Triumphs and Defeat

The rowdy and arrogant Athenians watching fell into silence. They all knew too well how strong Nikos is. They know that the barrage of water spears that he had unleashed could devastate buildings into rubble and decimate an entire squad of soldiers in seconds.

On the opposite side, the Spartans were in awe of Damon's resilience. Theron on the other hand was the most ecstatic of them all. The look on his face expresses how proud he is. In fact, he was so proud of Damon that tears started to build up in his eyes.

"How? How can a mere Spartan like you survive that?" Nikos asked, his brows furrowed in disbelief and his eyes brimming with confusion. "You should not be able to survive that!"

"Then you should've hit harder."

Veins appeared on Nikos' forehead, for the first time in his life, he was being underestimated. His demeanor changed; his face turned serious, and his presence instantly became overwhelming, matching Damon's.

"I'll make you regret ever standing back up."

Clusters of water began to appear on Nikos' hands taking the shape of a sphere. The Athenians observing wore expressions of anticipation mixed with a hint of seriousness. They know too well that Nikos was about to go all out, showcasing his brilliance in battle.

Damon had a confused look, but he didn't care. He was a reckless beast, ready to pounce on prey or on another beast stronger than he is. With a ferocious scream that resonated throughout the arena, he directly lunged at Nikos with his shield in front of him.

But with a simple raise of Nikos' left hand, a thick wall of water rose up from the ground and blocked Damon and stopped him in his tracks. Moving his right hand, a massive streak of water appeared in Damon's side hitting him directly, pushing him until he was violently smashed on the wall.

Nikos wasn't done yet, using his water magic, he formed two streaks of water from both his hands and propelled himself high up in the air. While in midair, Nikos began to form a compact sphere of water in his right hand, it was so tightly packed that it looked like a solid ball. Falling down from the air, Nikos, looking like a falling star had a punch prepared to strike Damon.

Damaris, watching the moves and technique of Nikos, had an irritated look on his face.

Damon who was recovering on the ground quickly took up his shield and prepared to take the impact. As Nikos finally hits the shield, a jolt of force surged through Damon's body, forcing him down onto his knees and skidding across the ground. Cracks appeared on the shield and soon after, Nikos' fist tore a hole through the shield and directly punched Damon straight in the face and exploded causing massive damage to Damon, the surrounding area, and even Nikos himself.

Nikos' right hand was severely damaged by his own attack rendering it useless in battle.

Damon was knocked down on the ground and everyone on the arena, even the rowdy Athenians were left speechless due to Nikos' display of skill. The Spartans were in a state of disbelief, they've always thought that the Athenians would always fight long range and refuse to fight head on. They hated them for it and was disgusted by their fighting styles that they don't consider Athenian men as real men.

"Have Athenians always fought like that?" Theron asked in disbelief. "He fought like a Spartan."

"No, this is the first time I have seen magic utilized that way." Agis replied as he looked at Themistocles on the other side who then gave him a smirk.

"That Kid's fighting style, it reminds me of the Black Star Hunter of China, The Jade Prince." Kit thought to himself.

Nikos walked away from Damon, assured of his victory and was waiting for the announcer to conclude the match. He walked and walked but the announcement never came. Looking back, he saw Damon standing back up, his face covered with a massive bruise and his entire body with wounds.

"Aella, the woman who I've been wooing, hits harder than you." Damon, who was struggling to even move said with a wide smile on his face.

Theron, Kit, Agis, and even Damaris were all surprised that he still had the strength to stand up from that.

"Maybe that bastard isn't weak after all." Damaris thought to himself.

"I'd make sure you and Aella marry each other in the future." Theron shouted ecstatically with tears of joy falling from his eyes.

"Make us proud brother." Kit shouted.

"I'd expect nothing less of my student." Agis shouted to Damon as he smiles proudly. "Go and win the match for us."

Hearing the words of his friends and instructor, Damon found his body brimming with strength. He felt unstoppable. He ran towards Nikos, accelerating each second. Nikos who was standing, pointed his hand towards Damon and unleashed a spell but only a few squirts of water came out.

"I'm already out of mana." Nikos thought to himself as a sense of panic befall him. "What should I do?"

As Damon got closer, he clenched his fist and focused every ounce of strength he had left. Unbeknownst to him, his fists were perfectly enhanced. He was a few meters away from Nikos and lunged towards him like a cornered ferocious beast.

As the punch was about to land, Nikos urgently, with all of his remaining mana casted a mana barrier in front of him stopping the punch, Damon broke the barrier after a few seconds of struggle but the force of his punched diminished greatly. Nikos smiles, assured of his victory. As he was about to punch Damon with his left fist, his head was grabbed by Damon. With only his willpower keeping him up, Damon headbutts Nikos but before he could land it, he fell down on the ground, unconscious.

"The Victor, Nik..." The announcer shouted as he was interrupted.

Nikos couldn't accept the outcome of the fight; his pride would not allow him to take this win. He had given everything he had and still came short in the end. He would've lost if Damon's headbutt connected and there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop it. He refused this victory that was decided by luck.

"I forfeit this fight!" Nikos shouted as he slowly exits the arena.

The sudden announcement of Nikos had the Athenians in chaos. They were disgusted by the mere fact that Nikos had forfeited his battle when he had already won and blemished their perfect and flawless record.

"You don't deserve to be at the top you spineless bastard."

"Don't ever turn your back on me."

"You should be ashamed of yourself."

Nikos did not mind the words of his own fellows and continued his walk towards the exit.

On the other hand, the Spartans respected the gesture from the Athenian who was unfamiliar of their culture but they themselves protested Damon's win as it is disrespectful to him. To the one who has already fallen into battle.

At the center of the arena, both sides deliberated on the situation. Agis and Themistocles agreed to give Nikos the win.

"You sure have a great and talented student this year Agis." Themistocles said to Agis.

"You misunderstand, it's an insult to call Damon talented." Agis replied. "He is simply the most hardworking and diligent student I have ever trained."

"Was he your best?"

"My best student is someone who you can call talented." Agis replied with a smirk on his face. "Actually, calling him talented is an understatement."

"What do you mean by that?" Themistocles asked in confusion.

"You'll see once his battle start. You should warn whoever he is fighting to not underestimate him."

The two left the arena and returned to their respective seats. The next battle was between Theron and Athens' 3rd best student, Philon. As the two fighters met in the center of the arena, they exchanged fierce glances, akin to two apex predators sizing each other up for a showdown.

"Tell me, have you ever looked down at the ground and saw darkness?" Theron asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Philon replied.

"I'll tell you soon enough."

As they awaited the signal to commence, both fighters readied themselves. Theron assumed a defensive stance, his shield positioned in front of him, and his spear gripped firmly in a throwing posture. On the other side, Philon drew a gleaming silver blade from its sheath and grasped it firmly with both hands.

As the signal was given, Philon instantly jumps towards Theron, his sword falling down upon the stout Spartan shield. Before Theron could counter, the sword was pushing him down. Every second it was getting heavier and heavier. Theron eventually pushed the sword away but to his surprise, Philon had let go of the sword enabling to move freely as Theron leaves his entire body open.

Seizing the advantage, Philon swiftly maneuvered his right hand, a large rock column appeared on Theron's back and pushed him directly down to the ground.

"Tell me, do you see Darkness?" Philon asked in a gentle tone.