Where The Dead Ones Go Book 2 -Republic-

Chapter 18

"...and there goes the daughter of Athena charging bravely and defenseless! If you would let me have a guess, folks, this will not end well for her!"

The announcer might be right for our close friend is currently being bombarded by endless torrential arrows from the heavens.

"Merge and reflect, elucidate, fragile ice to my foes! Ice Element: Crystal Assault!"

Gala pointed her sword at the ground as she ran and summoned forth tunneling ice crystals that snaked its way towards the archers.

"Athena: Owl Strike!"

Capitalizing the momentum, she turned the splitting crystals into owls that began to fly and raining crystalline feathers at her two opponents that forced Apollo's son to defend themselves.

"Apollo: Solar Barrier!"

From his glowing hands appeared a light shield that protected him and Artemis's hunter from the vicious owls attacking them.

The relentless arrows stopped, and my close friend used this moment of respite to close in the distance between her and the fleeing archers trying to keep an optimal length of firing.

"Athena: Divine Weaving!"

From Athena's daughter's left hand erupted silk ropes that head straight for Rhona and Photos' ankles and stopped them effectively from fleeing.

But it looks like a child of the goddess of wisdom's warlike persona. Her control over her other finer powers is severely lacking for the ropes that she conjured cannot entangle anymore than their feet as they decided to focus fire on her.

"Apollo: Solar Arrows!"

"Artemis: Lunar Arrows!"

With the combined attack of the scions of the goddess of the moon and god of the sun and the absence of her mother's shield, she is left to fend for the attacks herself.

"Athena: Finest Hour!"

Morris and I just respected our closest friend's bravery and skills even more for she thrust her sword on the ground, and while kneeling, she radiated a grey aura that allowed her to stand firm against the barrage of arrows that she is facing.

"She is using her very own life force to make a last stand! Everyone, this is an honor beyond words! You are all witnessing her moment of glory, folks!"

The announcer himself stood up and touched his chest as a sign of respect to our classmates who refused to back down and put her very own life on the line for the cause while the audience followed his suit and stood up and paid respect to her inevitable honorable end.

"Gala!" I cried out her name as she began to waver and succumb to her injuries.

"Vivet, you are doing her disrespect," my cousin told me as he put his hand on his chest like the rest of our friends, "What she needs now is not pity but admiration."

I looked at her again and nodded as I put my right hand on my chest and thanked for the chance that we met her and became her first friend.

"You are indeed a worthy opponent! Worthy enough to be ended by my strongest attack!" Photos shouted as he aimed his golden bow and summoned an arrow made of the very sunlight itself, "Apollo: Corona Shaft!"

The son of the god of truth let loose a shot so powerful, and it razed the grass and the very earth below it with the heat of the sun as it travels towards Gala, who looks at it calmly.

"Hera: Serene Transference!"

Gala's shield appeared in front of her in a split second right before the arrow hit the daughter of Athena and the resulting explosion is just awe-inspiring.

It is not like the explosion that I have endured back at the republic.

That looks like a primal power unleashed without restraint. However, this one looked like it is the sun itself bursting forth in the middle of the battlefield.

So bright, blinding, and warm...

"Vengeful and vindictive, rage, queenly winds answer my call! Wind Element: Heran Cyclone!"

From above the skies came a powerful current of wind that descended to the battlefield behind the Heavenly Queen's daughter, who is now raising her lotus staff defiantly.

"This wind's strength. It is weaker than my father but far more relentless and restless!" Zenith exclaimed as he used his power to shield our class from the angry wind circulating the colosseum, "It is the very wrath of Queen Hera herself in the form of wind. It won't stop until it makes the target of its vengeance suffer! To think that this would've elemental magic is insane!"

Taurei just looked at his sister fearfully, who is now looking entirely different as her face is now contorted with utmost anger and wrath, "This is one of the most closely guarded incantations of mother's temple only taught to the High Priestess or High Priest!"

"You said that I will need more than one cow to defeat the one who is blessed by the goddess of the haunt..."

Avesa's quiet voice was carried by her winds around the colosseum as Rhona's eyes widened in fear, the Olympian princess spread her arms gracefully.

"Hera: Cattle Stampede!"

The cyclone ravaging the entire colosseum rushed to the back of the High Priestess, and from it appeared hundreds upon hundreds of translucent cows charging straight for the archers in a magnificent bovine horde that no one will be able to stop.

"I hope you have enough arrows..."

Avesa said in a sarcastic voice as the hunter of Artemis futilely tried to shoot the cows, but they are just too many.

The horde finally gets past the daughter of the goddess of wisdom, who seemed to be unaffected by the stampede of wind cows as she clings on her sword for support.

Rhona can't seem to get away in time because of the silk ropes that prevent her from running, so she just gets trampled upon the rampaging cows and finally lost consciousness.

However, it seems that the son of Apollo still has an ace on his sleeve.

"If I can just defeat her, it is all over for your damned section!" he then grabbed his arrow and supercharged it with solar energy before using it to destroy the ropes entangling him, "Apollo: Flare Flash!"

In a blast of sunlight, he disappeared and then reappeared above the skies before Avesa's stampede reach him as he hovered and aimed his arrow at the defenseless daughter of Hera.

"Apollo: Truth Shaft!"

The arrow flew from his bow and headed straight for Taurei's sister, but our vice president did not have any of his nonsense.

She finally stood-up and transformed her sword into a spear made of grey ice and threw it into the air, "Athena: Pallas Spear!"

The spear she conjured destroyed the arrow and head straight for Apollo's son's heart that was rendered defenseless at it stopped just a few inches away from his chest before the gong sounded, signaling the end of the match in our favor.

"Now "that" is strategy! The Auxiliary Class is unstoppable! The class of Ms Lina Peregrine is on a winning streak! How far can they maintain it?! Find out after our ten minutes break, folks!"

Morris and Taurei descended to our classmates as Vaski quickly went through Gala's side and helped patch her up.

Avesa seemed to use way too much power than she was supposed to since she is coughing blood, but she looks only worse for the wear as she and Gala hugged at each other tearfully.

"That is a rather risky strategy, but knowing Gala, it is bound to work in the end," Eonia said in a sigh of relief as she looked at Syden and me, "Now, the last two matches fall upon your soldiers, and I warn you, they are getting desperate."

"And awfully festive," Narcine piped in as she pointed at the sections of Class Two and One are already celebrating their victories early, "Confident, are they?"

Rebie shrugged her shoulders as she glanced at the son of Koalemos and me in my arm, "Can you blame them? With the end of the fourth phase, we are now out of combatants capable of providing firepower enough to punch through whatever schemes they have prepared."

"Bad news, Ms Peregrine just received a word that it is back to one versus one," Estelle said as she looked at her boyfriend, who is eyeing someone across the battlefield, "Do you know Syden's opponent, Ash?"

The soon of Lytta shook his head, "Not personally, Est, no. But what I do know is that he is a very crafty Scythian demigod of Prometheus, an ancient god, no, the titan of counsel."

"He is said to be my mother's titan counterpart," Gala said in a pained voice as she and Avesa finally returned to our box and looked heavily injured but assured us that she is fine, "I think he is the worst enemy possible for Syden."

Vaski worriedly agreed, "He is from one of the oldest families of the emirate and the ones who held high ranking positions in our armed forces. His command of the earth element is probably way more than what I can do."

"Combined with his formidable immortal parentage, this might be the toughest opponent yet our class has to face in this battle, and it just has to be Syden who will have to face him," Rebie said in a wary tone as the boy clinging to just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Eh, I don't think much about it. Whatever happens, happens. Welp, Imma go and make a mess out of myself then, see you later! Wish me luck, Vivet!"

And with that, he just left our top box and head straight for the battlefield without a care in the world.

"I admire his carefree attitude," Avesa said as she looked at Syden, who just walked across the field as if he is strolling in a park or something, "When I was there, I am so scared I can't even manage to stop myself for shaking if not for Gala assuring me that everything will be fine."

Ms Peregrine quietly walked towards the edge of our box and inclined her head thoughtfully, "It is said that there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity. In his case, I can't even tell which is which."

"I think it's neither, Ms Peregrine," my cousin said as we both look at him smiling from ear to ear as he sees his opponent, "For all we know, he just doesn't care at all."

"And that's what makes him even more dangerous than what I can ever hope to be," Gala said as the announcer began to call the attention of the spectators.

"All right, folks, we are back, and what an interesting matchup we have here for the penultimate battle before our Hellenic Elemental Cup ends! Class Two's Ardent Heydar Apsi, son of Prometheus, the god of forethought versus Auxiliary Class' Syden Villiers, son of Koalemos, the god of stupidity!"

The whole colosseum laughed at our classmate because of his seemingly pathetic lineage compared to his enemy, but Syden just waved his hands around him as if he is receiving praises and not mockery.

"Fifth Match: Begin!"

"Look, I have a lot of better things to do, and my time can be used in productive things rather than waste it on you, so why don't you just give up?"

Syden looked at Heydar and smiled sweetly, "No."

The way he said it is so straightforward and straightforward, even Rebie laughed out loud despite herself.

"So you would rather be beaten up and humiliated the hard way? Be my guest that is stupidity for you," the son of Prometheus said before raising his hands above, "Rise and reach, born, towering heights and buildings emerge! Earth Element: Heavenly Pillars!"

From the ground emerge tall stone structures that look like skyscrapers and filled the whole battlefield with them.

"Blow and exhale, spread, dust storms of the south heed my call! Earth Element: Dust Wave!"

From the ground emerged a flurry of sand that propagates around the battlefield, and together with the skyscraper-like stone pillars, it created an illusion of a deserted cityscape.

Prometheus's son then vanished into the dust storm, "I am the son of the titan of forethought. I have already known that you will lose it together with your class. They will meet their demise in your idiotic hands."

His voice echoed throughout the battlefield as Syden just raised his right eyebrow, "Okay... Now, where is the exit here?"

"You already forfeited the chance I offered you for a quick end. Now, let's see how long you will last..."

"Oh, I don't know about that," the son of Koalemos answered childishly as if he doesn't know that he is now playing right into the trap of his enemy, "I am not as athletic as Asher. My endurance is a lot lower compared to that feral hunk."

The son of Lytta's face palmed himself when he heard that as Estelle didn't know if she should smile or be worried that our friend now is wandering in circles.

"You still think that this is nothing but a game, huh? How about this?"

Suddenly a large boulder rolled from behind him, and he began to run in panic.

"AHHHHHHH HEEEELLLLP!"

"No one is going to help you. The only escape left for you is a defeat after I got tired playing with you."

Syden continued to run around until the border got stuck between the rock pillars, "But I don't wanna play!"

Suddenly a massive tremor was felt, and the ground began to shake beneath him.

He quickly runs at the last minute as a pitfall appeared from where he is standing, and for some reason, he returned to it and peeked, "Narcine?"

The daughter of the goddess of flowers moaned exasperatedly as our class didn't know if we will laugh at what our friend is idiotically doing or cry in earnest because we are going to lose.

"What am I saying, that tunneling flowery friend of mine is not here!" he then laughed out loud at his stupidity until the dust storm picked again, but instead of looking around and check his surroundings, he just ignorantly walked right through it.

Another boulder came rolling in after him, and the chase began once more as it is followed several more keenly intent on flattening the son of Koalemos. He just ran around aimlessly before hiding behind a large pillar.

"This will make sense when I am smarter like Gala," he assured himself as my close friend just closed her eyes in shame, "Now, if I am a know-it-all girl like her, what will I do."

Eonia just looked at our adviser, who watched everything unravel before her with her mouth wide open in shock.

"Now, what to do?"

"Prometheus: Titanic Chains!"

From the ground erupted adamantium chains of gigantic proportions and wrapped itself around our classmate still smiling.

"This is fine, no need to be terrified and tense," he said as he tried to calm himself down as boulders began to roll towards his direction and he can't even run anymore, "Time-out, please?"

"Fool! I am tired of your ignorance. Begone with your idiotic nonsense!"

Fear finally sink in our friend as he began to scream in terror as the rock is about to flatten him.