calamity, led by his House Lord, Ignotus! The two have gained a close relationship after all those assassins House Death sent after Lykos!"
John interjected:
"Lykos has a lot to prove here. His entire identity was tied to Death. Now, he fights under a new banner. Will he be able to carry it?"
"That’s right, John! Today, Lykos will prove himself to be someone! No longer needing the Death name to carry his weight! And Gaia? She will show that she isn’t just a ’potential talent’—she is the talent, right now! May the best friend win!"
Gaia and Lykos stood opposite each other in the arena.
They exchanged a nod that was far from friendly.
Lykos’s eyes held a competitive intensity.
"No holding back, Gaia. I need this win."
Gaia gripped her staff, which was currently encased in hardened brown rock.
"I know. I need it too. My House won’t let me be without it."
"BEGIN!"
The bell screamed, and the friendly acquaintances began their fight.
Lykos moved first, demonstrating a speed Ignotus would have approved of.
He launched a continuous, whistling stream of sharp ice, creating a wall of sound and distraction.
Gaia was instantly on the defensive.
A thick, curved wall of stone erupted from the sand, deflecting the rapid-fire projectiles with a grinding sound.
CRSH!
But Lykos wasn’t done.
Two translucent ice swords flashed to life, floating high on his flanks.
They zipped around the Earth Wall, aiming for Gaia’s exposed sides.
’He learned to use the terrain as cover for his constructs...’
Gaia noted internally.
’He never used them like that before.’
Without panicking one bit, she called upon her [Bedrock Embrace].
Two massive, blocky stone arms shot from the ground behind her, acting as flexible shields. They intercepted the twin blades with heavy CLANGS that sent shockwaves through the air.
Lykos, seeing his constructs neutralized, pressed the advantage.
He jumped high, channeling more ice.
A massive ice spike erupted directly beneath Gaia’s feet, aiming for her center mass.
’C-Close one!’
Gaia had been expecting it.
The sand around her feet instantly turned to slick, boiling mud.
The Ice Spike, having nothing solid to push off of, lost its momentum and dissolved into slush.
But the mud didn’t stop there and began to spread throughout the arena, resulting in Lykos landing directly in the mud.
His footing was gone, making him struggle to stay upright, relying on his Frostblades to steady him.
"You’re not going anywhere!"
Gaia raised her staff high.
The ground groaned, and a giant stone spear launched toward Lykos’s position.
It had a slow windup, but the impact would be devastating.
Lykos was struggling in the mud, feeling like an idiot.
His pride always led him to reckless exposure.
’No!’
He mentally commanded himself.
’Not again. No more mistakes!’
Channeling his power, he forced the mud under his feet to freeze instantly into a tiny platform and jumped off it, dodging the spear by a hair’s breadth.
The spear flew past him and shattered the ground, sending shrapnel everywhere.
"THEIR IMPROVEMENT IS UNBELIEVABLE!"
Lothar was breathless.
"They’re fighting like veterans! Lykos’s ability to stabilize his footing in Gaia’s liquefied terrain! And Gaia’s sheer destructive power! That spear almost took his head off!"
John nodded at his words.
"Notice the difference. They are aiming to end the fight. Ignotus’s influence is clear."
The duel continued going further and further away from a friendly spar and into a war!
Lykos used his blades to cut paths for himself through the mud, firing [Ice Arrows] to force Gaia to raise walls. Gaia kept liquefying his footholds, using [Bedrock Embrace] to shield herself from his multi-angle attacks.
They were both pushing beyond their previous limits. Every move was calculated to deliver a fatal blow. They had learned from Ignotus’s lecture against Acer: hesitation means death.
Gaia was almost lost when Lykos surprised her with a sudden, localized [Glacial Fall], dropping an ice bomb directly above her head. She had to expend nearly all her current Divinity to summon an emergency [Earth Wall] above her head, leaving her exposed.
Lykos, too, almost fell when Gaia faked an [Earth Melt] and instead launched a dozen small, dense [Earth Spikes] directly through the ground at chest level. He used his Frostblades to intercept them, straining his mental control.
The back-and-forth was exhausting.
They were both bleeding.
Gaia had cuts on her arm from the ice constructs.
Lykos was favoring his left leg, which had been grazed by a stone splinter.
"Lykos! Just surrender!"
Gaia yelled, panting.
"You’re done!"
"Never!"
Lykos screamed back.
"I’m not going back to being nobody!"
Synaxis was a line neither had crossed.
Yet that didn’t stop them from going all out.
The wolf channeled all of his remaining power, turning the air above the Colosseum white.
"GLACIAL FALL!"
This was a massive, tens-of-meters-wide glacier descending from the sky, its Divinity compressed and focused. It would not stop until it pulverized the entire arena floor.
Gaia knew she couldn’t block it with a wall; she had to meet it.
"BOTH ARE GOING FOR THE KILL!"
Knowing that, Letum and John quickly got out of the way.
Slamming her staff into the ground, Gaia called upon the Earth.
The arena floor rippled, the stone stands, the very foundation of the Colosseum seemed to glow, channeling their strength into her.
"WHAT AN INCREDIBLE SIGHT!"
A colossal, rocky hand—a perfect [Bedrock Embrace]—rose from the center of the arena, meeting the Glacial Fall head-on.
KRAAAAAAA-KOOOOOOOOM!
The sound was deafening as ice and stone collided in a blinding flash of power.
For a terrifying second, the entire Collesseum felt like it was going to buckle.
When the dust and steam cleared, the arena floor was obliterated.
Both Lykos and Gaia were thrown backward, covered in debris.
They lay motionless on the shredded sand.
Lothar was stunned for a full ten seconds before whispering:
"I... I think... is that another tie? Are we repeating the same result as their training duel last time?!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
After a short silence, a voice—a voice that tore through the commentary and the residual chaos—resounded.
"GAIA!"
It was Ignotus.
"GET UP! NOW!"
This wasn’t him encouraging her but commanding her.
Simultaneously, Ulv, standing near the gates, screamed:
"MY LORD! PLEASE STAND! YOU HAVE TO!"
The two figures stirred.
Gaia groaned, pushing her bladed staff down into the fractured earth.
She used it as leverage, grit her teeth, and slowly, painstakingly, began to rise.
Lykos pushed himself up halfway. He was on one elbow, his head hanging and shaking.
He looked around the Colosseum stands. The sea of faces, the banners, and the projection showing his battered, humiliated form.
’Who am I fighting so hard for?’
The question slammed into him, harder than any attack from Gaia.
To prove himself to be someone? Who was he proving it to? The Academy? His people?
He thought of House Death. The faces of the Elders who had signed the papers, sending assassins after him.
’Was I still stuck on Death?’
They had abandoned him and tried to kill him.
Why was he expending every ounce of his energy trying to show them he was worthy?
His motivation, the driving force of his anger and ambition, suddenly felt hollow. It felt weak. It felt like something he should have left behind.
He was already lost, and so...
His back slumped.
"...dammit."
Lykos fell back down onto the arena floor.
Gaia, leaning heavily on her staff, was the last one standing.
A smile graced her lovely face.
"I did it."