Rise 30
Arena
“Where in this world can we hold hands without any sadness? Where endings don’t exist in this world of madness?”
-DistantEden by S. Harper
On the land of the gods in the Immortal Realm, people with aura screaming of dominance and authority were gathered on a round table made of gold.
“It’s good to see you again, Supreme God.” Said the god of Earth, Terran
Arius remained silent.
“Where have you been?” asked Lark, the god of ice.
“That’s not important right now. I was only away for fifteen years or so, why is our side losing?” Arius asked, his voice as cold as ice.
Seeing how dissatisfied the Supreme God is, all the other gods remained silent.
They want to complained that it was because of his absence. But that would make them seem useless and incompetent.
“Are you all just going to act dumb?” asked Arius coldly
No one responded, afraid to give him an answer that may not satisfy him.
Arius who is obviously annoyed, stood up, “Fine, continue to act dumb. I will just go beat up the Demon Lord, this meeting is adjourned.”
Everyone were dismissed just like that.
They watched his receding figure.
Every gods were aware that Arius is a war freak.
He dedicates his life to the battlefield.
That’s the reason why everyone is curious what caught his attention in the Mortal Realm.
What made him stay there?
When he was gone, they joked that he’s probably playing in the mortal realm, indulging in worldly matters.
But now that he’s back, the light atmosphere in the round table is once again suffocating and heavy.
“Something feels off about him.” Solstice commented when Arius is completely gone from their sight.
“Off? What made you say that?” Asked Dusk, the god of Metal.
‘He didn’t mention anything about my successor.’ Is what Solstice wanted to say but held back.
No matter how strong he is, he can’t carelessly comment about Arius’ personal life.
He can joke with Arius when it’s just the two of them, but it’s different when they’re in the presence of everyone.
Arius is the strongest god.
No one admits it, but they are all wary of him.
Throughout history, the Supreme God is always the God of Light.
Arius is the first God of Darkness to ever become the Supreme God.
Some of them fear him.
Most look up to him.
He is the Supreme God respected by everyone in the Immortal Realm.
All the Great Gods follows his orders without questions.
Even Aster and Ainsley who didn’t want to attend this meeting can be seen sitting silently on their assigned seats.
If Solstice is respected as the previous Supreme God. And everyone listens to Ainsley’s opinion because he was the son of the strongest god and goddess. Then Arius is respected because of his strength.
He is the Supreme God, the Ruler of Elysium, the King of the Gods.
***
[Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen! We have a new batch of Arena Challengers tonight!]
A robot that functions as a speaker can be seen flying in the air.
Somewhere in the empire of Kosen is a city called Suzaku. In this city, there is a huge arena where people battle illegally to earn money.
And on the centre of the arena, there are more than twenty people, they are the Arena Challengers.
[These Arena Challengers will have to survive on the Labyrinth of Terror in order to challenge our Arena Heroes!]
All of the audiences are fanatics of the arena battles so they are already familiar with the rules.
New Arena Challengers are the opening act, they have to go through the ever-changing labyrinth in order to pass the preliminary round.
Then at the end of the labyrinth is the Arena of Death, this is where Arena Challengers can challenge one of the Arena Heroes to earn their spot.
There are ten Arena Heroes ranked from one to ten. And the top Arena Hero is called the Arena King who earns the most money on his every battle.
The Arena King is still undefeated despite reigning for three years now.
All of those who challenged him either ended up crippled or dead.
Today, Ken Kageyama is participating on the arena as one of the New Challengers.
He is a very ordinary person who’s in need of immediate money to help his sick mother.
Although unsure if he will survive the arena, he steeled his heart and registered.
When all of the challengers were ushered towards the entrance of the labyrinth, Ken suddenly noticed two ladies who seems out of place.
One of them have golden locks with soft and gentle features.
The other lady has long and silk like black hair, and an eye-catching face with sharper features.
Both of them seems too lax and unbothered by the tense atmosphere of all the challengers.
And they both stood out because everyone here looks like battle-hardened warriors who seen and suffered through hell.
While the two looks like the type of people who will be invited by devils for some tea.
Ken suddenly pitied the two. They will surely be the first targets of everyone.
When they entered the labyrinth, Ken have no time to worry about those two any longer.
His life is at stake.
The labyrinth is a dangerous place.
Wild beasts lurks on every corner of the labyrinth.
Traps are also everywhere, making the journey as deadly as possible.
Ken may be an ordinary person but he is a trained fighter. He used to work for the security of a huge company but lost his job due to some setbacks at works.
He is an honest and upright person so when he exposed the corruption of some of his seniors, he was the one who lost his position.
Now, with his sick mother, he is very desperate to earn some quick cash at the Arena.
Napansin ni Ken ang grupo ng mga kalalakihan na abalang nakikipaglaban sa mga mabangis na Lobo. Napapaligiran sila at halatang nahihirapan sa nagaganap na laban.
Apat ang kanilang bilang, at halata na hindi sila bihasa sa paggamit ng espada.
Nakita ni Ken kung paanong sinipa ng isa sa apat na lalaki ang kasamahan nila, dahilan para mawalan ito ng balanse at matumba.
Nakuha nito ang atensyon ng mga Lobo, dahilan para makatakas ang tatlo nyang mga kasama.
Mabilis ang mga pangyayari.
Ang sunod na lang namalayan ni Ken, ay ang kusang pagkilos ng kanyang mga binti.
Sumalakay sya sa mga Lobo.
“Ayos ka lang ba?” Tanong ni Ken sa lalaki na sugatan dahil sa mga Lobo.
Pero sadyang mapaglaro ang tadhana, sa halip na magpasalamat, isang saksak ang naging tugon ng lalaki.
Naramdaman ni Ken ang talim ng espada na nakatanim ngayon sa kanyang sikmura.
Gusto nyang itanong kung bakit sya sinaksak ng lalaki subalit hindi nya nagawang makapagsalita dahil napaubo sya ng dugo.
“Isasama kita sa hukay!” sigaw ng lalaking tinulungan nya.
Hindi tumugon si Ken.
Walang saysay ang pakikipag-usap sa isang taong nawalan na ng rason dahil sa pagtataksil na ginawa ng mga kaibigan nito.
Sinipa ni Ken ang lalaki palayo sa mga Lobo at saka binunot ang espada na nakasaksak sa kanyang sikmura.
Idiniin nya ang kanyang kamay sa sugat upang pigilan ang pagdurugo nito.
At gamit ang isa nya pang kamay ay iwinasiwas nya ang kanyang espada.
Mabilis nyang naisagawa ang mga ito.
Bago pa man makatalon ang isang lobo upang lapain sya, nagawa nya itong saksakin sa leeg na ikinamatay nito.
Ilang mabangis na lobo pa ang nagawa nyang paslangin bago tuluyang manlabo ang kanyang paningin.
Bago sya mawalan ng malay, isang kamay ang tumapik sa kanyang balikat.
May nakita syang liwanag sa nagdidilim nyang kapaligiran.
At tila ba huminto ang oras.
Naglaho na parang bula ang nararamdaman nyang sakit.
Kumurap sya at nakita ang mga hibla ng ginintuang buhok na sumasayaw sa hangin.
“Are you trying to be a hero or something?” tanong ng babae
Napatulala si Ken ng ilang segundo sa muka ng babae.
Isang anghel.
Yan ang agad sumagi sa isipan nya.
Pero hindi pa sya patay.
“It’s stupid. Bakit mo ibinuwis ang buhay mo para sa isang tao na gusto kang patayin?” Tanong ng babae
“Because it’s the right thing to do.” Simpleng tugon ni Ken
“Life must be hard for kind people like you.” The girl said, half amazed.
“I-I’m not kind.” Ken denied
“You are.” Said the lady with the golden locks.
Ken shook his head. “To be kind is to be weak.” He said.
That is what everyone says to people like him.
“You don’t have to deny who you are. Kindness is indeed a weakness. But kindness is also a strength. It can give you courage to do what you believe is right.” The lady said
“R-really?” Ken
“Yes. But remember what you must do when people undervalue you. When they take advantage of your kindness, as if it’s your weakness. You awaken every monsters that sleeps inside you. Show them what hell looks like when it wears the skin of a gentle human being.” Said the woman before she vanished.
Ken was left all alone.
The wolves are all dead.
The man he tried to save is unconscious, all his wounds gone.
And Ken wonders, just who is that lady with the golden locks?
Meanwhile, Leona reappeared not too far away from where Ken is located.
“Hey, did you just stopped the flow of time?” asked Andromeda who’s carrying a giant machine gun.
“Yes.” Leona responded
As the spirit of light, she can influence the flow of time.
She still can’t figure out how to SMASH time just like the god Solstice. But after she reached the Heaven’s Realm, it became easier to grasps control over TIME.
“That is dope.” Andromeda commented as she kill a horde of giant spiders in front of them using her machine gun, she is truly amazed from the bottom of her heart.
The two of them killed every beasts on the way as if they are elegantly strolling on their own garden, catching the attention of all the challengers.
Leona is even taking her time drinking some water, she sat down on the body of a dead golem like a king who just conquered a country.
She’s not tired, just bored.
She decided it’s best to stay hydrated.
Because of that, Andromeda went ahead.
Not long after, the voice from the floating robot once again boomed in the air.
[Our first Arena Challenger to escape the Labyrinth of Terror is..... Batman!]
Leona almost choke on her water.
Hanggang ngayon hindi pa din sya nasasanay sa kakaibang sense of humour ni Andromeda.
Just because she uses gadgets to fight, she actually registered as Batman!
Leona registered as Dawn, which is way normal compared to Batman.
Andromeda on the other hand observe the wrist watch on her left hand.
“Hmm?” She smirks and then looked at the man sitting at the highest location, the Arena King.
“I challenge you.” Andromeda said before summoning an entire army of machines from her dimensional storage.
The arena immediately turned chaotic.
Andromeda doesn’t care about casualties, but Leona do so she busied her self with protecting the people when Andromeda’s army of machines fired ammo after ammo indiscriminately.
“Hey, can’t you focus your fire power on the target? You might end up killing some innocent people too.” Leona complained with an annoyed tone as she appears beside Andromeda
“Innocent? This is an underground arena, no one is innocent here.” Andromeda
Leona could only shake her head. She’s in no position to control Andromeda’s actions because they’re equals. They’re partners in crime.
“It’s amazing how your words cut like knives all the time.” Leona
Leona wonders if Damon can hold a candle to this savage woman.
“Thanks for the compliment.” Andromeda chuckled
“That’s not a compliment though.” Leona
Andromeda smirked, “I know.”
They both ducked as a gleaming blade swing at their direction.
“Demons are such a pain to deal with.” Andromeda complained as she pull-out her machine gun from her dimensional storage and shoot at the enemy. The Arena King was pushed back because of the focus-fire raining at him.
Both the audiences and the other Arena Challengers ran away in fright.
After seeing the heaven-shattering battle, the fat woman who threatened to kill them earlier almost peed her pants. She hid behind the other contestants as she ran away and prayed to all the gods for both Andromeda and Leona to entirely forget about her existence.
The woman’s prayer was probably heard by the gods. Leona and Andromeda doesn’t give a sh!t about her.
The two were focused on the enemy.
The Arena King had completely merged with the demon, he’s no longer human.
As Andromeda’s army of machines continued to fire, Leona made her move.
If Andromeda’s expertise is to attack people with her words, Leona’s expertise is punching people.
She’s confident with her combat abilities.
She used Andromeda’s army as cover, she crouched low and sliced the Arena King’s knees in a single swing of her blade, making him fall on the ground.
Leona can clearly see pure anger on the Arena King’s eyes. Leona backed away without a second thought. She’s aware of the gap of their individual strengths.
The Demon possessing the Arena King is obviously stronger than Leona and Andromeda. However, this is the mortal realm so the demons who doesn’t have their real bodies here and only possesses mortal bodies have their powers restricted to a certain level, giving the two an opportunity to fight him on equal ground with their combined powers.
Despite that, the Arena King moved with speed that is beyond human, and the next thing they know, the Arena King is already next to Andromeda and he gripped her neck. He raises her up with one hand until her feet were dangling off the ground.
“Fnck.” Andromeda cussed
She activated the defence mechanism of her necklace and electrocuted the Arena King, but he didn’t even flinch.
“You fight well little girl.” Said the Arena King with voice that seems to belong to hundreds of people speaking at once.
She tried to struggle but the Arena King’s grip is just too strong.
Andromeda felt annoyed. She hates using brute strength from her Dragon Realm power because she prefer using her gadgets and weapons. Her mechanical army can wipe out a kingdom, but it’s not powerful enough to deal with a real Demon. It seems that she needs to actually fight with her fist now, which is really annoying.
Before Andromeda can execute her plan, she caught a fleeting glimpse of a geometric shape that passed before her eyes. It was the sole of a boot moving at incredible speed.
With a bone-crashing thud, the Arena King struggling her was sent flying to the side. Free from the man’s deathly grip, Andromeda cough furiously and gasps for air.
“You’re welcome.” Leona said before Andromeda could even utter a word.
Andromeda gave her a thumbs up. She really thinks that Leona is such a reliable teammate.
“He’s stronger than the two of us, but if we fight him together seriously, we can defeat him.” Leona
“Are you implying that I’m not being serious?” Andromeda raised an eyebrow
“Yes.” Leona
Andromeda chuckled as she pulled out her sword, Kindness, “It’s really annoying but fine.”
Nano particles covered Andromeda’s body with a speed that cannot be followed by human eyes. She was instantly transformed into the infamous Mechanic X wearing the Knight’s Avatar.
Leona smirked, “Come on, let’s smash this demon into smithereens.”
On that day, the underground arena became nothing but history.
And on that day, the legend of a new goddess begun to unfold.
Three years will passed by before Leona ascended as a Lower Goddess, shocking the entire world.
~~~~~~~~
Kaunting Kaalaman:
1.Fifteen years nawala si Arius sa Immortal Realm dahil four almost five years old na si Leona noong pumunta sya sa Mortal Realm. Nineteen years old na si Leona nung nawala si Arius. (See Chapter 2 and Chapter 26 for reference.)
2.Alam nyo ba na ang inspiration ng [Rise of Dawn] ay ang manhwa na [Who Made Me a Princess]? At ang inspiration sa likod ng [Fall of Andromeda] ay ang manhwa na [The Emperor’s Daughter]? Share ko lang lol