Oh why did none of them tell him it could breathe fire? It would’ve saved him a lot of trouble.

When the fight started, the first thing that happened was its shackles getting released. The second thing that happened was it bellowing fire in his direction. He ran off as fast as he could, and all but one of his clones escaped the flames. Now they were running in circles as fast as they could while the Beast chased after them, belching flames the entire way.

“Clones, split off! Lead it around the room!” He, meanwhile, threw himself to the ground. The ground was thankfully not cobblestone, but rather sand. This meant that he created a large sand cloud with his impact. The Beast stopped and huffed. The clones then sprinted out of the cloud, and he heard as the Beast stomped away.

He had only one option. He had to get on top of it and use Void Touch on its head. But in order to do that, he had to get on top of it first. That required his clones to not die and get it to stand still.

Or maybe… Yeah, that might work.

“Circle it back this way!” He laid down as soon as he saw them coming. “Void Touch.” He made extra certain to focus it entirely in his right hand.

Void Touch(Rank 1) RP: 4/10 > 5/10

The Beast grabbed one of the clones and threw it into the stands. It exploded against the far back wall, causing clone dust to spray all over the patrons. They cheered loudly.

Animals.

Once it was close enough, he risked his gambit. He stood up and sprinted directly underneath it, slapping one of its rear hooves. It wasn’t enough. Though it did have the intended effect of making it limp around, it barely moved any slower. It didn’t even seem to notice him.

When another clone was thrown into the stands, he knew he needed to change up the strategy. So when it came around again, he jumped for it, grabbing onto its fur. He then started climbing up its back. He didn’t have many more uses of Void Touch left before he died. There were maybe three more in him, and he needed to make them count.

Once Harper climbed onto its back, he used Void Touch, punching it into the Beast’s back. A large section of its back vanished, leaving behind an open hole of flesh. He dove inside.

It was blazing hot inside the Beast. He could hear it still thundering around chasing his clones. Judging by the faint cheers in the distance, another clone was either thrown into the crowd or burned to a crisp. He didn’t know, and he didn’t care. All that mattered was that he only had two left.

He dug around in its insides until he found its spine. There was no way in hell he was breaking it with his bare hands, but Void Touch? That could get the job done. “Void Touch.” He grabbed onto the joint between two vertebrae. A significant chunk was torn away, but it wasn’t enough.

Void Touch(Rank 1) RP: 5/10 > 6/10

He took a deep breath, then gagged at how stale the air was. “Void Touch.” He used his last charge to once more dig away at the vertebrae. It wasn’t enough to break it, but it would have to do.

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Void Touch(Rank 1) RP: 6/10 > 7/10

He dug his head out from inside the Beast. He cupped his hands and went to shout to his clones—scratch that, another one just flew into the stands—clone. “Make it smash against a wall!” He only hoped the clone could hear him from inside its back.

He watched as the clone suddenly diverted, running directly for the back wall. The entrance wall. The Beast slid harshly, and a loud crack reverberated through its body. It suddenly bowed to the left, causing Harper to fall out and nearly smash into the sand far below. He just barely managed to grip its underside, but was left dangling.

The Beast, rather than ram the entrance where the clone stood, lifted up and slammed its fists down on the clone. Harper’s grip slipped and he fell, rolling against the floor for several feet. When he finally stopped, he found himself directly in front of the Beast.

Ooooooooooh I’m fucked I’m fucked I’m fucked I’m fucked I’m fucked!

“Primal Fury!” He let out the trademark barbaric howl as froth immediately filled his mouth. The first thing he did was sprint away from the Beast.

Primal Fury(Rank 0) RP: 4/10 > 5/10

It chased him down, using mainly its fists to charge as its left leg was totally out of commission. He sprinted in a random, maddening pattern that only served to infuriate the Beast further. It belched out flames multiple times, but was unable to hit him. Every time it tried to grab him, he threw himself to the ground before rolling to a standing position and sprinting once more.

Eventually, it let out another ear piercing roar. The color waves literally bounced off the walls and assaulted Harper, sending him flying towards the Beast. It took another deep breath, where if Harper hadn’t flown under the Beast, he would’ve been swallowed. This inhale caused even the black in the world to vanish, leaving the only black being its glowing form.

It then pushed itself backwards, such that Harper was out in the open with it up against a wall. The flames that came from its mouth were rainbow colored and enormous. He sprinted away until he was pressed up against the opposite wall. It still singed his entire backside, causing his clothes to fall away to nothing. He let out a howl of primal fury as his entire back was burnt to a crisp, but he was alive.

He sprinted in the direction of the Beast once more. It jumped into the air with its fists alone, legs dangling uselessly. He dove away underneath it, and it crashed fists first into the ground. A crack resounded through the entire colosseum. Its back half came crashing down, crushing Harper’s legs and leaving them equally useless.

Unlike the Beast however, Harper had an advantage. He was running on pure Primal Fury. He grabbed at its fur and dragged himself out from underneath. He climbed up its back with his fists and mouth alone, pulling his powdered legs behind him. He crawled his way into the Beast’s back and it let out another roar that caused colors to ripple and shimmer. Everywhere but in one spot. Its heart.

He dragged himself down to its beating heart and clamped on. The beating quickened. He bit into it. He heard another roar, followed by complete silence. He ripped and tore into the beating heart. It stopped. He didn’t.

He continued on in this manner until he ate the entirety of its heart. Energy flooded into him, and he became rejuvenated almost immediately. His legs healed, his back healed, his body returned to its appropriate weight, and he even gained some muscle.

Skill Earned

Cosmic Flames(Rank 0)

Harper dragged his once more whole body out of the Beast’s corpse. He climbed up until he was standing atop its head. He looked around at the entire crowd, then stopped and faced Marik.

“Cosmic Flames!” He breathed out a small plume of rainbow fire into the air above him. It sucked all the color away from the surroundings for a half second. He then turned his head back down to look at Marik.

Cosmic Flames(Rank 0) RP: 0/10 > 1/10

Marik was looking at him stunned. After a moment, he shook his head and took on a more professional air. “Fellows of the Colosseum, I give you… your champion!”

For once, cheers for him filled the colosseum.