Ed was fast, immediately throwing a left short at my face. I was faster, dodging sideways as I caught his muscles tighten. But he was relentless, closing the gap again with a right across the chest. Again, I managed to step out of range, backward this time. I saw Ed try to follow up again with a uppercut, and I let him close in with his fist enough to make it look like it would hit. Then at the last second, I took a half step to the side and backhanded him in the face.

He stumbled, which gave me a chance to shove my foot in his side, sending him stumbling further off to the side. I gave him a chance to catch himself and saw him begin to shift a little, not a full phasing, but enough to make him more dangerous. His body began to bulk out, his veins straining under his stretching skin as his muscles bulged. This drew and excited gasp from the audience, but I knew it wasn’t going to be enough to turn the tides. He had to hit me in order to do anything, and so far that wasn’t a problem.

The one thing I didn’t count on, which was a very impressive oversight on my part, was that with his new muscles came new levels of speed. His next strike was almost a blur, and if I hadn’t anticipated his left straight aimed at my chest, I’d have been in some deep trouble. My sidestep caused his fist to just graze my exposed chest, and I could feel the scrape of knuckle on my torso. It was disappointing that I’d made such a rookie mistake, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but laugh a little.

His next strike was an explosive elbow to my abdomen, and man could I feel that. He was way too close to duck out of the way, and way too pumped to hold back, so each hit I took was going to be damning. This could be trouble if I didn’t get things under control, but it could also be fun.

I was still staggering from the elbow to the stomach when I saw him spin a right hook at my face. I was far enough away that I could roll with the punch as it came at me, widening the room between us. That’s when I felt something tingle in my arm.

Glancing down, I saw the contract that was written on my flesh slowly fade. I knew that there was no way in hell Ashley had gotten to Ytralia, and the contract wouldn’t finish until she was free of her servitude… Did she die? Was there a crash? What happened to her? My mind was racing when Ed came for the next strike.

I caught his movement at the last second, and-

*WHUMP*

I caught his fist with my hand, all but negating the blow. His eyes met mine for the first time since we reached entered the arena, and I saw in them a trace of fear. I clenched my hand on his fist and exerted enough force to hear the cracking of his joints dislocating. To his credit, he didn’t whimper or crumple into a ball on the floor, though I wouldn’t have had any ill regard for him if he had.

“Sorry, boy. I’ve got to hurry this along. Something urgent requires my attention.” I hissed just loud enough for him to hear before I kicked him in the stomach so hard his body tried to pull away from the fist I was holding on to. I let go as he tried to get his feet under him, and then I grabbed his face in my other hand and slammed his head into the floor. I could hear a slight crunching, likely teeth breaking, maybe a fracture in his skull, I didn’t care. I then spun around and threw him toward the wall on the other side of the arena. A little bit of wind managed to slam him into the bars of the cage with enough force to rattle the whole thing.

He didn’t get up, but I knew I hadn’t hit him hard enough to kill. I made a motion to the announcer to check on him, and then made a wide gesture to the crowd as the announcer proclaimed Ed unconscious. It took me mere seconds to get myself out of the arena and find Wilson. I asked him for a phone so I could dial Jills; he got me one in seconds, a look of disbelief on his face.

Jills answered on the second ring, thankfully.

“Yelooo-“ he started to say, but I cut him off.

“Jills, what happened to the airship? The contract is gone! I know she can’t have gotten there yet, so what happened?” I asked, my heart racing and my voice cracking.

I heard a slight giggle from the other end. “Dahling, calm down. I know exactly what happened and will gladly explain. Ytralia just launched a new law that bans the ownership of any and all slaves. It extends to, and above, the international waters we own. She likely crossed over one of our borders while on the ship and her contract was nullified. There’s nothing to fear, but I’ll keep an ear out for any signs of foul play.”

I felt the relief wash over me as Jills explained. I sighed, almost crying with how happy I was.

“You really are such a softy, dahling.” Jills said, his voice going softer than usual.

“No, I’m just not used to losing a client. Can’t have my status as the best tarnished because of something like a skyjacking or an airship crash.” I said, trying to cover the waiver in my voice.

“Whatever you say, dahling. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got company.” Jills said, giving me an excuse to get off the phone with some dignity.

I said my goodbyes and handed Wilson the mask I had worn for the fight with Ed. I had another three combatants to handle, and a crowd to please. Wilson Looked at me after putting away the phone, a question abundantly clear upon his face.

“That last fight, you didn’t hold back… Are you sure that was wise? What if the crowd demands you fight yourself?”

I smiled, taking back the mask I had worn, “I’ll just have to make a revelation in the ring.”

I walked back into the arena, my “champion robe” covering my shoulders and my Jack Frost mask on one side of my head. The crowd ate it up as the announcer feigned disbelief at the reveal that “Jack Frost” was the arena champion the whole time.

“And now for the main event! We have three back-to-back fights for our reigning champion this evening. You paid the price of admission folks, and holy crow did you managed to get lucky with those tickets! Hold onto your seats, this is going to push you to the edge!” The announcer said to the crowd.

The roaring of cheers almost drowned out the first fighter’s name, Mogus. He I had heard a little about; tall, built like a brick wall, uses only internal physical augmentation magic. One might call him a muscle sorcerer, but others would call him what he was; a freelance, muscle bound master of fists. Internal physical manipulation magic was notoriously hard to use, and someone who didn’t understand that was bound to be punished for their ignorance. I could change the density of a thrown punch and that was the extent of my control of this skill.

“Hey, chief, gotta ask. What magic do you plan to use this match?” the announcer asked quietly to me.

“I’ll use ice, no wind this time. Makes it look cooler.” I said, whispering more to myself than him.

“All right ladies and gents! The Champ here is going to use the skills that got him nicknamed ‘Jack Frost’ in this match! Will those cold talents be enough to freeze Mogus in his place?” The announcer boomed to the crowd.

The other door to the arena opened and a broad-chested man clad in strained shorts lumbered in. Every ounce of him was muscle, and you could tell he never skipped leg day. I was unimpressed with the physical display of power, it was how he used his skills that I was curious about.

We stood scant feet apart when he spoke. “Your last match, you didn’t use any magic to physically cause damage. Just that little gust at the end. Why?”

I gazed up at his face, his height made it a little awkward, “I wanted to drag out the fight. Give the guys time to round up you other combatants. Plus I work with the guy, had to give him a chance.”

“Then why end the fight so suddenly?”

“Got distracted. Had to clear some things up before I started the next few fights. He’ll be back up soon enough and come at me for round two. They all do.”

He extended a hand, “Then let us not play coy with one another. I will use my skills to their fullest extent and expect the same from you.”

I grasped his hand and shook it, “I’d expect nothing less.”

“Look at this show of manly admiration and mutual respect! It doesn’t get any more real than this folks! I’m almost in tears.” The announcer called to the crowd, riling them up more and more.

“Fighters, take your places! We’re starting here in 5! 4! 3!”

We moved to the required ten feet and faced one another. It was time.

“2!”

I took a breath and cleared my mind.

“1!”

I assumed my stance, lax but ready to fight.

“GO!”