That first match was not even difficult. The second one was no contestant either. Neither was the third or fourth. Honestly, where did these beings come from? I cut them down easily with my buster sword as if they were mere tissue paper. There was no real challenge to this at all; it was like fighting a small child with both of my arms tied behind my back. Maybe one or two beings, some demon with wings on their back not unlike my own were a challenge, but in the end they still fell before me. As I finished slaying a lumbering beast of massive proportions, I seriously began to consider why I had even taken Hades' help at all? I obviously did not need it. Already I had entered into the top 25, and it was done all on my own. Like everything else I had ever done in life.

But now I was close to fighting this Herculeas, and after I beat him, then Hades would give me the information that I required.

I was sitting down on the colossum steps, my sword propped up beside me and my hands in my lap as I watched the other contestants. This is what I did while the other fighters went off to 'relax'. I studied my soon-to-be opponents moves, looking for a weakness in which to exploit. It is what ever true fighter does; some of these people I scoff at silently as they enter the ring. Death is not permitted in the Colossum, but if it were, then the stones would have been stained with the blood of the untalented long ago. Of course there is one contestant that I have watched closely; he seems to be fairly competent for someone so young. Already with the help of his two friends, beings who are more than a little weird to look at, have entered into the semi-finals with me. Perhaps, I mused silently, I will be facing him shortly.

"Hey Cloud," I heard Hades said beside me. I glanced over my shoulder to see the Lord of the Underworld looking my way. "Come here, kid." I rolled my eyes in irritation but stood, grasping my sword and easily swinging it over my left shoulder.

"What do you want?"

Hades pointed one of his disgusting fingernails towards the direction of the young boy, still fighting in the ring. "You'll be fighting him next, okay? Kid's name is Sora. I need him gone. And I mean gone."

I quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, accidents do happen, ya know what I mean?" He winked at me. "Death is not suppose to happen in the ring, but it does occur on a few rare occasions. This might be one of them." Hades punched me in the shoulder; I turned on him with my eyes blazing.

"Don't touch me if you want to keep that arm," I growled. The demon wing on me flexed slightly.

The Lord of the Dead held his hands up. "Yeesh, okay, okay. Anyway, just deal with the kid and you're one step away from fighting Herc." My lips turned down in disgust. If I did not need Hades' help, which I was beginning to think was not required at all, then I would have killed him then and there.

"Accidents do happen," I narrowed my eyes as I looked at this kid Sora. If he was standing in my way of reaching my light, then I would go through him to get to her. A child was a child, but if he was fighting in the games, then he had to be ready to accept the consequences for what would soon happen to him. The satyr, Phil, stood up on a platform and bleated out in his broken voice, "The next contestant is Cloud Strife versus Sora and Company! All bets are on!"

I stepped away from Hades and moved down with the calm and easy grace that I had, walking slowly but surely. I locked my eyes with Sora's as I passed him, throwing towards him an image of someone he could not hope to beat, someone who would smash his body into the groun without remorse. Unlike the other contestants he did not flinch away from me. Heh, one point for the kid for having the courage to stand up to me. Perhaps this would be one fight worthy of me.

I was looking forwards to this battle.