Chapter 65 – The Greatest Show

It was as if every single contestant and every single monster of Chaos stood still to watch what was going to happen next. The four Instructors, plus Theodore, had stepped forward to face the onrushing stampede of the three Ironjaw Behemoths, and Titus couldn't help but think that even if there were a hundred Instructors standing there to face the creatures, it still probably wouldn't have been enough.

Not being able to see all of the names of the Instructors didn't make too much of a difference as Titus recognised them all, barring two. Though on a second glance he noticed that one of them wasn't actually an Instructor but rather Lucius the Bloodied, whom he'd seen fight in the arena when the Black-Ranked Contestant had been level eighty-four. Not being able to tell if the man had grown since then, Titus clearly remembered what the man could do with his shimmering golden armour and unassuming looking sword and this time a shield.

Ferran Torres, Titus knew, was a powerful Spellcaster too. And he assumed that each of the Instructors that he could see were masters in their respective fields. He only wished that Miss Kane was there too; he had no evidence that she was any kind of skilled fighter, but to become the Grandmaster of the entire Arena must've meant that she had something very special about her. In fact, it seemed rather coincidental that all of this had happened while she was absent from the Arena, but that was probably a thought to deal with on another day.

And then Titus saw someone that he had very much forgotten about and didn't expect to see in a real fight anytime soon: Jacob. The young boy stood not ten metres away from Titus and his friends, the former Arena Hand looking very much like a fish out of water.

And then the severity of the situation dawned on Titus and his breath caught in his chest. He knew that after all was said and done of this fight, there was going to be loss, death, heartache, and pain.

But he turned his attention back to the three behemoths rampaging across the battlefield, carving through the fog as they went, telegraphing the fact they spared no thought for the beetles beneath them who were still doing their best to cover the field with their obtrusive fog.

The five men on the City side of the battlefield readied themselves for the arrival of the hulking beasts with Theodore at their centre, flanked by Ferran Torres and Lucius the Bloodied and beyond them, the two unknowns to Titus. He could see that they were both Instructors though, as denoted by their red armbands.

Lucius the Bloodied and Ferran Torres were both Spellcasters, Titus knew. He also knew that Theodore was almost definitely a Warrior given the fact the Instructor leant that way during their combat classes – even though he didn't look like much of a Warrior given his more average size. The two unknowns though, both with short dark hair, were almost definitely Defenders by the look of them. Half the size of Theodore again, when they stood together they looked like they were a brick wall that nothing could penetrate. Nothing perhaps, other than three rampaging Ironjaw Behemoths.

The two Defenders moved so quickly that Titus thought if he'd blinked, he might've missed them repositioning themselves directly in front of Theodore, Torres, and Lucius.

Titus watched as he saw something that he didn't know if anyone else could see – the two Defenders raised their hands in tandem, and a split second before the first of the rampaging behemoths reached the small group a bubble of golden Mana blinked into existence just in time for the first creature to crash into it like it was indeed an immovable object.

It was strange to see, given that the pair were clearly Defenders and not Spellcasters, but still, they were using Mana and a lot of it.

The behemoth wasn't hurt as Titus watched its health pool hold fast, but the golden bubble pulsed, and cracks appeared under the strain of the behemoth doing whatever it could to pass the invisible barrier.

And then its two kin reached the shield, and where the first had crashed into it, these two stopped just in time to rear up to their full heights and strike out at the invisible wall with their terrible clawed forelegs.

The shield began to flicker violently, but again Titus assumed that he was the only one who could see it buckling under the strain of the three behemoth's attacks.

Looking at the two Defenders who were casting the Mana shield, Titus could see that the Mana was flowing through their bodies with a glow as bright as two suns. But it was also taking its toll on their bodies with the strain on their face clear. One of the pair even had a trickle of blood running down from his nose and it was pooling on his top lip. If someone didn't do anything to help soon, then it would be too late.

Finally, the two Spellcasters started doing something. Ferran Torres and Lucius the Bloodied were clearly from two very different schools of Spellcasting, but nevertheless the Mana that Titus saw swirling around inside of them was equal and surpassed the brightness of the two Defenders and their golden shield.

All the while, the three behemoths were doing everything they could to break through the Mana shield however they could.

Lucius and Torres circulated their Mana, building it to a crescendo that Titus knew meant something awesome was about to happen.

Lucius was the first to act. His shining golden armour burst free from his body along with his glowing sword and shield, though this time it didn't simply animate and work as an additional soldier. This time the armour grew. It grew and grew until it was almost as big as one of the Ironjaw Behemoths itself.

And then Ferran Torres released his Mana.

As though it had been expertly choreographed, the two Defenders dropped their own arms as Torres released his spell, allowing the three behemoths to stumble forward, shocked their target had suddenly disappeared.

Lucius' giant animated armour lurched forward like a giant knight and Torres' spell burst into existence.

Combining wind, heat and fire, the spell that Torres cast was like a weather front that followed behind Lucius' armour. As it passed it, the spell ignited the golden armour and both the sword and shield, but it didn't damage them at all. And then as the behemoths stumbled forward, the spell impacted them too. This time it had an effect.

With a crack as loud as a thunderbolt, the behemoths as one howled as they were lifted from their feet and thrown backwards by ten or fifteen metres before they landed on the ground, each causing the earth beneath Titus' feet to shake at the sheer impact.

A silence fell across the battlefield as nobody on either side had expected one spell from one individual to have been so powerful or so effective against the three giant monsters.

But the silence did not last very long.

The first cheer rang out from the side of the City, and more and more Contestants began to join in with whoops and praise for their all-powerful Instructors and Black-Rankers.

The monsters of Chaos that remained seemed frozen, though somewhat unfazed as they watched the humans of the City celebrating their victory.

Titus watched then, not sure if he should celebrate too as the Awakened of the City claimed their victory. But his attention was focussed on the monsters on the far side of the battlefield, each with their evil red eyes fixed on the place where the three behemoths lay.

And then the silence returned.

Just as the humans celebrated their victory, the Monsters of Chaos began to growl, snarl and eventually roar as all three of the Ironjaw Behemoths pulled their hulking forms back onto their feet to stand tall once again and to show everyone just why they were called Ironjaws. With only a quarter of the health pool having been sapped from each, Titus could see that this battle was far from over.

The giant suit of armour being controlled by Lucius wasn't standing idle now though; As soon as the behemoths had so much as twitched, it lumbered towards them and picked one to battle hand to hand – or magical weapons and armour to giant beast claw and tooth – removing it entirely as the pair began to trade blows.

With two behemoths remaining, Titus could see there wasn't even a shred of Mana swirling around inside either of them – and that meant if they had no magical abilities, they were one hundred percent physical beings. At their levels, that meant they were going to be absolutely overpowered in close combat. But looking at them, that was no surprise.

Theodore stepped forward like he was being chosen as the champion of the humans, and one of the behemoths moved to meet him in combat. Titus couldn't believe that the comparatively tiny human was about to stand against the thing that looked like it could just tread on him and continue about its day without another thought.

Then Ferran Torres launched himself into the air from behind Theodore, using what Titus could only assume was air magic to hang in the air and begin to dart around almost instantaneously from place to place and each time he paused, he released a fireball aimed at the face of the third behemoth.

With two of the three beasts occupied, the battle between Theodore and his behemoth opponent could begin.

Still the rest of the humans and the creatures of Chaos left the most important battle - the main act -  alone, like whatever happened there would determine the real outcome of this war.

Titus looked at the combat Instructor who he'd seen was holding a long silver sword, though when he looked more closely, what he'd thought to be a shield in his other hand was actually another blade that was curved almost fully into a circle.

As Theodore readied his combat stance, Titus could see that the curved blade had a very deadly-looking outer edge to it, and it was also glowing with some imbued Mana.

The behemoth clearly wasn't fazed though, because it swiped out almost nonchalantly with one of its forearms to dismiss the combat Instructor even before their fight was to begin.

Titus almost closed his eyes, not wanting to see the tiny human squashed beneath the creature's foot or otherwise torn apart by its great claws. But just as the strike was about to hit, the behemoth's arm suddenly veered off course and missed its target by metres.

The creature looked just as confused as Titus felt, and as it swiped again though with a little more effort this time, the very same thing happened, and this time Titus saw that within Ferran Torres' own battle, the Spellcaster was taking the time to blast the creature's attacks off course with his air magic.

It was like watching a perfectly choreographed routine to Titus. The humans had both separated the creatures so that they wouldn't pose a combined threat, but the humans were also aiding in each other's fights as best they could. Titus could see that effectively the behemoths had been surrounded even if it didn’t seem like that was possible, and the humans were acting as though they had twice their number.

Titus watched Ferran Torres as he buzzed around his opponent, shining brightly with Mana that never seemed to fall. It was like the Instructor had a never-ending supply, though he knew from the lessons that he'd attended, Ferran Torres was the master of Mana control.

Theodore was the real one to watch though, because he seemed to have some strange ability to do two wildly different things at once. In his left hand, his long silver sword formed clear and obvious combat manoeuvres as it seemed to simply be a part of his arm as he cut and stabbed with the heavy-looking weapon with ease. Of course, with the regular weapon he couldn't do much more than strike out at the bottom half of the behemoth's leg, but the fact that its HP was falling at a rather not-insignificant rate showed that he was actually doing quite well.

It was the circular blade in his right hand that was the real show though.

The weapon was as mesmerising as it was unique. Theodore seemed to somehow twirl it effortlessly around his hand and arm almost like the thing had a mind of its own. The glowing Mana around the blade only intensified as Theodore's swift and practised movements pushed the weapon to its limits.

With each swing of his curved weapon, Theodore unleashed a barrage of strikes that left the behemoth reeling not because of how powerful they were, but more because of how many times the creature was hit with each attack. It was like a pinwheel rotating so fast that even if the damage was almost insignificant, after a moment, it mounted up to significance.

The behemoth, of course, didn't just stand there and let all of this happen, but its attempts to strike back were futile, as now not only did Ferran Torres' air magic continue to divert its attacks, but periodically the two Defenders created tiny shields right where the impact was about to happen. It was clearly more effective and easier to maintain than one giant shield, but also it showed Titus and everyone else watching that Taunting an opponent as a Defender wasn't always the best way to go.

Titus couldn't help but marvel at Theodore's abilities. It was clear that he was more than just an ordinary Instructor; he was a force to be reckoned with, and in truth, Titus had always kind of dismissed the man as everything else seemed to be much more powerful than simple combat. The behemoth, despite its immense size and strength, was gradually losing ground as its health bar dwindled under the relentless onslaught, and it didn't look like it was going to be able to put up much more of a fight.

Lucius the Bloodied continued his battle with the third behemoth. The giant suit of animated armour that he controlled moved with surprising agility, parrying the behemoth's massive claws and delivering powerful counterattacks whenever it found the opportunity. It was a titanic clash between man and beast, with neither giving an inch.

As for the two Defenders who had created the golden Mana shield and continued to help with all three battles where they could, they were visibly exhausted. Their faces were strained from the immense effort required to maintain protective shields that must've been taking colossal damage with each and every iteration. Titus could see that they couldn't hold out much longer, and he could see that the real key to victory lay in the battles being fought by Theodore and Ferran Torres. Once those two had dealt with their respective opponents, the battle would be as good as over.

The cheers of the City's inhabitants grew louder each time a behemoth's strike was mitigated or a significant blow landed on one of the three massive creatures, their confidence bolstered by the remarkable display of skill and teamwork by their instructors and Black-Rankers. It was a moment of hope in the midst of chaos and Titus couldn’t blame them.

But neither could Titus shake the feeling that the monsters of Chaos still had something up their sleeve. These Ironjaw Behemoths were more powerful than any beast he could’ve ever imagined, and he had a feeling that they hadn't revealed their full power yet.

And then the behemoth engaged with Theodore suddenly roared and Titus saw that its health bar had reduced to just one quarter and its massive body seemed to swell with newfound energy.

Theodore's expression shifted from determined focus to alert concern as he sensed the behemoth's impending attack. In a lightning-fast move, he leapt back, narrowly avoiding the behemoth as it lunged toward him with its great maw agape. The ground trembled as the behemoth crashed into the earth, leaving a deep crater in its wake.

But that wasn’t all the behemoth was doing; like it had sensed Theodore’s ability to dodge its strike, it reared up to its full height once more and roared an ear-piercing roar. This attack was something that nobody could defend against and Theodore was thrown back by the sheer volume of the roar like it had some physical component to it.

The behemoth took the one single opportunity it’d been given in this fight and reaching out with its huge claws, it scooped the combat Instructor up in one hand and raised the man into the air.

There was nothing that Theodore could do other than scream.

Torres changed tact and began peppering Theodore’s behemoth with fireballs and the two Defenders tried to find an opening to try to protect their comrade. But the behemoth had too good a hold on Theodore and now even with the added distractions around it, it had just one thing on its mind: death.

Titus, and everyone and everything present watched with bated breath as the Instructor was sure to be ended, but Titus could still see within the hand of the creature Theodore’s blade spinning around and sapping the behemoth’s health. The creature’s Health Pool was fading fast and if Theodore could hold on for just a moment longer he was going to make it through this.

Only seconds to go and Theodore would win this battle and it would seal the victory for the City.

But sometimes fate had other ideas. Theodore let out a final cry as the Ironjaw Behemoth unceremoniously squeezed the remainder of his life from him.

Titus had never really considered it a possibility that Theodore would die in this battle, but right there in front of him, the Instructor faded away to nothing, his life extinguished, just like that.