[Artemis POV]
'This insufferable prick!'
I seriously couldn't stand Apollo—but I felt even worse for Enkidu. As much as that disgusting aura of his unsettled me, I wouldn't have put him in such a vile situation. He helped my Familia. That alone makes me feel like I owe him.
'Who knows what he'll ask for… Wait. He's leagues better than Apollo, so screw it. I'll owe him. Just win, dammit—'
Enkidu caught my eye. He was smiling. Why?
His smile made me shiver. I felt that detestable energy surge around him, creeping into the air like a curse made flesh.
"W-What is this demon?!" Apollo's fear echoed mine. Mortals couldn't sense it—only those with sharp sensitivity to mystical energies. But we gods? We saw it.
A red, translucent shrine formed behind him. It was beautiful, but the feeling it radiated was anything but.
Cold. Merciless.
This wasn't divine. It wasn't even evil in the traditional sense. It was worse. This was something twisted—something no being should wield. It made black magic seem like child's play.
'H-How can he be sane with such power surging through him?!'
This was the first time I'd felt it in full. Even when he helped us before, his energy had been tightly controlled. Now? Now it bled into the world.
But then…
'…Why does it excite me?'
Heat bloomed in my chest making me scoff in disgust.
'What the hell is wrong with me?'
I shook my head and rid myself of such thoughts.
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[Enkidu POV]
"I'd recommend surrendering if you don't plan to kill."Cursed energy swirled within me. I felt my mind and body scream to cause havoc. Thankfully, I wasn't too far gone to control it—but I could feel that I just needed one thing to click and I'd probably go 100%.
The girl tilted her head, unbothered. Innocent, almost. She held a sword, but something told me it had rarely been raised against people. Maybe she didn't see me as a threat. Maybe she was just stupid.
Either way, I didn't care.
"Shall we start?" I asked, with no intention of waiting for her answer.
With a sharp swipe of my hand—
'Dismantle.'
Fwoo~!
She vanished.
The technique hadn't even traveled a meter before she reappeared in front of me. Her counter was too fast to dodge. Reflexively, I reacted.
'Cursed Hair.'
My hair whipped forward, wrapping around her wrist and yanking her down. I stepped in, closing the distance before she could recover. My left foot slid back instinctively, anchoring my stance just before impact. My hair slid around her waist like a constrictor, and with a flex of cursed energy, I hurled her into the stone wall—right where Dismantle had sliced earlier.
'Good thing I only used enough energy to open the fight…'
Any more and the technique would've torn through the coliseum wall—and the spectators beyond. Not that it would've been my problem, but it would've ruined the fun.
She stood again, completely unfazed—but I'd learned something from that exchange.
'She's stronger than me for sure, but she's simple.'
That was my read on her, for now. As she walked forward, I could see her face turn more serious. It might've gone unnoticed if her usual blank expression hadn't shifted into a slight frown.
I smiled.
"Haha~ getting serious now?"
'Tch.'
Crack~
I dodged her sword strike and the force split the ground. This woman was quite the beast!
Drip!
I felt liquid fall from my cheek, causing me to rub that area. Looking at my red hand, I knew this woman wasn't afraid to kill at all. Normally, the fact that she was stronger and had the intent to kill would terrify someone but not me.
"Wonderful!" I swiped my hand with another Dismantle. She sidestepped to avoid it—her intuition was great. She couldn't see the attack, but she clearly knew I had done something with my hand. I didn't care.
'Cursed Hair.' I grabbed and pulled her close. My attack caught her off guard, even making her face twitch.
My hand touched right where her heart was, and my smile deepened.
'Cleave.'
[-250 CE]
I stumbled at the sudden drain. I fell to my knees—the strain from such rapid energy loss was too much. I was left with only around 20 C.E. after that!
The girl did something to protect her heart but whatever it was, it cost her dearly. Her body was cut all over, blood leaking like a fountain. Her eyes didn't show fear though. She stared at me with a clear intention to win. She raised her sword—much slower than before—but I couldn't move.
She was hurt but she didn't care. Her body moved with all intent to finish this fight.
She thrust her sword straight toward my abdomen.
'Cursed Hair!'
The last of my energy redirected her blade. Unfortunately, I didn't have the strength or mental power to fully stop it.
"FUCK!"
Her sword pierced my left thigh and it hurt like hell. Our eyes met and it was clear. Neither of us was going to surrender. If she recovered first, I'd definitely lose.
"Stop!"
"Stop!"
Two feminine voices with one definitely being Artemis's, but I couldn't recognize the other.It also didn't help that my vision started to blur. It was getting harder to stay conscious, but I refused to humiliate myself by passing out.
'It sucks that even with her guard down she still brought me to a draw. tch. I also should have figure cleave would have taken that much.'
My outside senses may have been distorted but my mind was functional enough to know that I was the one who lost here. If this woman would have gone all out from the start or even just put even more effort in general then I wouldn't have stood a chance.