The dust swirled around them like storm clouds. Neither man moved recklessly, every twitch of muscle was measured, every step deliberate.
Alexander's eyes sharpened. His guard is flawless. But no man is flawless for long.
He lunged first, sarissa sweeping low, sand exploding as the U-shaped blade darted toward Arthur's leg.
Arthur pivoted, steel boots grinding against the dirt, Excalibur flashing downward to intercept. But it was a feint, Alexander twisted the spear shaft mid-swing, the second curve of the blade hooking upward like a scythe.
The crowd gasped.
Arthur barely caught the reversal, but not fast enough. Slice! A shallow cut tore across his thigh. His mantle fluttered as he staggered back, teeth clenched.
From the human side of the world, whispers rippled through every hidden screen.
"He… he made Arthur bleed!"
"A human king against the King of Legends…!"
Rumpelstiltskin squealed, leaping into the air.
"OHHHHH! First blood to Alexander! What cunning! What savagery! He baits high, he cuts low, he draws crimson from the once and future king!"
But Arthur did not falter. His eyes only hardened.
"You're skilled. But a conqueror relies on trickery."
Alexander smirked, twirling the sarissa.
"And a king relies on faith. Let's see which lasts longer."
Arthur surged forward, his mantle snapping like a banner in battle. Excalibur carved through the air in a blinding diagonal slash. Alexander deflected, sparks spraying, but Arthur didn't stop there, he pressed forward, his swings coming tighter, sharper, faster.
Excalibur struck the sarissa again and again, driving Alexander back step by step. Every swing was aimed not just to wound, but to break his rhythm.
Alexander narrowed his eyes. He wants me on the defensive. He wants me to stumble.
Arthur suddenly shifted, Excalibur dipped, slicing upward with brutal force. Alexander caught it with his spear, but the divine blade's glow surged, burning through the shaft, nearly splitting it.
The impact forced Alexander's grip wide, just what Arthur wanted.
In that heartbeat of opening, Arthur twisted Excalibur sideways and slammed the pommel against Alexander's ribs.
Thud!
Alexander staggered back, coughing as pain shot through his side. He glanced down to see a smear of blood at his lips.
The coliseum erupted in howls. Fairy creatures pounded the walls, shrieking with joy. Humans watching flinched, clutching their hearts.
"Arthur lands a strike!" Rumpelstiltskin shrieked, hopping madly. "And just like that, balance is restored! One wound for one wound! The crown tilts both ways!"
Alexander straightened, wiping the blood from his mouth with his thumb. His smirk returned, sharper than ever.
"Good. You're not just a legend carved in stone."
Arthur steadied Excalibur, his eyes like steel.
"And you're not just a tyrant's ghost."
They circled again, both bleeding, both breathing harder, but neither showing weakness.
Up in the VIP section, Noah's heart raced.
"They… they're dismantling each other piece by piece…"
Lucianne swallowed hard, eyes glued to the arena. "No… they're learning each other. Like two generals mapping the battlefield."
Leo Grimm leaned forward, intrigued, his golden eyes glimmering.
"Both strike, both bleed… The true war begins now."
And in the center of the sand, the two kings raised their weapons again. They both are strategists, warriors, monarchs.
The next move would not just draw blood.
It would decide who truly commanded the battlefield.
The clash had left both men marked with blood on Arthur's thigh, bruised ribs for Alexander. The crowd screamed for them to resume, but instead…
Alexander didn't press forward. He rolled his shoulders, twirled the sarissa in a slow, deliberate spin, and then lowered it slightly, shifting his stance. His eyes sharpened, calculating.
"Direct confrontation… stalemate." He thought quickly, his mind working like the tactician who once conquered the known world.
"Arthur meets me blow for blow. But kings do not win battles by brute strength alone. They win by breaking the mind."
Alexander exhaled, the smirk fading into a predator's calm. His steps became slower, lighter, as though he were testing the ground itself.
Across from him, Arthur narrowed his eyes. The conqueror's rhythm had changed. No longer rushing, no longer pressing like he was waiting.
Arthur stepped back once. Twice.
The crowd of fairy creatures booed and hissed, confused at their champion's retreat. Rumpelstiltskin cackled into his crystal-tipped staff.
"OHHH, what's this? The True King… backing away? Is that fear I smell? Or… no, NO! How delicious that he feels. He senses the Conqueror plotting!"
Arthur raised Excalibur, holding it closer to his body, his stance tightened, defensive. His voice carried across the arena, calm but edged with caution.
"You're shifting your battlefield, aren't you? You've stopped fighting me as a direct fighter. Now you fight me as a general."
Alexander's smirk returned, faint but sharp.
"You're quick to notice. Good. It would be boring otherwise."
Arthur's eyes flicked over Alexander's position, his footing, the distance between them. He could sense every step Alexander took was not random. He was herding him. Testing space. Seeking the line of control.
"If I give him too much ground… he'll make the entire arena his battlefield."
Arthur clenched Excalibur tighter. "So… I'll make him come to me."
He shifted further back, forcing Alexander to advance. The coliseum floor groaned beneath their careful maneuvers, sand shifting as the two kings danced in silence, minds clashing even before weapons did.
Up in the VIP section, Noah leaned in, heart hammering.
"Why aren't they striking? What are they-?"
Lucianne interrupted, whispering urgently.
"They're… they're both commanders. They're mapping every inch of the arena in their heads."
Leo Grimm's golden eyes gleamed with quiet approval.
"…Interesting. Two kings. Two tacticians. This fight will be decided not by strength alone… but by will."
Hans scoffed, slamming his goblet on the armrest.
"Bah! Enough games! Draw blood already!
Down below, Alexander tightened his grip on the sarissa, his eyes locked on Arthur like a hawk circling prey.
Arthur steadied Excalibur, mantle fluttering in the wind, his stance solid as a mountain.
The silence was suffocating. The crowd leaned forward, breathless.
Both kings now understood.
The next move would not just be steel on steel.
It would be strategy against strategy.
The sand hissed beneath Arthur's boots as he shifted, circling like a wolf around Alexander's spear. The Conqueror stood unnervingly still, his sarissa angled but not raised, his face unreadable.
Arthur's eyes narrowed. "He hides behind that calm mask… but no man is unbreakable. Every defense has a seam."
Arthur feinted left, then right, testing for reaction. Nothing. Alexander didn't flinch. He pivoted smoothly, always keeping the sarissa between them like a wall.
Arthur's frustration grew. The fairy crowd roared for blood, stamping their claws, demanding their king strike.
Then he saw it.
A small hitch in Alexander's step, his back heel dragging slightly in the sand as he reset his footing. A hesitation and a bit subtle, but clear.
Arthur's heart pounded. There. That's the opening. The light of victory.
With a roar, he lunged, Excalibur thrusting forward in a straight, divine line aimed for Alexander's ribs. The blade gleamed like judgment itself, the crowd howling in anticipation.
But…
Alexander's smirk finally returned, sharp as a knife. His eyes blazed.
"Got you."
Arthur realized too late. The "opening" wasn't real… It was bait.
Alexander pivoted on his heel, dropping low. The sarissa swept in a brutal arc, its U-shaped blade catching Excalibur off-line and twisting Arthur's guard wide open. In the same fluid motion, Alexander ripped the weapon back across Arthur's chest.
SHHHHRRRAAAAANG!
The sound of tearing steel and flesh split the arena. Arthur's mantle shredded, his armor caved under the force, and a long, deep slash carved across his chest.
Blood sprayed into the sand. The True King staggered, gasping as crimson stained his shining armor.
"HHHRRAAAAAAH!" Alexander bellowed, his voice carrying across the entire coliseum. His muscles strained, his strike filled with the roar of every battlefield he had ever conquered.
"SARISSA BREAK!"
The sheer power of the attack sent Arthur skidding back, boots carving trenches into the arena floor as he fought to stay upright.
The fairy crowd fell into stunned silence for a heartbeat… then erupted in chaos. Some shrieked in panic, others roared in fury, and others still howled in delirious excitement.
Rumpelstiltskin spun like a mad puppet, his voice a shriek of glee.
"OHHHHHH! The King bleeds heavily! Did you see that? The bait! The trap! The Conqueror SET the stage, and Arthur DANCED right into it! What a genius! What cruelty!"
Up in the human VIP section, Noah and Lucianne froze in shock. Noah's throat tightened.
"He… he read Arthur like a book."
Lucianne gripped the railing, trembling.
"But that wound… It's bad. Can Arthur still fight?"
Across from them, Hans Grimm slammed his goblet to the ground, roaring.
"IMPOSSIBLE! Arthur does not FALL to tricks!"
Leo only leaned back, lips curling into the faintest smile.
"…And yet, even kings are pawns, if placed correctly."
Down below, Arthur fell to one knee, blood dripping into the sand, Excalibur trembling in his grip. But his eyes… his eyes still burned with fire.
Alexander leveled his sarissa, standing tall, voice cutting through the roaring coliseum.
"Legend or not… you are still only a man before the Conqueror!"
The fight was far from over. But the first decisive blow had been struck.