The air in the Colosseum was electriot with magiot with the echoes of the croere holding their breath, but with pure, deadly i.
Helios and Sephiroth stood across from each other, their ons lowered but their bodies coiled like springs, every muscle prepared to strike or defend in an instant.
Their magic ent. Their bodies were battered but their resolve was unshaken.
No teleportation. No spells. No tricks.
Just steel against steel.
Then—
They moved.
Sephiroth struck first.
His Masamune whipped forward in a fsh of silver, slig down in a arc meant to split Helios from shoulder to hip.
Helios reacted instantly.
He crossed his dual Keybdes, catg the impossibly long sword between them. Sparks erupted as the steel cshed, the sheer force of Sephiroth’s attack pushing Helios back, his feet scraping against the stone.
Sephiroth then twisted his wrist—Masamune slid along the Keybdes, redireg the force to flick Helios’ guard open.
Helios’ eyes widened as his guard was pletely broken. The attack that followed was simply too fast—
SLASH!
A deep cut tore across Helios’ ribs, blood spraying onto the stone.
But Helios didn’t falter. Instead, he stepped into the pain, twisting his body and sshing his Dark Keybde toward Sephiroth’s exposed fnk.
Sephiroth barely dodged, tilting his body to the side, but the tip of the Keybde caught his coat, slig through it.
A single line of blood appeared on his waist.
The first drop of Sephiroth’s blood had fallen on this stage.
The croed.
But her fighter paid attention.
Sephiroth’s bde became a blur.
Helios had no time to think—only react. A ssh came for his throat—he leaned back, the steel missing by mere inches. A stab aimed for his heart—he twisted, the bde tearing through the air where he had just been.
Helios tered with a wide arc—Sephiroth parried with unbelievable precision, flig Masamune just enough to redirect the strike.
Their movements were a dance of death. A single mistake would meah for one of them but this didn’t stop them as they attacked with the io kill.
A bde came. A block met it. A ter followed. Another dodge.
Faster. More brutal. More precise.
her hesitated. her let up.
Then—
Sephiroth sidestepped and suddenly swung low.
Helios barely saw it in time—he jumped, but the bde ripped into his thigh, tearing the muscle.
His nding was unstable. His leg screamed in pain as blood dripped down his jeans.
Sephiroth saw it.
And he capitalized instantly.
Helios raised his Keybdes just in time to block a crushing overhead ssh.
But the impact was unbearable as the shock of the blow traveled throughout his whole body. His arms shook. His bones groaned uhe pressure.
And then came another.
Then another.
Then another.
Sephiroth’s onsught was relentless. Each attack was faster, sharper, and heavier.
Every attempted ter from Helios was smothered, redirected, or broken before it even began.
His body was being sliced apart.
His shoulder split open from a near miss.
His cheek was carved by a shallow but stinging cut.
His left forearm barely deflected a stab, but the tip still pierced his skin, blood dripping to the ground.
And then—
Sephiroth turhe tide pletely.
Helios swung, aiming for Sephiroth’s ribs.
Sephiroth stepped inside his raoo close for Helios to swing again. And then a suddeo the gut followed. Helios gagged, his breath leaving him in a violent burst.
But Sephiroth wasn’t done.
With inhuman force, he drove his elbow into Helios’ wounded shoulder.
BONES CRACKED.
Pain exploded down Helios’ arm. His vision blurred.
And then—Masamune came.
A precise, cutting arot fatal, but crippling.
Helios barely mao twist away, but the tip of the bde still sliced deep into his side.
Blood gushed out, spilling onto the battlefield.
Helios’ legs buckled.
For the first time in the fight, he fell to one knee.
Silence.
The entire Colosseum held its breath.
Helios forced himself to move.
He lifted his Keybdes—his grip weak, his arms heavy.
Sephiroth walked forward, his steps measured, calcuted.
Masamune raised.
Helios growled. “Not… yet.”
He pushed himself forward—one final, desperate attack.
But Sephiroth was faster.
CRACK!
The Masamune’s hilt smmed against Helios’ chest, knog the wind from him.
Helios stumbled—
And then, with a single fwless stroke, Sephiroth sshed across Helios’ torso.
Not deep enough to kill—
But enough to end the fight.
Helios colpsed to his knees.
His vision flickered.
His grip on his Keybdes weakened.
And then—his ons vanished in streams of light and darkness.
Sephiroth exhaled.
He lowered Masamune, his expression unreadable.
Helios remained on the ground, gasping, bleeding, his strength pletely gone.
And then—
“WE HAVE OUR WINNER!”
Phil’s voied over the Colosseum.
“SEPHIROTH REMAINS THE ADVAOUR CHAMPION!”
The crowd erupted.
Cheers, roars, appuse.
A—Sephiroth did not celebrate.
He simply looked down at Helios, his eyes narrowing slightly.
And then, ever so subtly, his gaze flickered to his own wounds.
His body—his coat, his arms, even his cheek—bore more injuries than ever before.
He had won.
But this was the most damage he had taken in a single fight.
A flicker of aowledgment passed through his expression.
Then—without another word—he turned and walked away.
Leaving Helios on the bloodstaioill breathing, but utterly defeated.
Sephiroth flicked his bde to the side, scattering droplets of crimson before sheathing Masamune in a dimensional spa one fluid motion.
The priestess standing in the VIP area finally lowered her hands, and with a pulse of golden energy, the barrier surrounding the arena faded.
Sephiroth walked off the stage without an his oppo, his steps silee the battle he had just endured.
And as he passed, Phil rushed forward. "Kid! You still alive?!"
Phil skidded to his knees beside Helios, his usually fident demeanor shaken as he hovered over the young fighter.
For a sed, there was no response.
Then—
A weak, hoarse chuckle.
Helios cracked a bloody smirk, wing as the moveme a fresh wave of pain through his battered body.
"Yeah…" He exhaled, voice barely above a whisper. "Still alive. I think. If not theh really hurts."
Phil groaned, rubbing his temples. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”
Helios chuckled again. “I get that a lot.”
Before Phil could respond, the priestess k beside them.
A soft golden glow surrounded Helios’ body, his wounds slowly closing as divine magic seeped into his flesh. The pain eased—but it wasn’t enough.
The moment he felt even a fra of his magic return, Helios lifted a shaky hand and cast Cura over himself.
A burst of green light rippled outward.
His body repaired itself instantly.
Muscles knitted back together, deep wounds closed, and color returo his face.
Phil stared. “You had healing magic this whole time?”
Helios grinned. "Figured I'd let you worry a little."
Phil groaned. "ime, just pass out, will ya?"
From the side, Hercules approached, shaking his head with a bemused expression.“That fight was incredible but you really should take better care of yourself.”
Helios grinned up at him. “’t get stronger without risking injury. Besides there are things in life that important enough to risk your life for. I’m sure you’ll find one iure.”
The demigod extended an arm, and Helios—still a bit unsteady—accepted it.
Hercules draped Helios' arm over his shoulder, providing him with the support he o walk off the stage.
The crowd tinued r, some still cheering Sephiroth’s name, while others were simply in awe of the battle they had just witnessed.
Helios waved zily at the audience, muttering, “Tough crowd.”
Phil snorted. “You did cheat your way through every match before this one.”
Helios ughed but winced again, clutg his ribs. “Fair.”
The petitor’s lounge was quiet when Helios and Hercules entered.
There, seated in the er with his arms crossed and eyes closed, was Sephiroth.
His wounds were still visible, but despite that, his presence remained unshaken.
Helios sighed, rolling his shoulders as he cast Cura once more—
A warm glow enveloped Sephiroth.
For a moment, the silver-haired warrior did not react.
Then, slowly, he opened his eyes, gng at Helios with something unreadable in his expression.
"You should have healed yourself first," he finally said.
Helios stretched his newly repaired arms and grinned. “Already did.”
There was a brief pause before Sephiroth looked away, closing his eyes again.
That was the closest thing to a ‘thank you’ Helios robably going to get.
Helios chuckled and flopped down into a nearby chair. “Alright. Time to go collect our winnings.”
Phil and Hercules had been silent up until now, watg the exge with wide eyes.
Finally, Phil couldn’t take it anymore.
“You two just tried to kill each other, and now you're ag like you’re best friends!”
Helios ughed.
Even Sephiroth—though he didn't move—let out the fai sound, almost a quiet exhale of amusement.
Helios smirked at Phil. “Our retionship wouldn’t ge even if we did kill each other.”
Phil gawked.
Hercules sighed, shaking his head. “Weirdos.”
