Chapter 116: The Celestial Forge
With a sound like rushing air, Ryan’s team broke the surface of the Sunken Arena’s entry pool. They emerged from the dark depths into the bright, noisy reality of the Crucible.
For a moment, they just floated there, treading water and breathing in real, non-recycled air. The massive screens all around the stadium, which had been showing the chaotic battle below, now focused entirely on them.
Ryan held up the Heart of the Leviathan. The glowing blue crystal pulsed with a soft, steady light, a beacon of their victory.
A wave of stunned silence washed over the massive crowd, followed by a roar of disbelief and applause. The spectators jumped to their feet.
The team from Sector Gamma, the newcomers, the dark horse with no special gear, had done it again. They had won the second event, a challenge that should have been impossible for them.
On the screens, the view split. One side showed Ryan’s team, victorious. The other side showed the teams still fighting their way down. They saw the other teams tough submersibles battling a pack of guardians, and other teams struggling in the dark. And then, the camera zoomed in on the face of Lord Valerius inside his golden command mech.
His face, projected a hundred feet high for everyone to see, was a mask of pure, undiluted shock. His mouth was slightly open, his eyes wide.
He had spent a fortune on his top-of-the-line mechs, machines designed specifically for this kind of challenge. And he had been beaten by a team with nothing but modified armor and a leader who could apparently tell water to become a wall.
His shock quickly melted into a dark, ugly rage. It was a public humiliation of the highest order.
"Wow," Chris Magnus said, spitting out a mouthful of pool water. "I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone that angry. He looks like he’s about to pop. You could cook an egg on his forehead."
Ryan ignored the comment, his eyes on the screen. He knew this wasn’t over. A man with an ego as big as Valerius’s didn’t just accept defeat.
He was right.