“Come on, Emily,” Yhanna prods me as everyone is getting up. I stand with her and we shuffle out, then start heading a different way than most of the others.

“Where are we going?”

“The chamber you will enter from. Are you ready?”

“I think so. I wish you told me this was going to happen today, Goddess. I will fight for you as long as you are true to me, though I could have been more prepared if I didn’t have the night I did.”

“I’m sure you will find that the victor of these events will be showered with drinks during the afterparties. You need to be able to hold down your liquor, Emily.”

I look towards the floor ahead of us. “A shameful world it is where in order to celebrate, you need to be drunk.”

“All to look attractive and friendly, correct?”

“I don’t care what others think,” I say as we walk into a room with a large sliding door into the arena. “I would rather just live on my own and do as I wish.”

“Why don’t you?”

I step up to the door, then turn. “I can’t just leave them on their own.”

“How come? Do you need them?” I know she isn’t trying to be rude; she just wants me to answer these for myself.

“No, but I think they need me. I think they rely on me to give them reason.”

“You never really know until the time comes, Emily,” she smiles. “Ready?”

I nod, “Ready.” She presses a button and, after some time, the door slides open. I walk out of it onto the stadium floor as the others I’m up against step out as well. A large round table with four chairs materialize in the center and Yubik’s voice lights up over the speakers.

“Alright, folks. Come to the center and introduce yourselves while we get this thing initialized.” We all oblige and take our seats at the table. I can see the different expressions that show the different personalities among us. Zitse, the Demon, looks angry about being here. I can tell he is going to be a fierce, brute strength fighter. Across from me is Xh’njin, a man from the other continent. His skin is tan and his dark hair is trimmed short. He has a bow with arrows strapped around him and he looks like his mind is completely centered. Finally, there is Nefita, the Elf woman representing Teyalu. She looks bored with this place and I saw daggers holstered in her belt when we were walking up. “Don’t be shy, ladies and gentlemen,” I hear Yubik say over the speakers.

I look down, feeling my heartbeat calm down. I look back up at them and each look to me as I say, “Emily Everlock.”

“We know who you are,” Nefita says. “You think we didn’t expect to see you here?”

I sigh. “Well, I certainly don’t know any of you.” Around us, the stadium changes with trees appearing and disappearing rapidly.

“My name is Nasashi Xh’njin,” the man says. “I don’t live in Mercelon, but in Peyivivan.”

“Matters not where we live, only our feats,” the demon says. “Zitse, dragon slayer.”

“Dragons?” I repeat. “I’ve never fought any of those.”

“Not everyone can be so privileged,” Nefita remarks. She isn’t going to be that lovely, is she? “My name is Alice, but don’t call me that.”

“What do we call you?” Nasashi asks.

“Nothing,” she snaps.

“Fine by me, Nothing,” I smile. I see the demon smirk, which boosts my confidence. I don’t think we should be so bitter towards each other just because we are going to fight to the death.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please find your places near your respective entrances,” Yubik’s voice says. As soon as we get away from the table, it disappears and the whole stadium is blank once more. When walking back, I see that the stands are being filled up. I guess we can’t hear anything outside of the arena when inside of it; perhaps there is a barrier between us? “We are going to start this shindig pretty soon. Ready yourselves for a battle to the death. This fight is going to be televised all over the worlds, so be as flashy as you want and make it a good show. We probably didn’t mention this, but if you want any specific weapon, just press the button at your doors and ask for it.” I don’t need one because I have my staff, though I’m curious as to what the others will use. Nasashi will use a bow no doubt, Nefita, her daggers. Does Zitse use a weapon? Maybe just his hands.

Something just occurred to me: I could actually die today. I mean, I won’t, but I can. Maybe, just maybe this isn’t enough of a punishment for getting too drunk. Then again, I did tell Yhannason that I would represent her. Today, I’m going to dominate this battlefield to show them that I’m not just some pretty face, or some kind of vigilante. I’m stronger, smarter, and a whole lot more attractive than them. I’m also just hyping myself up out of fear because my heart is beating quicker now.

Outside the arena, I can barely hear an announcer, not Yubik, begin speaking to the audience. They say that the fight will begin shortly, which makes me just that much more nervous. I see the cameras above start moving along the wires as the landscape begins to materialize into a forest. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe I should try to get out of he-

“Ready, folks?” Yubik asks. With no answer, of course, he says, “You have thirty seconds until the first battle in the Creuzetz begins.” I notice that in front of me, a visible barrier is holding me back from going forward. I’m sure that will go down as soon as the time is up. After some time, I hear his voice again. “Ten… Five, four, three, two, one. Get out there and make your deities proud, ladies and gentlemen.” The speakers turn off and the barrier drops, signaling that the battle has begun. Almost instantly, I begin to hear sounds in the far distance. I use my magic, the kind I learned about from Eleanor, to heighten my sense of hearing. Our positions certainly didn’t change; Zitse is to my left, Nasashi ahead, and Nefita to my right.

To make it easier for me, I use my staff to blend into the shadows as I silently move forward. I’m not about to be taken by surprise, that’s for sure. I find my way to the center where I see Zitse arrive. His expression is of total rage and he is searching around for anything he can find, though he can’t see me. Suddenly, from the trees, and arrow pierces his arm, which is followed by the slight sounds of rustling. Nasashi above repositions and continues taking shots at the demon, but it doesn’t seem to be doing much. Is this battle really going to be this short? I expected something a bit more, but I guess if the three can make it to the center, I’ll give the audience a good show, making it worth the limited time.

Ever since I learned of my ‘true’ from, one of a Void being, I’ve been trying to perfect a transformation spell that would not permanently change me, though it isn’t complete. I can change my head and shoulders without furthering the corruption, but that’s about it, so maybe I’ll just frighten them with a not-so-pretty face. I lie in wait while the two go at it, Nasashi flinging arrows while Zitse watches from the ground. I stay watching until I see Nefita coming from the shadows as well, though she is visible. She runs and draws two daggers to stab at Zitse. With the arrows distracting him, the daggers pierce into his skin and she leaves them in the wounds, drawing more to do the same. However, Zitse can only be distracted for so long and he turns, backhanding the woman to the ground. She continues backing away while throwing knives, each one finding a place in his skin. At this point, Nasashi has stopped shooting, leaving the woman to the tank of a man.

Zitse grabs Nefita’s neck with one oversized hand and lifts, beginning to suffocate her. She resists and kicks at him, but it does little to nothing. In a last-ditch effort, she uses magic (which I didn’t think she was capable of) to pull the daggers back to her. They fly with such speed that the ones in Zitse’s back explode through his chest. After having them reposition in the air, Nefita makes them become pins in the demon’s body again, but I hear the sickening sound of her neck bones being crushed. I hear pained breathing followed by a thud; one down.

The demon, now flayed from the daggers, turns back to see Nasashi in one of the trees. He fires a well-aimed arrow, though Zitse lets a hand take the blow for his face. The monster rushes and smashes into the tree, making Nasashi fall tumbling to the ground. He uses the bow as a sort of staff, striking at Zitse as much as he can without getting taken hold of. I decide to make this the time to show myself and I step into view. Nasashi sees me first and, with extreme sleight of hand, he lets loose an arrow towards me. With magic, I redirect the arrow to fly through the tendon in Zitse’s right foot, making him falter. I’d hope these people would know that to take down a demon or anything larger than you, you should use smarts and not strength. Strength certainly helps, though, as Zitse flings a fist to smash Nasashi into the nearest tree, dropping him to the ground unconscious.

I let out a laugh and put on a sick grin, feeling excitement from the bloodshed. The demon turns and looks at me. “You and me, Void woman.”

“Ladies first?” I snicker. This feels amazing, how I can do everything in my power to kill. No morals can stop me in this arena. This is the greatest idea the gods have ever had. Zitse grunts and charges with his arms out to tackle me, but I let myself drop from his vision and reappear to the right of him. I flash a tongue of fire in his face and he flinches, then I punch the bottom of my fist down on one of the daggers, shoving it farther into his wound. The demon groans in pain and swings, but I’m already moving backwards. With my staff, I reposition it and draw power to form a blade made of Void material around it. The blade glows the same as my God Slayer weapons, it having a starry appearance trimmed with purplish-white. I use his slow speed to my advantage and jump back each time I strike, slicing more wounds into his body. I jab his right kneecap and hear it crumble under his weight, then he drops onto it, making a disgusting cracking noise.

I spin my staff and slash down, slicing a huge gash into his shoulders. He looks up, knowing his end is here. “Give honorable death, Everlock.” I make my staff go to normal, then plant it in the ground before going over. With my hands, I form God Slayer blades and position them like scissors around his neck, but he clearly had no intentions of being honorable. He smashes a fist into my stomach and uses the moment to tackle me to the ground. “Last words!” he commands me with his fists rising up above his head.

“Nah,” I smirk. Without a moment’s notice, I let out a shriek, amplifying it with magic. Against any Human or Elf, they would be subdued and probably unable to hear for a while. To the demon, Zitse puts his hands to his ears and unintentionally lets up off me. I use the moment to shift upwards and reposition myself above him, then I manifest flames from my mouth, spewing them over his face. I feel my adrenaline rush as his skin begins melting away and I get to see his white, horned skull peeking out from it. When his angered yells of pain begin to simmer, I take hold of one of the daggers in his chest and begin stabbing over and over again, making him shout more. When he begins to quiet again, surely as death is approaching, I discard the dagger and shove my hand into a wound to begin tearing out flesh.

“Scream!” I laugh at him. “Scream!” I dig a way to his heart and grab hold of it, then see his eyes center on me.

“No more!” he begs.

“Gladly!” I smile wickedly, then clench my fist inside his body. His heart becomes crushed and I see the light in his eyes fade to nothing. I push him back, permanently sat up on his knees, then look to the last one left: Nasashi. He still rests, so I use Geomancy, magic of the earth and ground, to form coils that keep him held down for now. With him restrained, I go to Nefita and drag her limp body to the demon, then rest her against him. I use her daggers in Zitse’s body to prop up his head to stare in front of him and use more to pin her neck against his chest so that they could both be easily seen when the last one awakes.

After everything is set up, I use magic to make Nasashi wake up. His hands are cuffed behind him and he is on his knees, face to face with his other competitors. His eyes widen and he looks around, then realizes what has happened. I made the air become foggy between the trees around us, so his vision is limited to mere feet around him. “Make it quick, Emily.”

“I thought you’d never ask,” I say as I step over from the side. I grab his hair to pull him to look at me, then watch as his serious expression turns to one of horror. My eyes and hair have become fully white, my teeth have become fangs, and my mouth has become a gaping maw, my jaw extending much farther than a normal Human’s would.

“W-what are you?!” he yells, eyeing both the two that have fallen and myself. Without an answer, I give him a few more moments of staring before I lunge and clamp my teeth over his neck. I feel his blood surge into my mouth and I use magic, learned from Gillza and Gillzen, both excellent Blood Magic users, to make the rest flow out of his body from the wound. He shrieks in pain from the sheer amount of liquid spurting out of his body. I lean back and watch as the gushing fountain becomes a trickle. He will live for maybe another thirty seconds, but I can see him already fading. “I know now,” he barely manages. “You are a monster.”

I laugh, feeling the rush of death exciting me. “I am so much worse,” I say. I throw his head forward and he looks down at the huge puddle of his own blood. “Die slowly,” I tell him as I grab my staff and reset the transformation, turning back into a regular human. The fog fades and I see that multiple cameras were very close, watching everything. I smile at one, then look down at my handiwork. All three of them lie in messes of themselves, but not for long. Soon, a bell dings and their bodies begin to disappear, then the landscape begins to disappear as well. It all breaks down and I’m left on the empty stadium, but I see cheering people in the stands. Surely, the gods thought up a way to let them see all of the action from outside the barrier.