TYPHON'S POV:
"Now let me show you what true power is."
An aura of darkness shot forth from the boy as he finished his words, his silhouette becoming a shadow amidst the raging storm of bind. I remained absolutely still, not by choice, but because my muscles refused to move an inch.
I looked at my monstrous black hand, realizing the entirety of my arm was shivering. My eyes centered on Jay once more, an action I was unable to take back. All I could do was remain glued to him, gazing into the abyss that spread across the arena.
Small flashes of yellow energy zapped within the dark storm. The boy's turquoise eyes brimmed with shining light, standing out from the hurricane of violet energy. I had never heard of dark violet bind, but something told me this was beyond the boy's control. Was the energy tainted by his emotions?
"This is ridiculous," I muttered, finally being able to produce any kind of logical reasoning. Was this the power of an S-rank adventurer? Or was this something greater?
A sharp voice finally escaped the devastating hurricane of emotions, its glacial tone sending shivers down my spine.
"You see... Jok... where I come from... these duels are to the death."
Another burst of energy surged forth, much darker emotions flooding the city. Those words seemed to have worsened Jay's mental state, something that I feared could lead to death within the arena.
I froze, my hand slowly reaching towards my greatsword. I could see other guards surrounding the arena slowly doing the same, a duel to the death never being what both contestants agreed to. I raised my other hand, giving the signal to wait.
We had to wait until we were certain of Jay's intentions. The boy probably had the power to wipe out Pandora singlehandedly, and even if I'd be able to keep him at bay by pushing myself to my limits, I wanted to make sure we weren't creating an enemy that wasn't required. As long as we weren't sure if it was a bluff or not, we were to remain spectators.
"But that's not what we agreed to, is it? I'll just show you what is needed from a leader."
I let out a sigh of relief, a momentary second of relaxation washing over me. My body tensed up almost immediately after, realizing Jay had begun his assault. I briefly made eye contact with Jok, his head drenched with sweat and his irises shivering in terror.
A simple message seemed to be gushing out of his expression, one that I could simply acknowledge before the inevitable came: Help.
A duel was a duel, and intervention was absolutely prohibited unless one participant broke the rules of the agreement. I shook my head, slowly releasing the grip of my greatsword.
I'm sorry, Jok.
BOOM
A yellow comet crashed onto the lizardman's location, the ground cracking and forming a giant crater. Chunks of rock floated amidst the explosion, two individuals visible within the confusion. Jay stood calmly, clutching Jok's long neck with his bare hand and choking him as he hung the monster above ground.
Jay turned around, hurling his opponent into the wall on the opposite side of the arena. Lightning flashed again, both adversaries standing right in front of each other. This speed... felt like teleportation.
How could you fight an opponent that could change positions faster than you could blink? It was impossible. I could tell Jok was defeated as soon as he had felt Jay's aura, but the boy seemed far from done. Was this a demonstration? Was he sending a message to all those in the audience, and me?
Jay's fist swirled with bright orange flames before it slammed into the immobilized Jok's gut. Blood came flying out of the lizardman's mouth, internal damage clearly appearing and killing him from the inside.
The Dragon Commander grabbed his opponent once more, sending his foot right into the lizard's ribcage as it took on the power of Earth.
BOOM
The Earth-reinforced attack sent Jok tumbling back into the middle of the battlefield, his green skin soaked in blood and small groans echoing from his mouth. My eyes widened as Jay approached him, no apparent desire to stop himself present within his movements. I stepped forth immediately, raising my hand.
"The match is over-"
"!!"
Jay raised his head, glaring at me. His turquoise eyes felt like daggers penetrating my very soul, his mouth hanging slightly open in annoyance. I fell silent momentarily, soon realizing that I was the only one who could potentially save Jok's life.
"T-The victor is Jay Cadmium!" I roared, the announcement being received with dreadful silence. I remained frozen, my arm still in the air.
The overpowering bind in the air slowly dimmed down, retreating into the boy as his eyes returned to their original state. A small crackle of lightning appeared in his hands, the black dagger vanishing into thin air.
My breaths became longer, the adrenaline that was fueling my actions escaping my body.
Pandora had only one decree that determined who ruled everything: power. Strength was everything, and only the strongest could be entrusted to lead the more vulnerable. Jay Cadmium had appeared before me as an equal, but it was painfully obvious how wrong that comparison was.
He and I were different beings, two entities that lived in completely different worlds. What I believed to be strong... was in fact pitifully weak. All eyes lay on me, every citizen of Pandora understanding the situation.
We were all vulnerable here. This monstrosity that stood before us could choose to annihilate every single one of us if he so pleased, no repercussions whatsoever presenting themselves before him.
Whatever I did here would be accepted by everyone, not a single person doubting the strength of Jay Cadmium. He had toyed around with one of our best soldiers, and his display of strength had sent ripples across all of Pandora.
My footsteps echoed in the enclosed arena as I approached the boy, looking down on him with my towering height. I briefly glanced around one final time, looking at the people I had protected for so many generations.
A war was coming, and whether we liked it or not, we couldn't remain hidden forever. Only one person would be able to carry us through that fire unscathed, and the individual was standing right before me.
I took one last breath.
I kneeled down, looking straight into the ground. The sound of thousands of monsters mimicking my action rang across Pandora, only one boy standing tall. Nobody doubted it, nobody questioned it, the most powerful monster here... was Jay Cadmium.
"Only you can lead us to victory. Please, accept our pledge of loyalty, King Cadmium."