Gladiator 2

After King Andrian’s children were seated in the audience area, the king turned to face Randiman, ready for battle. Randiman glared at King Andrian, equally prepared to fight.

“Follow my command,” Randiman ordered.

“Yes, sir,” replied his three bodyguards.

“Multiply yourselves,” he commanded.

Several springs burst from the ground.

From these springs, humanoid forms resembling the Antasen emerged.

“Attack!” Randiman shouted.

Hundreds of Antasen clones charged at King Andrian. Still crouched on all fours, King Andrian swatted them away with his tail. The clones were no match for his power.

They were thrown back and dissolved into water.

Despite not being hit directly, Randiman’s bodyguards felt immense pain from the impact.

They had just faced an attack from the oldest, strongest, and most superior Gavian. Their bodies were nearly forced back into liquid form—they had narrowly avoided death.

“Now—dragon form!” Randiman shouted.

The bodyguards transformed into serpentine dragons, preparing for another assault.

“Graah!” King Andrian roared.

His eyes looked wild—but not entirely savage.

Randiman transformed as well.

Their fangs clashed with King Andrian’s skin—but it was too hard, far too solid for them to pierce.

Their dragon forms shattered, reverting to humanoid bodies.

King Andrian retaliated with a sweep of his tail.

The blow was too strong to resist. They were flung into the arena wall.

Thankfully, they did not dissolve into water. Had they done so, it would have meant instant death.

They struggled to stand.

They couldn't stop—not until King Andrian was dead.

The sensation of fighting the most powerful Gavian made it nearly impossible to rise—but they could not give up now.

“Fusion mode!” Randiman shouted.

“Fusion mode?” King Surowuluh tilted his head.

Arjuna had already witnessed Randiman’s form during his battle with Sukmo Lawu, so to him, "fusion mode" referred to something familiar.

“Maybe it's a mode where they create and control a water golem,” Arjuna explained.

“What’s your name?” King Surowuluh asked.

“Arjuna Wisangga,” he replied.

“Did you teach that technique?” the king inquired.

“No, this is only the second time I’ve seen it,” Arjuna denied.

In the center of the arena, Randiman began liquefying his body for the fusion process—leaving only his head intact. With his eyes closed, he focused on controlling the water around him. His three bodyguards liquefied as well.

The water in the arena surged toward Randiman.

He could feel the mass forming—something enormous. He could sense the flow of water taking shape in his mind, until he finally perceived its form.

Arjuna could see it too—it was different from what he had seen before: a humanoid figure with two pairs of arms, standing at 566 meters tall. Larger than the previous form.

“Whoa, a new form,” Arjuna muttered.

“What’s going to happen to that giant?” King Surowuluh asked.

“Randiman will control it,” Arjuna replied.

Randiman launched an attack. The second left arm of the giant clashed with King Andrian’s snout.

King Andrian countered.

His tail met the giant’s four arms in a block.

Though their size was now comparable, their strength was not.

The giant’s arms were destroyed.

Randiman wanted to scream.

Though it wasn’t his own body, every control mechanism—every sensor, every movement—of the golem was linked directly to his own.

If he screamed, he would lose focus—and the giant he had painstakingly formed would collapse. So he endured the pain and launched another attack at King Andrian.

From the audience, William watched the battle closely. He noticed something: Randiman’s head. It was exposed and vulnerable. Yet King Andrian avoided it.

“Prince Ghaviles,” William called.

“Just call him King Ghaviles!” King Andrian growled, still in his berserk state.

“What is it?” Prince Dadang asked.

“Why isn’t King Andrian attacking Randiman’s head?” William pointed toward it.

“If I do that, I’ll just extend my lifespan. I want to die with honor now—not live forever!” King Andrian responded.

Still in his wild form, King Andrian lashed his tail.

Randiman couldn’t dodge in time. If he had been controlling his own body, he could have jumped out of the way.

But he was piloting a water golem. If it were disconnected from him, it would turn back into water—which meant starting from scratch. He didn’t want that.

Even so, it happened.

King Andrian’s tail strike was too powerful.

Randiman felt unbearable pain throughout his body. He nearly died. The force of the attack put him into uncompent—a state of near-death. Luckily, it didn’t last long.

But one of Randiman’s bodyguards wasn’t as fortunate. He entered a critical state of uncompent—so severe that even a gentle breeze could kill him.

“Prince... this is... my end...” the guard whispered faintly.

From where he sat, William sensed a sudden chill. It was the Randiman guard’s death. His body dissolved into water—a final, irreversible end.

Randiman was devastated. That guard had been his childhood friend. His grief threatened to turn into rage, but he suppressed it.

He couldn’t blame King Andrian. Soon, the Kingdom of Ghaviles would ally with his own. He didn’t want to jeopardize that alliance over revenge.

“I’m sorry… for killing one of your men,” King Andrian offered his condolences.

“No… it wasn’t your fault. His time had simply come,” Randiman replied softly. “Rest well, my friend.”

“I was hoping you’d hate me. So I could die faster,” King Andrian said, looking at Randiman.

“Even if I were consumed by hatred and vengeance, I could never defeat you,” Randiman replied.

“Do you wish to continue?” King Andrian asked.

“No, I—”

“Randiman!” William interrupted.

“Do you want to enter the arena?” Prince Dadang asked, turning to William.

William nodded.

Without delay, Prince Dadang extended his tail into the arena as a platform.

“My apologies if this seems disrespectful,” William said, bowing to prince Dadang.

“It’s fine,” Dadang replied.

William climbed down Dadang’s tail and approached Randiman.

“What is it?” Randiman asked.

“All Antasen are water-based, right?” William asked.

“Yes,” Randiman confirmed.

“Then try shooting a stream of water as tiny and fast as possible,” William suggested.

“Hydrostatic pressure, huh?” King Andrian glanced at William.

“That requires magic and highest focus. I can’t do both at once,” Randiman said.

“What’s going on, son!?” King Surowuluh called from the audience.

Randiman shouted back an explanation.

“I’ll handle the magic,” King Surowuluh offered. “You and your remaining guards focus on making the water stream as small as possible.”

Randiman focused. He felt the flow of water approaching his body—he succeeded.

He aimed his right hand at King Andrian’s leg.

The water shot out.

It pierced King Andrian’s leg.

At first, he felt no pain.

But after the water vanished, a sharp stinging sensation emerged.

“At last, I’ll unleash my full potential!” King Andrian roared with excitement.