Before we could get into the tunnels below the arena again, we had to wait out the last match.
The announcer first introduced a fighter who had won many fights before. He was a tall gladiator, close to two meters.
The cheers and shouts were now far louder than they were in the matches before.
This tribune wielded a gladius and a greatshield.
I already thought they could not get any louder.
"AND NOW, TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT! THE MAN YOU ALL CAME TO SEE! THE STRONGEST FIGHTER TO HAVE EVER FOUGHT IN THE ARENA;
GHOOOOORHAAAAALN!"
A giant hand appeared under one of the biggest gates and simply pulled it up like it weighed nothing.
A man—no, a giant—stepped out of the darkness. He was at least three and a half meters tall.
His shoulders were just as wide, muscles far beyond what seemed possible for any human. They were straining under his skin, rippling, twisting.
He was clothed in nothing but simple brown rags. Dark, bristly hair fell down his head and covered parts of his body like fur.
Behind him, he pulled a gigantic battle axe.
The thing was big enough to split entire boats clean in two. It seemed too big to be used against humans; even to split them, a smaller axe would have sufficed.
He pulled the axe before his body and rammed it into the sand. His arms opened low on his sides in a boastful gesture.
The giant sucked in air and released an ear-shattering roar, a noise that even exceeded the now enthusiastically screaming masses.
His opponent, dwarfed and clearly intimidated, took a few steps back.
It was obvious who would win this fight. It was far from being an even match.
Ghorhaln picked up the two-sided battleaxe again, each blade bigger than his meager opponent.
As the sand column exploded once more and the fight began, the small man in what resembled Roman armor started circling around his gigantic enemy.
Either he seriously thought he had a chance, or he had decided to at least lose with pride.
After bathing in the gaze of the masses a few more seconds, the Unbroken decided to make his first move.
His battle axe slid over the ground, whirling up a storm of sand—then he disappeared.
His silhouette shot out of the cloud, closing the distance to his foe in an instant.
For a short moment, he simply loomed over him, menacingly.
His battle-axe flashed once, the broad side colliding with the small man. In the last second, a rune flashed. Something protective, I assumed.
But it was simply not enough. The man's body flew through the arena and crashed into the side. Small cracks slithered over the wall under the immense power of the impact.
Under the bright shine of his protective rune, the gladiator sunk down to his knees, not yet defeated.
Instead of ending the fight, the Demigiant simply turned in small circles, showered in the audience's approval. A devilish grin stretched from one corner of his mouth to the other.
Behind him, the man had risen to his feet again. It was not over yet.
The dwarfing brute turned around to dedicate himself to his enemy once more.
His insane grin, the giant battle axe, and this barbarian standing before him made the gladiator almost stumble back.
It was truly terrifying.
As he lifted up his greataxe above his head, the man prepared to block the overhead strike.
Only in the last second did he realize that this strike was not something one could block. If he stood his ground, this giant metal hunk would split him whole.
To deceive his opponent, he rammed the greatshield into the ground and dashed away.
The standing greatshield fell apart like a split log—almost two meters of metal, split like it was paper.
The gladiator had used the few moments he gained by his risky maneuver to close the difference in range between them. Now he pulled back his gladius with both hands to ram it into the giant's leg.
A tired blow with the giant's hand threw him back again.
The gladiator groaned. He threw a glance down at his armor, only to discover the dents of the giant's hand. His chestplate was pressed together from the impact.
If only he could land a single hit. That would be enough to immortalize him.
Only a single hit.
The gladiator dashed forward again.
As the giant axe swung from the left, he fell to the ground, sliding over the sand between the giant's legs.
As expected, Ghorhaln raised a foot to simply crush him.
He rolled aside, barely avoiding being stomped to a pulp.
His sword buried into the giant's calf.
He had actually wounded the giant.
Euphoria filled the man for a second-quickly washed away as he heard the Demigiant's growl. A low animalistic noise, filled with pure anger.
This had never happened before.
Fear struck the gladiator.
He did not believe he had a chance from the beginning. But the cruel fate that awaited him was doomed on him just now.