The clash between the two teams started in silence. Four figures faced one another on a metallic floor stained with dried blood. The heat from the forges high below penetrated the armor and skin of the fighters, heating their adrenaline-infused blood. To the combatants that dove into the rush of the battle the thunderstorm of the crowd noise became distant, almost quiet.
Kakk made his move first. His grin split wider as he let out a roar, the sound booming through the arena like thunder. His two axes flashed, sparks trailing behind them as he launched himself forward. His charge resembled a predator's lunge in its primal grace and effectiveness of a machine made for murder. He lunged at Darkseid, engaging with the strongest opponent on the Crucible Arena.
Darkseid did not back off. His polearm caught both of the axes with the handle. With a push, Darkseid threw off the opponent's weapons and proceeded to attack back.
The blade at the end of his polearm impacted the armor of the barbarian, splitting furs in two, and revealing silver colored metal underneath. The air unnaturally cracked outwards from the place where his polearm landed.
It was a strike of such force that the air had been removed from the space it occupied before. Which resulted in each strike being accompanied by the sound of an explosion. Most people could never take on such a force. Their bodies would burst out as if they were blown up by an explosion.
But Kakk just laughed in response. An attack of this power? He could eat those for breakfast. He was not one of the generals of hell for nothing.
"C'mon, give me more!" the demon barked, maniacally laughing, shoving back Darkseid's weapon. He prepared to charge into Darkseid again.
But he never got the chance. A shadow swept to Darkseid's side — the Martian had appeared from the ground. The shapeshifter phased through the metal of the floor. His hand morphed into sharp, pale white claws, prepared to strike Darkseid from the back.
"Not this fast, you twig of a creature!" Tina had never taken her eyes off the strange white man. When the guy vanished into the ground, she knew that he would try to strike from behind. She came closer to Darkseid, but never too close, not to mess with his fight. When the Martian appeared, she noticed him from the periphery of her vision.
Tina did not hesitate to leap into the action. She doubted that this strange man would be able to harm her, but in the worst-case scenario, she was mentally prepared to give her life for her duty.
Her shield came crashing down like a guillotine on the neck of the white creature. Sharp edges meticulously honed and sharpened pierced through the skin of the opponent, green blood spluttering all around the floor and the shield.
The Martian phased out of reality, forcing his body to become immaterial. But the wound on his neck was still bleeding. He was not prepared for such an attack; he barely saved his life by reacting in time and escaping the danger. Judging by the constant flow of blood from his neck, he had little to no time.
Luckily, he was a metamorph; he forced his body to change, and his wound sealed itself at a rapid speed. He stood on four legs, like a wolf. His bipedal form was now off from the fight unless he wanted his wound to reappear and his loss of blood to continue anew.
The Shapeshifter reentered the fray of the battle as soon as he had changed his forms, jumping forward like a hellhound unraveling its claws mid-jump. His canine body stretched once again, paws lengthening into whipcord limbs that lashed from ten paces away, hoping to pass by the protection of the shield.
The first strike impacted Tina's flank, reflecting off her armor. The next three strikes also did little to no damage. Her armor was too good for Martian's attacks. Unscathed from the opponent's assault, Tina charged the Martian herself.
But the distance between them was enough for him to react in time and dodge. The white Martian once again phased out of the material world. He reappeared right behind Tina's charge. He was hoping to find a weak point in her armor.
Unfortunately for him, the youngest Fury was expecting him. With a sudden horizontal swipe of the shield, she managed to, once again, catch the Martian unprepared. This time, she cut off one of his limbs entirely.
A cry of pain sounded aloud in the arena, accompanied by the joyful noise of the crowd.
"That's what I've paid for!" One of the viewers roared from the stands. Finally, bodily damage and gore, exactly what the audience members paid to see here.
Back at the arena, the Martian metamorph did not relent and began attacking anew. His body split apart into several tendrils, now resembling an octopus. The tendrils spread out around the shield, attaching themselves to the warm surface of the metal. Holding it with unnaturally strong grip, he tried to wrestle away the shield from Tina, pulling away in different directions. For now, the attempt was unsuccessful as Tina held onto the shield as if it were her lifeline.
One of the tendrils detached itself from the tangled mess around the shield and stealthily crawled past it, escaping the attention of the Fury. It greedily took hold of one of the legs, pulling it behind. Tina was not expecting such an underhanded tactic and flew into the air, as she was left with no support to rely on.
The Martian did not let the opportunity pass, jumping on top of his opponent and clasping her neck in a chokehold.
"DIE, you whore of a warrior!" Martian roared on top of his lungs. The rage and adrenaline inside of him mixed in a dangerous cocktail of battle frenzy. That chemical cocktail of emotions did not allow him to notice a glaring issue in his actions. He was not able to win a single strength contest with the Apokoliptian warrior. Why would he think that trying to strangle her would work?
A powerful strike impacted his head, sending him out cold. Tina's armor was not only for her protection, but it also allowed for better unarmed combat. The additional weight of the metal allowed her to put more force into her punches.
She hurriedly looked at her Emperor; the duty of guarding him was still hers to conduct. Fortunately, it seemed like the Emperor had not been harmed by the demon yet.
Darkseid's weapon was constantly slashing in wide arcs, covered in the orange blood of the demon. Blood splattered everywhere on the heated metallic floor of the arena.
Kakk, the demon, was putting up a pretty impressive fight against Darkseid. His axes were in a frenzy of their own, and multiple maniacal laughs were accompanying their fights. The axes of the demon were laughing giddily. They were happy to taste a good battle after so long.
The Demon decided to change the pattern of the fight, bringing one of his axes overhead. He hammered the axes down against each other, and sparks of gold spread out of them. A deep growl sounded from the metal heads of the axes. Each of them turned into hungry demonic maws and started to chew on the handle of Darkseid's weapon.
"I was hungry for a good battle for so long, Darkseid!" Kakk laughed heartily, a happy smile on his face. But it was sadly time to finish this fight. The fight would end soon.
The two pet demon axes would chomp away on the opponent's weapon and would eat the enemy alive afterwards. A fitting ending to a glorious battle, as his hunger would finally be satiated.
The teeth of the monstrous axes that were usually able to chew through anything were stopped. For the first time ever, they had met the opponent that was not falling prey to them.
Darkseid's weapon was not just a piece of metal; it was an extension of his soul. These lesser demons were nothing before it. The Apokoliptian Emperor grasped the two axe heads and twisted them; a sound of bones cracking was confirmation of the kills. He broke their necks, killing the sentient weapons.
"HAHA," Kakk roared again. "Never expected you to have something stronger than my puppies!"
A deep ringing sound interrupted Kakk's speech. A giant maw opened up beneath his feet, a portal of sorts. The deep red colored ethereal surface of the portal, a door to another dimension, showed various dark creatures crawling and marching about. Numerous monstrous teeth and clawed hands were constantly springing up and about inside the borders of the portal; it was clearly demonic in nature. It was an entryway to hell, the dimension of devils.
"Unfortunate, seems that I have to go." Kakk spat blood from his mouth into the portal, baring his red fangs. He then proceeded to jump into the air, shifting his body mid-air as if diving into water.
"I enjoyed our battle, Darkseid," he said before disappearing into the portal.
Thus, with an anticlimactic ending, Darkseid and Tina had won their battle, defeating only one of their opponents. The Martian shapeshifter would remain unconscious on the floor of the arena until the staff picked him up.
Darkseid allowed himself a small smile; he too enjoyed the fight with the demon. Kakk. A worthy name to remember.