Carter raced to the skies with his chariot. When he got there, Iskandar was already waiting for him. Iskandar laughs, “How is it, young man? This will be the new stage of our battle. Show me what you can do with that chariot of yours.” After Iskandar said a few words, he charges at Carter with his chariot.
Witnessing the incoming attack, Carter retaliates by pulling on the reins and charges forward. The two chariots clashed as they faced off. Their wheels clashed with neither chariots faltering. The same thing happened when they each went around for another pass. Utilizing his greater speed, Carter made a quick U-turn and caught up with Iskandar’s chariot. Carter rams his chariot to the side of Iskandar’s as they race across the skies.
Iskandar laughs again, “That’s the spirit young man. Don’t be afraid of a challenge. Face me with everything you’ve got.” The two chariots kept ramming against each other. Carter was spirited to prove his worth to the King of Conquerors, as he knew the man had many heroes in his army and he was able to lead them on a campaign of conquest.
“You wanna know what I’ve got old man. I’ll show you.” As Carter was ramming against Iskandar’s chariot, he took a calculated risk and released his grip on the reins, and proceeded to jump on Iskandar’s chariot. Carter successfully lands on Iskandar’s chariot and began attacking him at close quarters.
Iskandar could only retaliate to Carter’s attacks with one hand. With one hand firmly grasping the reins, Iskandar used his free hand to deliver a right hook. Carter utilized Achilles’ agility and ducks the hook and punches the king in the gut. Despite his thick armor, Carter’s attack was no joke. Iskandar felt the pain where Carter punched him.
Through their connection with the command seal, Iskandar requested his master to supply him with mana so he could heal himself. Barts agrees and transfers mana to Iskandar through the command seal. When Iskandar received the mana, he felt the pain go away. “That’s it young man, very good. Use your abilities as an advantage. Use the high ground. A true soldier must use everything to his advantage, even the battlefield, to win against his enemy.”
Carter blocks the coming right hook with his left hand and punches Iskandar in the chest, before giving him a right uppercut. Then elbowing him in the face as his face came back down. Iskandar was slightly dazed but he quickly recovers. He tries to hit Carter with a backhand but Carter catches it and hits the king’s back before smashing his face against the railing.
As Carter was pressing his head against the railing, Iskandar pulled out his xiphos and cuts Carter’s thigh. Carter staggers for a little bit before grabbing Iskandar’s hand and hitting it against the railing. After hitting against the railing several times, Carter finally managed to make the king lose his grip on the sword. Carter repeated the process repeatedly until Iskandar released his weapon.
With his weapon lost, Iskandar fought a lot harder. He manages to struggle free and grabs Carter’s head and slams it against the railing. When Iskandar released Carter’s head, and Carter got back up, he realized that he was dazed as he staggers to stay on his feet. “Young man, you must learn to take a hit. There is no such thing as a soldier walking out of a war completely unharmed. They must have been wounded at some point. As Carter was still dazed, Iskandar turns around and kicks him off his chariot.
Eddie watched as Carter fell from the sky. Kara was the first to react. She hurriedly flew to catch him as he fell. Several branches broke Carter’s fall before Kara managed to get to him just before he hit the ground. When they finally reached the ground, Kara placed him down and Carter fell to his knees and vomited blood. Despite taking Achilles’ form, and ability of invulnerability, he still felt the impact of the fall.
Carter vomited more blood before finally passing out. Eddie places Carter in his arms as he cries. Kara watched with worry at Carter who was lying in Eddie’s arms. As he was crying, Eddie yells out, “Oliver, we yield”. With those words, Oliver reappeared in front of everyone.
“Today’s battle has concluded”, when Iskandar heard Ruler’s decree, he rode his chariot and descended to the ground. Oliver took down his Reality Marble, and everyone saw their surroundings shatter before the sight of the theatre returned to view. Seeing that they had returned, Eddie quickly got to his feet and ran. He used his fastest speed and ran back to the DEO with Carter in his arms.
After Barry left the theatre, Kara and Saber wanted to continue the fight but Oliver stood in their way. “Stop Kara. I will not let you fight them. Tonight’s fight is over. I can’t let you fight him. Your chances of winning against him are far less than Carter’s. I think it would be best for you to cool off. I know how you feel but I’m duty-bound to oversee this war to its conclusion. You are not a master so I cannot let you continue this battle. Go back Kara, your time is better spent elsewhere. Saber, Lancer, the both of you should return to your respective masters.”
Oliver made his stand and the trio of heroes had no other choice but to fall back and return to the DEO. After they left, Oliver turns to the two masters of the Black faction, “You’ve seen what this war can do. You’ve seen the stakes. What you saw was one of the possible ways to end the battle. I suggest you take a cold hard look at tonight’s events and think about what you should do, who you’re fighting for, and what you’re fighting for?” Oliver turns around and walks away.
Despite not showing it, Eric Peters and Roger Barts were frightened. The scope of battle finally entered their minds. Previously, they only thought about winning the war, but what they experienced tonight poured cold water over them. The fights would not be won so easily, and there was a possibility for them to die in the coming battles. This realization frightened them.
If Stone’s death made them realize a possibility of death, then watching Carter confirmed it. “Eric, I don’t know if I wanna go down this path. The only thing I‘ve done is steal money from people. I’ve never had blood on my hands. I don’t wanna be a killer. I don’t know about you, but I’m leaving.”
With those parting words, Barts left with Rider. Eric watched the con man run away when Nero tapped on his shoulder to wake him up from his stupor. Eric turns around and sees Nero in one piece. “Umu, after the battle ended, the ice I was trapped in broke thanks to Ruler.” Nero made a proud declaration after regaining her freedom. Eric asks Nero, “Nero, is this war rally the right thing to do? Is granting the Professor’s wish really the right thing?” The battle that night birthed the seed of doubt in Eric Peters.
