"Is everyone ready!?" The Announcer spoke to the crowd, giving time for everyone on the arena floor who wasn't a slave to escape. "Then lllleeeettttt's BEGIN!"
Materializing above the arena was a giant clock made of light, counting down from thirty minutes. Unsure of what to do, I stood patiently for the beast to appear, taking time to get more familiar with the arena. Besides the thick layer of fine sand that made the arena floor, a few large boulders were littering the area.
"It's quiet." Eddy noticed the eerily still atmosphere. "Like a forgotten grave."
A few seconds had passed when I felt some strange, ferocious presence fast approaching from somewhere, then I felt the ground tremble.
"Eddy!" I picked up Eddy and hurried to the nearest boulder; halfway to the boulder, a gigantic serpentine creature sprung from the ground and swallowed a least a dozen slaves. "What the hell is that!?" I got myself and Eddy to the top of the boulder.
"I don't believe it." Eddy gulped, his face going pale. "A Metal Worm."
Getting a better view of the 50ft creature as it dove back down, taking a few more people with it, it looked like its body was coated it metallic plates, with no eyes, and a giant mouth with rows and rows of sharp teeth. Despite the difference in size and appearance, the Metal Worm reminded me of the Graboids from Tremors.
"I'm guessing they burrow through the ground, then popping out when they sense food is close," I told Eddy.
"That's not even the worse part, those metal plates along their bodies make it impossible for regular people to kill." My new halfling friend commented. "If you got your hands on some dynamite, you'd have one chance to kill it, but if you blow that there's no chance of tricking it again."
"Damn, we don't any explosives or a rope." I looked at the clock, eight minutes have already passed. "If I don't come up with something fast, I miss my chance to escape."
"THERE IS NO-" Before Eddy could finish his rant, I silenced him by giving an intense stare. "Please, if you try to fight that thing, you'll die. Just give up."
I decided to ask him an important question. "Are willing to give up seeing your family again?" I stared at the last sighting of the Metal Worm. "As it was going down, I noticed a small opening in the armor as the creature bends. If I can get close enough while it goes down, I might be able to get a cut into the flesh and then use magic to blast it apart at the wound."
Eddy was silent for a long moment before replying. "When I give the signal, attack. My natural perception is sharper than yours. Meanwhile, I'll get it distracted."
I smiled at him. "Thanks, but you know, if I kill it, I'll be the only one who gets set free." The truth was harsh but accurate; the announcer said only one slave would be set free.
He gives me a small laugh. "Despite my youthful appearance, I am a 46-year-old man, I've had my taste of happiness, but you still got years left of living ahead of you." He handed me the picture of his wife and kids. "My wife's name is Jillian Stoop, my son's name is Ander, and my little girl is Bree. Tell them... tell them, 'Your dad loves you very much, and he's sorry he wasn't strong enough to see you both grow up.'. You owe me for this."
Using his swift sprinting, Eddy ran around the boulder to draw in the Metal Worm. I looked at the clock, we now had less than half the original time. Watching the ticking clock got me nervous, but my nervousness shook even worse when I could feel the vibrations of the Metal Worm about to appear. Similar to when it first appeared, it appeared from the ground, but instead of swallowing up slaves and staining the sand red in blood, Eddy was able to avoid getting swallowed up by jumping out of the way at the last moment. I willed Shaka to go into its sword form and waited for his signal.
"NOW! BEND IN THE NECK" Eddy screamed for me to act.
Leaping into the air, I blasted forward to the small gap in the Metal Worm's armor; striking into the gap at the right angle, I hit the skin with enough force to pierce into the outer layer of flesh. With Shaka firmly in the giant worm, I needed to hold on for dear life as the creature thrashed around. Shaka was in, but I would need to go further to be certain; taking a risk, I had Shaka morph into a pike that skewered the worm through the other side.
"It's now or never!" Pouring all my mana into Shaka, I created a magnificent explosion that blew the head of the worm clean off, but also sent me flying towards the ground at high speed. Utilizing what little mana I had left, I made a counter thrust to make the crash less dangerous. "10 minutes!" I looked up and saw the clock was just now passing the ten-minute mark.
The crowd overcame the silence and went into a roaring cheer as the slaves began to approach the remains of the Metal Worm. I went to the center of the carnage to find Eddy and my weapon; discovering the latter in a pool of blood, I went it back to its bracelet form, wiped off the excess blood on my pants, and put it back on my wrist. The worst part over, I exhaled as I waited for the announcer to say something, but my overconfidence was short-lived as I could feel a presence behind me.
"What the hell!?" To my surprise, the head that I popped off was slithering towards me at a fast rate.
The disembodied head would have gotten me, but tackling me out of the thing's path was Eddy. "Stay down." he ordered me; he reached into his coat and pulled out a vial of something. "This stuff is nothing to joke about." After popping off the cork, he threw it into the mouth of the Metal Worm.
Stopping, the worm began to turn a sickly green and foam at the mouth before thrashing on the ground, a second later it died on its back.
"What the hell was that?" I asked Eddy.
"One of my side businesses was dealing in contraband, that was a vial of strong poison I was planning to sell before we got captured. Good thing too, I was worried I need to use it here as a suicide option."
A few seconds later the timer tick 5, then 4, 3... 2... 1... 0. When it finished ticking, the announcer floated down to me and Eder along with two men, both looking like humans but with orange skin.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! For the first time in 1,000 years, a slave has defeated the Metal Worm!" He moved closure to me. "Now, owning up to our end of the deal, the slayer is given their freedom!"
The two other men approached as the crowd gave me giant applause. "Show us your seal, and we will remove it." One of them said, holding up a magic tool that looked like a glowing erasure.
Freedom... I never thought I'd need to fight for that before. I was about to present the seal on my chest, but when I moved my jacket, I felt something in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw it was the photo Eddy gave me, the one of his family. Looking back towards my fellow captive, I saw a proud look in his gaze as he smiled at me. … This may be the stupidest mistake of my life... but it's the right thing to do.
"Wait!" I stopped them. "I wasn't the one who killed it!" My response surprised everyone in attendance as I pointed to Eddy. "I was the one who beheaded the Metal Worm, but the one who killed it was Eder."
"Kid, what are you doing!?" Eddy looked at me in disbelief. "This is your only chance at freedom!"
I looked at him, scared but certain of my actions.
The two officials checked the worm's head, finding that it did indeed die from poisoning. Using the erasure, they wiped away Eddy's seal, who then ran towards me.
"Why did you do that? You said you have people you want to get back to?" He looked at me, almost begging for me to take back what I said.
In response, I showed him the picture he gave me. "So do you, I'll find another way. Until then-" I removed my wedding ring and handed it to him. "Go find my wives, Rana and Lanie, their traveling with a mercenary group called Lost Fang, along with a scholar named Louis. Tell them where I am and what's happened to me, show them my ring as proof you know me. And Eddy." I kneeled to look him in the eye. "Promise me you'll be a good husband and father for your family, it was because mine was so good that I'm who I am now."
With my final words spoken and my ring trusted to Eder, the officials herded me back with the other slaves; heading with them, I look back to give Eddy one last, sad smile. I was unsure of how I'll escape, but I will never give up trying until I'm reunited with my loved ones again.
On my life, I can promise that.
