Dragon's Tale 47

As I stood on the one end of a large tunnel, with a spear in hand, the deafening cheers of a hundred thousand Romans echoing in my ears as they belied for blood, the only thing I could focus on was the overwhelming weight of the magical wards of Pomerium, doing its best to disrupt me as I tried to reinforce my weapon with some magic.

“No wonder they assume it’s impossible to use magic in Pomerium,” I murmured as I exerted my magic as much as I could to reinforce the handle of my weapon. I was about to face an unknown monster, and the last thing I wanted was for my weapon to snap. Not that I couldn’t take a monster with a broken weapon, but considering the reaction of the gladiator leader, it was clearly going to be a battle that was supposed to be hopeless. Making the fight convincingly epic was going to be difficult without a broken weapon. 

Luckily, my assumption about the internal magic usage was accurate. Pushing the magic externally was very difficult without being extinguished by the city-wide wards, but the same didn’t apply when I used to enhance my muscles. 

I was confident to face whatever they had to face me. 

When one of the guards gestured me to move, I started to walk toward the other end of the tunnel until my path was blocked by the iron bars. However, I was close enough to see the endless stone seats, housing Roman citizens of all social classes, from the highest to lowest. Since today was a religious day sanctioned by the priest, it was one of the most important games, and spilling blood made it more important. 

The most important part for me, however, was the seats closest to the arena, filled to the brim with the Senators, Tribunes, and other important officials. I could even see the two Consuls, the highest public officials, surrounded by their Praetorian guard, holding their thick clubs —one interesting thing about Pomerium forbidding weapons, swords in particular, but also spears and other visibly martial weapons, leaving clubs and daggers as the preferred getup for the bodyguards whenever they were in Pomerium. 

As I waited for the fight the begin, I watched the slaves dragging the dead body of several prisoners —obvious from the way they dressed— while some animal trainers were trying to drag a lion back to its cage. The bloodied sand suggested that it had been a deadly bout, not that it was surprising considering a bunch of prisoners was supposed to fight against dangerous wild beasts. 

Then, the iron bars pulled back, and a crier shouted. “From the west gate, great Dacian spearmen, Peirous, stepping the holy ground of Coliseum for the first time,” he shouted. 

The enthusiastic cries of the hundred thousand Roman citizens slammed to me like thunder. At that moment, it didn’t matter those men and women would have treated me like dirt for being a slave. No, at this moment, I was an incarnation of Mars, ready to spill blood. 

I slammed the butt of my spear against my metal buckler repeatedly as I walked, greeting the crowd just as we were taught in the school, making sure to display the muscles of my naked torso to the best effect in the process. After all, the whole point of my presence was to impress the crowd, especially the female half, so that they would invite me to their estates. 

The announcer paused for a while, letting the tension build up as the crowd examined me while wondering about my opponent. Meanwhile, I let my gaze brush through the crowd, using my sharp sight to quickly identify the young and good-looking daughters and wives of the groups that looked especially rich. There was no harm in identifying the potential targets. 

“And from the east gate, we have a mysterious cursed beast from the mountains of Greece,” he called even as the gates went down, and a huge beast lunged forward. I cursed in my mind as I prepared to lunge to the side as I processed the sight, while the announcer completed his introduction. “A great Chimera!”

“Fuck,” I murmured as I threw myself to the side as the fucking creature covered the distance in an instant and lunged forward, trying to devour me immediately. The crowd went wild as I rolled back, avoiding its paw swipe. 

“A fucking Chimera,” I murmured in shock as I watched the cursed animal. A lion taller than a human was dangerous enough without adding a second head with even bigger teeth that resembled a goat with huge, intimidating horns that looked strong enough to break through rock. Its multiple tails, each ending with the head of a snake, made it even more dangerous, especially with the venom dripping down every single visible tooth, be it on its tails or its heads. 

And like its attack parts weren’t dangerous enough, it was crazy fast. 

Admittedly, it wasn’t the strongest creature I faced, not even close. It didn’t have the magic resistance of an ethereal beast, or the destructive potential of a disaster-class beast. Even the dragon serpent I had killed was more dangerous than it, though only because it was familiar. Without that advantage, their power was more or less equal. 

One advantage, I thought as I dodged another swipe as it made another pass, forcing me to avoid its paw and its venomous tail at the same time, I didn’t need to spend a lot of effort on how to make my victory impressive. As long as I took down it without relying on any external magic —which would see me executed, therefore out of question in the first place— it would make a small legend of me. 

“Tail first,” I murmured to myself as it charged toward me once more. The tails were dangerous not only because of their venom, but because they worked as a teammate, defending the back of the creature. So, when the creature closed in once more, testing my reaction, I threw myself forward, my spear moving in a flash, slamming into one of the snakeheads that decorated its tails, spilling the first blood. 

The crowd went absolutely crazy as I rolled back, avoiding the retaliation of the beast. Feeling the unexpected bite of the pain, Chimera stayed away from my weapon, giving me the chance to raise my spear to greet the crowd, wordlessly promising them victory. Cheers rose as I did so, making my blood move in excitement. 

I would be lying if I didn’t enjoy the moment. Combat was always exciting, and the cheers of a hundred thousand people made the moment even more exciting. Though I clamped on my magic strongly when I felt a stirring in my right arm, not wanting the scales to appear. 

However, it resulted in a surprising reaction. Chimera suddenly sniffed the air, only to stiffen in a way that resembled the fear. It was clearly smelling my irregularity. Luckily, its tenseness disappeared as I managed to suppress my magic, and dashed forward once more, losing another tail. 

Soon, we repeated the same dance more than twenty times, making it lose three of its five tails, along with a number of bodily wounds that turned its body into a crimson patchwork. It didn’t affect its vitality much, however. I had long got used to its speed and reach, and I could have used its next attack to stab its head, dealing a more serious wound. 

I decided to make the show more impressive. The next attack, I deliberately received a blow to my shield, which threw me back, and my spear flew away, ‘accidentally’ falling toward the raised platform at the center that housed the two Consuls, surrounded by the richest citizens, giving me the excuse I needed to make eye contact with the richest women in Rome. As long as I could impress one of them, it would have been quite fun. 

 The creature might be an animal, but it was still smart enough to position itself between me and the spear. The crowd cried in panic while the creature roared victoriously, preparing itself to lunge forward. I removed the buckler from my arm, and grabbed it with both hands, ready to use it as a more flexible weapon. 

Chimera chose that moment to unveil a new weapon, suddenly belching fire from its mouth. 

I raised the shield hurriedly as I lunged back, avoiding most of the fire, though my fingers were looking red. I held up my buckler, using it to protect myself even as the metal heated up, waiting for the opportunity while the audience cried in shock. I used my right hand to hold my buckler, as otherwise, my hands were burned from the heat of the shield, starting to glow red. 

I found the opportunity I was seeking when the creature took a breath, preparing for another flaming roar. Without any warning, I grabbed the edge of the shield and threw it like a disk with my full strength, accurately targeting the face of the creature. It roared in pain as the red hot edge of the shield dug in its eye, ruining it forever. I used the opportunity to sprint across the sand, passing next to it. The remaining tails attacked at the same time with a paw swipe. I dodged the tails. 

Paw attack, landed. 

Still, at the last moment, I managed to skip to the one side, making it a glancing hit. I dashed toward my discarded spear, using the time it needed to turn its huge body to the maximum benefit. Then, I arrived in front of the raised platform that housed some of the most prestigious members of Roman society, and let my gaze linger on some of the most beautiful young ladies, even winking at one of them. 

She was a delicious-looking redhead with a lithe body, her beautiful white shoulders shining under the shade raised to protect her sensitive skin. And when she realized I was making eye contact, she blushed prettily. I smirked once more before turning my back, only to find myself face to face with the creature. 

The battle lasted another fifteen minutes, where I managed to deliver a series of punishing blows while the crowds repeated the new name I had acquired. “Peirous, Peirous, Peirous!” they chanted repeatedly, making my blood flow faster and faster as I dodged attack after attack, leaving another bleeding wound in the aftermath. My own wounds looked horribly bad, but they were mostly cosmetic. 

Then, the creature finally collapsed, allowing me to stab its heads in quick succession, finally killing it, much to the excitement of the crowd, especially the ladies, who enjoyed my show with much excitement. I could already see many patrician families discussing heatedly while young girls rained flowers on me. 

“Victor, Peirous!” called the announcer as I slowly walked toward the tunnel I had entered. 

Rome just gained a new celebrity…