Chapter 100: The Arena Erupts
The roar of the half-giant shakes the arena to its bones.
Dust plumes from cracked stones as the mutated fighter stamps forward. He rips a stone column from the ground, swinging it in a blur. Crimson mist hisses from his flesh as his veins pulse like writhing worms beneath his skin, muscles bulging with unnatural fury.
Pip leaps backward, his feet skimming the air. Water surges beneath him like twin jets, launching him skyward. He twists, spins midair, and lands behind the giant with a whisper of steam.
He beams brightly, his chest glowing with pulsing divine energy.
Another roar. The giant spins, blindly swinging his concrete club with terrifying speed. Pip ducks the blow, then catches the follow-up in one arm. The stone weapon crumples like clay in his grasp.
From the spectator booth above, Vuvi screams, nearly falling over the railing.
"Pip! Be careful! He’s thrice your size! He’s... he’s mutated! He’s berserk!"
Veena grips Vuvi’s shoulders. "He knows. Just breathe, woman!"
Sera sits on the edge of the railing, grinning. "Just look at him go... he’s playing with the guy."
Lula and Penelo held hands, clutching Zora tightly between them as the skeleton mage whimpered dramatically. "Oh, yes yes... please hold me!"
In the arena, Pip snaps both fingers. Verdant roots burst from the ground, coiling around the half-giant’s legs. He slams his palms into the earth, and water shoots up from cracks in the stone, pinning the giant’s arms like vines of liquid steel.
The giant bellows, straining. Muscles crack, bones reknit, and more mist billows from his skin. The bindings began to snap.