C.E.N.T.U.R.Y: No Escape.

Chapter eight: still 94

Finally, a moment of vulnerability appeared in Raphael's defense. Romeo seized the opportunity, narrowing his focus on that single weakness. With all his strength, Romeo delivered a powerful strike, his skit finding its mark with a resounding impact. Raphael stumbled backward, his grip on the spear loosening.

Sensing the shift in momentum, Romeo pressed forward, not allowing Raphael a moment to recover. He weaved through Raphael's weakened defenses, landing blow after blow with unwavering precision. The crowd erupted into cheers, their excitement palpable in the air.

Raphael, realizing the battle was slipping from his grasp, mustered a final surge of energy. With a roar, he launched a desperate counterattack, aiming to turn the tide once more. But Romeo, fueled by his determination, anticipated the move, sidestepping Raphael's strike with a swift grace.

Before Raphael could react, Romeo delivered a final, decisive strike. His skit found its mark, striking Raphael in the chest with a force that sent him sprawling to the ground, his spear clattering beside him.

The whole place fell into hushed silence as Romeo stood over his fallen opponent, his chest heaving with exhaustion. Raphael managed to stand up again and picked up his spear and threw it at Romeo who was now heading out of the battle ground. The spear aimed straight for Romeo's head and was about to hit him, when suddenly Romeo turned and swiftly evades the attack and caught the spear just as it passed by him

Romeo threw the spear back at Raphael and it impaled him right through his head. Blood splattered across the ground as Raphael dropped to the ground and died instantly.

As Romeo left the room, the automated voice spoke.

“The winner is group B, and the have received a 20 points. They now have a total of 133 points. An update has been made and the teams that lost will face off against each other for second, third, and fourth place. The next battle would be between group E and group A for second place, and then group Do and C for third place.”

The whole room was filled with complains about the new update. No one was ready to kill another person just because of a chance of making it out of the game alive, but they had no choice. It was either they took their chances of escaping by killing or resign their fate to death by not killing and as much as each of them hated killing, neither of them wanted to be killed so they had to kill.

They all went to their various beds and slept, each of them thinking of which one of them would fight for their groups.

**The next day**

There was an eery silence in the atmosphere this very morning because no one had volunteered to fight for their groups. Eventually the silence was broken when the automated voice spoke.

“Let the contestants of group A and E choose their weapons and go into the battle ground. You have 10 minutes.”

The whole place once again became quite, everyone knew that if they volunteered, there is no going back. Eventually the silence was broken a lady from group A, whose name was Lucy, volunteered to fight. Then a man from group E seeing that the contestant for group A was a lady, volunteered to fight, and his name was Saul.

The two proceed into the battle ground, Lucy fighting for group A used William's axe. Saul on the other hand, fighting for group E, used Raphael's double tipped spear. Immediately they took their stances, the automated voice spoke.

“This battle is for the second position. The winner's group will come Second, while the losers group will come third. Round one, fight.”

As Lucy and Saul clashed in the battle arena, the weight of their desperation and the consequences of their actions hung heavy in the air. The sound of their weapons colliding echoed through the silence, reverberating against the cold stone walls.

The Arena's dim lighting cast an eerie glow, intensifying the tension that filled the space. Lucy, fighting for group A, gripped William's axe tightly, feeling its reassuring weight in her hands. Saul, representing group E, wielded Raphael's double-tipped spear with deadly grace.

The crowd, a mixture of supporters and onlookers, watched with bated breath. They had seen the carnage unfold in previous battles, knowing that only one of these fighters would emerge victorious. The stakes were high, not only for Lucy and Saul but for their respective groups as well.

Saul's movements were swift and precise, his spear glinting in the dim light as he advanced towards Lucy. He was a formidable opponent, but yet he underestimated his opponent and that was his only mistake, the only mistake Lucy needed to defeat him.

Determined to secure his group's place in the competition, Saul lunged at Lucy with astonishing speed, his spear aimed at her heart.

Reacting instinctively, Lucy raised William's axe in a defensive stance, deflecting Saul's thrust with a resounding clash.

The impact sent vibrations up her arm, causing her grip to momentarily falter. She knew she could not afford to be on the defensive for long. Gathering her resolve, Lucy launched a swift counterattack.

Swinging the heavy axe with all her strength, Lucy aimed for Saul's legs. She hoped to immobilize him, to gain an advantage in the battle. But Saul, with his lightning-fast reflexes, managed to sidestep the blow just in time. He retaliated with a series of lightning-fast strikes, forcing Lucy to retreat dexterously, narrowly escaping each deadly thrust.

Despite the intensity of the battle, Lucy remained calm. She had trained for this moment, honing her skills both mentally and physically. She knew she couldn't let fear overtake her, for fear would lead to a fatal misstep. With each parry, dodge, and counterstrike, Lucy showcased her unwavering determination.

As the battle waged on, the crowd became increasingly enthralled. Cheers, gasps, and shouts of encouragement filled the air, mixing with the clanging of metal and the grunts of exertion. They witnessed two warriors pushing themselves to their limits, driven by an inexhaustible thirst for victory....