Gaius Demise

With a loud, chilling scream, a heavy gust of wind erupted around the arena. Confusion arose from every corner as nobody knew what was going on since the duel began. The spectators were baffled, their eyes darting around in search of an explanation for the sudden and inexplicable event.

As the rate of confusion and anticipation grew amongst the crowd, Dan was undergoing significant changes. These were changes he knew nothing about, as this was his first time performing this deadly stunt. He kept repeating in his mind that if this did not work out, he would be dead. Yet, if he did not perform this, he would die at the hands of Gaius. It was a fifty-fifty chance, a gamble with his life hanging in the balance.

Dan's muscles popped out, increasing massively together with his veins. This was only natural due to the current increase in his blood pressure and the rapid pumping of his heart. The residue energy his body could not absorb left in the form of steam. Dan glanced at his hand and saw how big and sturdy it had become.

"I did it," he said, a feeling of great achievement clouding his mind. "I feel so light." Dan bounced on his feet, revelling in his newfound strength and agility.

Meanwhile, the crowd stood in shock, looking at Dan's new form. Apart from his increased muscles, no physical change was noteworthy, yet they all stared at him with weary eyes. It was as if they sensed something extraordinary and dangerous about him.

"That's the power of the Seven," Handsome exclaimed, jumping out of his seat to get a better look at Dan's body.

Naya, on the other hand, was at a loss for words. She looked blankly at Dan, immediately wondering if he was bent on killing. She realised she could have died the same day she met him, had he decided to turn his deadly power against her.

In the higher chambers, Cornelius gripped his chair with all his strength. He was confused and afraid. Dan had always told him he was trained by Valerie, but who was Valerie? Dan said she was one of the Seven, but there was no record of anybody named Valerie in the whole ten realms.

"My lord, we have to stop this fight," Cornelius managed to voice out, despite being gripped by fear's gentle embrace.

"Are you blind, Cornelius? Can you not see what is going on?" Lucien barked.

"Yes, my lord, that is the reason why we need to stop this. We are watching a fight involving someone who uses the same power as the Seven, people capable of destroying a realm if they feel like it. And you want this to continue? We will all die!"

"Cornelius, if we stop this now, we will die of hunger and thirst. There will be no battle in history to come that will ever be like this," Lucien argued.

Seeing that his voice was not getting through Lucien's thick skull, Cornelius decided to go back to his seat. There and then, he accepted whatever fate had in store for him.

Back in the arena ring, Gaius stared at Dan without a hint of concern. To him, even if Dan grew to become a giant, he was confident he was capable of killing him, so why bother?

"You look like her, one of the Seven–" Gaius started, but Dan appeared in front of him, about to land a punch on his face.

"He is fast…" Gaius thought. He was fast enough to counter, throwing a punch at Dan's face. Both punches landed at the same time, sending each other to the opposite side at insane speed, crashing into the walls and causing them to break. The civilians seated at each end died instantly from the impact, as the buildings collapsed on them.

"What just happened?" some asked, unable to follow their movements. One moment, Dan and Gaius were standing; the next, the walls had collapsed.

Dan and Gaius wasted no time. They rushed out from the debris and clashed in the middle of the arena. Dan launched a series of punches, with Gaius blocking most of them while some landed. Dan punched Gaius in the face, then in the stomach, and finally sent him flying by punching his nose, breaking it. Dan appeared behind Gaius before he could impact the wall and kicked him up into the air. Dan then appeared in the air, landing a kick on Gaius's gut and stomping him into the ground.

"That must have dealt a fatal injury," Dan thought, stepping back from Gaius's body. But to his surprise, Gaius picked himself up, looking fine, healthy and unfazed.

"Ouch… you are really something. Sorry I underestimated you," Gaius said, cracking his neck and spreading his arms. In a flash, multiple copies of Gaius appeared, ranging from ten to twenty. Each clone ran at Dan, throwing punches and kicks. Dan carefully analysed and dodged all their attacks. They were not as strong or fast as the original, but taking a hit was not something he could afford.

After managing to destroy some of the fake bodies, Dan got a glimpse of what he thought was the original body. "There it is," he muttered, rushing forward and punching it, but like the others, it disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"I told you before, there is no fake or original," Gaius's voice echoed. A punch from nowhere landed on Dan's gut, sending him flying and rolling on the ground.

Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Dan struggled to get himself up. For some reason, that was the strongest punch he had received since he enhanced his heart. After much struggle, he finally got himself standing on his feet.

"Have you reached your limit?" Gaius's voice rang out as his clones marched forward.

"Damn, this is rough," Dan muttered, panting. He had run out of ideas. He tried locating the original through its aura, but Gaius had split his aura among the clones, making it hard to pinpoint the original from the fakes. Only one idea came to mind now.

"I'm just getting warmed up, fool," Dan grinned while chuckling.

"You say that, but your body says otherwise. From the looks of things, it seems like you are getting weak," Gaius taunted although it was a hundred percent fact, Dan was approaching his limits.

"Weak…?" Dan kicked the ground, sending a stone into the air. He tightened his fist and struck the stone, breaking it into tiny particles that impaled every clone in sight until it reached one and made contact with it.

"Got you," Dan said, kicking forward and appearing in front of Gaius. He grabbed Gaius by the face, slammed him to the ground, and climbed on top of him, unleashing a barrage of punches.

"Not enough! Not enough!! Not enough!!!" Dan screamed, releasing too much Ryo. With every second, his body increased rapidly, his veins bulging as if they were about to burst, his skin turning red.

"Not enough!! Not–" Dan shout until he suddenly stopped his hand just in front of Gaius's face. At that moment, he realised Gaius was no longer alive. His head had blown off, blood and brain matter splattered everywhere. But even after realising this, it was already too late for Dan.

Blood gushed out from Dan's mouth and every other opening in his face, his nose, ears and eyes. He used his left arm to hold his chest, trying as much as possible to breathe, but nothing was happening. He was experiencing cardiac arrest. Dan fell onto the bloodied ground, rolling himself over. Not only was he experiencing cardiac arrest, but he had also lost too much blood and was losing strength slowly. He lay helplessly on the ground next to Gaius.

"DAN!!!" Naya screamed, banging on the basement door.

"Calm down," Handsome tried to restrain her, but she showed no sign of stopping.

"We need to help him! We need to help him!" Naya cried, her eyes clogged with tears.

"Calm down for now. This was a duel. Leave the guards to rectify the issue and announce the winner," Handsome said.

"But…"

"Just calm down. I'm sure he's alright. In that form, there's no way he could have lost," Handsome reassured her.

Although his plan worked, Dan had been a little bit selfish and pushed his body too far. This was the repercussion for his reckless actions. But looking at it from another perspective, he was not entirely to blame. After all, he did what he had to do to survive. Now that the legend Gaius the man-eater was slain, Dan's fate remained uncertain. The crowd, still in shock and awe, would forever remember the day they witnessed the unimaginable clash between Gaius and a strange boy. Today, apart from Gaius and most likely Dan, a lot of lives were lost due to the unexpected turn of events in the battle. And unknowingly to some, today's event shook the power balance of the ten realms

[NEXT: THE TRUTH]