Dan vs Gaius

Ella was spotted walking towards the Head Chief's chambers, her face contorted with rage. As usual, she tried to mask her anger with a smile, a trait she shared with Lucien, along with their long blonde hair and bright red eyes.

The two guards stationed at the door rushed to open it before she even signalled them. Upon entering, she saw Lucien, restless, seated on a chair with a glass of wine, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Gaius? Seriously? Of all the punishments you could think of, it's Gaius?" Ella said, gradually releasing her pent-up anger. But Lucien remained silent. "I am talking to you, Father! Answer me–!" A small knife whizzed past Ella, grazing her cheek before embedding itself in the door and breaking through it.

"If you don't keep your mouth shut, I promise I won't miss the next one," Lucien said, his voice hoarse and unclear from emotion. He sipped from the glass and continued, "We lost a chief today, the chief of the sixth realm, and they won't let this slide easily. They will demand explanations."

"Then tell them he questioned your orders," Ella suggested.

"What orders exactly? An order that gives a prisoner who committed treason against their chief a second chance? My dear Ella, you are not thinking ahead. That's not what I taught you," Lucien barked, sipping from his glass to calm himself before continuing, "And besides, knowing that chief, I'm sure that boy Dan was not his target. I was the target, and Dan was just a means to get to me. From now on, I will be more cautious," Lucien spoke as if to himself. He turned to Ella, who wore a weary expression.

"You should get some rest; it's already past midnight," Lucien said, removing his clothes and lying on the bed. "And tell the guard to get rid of the dead body."

Ella bowed her head before leaving. She didn't understand what Lucien was talking about until she exited the room. Lying on the ground was the body of one of the guards; the knife that had grazed her cheek had impaled the man from behind his head. Following Lucien's order, she signalled the other guard to dispose of the body.

***

The Next Day: The Day of the Battle

In the evening, less than an hour before sunset, word had spread across the nine realms about the appearance of Gaius the Man-Eater for the first time in years. The civilians' interest was piqued as they wondered who the unfortunate soul paired with Gaius would be. This curiosity led to a large crowd filling the glorified and huge arena hours before the match started.

As part of Dan's battle preparation, he was led to the male quarters for a refreshing bath, the first since his arrival, and was finally fed a lavish meal of various dishes.

"The Head Chief ordered this, so make sure to eat your fill," Cornelius, who had supervised his every move, stated. "In a few minutes, the women will be here, so just make sure to–"

"Don't," Dan interrupted.

"What was that?" Cornelius asked.

"Don't bring anybody here," Dan said.

"Hmmm… if that's your wish, then… what about the girl named Naya? I can get her for you," Cornelius offered, surprised by Dan's reply.

"Don't bring her. I want to be alone for now," Dan said, looking at the meal in front of him.

"Alright then, I will leave you to your meal, but my guards will stay here and watch over you. I hope you don't find that uncomfortable," Cornelius smirked, nodding at the guards before leaving.

With a smile, Dan removed a chicken leg and started to devour it, then moved on to a plate of soup. He went from one dish to another, eating whatever was inside. The guards were perplexed, looking at each other; this was the least they had expected.

"I've never had such a meal since I was born," Dan said and munched on everything edible on the table. After some minutes his stomach swollen as he struggled to breathe. This was the perfect example of 'eating as if it were your last meal'

Immediately, Dan clapped his hands, causing a loud sound that jolted the guards for a second. He sat cross-legged on the ground with a serious face and gradually closing his eyes, meditating.

Over the past few months with Valerie, Dan had learned a lot about Ryo that wasn't even mentioned in his mother's research. He learned about the types of Ryo users, how to unlock Ryo tracts, and how Ryo flow actually worked in the body of different users.

One key thing he learned was how Ryo flow operated uniquely in catalysts. Catalysts were rare and often used for political gains such as marriage and, rarely, weapons. Catalysts were born with a special Ryo within them that grew over time, making them stronger without effort. However, to harness their full power, they needed to train and push their bodies to the limit.

For catalysts, Ryo absorption increased their strength and other battle prowess significantly. Unlike other Ryo users, the Ryo in catalysts never left their bodies unless their muscles couldn't absorb any more, at which point it exited as waste energy. This could be deadly, causing internal explosions like heart attacks due to increased blood pressure caused by excessive Ryo flow to the muscles through the blood.

Dan found a way to counter this risk. If feeding too much Ryo to his muscles would make his heart explode, why not strengthen the heart first? By fortifying his heart muscles to function at an insane rate before working on his body, he could harness his power more effectively, though at a high cost.

Dan's mind drifted back to his training sessions with Valerie. He remembered the excruciating exercises designed to push his physical and mental limits. Valerie had explained the importance of mental fortitude and control over Ryo, emphasising that the mind was as crucial as the body in wielding Ryo effectively.

The meditation technique he neglected, which he was now using was something Valerie had taught him. It was a method to centre himself, to focus his mind and align his Ryo. As he sat there, eyes closed, breathing steadily, he visualised the flow of Ryo within him. He saw it coursing through his veins, strengthening his muscles. "Yeah, that just it" He stated

Clap clap

"It is time," one of the guards said, bringing Dan out of his meditation.

A rack containing weapons and armor of different types and sizes was presented for Dan to select from. After examining the armor rack, he chose none, stating, "They will only slow me down."

Prideful, right?

With that, he selected a sword and proceeded to the basement of the arena escorted by two guards. Entering the basement the loud cheers from the spectators made it seem as if the ground would sink under their weight. Dan was so nervous he could barely hold his knife straight; all his initial ego had suddenly vanished.

"The first contender for today is the little champion at a very young age… Dan!" Cornelius, serving as the announcer, shouted as the basement gate opened.

With loud booing sounds, Dan emerged from the basement and into the arena ring. It dawned on him that if he didn't win, this arena would be his grave.

"And now, for his opponent… Gaius the Man-Eater!"

The whole stadium went silent as the basement door creaked open. Slowly, a unison chorus began:

"Gaius, Gaius, Gaius."

Everyone in the arena chanted slowly as the gentle rattling of heavy chains was heard. The silhouette of someone, or something, emerged from within.

[NEXT: DAV VS GAIUS: AN UNEXPECTED OPPONENT]