Crimson mana began to bleed out of the crystal embedded in the gate, tendrils of energy reaching out to runes carved into the walls and floor behind its thick metal bars. As the runes brightened, a red veil shimmered into existence between them, reminiscent of the portal Ash had used to enter. It continued to solidify, taking on the appearance of a vertical pool of blood.

Ash watched in dreadful anticipation as a massive form casually stepped out from the rippling surface, the sounds of metallic clinking accompanying its arrival. It waited patiently as the gate slowly raised into the ceiling, the portal blinking out of existence.

He felt as though a lead blanket was thrown over him as the creature’s aura washed over the arena.

Holding his daggers in a backward grip, Ash crouched low into a defensive stance, ready for anything.

A thirteen-foot-tall humanoid sauntered confidently into the light, the thick iron chains that hung loose from its wrists dragging lines in the sand behind it. Its pale skin stretched over its lithe and powerful body as it walked, the muscles underneath looking like they were carved from marble. Its perfect posture was a strange contrast to its mostly naked form. Everything about it was human, unnervingly so; however, its face was everything but. Covering its eyes, a thick metal band wrapped all the way around its bald head; the nails keeping it attached were driven deep throughout. Its lipless mouth bore a permanent smile that stretched beyond where its nose should have been, its white, oversized teeth surrounded by bright red gums.

It stopped in the center of the colosseum and glanced around, as if the metal blocking its vision wasn’t there. The colossus’s gaze eventually rested on Ash.

Its aura flared, the sand at its feet misting. It closed the fifty-foot distance between them in a heartbeat.

It's fast, Ash thought as he barely sidestepped the massive hand reaching for his head.

The creature continued to go at him, quiet, not letting out even a grunt as it attacked.

Each swing and attempted grab flowed into the next with casual efficiency, never repeating the same pattern twice. Its movements felt precise and deliberate, yet also passionless and bored. Ash weaved through the barrage with relative ease. However, he quickly found that each attack was getting closer to hitting its mark than the last.

It swiped at him with a reverse backhand, the chain attached to its wrist whistling in the air.

Ash crouched low, ducking the swing, only to be greeted by a fist plunging down at him from above. He was finally forced to flare his own aura, his body filling with potential. Already crouched, he sprang off the ground, barely clearing the blow as it impacted the sand below him like a cannonball. He lightly landed on the arm as it drove deep into the ground. Swiping his daggers downward, he sliced two deep gashes into its forearm.

The creature didn’t even flinch.

Not wanting to stick around, Ash channeled all of his mana into legs and pushed off, arcing away into the air.

It casually removed its arm from the sand and stood up straight.

Ash landed, skidding backward in the sand. He felt confident after that exchange. Maybe the crazy girl was exaggerating, he hoped as he waited for the next assault.

Instead of attacking, the giant touched the deep cut near its wrist, tapping at the blood that oozed out. It looked down at its stained fingers and released a deep and breathy hiss, finally showing some semblance of emotion.

The energy that encompassed the colossus undulated as it stared at its own ichor. The leaden aura pooled down its arms, before, to Ash’s dismay, it continued down to encompass the long chains that hung from its wrists.

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It's a manipulator, Ash thought in terror. The second he realized, he jumped back, trying his best to get as much distance between him and the chains as possible.

He didn’t get far before the colossus shifted its attention back to him. It stretched both of its arms wide behind itself, the chains hanging from it, growing denser with aura. Letting out another breathy hiss, it used every muscle in its body to wrench its manicled wrists forward at incredible speed.

The chains whipped through the air like metal vipers, growing longer as they traveled; their rhythmic clinks accelerating the further they went. They scraped the walls of the arena, carving off large chunks of stone as they pincered their target.

Ash couldn't dodge both.

He ran towards the chain approaching from his right. He barely maneuvered so it whipped past right above his head, a small lock of his white hair getting sliced off in the process.

Spinning to face the other, he tried to cross his daggers in front of him and prepare for the impact.

The giant suddenly yanked on the chain, its muscles bulging. The momentum surged up the chain like a sadistic wave. The end snapped like a whip from hell.

He tried to catch it on his blades, but it was like trying to block a meteor with a toothpick.

An ear-splitting CRACK resounded off the colosseum walls.

Ash went flying, blood spurting from his mouth as he ragdolled through the air. He impacted the arena’s stone wall, a crater forming where his body hit. He fell limp from it and onto the sand like a bloody rag.

He couldn't breathe. Every attempt was replaced with a sharp pain and a mouthful of blood. He tried to focus his mana inward to repair his twisted and broken insides, but his mind was hazy. The edges of his vision were going dark and spotty. A breath. All he needed was a breath.

The colossus took its time walking to him, its long clinking chains making wakes in the sand as they retracted to their original length.

He pulled himself up on all fours, red painting the sand beneath him as he coughed up what felt like a liter of blood. But as the blood left, air was able to take its place. He breathed deeply, the darkness around his vision fading. Grabbing his daggers from the sand, he managed to prop himself up against the wall and face his opponent. Although he could breathe, he wasn't sure how much else he could do.

The colossus moved casually towards him, much in the same way it entered the arena. Straight-backed. Confident.

He wiped the blood from his lips onto his sleeve, trying his best to stand unsupported. As a last resort, he flung both daggers at his approaching executioner, the blades thudding into its chest like darts into a board.

It was as futile as throwing pebbles at a mountain.

The colossus continued walking, unfazed, not even bothering to pull the blades out.

It stopped in front of him to look down at his bloody form.

As if there were some sort of unspoken agreement, Ash didn't struggle as it reached down to grab him by the neck.

He didn't see the point of running.

It raised him up into the air. Then, it began to squeeze. The blessed air he had just regained was denied to him once more.

His face turned red as he helplessly struggled in its grasp.

It hissed as it watched him squirm, its breath hot and putrid. However, the sound stopped as something caught its attention.

Its head tilted in confusion as it watched thin red wisps of crimson energy rise from its chest, the daggers that had been impaled there now gone.

It barely had time to notice the two white blades slicing cleanly through its arm. Its manacled wrist and the hand attached to it fell limply to the sand below.

It looked down to find the culprit, but Ash was already behind him, cutting at the tendon that ran up its heel like a surgeon with a scalpel.

It buckled, falling to one knee with a heavy impact.

Reaching back, it tried to grab him.

However, Ash was prepared.

He dodged the massive hand. Then, like threading a needle, he deftly slid his dagger through the metal links attached to the creature’s shackled wrist. Ash screamed as he stabbed the blade deep into the creature’s back, securing the chain in place.

It attempted to bring its arm back in front of itself to retaliate, but the chain went taut, the dagger’s razor-sharp blade dragging across its own back, the wound opening wider.

Using his other dagger, Ash severed the remaining tendon.

With nothing to support it, its massive body fell forward into the sand.

It writhed.

Ash was already atop its back, putting all of his weight onto the blade that pinned the giant’s arm in place. It sporadically slammed its head into the ground in futility, still trying to rip the dagger out. The wound on its back widened as it continued to struggle. However, it didn't stop, its insides spilling out like a twisted fountain. It groaned sorrowfully as it continued to try and yank its arm free, over and over.

With one final pull, it went still.

Ash remained on its back for some time, gripping the dagger with white-knuckles just in case the colossus suddenly woke.

However, it remained still, the blood pooling around its form reminiscent of the very portal that had brought it here.