Number 7 began to mumble to himself again, begging for Cassius to stop and it all be over. Cassius took on a defensive stance, waiting to see what his opponent's offense was like. A minute had passed and neither fighter had moved. Number 7 continued to repeat the same sentence over and over.

"Please stop, just let it be over already."

"What is he talking about? He could just let me win if he's that set on the fight stopping," Cassius wondered what was going through the mind of the person before him.

With a sudden change in composure, number 7 again took on an angry expression and then charged at Cassius. The speed rivaled number 1's, but the precision is what startled Cassius. The movements were so precise and clean that he could barely block half of the hits from number 7.

Continuing on the offense, 7 did not let up. The constant barrage of attacks that seemed focused on instantly taking out the perceived foe were beginning to wear down Cassius. His only option was to dodge and block, but he couldn't prevent all of the blows from landing. Number 7 managed to land destructive blows to Cassius' stomach, right knee, and right arm. Being on constant defense left Cassius feeling even more humbled, disregarding the pride he had in his abilities. It was no longer about giving someone a merciful death, it was about surviving and not experiencing death.

"If I don't do something he'll keep the advantage and I'll die."

Cassius remembered when Nero had Garth punch him on the first day of training.

"There will be times in life where people want to hurt you, maybe want you dead. You need to be able to react at a moment's notice, in the blink of an eye," this teaching of Nero echoed through Cassius' mind.

"I just need to keep watching his movements, expect anything, and live!"

The barrage of attacks continued as Cassius was still left defending as well as he could. Not a single opening had presented itself to him, and he began to doubt that number 7 would position themselves poorly. Realizing that defense will not work against this opponent, Cassius switched back to offense.

Taking more hits and in more places, Cassius believed the sacrifice in damage to himself would be overshadowed by an opening being forced. Allowing himself to get hit, Cassius purposefully exposed his face to incite an attack. Once the blow landed, Cassius grabbed the arm of number 7 and pulled him in closer for a devastating strike.

Cassius grabbed his opponent's head as he got closer and pulled it down as he was sending his left knee towards his nose. Number 7 put his hands up to Cassius' knee and tried to push himself away, but Cassius' strength equaled his. Cassius, while keeping his grasp on number 7's head, flung his other leg back and over his head. Using the momentum from this, along with his core, he managed to flip himself and number 7. Landing on his feet, Cassius used the force from the momentum to slam number 7 on the ground. As number 7 was landing, he flung his hands up to grab Cassius' arms. As he collided with the stage floor, the impact sent waves of pain through both of Cassius' arms. Almost completely bending backwards at the elbows, his arms turned purple from his bicep to the middle of his forearm.

Number 7 remained on the stage floor, his eyes barely open as he began to hoarsely call out for help.

"Help me... help me, mother."

Cassius heard the plea for help and leaned down to number 7.

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"Where is your mother?"

"Please, mother, help me."

"Did she put you in this tournament?"

"She is the only person... that makes me feel safe."

"I wish I could take you to her."

"I'm going to her. Thank you, number 23."

Cassius understood once the life faded from 7's eyes. His mother was dead and he wanted his life to be over, not the fight. Confusion still surrounded the situation; why didn't he just let Cassius win if that's all he wanted? Something was wrong and 7 couldn't prevent it. Was his mother going to be killed if he lost? Was she dead before? Cassius couldn't get the scared look of number 7 out of his head after their exchange of words. Maybe he really was afraid to die, or afraid of his mother dying.

"CRIMSON DEATH PERFORMS BEAUTIFULLY YET AGAIN! HIS ARMS LOOK PRETTY MESSED UP THOUGH, THEY'RE ALMOST LIKE GRAPES! OH WELL, MOVING ON, 22 AND 14 COME TO THE STAGE!"

Cassius didn't move, he just stood above number 7's body and looked at it. Guards approached Cassius to get him into his waiting room, but Cassius still remained unmoved. Even after using force, Cassius' body remained as solid as iron and did not move an inch. Other guards had escorted numbers 22 and 14 onto the stage but Cassius was still there, with many guards trying to remove him from the stage.

Cassius looked up from number 7 and locked eyes with number 14. He dashed at him and instantly pierced through his stomach with his fist. The entire colosseum erupted with cheers. Crimson Death rang so loud the entire city heard the name. Guards were left in shock as they saw the barbaric action.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED!? CRIMSON DEATH TOOK OUT SOMEONE THAT WASN'T HIS OPPONENT! HE'S BLOODTHIRSTY AND WANTS TO STAY ON THE STAGE!"

Applause and cheers continued to boom out. Cassius' mind had drowned them out. He did not want to wait around anymore, he wanted the tournament to be finished. He had decided he would kill every single competitor except Garth to quicken things, as he wanted out of the colosseum. He still wanted to wait for Garth to be on stage as well before fighting the guards and noble, in case the power of them is too much for him alone, but he was unsure if that would still be possible.

"JUST THROW THEM ALL OUT ONTO THE STAGE! THE FINAL MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT, A 3 MAN FREE-FOR-ALL! NUMBERS 23, 10, AND 24 WILL FIGHT IT OUT FOR THE TOP SPOT!"

Two thirds of the colosseum were shouting "Crimson Death" and the other one third was shouting for number 24.

Garth and number 10 were escorted to the stage, the entrances were then crowded with guards. Number 10 looked like a teenager, around the same age of Garth and Cassius. He had golden hair that flowed to only his ears, parted in the middle, and looked greasy. His eyes were emerald green. He looked as if he had no care in the world, a lack of joy and worry.

Cassius and Garth looked at each other, then they both looked at number 10. His eyes slowly scanned both Cassius and Garth. His hands then went into the air as if to say he surrenders.

Cassius walked back over to number 7's body and bowed over it. Garth had started walking towards the other end of the colosseum, and gave an intense stare into the crowd of spectators above him in the seats. In a fraction of a second Garth had jumped up into the seats, and had began pushing the onlookers into the stage area.

Screams of terror came from the previous spectators as they were now in the same battlefield as Cassius. Guards began to swarm Garth and he battled them in the viewing seats as Cassius handled those around the stage.

The guards at the entrances of the stage flooded in and tried to attack Cassius and number 10. The two competitors weaved around the civilians and used them as a means of escape, the guards tried to avoid hitting those that were in the crowd. Cassius used this to his advantage and began killing the guards on the stage. There were 50 guards ranked chief in the stands, and 50 guards ranked major closing in on the stage.

Spectators ran from the colosseum, yelling that crimson death would kill them. Surrounded by guards, Cassius and Garth prepared to kill every single one of them. Number 10 continued to look as if he did not care about the whole situation, a lack of any emotions at all, but he had been helping to escape. Anyone that made it past the first few rounds of the tournament knew that if they got a chance to escape it was either take it and die or die doing nothing.

The three had it in their minds it was to-the-death. They would leave this city alive. Cassius' arms were critically injured, but the anger and adrenaline he currently held allowed him to grit his teeth and bear it. He had prepared himself to take on the entire populace of the city if that's what it took. Not knowing if there would be more fighting outside of the colosseum, Cassius had mentally prepared himself to take on thousands of people. Win or lose, he and Garth were fighting until the absolute end.