Entrance
2294 Words
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The springtime of the Earth has shifted after the battle of two thousand years ago, so December is the new springtime, and this calls for celebration for many. Like how the marketplace around the Hades Coliseum is buzzing with festivities. There are flags hanging above the streets, pavilions, music, people having fun, children playing around, and fireworks exploding in the noon sky. Sander is feeling excited, yet nervous. He is wearing a family heirloom: An armor for the young warriors of their family. It has the color grey. He has a shield on his back, a sheathed sword on his left waist, and a helmet with a white crest on it.
He thought, "Man, I didn't think that I would get this nervous. I have been to many tournaments before, but not where I am gonna fight. Thank goodness my mother left as soon as possible after I completed my training, it would make me nervous if she watches me fight. My brother James took her place to watch me fight, but I want to make her proud, even if she's not here."
"Are you nervous?" asked James who's walking beside him.
"No, I, I... am not!" he yelled nervously.
"It's okay to be nervous. Remember how nervous I am when I got into the tournament? I was shaking very hard that my armor made clanking sounds." He laughed and Sander laughed nervously. "Don't worry, it will be gone once you enter the ring."
"I hope so...," he said with a sigh. Then James slapped the back of his neck. "Ouch! What was that for?"
"That's the spirit!" He laughed, and somehow it got rid of his little brother's anxiousness.
They headed to the back entrance of the coliseum. Up ahead, Sander saw someone familiar with someone that might be his mother, heading towards their destination. "Philip!" he called.
Philip heard him and he turned around. He wore black armor with a narrow blue cape behind his left shoulder. The details of his torso armor are designed to give him mobility. His main weapons are found on his steel greaves and sabatons. They are armed with spikes and hardened materials and are obviously made for him, because of his fighting style of kicking. His mother also recognized Sander and James, as they are the close friends of their family.
"Sander!" exclaimed Philip as he and his mother waited for them. Philip held out his fist, and Sander answered with a fist bump.
"It is nice to see you again, Mrs. Ruiz," said James.
"As I am, James," she said. "Your brother looks strong and ready to fight, isn't he?"
"Yeah! He really has his stuff managed!" he smiled brightly while patting his brother's helmet. "Mother went home to train him, after all."
"Oh, your mother! Then if she taught him, then there's nothing to worry about. I know how strong an sss she is."
"Thank you!" said James.
"James, you're embarrassing me," said Sander.
"And you are too embarrassed," he laughed.
"Well then," said Mrs. Ruiz. "shall we go?"
The two brothers nodded. Philip and Sander walked behind their guardians as they chatted. The two boys have their own conversation.
"Where's Leo?" asked Philip.
"I don't know," said Sander. "I never saw him these past three months. Do you think he survived Lord Enzo's training? Because as far as I know, the training he gives is enough to break someone's spirit."
"Don't say like you don't know Leo. He never gives up and finds a way in the process. I am sure that he completed his training, and he will surprise us with it."
"I hope so...," said Sander.
"Don't hope, BELIEVE!" He punched Sander's shoulder.
"Ouch! Okay, okay!"
Meanwhile, at the road, there's a limousine slowly going through the crowded road towards the coliseum. Inside, on the farthest seat at the back, there is a man with a suit. On the left seat, is Icarus with his shiny silver armor with a white cape. There is a crest illustrating an eagle on his chest plate that signifies his nobility and of his family.
"Win this no matter what, Icarus," said the man while smoking from a luxurious tobacco.
"I will, father," he said.
"And what I mean by 'no matter what,' is no matter how you do it, but quietly. You mustn't taint our name, as the heir of this family."
Icarus grinned. "You don't have to tell me that, father." The limousine entered the back gate of the coliseum and stopped at the entrance. A servant in a suit opened the door for them, and the people at the entrance started to get wary as they stepped aside to give way.
"It's Julius Nephos!" said someone in a whisper. "Give way!"
Julius wore his shades while his son followed behind him with pride. He walked straight, and everyone including Philip, Sander, James, and Mrs. Ruiz stopped walking. Icarus looked down on them as he passed by. They waited until they went inside the VIP room.
"Okay," said Mrs. Ruiz. "Let's go to the queue." They continued to walk.
The coliseum is packed with demigods that come from different parts of the demigod districts. The Poseidon and Zeus districts also held their own tournament, each having their own coliseum and different manner of conducting it. This time of the year is the liveliest day, as different demigods enjoy themselves at the week-long festivals, and meeting new people. There is also human media broadcasting the events to the rest of the human districts.
Just below the seat boxes of important spectators, two announcers, or the commentators of the event prepared to start it. The other commentator is a man. He wore this yellow suit with funky hair and tanned skin. He smiles and acts funky as his looks suggest. The other is a woman wearing a sexy red dress. Her hair is blonde, and her lips are red as a rose. She has this attitude that she knows how beautiful she is and tries to catch the attention of everyone. The crowd in the coliseum is buzzing and looked like they are ready for the show.
"Yo, people!" said the man. "Are you ready for the 2042 Hades Demigod Tournament? Let me hear it!" He held out his microphone while closing his eyes with an exaggerated expression.
"YEAHHHHHH!!!" shouted the thousands of demigods in the coliseum.
"How about you folks from the Human Districts?" There's no answer. "I can't hear you literally!"
Then everyone laughed. There was a huge screen at the top center of the coliseum, and the humans watching the broadcast from a hug screen were shown. They cheered loudly.
"Yeah! That's what I am talkin' about, dudes! I am your handsome host for this event, and I am-"
He held out his microphone and the crowd said. "Dope Jockey!"
"That's right! Short for DJ! I am hyped and you are hyped!" he screamed. "But before we start, we have a beautiful host for this event today, people! So let Ms. Beautiful introduce herself!"
She smiled and said, "Thank you, DJ! And thank you people of the Demigod Districts and the people of the Human Districts who are watching the once in a year Hades Demigod Tournament! I'm your host Ericka, and we welcome you to the 2042 Hades Demigod Tournament! Mwah!" She sent a flying kiss to the crowd and they all shouted very loud like the walls of the coliseum could collapse.
"I love you Ericka!" shouted some random person.
She just nodded and smiled as she waited for them to settle down, then she said, "Let us first introduce the most important spectators of this event! We give you your beloved Toparch of Hades District, Toparch Caesar!"
The crowd cheered as they saw the old man slowly walking out of the entrance and assisted by someone. He smiled as he waved his hand in a frail manner.
Under them is where the contestants prepare to enter the arena. They stood before the entrance, only hearing the hosts and the crowd, as well as the light coming from it. Philip and Sander were worried because they haven't seen Leo all this time. There are over a hundred contestants in the queue, but they haven't seen him among them.
"Philip," said Sander. "Where could he be?"
"I don't know!" he answered.
"This is bad if he can't make it before we get out of the queue, he is gonna be disqualified!"
"This is bad!"
Old man Caesar sat on his seat that's at the left of the bisellium. That's when DJ said, "Now, we introduce you..... a god!" They cheered. "He is here to scout some rookies who have the potential to become his subordinates for his special forces! He is none other than the God of Spears, Lord Damon! Scream for his presence people!"
They screamed as he walked out of the entrance. Seeing a god from Olympus is very rare even for demigods because the gods only come down from Olympus when it is urgent. Coming down from Olympus just for this event makes the people feel that the event is important and that they are glad to see a god in the flesh. Damon wore a very intricate armor with a color of brown and white with a fur cape, and a silver laurel on his head. He looks as godly as anyone could expect. He emits this mighty aura that makes everyone respect him.
He passed by Caesar and as the old man tried to stand up to show respect, Damon stopped him and said, "It's okay, Caesar."
"I am humble in your presence Lord Damon," said Caesar.
Damon nodded, smiled, and continued to walk to his seat that is at the right of the bisellium. He went to his seat but didn't sit yet.
Then Ericka said, "My friends, you might want to brace yourself for a moment because we are introducing you to someone very important." The crowd settled down a little when they heard her. "This has never happened before, but now that our King is Changing the Realm for the better, he sent us someone that will make us value this event even more! Everyone, she is one of the reincarnations of the Legendary gods of Olympus, she is a daughter of the King," The crowd began to scream loud. "She is the Goddess of Death, Mila!" The crowd cheered even louder.
All eyes were focused at the entrance where they expect she will come out, but then there's a stream of dark cloud from the sky that struck directly at the bisellium. There was a slight shake in the whole stadium, and the crowd was startled as the black smoke covered everything, then instantly cleared up. Then there she is, in her black gown. She had her hair fixed into a braided bun, and had her bangs above her eyebrows. Her arms are covered with black evening gloves. She even wore makeup with her lips in the color of black, contrasting her fair, white skin. She looked like she didn't want to be here, while sitting, putting her elbow on the right arm of the bisellium, and her head rested on her hand.
The crowd was confused to cheer or not because she just looked at them like she's in a bad mood. There are cheers, but only half of the total people.
"Let's give her a warm welcome, dudes!" said DJ and they cheered loudly again. Mila just stayed the way she was.
"Thank you for coming, Lady Mila," said Caesar while looking up to her, and she only nodded, but he was glad.
"Good day, Lady Mila," greeted Damon. "You're looking beautiful today." Mila suddenly frowned as he looked at him, and he knew he chose the wrong words to say. "Ah, pardon me," he apologized while averting his head.
Mila went back to rest her head on her hand while the hosts introduced some more important spectators who are demigods that have their place above the other opposite entrance. She thought, "I hate this! I hate this dress, this makeup, this place, these people, this hair, and everything! These two imbeciles may like this, especially that Aurelia is in the Zeus district right now, but I am against this! I've got nothing to see in this stupid coliseum. Father never listens to me, he'd rather listen to those two. Not to mention that this event will last a week! This is hell for me, even I rule hell."
"Now that all of our very important spectators of the day are seated," said DJ. "we will now move on to show ya a hundred young warriors that are ready to give ya a show!"
"Where are you, Leo?" yelled Philip as they prepared to come out of the entrance to the arena.
"Arghhhhh!" grunted Sander in frustration as they took their first steps.
"Now, here they come!" said Ericka. "A hundred of them are-"
Then there was a kid that jumped over the top of the bisellium. Mila saw the boy and was quite surprised as he landed on the arena just before the other warriors got out of the entrance. Everyone was surprised as the dust cleared up and they saw the boy's face.
"Leo!" exclaimed Philip and Sander as they entered.
He wore a cheap armor that can be bought from a shop in this festival. The hosts put away their mics and talked to one of the organizers, and confirmed that the boy is one of the contestants. They were told to carry on.
"He entered in quiet a fashion," said Damon. "Interesting..."
Mila also found him interesting, because it depends on the boy if Enzo can stay on Olympus or not. Her frown was gone, but she hid her feeling of interest by putting a straight face.
"I made it!" said Leo as he put a fist in the air before the people of the arena.
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