A pin-drop silence, nothing moved, not a soul tried to break this uneasiness. Her body fell, the arena felt as if it was rendered unconscious with her hitting the floor. A burst of maniacal laughter broke the ever-present heaviness. *What is happening?* the intercoms turned on, it picked up on the commentators whispering. "are you ok?" Azer asked out of concern. The one he fought just a few seconds ago had lost it. "I"ve finally cleaned out the trash," Rosalinda spoke proudly, she signaled Huon whose smile was filled with pride. "Cut it out," Paige tried to calm Azer, he became overly obsessed with how Staxius behaved. "No, there"s something wrong with him, I"ve got a bad feeling," he added with a cautious tone.
"Clean out the trash you say," the laughter broke into silence, the body moved unnaturally. Their gaze met, "-let me guide you to the afterlife," Staxius yelled, the sword unsheathed. An aura of dread was sensed by all, partic.i.p.ants and spectators alike. "Trash," he walked slowly, a mist emanated.
"This is bad, get the medics," Josiah saw history repeating. The first time Staxius tried the exam – he felt the same thing. "Director," his a.s.sistant tried to get answers. "We haven"t got time for this, contact Jona this instant." They did as told; the medics were informed quickly.
Each step he took, the floor echoed. "Who are you?" Azer asked; the stance didn"t falter. "Death, despair, hatred, h.e.l.l, destruction incarnate, I know not myself." From staring at the floor, Staxius changed his target to Rosalinda, "-all I know is that I"m a father. Father to someone special, my daughter, the one who you viciously a.s.saulted. I"d have let you live, but the last remark made my blood boil. Never look down upon someone who has trained their heart out," *Death Element: Unleash Aura,*
The temperature dropped; the pressure increased. Breathing became harder, their mind felt lightheaded. What stood before them wasn"t human, a shadow manifested itself on his back, it took on the shape of a skull. The eyes looked emotionless, "calm down, I think we can sort this out," Azer wasn"t affected that ma.s.sively. He had the strength to speak, however, *Whoosh* a gust of wind blew past him. Two red dots, Azer saw the eyes of a demon. Without a second loss, the sound of something cracking echoed. Rosalinda spewed blood, her face turned purple. Staxius grasp her face tightly and held it up high, "what did I say about not disrespecting people." The grip got tighter, "I thought I showed you the meaning of true strength. Don"t you remember?" the tone menacing, he didn"t let go. *Ding, ding, ding,* the armband vibrated furiously, stars were awarded to him from left, right, and center. *T-team sn.o.b has been eliminated,* the intercoms came back to life, it added in a sluggish tone.
Since Eira got hurt, the atmosphere changed for the worse. "Not enough, do you think letting us win now is going to be any different," the rage quelled, fingers touched his legs. "F-father d-don"t," her face was but a mess of blood, her own. "No can do," he smiled and winked. Rosalinda got thrown, her body flew till it reached the barrier. Another splatter of blood, the second one. "That leaves you and me," a faint but monotonous voice spoke from behind Azer. "I guess you"re right," he shuddered but kept cool.
"Sadly," Staxius grabbed Azer"s shoulder. "This battle is over," using the other hand, the sword sheathed, the feeling of dread subsided. "I can finally breathe," Paige coughed violently, *ding,* the armband rang. *The winner is Staxius and Eira,* Azer didn"t realize what happened. His neck burnt, the hands went to check but sadly revealed blood. "W-WHAT IS THIS?" the face froze, "no need to cry, I barely scratched you," Staxius spoke monotonously. The neck was sliced, not deeply but shallow enough to keep the victim alive and prove their defeat. If it was a real fight, the man"s decapitated head would have rested on the floor. Azer fell due to shock, Paige tried to help but was faced with the face of a broken man. "aren"t adventurers supposed to be powerful?" he asked, Staxius rushed over to Eira"s side. "Adventurers are strong, but that man is stronger than us." Staxius"s guild necklace showed the silver, gold, and platinum. Paige watched in awe; this was the first time she saw a ranking like that.
"Eira, Eira," Staxius placed her head onto his lap. "You"ll be alright, bear with me," he waited for the medics to come. "Thanks for calming me down earlier," Staxius whispered – the bloodl.u.s.t ran rampant. Not that he disliked it, but killing off the partic.i.p.ants would have been a bad idea. A single clap changed everything, one after the other, everyone joined in. The battle ended, what they witnessed was well worth skipping whatever they had in mind. The cheers grew louder and louder that even at the extremities of the campus, people would hear it.
The doctors arrived, all the injured were taken out. The barrier lowered; Josiah approached Staxius who still waited for someone to take care of Eira. "I"m surprised that you managed to calm down," he patted Staxius"s back. "It"s not like I lost control on purpose; I just wanted to feel that way again," Staxius replied nonchalantly.
He stood, Eira got put on a stretcher and escorted out. "Thanks for letting me fight beside my daughter, I appreciate it." Staxius shook Josiah"s hand. "Thank you for helping her combat the fear of holding back," he replied in turn.
"What a tantalizing battle," Aceline"s voice resounded, it helped to calm the many people who had doubted about what transpired. "-I was at the edge of my seat," she made her entrance, "wouldn"t you say the same?" she asked the crowd who replied with applause. "See that," Josiah whispered as Aceline walked in while entertaining the crowd. "-that"s the power of someone loved by all, I present you the power of an icon." The cheers and laughter made Staxius realize that one could have more than one effect on the other.
"Now a few words from our esteemed director," she handed the microphone with a big smile. As soon as he took the mic, her tone changed, "nice battle there," it sounded shady but gentle. "I truly was mesmerized by how murderous one could be. Not to worry, I"ve already worked my charm onto this crowd. I mean listen to all of them – they adore me," she stepped and stood beside Staxius, "you owe me one, but I"ll claim it whenever I fit," she winked. "Good luck tracking me down," he fired back with the same devious manner.
"I must congratulate all who fought today," Josiah spoke, "-whatever the results were. I am proud to have hosted this tournament. Though many of the partic.i.p.ants aren"t here to properly end the ceremony, I"ll just say what most would have." He turned around, "congratulations team five, Staxius and Eira – you fought amazingly well." Everyone applauded, confetti showered the entire arena, fireworks went off – it ended at last.
"What an amazing battle," whispers came from all over, "I nearly lost all my breath." Some were too shocked to even partake. *Thank you all for attending. The show continues inside the other stadium, our beloved icon Aceline is to debut her alb.u.m.* Songs from her alb.u.m played, it melodiously soothed everyone. One by one, all headed to the other less imposing but equally as a good stadium.
Black silky hair, a perfectly shaped face, cheeks that looked ever so blushed, eyes that resembled honey. Her forehead hidden by bangs, Staxius noticed how pretty she was. Though he chuckled for not in a million years could she beat his wife. "Excuse you?" she asked when the laughter was heard. "Nothing much, don"t you have a show or whatever to attend too?" Staxius blew her off.
"The tournament is finally over," Josiah breathed a sigh of relief. The spotlight turned off, "once again, thank you for not turning this place into another graveyard," he smiled with embarra.s.sment.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he pouted and walked beside the director. "Aceline," a man"s voice spoke, Staxius climbed down the stairs. "You"re here at last," the man looked confused and shy, he wore a black suit with gla.s.ses. "Thanks for waiting, Scott," her voice still subtle and sooth. Without paying heed, Staxius headed to the hospital. "Staxius," Aceline spoke, "what is it?" he replied in a cold manner. "Come watch my show, I"ll prove to you that fighting isn"t the only way a crowd can be entertained," her voice filled with confidence and pride.
"Sure," he waved and left, "Aceline, you better not grow any closer to him. Afterall, Staxius Haggard isn"t a man to be trifled with." Josiah stayed back for he had business with Scott. "You saying that makes me more intrigued," she added in jest. "I"m speaking from experience. It"s not that the man is a bad person, it"s just that there may be a risk of knowing him. I can"t even say I know that man – a mystery that I haven"t solved just yet."
The air fresh but filled with the cacophony of a huge crowd, Staxius dodged and weaved his way into the open field. "Master," a familiar voice came from behind, "what a fight," Avon jumped and hugged. "Yes, I was thoroughly impressed by how you painfully held back the killing intent. I was shocked to see that you aren"t such a bloodthirsty man," Achilles added with eyes filled with admiration. "Sure, I"m headed to see Eira – you guys are still free to do whatever."
"Thanks, master, we"ll be at the next stadium – please join us for the show Aceline is to put on," Avon spoke, his voice faded into the background. "I"ve got more to learn about the capital than I thought. I can"t believe that Aceline is someone so important that the general populous obey her every whim," the injured were taken via ambulances. Staxius watched as they slowly made the trip downhill.
"Staxius," one of the vehicles stopped, "jump in," the door opened, Jona held out her hands to which he accepted. "That fight sure was a scary one," Jona spoke, Eira laid before him. "Scary in what way?" he asked, his daughter"s situation was in good hands. "Scary in the way that Josiah called me. The tone in his voice, it reeked of fear – I knew something had turned for the worse. But imagine my surprise when I saw you being considerate and not overly brutal towards the others," her lips and hands moved independently, they seemed like two different ent.i.ties. In one end she could hold a normal conversation while the other, treating her patient.
"Why do you all a.s.sume that I only thirst for blood and death. I"ve changed, slightly but changed." Jona didn"t look surprised, "surely you jest," her tone felt serious. "Fine, my initial goal was to kill everyone," he looked down onto Eira. "She stopped me; I feel like she"s my limiter somehow. But no matter, what is done is done, we"ve won the tournament, my job here is accomplished," he smiled.
The show Aceline was to performed had been scheduled for seven pm; in roughly three hours. The fight was done, they won. Eira got over her fear of holding back – Staxius got the chance to fight in the inter-magical tournament. The main task remained at hand, the quest to open an adventuring guild. Progress so far was slow, the party needed two or more members. Money was an issue and they still hadn"t decided on a place to make into headquarters. It felt enough, staying any longer beside Eira would only make a bad impression. Josiah was her instructor – no longer could Staxius teach her anything.
"I"ll wait till she regains consciousness; I"ll properly say goodbye. I can do as much for my lovely daughter, she hates the way I leave unexpectedly after all. I don"t wish to ruin our new formed bond, I"m happy." The scenery changed slowly, Staxius looked out with a gentle smile – the journey wasn"t over yet.