Scene One: The Announcement of the Battle
Lucifer sat upon his throne. His bloodlit eyes wandered among the generals before he declared in a stormlike voice:
Lucifer:
"The next match… Erathos versus Oceloth."
The hall trembled, whispers spreading among the generals.
Ashura laughed, slamming his fist:
Ashura:
"Hahaha! This will be madness… Destruction against Famine!"
Sitri smiled, resting his hand beneath his chin:
Sitri:
"A fight between destruction and famine… I can't decide which will be more entertaining."
Astaroth did not raise his eyes from his book, merely uttered coldly:
Astaroth:
"The stronger will win."
Lilith looked with disdain and said:
Lilith:
"Both are strange… but I wager the arena will become either ruin or a starving graveyard."
Scene Two: Entering the Arena
The massive stone gate opened, and Erathos stepped out first.
His steps shook the ground like a walking mountain, his broad shoulders weighed down by his massive sword. Each movement echoed deep like rolling earthquakes, his chest rising and falling with breaths that burned the air.
He stood in the center of the arena, raised his sword upon his shoulder, and growled toward the opposite gate:
Erathos:
"Come out, weakling… so I may crush you."
Then Oceloth emerged.
His body was gaunt, skeletal. His eyes hollow, like two dark wells.
But when he set his first foot into the arena… every torch upon the walls went out at once.
The air grew heavier.
The soldiers watching from above suddenly felt a hunger gnawing at their insides.
Oceloth stretched his bony hand forward, a dry laugh rasping from his throat:
Oceloth:
"Haah… Crush me, will you? Do not overestimate yourself, whelp."
Erathos raised his sword and struck the ground, shaking the arena:
Erathos:
"I'll destroy you, body and soul, you frail wretch!"
Oceloth, his voice hollow, like dry winds blowing through a dead desert:
Oceloth:
"Very well then… let us begin."
Scene Three: The Beginning of the Fight
The air turned into a suffocating black haze,
and everyone in the arena felt their guts twist, as if the food of their entire lives had been stolen in an instant.
One soldier among the crowd cried out:
Soldier:
"I… I'm starving…!"
Sitri chuckled lightly as he watched:
Sitri:
"Ah… even my stomach has started singing! What a delightful show."
Ashura roared with excitement:
Ashura:
"Hahaha! Kill him, whelp! Let your sword silence his dreary voice!"
Erathos smiled grimly, gripping his massive blade:
Erathos:
"Your magic won't defeat me.
Hunger kills only the weak."
And he charged forward, sword raised.
Scene Four: The Clash
His blade struck a wall of bone,
the explosion scattering dust in every direction,
but the wall absorbed the blow as though it were a mere morsel.
Oceloth laughed with a deadly whisper:
Oceloth:
"Is that all you have?"
Erathos snarled, his eyes blazing:
Erathos:
"Even if you devour the world…
I will remain the sword that falls upon your head.
Hunger humiliates men… but me, only destruction knows my name."
He raised his blade once more, sparks bursting from it like red stars.
Oceloth (slow, deep voice):
Oceloth:
"Emptiness dwells in chests, hunger walks in hearts.
You may shatter the earth a thousand times with your sword,
but hunger shall remain.
You fight what cannot be seen…
and what does not die… offers you no chance."
Scene Five: The Bones of Hunger
Oceloth raised his withered hand, and suddenly from the earth erupted twisted black bones,
as though the limbs of ancient skeletons buried for millennia.
Each bone pulsed with a strange hunger, like a hollow heart that never knew satiety.
Erathos growled:
Erathos:
"Mere bones? I'll crush them as I crush stone!"
He swung his sword upon one,
but the instant the hammer met the bone…
a strange current surged through his body.
His belly clenched violently,
his strength faltered for a moment,
and every cell screamed: hunger…
Oceloth laughed in a broken, plague-like voice:
Oceloth:
"These are not bones, but the remnants of all who were consumed by famine."
Scene Six: Erathos' Resistance
Erathos bowed his head for moments, his massive weapon trembling in his grip,
sweat poured from his brow,
his face paling like one unfed for years.
But suddenly… he raised his head, a savage grin on his lips.
Erathos (thundering voice):
Erathos:
"Even if my body turns skeletal…
my spirit does not know hunger.
I am no man searching for bread.
I am destruction… and destruction never starves."
He slammed his sword upon the ground, sparks bursting in every direction.
The shockwave shattered the bones around him, but they swiftly reformed,
mocking his effort with eerie laughter.
Scene seven: Madness of Destruction
Erathos lunged with frenzy, his body wasting from hunger,
but he bellowed a roar that shook the very walls:
Erathos:
"Even if famine consumes me…
I'll make you taste destruction before you reign!"
He brought his sword down with all the strength that remained.
The blade struck Oceloth's chest,
his skeletal skin cracked, black radiance spilling forth,
as though famine itself felt pain for the first time.
Oceloth staggered back,
raised his hand to see the black blood dripping from his chest.
He smiled slowly, whispered with his hollow voice:
Oceloth:
"Pain… not bad, whelp."
Scene eight: The Fall of Erathos
Suddenly, dozens of black bones erupted from the ground,
coiling around Erathos' body like serpents,
piercing into his flesh.
His stomach clenched,
his veins withered,
his face pale as death.
He fell to his knees, his sword slipping from his hand.
Erathos (broken voice):
Erathos:
"I… am destruction… I do not die…"
Oceloth (standing over him, voice cold as wind):
Oceloth:
"But even destruction needs a vessel…
and your vessel has become a feast for famine."
He raised his hand, and the bones drained what remained of Erathos' strength.
Then let him fall to the ground, half-dead, his body gaunt as if he had lived a thousand years without food.
---
Scene nine: The Result
Lucifer raised his hand, his voice echoing as judgment:
Lucifer:
"The victor… Oceloth."
But as Oceloth smiled, savoring his victory,
a sudden pain surged in his chest—
his hand touched the wound inflicted by Erathos.
He looked down and saw the black blood would not cease flowing.
He whispered to himself:
Oceloth:
"Good. Seems you didn't choose wrongly in that whelp, Lucifer."
Final Scene: A Double Aura
Ashura roared with laughter:
Ashura:
"Hahaha! That's what I wanted to see!"
Lilith smirked wickedly:
Lilith:
"Erathos… lost, yet his gaze still burns. That doesn't look like defeat."
Morfis lowered his head, whispering with fear:
Morfis:
"My brother lost… how can I win?"
Sitri scowled:
Sitri:
"What a boring match."
But Lucifer, upon his throne, smiled mysteriously,
his eyes gleaming with fresh blood:
Lucifer:
"Famine has triumphed… but the seed of destruction shall never vanish."
Erathos lay upon the ground, his breath ragged, his body ghostlike, yet his eyes still glowed.
He smiled a bloody grin and whispered hoarsely:
Erathos:
"You may defeat me today…
but remember, Oceloth…
hunger fades once it devours all,
but destruction… destruction remains."
Oceloth froze for a moment, sensing those words were no mere challenge,
Then Lucifer thundered with a stormlike voice, announcing the next match:
Lucifer:
"The next battle… Sitri versus Morfis!"