MutioTale - Part 1

The Potential

Darius had grown exceptionally in the short time he had lived. He was now what a normal monster would say is "14" whereas to himself he was around 5 years of age. He had joined the jnior ranks of the royal guard and was excelling rapidly. He was shown to members of the elite Royal guard because the children around his "age" would have been severely harmed by his battle prowess. He would wrestle and joust with the elite guard and would win (almost) every time. The only member he could not defeat was his mother. It was obvious, however, that when combating her he was holding back.

After a day of vigorous battling he was informed by Undye of a tournament between any and all royal guard members who wished to opt in.
He signed up.

A few months later the tournament was about to commence. Alphys had created Darius a suit of armour not dissimilar to Undyne's but different enough to be distinguished from her's. He entered the tournament confident in his own abilities, with his own techniques and some shown to him by his mother.

His first battle was with a monster name Bartin who was a lizard like monster whose weapons of choice were a small but lethal dagger and a spiked shield. The battle ended swiftly, Darius parried and dodged most of the attacks with ease and a drop in Bartin's guard left him with a small jab wound, which was quickly healed by the King's ex-wife, Toriel.

The second battle was lengthier, two deer-monsters were locked in combat with their antlers. Sudden realisation led to their unity as they realised they were in the wrong place, and that they should have been at the "largest antlers contest" in a different area of the city. The next battle was different.

The battle was between a gorilla-like monster who carried no weapons and a spherical, furry ball over 10 feet in diameter. The gorilla struck the furry ball with its fists twice and it was knocked unconscious. Darius was impressed, and excited for the challenge.

The next few battles were generally unexciting. That, and the lazy author is lazy. So... Yeah.

The finals of the tournament were, obviously, Darius against the gorilla monster, because you wouldn't read this story if there was no element of danger or tensity. The gorilla began by taunting Darius, trying to make him angry and less focused. Darius remained stable and attacked with skill and precision. The gorilla dodged attacks with high levels of agility despite the large amount of muscle on it's body. It threw blows at Darius that lacked speed, however, but were dangerous nonetheless. Darius dodged, his scaly tail giving him extra agility and a streamlined shape. He was about to strike the winning blow on the gorilla when an announcement was called from the viewing deck.
"ROYAL GUARDSMEN! IT HAS COME TO OUR ATTENTION THAT BOTH OF THE CURRENT DUELLERS HAVE COMMITTED CRIMES PUNISHABLE BY EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES. THIS BATTLE IS NOW TO THE DEATH! THE SURVIVOR WILL BE PARDONED AFTER THE BATTLE HAS CONCLUDED. RESUME THE BATTLE!"
The gorilla monster was taking no chances. It rushed at Darius, who barely dodged the swinging of its arms. It began to roll towards him uncontrollably, and his tail was caught underneath, and he yelped in pain. He could not attack the monster without an opening.

If he could only find a weakness...

The gorilla barrelled towards him once more, never stopping, never hesitating. Dodging more, Darius became used to the aimless attacks he threw. He should have been prepared for the change that would come.
The gorilla rolled towards him swiftly again, and Darius prepared himself to dodge. When he did, the gorilla rammed its hands into the ground, halting itself and ramming another fist into Darius' cheek. He was thrown backwards and a flurry of more attacks were thrown at him, some in the gut, some at his legs, some to his... Sensitive areas... And most at his face. His lip began to bleed, and his battered body weakened. His vision blurred, his breathing rasped. One of the last things he saw was the back of the gorilla, holding its fists high in pride.

Then the world
was covered
in darkness

A voice...

A voice willed him back to life.

He did not know the voice, but it was somehow familiar...

He opened his eyes...

And rose.

Darius stood up, something clearly different from before. His sword was glowing a vibrant cyan, and his armour was a mix of orange-yellow and purple, separated on the different sides of his body. The gorilla monster did not see him, stood facing the other way. The crowd continued cheering, in reality for Darius, but the gorilla monster still thought he was the center of attention. Darius' blade glowed brighter, and his eyes turned purple. He PERSEVERED through the pain and would make sure he did not lose.
An array of blades appeared around the monster. Its face was no longer smug, no longer prideful. It knew what had happened. It did not know, however, how he had survived. The swords all stabbed into the gorilla simultaneously, and Darius moved so swiftly to the unaided eye he would have seemed to teleport from place to place, delivering blows like it was his last day on this planet. The gorilla monster fell to the ground, its body covered with stab and slash wounds. Darius did not smile, he did not speak. He simply walked out the arena, clutching his blade and keeping his head.

He exited the coliseum...

And fainted.