Volume Twenty-One: The Dark Road, Chapter Five: Tremor

No one expected the Gladiator Competition, amid its tumultuous uproar, to enter the finals without a single Spartan competitor. Two disciples of Aristotle, Saint of Martial Arts, one was disqualified, and the other voluntarily withdrew—the reasons for withdrawal were ominous, yet rumors had already spread wildly throughout Athens City. Although Prince Slupig defeated the competitor from Piraeus, he himself was critically injured by the last-ditch counterattack from his opponent. This version of events was closest to reality and also the most believable. Nevertheless, the Spartans were still disheartened by their loss of the chance to compete in the finals.