Where The Dead Ones Go Book 2 -Republic-

Chapter 16

"Let this be the day where all participating students of the Hellenic Citadel show the whole Gearth what this hallowed institution and their experiences have taught them these past months! It is time to let us all marvel at the power you have gained and develop with your instructors and friends' help! Magic, weapons, and godly powers let your full might shine and amaze us with your battle prowess! The section who will come out on top will receive the Trophy of Nike and Ten Million Drachmas! Five Million and One Million Drachmas for the second and third places, respectively! All cash prizes are sponsored by the National Government of Cretonian Union! Let the Hellenic Elemental Cup begin!"

She opened her right hand. From her palm appeared a beautiful purple butterfly that flew above and exploded into dazzling fireworks to mark the beginning of the competition.

The Headmistress accepted the help of the Deputy-Headmaster and was escorted back at her throne.

Mr Arion then took over and announced the rules for the Cup.

"This will be a one on one battle unless stated explicitly otherwise. Usage of all weapons and powers available the combatants are allowed. Only the best section will remain in the end! Hellenic Elemental Cup: Commence!"

The thirteen advisers of the first-year sections raised their respective flags bearing their colors. Thunderous applause was heard all over the colosseum as we begin to leave the field and leave only Zenith and Vaski to represent the first phase of our fighting strength.

The rest of our class go to the top box reserved only for our section as we are pitted against the Class Twelve on the first match.

"Auxiliary Class' Zenith Mycenae, son of Zeus, the god of lightning versus Class Twelve's Altair Lecter, Noble of the Republic of Anoixi! First match: Begin!"

Our classmate quickly flew towards the sky, his dominion as his opponent promptly went on the offensive.

"Rage and burst, erupt, drown in fluvial might! Water Element: Hydro Blast!"

A massive volume of water erupted from his hands and head straight for Zenith, who called upon his father's wind to deflect it.

"Zeus: Prevailing Winds!"

And just like that, the torrent of water got swept away by the mighty gale from above.

"Looks like Auxiliary Class brought their heaviest hitter right off the bat! The son of the Heavenly King easily deflected the Class Twelve's representative's water without breaking step!"

We heard the voice of a second-year commentator who belonged in the Communications Club and acting as the voice for the audience to further understand what is happening in tandem with the monitors big and small located around the colosseum to provide an enhanced watching experience to the spectators.

"Slide and drip, flit, douse my enemy's speed! Water Element: Fluvial Assault!"

Zenith's enemy summoned a blast of water that quickly formed into countless needles that head straight for his direction.

It is too many to even try and evade.

"Cold and freezing, haze, frosted breath halt their advance! Ice Element: Hissing Frost!"

He took a deep breath and blow away from his mouth, a smoke of frozen air that crystalized the water needles that began to fall.

"Hard and sharp, pierce, glacial arrows rain upon my foe! Ice Element: Icicle Harpoons!"

The falling ice needles gained density as it returned back to the one who summoned it in the first place.

Morris shouted out loud excitedly as it began to rain down on our friend's opponent that is now running as fast as he can, "Now that's a combination! Way to go!"

We also cheered as Zenith didn't stop at that and began raining down wind-propelled ice bolts before finishing it with a lightning strike that quickly pierced the water dome that his opponent summoned to protect himself in vain.

"That's it! Auxiliary Class claims first blood in the Hellenic Club!"

The crowd cheered as our friend descended on our box and accepted our praise.

"Please, if I lost, then Gala and Eonia will definitely have my head."

The daughter of Athena nodded as he signaled Vaski to start preparing for his battle.

"Ok, we started strong, let's continue the phase, my friends," Eonia said cheerfully as she looks at Morris, "What you taught as back then really helped us. The combination that Zenith used turning his enemy's weapon against them will not be possible if not for your guidance."

My cousin smiled and gave her a thumbs-up, "There's more from where it came from. Ice and wind are symbiotic elements. It is rather easy and expected for them to work well together. Now, let's see if Vaski can combine water and earth easily since those two are opposing elements."

The battle between the Class Two and Class Eleven's mortals came close with Class Eleven's Scythian taking the win against her Cretonian opponent.

"Auxiliary Class' Vaski Wilkins, son of Poseidon, the god of ocean versus Class Ten's Herald Vinion, son of Hephaestus, the god of forge! Second Match: Begin!"

"Hephaestus: Delivering Flames!"

"Poseidon: Continental Massif!"

Our class president's brother didn't waste any time. He began attacking in earnest as he throws a colossal flamethrower straight to our classmate who summoned a large slab of the earth to defend himself from the searing flames.

"This is bad. He is the strongest of the father's current children," Eonia whispered as her brother continued to produce fire relentlessly, "If you will compare me with him. It is like comparing a candle in a burner."

Rebie stepped forward, and to our surprise, she screamed out loud to her, liege, "Really?! Are you the son of King Poseidon or what?!"

Vaski heard his retainer, and it's like something clicked on his head as he quickly summoned his earthen trident and struck the ground.

"Poseidon: Salt Spring!"

A geyser of water exploded from the ground and began flooding the battlefield.

"Hephaestus: Thermal Heat!"

And Herald quickly countered by unleashing a dizzying haze that began to evaporate the water slowly surrounding him.

"Now this is an Olympian Grade battle, folks! Just watching the two duke it out gives me goosebumps! Fellow spectators, this "is" power!"

"Meld and create, form, earthen ground dance! Earth Element: Malleable Formation!"

The wet ground began to turn into mud and then into a quagmire that slowly tried to ensnare Hephaestus' son, who just didn't know when to quit. He can't because he is mighty, as his sister said.

"Bake and cook, grill, flames of the forge to me! Fire Element: Searing Pit!"

His hands produced blinding flames, which he slammed on the quagmire that immediately cooked it and removed the moisture.

"Hephaestus: Hammer of Power!"

I gasped when he summoned a gigantic iron hammer from thin air and used it to slam the ground so hard, it cracked and erupted, setting him free.

"Poseidon: Majestic Whirlpool!

A gigantic whirlpool erupted from the ground and headed straight for Hephaestus' son. He summoned another flamethrower to try and slow it down.

"This is just getting more and more unbelievable. What we see now is, wait, I can't see Poseidon's son! Where is he?!"

As if to answer his question, our friend erupted from the ground right next to Herald.

"Poseidon: Piercing Trident!"

Even the hammer of the god of the forge isn't fast enough to deflect the sea king's trident, which just stopped a few inches away from the neck of Hephaestus' son, who is just staring at Vaski in surprise.

The gong was sounded, and the match was over in favor of our class.

Vaski went to our top box by riding an explosive geyser as he is welcomed by Rebie and Gala.

I just look at him speechlessly as uncomfortable memories are resurfacing from my mind.

"Is there something wrong, Vivet?" he asked, but I am still trying to calm myself down as I remembered his face when he is about to turn me into a winged kebab.

"Nothing's wrong, Vaski. Vivet seemed to be still traumatized by your trident and so is my innards, so keep away that thing with three points away from us, thank you very much," my cousin answered that made my classmates laugh as Vaski repeatedly bowed at the two of us.

Our adviser massaged her temple after a student messenger left after giving her a piece of paper.

"Other advisers and sections realized that they cannot win on one on one battle at this rate, so they all voted, without informing me of course, to change it to three versus three."

Estelle and Avesa gasped as our class president and the vice president looked at each other meaningfully.

"Nothing changed with our strategy. We will still be reinforcing the early gains of the first phase with our second. Rebie, you... Rebie?"

We all looked at the corner of our box and saw Amphitrite's daughter sleeping soundly beside her praying best friends.

"Why is she sleeping? What happened, Taurei, Narcine?" Eonia asked in panic as the short break was about to end.

The two shook their heads and try to silence her down.

"Shh, Eonia! You will wake her up!" the daughter of the goddess of flowers said as she covered the ears of Rebie.

"That's what I want to do!"

"Silence, Eonia! I beg of you!"

"The three versus three battle will now begin! From the Class Twelve, Ten, and Nine, we have Penely Fortez, daughter of Demeter, goddess of agriculture, Wynona Fritzgerald, daughter of Aeolus, king of the winds, and Spencer Dale, son of Ares, the god of war! On the opposing side are... Where are the representatives of Auxiliary Class?"

Before we can even react, Taurei summoned and ice slide from our box to the battlefield. With the help of Narcine, he pushed their sleeping best friend on it and followed her as Eonia desperately shouted at them no avail.

The whole stadium laughed when they saw our voluptuous friend still snoozing deeply. Her two closest friends tried to drag her in front of their enemies, who are howling in laughter.

"Well, ehem, from the Auxiliary Class are Narcine Regis, the demiurge of Persephone, goddess of flowers, Taurei Pavonius, the demiurge of Hera, goddess of marriage and the sleeping beauty, or not, is Rebie Wilkins, the demiurge of Amphitrite, goddess of waves. Third match: Begin!"

Everyone other than our class is still laughing as Taurei and Narcine nodded at each other and prepared to fight to the last, or so I thought.

"Danger and silent, behold, deep searing could emerge! Ice Element: Ice Lake!"

He slammed his hand on the ground, and the whole battlefield is coated with a thick layer of ice.

"Hot and dry, melt, flames of yore dispel the cold! Fire Element: Liquefying Fires!"

Narcine let lose dripping fire from her hands that immediately fell to the ice and melted it all and turning it into water.

"It looks like the two awake combatants from the Auxiliary Class are battling against each other! The daughter of Persephone just wasted the effort of the son of Hera. She turned his ice into a knee-deep lake in the middle of the battlefield to which their sleeping classmate is floating in surprisingly!"

True enough, it seemed that Taurei and Narcine are now bickering in the middle of the battle without care for Rebie, who is now floating towards their enemies who are already laughing so much they are crying already.

Even the whole coliseum is wheezing in laughter and glee as if they are watching a comedy show.

"Demeter: Verdant Forest!"

"Aeolus: Searing Winds!"

"Ares: War Flames!"

A forest suddenly emerges from the ground as a blast of winds with intense heat blew through it that ignited into a wildfire strengthened by the flames of the war god that seemed to give the fire a sentient mind because it is now roaring towards the directions of our defenseless classmates.

The trees began to move on their direction. To our surprise, Narcine and Taurei just went up. They ran towards the opposite direction, leaving the still peacefully Rebie behind as they flee from the forest and raging wildfire behind it. The audience is just having a fun time watching the two flail about.

I screamed when the forest and fire overtook Amphitrite's daughter as the trees engulfed her, and the flames ravaged where she is just floating asleep earlier.

"This might just be the most fun part of the Hellenic Elemental Cup, folks! Probably the easiest win on a silver platter! Is this the end for the infamous Auxiliary Class?"

"Rebie, no!"

"Gods, where is she?!" Morris asked out loud as the forest began to be burned down by the raging flames as their three opponents laugh at how easy their victory is.

When the fires died down, and only ashes and the lake remained, the smoke cleared slowly to show a large figure standing at the battlefield's center.

When the dust settled, we saw Rebie standing quietly with bloodshot eyes, dirty, wet, and definitely not in a good mood.

"No, this is bad..."

We looked at Vaski, shaking his head in fear, and his knees are trembling as Zenith tries to calm him down.

"What's bad, Vaski? Answer me!"

The sheik just shook her head as the laughter died out. At the same time, his retainer started walking ever so slowly towards her three opponents, who also stopped smiling when they felt impending doom.

"You don't understand!" he just shouted as Rebie started an incantation.

"Restricting and imposing, capture, hollowed earth ensnare my tormentors! Earth Element: Imprisoning Dough!"

Clay-like mud captured her enemies as they tried in vain to flee from her, and now, they are restrained in the knee-deep lake in the battlefield field with ashes and burnt trees.

"Uplifting and assisting, rise, staircase of bedrock ascend me to the skies above! Earth Element: Higher Elevation!"

Rocks began to conglomerate on her feet. It quickly pushed her to higher altitudes as she all looked down on us emotionlessly.

"Persephone: Tunneling Rhizantella!"

We all looked at the far corner of the battlefield to see the daughter of the goddess of flowers being engulfed in pink orchids before disappearing under the ground.

"Hera: Gliding Peacock!"

Taurei, in turn, was engulfed in a giant albino peacock as it spreads its wings and flies high into the skies behind the clothes.

"Amphitrite: Cannonball Waves!"

To our surprise, Rebie jumped from where she is standing and curled up into a ball before crashing into the waters below and created a gigantic tsunami so massive it dwarfed the highest stands of the coliseum.

The spectators sitting on the line of fire began to flee in droves as the humongous wave hit her three inferior opponents who can't even run away and washed them over the pure unadulterated power of the goddess of the waves.