The Capital – Southern Section
The Inn
After Kalira and Limity had changed, they left the room.
Lim: Come on, it's already been an hour. Let's go.
Limity: You're so annoying. I told you, we're going to the merchant first.
Kalira intervenes in their conversation:
Kalira: It's fine, let's go. There's still plenty of time. We have three more days left.
Limity: Are you sure?
Kalira: Yes, let's go there.
Lim: I'm starting to like this kid.
Limity: Where's Torance, Lim?
Lim: I don't know, he left through the window a while ago.
Kalira: Is he downstairs?
Lim: Seems like it.
Lim went back to the room, grabbed his stuff, and they all went downstairs. The old lady was still sitting in her usual place at the reception desk.
Limity: We're leaving, Grandma.
Old Lady: So soon? Will you be back?
Limity: I don't know. Maybe not.
Lim: Are you starting to lose it, old hag?
Old Lady: I'll cut your tongue off, you little brat.
Limity: We're going now. Take care, Grandma.
Old Lady: Alright, go. But be careful. The capital isn't like it used to be.
They all leave the inn. The streets seem emptier than yesterday.
Kalira: Why is no one around?
Limity: I think everyone headed to the arena today.
Lim: Come on, get in. Let's go. We have to find a spot there.
They all get into the carriage.
Kalira: Wait, where's Torance?
Limity: I just forgot about him—where did he go?
Kalira (loudly): Torance! Torance!
Torance comes flying from over one of the buildings and lands on Kalira's shoulder.
Torance: What?
Kalira: You scared me. I thought you left.
Torance: I was just looking around.
Limity: You need to tell this little girl when you do something like that. She worries a lot.
Lim: Come on, let's go.
They start riding. The roads are all made of stone. In the center of the capital stands a huge statue of the first Beast Queen. After a short while of traveling…
Cheering sounds start to rise.
Lim: Looks like it's started.
They ride a bit further and the arena comes into view, huge and noisy.
Kalira (amazed): It's enormous!
Lim: I'll park the carriage over there by the gate.
Limity: It's better to leave it in one of the nearby stables.
Lim: Why? What's the problem with parking it there?
Limity: Did you forget what happened last time?
Lim: Oh, right.
Lim backs up a bit and parks the carriage in a nearby stable.
They all get out of the carriage and head toward the arena.
Kalira: It's so big inside too. And there are so many people.
Limity: Looks like all of the capital's residents are here.
Lim: Not all of them. If everyone came, there wouldn't be enough space.
Torance: I haven't been here in a long time.
Limity: Us too.
They all go in and climb up to the spectator stands.
Kalira: Why is no one in the arena?
Limity: I think it hasn't started yet.
Lim: I don't know. I have a feeling it's going to be an intense duel.
Then White and Thanos entered, and the referee came to announce the new fight information.
Lim: This is insane! So, the arena is going back to its old ways like I thought.
Limity: Yeah, it's really crazy. A fight to the death between two elite knights.
Kalira: I hate that silver-haired guy.
Limity: His name's White, I already told you. And I think he's going to win.
Kalira: I hope he loses.
Then the battle between White and Thanos began, and Thanos swallowed the pill and transformed.
---
Present Time
After Thanos swallowed the pill and transformed into his strange form, he stepped back a bit.
White: Looks like you've lost your mind, you idiot.
Thanos throws his massive iron axe away and creates another axe from his blood, aiming it at White.
Thanos: This is your end, you bastard!
Thanos leaps high and attacks White with speed. His movement is faster than before.
While in the air, he creates many daggers and hurls them at White. White dodges them, and while doing so, Thanos strikes among the flying daggers with high speed. White blocks the attack with his blood blade, but the blow was so strong, he didn't expect to be thrown so far.
After being launched back, Thanos doesn't stop but continues chasing White to land another blow. White keeps blocking his heavy and savage attacks that shake the ground beneath them.
Suddenly, Thanos lands a strike that sends White flying into the arena wall.
Thanos: I'll cut your head off now!
White (coughing): This is bad. I didn't want to use this, but looks like I have to.
White stands up and calmly approaches Thanos.
---
In the glass room above
Thea (worried): Doesn't White look like he's in danger?
Minalost (calmly): Looks like he's about to use it now.
Thea: Use what?
Minalost: Seems you didn't know about this… White had another title before he became one of my followers. He was known as "Death's Scythe."
Ban joins the conversation:
Ban: You mean that old assassin?
Minalost: Looks like you've heard of him.
Thea: White is that person? That's impossible!
Minalost: You'll see now… He looks angry.
---
The Arena
White approaches Thanos calmly.
White (wiping blood from his forehead): Are you enjoying yourself?
Thanos raises his massive axe and aims it at White again.
Thanos: I'll make you kneel before me, bastard.
White continues to approach calmly, but suddenly, his steps become heavy on the ground. He stops once he's close to Thanos.
White begins removing all his armor, one piece at a time. After removing it all, he creates a small blade from his blood and stabs himself near the heart.
Thanos: What? You decided to kill yourself in front of me?
Suddenly, the lines on White's face and arms begin glowing red, his hair changes from light silver to red, and he creates a long scythe with a chain-like end and a sharp black blade.
Thanos (nervous): What did you do to yourself?
White (calmly): Let's play a little.
In an instant, White disappears from Thanos' view. Thanos looks around quickly but sees no one.
White appears behind him and places the scythe's blade at his neck, but Thanos barely blocks it.
Thanos steps back.
Thanos: Are you hiding now? Come out! Face me!
White wasn't hiding; he was just moving too fast.
Thanos (loudly): Come out, you rat!
As he speaks, White attacks him at high speed. Thanos tries to block the strike, but White cuts off his entire arm.
Thanos (angrily shouting): Damn you!
White doesn't reveal himself again. All he does is deliver invisible strikes, and Thanos can't defend against them.
---
Among the Crowd
Lim: He's insane! How can he move that fast?
Limity: Can you see him?
Lim: I can't see him, but if you focus a bit, you can see the dust move when he steps.
Limity: But how is he moving so fast? He's a controller, not an enhancer!
Torance: He's using his blood as stepping points.
Limity: How does he do that?
Torance: I don't know, but I can barely see him when he moves. He's incredibly fast—and extremely dangerous.
Kalira joins their conversation:
Kalira: Looks like he's going to attack from behind.
---
The Arena
Thanos stands, wounded all over his body, missing an arm, unsure from where the next strike will come.
While he's thinking and on high alert, White appears behind him and stabs him from the back with the scythe's blade, then pulls it, slicing him in half—but Thanos doesn't fall yet, because only his right side was cut. So he's still standing.
To be continued…