“Thank you for stepping in, Lightbearer, despite your, uh, injuries and predicaments.”
Retvik lowered his head, then adjusted his helmet, tying the straps beneath his chin. He had opted for his tougher, gold-plated helmet today, since he was about to fight what was essentially a dragon.
“Dear Raptor, I have said it many times, you can just call me Retvik. As for my injuries, I have none, and actually feel healthier than ever, somehow. Plus, I am in dire need of distractions. Even if that means fighting in Gavir’s memory.”
The Raptor grunted, inspecting Retvik’s armour. She rarely visited gladiators in person, but due to recent events and having lost some of her best warriors, she wanted to make sure that the ones still fighting were willing to do so.
“Very well. Good luck out there, Retvik.”
“Thank you.”
With a wave, the Raptor backed away, and Retvik picked up his weapons, a long, sharp-bladed gunstaff and his trusty shield, Lightedge. As soon as the room was clear, the gates behind Retvik sealed themselves shut, and the heavy steel door in front of him opened, revealing a dusty arena.
As Retvik stepped out, the crowd began to cheer, always happy to see him. Not so happy to see him though was his opponent. Licks of fire belched from the creature’s mouth as powerful wings thrust it into the air. Scattered around the arena were bits of rock and debris, the ruins of an old temple. Well, not an actual one, but one of the many set pieces used to make the arena more interesting.
Retvik raised his gunstaff, saluting both the crowd and his rival. Tihrahnik, the monstrous, 4m-tall Thraki however just roared, vomiting flames across the ground. However, the flames began to concentrate into a beam, one of which was now being aimed at the Lightbearer.
Without missing a beat, Retvik rolled to his left, planting his shield into the ground and using it as a platform to aim his gunstaff. He fired two shots, one of which collided with the Thraki’s wing. With a howl, Tihrahnik tumbled to the ground, but continued spitting fire in Retvik’s direction.
Knowing that he needed better cover, Retvik made the choice to roll towards some of the temple debris, being careful to avoid the flames lingering on the ground. The Thraki though predicted this, and spat a fireball in Retvik’s direction, not only blowing his cover, but also catching the Lightbearer in the blast.
Tihrahnik roared with glee, awkwardly flying towards the fiery explosion to finish off the Rethan. However, as it approached, something clawed out of the flames, grabbing the Thraki by the neck. Somehow, almost impossibly, the Lightbearer was… unharmed.
“H-How?” Tihrahnik stuttered, Retvik’s claws gripping tighter around his neck. “You are… fireproof?”
“It explains how I survived that damn fire…” Retvik hissed. “Are you done yet?”
Tihrahnik tried to pull away, clawing at Retvik’s arms, but the Lightbearer just shoved him back with his shield, before grabbing Tihrahnik tightly and throwing him into the ground. Snarling, Retvik reached for his gunstaff and plunged the blade deep into the Thraki’s side, circumnavigating Tihrahnik’s metal armour plating.
The Thraki roared in agony, before falling silent and collapsing. After a few moments, the device around Tihrahnik’s neck began to beep, and the Thraki was teleported away into the medical bays.
The audience remained quiet for a moment, before erupting into cheers and applause. Retvik picked himself up and inspected his body, surprised to find that he was completely unharmed, apart from some slight burns on his natural plating. The armour he had worn on top though, the belts had burnt up, and much of the metal plating had buckled and even melted in places.
“HERE’S YOUR WINNER, THE LIGHTBEARER, RETVIK RETHIANOS!” The announcer’s voice echoed through the arena speakers, snapping Retvik back to reality. He waved to the crowd, then made his way back to the heavy metal doors through which he had originally entered,pausing only to pick up his shield.
“Something weird is going on…” Retvik muttered, pulling off his now ruined armour, ignoring and pushing through the crowd that had gathered to greet him.