I looked at the time. 1650 EST. Looking around me, many people, including the elderly lady beside me, had taken a brief intermission as the finale wouldn’t start for another 10 minutes. The arena had almost finished reconstructing itself. A badly damaged Titus had been carried off in a stretcher as an exhausted Rollo was led out. The young gladiator would be fine shortly enough though. Some of the best doctors were tending to his wounds as he was force-fed mana.

That was a thing by the way. According to my studies, it was similar to the awakening process except it wasn’t directed towards any specific area. Just like a normal IV, mana was guided through a tube, and upon reaching the body it dispersed. Think of it as plugging your phone into a charger. 

Anyway, speaking of Rollo, I had a few questions to ask, “James, so what with all of the gems on Rollo’s armor, and that wand too?”

“To put it simply, more mana and power, the sad reality is the more money you have, the better equipment you can purchase.”

“So how much was he amped then?”

“All those gems probably increased his mana 4 times over, and that wand doubled his precision and destructive power.”

“So, without all of that, could he have won?”

“If he did, it would be because Titus messed up, it wouldn’t have anything to do with Rollo.” 

“I see.”

******

The stands were beginning to fill up again in anticipation of the finale. James waved eagerly at the elderly lady as she approached as she nodded in acknowledgment.

The gates opened and the two remaining gladiators walked out from their respective ‘cages’. 

“RHEA RHEA RHEA!”

“ROLLO ROLLO ROLLO!”

The crowd was much more split on who to root for than it had been previously. Personally, I wanted Rhea to win. 

I glanced at the time once again and it read 1658 EST. Looks like I was going to be a little late to The Summit. Oh well. 

I stood up and took my place alongside James who was standing starry-eyed as he propped himself up on the handrails. 

“Who do you want to win,” I asked him. More to just make conversation than anything else.

“Rhea obviously,” he replied quickly, “Though I think it’s going to be quite the fight.”

“THE TIME HAS ARRIVED FOR THE GRAND FINALE OF THIS SACRED EVENT, BOTH COMPETITORS HAVE FOUGHT WELL BUT ONLY ONE CAN BE CROWNED CHAMPION HERE TODAY.”

The crowd grew silent as the announcement continued.

“THEY NEED NO INTRODUCTION, EVEN THOSE ON THE FAR CORNERS OF OUR EMPIRE SPEAK THEIR NAME, THE WITCH OF ETTERA, THE HONORABLE ROLLO, PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO YOUR STARTING POSITIONS.”

The crowd stayed deathly silent as the two gladiators followed the command. Neither tried to boast or display their strength. No. This fight would be the most serious of their lives. 

“I doubt both of them walk out of this one alive,” I muttered, mostly to myself.

When they both arrived at their spots the voice continued, “Of the original 32 Gladiators that qualified only these two warriors remain, PLEASE JOIN ME IN CELEBRATING THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.”

The crowd erupted once again as they rooted for their favorite.

A figure shot out from the viewers' box high above. The silhouette of his figure floated in the air for a moment before it descended much faster than any gladiator here could possibly be capable of. Though he was descending, his speed rivaled that of even my father. No. He was faster. Much faster.

Creating an earthquake upon his landing, the figure now stood in the middle of the arena. The man had a similar figure to my father. If I had to put numbers to it, 6’6 and 250ish pounds of pure muscle. His wild hair fell well past his soldiers and he wore a bear’s pelt over his waist. The lack of clothing revealed massive scars which were carved all around his body.

“Who’s that,” I whispered to James.

“That, that is the man nicknamed King of the Gladiators, with a 71-0 record, officially known as~”

James' voice was silenced as the man with twinkling azure eyes spoke, “IN THE NAME OF THE VESTARIAN EMPIRE AND THE 7 CHANCELLORS WHO RULE HER… I, BARKLEY OF HOUSE TORANT, SANCTION THIS AN OFFICIAL GLADIATORIAL EVENT AND THEREFORE I SAY… FIGHT.”

The man who I knew now was Barkley Torant immediately launched back up into the sky with tremendous force. He remained levitating above the arena as the match began. 

Wasting no time, Rollo conjured a water serpent and used his wand to direct the monster towards Rhea. The serpentine body of water cleared the distance fast, surprising even James. Allowing it to come closer to her, Rhea then sent out her famous barrage of wind slashes that immediately decimated the snake.

“Don’t tell me you're having performance anxiety,” Rhea taunted as she effortlessly blasted a series of air bullets toward her foe.

“Who me, please,  I’m just letting an old wretch have some fun,” Rollo replied as he literally swatted away Rhea’s attacks with a giant hand formed of water. He then turned to the offensive and cast multiple seismic waves that approached Rhea rapidly.

“Old ey,” Rhea replied dramatically before unleashing a shockwave of air energy that flattened the waves and even a few people in the stands, “You know they say us gals only get better with age.” 

Smirking Rollo replied, “Well I guess we will see about that one, your move.”

“Such a gentleman,” Rhea responded overly passionate, then she conjured her own beast of air, an eagle-like creature, and then followed up by dashing straight for Rollo. The eagle soared high above the atmosphere, much higher than where Barkley was, where it wasn’t even possible to see the bird. Rhea continued moving forward as Rollo began slowing her attacks by sending streams of water pikes. 

Aided by her wind mana, Rhea was easily able to close the distance between her and her enemy. Forming a pair of wind daggers the witch seductively said, “You seem like a man who wants to be more up-close and personal.” 

“You know me so well,” Rollo replied apathetically before sheathing his wand for a water whip the young gladiator began slashing at Rhea while keeping his distance. 

“Oh a whip huh,” Rhea responded to the attacks mischievously, “I should have known, I would have come better prepared.” Nonchalantly, she then formed armor similar to what Titus had formed, just made of many layers of air. 

Disregarding the slashes that attempted to break through her defenses, Rhea closed the distance once again. 

Not expecting his attacks to have no effect, Rollo was caught by a quick strike to his left leg. Immediately, he formed a sprout under him which rose him many feet above Rhea. 

“Dang, a little low,” Rhea muttered disappointed. 

“Don’t tell me you were aiming for my~”

Interrupting Rollo, Rhea pointed to the sky and said deadpan, “Look up.”

Following Rollo’s gaze, I glanced upwards. 

“Oh SHIT,” Rollo said before colliding with the full force attack of an eagle.