Nico is standing there. It doesn't seem that he's hurt, but he looks confused.
'What is he doing here!?' I panic a bit.
Willy grins, 'We caught him snooping around, back in our palace. It was amazing though. He didn't even leave a single trace of step, we didn't even know that he was there until Eos told us.'
'Let him go!' I yell to Willy.
'Not unless he wins against one of us.' Willy smiles wickedly. 'A son of Hades is just too much of a prize to simply just let go.'
I was mistaken. I though that they might not be that bad, but the sons of Poseidon are all the same. They're all just as twisted as their little brother, Jonathan River.
I need to help him, I need to get Nico away from here. I glance at Lisa, giving her a subtle signal. She understands and nods back. Lisa and I are about to run and jump off the box, but before we could do that, Marcus snaps his fingers. Vines start to grow, and then it binds Lisa on her seat.
Lisa struggles, but it just binds her even tighter.
'Do not be foolish.' Marcus says.
'You too, Annabeth.' Willy warns, and then vines appear and bind me to my chair as well. 'Besides, we're at the bottom of a lake. You can't leave unless we allow you to.' Willy says.
'Now then!' The dolphin continues. It faces the audience, 'Let me hear your choice!'
Most of the audience scream out 'William!'. The choice is obvious.
I look at Nico. He looks a bit confused of what's going on, but he doesn't look scared.
I can see Marcus from the corner of my eyes, whispering something to Lisa.
Willy gets off from his seat, he looks ready to fight. I try to think of a way of getting out of here, but I can't think of anything. The sons of Poseidon got us trapped in this place, and it's almost impossible for us to escape.
'Wait, brother.' Marcus stops Willy right before Willy jumps off from the stadium box.
Willy looks back at Marcus, like questioning what Marcus wants from him.
'Let me fight this one.' Marcus pleads.
Willy looks a bit puzzled, 'The audience requested me.'
'I know. But let me fight this one.' Willy stares at Marcus, full of curiosity. 'Why do you want to fight him?'
'I have my reasons.' Marcus replies. He answers with a solid tone, he has no intention to tell Willy why.
Willy looks like he's thinking, 'The audience wouldn't like it.'
'Then I'll give them a really good show. One they would even crave for more.' Marcus answers.
Willy pauses for a moment, and then he takes a step back. Marcus takes a step forward, for the audience to see.
'What's this!?' The dolphin looks shocked, but it looks like it's faking its surprised look. 'It appears that instead of Lord William, Lord Marcus would be the one fighting this battle!'
The crowd boos Marcus, they don't look pleased at all.
'I thought that you're different.' I sneer at him.
Marcus glances at me, 'I am.' Marcus jumps off the stadium box, into the field. He lands perfectly on his feet.
The crowd still dislikes what they see, but Marcus ignores them, and walks to the dolphin announcers. He's saying something to him, but I can't hear anything from here.
I turn to Nico, he's examining his surrounding, like trying to understand where he is. He finally realized that I'm right here, tied to my chair, his face is like 'What in Hades' name are you doing here, Annabeth?'
He looks like he's worried for me, but I'm pretty sure that he's the one in trouble right now.
I struggle around, trying to break free, but my efforts are wasted. I look to Lisa, thinking that maybe she has a better luck than me. Strangely, Lisa looks calm. She has a worried look on her face, but she looks calm. She's not struggling one bit. She keeps her eyes on the field.
'Mermen, and mermaids!' The microphone is in Marcus' hand now, the dolphin announcer already walks back to the iron gate. 'Cyclopes, fishes, and any other beings here.' Marcus addresses the audience. 'My apologies. I know that you all want my brother, William, to fight!' Marcus points to Willy, and then he turns back to the audience. 'But I fear that my brother is tired... He has been waging a war against Olympus. He must save his strength.' The crowd boos Marcus again, they don't appear to accept that reason. 'I know that I am not the champion that you chose for this fight! But let me make amends!' He pleads.
One of the iron gates open, and then two mermen wearing gladiator helmets walk out of there heading to Marcus. They're carrying a black thick looking rope.
'I shall fight this son of Hades, with one hand tied behind my back!' Marcus declares.
The crowd goes wild after hearing Marcus' announcement. Marcus has complete control over the audience now.
The two mermen are now right beside Marcus. Marcus hands them the microphone, and then they strapped his left hand to his backs. Marcus' left hand is also tied to his neck. I recognize that type of tying, if Marcus moves his left hand, the rope would also strangle Marcus at the same time. The more he tries, the harder the rope is going to strangle him.
The two mermen leave the field after they're done tying Marcus' hand. The duel starts right after that.
Nico unsheathes his blade, he has his battle face on. Marcus on the other hand has his normal face on. He doesn't seem to be taking this seriously. I can't help but feel relieved a bit, Nico is a great fighter, I'm sure that he can defeat Marcus if it's like this.
'Do you feel that he is safe now, Annabeth?' Willy smirks full of meanings. 'Let me tell you something about the man named Marcus Rain. He is a direct descendant of the witch Circe herself, Marcus excels at combat magic and spells. His strength has been said to equal Heracles himself.' Willy has an evil look on his face, 'He is a magic warrior, the most powerful one in the history of demigods. With his blade and magic, he is nearly invincible. His choice of weapon...' Marcus takes out a blue orb, the size of his palm, out of his pocket. He squeezes the orb, and then the orb shrinks at a fast rate and it expands again, but it expands as a 'Greatsword.. or as he likes to call it, Destroyer.' Willy continues.
Marcus swings his greatsword to the ground. The name Destroyer fits the sword. It lengths almost five feet long and it's almost a foot wide. Anything that gets hammered by that sword will definitely get destroyed. Ironically enough, the Atlantis' Sapphire makes the blade looks beautiful, like a sea trapped in form of a weapon.
Marcus holds the greatsword with one hand, and he even makes it look easy, like picking up an apple. It gives me clear information that he has a massive strength, anyone that can pick up something like that with one hand and not break a sweat is definitely not normal. Willy isn't lying, even with only one hand, Marcus is still a terrifying opponent.
At that moment, bits of information begin to appear in my head. The name Marcus Rain starts being really familiar right now. A demigod that wields a greatsword that big, his incredible strength, a descendant of Circe and a son of Poseidon, the fact that he lives in the same era with Sophia Hunt. It suddenly hits me, who he really is, and what he's capable of doing.
'Ironheart…' I mutter to Willy.
Willy smiles wickedly, 'Very good, Annabeth… I should have expected you to be able to recognize him.'
If Marcus really is who I think he is, then Nico is in a really big trouble. Nico realizes that Marcus is a dangerous opponent, I can see it in his eyes. He's more cautious than ever. I'm glad at least Nico doesn't seem to be underestimating this fight.
Marcus and Nico are walking in circles, facing each other. After a minute or so, Nico makes the first move.
Nico charges at Marcus, trying to get close to him. It would disable Marcus to attack, it was a good move. Nico moves in really fast, and Marcus has yet raises his blade.
I don't know why, but for some reason it doesn't feel right. I can't help but have a bad feeling about this.
I was right. Marcus propels his blade above his head once, it's like he's using a small and light normal gladius. By the time Nico realizes this, it was too late. Marcus sends Destroyer, crushing to Nico's side. Nico does the only thing left, he puts his blade to the side, attempting to block Marcus' attack. Marcus' blade strikes Nico's blade, Nico blocks it beautifully, but Marcus breaks the block, and sends Nico flying to the air. Nico falls down to the ground but not before he hit the walls that surround the field.
The crowd goes wild after what just happened. Me on the other hand, my heart races really fast. It was just a simple attack from Marcus, but it was executed perfectly. His strength is unrealistic, it is almost unbelievable.
Nico gets up, his legs are shaking and his clothes are torn off. He's bleeding from the corner of his lips. That one impact from Marcus' attack must have hurt him a lot more than it looks.
Nico breathes heavily, he's trying to get his strength back. Marcus looks like he's thinking for a moment, and then he plunges his blade to the ground.
He mutters something, and if I'm right, he's casting a spell. Three wind blades form in the middle of air, Marcus sends them to Nico. The wind blades slice everything, they're fast and sharp, they leave a nasty cut on the ground. Nico leaps to the side, dodging the wind blades. The blades strike the walls, and it leave three holes on it.
I took my eyes of Marcus for a moment, and so did Nico. When we look for him again, Marcus is already in front of Nico. The wind blades were merely distraction.
Marcus left Destroyer on the ground, he's basically planning to brawl it out with Nico, using only one hand.
Marcus swings his arm wildly. Unlike what I saw on Yukimura, Marcus doesn't seem to be able to use martial arts. What I'm seeing right now from Marcus is just pure street fighting.
Nico dodges them all, despite still catching his breath. Nico fights back, thrusting and slashing. Marcus dodges them all, but Nico grazes Marcus everytime Nico attacks. Nico finishes up by a flying kick, Marcus stumbles back, but he doesn't fall. There are small cuts all over Marcus' body, courtesy from Nico.
The crowd cheers for Nico, I guess they liked what he just did. I can't help but smile, Nico might just win against Marcus.
Marcus regains his balance. He approaches Nico again, Nico readies his stance. The moment Marcus steps into his range, Nico lunges and plunges his blade on Marcus' stomach. Marcus didn't react, or at least that's what I thought. Nico's blade strikes Marcus, but it didn't go through. Somehow, it looks stuck in Marcus' body, even Nico himself looks puzzled as he tries to wiggle his sword free.
'A body that is forged by years of training, willpower, and strength.' Willy smiles wickedly, 'Even a son of Hades will have troubles breaking through it.'
'Even if he did break through it, Marcus swayed a little to the side.' Yukimura shows up from behind. 'The son of Hades struck nothing more than just flesh. Marcus' organs are safe.' Yukimura says.
I turn back to Nico. He's trying to force his sword free. He is so focused in doing so, he doesn't see Marcus' fist until it's right in front of him.
Marcus' punch connects to Nico's face. I can only imagine the pain Nico has to deal with right now.
'Nico!' I freak out in that instant, Nico just got punched by Marcus' monstrous strength.
It sends him flying, crashing into the wall. Nico falls face first, and helplessly to the ground.
The crowd is silent for a few moments, and then they roar in excitement. They begin chanting Marcus' name.
Marcus grabs Nico's collar, and then he drags them to the middle of the field.
Nico is unconscious, that much I can tell. Horror begins to fill my head... What is he going to do with Nico? Oh gods... In a colosseum, even if the opponent is no longer able to fight, the decision of life and death is given to the host of the game. In this case, that would be Willy.
I struggle even more, trying to break free. Willy won't hesitate to end Nico's life, and I have to stop him.
It's useless, the binds are too tight. I can't escape without any help.
I check Lisa's condition, hoping that she has more luck than me, but she still just sits there obediently. She focuses on Marcus.
I groan, and then I turn to Willy. I swallow my pride, 'Please! Let him live!' I plead to him, a bit desperate.
Willy turns to me halfway, he smiles, understanding what I meant. 'I don't make the decisions here, Annabeth. I'm a contender, even though I'm sitting here. That decision rests with the audience. After all...' Willy looks to the audience, 'All of these, they're all for them to enjoy.'
Marcus stands proud in the middle of the field. He waits for the audience to speak. The dolphin announcer runs back to the middle of the field, right after he enters from one of the iron gates.
'Have you ever seen anything like that!?' The dolphin's tone is like trying to incite a riot. The crowd cheers in pleasure, they liked what they just saw.
'This is the power of Lord Marcus Rain!' The dolphin declares, and the crowd follows up with another cheer.
'Now then.' The dolphin calms down. 'What shall it be, for this son of Hades! Shall we grant life to the Ghost king!? Or shall it be death..?' The dolphin asks grimly.
The crowd begins cheering 'Death!', and for a moment there, all hope seems lost.
'Mermen, and mermaids!' Marcus addresses the crowd, suddenly the microphone is already in his hand. His left hand is still tied behind his back. 'I have a request, that I would like to make.'
The crowd's cheers died out slowly.
'This son of Hades... Has provided me with amusements... I felt his blade, pierced through my body, and it was painful...' Marcus says. The crowd begins murmuring. 'I have felt his power... And I believe that he would grow even stronger! Therefor, I would like to plead, to give him life!'
I'm shocked and surprised, and partly happy. A smile begins to form on my face, as Willy's smile vanishes. Lisa exhales in relief, on the other hand, she looks like she has been expecting something like this. Did she know all along that this is going to happen?
Yukimura sighs, 'Marcus and his kindness. It's a good thing that he's awfully strong. Kindness kills people.'
Marcus continues, 'Give him life, so that he may grow stronger! And in time... He would return here, and fight me again, and give pleasures to all of you!' Marcus incites the crowd. The crowd response in a cheer, and then they begin chanting, 'Life!'. Soon enough, everyone in the colosseum is chanting the same thing.
Willy stares at Marcus, and then he just sighs.
Marcus drops the microphone to the ground. With his one free hand, he picks up Nico, and then puts Nico on his shoulder. Marcus walks out of the field, and into one of the iron gates.