CHAPTER 2
The second day quickly arrives and almost no one is ready after partying all night only to find out that the second trial is already on going and everyone has to show up to their assigned coliseum to fight to have their strength determined by their assigned Pantheon.
"What a fucking drag" Hound says as he sighs "More than that I have to complete the challenge with you" he turns over to face Vapdra
"Why what's your problem with me anyway" Vapdra asks confused
"As if your betrayal yesterday could be forgotten" Hound replies
"Well yesterday was a whole different situation" Vapdra replies "I am just a little worried about Xynevir's performance"
"At least we can choose how we battle" Hound says "No way in hell I am teaming up with you"
"Wasn't really expecting it to go any differently if I am being honest" Vapdra responds
They both then make their way around the whole vicinity trying to determine which is their assigned colliseum since there so many all around but after asking around, they manage to fing their own. A simply designed coliseum with made out of white murble where there is a large amount of participants waiting there, which makes them the last to arrive. It takes a few hours of waiting before their turn comes at which point, it is close to midday and when their turn finally comes, they enter and find themselves inside in front a flying lantern known as Chōchin'obake which guides them up until the exit of the arena. Moving closer to the middle, Hound and Vapdra spot their trainers and as they keep moving closer and closer, Hound notices something and immediately spits out his sip of whiskey.
"Is that a fucking Furry" Hound points out confused
"I think that's just Wukong going by just his appearance" Vapdra says as he focuses his eyes to see in the distance
"I'm not talking about the over sized monke, I'm talking about the guy in the Lion onezie lion pajamas" Hound points towards him
"Wait a minute, is that Hercules?" Vapdra asks confused
In an instant both of the Silhouettes disappear in the distance and appear right before them
"No, I am Heracles" he replies "Hercules would have been my roman counterpart"
"What do you mean would have?" Vapdra questions
"If the Roman Pantheon existed so would Hercules" Heracles replies "People often confuse the names you see"
"OH" Hound replies "Anyways, why the fuck are you wearing the Nemean lion as an onezie fursuit anyways?"
"In all honesty It would have been a waste to cut it out, so I just ripped everything out, cleaned it and put it on as is" Heracles replies "Full body protection"
"Uh…huh" Hound says while internally questioning Heracles' statement
"Best thing is the Lion's soul finally came to terms with it and now it fits me perfectly" Heracles states proud
"Pretty sure that happened because you washed it several times and it stretched because of your build which is quite impressive" Hound states
"Why thank you" Heracles replies "But I'm going to stick to my belief because as someone once said, strong men are entitled to their own delusions"
"Suit yourself" Hound says mildly disappointed "Literally"
"So now that we got things sorted out, how is this going to go kids?" Wukong asks
"One on ones monkey boi, I'm taking your furry ass down" Hound provokes Wukong
"Very well, but be aware you tipsy bastard because your arrogance could be your failing point" Wukong respond without missing a beat
"Put those philosophies up your ass for now and let's see if you mean business" Hound continues provoking Wukong
"Just a head's up" Wukong replies "Since you fight against me, first hit wins"
"..." Vapdra remains there in silence
"Fine by me, first hit it is" Hound draws something out of his pocket and yells "The Hermit Upright" and as he does both him and Wukong are trapped within a small sphere
"The hell just happened?" Vapdra asks
"Lesson one never take your eyes off your opponent boy" Heracles says as he throws a punch that breaks the sound barrier
"Who said I took my eyes off of you" Vapdra says as the punch barely grazes his cheek while the area around his eyes becomes black
"It seems you aren't just playing around as it initially seems boy" Heracles replies
"You'd be surprised" Vapdra states retaliating with a kick to Heracles' ribs "Also stop calling me boy, my name is Vapdra"
"I'll remember it from now on" Heracles replies "Still don't expect me to have any openings" he continues lowering his hand which blocked Vapdra's kick
Meanwhile Hound and Wukong are starting their own battle within the sphere Hound's card created.
"A burned out and uneven land mass...multiple dead trees and mountains in the distance" Wukong looks around pondering as to where they were transported, Hound rushed in for a grapple but at the last second Wukong jumps backwards with a flip landing on one of the dead tree.
"But of course the 'Fighting Buddha' is just Monkeying around" Hound comments
After Hound says that Wukong gets visibility irritated but doesn't show it too much, instead he swallows his ego and keeps his cool. In the blink of an eye Hound stands behind Wukong and attempts a vertical blow on Wukong's head using his right elbow but Wukong dodges by ducking, to which Hound follows up with a low kick using his right leg to which Wukong responds by jumping and transforming into a bee flying around Hound. Hound then immediately tries to crush him using both his hands but Wukong escapes and rushes towards Hounds face to sting him but without missing a beat Hound materializes a modified one handed shotgun and with a spin grab, shoots towards Wukong's general direction. Several spins later Wukong dodges the all the bullet fragments. Hound isn't done yet and shoots again towards him which Wukong deflects by shape shifting back to his original size and swinging his staff in front of him.
"I expect better from you Derek" Wukong says "You did kill two Amygdalas didn't you?"
"How do you know my name?" asks Hound going forward to kick Wukong
"The eyes of truth obviously" responds Wukong dodging the kick "Both me and Heracles possess them, it's quite easy to learn things such as name and age"
Meanwhile Vapdra takes the initiative and kicks Heracles to his sides but the one hurting is him, Heracles gives Vapdra a disappointed look and goes for jabs which Vapdra dodges by back-stepping carefully looking at Heracles' form. Forty jabs in, Vapdra grabs Heracles hand, turns his back on him and in the same motion forces him on the ground, before Heracles can move a muscle Vapdra kicks his head hard enough that Heracles is sent flying to the other side of the Coliseum crushing on the wall. The dust from the crush slowly clears up and Heracles can be seen moving away from where he crushed holding something alongside him.
Within seconds Heracles takes a few steps and throws the object towards Vapdra, it is round, flat on the top sides looking like a part of the floor, Vapdra quickly realizes how big that part is and side steps out of the way barely dodging it due its speed. Having dodged to the side, Vapdra extends his hand to grab it and toss it back, but although he is able to somewhat brake its momentum, it feels too heavy for him to do anything besides trying to change its course which he manages to do and after a full turn, Vapdra tosses it back using its what's left of its original momentum. As the object is flying back towards Heracles, he has already taken a stance and just before impact, the boulder breaks after a singular punch turning into a thousand pieces, as he Vapdra notices that the part of the Coliseum that Heracles threw at him wasn't the floor but a whole section of the wall behind him which looks about ten to eleven times bigger than himself and a hundred times thicker.
"How the hell did you break that thing?" Vapdra asks as he is otherwise left speechless
"It wasn't even that Heavy, it only took one hand to break it off" Heracles replies
"Impossible" Vapdra thinks to himself "The material this Coliseum is made out of is way denser than Gold and he broke off a whole damn section using just one hand?"
"What happened there Vapdra, are you going to stay there for much longer?" Heracles says getting ready to attack
On the other hand Hound is still trying to land a hit on Wukong, even having summoned multiple clones of himself which fight against Wukong's own clones.
"Man you sure know how to make a fight interesting" Wukong says drinking sake
"Is that SAKE" Hound questions "You dare drink such low quality alcohol drinks in front of me?" he asks his bourbon
"What's wrong with sake?" Wukong asks irritated
"What's not wrong with sake is the real question" Hound states "Here drink this and repent for your sin" says throwing a bottle of bourbon at him
Wukong catches the bottle and takes his first sip put of it after"What is this, not even Nectar has this good of a taste" he says surprised
"This and a lot more are the products of humans trying to find a way to fill the emptiness in their life only to end up as alcoholics" Hound responds
"I don't care who makes this" Wukong says completely disregarding Hound "I don't even care from which eath this is from, but from now on this will be a stable on drinking nights" Wukong says thoroughly enjoying bourbon
"I doubt you can drink any more of this anyway, you have drunk way less than I and you're already way tipsier than me" Hound boasts
"Or so you say" Wukong replies
Wukong chugs down one fourth of the remaining bottle while balancing on his staff and without another word, he extends it, jumps off it and attacks the tree Hound is on. It doesn't take more than a touch to obliterate the trunk of the tree but while the tree is falls over, Hound is nowhere to be found. Moments later Hound takes a stance and unsheathes a blade, he took out of nowhere, before going for a horizontal slash behind Wukong, but to Hound's surprise Wukong has noticed him and leaps away from him drinking some more of the whiskey while hanging upside down from a tree to provoke Hound. Hound then takes out a new card that creates a mini-gun for him, which he then points the gun at Wukong and without a second thought starts shooting. Although the bullets are shot accurately Wukong evades every single one of them, by stumbling or rolling around which makes Hound question whether that happens because Wukong is drunk or either purely out of luck.
"Are you Neo from Matrix or something?" Hound asks as his eyes become wide
"I have no idea who Matrix is but at this point I think I am" Wukong replies almost ready to collapse
Hound immediately takes out his remaining Whiskey and chugs it down in one go and Wukong tries to follow suit yet he is unable to finish his. The moment the bottle is out of Wukong's mouth, Hound breaks his own bottle on the tree and rushes straight for Wukong with it as if they were in a bar brawl. Wukong dodges all of Hounds attempts to slash him but this time Hound notices that he at least manages to cut off hairs from Wukong's fur and so he pulls out a new card. The magician Hound yells and mist covers up everything, Hound hides within and as hard as Wukong may try, he is unable disperse the mist by swinging his staff around when suddenly, out in the distance Wukong hears a yell "The Tower Upright, The Empress" and before he can react Wukong hears a loud 'bang' followed by a massive object flying towards him, "I am too drunk to dodge this one" Wukong mumbles before the object makes contact with his face.
At the same time Vapdra and Heracles are closing the distance between them, they both consider multiple types of attack both having a grin on their faces. As they are almost face to face, Heracles seemingly makes the first move, a full frontal kick, Vapdra sidesteps to the left and kicks Heracles horizontally to his torso. Heracles barely feels the kick and swoops down and grabs Vapdra's legs forcing him onto the ground, without missing a beat Heracles forces his way on top of him and starts throwing blows at Vapdra mostly trying to get his face but Vapdra blocks them using his hands while trying to find a way to break away.
"Get...the fuck off me" Vapdra says as he tries to break away
"I have to hand it to you kid, you don't give up easily" Heracles says as he punches Vapdra's ribs
"How did I get so reckless" Vapdra thinks to himself "wait I can break off"
While down on the floor, Vapdra quickly dodges the last blow of Heracles and places both his palms next to his sides and pushes, with just one push Vapdra slides his body away from Heracles but as he is about to get up, Heracles gets on all four and chases after him the same way a lion rushes it's prey. The moment Heracles is almost ready to get on top of Vapdra, Vapdra drops his body weight down, places his palms on the ground next his head, gets curled up and the moment Heracles is almost above him, Vapdra pushes himself off the ground kicking Heracles' torso using both legs sending him a few meters away yelling "Fuck off". Heracles doesn't take too much time to recover from the hit and Vapdra noticing that, takes a new stance placing lowering his overall weight forward, knees bent and arms hanging to the sides. Heracles stands his ground expecting Vapdra to jump him the next second, but instead Vapdra's skin starts turing jet black whilst two pairs of dark bat like wings sprout from his back and lower back where his shoulder blades and his hips should be respectively. Heracles then takes a new stance also one similar to chinese Kempo lowering his center of gravity and bringing his hands forward expecting a full frontal attack.
"I think it's high time we end this" Vapdra says
"Give me your best shot" Heracles replies
In the blink of an eye Vapdra dashes to the right with a loud thunder following him but Heracles holds his ground and remains vigilant, Vapdra continues doing the same dashing from side to side increasing his speed while lowering the distance between them. Ten dashes in and the soung of the thunder is noticeably slower than Vapdra's movements. Five more and Heracles loses sight of him but keeps on counting the thunders and it is at the twenty fifth that he feels a strong pain in solar plexus and lowering his head, he notices Vapdra kicking him with a frontal spiral side kick that barely moves him an inch from his position and as Vapdra is about to fall back, Heracles uses a hand thrust to strike Vapdra down. Heracle's blow manages to incapacitate Vapdra whose body doesn't even manage to bounce after the hitting the ground but instead caved in ten centimeters. Mere moments later the sphere where Wukong and Hound were fighting disappears and Wukong emerges falling down next to Heracles while Hound falls a little behind Vapdra sliding to the front before coming to a full stop almost next to Vapdra's body.
"That took more time than it should have" Hound says
"Impressive you took down Wukong" Heracles says surprised
"And you took down Vapdra" Hound replies "Expected"
"He did break a few bones honestly" Heracles says
"Yeah…well it would have amounted to something if my insides hadn't become paste in the process" Vapdra snipes
"Then this marks the end of the challenge" Hound states "I presume"
"Yes, yes it does" Heracles replies "Good luck at the rest of your challenges"
"What about Wukong, his face seems a little busted" Vapdra questions getting up as if nothing had happened
"It seems to me more likely that he is drunk" Heracles replies "Based on the smell alone at least"
"Tootles furries" Hound says leaving Vapdra behind
"I see" Vapdra replies "Well then…see you later then"
A few moments later after both Vapdra and Hound have exited the coliseum
"So what comes next?" Vapdra asks
"Paperwork" Hound replies
"You serious?" Vapdra questions
"What else is there to do?" Hound asks
"Well, Robin said that he is giving us a tour" Vapdra says "A tour of how traveling works at least"
"And?" Hound asks
"And you should come along" Vapdra replies "Paperwork can wait"
"Paperwork can never wait" Hound responds "Paperwork must be done and submitted at the earliest possible time"
"Hey Penny" Vapdra yells
"Could I assist you in some way?" Penny replies
"Is paperwork really that urgent?" Vapdra asks
"No due to multiple reasons one of which the lack of communication with the fleet" Penny explains "Paperwork is not necessary and can be handled with at a later time"
"It's settled then" Vapdra replies "You are coming along"
"Thanks a lot Penny" Hound tells her directly
"No problem" Penny replies out loud
"I am going to pick up Xynevir and you pick up Mesta, we will most likely be waiting at the gate" Vapdra says running off
"Crist" Hound mumbles
At the same time Mesta was heading off to his assigned coliseum for the second trial where he is greeted by a very small line of people waiting to get inside. While waiting, he tries to hold a conversation with some of them but he finds it impossible since they struggle to communicate in the first place and none of them seems particularly interested to talk with him. Time goes by quickly as he looks around the place while juggling a coin up and down using his fingers to fight his everlasting boredom until he is let in the coliseum where Mesta follows a Chōchin'obake that while being the guide, it also lights up the way. After a few minutes of just walking Mesta reaches the arena, finding himself inside a small circular arena which bigger judging from the coliseum's outside, it should have been significantly bigger and there he is greeted by an God having long red hair, a white beard, siting on a floating arm chair resting his feet on the lap of a woman.
"And you are?" He asks bored
"I am named Nurt Mesta…" Mesta replies
"Nesta…welcome" he replies "It seems you are the last to take up the strength trial, so you can take as much time as you need…just don't take too much time"
"Understood" Mesta responds confused "But would you mind telling me your name?"
"Ah yes of course, I am Math the magician king of the Welsh" Math replies "You are very blessed to be in my presence"
"Math…like mathematics?" Mesta questions
"Another unfunny one" Math sighs "I have that joke for the hundredth time already…my name is Math Ap Mathonwy or Math Fab Mathonwy, you can call me whatever suits you"
"I'll just stick to Math thank you very much" Mesta replies
"Alright" Math says "Now that the introductions are done and since you are dead last…" he looks around "You can fight either Taliesin or Tegid Foel"
"What's the difference between them?" Mesta questions
"Well Taliesin is the clever god of sorcery while Tegid is the bald god of sorcery" Math replies
"Perfect" Mesta thinks "I am brought here by a lantern yokai, then I meet mathematics personafied as a feetphiliac ginger dilf that gives me an amazing dilemma for enemies, cleverness or boldness…as if this couldn't have gotten any weirder"
"So" Math states "Have you made a decision"
"The bold one" Mesta declares "I mean if he is bold, I'll probably see what magic can do and quite possibly outsmart him"
"Okay" Math says excited "But I didn't say bold, I said bald" he says as a bald guy with a red beard, hazel eyes and a green leather armour appears before him after a small smoke explosion
"Wait bald…not bold" Mesta asks "That his distinction that he is bald?"
"I am both bald and bold" Tegid replies "But people mainly remember me due to my bald head"
"That's sad" Mesta sighs
"Fair" Tegid replies patting his head "But you should assume a stance"
"Alright" Mesta says cautiously "But any rules?"
"Stay conscious for 3 minutes" Tegid replies
"No restrictions?" Mesta asks
"No" Tegid says turning his head "So are you ready?"
"Ready" Mesta replies
Mesta quickly takes his stance ready to attack, but Tegid makes the first move as his first spell is ready shooting him forward like a bullet and the moment it hits Mesta, Tegid's full momentum is transferred to Mesta along with the damage from the hit and he crashes onto the wall. Mesta's body takes a few minutes before getting unstuck but when it does it falls right off and Mesta lands on his feet with his knees almost giving in while his head is tilted downwards, his eyes gazing the ground.
"I can't lose consciousness" Mesta thinks "Not yet"
"You're a sturdy one I'll give that much" Tegid says moving in on Mesta while conjuring another spell
Mesta mumbles the word 'assess' "Alright his stuff is made out of wood except for that crystal, might be amethyst but both it and the arena are compatible with my power"
When Tegid finally gets in Mesta range, Mesta dashes towards him and Tegid casts his ability which shoots multiple magical arrows towards Mesta but he manages to dodge them due to their speed and fixed trajectory. When Mesta is in arm's length of Tegid, he goes for a punch but Tegit hits his staff on the ground and Mesta is pushed back by a strong air current, Tegid then puts his left hand to the front and then quickly brings his right hand from the front of his left to its back creating a magic arrow that hits Mesta, who struggles to find his footing, on the torso crushing him once more on the wall. When the arrow disappears, Mesta looks down to find his torso still intact even though his insides are killing him. His body slowly starts to fall down and when his feet touch the ground he grabs one of the falling debris eats it and then immediately squats. Within a moment Mesta jumps to the side avoiding a punch about to take him out and starts running, when Tegid is about to take a step, he stumbles confused, falling down face first as if the ground beneath his feet just vanished. Half way to the ground Tegid is punch to the face by Mesta using his full body weight behind the punch sending him flying to the side. While Tegid is rolling on the ground due to the force of the punch, Mesta extends his right hand with an open palm and then closes it.
After a few rolls Tegid snaps back and with a quick movement, gets back kn on his feet and he pulls his stuff to his side, it immediately crumbles. Tegid fails to notice Mesta coming at him until he is kn arm's reach at which point Tegid barely moves his right foot forward and Mesta feels something swiping his feet backwards and he falls flat on the ground. When Tegid is about to reach for the staff's crystal, he feels a pain to his right and after a quick look, he notices a knife stuck in his shoulder blade.
"A knife where did that even come from" Tegid silently questions "The spell i used didn't reveal any hidden weapons" he thinks pulling out the knife hearing Mesta coughing and struggling to breathe
"Come on Tegid" Math says disappointed "The rules are clear no spells that directly damage them"
"But i didn't use any spells" Tegid replies
Mesta shortly after gets up and quickly shakes off whatever made him cough and Tegid notices the crystal from his staff in Mesta's left hand which becomes dust the moment he notices it. Mesta lets out a grin which fades the moment Tegid starts casting fireballs and throwing them with mere flicks of the wrist. Mestamanages to avoid them quite easily just by running because even though their impact and intensity are nothing to scoff about, Tegid's marksmanship is way off and their launching speed is laughably slow. After a few of the fireballs, Mesta finds himself in the middle of the arena and as the fireballs stop he notices Tegid conjuring with his left hand the same spell he used in the beginning.
"Shit" Mesta thinks "He is out of my range but i am not out of his" he braces for impact
Tegid shoots himself with the spell and Mesta throws his body weight downwards as he materializes a triangle shelter. Tegid fails to stops his spell and he uses the shelter as a ramp shooting himself up in the sky and as he is not only shot forward but his body is also spiraling vertically, he crushes on the wall head only and his body goes limp falling and crushing on the arena floor. Mesta doesn't miss a second and runs makes a small jump and on his landing he squats and he does another superhuman jump landing hell first a few centimeters away from Tegid's head and his body weights shifts forward, his heels get lifted and he uses the momentum to decapitate Tegid's head using his full swing slash. As his knife is about to reach him, his body freezes completely stopping his knife a few millimeters away from Tegid's head.
"That's a wrap mister Nesta" Math says having intervened in Mesta's attack with his own magic
"Mesta…" Mesta replies
"What ?" Math questions
"My name" Mesta sighs "It's Mesta not Nesta"
"Yes yes" Math says disregarding Mesta "You pass with flying colours" he continues releasing Mesta from the spell and fully healing him