Preliator

Humid air wrapped around Jin's skin like a hot blanket. His sweat was brimming but the tight leather jerkin stopped it in its tracks. A sense of dread washed over him and he did not think. He just acted. Gathering his strength, Jin pushed against the ground. The Heavy Knight obeyed his body's command and likewise did the same. Jin braced his core as the giant mecha pushed itself from the ground and leaped back into a standing position. A second later, a heavy broadsword crashed onto the ground where Jin's Heavy Knight lay just seconds before.

The crowd cheered.

From the tiny slits on the Heavy Knight's chest that served as the pilot's window, Jin could make out the glorious white Heavy Knight that almost cleaved him in two.

"Is this for real? That was a kill blow!" he said to himself, though he didn't mind if anyone else heard it. He never wanted to be here.

The white Heavy Knight lifted its sword from the hard earth and lunged.

Instinctively, Jin slid his mecha to the right, narrowly missing the white Knight's sword from ramming into his Heavy Knight's chest where he lay trapped. Reflexes kicked in and he led his Knight's hands to hold the outstretched arms of the other Knight. Using his enemy's momentum, Jin braced his core and twisted.

His Heavy Knight ended throwing the other Knight off balance and it fell unceremoniously on its face.

"Will you stop this already?" Jin cried out, just as the white Heavy Knight began to stand up.

He was tired. Moving this giant armor was heavy work. Still, he did not want to die. And his enemy just tried to kill him. So before his adrenaline dialed down, Jin decided to end the fight. He dashed towards his recovering opponent and kicked it in the crotch.

The white Heavy Knight sprawled and skidded several meters face-first shamefully on the ground, its literal bottom up.

The crowd cheered. Or laughed. The white Knight struggled to stand. It didn't matter. Jin was pissed.

He dashed again and delivered another shameless blow to the fallen Heavy Knight on the exact same spot.

The once-glorious white Heavy Knight once again swam face-first on the ground and ended up on the same position it was in just a few moments up, face-down-bottoms-up, like a dog.

Jin's Heavy Knight began its approach once again.

The chest of the fallen white Knight hissed and opened, regurgitating its pilot face-first onto the bare earth. The pilot rolled out just in time as Jin's mecha closed in. The pilot was next on his feet, madly dashing for walls of the arena.

"I give up! I give up! I give up!" he cried as he ran.

Now unpiloted, the white Heavy Knight received the unceremonious blow to the crotch one final time and was tossed into the air like a ragdoll. It made a complete flip and finally landed on its back, its now-open-and-empty cockpit facing the bright blue sky.

The crowd was wild.

Jin's heartbeat began to slow down as he tried to catch his breath. He relaxed and stood straight. The Heavy Knight did the same. He searched the arena for the pilot and found him standing a few feet from the wall of the round arena, sword drawn and in battle stance.

'He's still gonna fight?' Jin wondered. A Heavy Knight stands at around twenty feet and is made of pure metal. There is no way a measly human sword could harm it. Still, Jin admired the other pilot's resolve.

The crowd suddenly turned silent and Jin immediately found the cause. On a balcony reserved for the royalty, the young head of the monarchy was standing. Young King Roderick was scowling at Jin's Heavy Knight. At Jin, in particular.

"You fought well, Adrian," the teen monarch addressed the other pilot, his voice loud enough for the entire arena to hear. "Retreat to the fighters' balcony."

Sir Adrian relaxed his stance and sheathed his sword. He made a curt bow towards the royal balcony and retreated towards the arena's entrance as ordered, but not before throwing an icy frown at Jin.

"Is it over?" Jin asked though he doubted if he could be heard. If he could be, he further doubted if he would get a decent response.

"Release the lizard!" the king barked. The crowd roared again.

"Wait, what?" Jin said to no one in particular. It would seem that this crowd does not play favorites. As long as mayhem and carnage can be had, they cheer.

The giant iron gate where the other Heavy Knight earlier emerged opened again. This time, Jin heard an ear-splitting shriek from its dark bowels along with heavy footfalls.

Seeing no other choice, Jin crouched in preparation. Ready to stand his ground. Ready to leap out of the way.

A moment later, a roaring Tyrannosaurus Rex Jin had seen in Hollywood movies emerged from the tunnel, rushing to a tackle in his Heavy Knight's direction.

"Really?!"

Jin was confident the armor of the Heavy Knight can withstand the T-Rex's teeth. However, he did not leave it to chance. He timed his movement and when the T-Rex was close enough, he leaped out of the way. Based on the movies, T-Rexes are bumbling and clumsy dinosaurs.

In the next moment, Jin found himself flying further backward, losing balance, and crashing on the ground. The T-Rex had just whipped him with its tail.

'That was,' Jin paused as he struggled to stand back up, 'unexpected.'

Before he could recover, the T-Rex was upon him, its massive foot on his abdomen, pinning him to the ground. Its open maw aimed for his Heavy Knight's chest, at the Knight's cockpit. Jin managed to block it with the Knight's left arm just in time.

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On the royal balcony, General Garrett Galahad intently watched the battle in the arena play out. Fighting another Heavy Knight is one thing because it's just a test of strength between pilots. This pilot simply turned out to be stronger than Sir Adrian in maneuvering his Knight. However, fighting a live animal is another.

Galahad knows the feeling all too well. Moving a Heavy Knight is like trying to move with lead weights tied to your entire body. A giant lizard, however, is just moving its body normally. If this pilot is any good, he should have figured that out already.

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'Stupid!' Jin berated himself. 'Of course, it'll move faster than that other mecha. It's used to moving in this size.'

As he struggled to keep the T-Rex from chomping down on his chest with his left arm, Jin swung a right hook at the lizard's jaw. Even he was surprised at the result.

The Heavy Knight's fist easily broke the lizard's maw. Its lower jaw tore free from its head, flew across the arena, and splattered on the far wall. The T-Rex fell upon the Heavy Knight. Jawless. Dead.

The crowd was stunned.

Jin heaved the dinosaur aside and sat up.

The crowd roared again. Jin marveled at what happened.

'Are T-Rexes that weak? Those kids in Jurassic Park sure made a big deal out of it,' he pondered.

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The people on the royal balcony remained stunned even after the crowd had recovered and cheered again. General Galahad could not believe what he just saw. Nobody has KO'd a lizard with one punch. This pilot is special.

The king stood up again. Fury was more deeply etched in his face than before.

The crowd went silent again.

"Give him Tang!"

The crowd roared again.

----------------

Jin barely registered the name when the iron gates opened again.

"Again?" he cried out loud. He stood up and crouched. Again. What other choice does he have?

'Who or what is Tang?' he wondered. If this was a game, that white Heavy Knight was level 1. The T-Rex must have been level 2. This Tang should be level 3. That means whatever is coming out of that gate is far faster and stronger than the T-Rex and the white Heavy Knight.

True enough another ferocious roar emanated from the tunnel, followed by a rumbling thunder of footfalls. This one paced faster than the T-Rex. That meant it's running at a faster speed. And Jin was growing tired. Still, he braced himself.

A giant roaring gorilla leaped from the tunnel, its arms raised, its fists clenched, its chest puffed out, its legs arced back, as it flew through the air. Jin's mind immediately registered King Kong doing a Hulk Smash.

'Not good!'

Jin managed to get his Heavy Knight out of the way just in time.

King Kong's, or Tang's, Hulk Smash slammed the hard earth and produced a small crater on the arena. The ground shook violently and the crowd held their breath.

Jin landed on a roll and immediately went back to his feet. Just in time, because Tang was already upon him, arms raised for another hammer-down. Jin can't leap away fast enough this time. So he instead caught the gorilla's arms with his Heavy Knight's hands. He held on in a battle of strength against the giant gorilla.

Then a sharp force hit his Heavy Knight in the chest and he was thrown back violently, slamming back-first against the far hard arena wall, eventually embedding himself in the concrete.

Jin registered what just happened a moment later. The gorilla was in the process of standing up from the ground. The monkey just double-kicked him in the chest!

Jin groaned from the shock. He wondered how he could still be alive. Even with the Heavy Knight's armor protecting him, the G-forces that acted on his soft tissues were enough to kill.

Tang seemed to think this as he stopped attacking. Instead, he pounded his chest in victory and roared King Kong fashion. The crowd cheered in unison.

Jin wanted to just remain there. Let them think he was dead. Maybe he could finally escape when they try to bury him.

The crowd turned silent.

'That lanky brat must be standing again,' Jin mused to himself.

"Burn that Heavy Knight!"

'Wait, what?' Jin's mind raced. There is no way he's getting out alive if they torch the Heavy Knight with him still inside it. He did not think and just moved. His Heavy Knight squeezed itself out from the wall and landed squarely on the ground.

Gasps. Even the monkey seemed to be genuinely shocked. Then anger and hatred flashed in its eyes.

"Uh oh," Jin had to say it out loud.

The monkey thundered across the arena towards him again. The crowd was in an uproar.

"Stop!" a loud voice boomed across the entire arena. Silence.

Jin was stunned for a while but he quickly regained his wits. That wild monkey surely would not listen. He fell into stance. But it was for nothing. The giant gorilla was growling furiously at him but otherwise stayed in place.

Curious, Jin spared to glance at the source of authority.

Standing before the railings of the balcony was a broadly-shouldered and tall man in silver armor. From this distance, all Jin could make out was that he had a beard. But Jin felt that this man's authority did not come from any title or color. His stance and entire aura spoke of power. This was a man Jin did not want to cross.

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"What is the meaning of this, Galahad?" the teen king also stood from his seat. He did not seem happy at Galahad's apparent usurpation of his authority.

"I am sorry, Your Majesty," Galahad replied, voice genuinely respectful, but stern and firm. "But it would be a waste if we kill him."

"He leered at my Betrothed!" the teen king snapped, indicating the young female royalty seated just beside the now empty royal chair.

"And I'm sure he has learned his lesson," Galahad said. "And I'm sure Her Royal Majesty does not mind," he added.

The young princess blushed at the attention and just nodded nervously.

"I mind, Galahad! He disrespected me on my throne!"

"As much as I respect you and the throne, Your Majesty," Galahad's tone turned dark, "my loyalty is to the Kingdom first."

"What do you mean by that?" the king began to lose his conviction under Galahad's stare. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say that this man could stop the Thrall advance."

"Him?" the king was unconvinced.

"Either we let him live and you live with your self-inflicted shame, or we kill him and you take on the Thrall horde head-on," Galahad said. His statement hinted at options, but his tone did not.

If the king insisted on being stubborn, Galahad will have no choice but to obey him. However, he made it clear that the king will have to take responsibility for his stubbornness by personally leading the kingdom's army against the advancing darkness.

The teen king gulped.

"You really think he can stop the Thralls?" he finally said after a while.

Galahad just gave an imperceptible nod without taking his eyes off the king.

"Then have your way with him. But keep him out of my sight!" The king waved his hand and returned to his seat, sulking and defeated.

----------------

The arena held its breath until the king was seated. When the silver-armored knight turned to the arena again, Jin thought he could make out a look of satisfaction on the man's face.

"Do you stand by your narrative in the throne room, pilot?" the silver-armored knight called out. "And get out of that Heavy Knight already!"

Jin swallowed. Without the Heavy Knight's protection, he would be exposed. And he didn't like feeling exposed. He felt that the moment he opened the cockpit, an arrow from nowhere would bury itself in his chest. But what other choice did he have?

The aura of this man told him he could not fight his way out of here without dying or suffering terribly in the process. 'And King Kong is still standing over there,' he thought bitterly. It's a no-brainer. He will never make it if he continued to fight right now.

The cockpit hissed as it opened and exposed him to the scrutiny of the crowd.

Audible gasps could be heard from the crowd.

'I know, I know,' Jin thought to himself as he made his way out of the cockpit to stand on the small platform that once served as the cockpit's door.

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Standing on the platform by the Heavy Knight's chest was a kid, barely a teenager. Galahad expected the surprise of the crowd. After all, the boy had entered the arena already inside the Heavy Knight. Who would expect a scrawny kid like this to pilot a Heavy Knight? Even he wouldn't believe it if he hadn't seen the boy in action himself.

Galahad eyed the youth. He had appraised the boy back in the throne room.

"I'm not from around here. I'm from Earth," the boy had said.

Galahad was skeptical. He did not know where Earth is. But the boy did appear different. His choice of clothes, for one, was very different.

Then before Galahad could interfere, the king stupidly ordered the boy arrested for stupidly winking at the queen-to-be-princess.

The boy ran from the guards. But realizing that the king was in no danger as he sensed no threat coming from the boy, only genuine fear, Galahad did not bother taking action.

Then the next thing Galahad knew the boy was already lumbering in the arena on this Heavy Knight.

"What is your name, pilot?" he called out.

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"Jin," Jin replied simply.

"Tell me, Jin, where is this Earth?" the man in silver armor cried back.

Back inside the palace throne room, Jin would not have been able to respond satisfactorily to that question. Out here in the open arena, however, he did not even need to speak his answer.

Jin simply pointed at the sky. Towards the majestic blue moon that hung behind trail wisps of cirrus clouds.

More gasps.