AURELIUS AND COMMODUS FINALLY ENTERED the arena. As they walked, people cheered deafeningly.
Aurelius has been known as the empire's greatest swordsman. His weapon of choice was a gladius and a small circular shield imbued with runic symbols that widen the area of the shield's protection. As a sign of being a legatus, he was wearing unique armor and an eagle helmet.
Commodus, his friend, and a legatus, was a power-user. He belonged to the House Leuwerus who were known for possessing an ability that enables them to transform into werewolves. And no one has ever beaten him in hand-to-hand combat with his reflex, dexterity, sharp claws, and powerful bite. Like Aurelius, Commodus wore an eagle helmet.
“We meet again, Daisuke,” said Aurelius.
“Aurelius,” Daisuke replied as he caught his breath.
“Oy, Aurelius, the barbarian is mine,” said Commodus as he transformed into a werewolf, causing the audience to cheer even louder.
“Suit yourself. I’d like to spend some time with the elf anyway.”
Commodus quickly charged at Siegfried. His speed surprised Siegfried, but Siegfried was still able to react accordingly. Soldiers came pouring into the arena, dividing Siegfried and Daisuke as they raised their shields and spears.
“Come on, barbarian!” Commodus taunted. “Show me the strength that defeated three cohorts!”
“No! I’ll show you the strength that defeated a legion!”
Siegfried charged at Commodus and released quick slashes, to which Commodus simply dodged with his enhanced reflexes. Siegfried's swords were sharper than ordinary swords, but Commodus's claws were able to parry some of Siegfried's attacks.
Soon, it was Commodus who has been releasing slashes and bites against Siegfried. Sparks came out as Commodus's sharp claws made contact with Siegfried's sword
Siegfried was forced to be on the defensive as Commodus proved that he was on a different level compared to the soldiers that they've defeated so far.
“How can you even turn into a werewolf without a full moon?!” Siegfried complained.
“That's just a rumor kid!” Commodus replied as he continued his onslaught. “But there are indeed creatures that grow stronger under the moonlight!”
Siegfried wasn't interested in a lecture, so he decided to use his trump card. However, Commodus knew what Siegfried was about to do.
Siegfried overlapped his swords, but Commodus didn't let Siegfried do what he wanted and grabbed the swords with his werewolf paws.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you, kid,” Commodus whispered at Siegfried who was struggling to free his swords. “Just fight normally. Your friends are on their way to help you two escape.”
Commodus's last statement caught Siegfried off-guard. He then kicked him, knocking him back and down to the ground.
* * * * *
At the same time when Siegfried and Commodus were starting to fight, Daisuke was greeted by Aurelius. “How are you, kid?”
“I don’t want to fight you, Aurelius.”
“Great! 'Cause neither do I. Now, just follow my lead.”
Daisuke got confused. He and Aurelius still exchanged slashes as if they were just sparring.
“Try to hit harder, Daisuke. People will think we’re just playing around.”
Daisuke puts more force on his punches. “What’s going on, Aurelius? And why do you smell like feces?”
“Not important. Anyway, you’ve enjoyed fighting too much that I think you’re forgetting something.”
Daisuke tried to recall what he has forgotten. “Oh, dear...I’ve forgotten about my friends!”
Aurelius released a barrage of slashes to Daisuke. “They’ll be out shortly. On my signal, use your powers to send yourselves up in the air.”
“Wha—”
A ring of fire exploded at the center of the arena. From the pit where Brunnhilde once emerged came out a briar of roses that carried Riku, Jack, Raijin, and Brunnhilde. The crowd cheered even louder, thinking that it was an act of sort.
“DAISUKE!!” his friends shouted.
From afar, Brunnhilde saw Siegfried fighting a werewolf. “SIEGFRIED!!”
The soldiers ran towards them, breaking the wall of shield and spear that once divided Siegfried and Daisuke.
“Raijin, stay with Brunnhilde,” said Riku. “Let’s go, Jack!”
“On it!” Jack replied.
Riku and Jack used their powers and stopped the soldiers that charged at them. Rose briars and jackfruit trees grew everywhere.
“But, I can fight too, you know,” Raijin whispered.
“That was fast,” said Commodus. He then looked up and saw four eagles circling.
“What’s happening?” asked Siegfried.
“Your ride is here too,” Commodus continued to attack Siegfried, leading him towards Aurelius and Daisuke.
Soon, all of them were surrounded by hundreds of soldiers.
“Princess!” Siegfried sheathed his swords and run towards Brunnhilde. “Are you alright?”
The two finally reunited after six months.
Brunnhilde couldn't help but hug Siegfried, but then pushed him back immediately. She then cleared her throat. “You worry too much, Siegfried. I am fine, thanks to these brave warriors.”
“Raijin! Come here and hold on me tight.” Daisuke ordered.
Raijin didn't ask questions a ran towards Daisuke. “Done.”
“Ugh. Have you’ve been in the sewers?” Daisuke complained.
Riku grabbed Brunnhilde. “Come on, princess! Time to go!”
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!” asked Siegfried.
“Siegfried. If you don’t mind,” Jack offered his hands to Siegfried.
“Grab on him, Siegfried. Tightly. That’s an order.”
“Men! Your spears!” Commodus roared.
The soldiers pointed their spears towards the six escapees.
Aurelius smiled and looked at Daisuke. “On my signal!”
Daisuke smiled the nodded. The elves charged their power.
“Now!!” as Aurelius shouted, the soldiers threw their spears at Daisuke and his friends, but the elves combined their plants to propel themselves up in the air. When they were high enough, four golden eagles swooped in to catch them. They landed on the eagles' back and flew away from the arena.
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“NOOOOOO!!” shouted the emperor.
The eagle riders tried to go after them, but golden feathered giant eagles were faster than the average giant eagles.
“Emilia!” Daisuke shouted. “It’s nice to see you guys again!”
Siegfried looked back one last time. He was quite disappointed that he wasn't able to at least wound the emperor, but that was no longer important as they were already free.
* * * * *
The eagles landed in a forest far away from the Capital.
Daisuke looked at the Traeuxian leaders with a confused face. “Umm…Ahh…Where do we even begin?”
“It’s all thanks to Sir Aurelius,” said Emilia. “He helped us come up with a plan to save you guys.”
“Well, Emilia here insisted on helping you all,” Faustus added. “We even resorted to some haphazard measures.”
Emilia blushed and immediately made Faustus stop talking.
“At the top of the Eagle Towers are special eagle horns that only the royalties may use. Emilia, being a royalty, was able to summon these four golden giant eagles,” Quintus revealed.
“We rode these eagles to the arena with Sir Aurelius,” Julius added. “When he dismounted from Emilia's eagle, he told us to wait on top of the arena.”
Siegfried looked at Brunnhilde. “And what about that going-up-the-beanstalk thing?”
“Well, we got lost inside the sewers. It was there when we encountered Sir Aurelius and the other guy. They told us to go down to the center pit, ascend from there, and wait for the signal,” Brunnhilde explained.
“Why would they help us, though?” asked Siegfried.
“It seems Sir Aurelius and Emilia was up to something for a long time now. It isn't a surprise now, I guess, that Sir Aurelius cooperated with Emilia. As for Sir Commodus, they've been friends for the longest time. They trust each other,” said Faustus.
“And what about you guys?” asked Jack. “Isn’t this treason to your emperor?”
“The emperor is not the empire,” said Emilia. “Also, Aurelius already knows what to do with him and to the empire. As for us, we decided to go on our adventure!”
“Really? Where will you all go?” asked Raijin.
“We still have to plan out everything, go back to the empire first, and assist in executing our plan to overthrow my brother with Aurelius.”
“How about you, Siegfried? Where will you and Brunnhilde go?” asked Daisuke.
“We need to get to the Snow Cape Peninsula,” said Siegfried. “That’s the last place our expedition planned to go.”
“The Dragon Raiders will surely still be there,” Brunnhilde added.
“Maybe we can give you two a lift,” Faustus offered. “Just let us finish some things at the empire, then we can go to your destination.”
Brunnhilde remembered the visions she saw during her captivity. Being the daughter of the most powerful mage, she received many gifts; healing magic, divination, familiar summoning, and earth magic, her elemental affinity. And even with her mana suppressed thanks to his father's runic seal, she could still see small, subconscious divinations.
She saw a series of events that are yet to come, events that included a brown-skinned elf. And so far, the only elf she saw who has a darker complexion compared to other elves like Riku and Jack was Daisuke. She considered that she must stay with Daisuke to know more.
“That won’t be necessary,” Brunnhilde respectfully declined. “Besides, the earth is my elemental affinity. I would rather be near the earth than to fly up in the sky,”
“But Princess, the Dragon Raiders—”
“Will not leave without their princess. If they return to Drasgard without me, they’ll face the wrath of my father. Even the raiders know fear, Siegfried.”
“Now come on, let’s set up a camp here for tonight. We can catch some wild boars around here and have a small feast,” said Faustus.
That night, the group ate and exchanged stories. Faustus told the group how they paid barbarians and sacrificed a village just to save Daisuke and his friends, and Emilia's plan to abolish the Traeux villages. Raijin told them how they managed to escape the Capital prison while Daisuke told the group how they helped the gladiators escape and how he and Siegfried beat one legion.
* * * * *
The next morning, the group exchanged their final farewell to each other. Emilia has been the most emotional. She wished she could join Daisuke’s group, but she and her co-leaders have other plans. Faustus then gave a loot bag of colossene to Daisuke, a gift from Aurelius.
As the eagles left the forest to return to the empire, Daisuke faced Raijin. “So, which way is the Arcanas Kingdom?”
“That would be southeast from this forest,” said Raijin. “If Quintus was right, we’ll reach it in seven days on foot.”
“Well, maybe we do not need to go on foot,” said Brunnhilde.
“What’s on your mind, Brunnhilde?” asked Riku.
“If anyone could spare me some mana, I could summon us wolves that we could ride.”
Daisuke volunteered. “Okay. How do I give my mana?”
“Hold my hands.”
“Woah, wait. Why hold hands?!” asked Siegfried.
“Yeah. Last time we did it, I just placed mine on the back of your hands.”
“You did what?!” Siegfried unsheathed his swords. “I shall sever your hands, elf!”
“You guys are too loud,” Brunnhilde grabbed Daisuke’s hands. Riku was surprised and decided to look elsewhere. “Now, imagine using your powers. But instead of making trees, you’re just letting your mana flow freely and into my hands,” Brunnhilde instructed.
“O-Okay,” Daisuke did what Brunnhilde. And in a few seconds, he felt his hand getting warmer. A few more minutes, he felt something, like a force was grabbing his hands. “Umm, I, ah, starting to feel something.”
“That’s probably me,” Brunnhilde's breathing became heavy. “I can now feel the mana you’re releasing and I'm absorbing it inside my body.”
“I wish I also have some mana to spare,” said Raijin.
“Alright! I guess I have enough mana now.”
“Hmmm. If you know how to use magic, why don’t you use your mana?” asked Daisuke.
“My father placed a seal on my back to stop me from using my mana. But I, being a stubborn child, came up with a solution. Since the seal only detects my mana, I could just absorb others and use that for casting magic.”
“It's actually pretty neat,” admitted Riku.
“Do you want to see the runic symbol on my back, Daisuke?”
“T-That won’t be necessary. Please. The wolves,” said Daisuke.
Brunnhilde smiled at Daisuke, then wrote some runic symbols on the ground. “Arise...Geri! Freki!” she commanded.
The two runic symbols glowed. And from the ground leaped two large wolves, one with snow-white fur, and another with fur as dark as night. The wolves howled and bowed to Brunnhilde.
“Woah. I did not expect them to be that big.”
“This white wolf is Geri, and this one with black fur is Freki. They should be large enough to carry three people each.”
The group mounted on top of the wolves. Jack, despite not liking any form of land transportation, rode on Freki. He sat between Raijin and Riku. On Geri were Siegfried, Brunnhilde, and Daisuke.
“Princess, hold on to me. You might fall,” said Siegfried.
“Thanks,” Brunnhilde replied. “You should grab on me as well, Daisuke. Safety first.”
Riku sighed “Alright, guys. To the Arcanas Kingdom!”
End of Colosseum Empire Arc
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One week later after the events on the Capital's Colosseum Arena, a civil war occurred in Colosseum Empire.
When the elves defeated the barbarians in Traeux XII, Emilia went to Lagaian XII. And with the help of Aurelius, she met the barbarian leader who turned out to be the same person that led a group of barbarians that helped Tiberius kill their brother Caesar. The barbarian confirmed that it was Tiberius who has planned to kill their brother, but they were also supported by a handful of senators. He also revealed that they were being paid to attack Traeux XII and to kidnap or kill Emilia.
Aurelius and Commodus then led a rebellion against Augustus Vitellius Tiberius with the support of Emilia Octavium.
Almost all the Traeux and Lagaian settlements joined their cause, approving the abolishment of the Traeux villages. Only three Lagaian settlements—I, II, and III—and the Capital itself remained loyal to the emperor. The emperor ordered the immediate closure and fortification of the Capital from the Lagaian settlements.
The civil war inside the Colosseum Empire resonated around the continent of Aria. And one particular newspaper publication managed to get a scoop and highlighted the events in the empire.
“Welcome to Lagaian XII,” a soldier welcomed two people in their village.
“It's a pleasure to be here,” said a female reporter.
From a large tent came out Vitus. “Ah! You must be the people from The Aria's Finest. I am Vitus, the acting legatus of Lagaian XII.”
“It's nice to meet you, Sir Vitus. I am Sonia Holmes. You can call me Sonia. And this is Oleg Smirnov, my photographer,” the female reporter named Sonia introduced.
“I see. I apologize if Aurelius could not meet you two. He is currently at the frontlines, commanding our army as they siege the Capital's wall.”
“Then would it be alright if it is you who we interview regarding this civil war?”
Vitus nodded. “Of course. The more people realize the dirty works of the current emperor, the more it would be better for the empire and its future and allies.”
Vitus invited the two inside the tent where Sonia conducted the interview.
“So, Sir Vitus, is it true that before all these events occurred, a group of elves entered your territory? Specifically a brown-skinned elf?”
“Y-Yes. The elves helped us during a battle and were awarded. Soon, mayhem at the Colosseum Arena followed where most gladiators escaped, including one barbarian from the Drasgard Kingdom. I think that the barbarian joined the elves afterward. It has been a week since then.”
“Interesting,” Sonia noted. “If I recall correctly, a group of elves also went to Port Royale, led by a brown-skinned elf, where a destructive battle between United Alliance and a group of treasure hunters occurred. That elf then hired a guide, promising something in return. Don't you think there's a connection there?”
“Uhh...I'm not sure. I never had the chance to spend time with the elves.”
“Do you have their names?”
“I think it would be better if we do not mention them.”
“Hmmm. Fair enough,” Sonia wrote something in her journal. “Okay then, let's proceed about the civil war.”