Gods and Mortals

#46: Blurry Roses

The conclusion of the exhilarating battle between Arthur and Trent was well above the expectations of all its spectators. Although a few people felt that the outcome felt slightly undeserving, most of the demigods would still agree that the battle would remain in their memories for a long time.

And all that remained before the second battle's commencement was the presence of both fighters from the medical facility.

Klaus waited patiently for Arthur and Trent's arrival so that the event would continue. He felt a bit uneasy knowing that there was a possibility his name would be called next. The demigods continued to talk among themselves, mostly about their experiences from training and their surprise at how dedicated they were. But eventually, after a few minutes, Trent and Arthur walked back into the arena.

Trent walked in with a smile as a few of his fellow demigods greeted him and commented on his performance in the battle. Although he felt that he was undeserving of their praise, Trent still happily accepted their gratitude.

Arthur also received a few comments from the demigods, but his lack of interaction with them made his welcoming feel slightly more forced than Trent's. Although, it was not like he wanted their praise to begin with since all he cared about was what Lance had to say.

"You did good, brother," Lance stated to Arthur. "But you were sloppy, and your battle style at the end lacked elegance."

"I apologize, brother," Arthur responded. "I will use this as a learning opportunity to grow."

Lance sighed slightly before turning his focus to Trent.

"You did well, Trent. Your strength ranked among the elites was truly not a mistake," Lance said to Trent.

"Thank you, my friend," Trent then responded. "I appreciate your compliment."

This action made Klaus slightly confused. He noticed how strict Lance was with his brother, but knew that this was not how Lance normally acted to the rest of the demigods, including himself. He wondered why this was the case, but after a few seconds of thought, he decided to drop it considering it was none of his business.

"There you are, chico," Iris suddenly chanted as she moved towards Trent and hugged him tightly. "You were amazing."

"Thanks, Iris," Trent responded with a smile to her. "Although, I don't think I deserve all this praise."

"Nonsense, you shocked us all" Iris continued with a smile to him before lowering her voice. "Frankly, I think you would've won if you would've kept going, but I guess we'll never know."

Trent responded with a cheeky laugh before Iris then turned her attention to Arthur, who was a bit farther from the crowd.

"You too," Iris stated. "You also surprised me with your power."

"If my display of power came as a surprise to you, then your earlier assessment of my power would be substandard," Arthur then responded.

Iris then walked closer as she stared at him with a smile and stretched her right hand out for a handshake.

"You won the battle and performed well, mijo. At least be happy about that," she then continued to Arthur.

Arthur saw her gesture and initially decided not to respond. But he knew that she was right and that he didn't need to feel too bad about the way he won so he decided to humor her. He then turned to her as he rose his hand as well, reciprocating the handshake with Iris.

"Now, was that so hard?" Iris said to him with a smile on her face.

Arthur then pulled his hand back before turning his face from her, disregarding her statement and awaiting the next announcement from XVII.