Chapter 31: On the Brink of Execution
Chapter 31: On the Brink of Execution
A tidal wave of horror washed over the Colosseum of Empyrium.
The brief moment of polite applause for Renji’s sportsmanship vanished, replaced by an suffocating, chaotic din. Fifty thousand spectators sat in sheer disbelief as Vhal’zhar’s cold, predatory words echoed across the blood-soaked sand.
“W-What is happening down there? Is he actually going to kill him?!” a high-ranking noble in the velvet boxes shouted, leaping to his feet.
“Are we... are we about to witness the death of the Lion of Empyrium?!” a seasoned gambler gasped, dropping his betting slip onto the marble floor.
“NO! RENJI!” fanatical followers screamed from the bleachers, their voices cracking with emotion. “YOU MONSTER! RENJI ALREADY ADMITTED HIS DEFEAT! HAVE YOU NO HONOR?!”
Commoners, merchants, warriors, and aristocrats alike erupted into violent debate. Some called for the guards to intervene, while others held their breath in grim anticipation, mesmerized by the impending catastrophe.
Down on the arena floor, Renji felt as if the air itself had turned into solid lead. His heart hammered violently against his ribs, every instinct in his body screaming in primal terror. His mind raced at a dizzying speed, frantically picking apart every decision that had brought him to this moment.
What is happening? Renji thought, his breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps. Did I get too arrogant? Did I look down on my opponent? No... no! I checked his power! I analyzed his posture, his breath, his center of gravity! I took every standard precaution...
Renji stared up into Vhal’zhar’s dark, pitiless eyes, and the horrifying truth settled deep into his soul.
Unless... his strength is so monstrous that hiding it isn't even a conscious effort it’s just a side effect of his existence. The entity standing in front of me isn't a warrior. He isn't a spellcaster. He is a calamity. I thought I met a true Hero five years ago... but this person... this person is far beyond even that realm!
Desperation tore away the last shreds of Renji’s pride. He fell back a step, trembling violently, raising his bloodless hands in a silent plea.
“P-Please... wait!” Renji stammered, his voice barely a whisper against the roaring crowd. “I... I apologize for everything, okay?! Challenging you... it wasn't my personal grudge! It was a direct order from my master! Please... have mercy!”
Vhal’zhar looked down at him, his lips curling into a slow, mocking smile.
“Is that so? Hmm...” Vhal’zhar rested his chin between his thumb and forefinger, feigning deep thought. “Then let me ask you a simple question, mortal. When your past opponents dropped to their knees and begged you for mercy on this very sand... did you spare them?”
Renji’s tongue felt completely frozen. “I... I-”
Before he could conjure a lie, Vhal’zhar cut him off with a dismissive wave of his hand.
“Ah, forgive me. What a foolish question,” Vhal’zhar chuckled softly, his dark eyes glinting with terrifying amusement. “It doesn't matter anyway. Our fight was sealed by a magical soul contract, was it not? Whether you beg, cry, or crawl... the terms demand a absolute victory. And to secure a victory in a death match... I must kill you. Isn't that right? So... yeah.”
Vhal’zhar casually raised his right arm high into the air, holding his hand flat with his fingers pressed together in a rigid, vertical chop gesture.
“Do you have any last words before I cleave you into two neat pieces?” Vhal’zhar asked smoothly, as if asking about the evening weather.
Renji’s legs went completely limp. The dark katana slipped from his nerveless fingers, clattering uselessly onto the dirt. He fell to his knees, his forehead pressing against the cold sand as he accepted his inevitable demise.
Up in the grand VIP balcony, Mayor Rigid was hyperventilating, furiously biting down on his knuckles until blood nearly broke the skin.
“No... no, no, no! Renji, you useless dog! Don't just lie there!” Rigid hissed through gritted teeth, his face turning a blotchy, violent purple.
Realizing that his ultimate martial asset was seconds away from being slaughtered like cattle, Mayor Rigid whipped his head around toward Saint Solenne. The greasy arrogance that had defined him all afternoon had completely disintegrated, replaced by pathetic desperation.
“Please, Saint Solenne!” Mayor Rigid pleaded, his voice cracking as he reached out toward her holy robes. “Have mercy! Call off your warrior! Command him to stop!”
Saint Solenne looked down at the sobbing Mayor. Normally, her eyes radiated warm, divine compassion that comforted the downtrodden. But now, under Rael’s silent guidance, her expression remained entirely cold, unyielding, and sharp as crushed glass. A calm, terrifyingly aloof smile rested on her lips.
“You were the one who insisted on sealing the contract in blood, Mayor Rigid,” Solenne replied smoothly, her soft voice cutting through his panic like a scalpel. “This is the result you bargained for. A bound soul contract cannot be altered or broken... unless, of course, both parties agree to renegotiate the terms.”
Solenne tilted her head, her pale eyes narrowing with calculated stillness. “And if you wish for us to spare your bodyguard's life... I shall demand far more than what was previously on the table.”
Mayor Rigid hissed, his yellowed teeth bared in fury. “N-No! Never! You're backing me into a corner!”
Saint Solenne’s smile didn't flicker for a fraction of a second. She casually turned her gaze back toward the arena below, resting her chin on her hand.
“Well then,” Solenne murmured softly. “I suppose you can simply sit back and watch your most trusted bodyguard get torn into two bloody pieces.”
Sweat poured down Mayor Rigid’s neck, soaking his embroidered collar. A fierce, agonizing war raged inside his greedy mind. He was a tyrant who valued wealth above all else, but he was also a politician who understood power. Elite, loyal bodyguards like Renji, men capable of defeating armies single-handedly, did not simply appear out of nowhere. If Renji died today, Mayor Rigid’s territorial dominance over Empyrium would collapse within months.
Down on the red sand, Renji slowly lifted his head, staring up at the VIP box where his master sat. Tears of regret mixed with the dirt on his face.
“Master...” Renji’s voice echoed across the quieted arena, surprisingly steady despite his trembling body. “Before this man ends my life... I wish to offer you my final thanks. Thank you for giving me shelter when I had nowhere to go. Thank you for trusting me with your life. You may not have been a perfect master... but to me, you were the savior who gave my sword a purpose. Thank you for picking me up off the streets, Master.”
Hearing his bodyguard’s absolute, tragic loyalty, Mayor Rigid’s heart constricted in a knot of suffocating panic.
Vhal’zhar looked down at the kneeling champion, his hand remaining held high above his head.
“Is that so?” Vhal’zhar murmured, his tone completely void of empathy. “Then... goodbye.”
Vhal’zhar brought his bare hand swinging down in a swift, vertical chop. He wore no gauntlet. He channeled no magic. But as his hand sliced through the atmosphere, the raw, unimaginable physical force of his movement compressed the air before him into a localized, invisible blade of pure kinetic pressure.
Because of the anti-magic dome, the spectators knew no spell had been cast this was absolute, terrifying, godlike physical power.
The air shrieked like a dying dragon.
Just as Vhal’zhar’s hand was a fraction of an inch from splitting Renji’s forehead
“WAITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!”
A raw, blood-curdling scream erupted from the VIP balcony. Mayor Rigid had lunged over the stone railing, his face contorted in total surrender, his lungs screaming at the top of his capacity.
At that exact microsecond, a sharp, imperious command echoed directly inside Vhal’zhar’s mind.
[Stop, Vhal’zhar.] Rael’s sound transmission hit Vhal’zhar’s consciousness like an absolute decree.
HALT.
Vhal’zhar’s descending hand stopped instantaneously, coming to a dead halt mere millimeters above the bridge of Renji’s nose. A single strand of Renji’s dark hair was cleaved in two by the static pressure alone.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Even though the hand itself had stopped, the displaced atmospheric pressure could not be contained. A colossal, roaring shockwave exploded outward from Vhal’zhar’s palm!
A blinding tempest of hurricane-force wind and pulverized dust engulfed the entire central arena. The violent gust slammed against the inner walls of the invisible anti-magic barrier, causing the entire grand dome to hum and vibrate violently. Sand blasted into the air, completely obscuring the center ring from fifty thousand screaming spectators.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" "IS IT OVER?!" "CAN ANYONE SEE ANYTHING?!"
For several long, agonizing seconds, the stadium waited in breathless silence as the towering cloud of red dust slowly began to settle.
When the air finally cleared, the crowd gasped in collective horror.
Directly behind the kneeling Renji, extending all the way across the hundred-yard arena floor and slamming into the reinforced stone outer wall, was a massive, three-foot-wide trench. The solid granite floor covered sand had been carved cleanly open, as if sliced by a mountain-splitting axe.
Yet Renji himself sat untouched in the center of the destruction, breathing heavily, his eyes wide with disbelieving shock. He was alive.
Up in the high balcony, Mayor Rigid collapsed back onto his knees, panting like a dying dog as he stared down at the surviving champion. He turned his trembling, terrified gaze back toward Saint Solenne and Rael.
“O-Okay...” Mayor Rigid rasped, his voice trembling as he submitted entirely to their demands. “I agree... I agree to your terms!”
Saint Solenne smiled warmly once more, her holy demeanor instantly returning as she gracefully adjusted her white robes.
And down on the ruined sand, the unbroken legend of the Colosseum still drew breath.
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