CRADLE OF THE GODS

Chapter 8

The men were bundled to the arena where they were surrounded by spirits who gathered to watch a fight. The leaves in their mouths were taken away. The place was rowdy. The sound of local drums, flutes and people cheering was in the air. Oku sat on his throne, stroking the mane of one of his lions who sat on either side. He stood up as they cheered and raised a hand, signaling the spirits to be quiet.

"This is a fight to the death!" he yelled.

"The only way to walk out of this alive is by killing your opponent! On one side are the humans, the champions of the 'gods' and on the other side, my champion... Bring him in!"

The sight of their opponent almost gave them stroke. Alas, it was the god of war, Agha breathing heavily as the muscles on his chest went up and down. His canine necklace was replaced with coral beads. He acted like an enraged bull. It was clear he was under the control of Oku who smirked as he watched on.

"Agha is not in his right mind", Orewa said. "Somehow, Oku has hypnotized him."

"I thought powers did not work in the Forbidden land", Okoh said.

Agha charged towards them, wielding his club. Though he was mortal, he was still a fierce warrior. They outnumbered him, yet they were no match for him. He deflected all their blows and returned some devastating ones, thereby disorienting them. Such were his strength and skills that he appeared to be beating children. Each time he knocked them down, the crowd cheered.

But besides his awesome battle prowess, the men were in denial. They could not give him their all because they revered him. However, when they realized the severity of their predicament, when they came to terms with the fact that Agha would not stop until they were dead, they stepped up their game. After an intense bout, they finally managed to hit him and hit him hard. They gave him blow after blow and, after a tremendous struggle, were able to pin him to the ground. It took a lot of energy to keep him still as he was so aggressive. They looked at Oku who kept a straight face. The crowd was silent as he spoke.

"It seems you humans are hard of hearing", he said. "There is no leaving this battle until your opponent is dead."

Oku had barely finished speaking when Agha overpowered them and got up. Ibe tried to attack him. He dodged Ibe and grabbed the arm with which he swung his weapon. Ibe reeled in pain as Agha punched him in the ribs several times, breaking one or two in the process. He then slammed him on the ground and moved on to Orewa who he uprooted from the ground and also slammed on the ground. He grabbed him by his injured ankle and snapped it. Orewa screamed as his bone cracked. He lay on the ground, holding his leg and weeping in pain. Then he went for Okoh whom he grabbed him by the neck intent on choking him to death. Okoh's face turned pale as he slumped. Agha still held his neck, intent on squashing it with his bare hands. Okoh was saved however by Ibe who grabbed Agha's staff and smashed the back of his head with it, knocking him unconscious. Blood flowed out of the side of Ibe's mouth as he landed on the ground, dazed. Everyone was silent.