Most, if not all, acolytes who were present in the Grand Hall immediately turned their attention when Arcana's [Eye of Mistra] showed its might. It, after all, was a renowned skill that was both feared and hated by those who had experienced it firsthand.
Even with him trying to close his eyes, Thrax was still unable to get away from the Divine skill. After the bright light originating from the eye shone over him, the Immortal Gladiator dropped the huge glaives in his hand and his defense was wide open.
Seeing such a sight, a haughty smirk returned to the child-looking acolyte's face.
"Hahah. you shall enjoy the pain."
The Divine skill brought those it entranced to an illusion of their deepest pain, which in Thrax's case was his past.
It was the arduous time when he fought against the Roman soldiers who came back rushing at him like an unstoppable tsunami.
A specific moment in time when not a single part of his body was not stained with blood.
A time when one of his arms held a spear while the other held the hand of a certain important person tightly.
A memory that had been locked deep in the recesses of his mind.
"Sara!! Hold my hand, we are charging in!!
That certain person was his dear wife. Someone who had been engraved in his heart ever since he was a child.
"Just leave me! Save yourself!!"
"No! Never!!"
Hundreds of Romans surrounded them in all directions. That time, they manage to break his spear and even his spirit.
If only that time he was strong enough.
They were both captured, separated, and turn into slaves
He couldn't even stay by her side when his wife became a Roman plaything and died.
"Arrghhh!!!! SARRAA!!!!"
The scene shifted, but what he saw next was no less terrible.
A scene of a mountain of corpses filled with familiar faces. The slaves and gladiators – people who had died because they had followed him.
He had promised them all freedom, but he failed and instead pushed them to death.
"You all died so miserably... All because of me!!"
He walked towards the hill of carnage, seeing the faces of all those who had fought for him.
He continued until he suddenly stopped in his tracks, taken aback by what he was seen lying on top.
The dead body and faces of his friends;
Chumo, Klea, Emery, and even Julian. All of them died with such dread, their empty eyes open as if they were staring at him.
"No!! No!! Who did this!?! I will kill them all!!"
What came next once again startled him.
Thousands of shadow figures surrounded him. Tens of thousands; humans, orcs, elves.
A glimpse of memory flashed in his mind, telling him that they were all the people he had slaughtered. The agony they felt the moment before their death under his hand.
"You killed us!"
"You slaughtered us!"
"All for nothing"
"You fail! You fail"
Thousands of ridicule and anger came from all of them, swirling inside his head mercilessly.
Thrax roared loudly in anger, unwilling to accept such fate.
"No! No! I will not fail!!! I will slaughter millions more if I have to!!"
"I will!!"
At that moment, Thrax felt as if something within him exploded. His blood churned rapidly as his body violently shook, while his mind was filled with nothing but a promise he had made, one that he would not break.
Slaughter! Slaughter! Slaughter!
"Arrghhhh!! Slaughter them all!!''
[You have grasped the comprehension of the law of Slaughter]
[New skill learned - Blood Rage]
[Spirit force increase exponentially]
[Battle power increase exponentially]
***
"Aaarggghhh!!!"
The audience was all shocked when they saw the frozen figure of Thrax suddenly jerk violently and roar like a wild animal.
"SLAUGHTER!"
Arcana was in a state of utter shock seeing that his opponent was able to break free from his Divine skill. A chill ran down his spine when he saw the bloodshot eyes staring at him.
It was such a terrifying presence that Arcana felt as if his spell backfire at him, frozen still. It was as if he was hypnotized by his opponent.
"No!! No way…this cannot be!!"
Arcana couldn't accept that such a thing would happen to him.
Upon that realization, Arcana immediately used his skill again. This time, instead of showing his opponent's worst nightmare, he tried to calm the madness that wreaked havoc within his opponent.
"Brother! It's me, Arcana! Do you remember? We fought together before!" said Arcana as he urged his skill to work.
Unfortunately, nothing worked instead only further angered his opponent.
"Arrghh!! you shall die for that!!"
Terrified, He forced himself and readied his sword to fight, however looking at the rampaging man, charging towards him, Arcana subconsciously took a step back before eventually running away.
He shot himself to the sky, but Thrax follows him with the help of the cape and smashes him down with his two arms.
Baaaaammm!!
Arcana can feel one of his bones break with that one punch. Although he still has his spell to protect his body, at this moment, he realized that he could not win. Therefore, he quickly shouted.
"No, no! Wait! I surren–"
Before he could even say his surrender, the Immortal Gladiator flew down with a knee right into the man's abdomen, instantly making him throw up blood.
Thrax continued with his punches. Although it seemed fortunate at first that the gladiator was unarmed, this actually made the referee decided not to stop the fight right away.
BAAAMM!! BAMMM!!
"Arrghhh!!! He..!! Arrghh!"
Arcana's tried to resist, but he couldn't even have a chance to speak, much to parry the attack.
The several blows took out half a dozen of his teeth and broke several bones apart from a concussion and send Arcana to a half-death state
Seeing the child-looking acolyte helpless in the Thracian's hands, the magus referee finally stepped in and declared his victory.
"Thrax wins!"
With that announcement, Thrax's place in the top 32 was guaranteed.
The crowds cheer for the bloody fight but many of the audience fell silent as they watched the brutal scene unfold. They didn't react because they still didn't understand what was happening.
How could a simple elite acolyte escape the famous Arcana special Eye?
Only some of the magus and knowledgeable ones could see the emergence of Law from an unexpected underdog.
On the other hand, the bloody scene in the arena brought cheers to a certain group of three people who were previously shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere.
"Thrax!!! Yeahh!!! You did it!"
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