Chapter 2 - The Price of the Crown

The silence that followed the werewolf's death was, in a way, even more disturbing than the previous frenzy. The fairy crowd, satiated for now, observed Akane and her companions with a cold curiosity, as if they were deciding which would be the next toy.

Queen Eleonora, from atop her floating platform, descended smoothly to the level of the arena, landing a few meters from Akane. Her dress of living petals seemed to vibrate with the residual energy of the massacre, the colors changing from a blood-red to a deep purple. She smiled, a smile that didn't reach her emerald eyes, now shining with a cruel satisfaction.

"It seems quite brutal, doesn't it?" she said, her melodious voice contrasting with the cruelty of her words. "To outsiders like you, it may seem unnecessary. But, you see, these were prisoners. Criminals, traitors, scum. The Annual Event of Liberation is the benevolent opportunity I give them to earn their freedom. If they survive, of course." She let out a crystalline laugh, which echoed through the arena like a funeral bell.

Akane, still trembling, felt anger replace fear. The naivety of the palace-raised princess was rapidly being replaced by a steely determination, forged in the horror of the arena. She looked at Daniel, who was still crying, but whose brown eyes now shone with a contained fury. Aela held the unconscious Eryndora with protective strength.

The Queen, noticing the change in atmosphere, raised an eyebrow, a glint of interest in her eyes. "I see the experience wasn't entirely... unpleasant for you. After all, it awakened something… interesting."

She approached Akane, and, with a delicate gesture, touched her chin, raising her face. "You seek the Crown of Luxflutuante, don't you? An object of great power, as I said. And yes, I have it."

Akane's heart raced. The crown, so close... but at an unimaginable price.

"I can return it to you," Eleonora continued, her voice as smooth as silk, but laced with poison. "But, as I said, everything has a price. My help doesn't come for free. And, at the moment, what I most desire is… entertainment."

She moved away from Akane and made a sweeping gesture, encompassing the arena. "I propose an agreement. A challenge. If you want the crown, you'll have to fight for it. Here, in my arena."

Daniel, who until then had been silent, stands up, his face marked by tears, but his voice firm and resolute. The shock and sadness were rapidly being replaced by a deep anger, a fury that Akane rarely saw, but that she knew could be devastating. The Berserker, she thought, is awakening.

"I'll fight," he said, his voice hoarse. "I'll fight alone."

Aela, who was holding Eryndora, took a step forward, ready to protest, but Daniel stopped her with a look. "No, Aela."

The Queen smiled, a genuine smile this time, showing her shark-like teeth. "Interesting… A volunteer champion. And so… devoted. But, why alone, mortal?"

Daniel took a deep breath, and when he spoke, his voice was cold and deadly. "I fight alone, and if I win…" He paused, his brown eyes fixed on the Queen's emerald eyes, "…you give me the right to kill anyone inside this arena, without retaliation."

The proposal caught Akane and Aela by surprise. The audacity, the recklessness… it was typical of Daniel, but, at that moment, it seemed like the only option. They knew Daniel well: he was capable of fighting for what was important to him.

The arena, previously silent, began to murmur. The fairy crowd, surprised by the human's bold proposal, stirred in expectation. Kill anyone in the arena? Without retaliation? It was an absurd proposal! but disturbingly seductive.

Queen Eleonora, however, did not seem surprised. She pondered for a moment, her eyes shining with a mixture of amusement and calculation. "An… interesting request, mortal. But, what if you lose?" She raised an eyebrow, a cruel smile playing on her lips. "What will be the price of your defeat?"

Daniel hesitated for an instant, but then replied, his voice firm, despite the tremor that ran through it: "If I lose… If I lose, Akane, Aela, and Eryndora will not be subjected to your torture. No harm will come to them."

Eleonora laughed, a loud, cruel laugh that echoed throughout the arena.

"You underestimate their value, mortal. They are beautiful and powerful. They would be quite a sight in my arena. A pity for the spectators who won't see… But you decide," she said, her voice laced with disdain. "If you lose, the elves will not suffer the pain of being slowly torn apart in front of the spectators… They will be executed in the arena. A quick death. Clean. Like pigs being slaughtered."

A deadly silence fell over the arena. The weight of Daniel's decision hung over everyone like a shroud. The fairies, previously excited by the prospect of more violence, now watched in expectant silence, curious to see how the human would react to the Queen's cruel proposal.

Daniel took a deep breath, closing his eyes for an instant, as if seeking strength within himself. When he opened them, his gaze was pure steel, determination replacing any trace of fear or hesitation. He looked directly at Queen Eleonora, his brown eyes shining with an intensity that made the Queen herself take a step back, surprised.

"I accept," he said, his voice firm and clear, resounding through the arena.

The reaction of the fairy audience was immediate and explosive. A deafening cry, a mixture of excitement, incredulity, and bloodlust, echoed throughout the arena. The fairies clapped their hands, shouted, whistled, and waved their small musical instruments, creating a deafening cacophony. The prospect of seeing the human fight, and possibly die, under the same conditions as the previous prisoners, was a spectacle that none of them wanted to miss.

Queen Eleonora, regaining her composure, smiled with satisfaction. "So be it," she said, her voice amplified by magic, drowning out the noise of the crowd. "The challenge is set. Fate is sealed. Let the games… continue."

She made a gesture, and the royal fairy guards, who were positioned around the arena, approached Daniel. They didn't touch him, but escorted him towards one of the side gates, the same one through which the prisoners had entered.

Daniel, before following the guards, turned to Akane, Aela, and Eryndora, who was now awake and somewhat lost. He approached Akane and, with a quick movement, pulled her into a tight hug.

"If I die…" he whispered in her ear, his voice choked with emotion, but firm in his determination, "use the teleport. Take everyone out of the arena and run. Run to the portal, without looking back. Don't think about avenging me, don't think about fighting. Just save your lives. Do you understand, Akane?"

Before Akane could answer, he added, his voice filled with a strange urgency: "Have faith in the Creator of Faytheria. In my other soul, I don't know, I'm not sure, but if he can and if he hears us, maybe he will help us. Ask for protection and help for me."

Tears streamed down Akane's face, but she nodded, unable to speak. She knew Daniel was serious. He was willing to sacrifice his life to protect them, and he was appealing to a greater force, something that not even he understood completely. And she, for the first time in her long elven life, felt the true meaning of fear, of impending loss, of the possibility of losing Daniel forever.

Daniel moved away from Akane and looked at Aela, who was watching him with a mixture of concern, admiration, and anger. He didn't need to say anything. Aela understood. She nodded, her gray eyes teary, but determined. She would protect Eryndora, and would follow Daniel's order, if necessary.

Daniel, then, with a final look at his companions, turned and followed the guards, disappearing into the darkness of the corridor that led to the arena's backstage. The gate closed behind him with a metallic clang, sealing his fate.

Akane, Aela, and Eryndora, now alone in the arena, facing the fairy crowd and the cruel Queen, felt the weight of uncertainty and fear.

The wait seemed like an eternity. Each second was torture, each breath an effort. Akane felt her heart beating erratically, her hands trembling, her mind divided between the desperate hope that Daniel would survive and the paralyzing fear that he would fail. She closed her eyes, as if mentally answering a call or a cry for help from Daniel, murmuring a silent prayer to the Creator of Faytheria, asking for strength, for protection, for a miracle.

A new metallic creak, even louder and more sinister than the previous one, echoed through the arena, interrupting Akane's prayers and awakening the fairy crowd from its expectant silence. The gate through which Daniel had entered began to open slowly, revealing a solitary figure in the center of the arena.

It was Daniel.

He was dressed in simple armor, made of leather and metal, which seemed to have been made in a hurry. In one hand, he held a broadsword, and in the other, a round shield, made of wood and metal, without any coat of arms or symbol. He looked small and fragile before the vastness of the arena.

The fairy crowd, initially in silence, began to murmur and laugh, mocking the unassuming appearance of the human. But the laughter soon turned into a shout of excitement when the gate on the opposite side of the arena began to open.

This time, it wasn't a chimera, nor any other creature that Akane had seen before. What emerged from the darkness was something far worse, something straight out of the most terrifying legends: a dragon.

A red dragon, immense, colossal. Its scales shone like rubies under the diffuse light of the arena, its eyes were like burning furnaces, and its membranous wings, partially folded, extended for meters, projecting a menacing shadow over the sand. It let out a roar that made the arena tremble, and a burst of fire and smoke came out of its nostrils, heating the air and filling the environment with a strong smell of sulfur.

The fight that followed was, as expected, devastating and uneven. Daniel, despite his courage and determination, was just a human, facing a mythological creature of unimaginable power. He tried to defend himself with the shield, blocking the dragon's attacks, but the creature's strength was such that each blow threw him back, making him stagger.

The dragon attacked with fury, using its claws, wings, tail, and, mainly, its fiery breath. Infernal flames swept the arena, melting the sand and turning it into glass. Daniel, with surprising agility, managed to dodge most of the attacks, but it was a matter of time before he was hit.

He tried to counterattack, lunging at the dragon with the sword, but the blade barely scratched the creature's scales. His blows, despite being precise and powerful, seemed ineffective against the dragon's impenetrable armor.

The fairy audience, crazed, shouted and applauded each of the dragon's attacks, vibrating with the prospect of the human's imminent death. Queen Eleonora, from atop her platform, watched everything with a cruel smile, savoring every moment of the unequal struggle.

Akane, Aela, and Eryndora (who had finally woken up, her face pale and her eyes wide with terror) watched everything with their hearts in their hands, powerless to help Daniel. With each blow from the dragon, each burst of fire, each deafening roar, hope diminished, replaced by a growing, paralyzing fear.

The arena became an infernal stage. The red dragon, a monster of scales and fury, lunged at Daniel, who was crawling through the sand, a bloodied human rag. Each attack of the creature was a symphony of claws tearing flesh, bones cracking, and the hot breath of fire melting the little armor that remained.

Daniel, in a mixture of pain and despair, tried to dodge, but his movements were slow, uncoordinated. Blood gushed from numerous wounds, forming a viscous puddle under his body. One of his arms hung inert, broken at an impossible angle. His leg, crushed under the dragon's weight, throbbed in indescribable agony.

In a particularly brutal moment, the dragon slammed its claws into Daniel's chest, lifting him off the ground like a trophy. The fairy audience roared in approval, thirsty for more blood. Akane screamed, a sharp and primal sound, which was lost in the middle of the chaos. Aela, with Eryndora beside her covering her face in tears, clenched her fists, helpless, while tears of anger and pain streamed down her face.

Daniel, hanging from the dragon's claws, felt life slipping away. The pain was excruciating, but a strange calm began to take over his mind. He looked at the dragon, into its fiery eyes, and a sickly smile formed on his lips.

At that instant, something inside Daniel broke. An invisible barrier, which separated sanity from madness, humanity from bestiality, shattered into pieces. An ancestral, wild, uncontrollable energy took over his being. His eyes, once brown and gentle, turned black as night, empty of any emotion except for a blind, murderous fury.

It was the Berserker mode.

The transformation was visible and terrifying. Daniel's muscles, previously exhausted and wounded, expanded, tearing skin and armor. His bones cracked and rearranged themselves, assuming a more grotesque and powerful form. His teeth lengthened, turning into sharp fangs. His skin, previously pale and bloodied, acquired a grayish tone, veins popping, as if it were going to explode.

The dragon, surprised by the sudden change in its prey, hesitated for an instant. And in that instant, Daniel attacked.

With a bestial roar, which drowned out the shouts of the crowd, he sank his fingers, now transformed into claws, into the dragon's flesh, tearing scales and skin with frightening ease. The dragon roared in pain and surprise, trying to get rid of the crazed human, but Daniel held on tight, like a deadly parasite.

He began to climb the dragon's body, using his claws and teeth to make his way through the scales. Blood gushed from the wounds, soaking Daniel's skin and forming a red mist around the two combatants.

The fairy audience, previously excited, now watched in terrified silence. Queen Eleonora, from atop her platform, recoiled, her eyes wide with disbelief. What was that? What kind of monster had that human become?

Daniel, ignoring the pain, exhaustion, and danger, continued to climb, driven by a blind, insatiable fury. He reached the dragon's head and, with a roar that made the arena tremble, sank his teeth into the creature's neck, tearing flesh and muscle with superhuman strength.

The dragon thrashed, roaring in pain, trying to get rid of the crazed human who attacked him with such ferocity. But Daniel didn't give in. He continued to bite, tear, and lacerate, turning the fight into a spectacle of carnage and horror.

The Dragon didn't give in and dealt a massive blow to Daniel who hit the ground with a brutal blow. The dragon breathed fire, Daniel's skin melted, but he was still standing.

The queen gestures. A new gate is opened and 5 basilisks exit the gates towards Daniel.