Chapter 81 The amphitheater incident (2)

August and Marius felt a tremendous surge of killing intent assaulting their bodies. The two Theïkó óplo users both jumped back simultaneously.

The man stared at the two with a small, amused smile on his face. His appearance was just the beginning. From the stands, multiple hooded figures appeared, carrying weapons.

'Who is this man?' August asked himself. The anger he had been feeling vanished as soon as the man appeared. Right now, his senses were screaming that he was in danger. He gripped his spear tightly, his knuckles turning white.

The prince, Marius Victrix Rakia, wasn't feeling too good either. His vision was blurry from August's last attack, and now, his senses were ringing warning bells inside his head. Even the sword in his hand urged him to move out of this place. His expression turned serious.

"Oi, I would really appreciate it if you'd cancel your skill right now!" August screamed, not looking at the prince. His eyes were glued to the man.

"Tsk," the prince clicked his tongue. As much as he hated it, he knew August was right. With a snap of his fingers, August's body felt lighter.

"What's this? I thought the two of you would be running by now. Good job on staying," the man chuckled. His voice was deep and raspy, like lead.

"Who the fuck are you?!" Marius asked, his voice laced with venom as he crouched low, preparing to rush.

"Oh, I'm sorry, your majesty, how rude of me not to introduce myself," he answered as he bowed to the prince, turning his back to August. This would have been the opportunity for August to attack, but for some reason, his body just wouldn't move. He could see himself getting cut if he charged in. "The name's Cain, Cain Blutstahl."

"Nice to meet you, Cain," this time it was August who spoke. "May I ask what you are doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? Look around. We are the agents of chaos, the ones who'll bring darkness back to this realm. And to start that, we need those weapons," he smiled crazily as he explained. "I would ask for you two to surrender, but with you two alive, the weapons wouldn't bond with another master. So, to answer your question... I'm here to kill the two of you." As soon as he said that, he suddenly vanished from where he stood, appearing instantaneously behind August. "And I'm gonna start with you."

The adventurer couldn't even follow Cain's movement; he couldn't see anything. It was literally instantaneous for him. August's body moved on its own, his skill activating as Beowulf sensed danger. Beowulf's call, a skill that allowed August to use the experience and skill set of past wielders of the weapon - for a limited time - exchanging mana in the process.

August twisted his body, moving his spear to his back, just in time to block Cain as he slammed his greatsword. He blocked the blow, but his body was sent flying, crashing into the wall and even going through solid concrete.

The prince couldn't even move because as soon as Cain was done with his attack on August, he appeared in front of Marius. He grabbed the prince's head and slammed it to the ground, shaking the whole arena with his strength.

Cain's eyes twitched as he felt a large amount of mana coming from the hole in the wall. *BOOM!* August, who by now had activated Endless Battle, beamed towards Cain. His spear glowed a violent crimson hue, his eyes shone crimson as well, and blood-like sparks followed him on his charge. With a primal roar, he stabbed his weapon forward.

"Oh, shiny," Cain sneered, but suddenly, he felt another huge amount of mana, this time from below him.

The prince was glaring at him, his eyes glowed purple, and his body was releasing an obscene amount of chilling air. "Endless BATTLE!!!" The prince activated an Endless battle of his own, a magic shared by all Theïkó óplo - but producing different effects and having different conditions in place - and its users.

Everything surrounding the prince became a frozen hellscape; the ice clung to Cain's legs, and the prince took advantage of it. His sword glowed a violent purple, and with a demonic roar, he slashed his weapon forward.

The two Theïkó óplo users launched their attacks, practically arriving at the same time, sandwiching Cain with two powerful blows. But Cain only smirked.

"Naive... Incredibly naive," he muttered as his sword moved. He only used one hand to hold his large weapon, and the sword traveled to block August's stab. With his free hand, he caught the prince's sword, right between his fingers.

Their two momentums came to a sudden halt; their bodies shook as their speed suddenly became zero, their muscles strained, and their bones creaked. But that was the least of their worries.

August's eyes went wide; he couldn't believe it. This was the move that he used in his duel with Bete, the move that finished Toga. Aside from the incomplete magic he possessed, this was his most powerful blow. But Cain blocked it like it was nothing.

The prince, as well, had his pride shattered when Cain caught his sword between his fingers. He had loaded every ounce of mana he had into that one blow, aiming for the kill. Yet like a joke, Cain didn't even have to use his weapon to block it.

And the two of them were boosted with their respective Endless battle. Their stats and mana were now at level 6. But alas, for a level 7 like Cain, those attacks were literally nothing.

"Is that it? I thought these weapons were supposed to be powerful..." Cain sighed, then chuckled. "Oh, I get it... You two are just weak."

Cain let go of his sword and grabbed August's spear. He clenched his fingers that were holding Marius' sword. Before his sword could even drop to the ground, he slammed the two Theïko óplo users against each other. He caught his sword mid-air and slashed at the two.

But before he could finish the job, a huge figure jumped in front of August and Marius. That figure was Ottar.

He moved his sword to block Cain's slash and, with a smooth transition, kicked the level 7 straight in the gut, sending him flying back.

*Boom.*

Cain crashed into the wall, his body going through it as he was carried by the momentum all the way outside the amphitheater.

August and Marius looked shocked. The opponent who had been toying with them one on two had been sent flying like it was nothing. Ottar glanced at the two, his eyes cold and indifferent.

"Ottar!" a voice boomed. It was Cain; he was walking leisurely while cracking his neck back towards the stage. "I expected you to be here. My god did say that you'll be the number one threat in our plan."

"The two of you, leave." Ottar said coldly to Marius and August. Marius left without a second thought; this was not his city, and his safety, of course, was his number one priority.

August, on the other hand, gripped his spear tightly. "I can help!" he said, his voice carrying his intention to fight as his mana surged from his body.

"Look around, adventurer," Ottar said coldly. August's eyes roamed the arena, fights breaking out everywhere, dead bodies sprawled in the stands, civilians getting caught in the crossfires. Chaos was ensuing everywhere he looked. "Go help somewhere else."

"I can help you-" August's voice was laced with resolute determination to help Ottar, but the level 7 adventurer cut him off.

"Go help the others; you're too weak here. You'll only be getting in my way." Ottar's voice carried an authoritative tone, his mana surged, dwarfing August's endless battle-boosted mana as if it was nothing.

"Listen to him, boy," Cain chimed in. He unleashed his mana as well, this time for real as he was facing another level 7. "Run along now and play with someone else."

August was shell-shocked. Never before had he felt this small. As if the two level 7s didn't even see him. For Cain, he wasn't seen as a threat, and for Ottar, as he had said, he would only be getting in his way. This was a slap in his face. August bit his lips as he turned around, rushing to aid the others who were fighting these hooded figures who had crashed the whole tournament, he was angry, angry at himself for being weak.

.

.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, in the VIP room, the gods were caught off guard by the appearance of the unknown group of people. Their faces were filled with anger; their auras raged as they watched the chaos below.

Loki got out of her seat, walking towards the door. She wanted to take control of the situation below.

"And where do you think you're going?" It was Hermes; he grabbed Loki's hand, stopping her.

"ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?! I'm going down there, of course!" Loki pulled her arm away, her face twisted in anger.

"And be a liability? Without our arcanum, we are essentially next to useless down there." Hermes answered, his anger growing.

His eyes caught Heracles, along with Buddha, who were also moving towards the door. "Didn't you hear me?! We can't go down there!"

"Unlike you, we don't need arcanum to fight the likes of them," Heracles answered coldly.

"Yeah, what he said," Buddha followed suit. His tone was unusually cold, not like his usual relaxed and lazy tone. He slung his hands on the bo-staff on his shoulders as he and Heracles marched to the door.

To their surprise, Thor stood up from his seat and walked beside them, his hammer gripped tightly in his hand. "I'm going with you two," he said coldly. His eyes lingered in Heracles' direction. He was still angry about the whole ordeal with August and him possessing a god-killing weapon. He really hated that weapon, but the city's safety took priority over that.

"Nice to have you back, fat man," Buddha jokingly said as he slapped Thor's back.

Hermes moved in front of the door. "Look, I know you three can fight without arcanum, but the moment you step out there, every one of those mortals will target you three." He looked at the eyes of the three gods. "And even if it is you three, you'll get overwhelmed without arcanum."

"Move, Hermes, get out of our way," Heracles spoke coldly, his aura exuding power as he pushed Hermes down with its density.

Hermes wanted to answer back; he was thinking logically after all. But before he could, Hades' voice cut through the room.

"Let them go, Hermes. They are the only gods here who can fight high-level adventurers without the aid of arcanum. We need them to take control down below."

"But-"

"That's an order, Hermes," Hades cut him off, his voice authoritative. He nodded at Heracles and his group, and the god of strength nodded back.

All eyes were drawn to the three figures. Heracles' hands grasped the doorknob, but as he was about to open it, a voice sounded inside the room.

"And that's precisely why I need you three to stay here." A voice sounded right behind the gods. All eyes automatically moved to where it came from. Standing there, with a crazed smile on his face, was Erebus, accompanied by Ari, his personal assistant.

"Of course, I should have known," Hades snarled, his voice cold and menacing. He glared at the crazed god as his aura boomed out of his body.

Not just Hades, every god in the room let their aura explode at the sight of Erebus. It all became clear; it was Evilus who was attacking the city right now.

"Oh... Scary," Erebus faked a shiver while his voice carried a mocking tone.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Apollo stood, his face red from anger.

"Apollo... You always were stupid, aren't you? I'm here for the weapons, of course," Erebus shrugged as he rolled his eyes at Apollo.

"Quite arrogant of you to show your face back here after 15 years, or did you forget how our familias slaughtered your members?" Freya said coldly. Her alluring seductive charm was gone, replaced by the cold gaze of a war god.

"Oh dear Freya, How could I forget? I remember how your child Ottar mercilessly killed our devoted members with his sword, how your child Mia launched an assault at our flanks. Oh, I remember everything, dear Freya," Erebus chuckled, but a smile was no longer present on his face.

"I think it is you lots who are getting arrogant, still clinging to the victory you had 15 years ago. Let me ask you, where's Queen Hera? Huh? No answer? How about Zeus? Huh? You seem to forget, 15 years ago, those two were still present in this city. But after the war, hungry for power, you and Loki pushed the remaining members of their familia out of the city to take it for yourselves, greedy for power."

"And I do admit, we did suffer defeat 15 years ago. I'm man enough to admit that... But that was back then; things changed. With the weapons now finding their masters, the wheels of the world have now started turning," Erebus chuckled as he stared at the gods. "But that's not the only thing that changed." He snapped his fingers as growls and snarls sounded everywhere in the city, even inside the room.

"You see, for 15 years, I've been experimenting, perfecting the perfect killing machines, something that has no conscience, something that would put Evilus back on the map. And I'm happy to say that I succeeded." An ugly creature walked beside Erebus as he patted it on the head.

"Y-You monster!" Hermes wanted to vomit at the abomination that was standing all around them. "Y-you actually created a chimera?"

Even Ares, is clenching his fist in anger, he might be a psychopathic megalomaniac, but he did care for the mortals. That was why he had fought in the war side by side with the other gods against Evilus. "You will die for this, Erebus," Ares spoke coldly.

"HOW MANY MORTALS DID YOU KILL FOR THIS?!!" Athena screamed in anger. Her aura surged in power as she grabbed the hilt of her sword. "ANSWER ME, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!"

Erebus chuckled. "For this one, about 200 or so. This one is special, after all. But in total, I really don't know; I lost count." He smiled crazily as his eyes scanned the room.

The gods looked disgusted by his revelations. A booming warcry erupted inside the room as an earth-shattering aura pushed everyone aside. "EREBUS!!!" It was Thor; he charged in with his hammer up in the air.

"Ah, Thor." Erebus held his arms wide open and smiled. "You always do have a temper."

As Thor's hammer was inches away from Erebus' head, the god of thunder felt a sharp pain in his side. He was sent crashing into the wall, bloodied and bruised.

Thor glared at Erebus with gritted teeth, snarling in anger, not minding the pain that was all over his body.

The creature beside Erebus now stood on its hind legs, its size towering over everyone in the room. "Well, I did say this one is special. After all, this one is created specifically to stand toe to toe with you, Heracles, to stop you from interfering. This one is created to emulate your natural strength."

"Erebus, I'll fucking rip you to pieces." Heracles' aura burst forth as he took a step towards the crazed god and his creature.

"Careful now, Heracles; your butcher side is showing." Erebus couldn't stop himself anymore; he laughed madly, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Well then, boys," Erebus said with a smile. Every chimera in the room roared loudly as they stared at the gods. "Sic 'em!"

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

***

Chapter 81 is done now, how do you guys like the story so far?

Please leave a comment, a review and feedback so I can improve on writing this fanfic. every little thing helps as it allows me to see your preference on things and would help me write a better fanfic for you all to enjoy.

thanks for picking up this fanfic. hope you guys like it.

good day, love y'all.