Chapter 27: The Appetizer Before the Feast
Chapter 27: The Appetizer Before the Feast
The deafening roar of fifty thousand spectators vibrated through the ancient stone foundations of the Colosseum of Empyrium. Banners bearing imperial crests snapped in the warm wind, and the scorching sun beat down relentlessly onto the blood-soaked sands of the grand arena below. It was the twilight hour of the tournament, the long-awaited climax that had brought nobility, sellswords, and commoners together under one massive dome.
Every soul in the stadium knew what was supposed to come next: the catastrophic showdown between Vhal’zhar and Renji. It was meant to be the main event, the final act, the ultimate feast after a day of bloody entertainment.
High above the sands, perched on a levitating brass platform that hovered near the grand arches, a beautiful blonde woman raised a shimmering crystal artifact to her lips. Runes etched along its silver surface flared with blue mana, amplifying her melodic voice so that it echoed clearly into every corner of the colosseum.
“Ladies and gentlemen, noble lords, and honored guests!” Her voice cut through the background clamor, instantly commanding the stadium’s attention. “As your official commentator, I must announce a sudden, thrilling twist to our schedule! Before our main dish is served, the colosseum shall witness an unexpected opening act! Stepping into the ring first is none other than… Bryan the Iron Hand!”
A burst of gasps and excited murmurs rippled through the crowd.
“He whose iron gauntlets can shatter solid granite! A conqueror whose bare grip can crush your skull as easily as squeezing juice from a ripe lemon!” the commentator hyped, her arms spread wide toward the southern gates.
With a heavy, metallic groan that vibrated through the floorboards, the massive iron portcullis at the edge of the arena ground upward. Out from the dark tunnel stomped a hulking mountain of a man. Bryan was a towering wall of muscle, clad in spiked iron pauldrons and bearing arms thick as tree trunks. His gauntlets flared with dull magical runes, radiating an aura of crude, brutal violence.
Bryan stomped into the center ring, throwing his massive arms skyward and bellowing a triumphant roar that echoed against the stone seats.
“HAHAHA! I, BRYAN THE IRON HAND, WILL BE THE ONE TO TAKE DOWN THE CHAMPION OF THIS COLOSSEUM!” He turned his head sharply toward the high-tier VIP balconies, extending a massive, iron-clad finger straight toward a calm figure sitting in the shadows. “COME DOWN HERE, RENJI! LET ME SHOW YOU THE HORROR OF MY BIG GRIP!”
The crowd erupted into a mix of jeers, wild cheers, and frantic whispers.
Up in the shaded observer terrace, Rael leaned back in his plush leather seat, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed the scene unfolding below. He glanced across the stadium toward the opposite balcony, where Vhal’zhar sat motionless, arms crossed, staring down with cold indifference.
Hmm, Rael mused silently, resting his chin on his knuckles. I suppose there’s always another reckless challenger looking for a shortcut to fame before the real fight begins. But if Renji has any sense, he’ll decline. Why expose his strength, his techniques, or his speed right in front of Vhal’zhar? Accepting this is pure idiocy. The number one rule of survival is to hide your cards from your enemy no, hide them from the public entirely. You never know who will be standing across from you tomorrow.
Beside Rael, Mayor Rigid let out an irritated snort, his face flushing red as he slammed his jeweled goblet onto a side table.
“Kgh! How dare this brainless brute publicly challenge my personal bodyguard? Who does he think he is?” The Mayor leaned down over the balcony railing, his voice laced with venomous pride. “Fine then, Renji! Go down there. Show them true horror, and make that insolent fool regret the day he was born!”
Renji didn't flinch. His dark eyes remained cold, unreadable, and distant. He gave a single, slow nod toward his master.
“As you wish, Master,” Renji replied softly.
Without another word, Renji placed a calm hand upon the tsuka of the katana resting at his waist. He stepped fluidly over the carved stone balustrade of the VIP box, standing casually on the narrow outer ledge thirty feet above the arena floor. Then, with a effortless leap, he drifted downward through the air, landing silently on the red sand below not a single cloud of dust rose beneath his boots.
Bryan threw back his head and laughed hysterically, his booming voice echoing off the surrounding walls.
“HAHAHA! Now that’s more like it! BEHOLD, PEOPLE! I AM THE MAN WHO WILL MAKE HISTORY TODAY AS THE ONE WHO CRUSHED THIS UNBEATEN CHAMPION TO THE DUST!”
The crowds went wild, banging their fists against stone railings and screaming at the top of their lungs. Floating above, the blonde commentator leaned over her brass platform, feeding off the escalating chaos.
“Is Bryan truly about to rewrite the history books with his terrifying strength, or will the unbroken legend of our champion remain untouched? We are about to witness two brave men clash on the sand!”
Though the crowd cheered frantically, the vast majority of shouts were chanting one name: Renji! Renji! Renji!
Renji stood motionless, tilting his head slightly upward to meet Bryan’s towering gaze. Compared to the massive brute, Renji looked lean, almost fragile a swift shadow standing before a wall of iron.
“I will give you one chance,” Renji said, his voice flat and void of emotion, barely loud enough to carry across the sand, yet chillingly distinct. “Step down now and surrender your place in this ring, if you value your life.”
Bryan stared down at him for a moment before bursting into mocking laughter.
“Surrender? To a twig like you?” Bryan spat onto the ground, slamming his massive gauntlets together with a deafening metallic CLANG. “Back in my homeland, I was known as the strongest under the heavens! Hearing rumors about some ‘invincible’ sword champion made my blood boil. But coming all the way here just to see your puny, weak body? Hilarious! You’re nothing!”
Renji closed his eyes briefly and let out a long, quiet sigh. “Haah... a foolish decision.”
CLANG!
High above, a massive bronze gong reverberated across Empyrium, signalling the official start of the bout.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE FIGHT BEGINS NOW!” the announcer screamed over the magic tool.
Bryan didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. With a guttural bellow, he lunged forward, raising both of his heavy, iron-encased fists high into the air. Veins bulged along his neck as he brought them down with apocalyptic force directly onto Renji’s head.
BOOM!
The impact was thunderous. The ground shattered instantly, radiating fractures outward like a spiderweb. A massive crater erupted into the arena floor, kicking up a thick, blinding cloud of sand and pulverized stone that enveloped both fighters.
The stadium fell into a sudden, stunned silence. The dust hung heavy in the air. Bryan stood in the center of the crater, panting heavily, looking down at his cratered fists with a sinister grin.
“Puhahaha! That puny little man is dead! Glued right to the floor like a bug! Puhahaha!” Bryan roared in victory.
A few uncertain murmurs started in the stands, but before Bryan could even finish his laughter, a soft, dry voice echoed from directly above his ear.
“Haah... this is really getting annoying.”
Bryan’s eyes went wide. Sitting casually atop Bryan’s giant iron shoulder pad, crouched like a raven resting on a fence, was Renji. His arms were loosely rested on his knees, his face showing nothing but supreme boredom.
“GRRRGH!! YOU!” Bryan snarled in blind fury, his face turning purple. He swung a massive hand violently to swat Renji off his shoulder, but by the time his gauntlet slammed into his own iron pauldron, Renji was already gone.
Renji drifted through the air and touched down lightly on the undisturbed sand ten feet away, dusting off his sleeve.
“Is that really all?” Renji asked, a subtle, mocking edge sharpening his tone.
Driven mad by the humiliation, Bryan let out an animalistic roar. He charged forward like a runaway siege engine, unleashing a relentless flurry of wildly thrown punches. Left! Right! Uppercut! Ground slam! Each swing tore through the air with enough kinetic pressure to break a normal man's ribs just from the wind gust alone.
Yet Renji barely seemed to move. With minimal, fluid sways of his body a step to the left, a slight tilt of his shoulder, an effortless duck he casually evaded every single strike. Bryan’s colossal fists smashed into air, sand, and stone, leaving the arena floor looking like a bombed wasteland, but not a single hair on Renji’s head was touched.
After two full minutes of frantic, wild swinging, Bryan’s movements slowed to a crawling halt. He leaned forward, resting his heavy hands on his knees, his chest heaving violently up and down. Sweat poured off his forehead, soaking the sand beneath him.
“Haah... haah... haah...” Bryan panted, forcing a bloody, arrogant grin onto his cracked lips. “You... you can only dodge, can’t you? You can’t even hit back! Heh... heh... it’s already clear who’s going to win this... haah... haah...”
Renji stared at the gasping brute, his lips curving into a thin, coldly mocking smile.
“Ah, no,” Renji replied softly, stepping forward. “I simply gave you a chance to demonstrate the overwhelming difference in our power. I was hoping you could entertain me a little longer while I wait for the main menu.”
Renji’s dark gaze drifted casually past Bryan, locking onto the VIP box where Vhal’zhar sat watching silently.
“Yeah... but it seems your juice is already completely empty, huh?” Renji turned his attention back to the panting brute, his eyes turning dead and hollow. “How disappointing.”
Renji rested his left hand gently on the scabbard at his waist. His right fingers closed around the dark cloth-wrapped hilt of his katana.
As his fingers tightened, a dense, suffocating black aura began to leak from the sheath. The air around Renji grew freezing cold, and the faint, eerie sound of whispering shadows filled the immediate space. Bryan’s triumphant smile instantly froze; a primal, instinctual terror seized his heart, locking his limbs in place. He tried to raise his arms, tried to step back, but his body refused to obey.
For a split second, Renji’s stance blurred.
There was no sound of metal leaving metal. No grand flash of light. Just a momentary distortion in the air, like a ripple across clear water.
In the next breath, Renji was already standing three paces past Bryan, his katana fully sheathed once more, his hand resting casually off the hilt.
“Good fight,” Renji murmured quietly. He turned his back on the brute and began walking calmly toward the exit tunnel.
Bryan stood frozen in the middle of the crater, his eyes wide with utter confusion.
“What the he ” Bryan started to speak, but before he could finish the thought, his vision suddenly tilted violently. The world spun in a sickening swirl the blue sky, the stone stands, the dusty ground until his view slammed sideways onto the red sand.
His head had slipped completely off his neck, severed so cleanly and rapidly that his brain hadn't even processed the blade passing through him. A moment later, his massive body collapsed forward like a felled tree, crashing heavily into the dirt.
For one second, the stadium was dead silent. Then, the entire Colosseum of Empyrium exploded into a thunderous roar that shook the very mountains in the distance.
“OOOOOHHHH!” the blonde commentator screamed into her magic tool, jumping excitedly on her hovering platform. “AN INSTANT KILL! IT SEEMS RENJI STILL HOLDS HIS UNDEFEATED STREAK IN THIS COLOSSEUM!”
Thousands of fanatical spectators rose to their feet, chanting Renji’s name in a deafening choir that echoed down the dark tunnel as the champion disappeared into the shadows, leaving behind a trail of blood on the sand and a clear message for Vhal'zhar.
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