Chapter 7:
Thomas awoke sometime later to the sound of a cheering crowd. As he stood up, he looked around and saw that he was on a stone platform sitting on the water. The platform was surrounded on all sides by a golden bars, caging Thomas inside. Thomas peered through the cage and saw that he was in some kind of enormous grotto. Several boats were parked at the cave's entrance.
The ceiling was extremely high and covered with stalactites while a walkway lined one side of the cave. A large structure, elegantly adorned with golden columns and colourful banners, was positioned on top of this walkway. The structure contained several rows of pews upon which hundreds of spectators sat, including Valnykuluk, Kunpaetku, and several other cultists.
"Wh-Where am I?" asked Thomas.
"Ladies and gentlemen," boomed Dampierre, "You see before you: THOMAS HUNTERRRR!"
The crowd erupted in applause. Thomas looked ahead and saw Dampierre addressing the crowd from the walkway at the foot of the fortress.
"Hey!" snapped Thomas, "What's going on here? Where am I?"
Dampierre ignored him and continued entertaining the crowd.
"The almighty vanquisher of Soul Edge seeks a worthy opponent," continued Dampierre, "Who here will rise to the challenge and conquer the legendary hero in glorious combat?"
"Oh God," thought Thomas, "This is a colosseum…And I'm a competitor!"
Thomas ran to the bars and gripped them tightly. He stuck his head through and tried once more to get Dampierre's attention.
"Damnit, Dampierre!" cried Thomas, "I refuse to be a part of your game!"
Dampierre spun around to face Thomas with a finger placed against his lips.
"Shhh," he said, "Don't spoil this for me! The crowd absolutely adores you! You're a legend!"
"I don't know who you think I am, but I am not some hero or some warrior! I found Soul Edge through sheer luck, nothing more!"
"Of course I know that…But the crowd doesn't have to! Just play along for me, will you Tommy-boy?"
"Is that the reason you sold us out? To have me in your side-show, huh?"
Dampierre spun back to face the crowd again.
"I ask again," he said to them, "Is there anyone brave enough to take on Mr. Hunter?"
Dampierre place his hand against his ear and pretended to listen.
"Hmmm," he said, "What's that? Why, yes! It appears we have found someone! Ladies and gentlemen, please give a tantalizing round of applause to our challenger, the Mighty WILHEEEEELM!"
Two Fygul cultists standing on the walkway began turning a large crank. As they did so, an elevator descended from the cave's ceiling onto the arena. An enormous man stepped off of the elevator and approached the center of the ring, brandishing an axe that was almost Thomas' height.
The man was nearly seven feet tall, with his entire body was covered with armour. Only his eyes and parts of his mouth were visible through small slits in his helmet. The top of his helmet was adorned with two large ox horns. The man appeared human, yet he snarled and grunted like a wild animal.
"Dear God," said Thomas.
Thomas slowly drew his rapier and began to back away from Wilhelm.
"This is it, folks!" announced Dampierre, "The battle of the century! Only one will emerge victorious, so start placing your bets!"
"How the hell am I going to get out of this one?" wondered Thomas.
"READY?" yelled Dampierre, "FIGHT!"
Wilhelm raised his axe in the air and cheered before viciously charging Thomas. Thomas leapt out of the way, causing Wilhelm to crash into the iron bars. The audience responded with a chorus of "Ooooh."
Wilhelm spun around and tried slamming his axe down, though Thomas managed to sidestep the blow. Thomas ran up to Wilhelm and tried to impale him with his rapier, but Wilhelm's armour absorbed the blow. Wilhelm chuckled and dislodged his axe from the ground. He swung it horizontally this time, forcing Thomas to somersault under it. Wilhelm grunted angrily as Thomas ran to the other end of the cage.
"It seems the champion's going to have to do better than that!" laughed Dampierre.
Thomas wondered how it was even possible to kill a man so heavily armoured. His only hope now was to escape.
"Come and get me!" taunted Thomas, as he removed his blue coat.
Wilhelm snorted and charged at Thomas once more. This time, Thomas jumped out of the way at the very last second while throwing his coat onto Wilhelm's face. Wilhelm crashed head-first into the cage, momentarily disorienting him. Blinded, Wilhelm screamed in confusion as he struggled to remove the coat from his face.
"Now's my chance," thought Thomas.
Thomas ran to the corner and attempted to climb the iron bars, though it was no easy task.
"There's no getting away from this fight," chuckled Dampierre.
Thomas had barely managed to climb a few feet before Wilhelm succeeded in removing in the coat. He then swung his axe at Thomas, forcing the young man to push himself off of the bars and onto Wilhelm himself.
"Got you!" he said.
Thomas climbed onto Wilhelm's back, enraging him. As Wilhelm began thrashing about, Thomas tried to remove the warrior's helmet, but instead fell off and hit the ground. Wilhelm laughed as he raised his axe high and slammed it down, prompting Thomas to roll out of the way.
As Thomas stood up, he almost couldn't believe his eyes; his companions suddenly appeared among the audience members. A small sense of relief overcame Thomas even though his predicament was far from over. It wasn't long before Dampierre became aware of the intruders.
"How did they get here?" he demanded, "They're going to ruin the show! GET RID OF THEM!"
The cultists in the crowd drew their weapons and assaulted the group. Fortunately, Johan and his men were there provide assistance. The colosseum quickly descended into chaos as the fighting intensified and the civilians in the crowd began to panic and disperse.
From the arena, Thomas could hear an exchange of gunshots, accompanied by the clashing of swords. Despite his concern for his companions, he had a more pressing matter to attend to. After dodging another of Wilhelm's blows, Thomas was kicked to the ground. While lying face-up, he could see the elevator Wilhelm used to descend into the arena.
"Of course!" said Thomas.
Thomas stood back up and ran to the edge of the cage.
"KYRIA!" he shouted, dodging another blow, "THE ROPE! CUT THE ROPE!"
Kyria, having just cut down a cultist stared at Thomas, confused.
"THE ROPE!" repeated Thomas, "ATTACHED TO THE CRANK! CUT IT!"
Kyria looked around and saw the crank he was referring to; it was the one that the cultists had used to lower Wilhelm into the arena. Kyria pushed her way through the crowd and reached the walkway below, where she was intercepted by two cultists.
"Damnit," she muttered, raising both of her sword and shield in defense.
Meanwhile, inside the cage, Thomas led Wilhelm to the centre of the platform by backing up slowly.
"Alright," said Thomas, "Just a bit closer…Oh, No!"
Thomas began to panic upon seeing that Kyria had not yet reached the rope. Thomas now stood in the centre of the ring next to an angry Wilhelm.
"Come on, Kyria!" he pleaded, ducking under another swing.
Wilhelm used the handle of his axe to strike Thomas in the back, completely winding him and sending him to the floor. Wilhelm raised his axe in preparation for the finishing blow…
While fighting off one of the cultists with her sword, Kyria used her shield to smack the other in the face, knocking him into the surrounding water. The other cultist kicked her in the gut, causing her to fall on her back. From the ground, Kyria kept her sword firmly pressed up against his.
"May the gods guide my hand," she prayed.
Using her free hand, Kyria threw her shield at the crank like a discus. The flying shield struck the rope, severing it. This caused the massive elevator to descend rapidly onto the arena. Wilhelm halted his execution and glanced upwards before being crushed by the heavy object. The impact was so powerful that it shook the arena and caused all four of the cage walls to come crashing down. Fortunately, Thomas had managed to roll out of harm's way.
"Ugh," said Thomas, rubbing his head, "Let's hope gladiatorial combat stays dead for good this time…"
Thomas stood up and collected his rapier. He approached Wilhelm, who was still barely alive, despite the massive elevator crushing his spine. The wounded man lay face-down on the stone platform, whimpering and moaning like an injured puppy while slowly raising his head to look at Thomas. Thomas pointed his rapier at Wilhelm's face and plunged it through the slit in his helmet, piercing his eye. Wilhelm let out one final inhuman scream before collapsing dead.
"This is not going well," said Kunpaetku, "Valnykuluk, I recommend getting out while we still can!"
"Grrr," growled Valnykuluk, "Very well. Let's go!"
Amidst the chaos, the two priests snuck out of the colosseum, along with an entourage of cultists.
Thomas decided to join his friends at the stands. One of the fallen cage walls created a convenient bridge that connected Thomas to the walkway. There, he saw Dampierre attempting to sneak away from the action.
"You!" said Thomas, pointing his rapier, "Where do you think you're going?"
Dampierre stopped in his tracks and spun around.
"Are you speaking to Le Bello?" he asked.
"You're damn right I am," replied Thomas, "You have a lot to answer for!"
"Oh, come now," laughed Dampierre, "Surely, we can work something out. How about we call a truce, hm? Put 'er there!"
Dampierre held out his hand as if to offer a handshake. As Thomas approached Dampierre, a small dagger popped out from inside the man's sleeve.
"OOPS!" he cried.
Dampierre charged at Thomas in a comical manner and delivered blow after blow, forcing him to block. Dampierre followed that up with a failed corkscrew kick that sent both he and Thomas to the ground.
"Ow, ow, ow!" cried Dampierre, standing back up, "STUPID!"
Once Thomas got back up, he ran to Dampierre and prepared to deliver another blow. Dampierre cowered in fear, holding both hands above his face. This prompted Thomas to stop his assault out of pity.
"Fell for it!" laughed Dampierre, "Got you right where I want you!"
Dampierre slid under Thomas' legs. As Thomas looked around, confused, Dampierre kicked Thomas in the rear end, sending him flying forward.
"GENIUS!" he cried.
Frustrated, Thomas stood back up and tried to cut down Dampierre, though the latter blocked with his daggers. Dampierre retaliated by tilting his head back and sneezing directly into Thomas' face. As Thomas clutched his face and staggered backwards, Dampierre followed up with a Russian kick-dance that knocked him further back with each hit.
"Le Bello the Magnificent!" laughed Dampierre.
"Enough of this!" snapped Thomas.
As Dampierre continued his kick-dance, Thomas slide-kicked Dampierre, tripping him.
"YOU COWAAAAARD!" he screamed, as he fell backwards.
Dampierre attempted to stand back up, but Thomas impaled him through the shoulder, pinning him down.
"AAAAARRGH!" Dampierre screamed, "Please, have mercy on Le Bello!"
"Give me one good reason I should spare you!" said Thomas.
"Remember that offer I made you?" Dampierre groaned, "The one for your wife? It still stands…"
Thomas twisted his rapier, causing Dampierre to scream further.
"Thomas!" said Christine.
Thomas turned around and saw Christine and the others approach him. She ran to Thomas and hugged him tightly.
"Oh, Thomas!" she cried, "I thought you were dead!"
"So did I," said Thomas, "I had no clue if I'd ever see you again!"
"It's unfortunate Dampierre got away," said Johan, "But at least my men and I were able to help restore some peace to the city."
"Dampierre didn't get away," said Thomas, "He's right…"
As Thomas turned around, he saw Dampierre had mysteriously vanished, leaving behind only the rapier and a small bloodstain. Thomas looked around in confusion.
"I swear to God," said Thomas, "He was here a moment ago! Where could he…"
"It's alright, Thomas," said Kyria, "Forget it. We're just glad you're okay. We managed to kill most of the Fygul Cestemus here, though some got away, including Valnykuluk and Kunpaetku."
"They escaped via a hidden exit," said Sarpedon, "I pursued them as they ran, but they had collapsed the tunnel, blocking me off. If only I knew where it led to."
"Where are we, anyways?" asked Thomas, "How did you even find me?"
"With his help," replied Kyria.
Just then, Cepheus entered the scene.
"Forgive me," he said, "They told me to wait until the coast was clear."
"You?" said Thomas, "But you betrayed me!"
"No I didn't," pleaded Cepheus, "Please understand! The cultists had bribed two soldiers to find and capture Valeria. They threatened to kill her unless I cooperated! When I found out you had already saved her, I tried to undo my mistake, but it was too late."
"My word," said Thomas, "I-I had no idea..."
"We were attempting to find another way to reconnect with you," explained Johan, "That's when we ran into Cepheus. He returned the artefacts to me, then told us about what had happened to you."
"So where exactly did they take me?" asked Thomas, looking around.
"This colosseum," said Cepheus, "Is inside of a cave on the fringes of San Servolo Island. I've heard stories for years of a place where the rich gathered to indulge in raw combat, but I never thought them to be true. Not until today, anyway."
"We were able to find its exact location by raiding Dampierre's office," said Johan, "He had been planning this little 'show' for some time, it seems."
"When I found out you were still possibly alive," began Christine, "I literally cried with joy. I just had to save you!"
"It's okay now, Christine," said Thomas, "Thank you. Every one of you."
"Listen," said Kyria, "We cannot linger here, or we risk the Fygul Cestemus regrouping. Dampierre's boat is docked right outside this cave. We will use it to sail to Greece."
"We'll take care of Cepheus and Valeria," said Johan, "We will bring them to a safe place far from this city."
"Of course," said Thomas.
"Just a minute," said Cepheus, as he placed a hand on Thomas' shoulder, "Thomas, I appreciate all that you've done. Things haven't been easy since my good friend, Lord Rosso – Valeria's father – Disappeared without a trace two years ago. It is good people like you who keep my spirits up."
"Don't mention it," said Thomas, "I just have one question; at the prison, when I set you free, I heard you say: 'Thank the gods'. Does that mean you…?"
"Yes, Thomas," laughed Cepheus, "I am Pagan, like your companions here. Growing up in Ottoman-ruled Greece, my family was never popular due to their unorthodox religious beliefs. We have been forced out of homes at one time or another."
"How awful!" said Thomas,
"Indeed," said Cepheus, "It is the reality we sometimes face. Listen, I understand this all new to you, this business with the gods. You may not have faith, but just know that what you are doing…It is a very important thing, and we are all counting on you. I wish you the best of luck on your journey."
"And I wish you luck on your ventures," said Thomas.
"Alright then," said Sarpedon, "We best get a move on. There is little time to waste."
And so, the group loaded whatever supplies they had onto Dampierre's boat and sailed away from the grotto. As they left the harbour, they waved goodbye at Cepheus, Johan, and all of the mercenaries who had helped them on their quest.
Their next destination: Greece.