Chapter 101: Fear [part 3]
**This chapter is only for readers 18+ and contains disturbing scenes. Please read it at your own risk.**
**The Hunt Begins**
The arena was engulfed in an unnatural silence, interrupted only by the labored breaths of the participants paralyzed by fear.
Those wretches, who had helplessly witnessed the torture of the ax-wielding warrior, were now prey awaiting to be hunted.
Their torpor began to fade, replaced by a visceral panic as they realized that I would show no mercy.
The young one, almost a boy, with the short sword and battered shield, was the first to awaken from his state of paralysis.
His eyes, wide with terror, darted feverishly between me and the bloodstained sand beneath his feet.
With a stifled cry, he spun around and began to run, stumbling on the soft sand, driven forward by fear like an irresistible force.
The others, seeing his escape, reacted like trapped animals, driven by terror to seek a way out.
Panic spread among them like wildfire, and in an instant, the arena turned into a chaos of moving bodies, each trying to get as far away from me as possible, from the death they knew was inevitable.
**The Desperate Escape**
I chased after them with the same calm I had maintained up to that point. I didn't need to rush; fear made them clumsy, disorganized, and I knew that one by one they would fall into my hands.
The young one, the first to flee, was already just a few steps away from me, his labored breathing mixing with his desperate whimpers.
I didn't even grant him the comfort of hoping for an escape.
With a swift leap, I reached him, grabbing him by the collar.
I lifted him effortlessly, letting his sword fall into the sand.
I stared into his eyes, the terror I saw there was pure, primal.
"You thought you could hide?" I whispered, my words sharp as blades. "Now, you will suffer like the rest of them."
With a fluid movement, I plunged my sword into his stomach.
The blade pierced flesh and viscera, and the boy let out a heart-wrenching scream, which turned into a choking gasp as blood began to gush from his mouth.
I let him collapse to the ground, writhing in pain, his body curling in on itself like a broken doll.
I didn't finish him off right away; I let him agonize, his labored breathing slowly fading, until nothing was left but silence.
**The Awakening of Resistance**
As the young one took his last breath, others awakened from their torpor, the panic now replaced by a furious desperation.
A group of participants, realizing that fleeing was not an option, decided to band together.
There was no need for words, the understanding between them was tacit, fueled by the need to survive.
The ebony-skinned colossus took the initiative, his mace swinging above his head as he prepared to attack with all his might.
The red-haired woman moved to his side, her twin swords gleaming, ready to cut through the air. "Serpent," watching from afar, decided not to miss this opportunity; he crept closer, positioning himself to strike when the battle began.
But I was ready.
I looked at them, one by one, my sword still dripping with the young one's blood.
The colossus was the first to move, his mace crashing down on me with brutal force.
His power was impressive, but not enough.
I sidestepped with a fluid motion, avoiding the blow, and counterattacked with a precise slash that grazed his cheek, leaving a deep cut.
The woman was next, her twin swords flashing in a lethal dance.
I ducked, dodging the first strike, and blocked the second with my sword, the metal clashing with a sharp ring.
Our weapons crossed multiple times in quick succession, but it didn't take long for me to find an opening.
With a swift strike, I disarmed her, one of her swords falling to the ground.
Her expression twisted in a mix of surprise and fear, but she didn't have time to react.
With a decisive move, I struck her in the side, her blood beginning to stain her armor red.
**The Fall of Resistance**
The woman's blood started to flow profusely, staining the sand of the arena and turning her gleaming armor red.
Her breathing became more labored, her eyes widening in a mix of pain and disbelief.
She was strong, she knew it, but the realization of how insignificant she was before me was slowly taking over.
I didn't give her time to recover.
Before she could move a muscle, I stepped forward, grabbing her throat with one hand, lifting her off the ground as if she were a mere toy.
I looked into her eyes, those eyes that now reflected the fear of a slow and painful death.
"Did you really think you could do anything against me?" I whispered, my voice low, dripping with disdain.
Her hands clutched at my arm, desperately trying to free herself from my grip, but her efforts were futile.
There was nothing she could do to avoid her fate.
With a swift motion, I hurled her against the colossus who was still recovering from my last attack.
Their bodies collided violently, and I watched them fall to the ground, one on top of the other, unable to get back up.
**Serpent's Move**
"Serpent," who had patiently waited for his opportunity until now, decided to act.
With a feline leap, he approached from behind, wielding his thin blade, ready to pierce my heart in a silent and deadly attack.
But I didn't need to turn around to know he was there.
Out of the corner of my eye, I had already noticed his movement.
At the last moment, I spun around, my sword rising in a perfect arc, intercepting his attack with a clash of metal against metal.
Surprise painted itself on "Serpent's" face.
He hadn't expected such a quick response. My strength pushed him back, making him stagger.
I didn't give him any respite.
With a sharp blow, I struck him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and making him collapse to his knees.
"Serpent," accustomed to moving in the shadows, found himself exposed to the cruel light of my sword.
I looked down at him, watching the blood begin to drip from his mouth.
His body trembled under the weight of my power.
He tried to rise, but every effort proved futile.
"You thought you were clever?" I mocked him, my voice echoing in the arena like distant thunder. "You thought the darkness would protect you? Here, only death reigns."
I raised my sword, ready to finish what I had started.
But before I could bring the blade down on him, I sensed movement behind me.
**The Colossus and the Woman: A Final Attempt**
The colossus, bleeding but not yet defeated, had found the strength to rise.
With a roar that seemed to shake the walls of the Colosseum, he charged towards me, his mace raised above his head, ready to bring it down with all his might.
The woman, despite the wound in her side, had gotten back on her feet, and with a superhuman effort, had lunged toward her fallen sword.
Her face was a mask of pain and determination.
She charged at me with a desperate fury, her twin swords gleaming under the dim light of the arena.
For a moment, I paused, watching their last, desperate attempt to stop me.
This was their final breath of resistance, an act driven by desperation and the awareness that they would have no other chances.
With a cruel grin, I prepared to receive them.
When they were close enough, I made a move they didn't expect.
I ducked, letting the colossus's mace pass over my head, then quickly rose, driving my sword into his belly.
The colossus stopped, his eyes widening in pure shock as blood began to drip from his mouth.
I didn't wait for him to fall.
I withdrew my sword and turned towards the woman, who was already bringing one of her blades down on me.
I blocked the strike with my sword and, with my free hand, grabbed her by the wrist, twisting it until she dropped the weapon.
The pain made her scream, but she didn't have time to recover.
With a swift movement, I plunged my sword into her chest, feeling her bones crack under the force of my blow.
Her eyes filled with terror and pain, and in that instant, she realized that her end had come.
I let her fall to the ground, her life fading quickly, while the colossus, still standing by some miracle, desperately tried to reach me.
I looked at him with disdain, watching his massive body tremble under the weight of impending death.
With one last, miserable groan, he collapsed to the ground, his body stiffening as darkness enveloped him.
**The Massacre Complete**
I looked around, observing the lifeless bodies of my opponents scattered across the arena.
Each of them had tried to stop me, to bring me down, but they had all failed.
Their resistance, however desperate, had been broken, and now the arena was a monument to my fury.
"Serpent," still alive but gravely wounded, was crawling through the sand, trying to get away.
I reached him in a few steps, my shadow looming over him like a harbinger of death.
He stopped, knowing he could go no further.
I knelt beside him, looking into his eyes.
"You've failed," I whispered, plunging my sword into his heart. "And like all the others, you will find peace only in death."
His body stiffened, his last breath fading as life left him.
I pulled out the sword and stood up, letting him fall into the blood-soaked sand.
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///A/N - Chapter 2/3! We have finally reached 100 chapters, thank you very much for your support! ///
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