Kaleor, Ralea, Tailen, Akala, Irma and Durial were escorted onto the arena. Just minutes earlier, the Tauron contacted the others, and stored all of their energy in their bones, where the bio scanners would be unable to detect it. Special drugs were injected into their arms, to suppress the energy the Tudor scientists did not know was no longer there. The crowed chanted loudly, eagerly awaiting for the prisoners' swift deaths.

On all sides of the arena, Inquisitors were spread out, 60 of them total. "There are too many of them. Even with our stored energy, we can not hope to best them", said Akala. "Few of them present a credible challenge. The vast majority are wearing training tunics. Orange, blue, yellow, white red, green and purple. Of those, the blue, green and purple are the most skilled. There are only 5 who are wearing black or silver. Those are the ones we need to watch out for the most. Look at them. Most don't even have all of the standard equipment, and those who do, don't know how to use it properly. The Tudor are running out of experienced fighters. They have to pull on the reserves of trainees. If only we didn't have to kill them", said Kaleor. "They still have the numerical advantage. A significant one", Durial added, drawing the sword provided to him by the guards.

The clamor in the audience ceased, as several Commanders, Arlon among them, appeared on the top floor of the stands. "Greetings, everyone, and welcome! I am Grand Inquisitor Rumios. Many of you don't know me, as well as other members of our noble order. Unfortunately, of the 10 that once were, only four remain. Commander Arlon, Commander Iltaer, Commander Latran, and myself. Many of you have not seen the battles with Tauron, and for some of you, this shall be your first time. Rarely have they ever approached us as boldly as just 5 days ago. You are all here today, to witness the execution of 4 of the surviving Tauron, and two traitors, who have defected, and joined the insurgents. The traitors will fight two of the Tauron, and will be granted amnesty if they win. If they don't, their opponents will be executed regardless. The other two shall face the loyal Inquisitors. Should they somehow win, they shall be executed regardless. Let this day be a reminder for the insurgents. Let the executions commence", the Grand Inquisitor said. The crowd exploded into whooping applause, excited for the slaughter that was to come. Though around an 8th of them stayed silent, in a silent, subtle protest.

"Don't use your energy unless absolutely necessary. And conserve your strength as well", said Durial, adjusting his grip on his sword. "Stay alive", said Ralea. "We shall, do not worry", Irma replied.

And yet, despite her outward confidence, all 6 knew, that it would be their toughest battle yet.

Tailen and Akala raised their swords, and attacked. Neither they, nor Kaleor or Ralea were aiming for the kill, or serious injury, but for the sake of appearances, they allowed some light wounds.

Meanwhile, Durial and Irma fought for their lives, as did the 60 Inquisitors. Fortunately, as Kaleor and Ralea said, few of them actually seemed to know what they were doing. And they were always hampered by the trainees. Still, their severe numerical disadvantage forced the two to remain on the defensive, with occasional counter strikes, to keep them from being encircled and overwhelmed.

With their affinities, the two would be able to wipe out most of them with only moderate difficulty. As it was, however, the energy they had stored provided an excellent source of fuel, that would keep them going for a while, enough for reinforcements to arrive, and perhaps even kill all of them. Thus far, they had already killed 10 of them, and disabled 8 others. Still, the tide pressed on, and they had far to go yet.

Kaleor landed a light cut to Tailen's shoulder, and the Tauron slam kicked him in the gut. Kaleor maintained his footing and swept Tailen's feet from under him. His opponent leapt back to his feet and unleashed a series of strikes, breaking through his defenses, and intentionally misplaced his follow up strike, allowing Kaleor to escape. Kaleor slammed his elbow into his sternum, and and attacked with a high cut. The blow would have missed anyway, but Tailen moved just far enough to the right to make it look real.

Akala thrust, and Ralea sidestepped, before countering with thrusts of her own. She did not extend her arms fully, but Akala still made sure to sidestep or go back, to keep up appearances. She kicked her opponent in the chest thrice, and Ralea brought her down to the ground, and slammed her elbow into her chest. Akala pushed her off and slammed the pommel of her sword into the ground. Ralea rolled away, even though the strike would have missed her anyway.

All four combatants continued in this manner, only trying enough so that the crowd would not suspect anything.

"Something is off. They seem to purposefully miss their strikes. It's as if they are too stubborn to actually go for the kill", said Commander Latran. "It does look that way", Commander Iltaer agreed. "They seem to be waiting for something", said Arlon. "Or perhaps, they are simply unwilling, which is understandable. But if it continues for much longer, we shall have to up the stakes", said Rumios.

Irma ducked under a volley of darts, and rushed forth, evading more, and killed several Inquisitors on the way. She decapitated another with a draw cut and leapt over another volley of darts. The Inquisitor tried to retreat, but she caught up and tackled him. She risked a weak air blast, taking down those nearest to them. She crushed the first Inquisitor's trachea with the pommel of her sword, and finished the other three with swift strikes to the neck.

Durial cut down another row of Inquisitors, leaving just 29 in total, four of which were the black and silver garbed, the others mere trainees. Then, an Inquisitor's sword grazed his side. Durial turned quickly and decapitated the Inquisitor. He picked up her sword and wielded it in conjunction with his own.

He sensed Olsur trying to contact him. What took you so long? he asked, now forced to split his attention between the battle and the communication. They had us pinned down. Kirtan and Lorea are bringing a captured battleship and two destroyers, along with 300 fighters over to you. I, Lurana and the rest are keeping the Tudor fleet occupied. You better make it out of there, otherwise this shall all be for nothing  Olsur replied. We can not last for much longer. Be swift Durial said. Just over the arena. You can stop your show now Olsur said, and disconnected.

Indeed, several squadrons of rebel fighters swooped down, killing many Inquisitors. Durial and Irma released their energy, sending bursts of shadow, air and lightning, catching the onlookers off guard. Immediately, Tailen, Kaleor, Ralea and Akala broke off, and rushed to their aid. They swiftly cut down most of the survivors, leaving just three of the Inquisitors, all of which wore the black and silver garments, signifying their ranks as Inquisitors in full.

Tudor airborne troops descended around them. Commanders Arlon, Latran, Iltaer, as well as Grand Inquisitor Rumios, joined in, along with the guards. Durial unleashed a blast of shadow energy, and discarded the metal sword, opting for his shadow sword. The cannons mounted on the walls of the arena unleashed volleys of fire, killing rebel soldiers that landed. Kaleor, Ralea and the Tauron concentrated their attacks on the cannons and the Inquisitors, leaving the rebel troops to deal with the airborne troops.

Irma attacked Rumios, pelting him with air and lightning attacks. She blocked his sword, and several shots from the wall mounted cannons. She channeled lightning through her sword, forcing Rumios to remain on the defensive. And yet, as she kept attacking him, he defended perfectly, and both sustained similar injuries. But, the Grand Inquisitor was faring better. Despite her great power, Irma was unable to attack him with maximum efficiency, having to deal with the cannons as well.

Durial launched a torrent of shadow at a cannon, blowing it along with a few nearby cannons. Fire focused on him then, and, though more cannons were destroyed or disabled, one bolt passed through his defenses, and struck him in the back. He faltered, and the nearby cannons blasted him again. The Tauron released his remaining energy, before one final shot floored him, depriving him of his remaining strength.

Irma got back up to her feet, hissing in pain, hampered by the wound in her gut. As Rumios rushed to finish her off, she met him a palm strike to the chest. The air and electricity amplified the attack, and Rumios was thrown into a wall. Irma narrowly evaded several blasts, and blasted the nearby cannons with lightning, destroying all four of them.

In that time, Rumios recovered, and rushed forth, evading her ranged attacks. He closed the distance, and cut off one of her hands. Before she could retaliate with her powers, he slammed the pommel of his sword into her jaw, and unleashed a barrage of overhead blows. She blocked every strike, but it was not enough.

He slam kicked her in the chest, taking her down to the ground. She stood on her knees, holding her sword above her head, as he hammered down on her defenses. Then, as she tried to retaliate, he batted her sword aside and cleaved through her body from shoulder to hip. She stood and blasted him back with air and lightning, but the wound took its toll. She staggered, and collapsed, never to rise again.

Ralea and Tailen converged on him, as did Kaleor and Akala, landing severe wounds on him, but he retaliated with far greater force. He slammed Ralea into the ground, and knocked the wind out of Tailen with a pommel slam to the sternum. He landed a deep gash to Akala's arm, before pushing her away, and as Kaleor locked his arm, Rumios backhanded him in the temple, sending him to the ground.

Above them, the rebel fleet had driven the surviving Tudor ships away, having captured four more battleships, as well as a destroyer, bringing their numbers to 4 cruisers, 1 corvette, 1 frigate, 4 battleships, 1 destroyer and 390 fighters and bombers. Iltaer, Latran and Rumios were evacuated, along with the few surviving airborne troops. Kaleor, Ralea, Akala and Tailen were brought to the flagship's medical bay, and the fallen were buried. The second battle of Korukal was over. And this time, on their terms.