Exam In The Arena (3)

The duo waited at the spot where Cyrus had chosen, as there were no rules on where they could be so long as they were actually in the arena, as the portcullis began to raise once more. The moment it was raised they heard nothing nor did they see anything. Even so, the Legionnaires voice rang out.

"Experimental subject #9932, owned by the southern Eye of Babel. Subject was exposed to 100,000 times the normal exposure rate of Diabolus Auctus over a gradual period of time. Eventually the spores managed to break past the subject's natural defenses causing mutation to occur. The mutation overwrote the intelligence of the original subject, causing them to adopt a bestial nature. Originally the subject was a member of the Legionaries at the level of initiate who had killed the brother who was his training partner in cold blood. He was sentenced to an excruciating death, but the Eye of Babel had noticed the event and requested to have him as an experimental subject. The request was agreed to on the condition he undergo various cruel and unusual tortures before eventually being killed." The Legionnaire paused his unusually talkative speech before saying in a cold tone, "The order has no need for filth…" Recollecting himself, he continued once more.

"The spores were from a mutated wolf that had imploded from reaching critical spore growth imbuing the subject with greater agility and strength, putting him on par with the rank of novice" ended the Legionnaire, back to speaking in a flat tone.

While he was speaking, there was still little to no movement from the dark shadowy interior of the raised portcullis. This continued until the Legionnaire spoke up once more,

"Wolves are cautious creatures, they rarely attack on their own and prefer to act in packs. The subject has the intelligence and traits of a wolf with a human body, while not having the eternal hunger of a normal mutated being. One moment." He then jumped down from his spectating spot and walked towards the darkness until he was consumed by the shadows.

Cyrus and Imran looked at one another from their positions, unsure of what to make of the situation but quickly got their bearings once more, prepared for whatever would occur. Not too long later all they heard was a loud yell of fear and a figure bolted out of the darkness. The two finally saw what they were supposed to fight, a large bulky man with an impossible build that reminded Cyrus of Gabriel but instead of the picturesque of a large but fit form what assaulted his eyes was a man that looked more like an unstable tumorous growth with pulsating, venular, squirming veins and muscles than an actual human being. Painted on the man's face was horror and fear, as he held his longsword towards the darkness while visibly shaking. Out walked the Legionnaire who simply walked past the freak and took his place back on the spectating stands. He looked at the 'man', who flinched in fear the moment he did so, and put his hand on the sword tied to his belt while saying

"Fight them or die." With those words said the 'man' seemed to comprehend what was asked and so he turned towards its two enemies. Its eyes were focused and cold as it slowly walked towards its prey, slowly but surely while watching their every movement yet the taut muscles and slightly shaking hands showed that the pressure the Legionnaire put used to tame it so quickly was not something easily forgotten.

"Circle around it and wait for an opening to kill it with your glaive, I should be able to hold it off until then" said Cyrus with a quick order before he also began to approach it, with both his hands on his sword in his signature defensive stance; the handle at the center of his waist with the sword angled towards his opponent.

Similarly, the 'man' also took a stance and one that was very familiar to Cyrus. The 'man' put his longsword over his shoulder as he approached just as Gabriel had once done in his fight against Tribum and his two brothers.

"It seems sword styles are taught at the earliest of ages for the Legionaries but it is extremely unlikely that the specific techniques were taught, it would simply be too much to learn for a recruit. Even I only know defensive styles and their reactive counterpart. There is a high chance of me being able to eventually win, but the strain would be too much. If my guess is correct then there is no need to use my current trump card, the traps underground." thought Cyrus, as he quickly and calmly analyzed his opponent.

The moment the two reached a distance of 6 ft from one another they both stopped, one looking for an opening while the other waiting for any signs of fear or panic as is common for predatory animals. For what felt like an eternity, for the two locked in a silent but intense deadlock, the two stood perfectly still all while maintaining their specific stances. The pressure the other exerted on their respective opponent caused the other to use the entirety of their focus on the other, focusing so much that even a drop of sweat was as obvious as the blades in front of the other. The world around them dimmed as each became the center of the others world, fully focusing with ever fiber with of their being. As if the two had agreed beforehand the timing to make a move, they both took one step forward at the same time.

Cyrus did so to brace himself better, making his footing more stable against the incoming attack. While his enemy did so to launch himself at Cyrus with a steady but surprisingly fast pace, almost as fast as Cyrus in full sprint. Covering the distance in but a moment, Cyrus had no chance to use the most efficient way of dealing with the inevitable powerful blow by backstepping it thus he was forced to meet his enemy's blade with his own. Against the blade that came hurtling down, Cyrus mimicked the exact move he made in his match against Gabriel. Except this time he did not even attempt to parry it and immediately went for the deflect. To his surprise though, such that even the masked Cyrus had a twinge of strong emotion break though, the 'man' stopped his sword just short and changed his attack from a downward swing to a mid-thrust in one fluid motion. Cyrus, who had preemptively gone in for the deflect, was left so exposed that he might as well have been disarmed.

Making full use of his reactions and extreme dexterity he moved his body , as quickly as he could in the time it took his enemies sword to skewer him, so that he could avoid being instantly killed and instead sacrifice his left arm. The blade so close that Cyrus would have been able to see his reflection on it, stabbed right towards the area in between his shoulder and heart with his successful maneuver. Everything that was happening appeared to occur in slow motion except that Cyrus was helpless but to watch while the sword began to pierce into his skin.

It was at this moment, however, that the blade stopped short in its path. Slowly the grip on the blade slackened until it was entirely without a single ounce of strength, causing it to slowly fall and hit the floor with a clatter. With his life no longer in question, Cyrus took his focus off the sword and saw what had occurred. In front of him was the same hulking mass of repulsive tumorous growth, except the body was now crashing towards the floor with a now missing head. Once the body fell to the floor with a thud and splash, he saw his partner Imran holding his glaive as tightly as he could whilst looking towards Cyrus. He was trying to muster a smile but was currently in the middle of failing to do so as the sensation of decapitating someone replayed in his mind again and again. Trying to take his mind off such a sickening feeling he said,

"As impressive as always Cyrus, that was the perfect opening. In the moment there was a small part of me that was inwardly shocked, it was so convincing that I even thought you were about to be skewered let alone the enemy haha…" ending with an awkward laugh he began to circle around and walk far away from the body.

Cyrus followed him while healing the wound on his arm, it had sliced through most of the muscles in the area but did not reach bone. With his mind racing once more as he was considering the implications of what just happened, he decided to stop for a moment and push his earlier advantage.

"No. That was not a bluff or trap whatsoever, it was real. I made a mistake in my planning, modeling the enemy after another member of the Legionaries I fought once before… which led to a fast and dangerous mistake. If you had hesitated for a moment more I would have most likely lost my left arm at best and died at worst" said Cyrus calmly, as if he were talking about the weather and not of his close call with death.

"Y-you? You made a mistake like that?" stammered Imran, as in his eyes Cyrus seemed almost infallible at this point. To him this youth of the same age seemed to have come out of one of the nursey rhymes told to him when he was a kid, of a hero who could do anything and defeat all with his calm, cool and collected visage.

"Indeed I did. Anyone can make a mistake in battle, including me. Even the most veteran of warriors could fall into a lull, assuming he was the best due to his experience and that no one would be able to best him. Leading him into deadly pride and overconfidence, leading to a quick end by his enemies" said Cyrus, illustrating his own flaws at the same time.

Imran was still surprised, but inwardly he was relieved as Cyrus had been in the process of crushing any self-worth he had into smithereens; what, with having numerous abilities, talents, and the near perfect crushing of an obstacle he could have only done by fully exerting himself… assuming his fear of killing did not cause him to die.

"So know that your first kill was one in the defense of an ally, who would have been killed or seriously injured otherwise. I was once told that the reason behind what we do is equally as important as the outcome. In this case, what you did was both admirable and a welcome one from the one who was almost skewered" said Cyrus

This caused a visible change in Imran, as the words caused his doubts and insecurities to be lessened as he realized that what he did was a good thing overall. He saved the life of his ally after all.

With Cyrus successfully adding yet another layer to his web of manipulation he was spinning to capture Imran to his side, he began to move the body to the side as he thought.

"This body is of no use beheaded; my experiments have confirmed that whatever causes the undead to function, the core of the process is always in the head. More importantly… I blundered horribly just now. It seems that even with my more powerful emotions sealed away I can still easily fall into a trap of my own making if I am not careful. So complicated…"

After clearing the field once more the two sat and rested in their usual spot as they awaited their third fight.