Chapter 60 True Fear. True Hope.

*Narration*

The gods all felt death gripped their hearts, every single one of them felt a deep fear assaulting their very core, even the bravest of them gasped at the sight of the one true thing that could erase them out of existence.

Freya shook uncontrollably, her eyes were stuck at the prince who was releasing such a terrifying and sinister aura.

Loki couldn't breathe properly, she clutches her chest as she felt her heart beat so fast that she feared it would jump out of her chest.

Hestia's vision darkens, she feels weak, like her knees just turned into jellies, she almost fell onto her ass, but Heracles caught her before she did.

The god of strength was not immune to the fear, even he, felt it creep deep inside him, he couldn't control it, the fear was plastered deep into the subconscious of every god, yet he was taking it better than most.

Thor slammed his fist on the table, he was feeling a mixture of rage and fear, he was angry, he really hated that weapon. "...Ares you fool!" he spoke with venom in his voice as he glared at the god of war.

Ares was smiling like a psychopath at the sight of his child. His heart was beating fast, as crazy as he is, even he wasn't immune to the fear. 'Is this it? Will Missiletine finally choose him as his true master?' He let out a soft chuckle as he thought of it. He ignored the sensation of death grasping his heart, all he can think right now is the possibility of owning and controlling someone who is a master of a theïkó óplo. That line of thinking was enough to make the god of war hard in excitement. The smile on his face slowly turns into an uncontrolled laughter.

Athena, the other god of war felt dread, not only was the weapon affecting her, her child was fighting that thing. An image kept on repeating inside her head, and that was the death of Edwin Hyrule, she stood up, she had full intention of stopping the fight, but alas, her body wouldn't listen to her, as soon as she stood, she automatically fell right back into her seat. She couldn't raise her voice, the fear was too much for her to handle.

The other gods weren't faring any better, they were frozen in place as their eyes were stuck at the prince who was now standing back into his feet.

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August felt something deep inside his body, he felt a sensation akin to hunger, as the prince's mana rose, the sensation grew stronger and stronger. He was confused, he didn't know why he had this feeling.

Then it clicked, this wasn't him, this was Beowulf, this sensation was its, the weapon was reacting to one of its own. And as its master, he too felt the hunger Beowulf is feeling right now.

The spear wanted nothing more than to rip the prince into shreds, the power of the spear was threatening to come up on the surface.

August quickly moved his hands to Beowulf, as soon as his fingers touched its body, he felt a feral instinct to hunt the prince. 'I thought my battle craze was rough. Looks like yours is even worse.' August couldn't help but think that as he let his mana travel inside the spear, he was trying to suppress it. And try being the key word to it, even with his efforts some of Beowulf's aura leaked.

"Easy there..." August murmured as he used more of his mana to reeled the wild spear, this time he succeeded, but the damage had already been done.

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Another sensation hit the gods, this time a primal fear gripped every one of them, it felt like a beast was lurking in the shadow, watching them all, waiting to rip their throats out.

As fast as the other sensation of fear appeared, it quickly vanished as well, but the gods already felt it, and with it, they knew, the other user was inside the amphitheater as well.

'August!' Heracles mind quickly jumped into action, his eyes widened as it roamed throughout the stands trying to find his child.

He wasn't able to get a good look with all the commotion the crowd was doing, there was a small panic in the stands, they two felt uncontrollable fear which led to them acting like small children who had seen a monster.

Some of the spectators fainted on the spot, some even stain themselves, some vomited, and some of them cried and weep uncontrollably, they all may have different reactions but everyone felt the same sensation of fear gripping their heart.

"Tsk!" Heracles clicked his tongue when he couldn't find August, he suddenly felt Hestia who he was holding went limp, the goddess had fainted from the fear she felt. "Why do I always have to take care of you little squirt?" he muttered as he sat Hestia carefully into her seat.

"My friend, did you feel that?" Heracles heard Thor ask. "The other fucker is inside as well... Hell he might be one of the participants."

"I did, but I doubt he's stupid enough to stay here after that." Heracles answered. 'Well knowing August, he's probably still in the damn building.' he thought as he urged Thor to continue watching the match.

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Edwin was like a deer in headlights, he couldn't move a muscle as he watched the prince scream crazily as if he was getting tortured in pain. He watched as Marius's mana became increasingly high that it almost felt like it had no limit.

His heart beat so fast, as his whole body was going numb, there was a prickly sensation in his skin as the prince's mana touched his.

"What the hell are you?" Edwin asked, his voice came out shaky and tense, he didn't know why, but he was feeling a deep fear at the prince's sight.

"Ha--... Haha... HAHAHAHAH!!!" Marius started laughing, his voice felt like it was mixed with something, like that of a gurgling deep sound, it was uncanny and creepy. Then he suddenly stopped as his eyes darted to the stands.

This confused Edwin, the attention of the prince was not on him, he was open, he could just go there and attack him. The prince's eyes were searching for something in the stands. Anyone would have gone and attacked such a vulnerable opponent, but Edwin couldn't move a muscle. His feet are glued to the ground.

"The damn mutt..." Marius whispered, but Edwin was able to hear it given his level 5 status.

"HEY YOUR ARSNESS!!! I'M STILL HERE!!!" Edwin screamed, he mustered all his courage to do so. He didn't like that the prince was ignoring him, he felt small because of it.

Marius turned towards the prince in a lazy manner, his eyes looked at him as if bored. "Oh right... You." He spoke, his tone lazy, and condescending, as if he was talking to a toddler. "I must thank you... Without you breaking him, I wouldn't have this chance to let loose."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Edwin asked, confusion plain in his voice.

Marius ignored him and looked at his hands, he clinched it closed open and smirked. His eyes then darts back toward Edwin's. This made the knight jump back.

"Now... I shouldn't be wasting anymore of my precious time up here on the surface. As thanks for allowing me to come out and play... I'll give you the privilege to fight me, even though you're weak as a cockroach." He spoke in a polite and condescending manner.

Suddenly he vanished on the spot that he was standing at, and before Edwin knew the prince was standing right in front of him.

"So don't disappoint me... Ok." Marius spoke with a smile before giving Edwin a back handed slap.

Edwin didn't even see it coming, his consciousness suddenly vanished and when it returned he was now flying up in the air.

The knight landed hard on his back, he bounced a couple of times before coming to a sudden halt, he felt a heavy force on his shoulder and when be looked up he found the prince stopping his momentum using his feet.

Edwin's eyes shot opened as he moved his body up, he took quite a distance away from Marius, who let him be with no resistance.

The knight can taste iron inside his mouth, he didn't know how, but he was hit, strong enough to render him unconscious for a second, even drawing blood inside his mouth.

"Bastard..." He mutters as he takes his stance, he was desperately trying to get rid of the fear that he was feeling.

"Very good... Now, from what I know, you have this immaculate defense... I have to say I am not impressed."

"Then why don't you come here and test it out yourself!" Edwin was getting angry at how Marius was looking down on him. He held his shield with both of his hands as he placed it right at the middle of his stance. He was caught off guard, now he was ready for whatever was coming. His mana exploded as he prepared for the prince's onslaught.

"Tsk tsk tsk... Silly boy..." The prince spoke, Edwin blinked as a sweat dropped on his eye. He was suddenly assaulted by fear as he heard the prince's voice right beside him. "Test it? But I already broke it."

Blood suddenly gushed everywhere as the moment Edwin opened his eyes he felt like his shield had become lighter.

Like slow motion, he watched as his two hands that were holding his shield flew in the air, unattached to his body.

Everything was quiet, silence was all that the Knight could hear. He didn't even feel it, one moment he was standing in front of the prince, the next his hands were cut off his body.

"See... Broken." The prince spoke again as he stared at Edwin's eyes.

Edwin stared back, his eyes had a look of doubt, his mind unable to fathom what just happened. And then the pain struck, like clockwork it assaulted his body in an unbearable level of pain. "ARGHHH!!!!" He screamed as he fell on his knees, his eyes moved to his now severed hands.

Marius winced back as Edwin screamed in pain, he held his ears as he looked at Edwin. "Why do they always scream?" he asked himself as he sigh.

The blood pool up below the knight as his body suddenly gave out, he fell face first on the pool of his own blood, his eyes staring at the empty space, unmoving and seeming dead. Yet he was still breathing.

"Hmm... Well that looks painful. Still, you are such a disappointment, I really thought you would be able to entertain me... Even if just a bit." Marius raised his sword up in the air, the blood trickling down his face. "Allow me to put you out of your miserable life."

The prince slashed down at the unmoving knight, aiming for his neck, he brought his blade down with a sadistic smile.

The crowd gasped, there were some screams for him to stop, but he didn't, they could only watch in collected horror as the blade fell down towards the knight's neck.

Suddenly a burst of mana erupted out of nowhere, something incredibly fast fell out from the stands and beamed straight at the prince.

*BOOM!!!*

A loud thunderous sound echoed all throughout the amphitheater, the two mana crackled as they met, the very space moved around them as the magic battled for dominance.

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Every god in the VIP room had their eyes wide open. They didn't expect this, no... This was as far from what they thought would have happened.

Ganesha who was watching at the sideline closed his eyes. "Well... The jig is up isn't it."

"That damn IDIOT!!!" Heracles spoke in a mixture of anger and awe as he stared at the middle of the stage. Seeing that he couldn't do anything anymore, he could only smirk at what was happening. "I raised him well..." he said taking credit for his actions.

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Froke and Denki felt a strong gust of wind besides them, and the next moment, he was gone. They could only open their jaws at his action.

"Your captain is an idiot." Froke spoke with a shaky voice as she felt her heart tightening up, she didn't know why but he looks so fucking cool right now.

Denki nodded in agreement, a smile plastered on his face. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

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The whole arena erupted in wild cheers as they saw the sword stop before hitting its intended target.

The crowd watched in amazement, their heart beating wildly at the turn of events. The fear they have vanished, now they feel hope, hope that everything will be fine.

They watched as the man, the one who many had viewed as the embodiment of death, stood at the side of life, giving them hope.

Then as if practiced, everyone screamed his name.

""GÁE BULG!!!""

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The two stood against each other, their weapons on a struggle, their magic shining brightly as it swirled around the two.

Their two eyes met, August smirked making the prince's face turn into an ugly scowl.

"That's quite enough... Don't you think." August said with a polite yet firm voice.

"Damn mutt!" The prince snarled as he tried to push even more power into his sword.

But August answered it, he let his mana run wild, and Beowulf devoured it hungrily.

Their mana crackled the air as the space around them distorts, then their clash exploded as the two of them were pushed back by their own clash.

The two landed on their feet, The prince glared at August, while he just smiled politely at Marius.

"Look, the fight is over... I suggest you back down now." August spoke in a calm manner as he twirled his spear and placed it to his elbow. "After all, we don't want anyone to get hurt now... Do we." he said with a smile as he looked around the stage.

The Prince followed his gaze only to see multiple level 5 adventurers glaring at him, some are even level 6, hell even Ottar was looking at him with a "back off" look.

The prince wanted to continue, he did not care about the weakling around, he wanted to kill the mutt in front of him. But before Marius could speak, he stopped. Its time was already over. "Fine... I already had my fun." he placed the sword back into its hilt as he walked off towards the exit. 'Fuck... Looks like the prince is waking up now... Oh well... That was at least fun...' he thought to himself as he looked back at August. 'So that's Beowulf's master. Lucky mutt.'

August watched as the prince left the stage, he then walked towards Edwin who was still unmoving. He was alive, but his eyes told a different story... "Tsk." August clicked his tongue. He knows that look, he had that look in the past.

August heard footsteps behind him, it was the medics, He made way for them as he walked back towards his seat.

The crowd cheered his name as he walked away.

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The Prince had won his fight, and he moved on to the finals to face Loch, most of them felt excited for the match ahead but disappointment was the only thing waiting for them.

Loch couldn't fight in the finals, the medic had done everything, but the wounds he had suffered were lethal and would take time to recover, even with all the potions and magic in their disposal.

The pallum wanted to fight but Anubis pulled the plug on it. He would not send his child to face that monster.

With it, Marius Victrix Rakia won the bracket A of the tournament and had moved on to the finals where he would be facing the winner of the bracket B.

The crowd slowly exited the amphitheater, some groaning at their loss, some winning huge amounts of cash.

August along with Denki and Froke exited the arena at the same time, August had invited them both to dinner at the Hostess.

As the mortals go on with their lives, waiting for tomorrow's continuation of the tournament to come. The gods stayed and held an emergency Denatus for the event that had transpired today. All eyes are on Ares as he was invited to partake in the event despite being an outsider along with Athena, and Heracles... And as Ganesha said... The jig is up.

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Chapter 60 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.