What stood in front of Eve could only be described as a better version of Slackjaw. No, a better one would be an understatement. He is the champion, after all; let's not diminish his glory without reason.
"Gladys, Gladys, Gladys"
Gladys turns his head towards the people who prayed for his arrival.
"Eve, right? Is that your name, worm?"
Eve bends down and picks Nightfall from the ground, dusting it off.
"Color me impressed, champion, didn't know someone of your caliber would remember a worm's name."
The continuous yells of the champion's name are still ever-present. Yet the two of them got used to it. Barely hearing them anymore.
"I'm sorry if I offended you; that wasn't my intention."
Gladys's gaze falls back on Eve.
Eve raises an eyebrow.
This guy doesn't act at all like a mindless brute. Why did Elyon say that?
"No offence taken, yet."
It's a weird thing for Eve to feel this, but his presence is calm. If she hadn't been in the arena, she almost wouldn't be on edge in his presence,
almost...
What's his deal?
Now that Eve can take a better look at him, he looks like a perfect gladiator. Broad shoulders, barely any armour, a face covered in a helmet with many horns in it. Eve can almost remember the name of this type of helmet. Something like a myrmillo helmet? She isn't really sure...
His weapon of choice is a trident and something else. When Eve realises what that is, her face almost goes pale.
Next to him lay a beast sleeping.
How did I not see it? What the hell is that?
Paws that hold razor-sharp claws in them, giant teeth that could shred flesh with ease. A beautiful mane and eyes of an almost perfect predator. A king of some sort.
"Fancy dog you have there"
Eve almost chuckles to herself; she wasn't prepared to fight multiple opponents. She thought that this Colosseum would be fair in its rules, but remembering where she was, she brushed that thought to the side.
Gladys turns his gaze towards the sleeping beast next to him.
"I think it's more of a cat, they said it was a lion? I'm not sure."
Eve's eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
"Oh"
Gladys nods weakly
"Yeah, it doesn't look like a cat at all."
Eve shifts her weight from one foot to another, then she sighs.
"Why aren't we fighting?"
Gladys turns his sights back to the crowd, his right arm, the one that doesn't hold the spear, reaches out to them. Just like Eve, when the fight with the Defilement ended. But once it's almost fully extended, he turns it inwards.
"What's the point? We could stay like this forever, and they would still yell my name. Not even the announcer is excluded."
He is right, the crowd seems almost...mindless.
"To survive, that's why we fight."
Gladys pulls his arm back and looks back at Eve.
"Like I said, what's the point?"
Eve is growing annoyed with this champion.
"So we can see another day."
"And what's so bad in embracing death?"
Eve points Nightfall towards him.
"What are you trying to say?"
Gladys does the same, his trident pointed towards her.
"Eve, right? What do you think humanity's greatest sin is?"
Eve thinks for a bit.
"I don't know, I heard one time about a girl biting an apple, and that was pretty bad. But I don't think that's what you are referring to"
"Humanity's greatest sin was developing its consciousness. Gaining the thought process of making choices and thinking about one's life."
Eve's guard falls, and she just looks at him.
"You are an idiot...champion."
Gladys also lowers his guard.
"Call me anything you want, but I am right. We, humans, are cruel by nature, the worst types of animals. Maybe the Colosseum corrupted this feeble mind of mine. But I believe it with every bit of marrow in my body."
"Why?"
"Why? It's simple, really. We were never meant to hold this type of power. This lion next to me might be a king of some sort, yet he is nothing to a human. With enough willpower and adrenaline, even a normal human could kill it."
Eve remains quiet.
"Hmm, no, I'm sorry, it has been a while since I talked like this with someone, so I might get my ideas mixed up. But we have all the time in the world to talk? Do we not?"
Eve bites her lower lip, the blood which she almost poured in her cell when she was holding herself back from crying...spills now. It trickles down her chin, and it lands on the sand.
Eve doesn't see his face, but she knows he is smiling beneath that helmet of his.
"W-what are you trying to get at?" She spits her blood on the sand, her eyes turning redder as the seconds tick by. She really hates this guy, even more than the Defilement.
She grips Nightfall so hard, her whole body starts to shake with rage.
"We only cause harm with our choices. No one can truly love someone for who they are. We get used and tossed aside if we are not shown or worth. And I'm not just talking about us. I'm talking about everyone."
When those words register in Eve's mind, memories of the way her mother used to scold her. And the times her father would come to her rescue.
A blood-curdling sound escapes Eve's mouth.
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT LOVE?"
Gladys looks towards the sky.
"I know nothing of it."
Eve remains silent
"So that's why I love everyone with all my heart. Even you, Eve"
"Fuck you, Gladys"
"But it's true, I love everyone with everything that I have. That's why I will free everyone of their sin."
Gladys's spear falls in the sand, which makes the lion wake up. It stretches and roars. The lion is hungry for Eve's flesh.
But before the lion can do anything, Glady's giant hands grip its head.
"That's why I took it upon myself to become..."
The lion trashes from side to side, its claws scrape against the sand wildly. Its roar sounds more like a cry for survival, and yet Gladys's arms are straining against the pulling force he is applying. He is much calmer than ever.
With a last cry of desperation, the lion's head is ripped off completely. Its giant body falls into the sand, gushing blood everywhere.
Gladys lifts the lion's head high up in the air, and the blood that falls from its severed head lands just upon Gladys's helmet. Staining it in blood, some of it falls directly on his face, from the numerous holes in his helmet.
"To become a merciful being and to extinguish the flames of sin born in humanity's guts ."
Eve knows it; she is ready. The fight will truly start after this, her whole body on high alert.
"And yet you killed a being that can't really make a choice for themselves."
Eve scoffs towards the champion.
Gladys throws the lion's head to the side, and he picks up his trident.
"That's because sometimes I am quite cruel"
In an instant, Nightfall feels a bit heavier than usual.
Eve is left confused by the sudden weight change in the sword.
She looks down and realises that she is only holding Nightfall with just her right hand.
Eve looks down a bit more, and she sees that her left arm is sprawled in the sand, spewing blood.
And yet she doesn't realise that Gladys is behind her, ready to drive his trident through her head and elicit his mercy upon her.