I stepped into the arena, my dark blade sheathed on my side. Upon Heather's suggestion (read: pestering), I have to put it on display as if it was some sort of artifact more than a tool. It's just a sword. What's she fussing all about?
"Our last match for today is the Crimson Knights who have exceeded expectations and advanced through the adventurer tiers without any losses," a radio-esque voice from the announcer rang across the whole arena. I raised my gaze towards thousands upon thousands of spectators surrounding us. They sat in the inclining wall of benches, cheering and leaning forward on their seats to watch us walk out backstage.
"If they win in their match today, they will be this year's Raventhorne Games' reigning champion!" the announcer continued. I managed to locate him in the mid-tier benches, an enchanted megaphone blocking most of his face. He's not a langkoor—that much I could say with confidence. "They will be instated as an adventurer party and a cash prize of twenty-thousand ethrans."
More cheers. I turned to Heather who had that calculating glint in her slitted eyes. Looked like twenty-thousand ethrans was a lot of money. Being here for a little over four months, I could at least say the amount would last us three years worth of lavish dinners.
"And, standing at opposing ground, defending their title as the Games' reigning Champion, please welcome," the announcer waved his hand towards the opening opposite the one we emerged from. "The Beast Hunters."
The crowd roared. I could even hear a few sniffles and shrill shrieks ringing into the soundscape. Ugh.
Aevi, ever clad in her tight leotard showing her impossible curves, grinned at us as she and her party members reached a safe distance from us. She met my eyes and gave me a wink, sending waves of hate down my spine. Had to finish this as quickly as I could so I could be out of that woman's hair and she, of mine.
"Who will be the victor of today's most electrifying match?" the announcer's voice rumbled in my ears. "Will it be the unsung scouts or the battle hardened adventurers? Watch and see, because the match begins....NOW!"
A large gong sounded. That's our cue. I never even got to throw a supportive nod to my teammates because a blur of flesh and animal prints burst in my periphery. I swung my sword and it clanged against a collection of curved claws. What—
As expected, Aevi's menacing grin greeted me from beyond the dark glint of my blade. "Dragon's scale, huh?" she tapped a claw from against it. She didn't have claws earlier or even when we talked to her in the mess hall. Where did she get them?
Heather's red scales flashed in my periphery. She landed with a crunch on the floor, pursued by a langkoor with a tiger head. His white and black stripes looked more than a zebra but who was caring at this point? And on his fingers...
I jumped back as Aevi shoved forward and slashed her extended claws at me. A valdyrsi. That's why she could easily overpower anyone. She's used to knocking people over at their own game. But wouldn't her skills activate only through physical touch? So, how come...?
"Stop thinking, mykurre," Aevi spat, her face twisting into a snarl. "It's disrespectful."
Was it one of the valdyrsi's advanced skills to be able to copy something or someone even without physical contact? If so, things just got out of hand. How would I even defeat someone with virtually the same magic as me?
I smirked and leveled my blade, my brain running over all the newfound info. Well, if she would copy something from me, perhaps I should give her a gift.
Arzo's magic wrapped around my limbs as Aevi lunged and renewed our physical tirades. From the corner of my eye, I saw a female dragonkin rush towards the psalm spiria. "Rev!" I yelled, ducking under one of Aevi's clawed swings and swiping my sword against her shins. "Protect Arzo!"
I didn't wait for a reply. Of course, they'd be going for the mage first. Without him, they'd all be relying on their magic reserves and nothing else. "I can handle the dragonkin!" Heather yelled, before I heard a distinct clang and her boisterous voice saying, "Hey, pick at someone of your own kind!"
A strong slash slammed against my blade. Sparks dusted the air between me and the surge of black curls. "Look at me while I'm playing nice," Aevi hissed, her teeth seemingly elongating into fangs. "Lest you regret it."
"I can ignore you all I want," I replied. "You're not worth my time."
With an almost feral shriek, Aevi swung at me. I readied my sword but instead of claws, a similar blade slammed against mine. Reverberations spun in my arms, shaking my hold. "Surprised?" Aevi said. Her arms had disappeared into a rock-like spire of midnight-black scythes. "You're not the only own with a special sword."
No way. She copied my crafting skills and copied the sword's physical qualities at the same time imbuing it into her own flesh? That's...
"Sel, incoming!" Rev's voice spurred past my focus. I whirled to find another spiria rushing towards me. Up above, a phoenix-like creature dive-bombed another beast that looked like a horse.
I dodged Aevi's swings, rushing sideways to intercept the spiria's trajectory. Aevi whizzed towards me, arm-blades hungry for my blood. I parried one enough to send it pointing towards her teammate. A sickening crack boomed in the arena as Aevi's arm broke through armor and skin.
The crowd turned ecstatic. "I can't believe it! Aevi has injured her own team!" the announcer said, voice rolling over the audience's roars. "Relena will be forced to yield. That's one less from the Beast Hunters!"
The spiria clutched at her bleeding chest, the wound shallow enough to not debilitate her. As soon as Relena was in a safer distance, the gong sounded again. This time, Aevi turned tail and went for Heather, who was helping Arzo and Trink deal with the tiger langkoor. High up, Revery, astride her winged lion creature, stabbed and danced around the attacks of the female dragonkin.
Aevi's going the other way to win this match. Force the opposing leader to yield. Once they do, it's considered the loss of the entire team. Not so fast.
Aevi reached the bulk of the fray, whipping out a barbed tail only Heather and the female dragonkin sported. Again, with no physical contact. She slammed against Trink who yelped as he met her arm-blades, with his own sword Within seconds, the metal in his hands cracked and exploded in a shower of shards.
"That's it for Trink!" the announcer shrieked. Without waiting for another gong to sound and for Trink to stumble out of the arena, Aevi whizzed towards Heather.
"No!" I yelled, throwing my sword aimed at Aevi's back. Midway, she turned and swatted it aside before its tip could even touch a whiff of her hair. A dash of red and Heather's blade slashed at Aevi's legs.
"Nice save, Sel!" Heather cried as she ducked and rolled at Aevi's swings. "Go help Arz!"
I nodded. Arzo had his hands full trying to hold back against the attacks of the tiger langkoor. Well, he'd soon regret touching our mage. "Hey!" I called. Before the langkoor could decide if he should look at me, I slammed my fist into him. "Shockwave!" I yelled, using Arzo's last boost from when the battle started.
A flash of purple light slammed into the langkoor, sending him flying into the wall. Finally! Some payback. I glanced at Arzo who had cast a magical shield around him. "You okay?" I asked.
He gave me a weak nod. "I'll get those attributes up," he said in reassurance. Then, he was back to chanting his psalms.
My periphery drowned in white. I scrambled to the side just as a barrage of fur-covered arm brushed against my cheek. The tiger langkoor was back, not even fazed by my strongest starting spell. What in the world—nobody should be able to withstand that, much less continue fighting!
The Beast Hunters. They're on another level.
I snarled back at the langkoor as he rained blows upon blows. My armor creaked and squeaked under all of his attacks that managed to connect. Wind popped in and out of my ears with every one that didn't. Too fast. He's too fast.
My side erupted in pain. The langkoor had rested his leg back the moment I crashed on all fours to the ground. "Yield," his thick voice bled out.
I spat on the floor, ignoring the bright red stain on it. "Never."
A scream ripped out of my throat as he slammed his fist down, aiming to embed my face into the arena. Not so fast. His fingers slammed against the light exploding between us as I called for my fallen sword. Nothing could break a guardian dragon's scales save for its own kind. Bones cracked, followed by a great howl of pain as the langkoor stumbled off me.
I pointed my sword at the base of his chin. "Yield."
He closed his eyes in pain and bobbed his head. "Drasan has yielded!" the announcer screaming into his megaphone, his voice grating the insides of my ears. "That leaves two for the Hunters and a staggering four for the Scouts! Is this it? Are we seeing an upheaval?"
Revery's scream bit at my heart as a flurry of blue and white rushed to the ground. She rolled aside as the dragonkin slashed her sword downward. My eyes widened, my legs spurring towards her direction. She's too far—
A flash of black ripped through the space between us, meeting the dragonkin's blade head on. Revery's beast gave one final cry as it burst. The creature spiria screamed, more in grief than in pain. She scrambled back, but without noticing Aevi charging from behind. Dust and debris flew up with their violent swings, determined to end whoever came at their tips.
I closed the distance. The haze cleared to reveal both the dragonkin and Aevi's blades poised on opposite sides of Revery's neck. "I yield," the creature spiria said with a thick and hoarse voice. "I'm sorry, everyone."
She moved to stand and take her place outside the battleground, but Aevi didn't budge. "Move farther than that and I will gut you," the valdyrsi said. Not to me, but to the spiria who already yielded.
"Aevi, that's not in the rules," I edged my sword out but made no move to attack. I couldn't, not with Revery's life on the line.
The valdyrsi turned to me with a grin. "Exactly," she said. "That's why I can do it."
She turned to Heather who stood idly, like I was doing. "Withdraw now and I might let this one live," she jiggled her arm a bit, the pointed tip hewn out of dragon scales brushing against Rev's skin. "She's a fine summoner, but not enough to make it in an adventuring party."
Heather stepped forward, her face contorted in fury. "I—"
I stopped her before she could say something. "I really don't want to do this, but..." I sheathed my blade as my mind ran through the list of spells I learned to cast from the Book of Darkness. I settled on one. Stretching my hand, I chanted, "Divine Hand."
Aevi's face contorted as her arms morphed back to her regular one. Then, by my direction, she kicked the sword out of her remaining teammate's hands, sending it clattering to the ground. "What nethercraft is this?" the valdyrsi squirmed but that's all she could do against my absolute control. That, and maybe run her mouth. Even I couldn't control that. "Let me go!"
"Say you yield," I commanded. To her, it must feel like a compelling order she wouldn't ever disobey.
Aevi's mouth twitched. Then, her shoulders sagged and her resistance against my skill lessened. "I yield," she said.
The crowd rose up in applause. I glanced at Heather who helped Revery up and at Trink and Arzo. We smiled at each other, no doubt feeling the same beat of finality and relief in our guts.
We won. Against all odds, we won.
The megaphone crackled as the announcer geared to speak through it. "And that's it! With the highest number of victories throughout all the matches, this year's Champion of the Raventhorne Games is..."
There weren't any drum rolls in this world, but I could feel it beating in time with my heart. This was it. They're going to announce our party. We'd be adventurers.
"The Beast Hunters!"
Cheers drowned out all sorts of confusion as the crowd rose to their feet and started whistling and screaming. I turned to Heather to see her as confused as me.
Something had gone wrong.