Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player
chapter-404

The change in the Fallen Gladiator's stance, a break in its former rigidity, clearly indicated that it was wounded in some shape or form.

It may not possess the bone structure or the limiting nervous system of a weak human, but the gruesome wound to its torso had indeed turned it wobbly.

This much was gleaned by Kieran with astonishing ease.

'It's not bleeding out, so the concept of Health should be disregarded. Do I perhaps need to chop the thing up? Hack it into many pieces until it's ground meat? …Blood?'

Pensive and silent, Kieran stared at Fallen Gladiator, continuing to summarize the trial's objectives per his perspective. 'One kills and the other survives. That's the purpose of this nightmare of war.'

There was no confirmation of right or wrong answers. It was simply how Kieran viewed it. Concise and cynical, yes, but it sufficed to explain his objectives.

Every member of the War Deity Council was a cold-blooded instrument of murder if need be.

After allowing the Fallen Gladiator to confirm more of his suspicions, he found that the wound to its torso hadn't healed in the slightest even after waiting for quite some time.

So, it was clearly an opponent incapable of healing. This much was a plus.

After all, it removed a potential headache from the equation.

However, aside from removing things, it also proved another—this Fallen Gladiator did not reach a Boss classification level. Meaning, if compared to actual monsters, its ranking couldn't be more than a Champion.

Of course, many other players would still despair before a Champion Monster or its equal, but this didn't apply to Kieran. He had killed so many that he was inured to the grandeur of this rank.

Ignoring his findings, Kieran focused on his opponent. More specifically, his blade sticking out of the Fallen Gladiator's torso.

Shockingly, the thing dropped its zweihander in the jagged rocks to remove Kieran's blade from its cavernous gut.

A gaping, unrestrictive hole gave way to a dreadful backdrop of gray skies and a seemingly bloody scene.

Only now did Kieran realize that between the many hills of varying sizes, rivers of blood flowed—too much. It was so much blood that Kieran questioned its purpose.

Sure, emulating a war setting was understandable, but did it need to be so picturesque? In Kieran's opinion, some of the details felt like overkill.

No, Kieran felt that whatever occurred here… that event was overkill.

'A one-sided massacre, perhaps? Then… what is the historical value of this place? And the culprit? If I'm not mistaken… didn't Lord Veradin mention that another opportunity awaits if I perform well? There's a link there, and that link may be related to this passing thought of mine.'

"Well, isn't this a hilarious sight?"

While Kieran contemplated this connection, his eyes narrowed, feeling that the current situation was quite comical.

The Fallen Gladiator had picked up his blade to wield it, but in doing so, the partially incomplete Vampiric Blood Encrustation dissolved into a pool of blood, which Kieran attempted to recall.

Unsurprisingly, while he could connect with it vaguely, willing it to return was beyond him. Of course, that was unless he got closer. The effects of the Quintessential Aether proved to be a limiting obstruction yet again.

However… Kieran found delight in this issue.

The day he returned to his former mastery, his abilities and identity as one of the Maddened… would be solidified.

He would be a Blood Fiend.

"Alright, I'll need my damned blade back," Kieran remarked, suddenly dashing toward the Fallen Gladiator. Like a predator in the wild, Kieran's posture was low, the fur of his top nearly brushing against the ground.

As he moved lightning quick, the Vampiric Blood Encrustation encased his hands, creating two malevolent and menacing clawed gauntlets. Noticeably larger than his hands typically were, these gauntlets shimmered with the dark presences embedded within Argexes' Blood.

Yet… it was all mesmerizing in a spooky sense.

Kieran had to take a second to marvel at its crimson glory. 'I suppose pummeling an opponent or two from time to time won't hurt. It'll give me a reason to employ Blood Mania in this manner.'

In the hands of the Fallen Gladiator, Crimson Ashrune struck the ground, creating a moderately deep fissure, one deep enough to hide part of the blade. This missed strike was courtesy of Kieran's well-timed sidestep.

When the Fallen Gladiator attempted to retract the weapon, Kieran moved in for the kill.

A series of brutal thoughts flashed in Kieran's mind, compelling him to act upon every one.

'That'll make a perfect combo.'

Stepping upon Crimson Ashrune's blade, Kieran forbade the Fallen Gladiator and his trusted weapon from moving. It could let go, but before the idea reached the tentative opponent, Kieran's large, gauntlet-clad fist arrived at its helmet.

Bang!

Forced back by the powerful impact, the Fallen Gladiator's body jerked as it tried to grip the weapon. Finding an opportunity at this moment, Kieran took a second mighty step, propelling a short distance forward and placing himself in a promising spot.

His hand wrapped around Crimson Ashrune's hilt, slashing it in a full-moon arc.

The swing itself didn't connect with the Fallen Gladiator as it was sent flying back far too quickly, but Kieran didn't require contact. Minute destruction of the ground was enough.

All of the pieces had fallen into place with that former full moon-like swing.

Kieran impaled Crimson Ashrune's hilt into the ground, leaving the blade protruding from the ground at an estimated forty-five to fifty-degree angle.

A trail of crimson lingered in the air as Kieran's body suddenly flickered, catching up with the Fallen Gladiator.

Both their bodies jerked when Kieran stomped his foot into the ground, burying his leg up to his shin. After all, he had to account for this hefty Fallen Gladiator.

If the Fallen Gladiator could muster a human expression underneath its angular helmet, it would surely be one of disbelief. However, all it could conjure was everlasting torpor with a hint of a survivalist's conviction.

There was no time to react to Kieran's next action because, before it could register and understand how to maneuver its current situation, Crimson Ashrune's blade protruded from its chest.

A second later, Kieran was upon the Fallen Gladiator, looming over the helpless opponent like a merciless crimson beast. "Surely you won't withstand this, right?"

Several harrowing, tearing, and cracking noises echoed throughout the vast, bloodied battlefield as Kieran tore the Fallen Gladiator in half, tearing its torso from its limbs.

To ensure its demise, however, Kieran placed the gauntlet over its helmet.

"Peril Implosion!"

The same blood that flowed through this battlefield splattered from the back of the helmet, with tiny metallic shrapnel ejecting along with it.

As expected, losing its head caused the Fallen Gladiator's body to immediately go limp.

With no muddled sentience to guide its movement, no steadfast conviction to ensure its seemingly pointless survival, the armor returned to its fragmented state, lacking any semblance of its former uniformity.

〈System: You have cleared the first round of the «Immemorial Gladiator Trial».〉

〈System: The second round shall soon start.〉

〈System: As the crimson river seethes to life, the nightmare of war shall be awoken once more. Beat back those who resent their death, resent their weakness.〉

'A message?'

Kieran's gaze flashed with a peculiar emotion as he read the message given to him. He wasn't mistaken; the message was a hint to him, just like the battle, endure, kill and survive was.

Initially, the message was unclear, but when he compared it to what he had recently witnessed, he understood what the seething referred to.

It related to the conviction that seethed within the Fallen Gladiators.

However, more importantly, it referred to the blood itself seething. Before the armor was pieced together, Kieran noticed activity within the blood, something that should be easily discernible, given the nature of his abilities.

But from this message, it was evident that not all of the blood present was the same. If it were, there was no need for anything to be awoken. This hinted that the War Phantasmagoria carried a great secret.

Perhaps it was the reason Veradin demanded that he reach the 5th round.

Wrapping his foot in the boot that his Vampiric Blood Encrustation created, Kieran kicked Crimson Ashrune's blade, catching its hilt in the middle of its rotation.

With his weapon slung over his shoulder, Kieran peered at the segmented and intertwining rivers of blood that flowed into the distance. If he could get a bird's eye view of the area, he'd notice that all the rivers of blood formed a human-like infrastructure.

Notably, the countless veins that carried vital essence throughout a human's body.

However, Kieran wasn't capable of flight, and scaling one of the mountains would only give him a skewed, incomplete view of the War Phantasmagoria.

Kieran would rather have no knowledge and operate blindly than come to an unjustified conclusion based on incomplete data. He had seen and witnessed them one too many times, situations where this led to a horrific oversight.

Thirty seconds after the earlier notification, another appeared. Expected, nonetheless.

〈System: The second round of the «Immemorial Gladiator Trial» has begun. The objective remains the same yet becomes increasingly perilous. Battle, endure, kill… and survive.〉

At that moment, Kieran noticed several armors in different areas of the uneven battlefield vibrating. One, two, three…

Eventually, Kieran counted exactly ten distinct disturbances on the field. "Am I facing off against ten opponents now?"

This question was aimed at no one, but it received an answer nonetheless.

The answer was yes. He was up against ten enemies.

However, while nine of them were identical to the Fallen Gladiator faced in the previous round, Kieran noticed a stark difference in the one hundreds of yards ahead of him.

Larger in stature, the armor it wore seemed heavier and more protective. But that wasn't what truly caught his eye. Instead, Kieran perceived anger and resentment burning within the faint cerulean hues under its helmet.

Balls of nefarious and embittered flames.

This particular Fallen Gladiator was undoubtedly stronger than the rest. And thus, Kieran prepared for it, preemptively stimulating the Vampiric Blood Encrustation.

He wouldn't be caught off guard like in the previous round.

At least… that was his thought up until ten seconds after the notification appeared.