Eve's hand stopped trembling.
Her mind was clearer than ever. For once, her resolve was unwavering.
"Come." These words came out quietly, but Slackjaw managed to hear them.
What came next out of his mouth was a war cry; his scream was so loud that the first row of spectators covered their ears.
Slackjaw stretched his legs and dashed with insane speed toward Eve. His mouth was ready to tear her to bits.
Yet Eve stood just like a statue.
Slackjaw was getting closer.
Fifty meters.
Five meters.
Then, a loud CRUNCH was heard through the Colosseum.
The fight was over.
Slackjaw's massive teeth bit Eve's right collarbone. The bone broke in half from the pressure. Yet the wretch didn't stop. A bite, then another one. He devoured her flesh like there was no tomorrow. Eve's ichor poured out from her torn shoulder, spilling onto the dirty sand. The damage was so serious that it made Eve drop Nightfall.
Slackjaw wailed in happiness; his stomach was getting fuller and fuller. And his victory was just around the corner.
While Slackjaw was happily feasting, Eve didn't move an inch except when she dropped her sword.
And yet, she remained unmoving. Slackjaw held her by the shoulders, not daring her to interrupt his feast.
Then, as Slackjaw was about to rip out a bigger piece of her flesh, Eve leaned her body to the left and
she whispered in his ear.
"That's enough."
Eve's right fist connected with Slackjaw's throat; the punch shouldn't have carried that much power, but in a way, it did because of adrenaline and a well-placed hit. It carried almost enough power to crush his windpipe.
Slackjaw stumbled back, coughing and holding his neck with his hands. For a few seconds, he felt fear. How could she turn the tables so fast?
No, he wouldn't have it.
His eyes darted back to Eve, no fear or hunger present, just a need to kill her. And what looked back at him was the same killing intent as in his own eyes.
"My, my, what a sight, everyone! We thought Eve was a goner there!" Calliopius yelled in fake excitement.
Slackjaw let go of his throat and prepared to dash back to his prey.
"If you take just a single step, you will die."
Who did she think she was? Slackjaw could move freely without her orders. Yet he didn't. He was physically much stronger than she was, yet how could her words have such an effect on him? Right now, he didn't know, and he didn't move.
Eve bent down and picked up Nightfall in her right hand, then she threw it across the arena, sending it crashing against one of the walls and falling into the sand.
Eve was left without a weapon.
"You may continue," she told Slackjaw as she faced him again.
Slackjaw got back on all fours. Then, his war cry was heard again through the arena.
Eve adopted the same pose, but her hands didn't touch the sand.
"Just know, I am hungry as well."
Then they both dashed toward each other.
But before they crashed into each other, Eve swirled to the right and effectively ducked under his open left arm. She planted her left foot in front of her, angling to halt herself. She turned back and looked at Slackjaw's distancing body. Due to his mass, he couldn't do the same. He crashed into the wall. A loud bang was heard through the arena, and a massive cloud of dust formed where he made contact.
Before he could grasp what happened, something landed on his back—no, it was someone, as light as a feather.
Then, CRUNCH.
Now it was Eve's turn to feed, but instead of going for his collarbone, she sank her teeth into his neck, tearing at his carotid artery. Her bite was not as strong as his, but she still managed to rip his flesh off, and with his flesh came blood from his torn artery. After Eve ripped his flesh off, she just looked at the back of his head for a bit, her teeth clamping around the ripped piece of flesh while his lifeline dripped down onto his shoulders. Eve jumped off his back and let him turn toward her.
As Slackjaw turned around, Eve spat out the bloody chunk of flesh, which landed silently on the sand.
Slackjaw fully turned, and there was something new in his eyes. Instead of killing intent, there was fear, but this time, it didn't disappear so easily.
He tried to cover his bleeding artery without success; blood kept dripping and dripping. He started to pant wildly, with deep gasps and dilated pupils.
Eve turned her back to him and walked over to Nightfall. She picked it up and walked over to him; she threw Nightfall at his feet.
"Take your life." Not an ounce of emotion was heard in her voice.
But instead of obeying her again, Slackjaw's gaze fell on the sand. With the last of his might, he bent down as fast as he could, grabbed a fistful of sand, and threw it all at Eve, forming a brief cloud.
Eve was momentarily surprised, but her expression went back to a neutral one.
She walked through the sand cloud and stood right in front of him.
Her left fist connected with Slackjaw's hand that was covering his bleeding artery. His upper body turned a bit after the punch, and more blood started to spill out.
"Pick it up."
Yet Slackjaw didn't abide by Eve's demands.
Then, a punch to his jaw left Slackjaw disoriented.
Then, another punch to his neck.
"I won't repeat myself."
And Slackjaw did just that. He held Nightfall by the blade, the tip biting into his trachea.
Eve puts her right hand on the pommel and pushed the sword into Slackjaw's throat. After a moment of pushing, Nightfall came to a stop; it hit his spine.
Eve pulled out her sword and looked at the crowd.
Then, she wiped the blood from her mouth.
The second fight was finished.
"What an interesting fight, ladies and gentlemen! We thought Eve was as good as dead when Slackjaw bit her. Yet she proved us wrong. Let's hope her next fight, the semi-finals, is going to be even more awesome," the announcer said, with a bit of concern mixed with excitement.
The massive gate through which she had entered the arena opened, and she walked toward it.
When the gate fully opened, she saw a trembling guard looking at her.
"W-weapon."
Eve gave him Nightfall without saying anything. The trembling guard escorted her back to her cell. The guard told her:
"D-drink this. It will heal you." He handed her a healing potion. Eve took it, popped it open, and finished it in two gulps. She handed the guard the empty glass. The guard took it involuntarily, his shaking never stopping.
Eve walked up to her bed made of straw and lay on it. Then, after some minutes, sleep claimed her.
Yet again, the crowd wasn't impressed by her performance.