by user
«Help! Help us!» Screams were heard. They turned and saw the Egyptians begging. They had been captured by Igor and his men, the last survivors of that infernal tournament.
«Save the Egypt! Defeat the Demons, I beg of you!» Ninith cried.
Igor’s two henchmen cut the throat of those two poor innocents.
«Nooo! You bastards!» Damian shouted angrily.
He tried to slingshot against them when suddenly he felt the tug subligaculum and turned back.
«Keep boy, take it. I leave you my treasure» the Old Man said and handed him the blue sphere as he struggled with his right knee. Zhen had recovered the blue sphere that was at the bottom of the arena. The mission had caused him to lose his left leg and three fingers of his right hand. The wounds bled profusely and after delivering the blue sphere he could no longer stand and slipped to the ground.
«Old Zhen! Please hold on, old man! At least you!» Damian said as he lifted him.
«A pirate never die» replied the man, laughing uproariously.
It was the last words of that old man who had put an end to the second round of the tournament. Damian started to get angry, the strange dark energy appeared again. His eyes became white for a moment. Diosmed at the sight of that power, he began to shudder. Suddenly Damian heard a voice: «Calm down!» Then he closed his eyes and found himself in another dimension, which was not alien to him, but familiar. A woman with long blond hair met him. She had a superfine beauty and blue eyes full of hope.
«Damian, my son, it’s me. You have to calm down and tame this demon in you» she said.
«Who are you? I’ve never seen you before. Where we are?» Damian asked.
The woman smiled. She was happy to have seen it again.
«You grew up child. The power of the Ishtar Dragon, “The Dragon of Time and Memory”, made you grew fast. You are a strong and vigorous man. Remember!» After those words she stroked him. Damian clearly remembered the arrival of the Romans in the Village of the Gods, of the fighting of his friends against Lucius Furius Rufus and of their death by his own hand. He saw the scene of the destruction of Yilawid by his dark power.
«I? Did I do all this?» he asked to his mother.
«These are your memories. Whoever abandons the Village of Gods loses all his memories. The Power of the Dragon that flows inside you has given you back what you had lost. This is the last time that I will come to help you to placate the evil in you» his mother explained.
«What am I? A Man, a Demon or a Dragon? How was I born?» he asked her in shock.
«When you were about to be born, I was going to die. My end had come, your father with a desperate gesture went to Mount Dragòr where the Dragon was, the creature that could have save me. The Dragon had great powers, but the Evil had corrupted him. Your father fought for a long time against him, when suddenly the creature spoke in a divine language. His soul was buried in the darkness and with great astonishment we realized that he was a female dragon and the only way to save myself was unite our bodies and our souls. I accepted and thus became one. The body of the dragon became black dust and you appeared on that black pile. Your parents ‘essence is in you, as well as that of the Dragon and Evil that had corrupted it».
«Have you always been by my side?» Damian said, then hugged his mother and cried bitterly.
«I will always be here in your heart, positioned on the right, but if the evil that resides in your left half of your body reaches your heart and corrupts it along with the right side of your body, where the Dragon Power resides, all the evil will pour into the world and no one can stop you. The Dragon has great powers, your black dagger is born from the union of its claw with the demonic black blood. Use it to tame the evil in you and always rely on the Power of the Dragon. You’re bound to the Dragon and the Devil, but one day you’ll have to make a choice» his mother warned him.
After those words Damian opened his eyes and found himself again at the Colosseum. It seemed like an eternity, but only a few seconds had passed. The black halo that enveloped his left limb disappeared and Diosmed snorted as a sign of danger escape.
Suddenly there was a whirling noise, typical of the wind. A small black vortex seemed to be suspended over the arena, like a gash in the sky, which quickly became larger and larger until it took the form of a black door ten meters high and fifteen wides. It had a rectangular shape, had white skulls, bones and skeletons placed on the two doors. On top of the door was a written in red letters:
“Vuxozàg Jekimrò Otlikxo” or “The Gate of Hell”
It flung open the doors and to the inner there was a great darkness.
«Diosmed what’s going on?» Damian asked, startled.
«It is a sign of bad omen!» the friend replied.
A gray hand came out of the door, in a state of advanced decomposition, with the fingers and the back skinned. It was the size of a giant, the palm alone was five meters wide and part of the arm could be seen behind it. The hand grabbed by the tail the Leviathan and pulled him to the inside of the black door. Little by little everything was sucked in, until the door closed and mysteriously disappeared.
The water of the arena began to tremble and resume life.
«Quick Damian, let’s run on the boat!» Diosmed shouted.
Diosmed had still kept a cool head, they got into the boat while Igor and his men looked at them with menacing eyes from their boat. The man wrapped in the black mantle watched the show from the stands, where the audience regained consciousness.
«...What happened? Oh yes! Here it is, the blue sphere! Ladies and gentlemen, the sphere has been recovered! The second phase is over! Tomorrow the last phase of the tournament will begin!» Gravis the presenter said, still groggy.
The crowd hailed the Emperor, some noticed the dead in the stands without finding an answer.
Damian looked at the Emperor and with all the strength he had threw against the blue sphere. The sphere traveled the distance as the crow flies, then shattered into a thousand pieces when that red demon stared at her with his yellow eyes.
«Damn! This demon wants to kill us! We must find a solution. I will avenge the Egyptians, I will avenge the old Zhen» Damian shouted.
He turned to Diosmed and noticed his wounds and his grief. Instead he was fine, the wounds almost healed. Without realizing it, he had regained his energy.
He rowed eagerly and led the boat to the grate where they had entered a few hours before. He got out of the boat and helped his friend down. The water was rapidly disappearing, the drainage system had been activated. The roman guards, with their infantry soldier clothing, were waiting for them. They ordered them to go to their cell in the hypogeum. They had remained alone in that narrow place, the beasts and men of the Colosseum had almost all been eliminated.
Damian supported his friend and helped him to walk. The gastric acid of the Leviathan had burned the skin. They returned to their cell, the guards left and greeted the prison guard. Damian helped his friend lie on the stone bed, then he too tried to rest.
«Thanks Damian, I owe you my life once again. Despite your dark power, I consider you human» Diosmed said.
Those words filled Damian with joy and a smile appeared on his face.
05
The Colosseum - The Final
«The target is you! The Emperor is aiming to you. The Demons have appeared, the Leviathan, the Gate of the Hell. Everything that is happening, for me, happens just because you are here! Who or what are you really? I can’t stop asking. I am grateful to you for saving me from that snake’s stomach. Or maybe I should have died to finally be free, who knows?» Diosmed said, panting.
«Diosmed don’t get down! We will win! I shed light on my past, during the fight I saw my mother and she showed me the truth. For give birth to me she became one thing with the Dragon, whose blue power resides in the right half of my body, while the dark demonic power, which penetrated into the Ishtar Dragon, dwells in my left half. It seemed like a dream,
but I feel it’s all true. The dagger and the dragon’s statue were clues that should have made me discover the bond that I have with the Dragon, but only now have I understood its meaning. While it was impossible to understand that I also had a connection with the Demon» Damian explained.
Diosmed shivered for a moment. Then he was lucid and analyzed the situation.
«I do not understand what you are saying but it is true, one day the Dragon was kidnapped by the darkness. Now I understand why you had that dark energy around your left arm. You are tied to the Dragon and the Demons, but for an instant your eyes have turned white, how strange. You also know the Language of the Demons, now we know why. You’re not a normal man, you’re a demon and a dragon at the same time. For now I will continue to stand by your side, but I will always keep an eye on you».
«I am what I am and I can’t change it» Damian snorted.
«Who opened the Gate of Hell? Whose was that giant hand? What happened to the Dragon? What happened to my brother Dasmond? You must know something!» Diosmed asked with a hint of anger and pain mixed with suffering.
«Calm down Diosmed, you must rest! I still don’t remember everything», Damian lied, «the Dragon is dead and his life continues through me. We’ll solve the arcane, I’m sure that the mystery will be solved when we will defeat the Emperor. Now rest».
After those words, Damian removed a block of stone that was collapsing from the cell wall and took the dragon’s statue. For a moment the dragon‘s eyes lit up blue. He noticed that the upper part of the left wing was gone, it was broken.
«That’s strange...» he said to himself, then put the statue inside of the wall and put the block.
«I would take that potion again. I am wounded and without strength. How do you feel so good? I wonder if I will ever have peace in my life!» Diosmed complained as he tried to recover his energy on that uncomfortable stone bed.
The guard arrived, he brought them a soup and some miserable two-day old bread, which they ate without too much delay. Hunger is difficult to tame. As they ate they heard hungry verses, like those of the beasts that devour their prey.
«Who is?» Damian asked.
«A monster that eats its prey, Igor. Now I understand, it was rumored for some time that here in the Colosseum there was a man who ate human flesh or the flesh of beasts. Now we are the only ones left here. It’s him» Diosmed explained.
«Or maybe is the mysterious man with the immense strength» Damian replied.
«Now it’s your turn, you have to win this tournament. You will defeat Igor and together we will win against the Emperor. Eat, we must get back in strength!» Diosmed said, then groaned in pain.
Damian took that slice of bread and ate it in one gulp. His blue eyes were full of hate, his hair, blond and thick, gave off energy. His body had become more vigorous.
«The Leviathan has made you much more powerful, but do not think that you have defeated. A demon when dies becomes like a black smoke instead that snake returned to the Hell! It’s a legendary demon created to wreak havoc on Earth. You must become stronger! The art of the sword is not something that can be learned in one day, but in this little time that remains I will teach you something» Diosmed said.
«But how can we fight in such a small place?» It’s a tiny cell, the two beds and the urinal take up a lot of space» Damian replied.
«Good, it means that you will have to face me without escape. You will be forced to attack or you will be attacked!»
Diosmed took the Dragalòs and tried to hit Damian, who nearly avoided jumping to the back. They spent hours fighting inside of that cage. Diosmed, despite his injuries, attacked with great force. It was a clash of blows and backlashes until night came, illuminated by the Moon.
«We rest. Tomorrow we will have to fight, the final is waiting for us. Hopefully we will not have to fight each other» Diosmed said.
«You’d lose» Damian grinned.
«I wouldn’t count on it too much» Diosmed replied.
The two laughed but then they were serious, a great battle awaited them. Damian watched the Moon from that small arched window with three iron bars. He admired all her beauty and it almost seemed that the Moon was watching him. For a moment he saw her bright red and then quickly fell asleep.
It was the dawn, the trumpets sounded even once in the Colosseum. The fateful day had arrived, the six contenders were brought into the arena illuminated by the September sun.
«Today there will be three direct elimination matches. The three winners who will remain in the race will have to fight each other and only the winner will have the right to ask to the Emperor Constantine a wish! You can also ask for freedom! The matches will be decided by fate. Let the Black Jar be brought! Inside it there are the six names of the participants. Their names will be drawn by Tanya, the most beautiful woman in Rome!» the presenter said.
The crowd was astonished by all that beauty. She was an angelic woman, young and with long wavy red hair. She had green-gray eyes, thin lips and a small nose. She wore a white silk dress that left her chest slightly exposed, a white veil on her head and a very thin golden diadem on her forehead. She wore a white belt in the center of which was a golden emblem with the Goddess Vesta holding the patera with one hand and the scepter with the other. On his forearms she wore a very special golden bracelets. They had the shape of a snake and, for the Romans, these bracelets were a protective symbol against evil.
«Is she! The girl who ran away from the market!» Damian said, amazed.
«Do you know her?» Diosmed asked.
«Maybe...» Damian answered.
The girl put her hand inside that jar. That dress was beautiful and her beauty mesmerized Damian and Diosmed.
«The first match will be disputed by the newcomer, a man of great power, “Damian the Son of the Dragon”», Gravis said and the crowd applauded, «but his opponent will be an even more powerful man, «Igor the Man Eater».
Damian was startled in the hearing that epithet. This meant that the Emperor knew everything about him. He was happy for the draw, he could finally avenge the two Egyptians.
The young Vestal fished out of the box. «Ladies and gentlemen, the next match will be between “Dauzier the right hand-man of Igor” and “The Demon Slayer”.
«Well, we’ll have our revenge Damian» Diosmed said, looking at his friend.
«The last two names left are Igor’s left hand-man “Giagar the Man of Fire” and the most powerful man of all, “The Nameless Beast”. Let the first match begin!»
A big fight was about to start.
«Have they fixed everything?» Damian noted.
«The Emperor has very powerful men with him, he can do anything. You will have to win Damian! Good luck!» Diosmed said, shaking hands with his friend.
Damian was alone with that man on the arena. It was all the same as the first time he had set foot there. The Colosseum again presented its colors and hearths surrounded the earthy arena. No one could escape to their destiny. The Emperor had his eyes fixed on them, while from the tribune, between the consuls and the tribunes, was the girl of great beauty. Damian looked at her, then turned his gaze to the Emperor who answered him with a grim face. He was forced to fight against Igor, but he wasn’t the real enemy. Despite this, he had to defeat him, his sense of justice was more alive than ever. The other participants watched from the stands, they were allowed to observe.
Igor laughed loudly. His true powers were unknown and he was certainly not a simple enemy. He was a strong man, tall and muscular, this time wearing clothes made of animal skin, perhaps he belonged to some strange beast that he had killed with his own hands in the Colosseum. Damian, on the other hand, had received a simple white robe with no protection and a battered gladius. The broken caligae bothered him as he walked. Igor was a man of about forty, with a thick mustache and brown hair that looked like a lion’s mane. He was two meters tall, had two deep black eyes, a large nose and very long nails.
«You have arrived in the final, but you will die by my hand! I’ll be the winner! When I become champion, my prizes will be women and wine!» Igor said laughing boldly.
Damian didn’t say a word. He studied that man and he could not find a weakness. He took the sword and went against him. His adversary, like himself, did not have the helmet or armor, just a simple spatha. He stopped Damian’s blow without flinching.
«Is all your power here? It takes a lot more to defeat me!» the man shouted and Damian backed away. He decided to stay on the defensive, instead Igor threw all his anger on the boy. He attacked him with a series of lunges that Damian struggled to avoid. It was like perceiving the arrival of thirty shots at once. He suffered minor injuries to his right shoulder, to the abdomen and legs. He began to bleed, but nevertheless he remained standing.
«Why did you kill those innocents? You should have faced them in an equal fight, you coward!» he shouted at him.
Igor’s hand hooked up the Damian’s head.
«How dare you talk to me like that? This is the law of the strongest! We are all forced to stay in this place. Win or die, this is our destiny. In this arena there have always been only fights between slaves, thieves and murderers. The worst scum of the empire. Don’t think those stupid friends of yours were so different from me» Igor said.
He grabbed Damian and stuck him in the ground with his face, then drew strange symbols in the ground with his fingers. Two L concatenated, one that looks towards the high, the other downwards, a triangle around and under a hyphen, and finally a circle enclosing the whole inside.
Then he began to utter strange words in the Language of the Demons:
«Yagixòloioù!»
«Sacrifice!»
He kept saying strange words that only Damian understood.
«You who govern the underlying world, you who determine everything. I sacrifice this man to you!»
Later with the sword he injured his palm and put blood on the symbol he had drawn on the brown ground of the arena. This gave off a purple light and demonic creatures came out. One was brown without eyes, with long teeth, two holes for nose and a snout like a dog. It stood on three legs with three fingers, at the end of which they had thin and sharp claws. He had two paw-like hands and finally a canine tail. Another was a snail green color, without a shell, with two antennas blue and two red dots for eyes. The last was a carnivorous plant with purple and red colors. He supported himself on the black roots, as if they were legs. The body had a multitude of green leaves, lianas like arms and the head was a red rose with gray teeth similar to an indentation. They were not large, they were about one meter and fifty high. Their job was to feed of the young hero, offered as a sacrifice to them.
