As the roar of the crowd grew, Cirrus and Ottar’s minds went silent. Being of sound mind and body, the two adventurers reached for their weapons as if it was their body’s natural response.

Shiing!

Shiing!

Ottar drew his great sword and remained firmly in place.

Cirrus drew his one-handed great sword and rushed forward with great speed, easily covering the distance between the two.

‘Fast.’ Thought Ottar as he could see his emerald eyes through his mask. A faint and distant memory flashed across Ottar's mind before he pushed it down to deal with the enemy in front of him.

"RAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!"

Cirrus came down with a heavy overhead strike.

Clang!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The sound of the two blades clashing rang through the place, quieting everyone as the match had just begun.

Ottar, with his clashing blade, moved his blade to deflect it, causing Cirrus to swing his blade down into the earth.

"You need more experience," Ottar said as he was about to go for a solid punch.

"I agree."

"?"

With the tips of his feet now grazing the ground, and with great strength, Cirrus twisted his legs to his hips to his shoulder to his wrist to swing the blade out of the way of the ground with all the force of the earth and his body.

Click!

"??"

Ottar could hear a click as Cirrus was coming in with a swing. His instincts told him to move out of range.

With each passing second, Ottar had his eye on the blade, and each time his instincts were yelling at him to get out of the way until finally, he saw Cirrus was two-handing it.

"!!!!!!!!"

Ottar quickly jumped back as the swing came in.

Swiiiiiiish!!!

The force of the attack sent out a strong blast of wind, damaging the wooden walls of the Colosseum and sending up a powerful gust of wind toward the spectators.

"!!!"

Ottar made a mistake in what weaponry Cirrus was using. Cirrus wasn’t wielding a great sword, he was wielding a spear that could become a great sword. The price? A fairly deep gash under his chest.

Seeing this, many smiths immediately had the biggest grins on their faces, as they never had thought to make such a weapon.

Hephaestus turned to see Eupheme with a big smile on her face as well as she had so much pride and happiness on her face.

Not even looking at her goddess, she said.

"There is still more to show!"

 

Back to the fight. As Ottar jumped back, he quickly tried to draw his other great sword.

‘No. I made an error! ’

Ottar looked to see a magic circle appear over Cirrus’s hand.

Under his breath, Cirrus quickly muttered.

"(Damocles)."

The swing of the spear became unnatural to all who were watching as it made a smooth 90-degree angle.

‘Another overhead strike!’

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Clang!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Using his great sword to block it, the earth beneath Ottar broke apart, as did some of the great swords.

"!!!!"

Ottar knew from experience that this wasn’t the strength of a level 5 or even a level 6. No, this was the strength of a level 7, with the speed and reflexes of a level 8. Everything in Ottar told him that this was someone he should have taken seriously from the start, a true monster who blew every other adventure out of the water.

He couldn't help but smile; fighting an adventure with so much potential in front of him felt like a gift from the gods, a second chance to face off against the Zeus and Hera Familia monsters.

Ottar used his skill exclusively to specific tribes of Beast Humans, Beastification. His body bulged in power, his muscles contracting and detracting, forming the optimal shape and form.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

With a beast-like strength, he swung the strike back. Cirrus jumped back, regaining some distance.

 

Back on the stand, everyone was breathless. In just a matter of seconds, Cirrus had managed to push Ottar to use his Beastification.

"N-no way…" Allen was amazed. They pushed Ottar to this point so fast.

"Seems we placed our doubts on the wrong adventurer," Mia said. "That kid really is a beast. He’s the very definition of a monster! Even more than Silence or Empress, shit, my hands are shaking thinking about how much he can grow stronger! "

Freya had a face of pure, utter exhilaration, awe, envy, and what they could only describe as primordial lust. Freya wanted Cirrus to the point her children could see her eyes being clouded by her emotions.

The only reason she has done nothing is simply for two reasons. One was that she was in the dungeon, and two, she wanted to see more, more of this fight!

‘MORE!!! MORE!!! SHOW ME MORE!!!!!!!!’

Many of the gods watching had the same mix of emotions and true pity for Hermes to have lost this genuine treasure.

 

"L-Lord Hermes? Are you alright?" Asfi said, looking at Hermes, who has a massive smile.

"I am! I’m simply relishing this fight!!"

 

Up in the stands, the sheer number of actions that happened in such a short amount of time amazed the Loki Familia.

"Loki…" said Finn.

"Y-yeah?" she said, glancing over at him. "!!"

She sees Finn’s thumb throbbing intensely. He had to hold it down.

"Zephyr… he’s a genuine monster! I don’t know how he could hide this level of power, but he’s strong! Far stronger than we gave him credit for!"

"Aye… I have never seen Ottar get pushed this bloody far quicker than when he fought the elites of the Zeus and Hera Familia." Gareth said.

"… What’s more, Zephyr is a mage. It was brief, but I saw him with a magic circle appear over his hand to give him that weird movement of his spear." Riveria said, with eyes focused on the fight.

"A mage… so he's a Magic Swordsman!" Exclaimed Loki.

"Not entirely. He can fight on the vanguard with no problem, but he has nothing for the rearguard." Finn said. "But seeing this, I doubt he doesn’t have a way to attack long-range with magic."

 

"That weapon…." said Tsubaki. "It’s incredible! To shift from being a great sword to a spear of the user's choosing!" She had the stars in her eyes while looking at it.

"I can see why it’s impressive!" Hephaestus said. "And with Zephyr using it, he’s really showing it off!"

"Hm… but he hasn’t fully used it yet."

"…Eh?"

"The Brilliant Nightmare has yet to fully shine!" she said in a deadpan, excited voice.

"… Brilliant Nightmare?" Tsubaki and Hephaestus both look at Eupheme with confusion as to why she called it that...

 

"So… do you think you can beat Zephyr?" Phi said, looking at Alise.

"Grrr!! Yes, I can! No, I will!!"

 

Walking through the halls of the Colosseum, Ai was tracking Cirrus’s scent.

Sniff! Sniff!

"Hmm… he should be close!"

She runs in the arena's direction.

 

Back at the arena, Cirrus looks across to see Ottar in his beast form and steam coming off his body. Cirrus swings his sword spear, increasing the velocity of the speed at which the weapons spin around him.

He takes a deep breath and gets into a stance that shows he’s ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

"Ahhh…. Can you smell the game?" Cirrus’s grin grows ear to ear.

Ottar, with eyes focused in on Cirrus and his every movement, watches him get into a stance himself.

"All I can smell." He said this in a gravelly voice, as though he was holding something back. "It is my victory!! COME!!!!!!!!!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! Cirrus obliged, screaming his heart out. With all of his speed and body weight put in, he throws the spear.

The spear cuts through the air like a meteor coming down to earth.

Ottar tightened his grip on his sword and, with a powerful horizontal swing, he came in to strike the spear away when he saw Cirrus had already caught up with his spear but had it in his hands.

Cirrus went in with a stabbing motion, and Ottar quickly blocked.

Clang!!!!

Ting!!!!

Cirrus continued the flurry of quick attacks, each one ringing through the arena until Ottar deflected one and started his assault with devastating strength and speed.

Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!!

Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!!

Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!!

Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!! Ting!!!! Clang!!!!

Cirrus can dodge all the attacks, but Ottar was able to quickly pick up how he fights. It only took about a minute or two for Ottar to make this equal based on his wealth of experiences.

Ottar was reflecting all of Cirrus’s attacks, but Cirrus himself could dodge all of Ottar’s attacks. It was a game of cat and mouse until one of them messed up, and sure enough,

Crack!!

"!?"

Having realized Ottar would have a wealth of experience, Cirrus needed to keep Ottar on his toes and never let him get too complacent, or else it would be him who would get cut down. Cirrus had already damaged one of his great swords, so why not finish it and limit his attacking and defending options?

‘He broke my sword! That’s why his attacks were so strong; he was aiming to break my sword! ’

Ottar could see Cirrus’s grin had grown even more than when the fight started.

Click!

Once again, he heard that click, and the handle of the spear shortened to that of a two-handed great sword.

With the split-second change of weaponry, Cirrus got past his defenses and take advantage of this opening.

Cirrus cut into Ottar's left forearm, where his broken blade was destroyed. Cirrus then twisted his body and muttered his chant as his magic circle appeared.

"(Damocles)."

Cirrus spun at an impossible speed for him to cut into Ottar's lower torso.

"Guh!!" Ottar retaliated by using his left hand to grab Cirrus’s horns firmly. "Your mistake!!!" Ottar went in with an overhead slash when Cirrus let go of his weapon and once again, his magic circle appeared behind Cirrus.

The golden antlers in his hands disappeared into the air as Ottar heard Cirrus utter.

"(Exousía, Adorn: Erymanthian)."

And he sees another piece of armor appear from the circle and quickly wrap itself around Cirrus’s left arm as it went in close for a punch and then.

THUD!!!

"!?!?!?"

Ottar was struck so hard he had thought it was a Monster Rex.

Ottar as he was struck, and the armor covered didn't yet cover Cirrus’s exposed face. Ottar knew who he reminded him of, The Empress.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

On reflex, Ottar swung his fist, punching Cirrus in the face.    

"!?"

‘Shi-THUD!!!!"

Both Ottar and Cirrus were sent flying. Ottar got sent back a few feet away. Cirrus, being 10 years old, got punched across the Colosseum. Using the time, he skidded off the ground to slow himself from not hitting the wall. Cirrus’s Erymanthian armor covers his body.

He found himself away from where he had started the match. He touches his face to find it heavily damaged.

‘Shit, my brain is… rattled, nose… is almost broken, teeth are pretty loose… I can’t… imagine a punch when he’s in a better position. ’

Cirrus wobbles a bit from the impact.

It took him a good minute to get his bearings back. He held out his hand and chanted.

"(Damocles)."

The sword spear then magnetically flew right to Cirrus, grabbing it out of the air and returning to its spear form.

‘I really hope he—‘

Getting up again, he sees Ottar getting up, still with a fire to keep going.

"Fuck." he said under his breath, with a big smile unbeknownst to him.