Fandom [Closed] Tower of God: Alpha Perspective

[Azure Sky]

Timeskip: The Champion​

"Ladies and gents, the semifinals are drawing near!" Quiz's voice rang throughout the arena.

After yesterday's announcement many competitors had withdrawn from the event, in fear of facing any of the dangerous super star Regulars. Even those that remained where, for the most part, defeated with ease, and some forfeited before the match even began, such as in Haewon's and Mena's cases. Yet 8 Regulars prevailed.

"And now, the pairs for the next set of matches are..."

1. Haewon Zahard vs Volk
2. Ha Mena Arie vs Bourbon
3. Nyra Carciphi vs Exodus
4. Mateo Nemeroff vs Nimbus

"As usual, you may place your bets."

OverconfidentMagi cojemo simj26 The One Eyed Bandit QuirkyAngel Brendanfp Rantos

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Ajax Cruise + Goyangi Sul

Sitting with his right leg crossed over his left and a cyan colored lighthouse beside him, Ajax continued to watch the Champions matches from the safety of the audience seat. Three other lighthouses floated around the stadium, poised to record all the matches from different angles. So far all went as predicted. The ones he placed his bets on made it to the top eight. Not that there had been very many difficult choices.

However, free points were free points. The more he raked in now, the less he would have to worry about later. Ranker sponsorship was all well and good, but Ajax knew better than to be dependent on the money sent by his boss. Evelyn Wicker was a whimsical man and he could lose interest in something just as quickly as he gained it. Ajax had seen quite often. Ranker #666 wasn’t a Ranker you’d want to be indebted to.

He was calculating the most probable victors for the next round of betting when the person beside him suddenly stood up.

“I’m so sorry about this!” Goyangi bowed over and over again in apology even though once was good enough. Truthfully, it wasn’t even necessary, but Ajax had gotten so used to it by this point that he didn’t bother to stop her. “I know I said I’d help you record the matches, but I’ve got to check on my brother. He’ll probably throw a tantrum when he wakes up as well…”

“I completely understand, Miss Sul.” Holang Lo Po Bia, Goyangi’s brother, didn’t even make it pass the preliminaries. A little embarrassing for someone from the Great Families, but given he was in the same bracket as Ha Mena Arie, Ajax wasn’t especially surprised. Luck played a factor in tournament matches just as much as skill did. “Tell your brother I hope he gets well soon and that he has my sympathies. It was a difficult matchup.”

Ajax didn’t actually care, but it was the polite thing to say, so he said it.

“Thank you and sorry again!” Goyangi followed with one more bow before dashing off.

The shy, WereCat defender seemed to light a competitive fire under Selicity, so Ajax didn’t bother to tell the Cat Sidhe that she was only a temporary team member until the Team Battles were over. Selicity, lazy cat that she was, needed the motivation. He hadn’t expected the Cat Sidhe to feel territorial with another feline person on the team, but wanting to train and improve could only be a good thing. In that same manner, he was somewhat grateful to Areum Eurasia for riling Selicity up. As soon as she heard, from Ajax, that Areum Eurasia had also registered for the Team matches, her drive to win doubled. Rather than just sitting and watching the Champion, which Ajax would be recording anyway, she chose to practice in preparation for the Team Matches.

It wasn’t as if anyone couldn’t just turn on the TV to watch the strongest E-Rankers fight, though being physically present usually gave one a better feel as to how strong the fighters actually are. Couldn’t sense shinsoo use from a screen, after all. It was easier to spot little details as well which was why Ajax got a seat decently close to the front row—granted higher vantage gave a nice birds-eye-view of the whole stadium as well…

Fingers drumming thoughtfully as the voting poll came up on his lighthouse screen, Ajax made his bet for the next matches:

Haewon Zahard.

Ha Mena Arie.

Nyra Carciphi

Mateo Nameroff.

The last one had been the trickiest since the E-ranked regular Nimbus was more popular and had more well-known feats, but Mateo Nameroff was proving himself a dark horse in the fights thus far. Plus, his boss’s daughter, Eve, had posted a picture of Mateo on her blog of ‘hot guys’ from the on the 31st floor. Did that make him a D-rank? Ajax doubted the Workshop would let him enter the competition easily if it were, which left three options—the regular altered his records, he failed the test to become D-rank, or he’d never taken the test to become D-rank in the first place. Either way, he seemed intriguing.

Ajax didn’t mind making wild bets every now and then since he was fairly certain the princess and Ha Mena Arie would win their matches. He’d already seen the Haewon fight Volk before, after all, and had no reason to believe she’d grown weaker. On the contrary, the rumors surrounding her prowess only got stronger judging from the broadcast. While Volk could’ve certainly trained harder since his loss on the 22nd, the Zahard princess didn’t seem to be a slouch either given the assessment Ellia had given princesses the day prior. Besides, anyone that could change Ellia Aris Khun could probably make the impossible possible. As for Ha Mena Arie...it was simply numbers.

(mentioned: Brendanfp Azure Sky OverconfidentMagi cojemo The One Eyed Bandit )

 

[cojemo]

Mateo Nemeroff

"As usual, you may place your-"

The image on the wide screen television hanging from the pure white wall shrunk into blackness in an instant, the announcers words cut short by an impatient hand on a remote. For a few brief seconds a tense silence filled the air of the solitary waiting room, engulfing its singular inhabitant, until a faint tsk reverberated throughout. The sounds origin point could be tracked to the mouth of a Raven haired boy, hands entwined with one another and body slouched forward on a rather unremarkable sofa.

"Zahard, Ha, Arie: I'm getting real tired of hearing these fucking names." Scowling and mumbling to no one but himself, Mateo tossed the remote into the corner of the couch before leaning back with arms crossed and head tilted to stare at the blank ceiling. This whole tournament had, in his eyes, been hijacked the second a Zahard princess was announced to be in the running. Formerly a showcase of talent from regulars all around to try and impress potential sponsors or hone their skills, now all anyone could talk about was if anyone could beat the gifted girl who'd decided to crash the party. While his original motivations were to simply test himself and see where he could improve, Mateo couldn't help but scoff.

What a farce this all had become.

Still, despite his overwhelming bitterness, he found himself equally consumed by the thoughts of seeing the Zahard girl fight, so much so that all of his other competitors had faded into the background of his thoughts. While the ten great families all possessed inborn and unearned talent, the blood that flowed through that woman's veins was on another level entirely. He'd heard stories of how even a low rank princess could match the strength of certain rankers, and though Mateo was quite confident in his skills and believed he could outplay those stronger than him, even he was not deluded enough to believe he could win a fight against one of them without any preparations. Indeed, skill alone would not be enough to topple such a giant.

Mateo's foot tapped onto the tiled floor as his mind lingered, his lip red from his teeth baring down on it anxiously. He'd need to watch her matches closely to find something, anything, he could pull at if - no, when he faced her. After all, this was no longer a simple training exercise for him. His pride was on the line. He'd been roughed up, talked down to, and embarrassed by a green haired vixen the other day, and she didn't even have the nerve to accept his challenge. All bark and no bite, just like he'd thought. Whatever. If he wasn't able to prove himself against the brat, he had no choice but to set his sights on the biggest dog in the yard.

(Mentioned Brendanfp The One Eyed Bandit )

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Selicity Faars + Illiam Herlaa

(A Collab with Rantos )​

Part 1
Rise and awake in the bed fitted for one. A different floor, a different room carved out by the same emptiness. How many years now had he seen empty rooms to call his own? How many times to he switch on the lights to illuminate a stagnate room, greeted by nothing’s changed, and when did he stop bothering to switch them on? In these spacious rooms, he called home, he had gotten used to loneliness. So much so that last night he couldn’t sleep at all when it was gone.

In his bed fitted for one, there was another. Illuminating the dark, her static image. Illiam spent the night typing the long lost word anywhere he could. His knowledge of using the Pocket was limited, but he knew enough to look up the basics. He knew enough to look up Selicity. The few articles he could find were nothing but passaged to list her successes. Though the words were flattering his eyes kept drifting to the images of her. They would drift and drift until at some point in the night they stayed till the morning.

His eyes finally moved, the dark rings shifted to look at the window as the first light floods in. That’s signal enough, it was time to go. So he got up and out of bed, already fully clothed. His finger slid against his smooth-surfaced Pocket as he left. He navigated through his contacts as he walked the halls, pressing down to open his messages with Selicity. All he needed to do was press send from there. He had already written what he wished to say last night.

“Heading to the gym. Ready to bust down some doors.”

***​

Selicity had barely just opened her eyes when her pocket alerted her of Illiam’s message. There was no reason to get up early when no battles were scheduled today and, despite what Ajax said about the importance of gathering data and watching the Champion matches, she didn’t feel it necessary for her to go since Ajax was probably going to record it all and force her to review the footage anyway. Besides, that damn Goyangi cat would be going with him and Selicity wanted to keep some distance from their new defender lest she renege on what she promised Ajax the day prior and pick a fight with the other cat girl, whose presence on the team irritated her a lot more than she thought it would.

Was she jealous? Did she feel irritated that Ajax chose another cat to join them when they already had a perfectly good one in the team? Did she feel that she needed to prove her superiority towards another feline person? Or was it the constant apologizing and the inability to find fault with the WereCat that irritated her more? Selicity didn’t know and she didn’t analyze it too deeply.

She just felt what she felt.

Yawning loudly, the white haired Cat Sidhe rubbed her sleepy blue eyes, which immediately brightened gold at the text displayed on the black orb floating above her head. All plans of shutting off her pocket and digging herself back under the covers vanished as the words registered themselves in her mind. How could she have forgotten? She’d promised to play with Illiam the day prior. Dedicated a whole day to it in fact since it only made sense to try and make up for all the times lost. She wanted to see how strong Illiam had gotten. Wanted to measure how much stronger she had gotten since the second floor as well.

Perhaps they could grow stronger together...though she wasn’t sure about the breaking doors part. Seemed he hadn’t changed much at all.

With a relieved grin on her face, Selicity tossed her pillow aside and bounced from the bed, still decked in the pajamas she’d worn to sleep the night prior. Scrambling haphazardly to get changed and complete all the morning necessities--brushing her teeth, hair, etc---in a timely fashion, Selicity then hurried out the door and to the gym on the Archimedes they promised to meet at. Golden eyes scanned for Illiam among the various training equipment, brightening when she found him.

“Sorry I’m late!”

“No worries. I’m probably just early.”

He hadn’t been waiting for long, truth be told they probably would have arrived at a similar time if Illiam took the time for morning hygiene. Past the standard ‘spit shine’ he gave his teeth when he woke up. Though the two were already within the gym their final destination still remained a short walk away. So without much of a word Illiam started walking towards the small training room he rented out for the day.

“Hehe, I see. That’s good then.” Selicity replied as she followed Illiam curiously, eager to see what he had planned.

Something sturdy, this was his request for the private training room. So he wasn't too surprised to see something so sterile. The room was longer than it was wide, from the entrance it almost seemed like a hallway that stopped short. It's width stretched some six yards, it's length was triple. The walls were stained a solid white, reflecting the brilliant glow of the floor of all things. His first steps within caused a glass sound to echo, bouncing endlessly against the walls much like the light. Illiam knocked on the walls. Yeah, they were solid. And he could only imagine the stale design of the room complimented its purpose.

"I guess, this is it."

“It’s a nice room,” Sel complimented simply as she stepped into the long, empty, white training area. She might’ve looked around, but honestly there wasn’t much else to see. Therefore, the Cat Sidhe simply kept her gaze on Illiam. “What are we going to do here?”

"Just to talk." Stretching out his fingers, then balling them into a fist, Illiam took a moment to start working the tiredness from his body. "As much as I love reading about you, Ajax's memos were really, really, boring." He started jumping up and down. Every jump taking him a bit further within. "That's not how I do. I can't read and visualize, so give me something physical to work with." One last jump. As he fell back to the ground, his legs spread apart to welcome a low stance. "So hit me." And strike true with all those years of change that he had missed. A superficial way to catch up, he knew that. Maybe being knocked around a bit would clear his head though. Help him think of a better way.

Selicity blinked incredulously at Illiam’s response, tilting her head as she studied Illiam. “Hit you, you say...” However, it didn’t take much for Selicity to see the seriousness in Illiam’s eyes. It was true that Ajax’s memos were boring anyway so she could relate. “Very well,” Cracking her knuckles, Selicity circled the dark haired Amu that offered himself as a target, eyeing him for any opening in his stance. There was a lot...but he had told her to hit him after all. Perhaps he was confident in his endurance. Perhaps he was testing her strength. Eyes bright, Selicity grinned widely so that her canines were visible. “I’ll give it my best shot!”

Stepping forward, one foot in front of the other, Selicity rapidly closed the distance between the two of them, her fist flying forward towards Illiam’s face. Not a just simple fist though. As she promised, she used shinsoo to enhance her fist just as Princess Murin had taught her to give Illiam the strongest attack she could muster.

What met Selicity’s attack wasn’t an arm raised to block, nor a hand poised to deflect. What met her fist was her target, hard and fast Illiam slammed his head into her fist, connecting forehead and knuckle. The impact was more than enough to rattle his brain, pain echoing in his skull. It hurt, it hurt a lot, but not enough to make him reel, not yet. He'd stand smiling, ready for the next.

“Wow, wow, WOW! Did you seriously just stop my punch with a headbutt?” Selicity’s glowed violet in her excitement. And here she thought she wasn’t the smart fighter--though it might’ve been because she was constantly facing Ajax. Punching Illiam had felt like punching a rock wall. Fortunately her fist had been protected by shinsoo. It looked like she would have to try harder to force the wall to move. There were other ways to knock an opponent off balance of course, and Ajax would’ve probably scolded her for fighting so frivolously, but this wasn’t a real fight and she wanted to see how well her physical strength could do. It was clear Illiam had gotten much stronger since the last time she’d seen him.

How? Why? Selicity might have asked those questions if Illiam hadn’t proved himself un-phased by her punch, but, alas, his grinning immovability only incited her to try harder. Therefore that was what Selicity did. Licking her lips, Selicity’s purple eyes narrowed in concentration as a hurricane of fists rained down on Illiam, 3x stronger than her previous punch and adding to the force with each strike towards the same area.

Illiam's eyes met Selicity's if only for a moment. He took comfort in their purple hue for the limited time he was allowed to look at them. The next punch came rushing rapid, hitting him square in his forehead. Broken skin and spilling blood, the force of this punch went beyond many Regulars he had faced. The second punch came, the same spot, and his eyes rolled back. Then the third, his back arched. The fourth, the fifth, sent him flying a few yards away before making impact with the ground. On his back with his chest rising and falling. Even as he closed his eyes everything was spinning. And as he spun in place, he couldn't help but laugh.

This was his apology. For forgetting Selicity's name. For leaving them behind. For his negligence that lead to Seefi's death. Six hits went uncontested, six hits of punishment. Hopefully a good start for all the years.

 

[Azure Sky]

Nyra Carciphi vs Exodus Nether
collab with OverconfidentMagi
​

In the waiting room assigned to Nyra Carciphi, a tall woman waited to be summoned into the arena. Her entire body was hidden beneath a ragged black cloak, her chest beneath the only indication that she was a woman. The preliminaries had left a handful of new holes in the already ratty cloak, but much like within the depth of the hood nothing but shadow was visible inside. An observer floated beside her, as it had during the entirety of the preliminaries.

No one had know who Nyra Carciphi was when her name had appeared on the long list of regulars entering the Champion Contest, but her performance in the preliminaries had already attracted some attention. Hiding her appearance was one way she would get people talking about her, the same as how she would fight. In the preliminaries she'd used a glowing white lance and a pitch black whip that seemed to be some sort of compression weapon to send her competition flying out of the arena. Even when the other regulars had landed attacks on her, such as when a spear bearer has slipped through her defense, the attack pierced her cloak and went right out the other side, seemingly with no effect at all. This gave rise to even more people talking about her and spreading rumors about who or what she might be.

Nyra's plan to spread her name was going well. She just needed to keep putting on a performance worth talking about. To getting her name to reach higher up the tower.

The announcement came that her match would soon begin. Nyra didn't react at all, not until the time counted down and she was transported into the bright lights of the arena. Her black cloak shifted slightly in the breeze, the only indication that she was real, as the hollow of her hood stared across at her next opponent.

The red haired man wordlessly analysed his opponent. Nyra sounded female, yet he couldn't tell because of the attire. And the ghostly performance they displayed made him think she'd be a pain to deal with... Did he have to use it?


"Nyra Carciphi vs Exodus. Begin!"

"Come forth." from within his giant gourd with a sharp-teethed mouth came forth a giant... golden sludge, with multiple eyes. The slime monster grew in size and let out a deafening roar, extending multiple viscuous tentacles from its body, to the other side of the arena, trying to catch its prey.


Nyra glided across the ground like a wraith, towards Exodus with no hesitation even when faced with the monster he summoned. When the monster's tentacles reached for her, the glowing white lance she'd used in the preliminaries appeared out of the sleeve of her cloak. There was a sizzling sound as it made contact with the monster. The lance stabbed into the slime and then bloomed open into a mass of rib-like hooks that tore into the amorphous shape.

The monster let out an angry roar as it's body started to heat up, the substance he was made of became very corrosive when it was enraged. It looked at the hooks inside it then looked at the perpetrator. It opened its mouth wide, and dark blue Shinsoo gathered within. It unleashed a powerful blast towards Nyra's body.

"She's quite nimble." Exodus observed, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that she hurt his "Shinheuh."

Pain. Nyra flew backwards away from the monster, pulling her hooks out of the monster's slimy flesh. The hooks twisted together, returning the weapon to its original shape of a glowing white lance. She stood still, long enough for the monster to fire its attack in retaliation. The white lance swept out in front of Nyra, unfolding into a larger shape almsot like an umbrella to hide behind. The shinsoo blast tore through the ineffective shield, but Nyra had used it as cover to move out of the way. Not to the side, but up. The wraith-like Nyra floated a dozen feet above the ground where the blast had torn up the floor of the arena. Her lance reformed, slightly smaller after having been damaged by the attack. Broken off pieces of the strange weapon littered the ground where it had taken the attack, looking like softly glowing threads or hair.

Exodus watched calmly as his opponent flew through the air and gestured towards the slime beast. Just to be sure, he ordered it to destroy the hair-like remnants of the spear on the ground with another blast. And it did, destroying a quarter of the circular arena in the process. During all of this Exodus merely observed the floating opponent. Quite the mysterious creature.

The figure went from floating motionless to rushing towards Exodus, again seeming to not care about the monster, white lance unwaveringly aimed at her opponent's heart.

At that exact moment, Exodus seemed out of it, with his eyes closed, and hair gradually turning white.

Swish!

He let the lance pierce his left hand which he placed before his heart, then moved the pierced hand slightly to the side, and stared at Nyra with dark sclerae and glowing white pupils.

"I see you." his voice was deeper and had an echoing effect to the brain. He said nothing afterwards, no particular emotion being read on his empty visage.

"Hmmm, this body is weak." It thought as it looked at the pieced hand.

From behind, the monster was approaching.

The tip of the lance that had pierced Exodus' hand opened up into fine glowing hairs that wrapped around his hand and began to climb up his arm. Already the hand would be feeling the effect of being stabbed, or rather not be feeling it as the nerves were numbed by the venom of the stinging tentacles that comprised the "lance".

But rather than wait for the venom to paralyze her prey, there was a glint of metal as a blade slid out from under the black robes towards Exodus' chest.

[Corruption]

Exodus's entire arm backened and ripped itself from its owner. It would start blackening the tentacles that engulfed it and make its way throughout the whole creature's body. It would make it his to command if it blackened completely.

His whole body started to blacken as well, inviting any attack from a living being to start the process of corruption yet again upon touch. Meanwhile the blade was already stabbing a viscuous tentacle, as the monster creeped from behind, getting corrosive yet again from anger.

Exodus took the opportunity to take a few steps back.

Nyra dropped the lance before the strange darkening reached her, leaving the glowing tentacles wrapped around Exodus' discarded arm. Attack the monster and get hurt or attack the master and have something bad happen. It was a smart ploy for her to make use of in the future, but going after the master was still the right choice. The slime monster had been able to stop the dagger, but it still didn't seem that strong. She was just weaker. So she needed something stronger to hit it with.

The black cloak shifted and then a thick crimson claw emerged from beneath to slam heavily into the amorphous monster. A second carapaced limb, thinner and pointed stabbed out of the center of the cloak towards Exodus' body while the monster was distracted.

"Return." And the monster quickly returned to the gourd. In the meantime, the detached limb fused with the blackened tentacles and healed the wound.

As soon as the carapaced limb pierced Exodus, the body shrivelled up and died. The lone limb started moving on its own, levitating. Bone mass started forming from it, forming a skeleton, then muscles, organs, and so on, until it reformed Exodus's body.

The red hair returned, and the usual Exodus was back to his senses.

"Why am I naked?" He also checked out his arm. "Oh... tentacles..."

The large crab claw missed the monster completely as it returned to its bowl. At least Nyra couldn't think of the strange creature as anything but a shinheuh and therefore that gourd thing it had come from and now returned to as its bowl. There was one way to check for sure. The heavy claw descended down on top of the gourd.

The gourd was quite sturdy, thus it needed multiple hits to break.

Meanwhile, as the opponent was fixated on it...

Dark crimson Shinsoo gathered around Exodus's body and then dispersed. He considered quiting... Not like he wanted to try hard in this competition. There was no Eurasia to kill anyway, and he also got a neat new powerup in the form of tentacles. He pondered it, very uninterested in the gourd, simingly.

"Throw." Just simingly. The slime got out of the gourd and used its tentacles to throw it at Exodus.

"Defensive formation." The slime swiftly circled around Exodus, like a giant snake with tentacles entering some sort of protective stance. Surrounded by the slime's body Exodus began yet again to charge with dark crimson Shinsoo. The creature charged energy within its mouth as well. Both released a blast at the ground, to destroy another portion of the arena, where Nyra was standing. If they could handle that, Exodus would really quit. Too much of a hassle.

The cloaked Nyra glided backwards from the blast, again rising above the arena as the ground beneath her was destroyed. The crab claw had disappeared inside the folds of the black cloak, and now a long black whip emerged in its place. Nyra flew at Exodus and his shinheuh, the whip trailing behind her until it suddenly sailed forward with its end coiled together into a sphere to slam into the slime's head like a wrecking ball.

The golden slime roared as it feel to the ground and formed a... puddle.

Exodus tapped the gourd and it absorbed the slime. Then he propelled himself backwards using Shinsoo enhancements and jumped out of the arena, or what was left of it, freefalling into the water.

"Yep, I quit."

Winner: Nyra Carciphi

The black whip receeded back beneath the cloak, and once the match was declared finished Nyra floated back down to the ruined ground of the arena floor. She hadn't said a single word the entire time, just like in the preliminaries, and she didn't break her silence as she returned to her waiting room.

In the waiting room a formally dressed young-looking woman was waiting. Her hair was light brown, kept in a loose braid with eye length bangs and two longer side bangs that framed her face. Her eye color, which was usually brown, became golden, with multiple rings forming within the irises.

"Greetings Nyra Carciphi. Mind if we have a chat?" Yume asked cheerfully.

The cloaked Nyra remained silent.

"Great!" It was a rethorical question.

"In the next fight, I would like it if you could fight without covering your face and body. The people love you. They want to see the magnificent warrior behind that get up." Yume went for the door.

"It isn't a request, nor a suggestion." She waved goodbye as she exited.

Nyra didn't know who that person was, nor did she care. She would do what she wanted, as always.

"Oh, where were my manners. I didn't present myself." Yume returned, and the pressure in the room was raised as the gravity increased. "You may know this already, but I am Yume Yu. High Ranker, and sponsor of this event. Pleased to meet you." Yume still stayed in the room, and the gravity kept increasing.

There was a heavy thud from within the cloak and it collapsed into a pile on the floor, revealing the much smaller figure hidden within.

"Thinking about it, I have not heard your reply. At least shake your head if you understood. Proper courtesy, tehe." the gravity kept increasing.

Though she couldn't even lift her head to glare up at Yume, Nyra's golden eyes weren't afraid of this person at all. "I don't care about your name. I don't care if you're a ranker. Don't tell me what to do."

"Marvelous, glad we agree. If we didn't, I would be forced to disqualify you."

"Do what you want," Nyra said. Her body was being squished against her lighthouse that she'd been sitting atop during the match, and the edge was beginning to dig into her chest, making it difficult to get the words out.

"Thank you." The two Shinheuh bowls that were on the floor were forcefully pulled towards Yume. "Your gift is nice. I am glad we became friends." And with that, she left. Gravity returned to normal.

Once the pressure crashing down on her lightened, Nyra was coughing and gasping on the floor. It took her more than a dozen halting attempts to get the words out, but finally her throat cooperated. "Siri!" The shinsoo within the room rippled, awaiting the command. ATTA- Nyra bit her tongue before the order could escape her lips or her mind. Her bandanged fists beat against the floor ineffectively, only hurting herself. The hatred she felt towards that person surprised even herself.

Nyra stood up slowly, a dark look in her already disconcerting black and gold eyes. When she became a predator that could inspire fear, this place would be her first hunting ground. That woman deserved to be prey. But for now she needed to get Siri back. The shinsoo within the waiting room and even through the surrounding rooms vibrated in sympathy with Nyra's anger, but she didn't notice or care.

"Maybe I will play basketball." The Shinheuh would be the balls of course.

simj26 The One Eyed Bandit Rantos QuirkyAngel cojemo Brendanfp

 

[Azure Sky]

Mateo vs Nimbus
collab with cojemo
​

"Now then ladies and gentlemen, next fight will soon begin!"

The crowd cheered. Nimbus was indifierent to it all, however. He just partecipated because Lin was injured priorly to the eventsand he didn't want her to get injured further. He made it quite far, although if he had to be honest, his opponents thus far were quite manageable. But his next one, likely not so much. And even if he defeated him, would he be able to even get to the finals, seeing what monsters he'd have to face?

"Mateo Nemeroff vs Nimbus! Patecipants shall now be teleported."

Nimbus, like his opponent, was teleported from his waiting room to the arena. He carefully analyzed Mateo, wearing a calm expression. Ah, he remembered where he saw him before... at the male bathrooms...

Awkward.

Mateo, who'd been impatiently waiting for his turn in the arena so he could burn of some of his nerves, let out a sigh of relief as he became surrounded by the familiar aura of teleportation. He stood up from the couch, placing one hand on his neck as he rolled his head in a circle and strething his arms.

"Alright, here we go. Quick and simple, just like the rest."

Warped to the arena, Mateo did just as Nimbus did and looked over who he'd be facing with a stoic expression. He didn't look particurly special, but then again it was too early to tell. Stretching out his fingers, Mateo kept silent and bent his knees slightly, anticipating when the match would begin.

"Fight...start!"

The second those words rang throughout the air Mateo had already begun carrying out his battle plan, Shinsoo whirling around him as a medium sized orb formed itself in front of Mateo. The boy hopped onto it, balancing himself as he began to circle to the right of Nimbus.

At the same time 4 disc-like bangs around six inches in length hung on each side of him and would begin launching themselves at Nimbus swiftly, each one going half a second after the other and new discs being formed almost immediately.

Straight to business, this opponent of his. Clouds came out of Nimbus's body and covered him as he enhanced himself with Shinsoo, while taking a defensive stance, bracing for impact. He took the hits, and after each impact small clouds would fly upwards, above the arena. Slowly they would combine and form a bigger cloud. But not big enough, yet.

The hits, they felt like slashes. Not deep ones, but annoying nonetheless. Like cutting oneself continuously with paper. A barrage of weaker strikes to keep him in check, was it? Well...

Nimbus moved slowly while being attacked by Mateo, to make him believe that he was the type to tank attacks and attack from close range, like his former opponents believed. More small clouds gathered above.

No immediate action, no impetus to dodge, and those clouds...something felt off. He wasn't going to be able to gauge his opponents skillset at this rate, and his gut told him that time wasn't a tool he could play with so carelessly.

With a flick of the wrist Mateo's four bang assault ceased, only for the discs to be replaced by two much larger variants in whirring in his hands, each 4 times the size of his smaller ones. The boy would slow down his circling as a cautionary measure, and while periodically glancing at the ominous cloud above he threw both saw blades side by side simultanously at Nimbus' mid section.

Dangerous.

The next set of attacks looked like they'd be hard to take on. Very well then, phase B. As soon as the Shinsoo buzzsaws came near, Nimbus's upper body became a cloud and floated towards the other clouds above, the buzzsaws following while his shirt flew through the air. Suddenly a pair of small clouds formed around his feet and his lower body started moving at great speed to the left side of Mateo. A cloud popped and reformed Nimbus's upper body, revealing his discretly muscular and partially bruised physique.

An electrical Baang formed near his body, which was engulfed by a cloud. Suddenly it became darker as it transformed in a thunder cloud. As it unleashed a few lightning strikes towards Mateo's direction, Nimbus knelt and used superhuman strength to rip small rock pieces from the arena with his bare hands. He then enhanced his body and the little rocks with Shinsoo, before throwing each in opposite directions. In the front, Mateo would deal with a series of electric attacks, and if he chose to go either left or right, he'd have to deal with an enhanced flying rock thrown with superhuman strength.

Mateo cursed under his breath as Nimbus split his body apart into clouds. Intangibility, not good. The sudden increase in movement speed from his opponent also came as a shock, forcing him to have to resort to improvisation. Knowing he'd be unable to fully outmaneuver the incoming attack due to slowing down his movement speed, Mateo launched himself diagonally downward off of his Shinsoo ball to remain grounded and in turn propelled the meter tall orb towards Nimbus.

The boy whinced as his shoulder slammed and slid across the unyielding arena floor,feeling his shoulder buckle from the impact. He had no time to waste though, as almost immediately Mateo would make his way back to his feet, already creating another ball of Shinsoo to ride on. At the same time as all of this, the two saws from earlier would blindingly come buzzing downwards from the clouds, and wherever Nimbus would be they'd attack from opposite side, one going high and one going low, in the hopes of giving Mateo more time.

Nimbus decided to tank the Shinsoo ball, reasuming his defensive stance, and fought against it as it continuously tried to push him towards the edge of the arena. Meanwhile, the ripples in the air made it known to Nimbus that somethink was coming. As he looked back he saw the buzzsaws from before. A boomerang effect?

"I really wanted to keep that as a surprise." He thought as he generated two more electric Baangs in covered in clouds. The two extra thunder clouds unleashed lightning attacks on both Shinsoo buzzsaws to weaken or destroy them. In the meantime, he kicked the ball away. At this point Nimbus was distracted and payed less attention to Mateo for a few seconds. He switfly turned back to check on his opponent. Another small cloud went upwards, generated from his right shoulder.

"Thunder clouds, that'll be an issue." Mateo mumbled under his breath, watching as his dual front assaault was thwarted my Nimbus' own. Having attacks from multiple angles would compromise even his maneuvarability. However, while the attack had seemingly failed, it allowed Mateo to pick up just the information he needed.

Placing his hand on the Shinsoo orb next to him, it began to increase its spin velocity as he ran at nimbus with it by his side.

"Take this!"

Calling attention to himself, Mateo would once again launch the orb at Nimbus, this time it moving much faster than before and making dodging that much trickier.

Again with the ball? Nimbus was ready to tank it, but upon impact the projectiles spinning accelerated violenetly, growing in size briefly, and then...

Boom!

A wave of energy hit his body, damaging it badly, sending him flying outside the arena. As he was descending towards the water, the semi conscious Nimbus instinctively made part of his body into a cloud, partially reducing the speed of the fall.

"What happened? Ah yes, the cloud..." As he was falling, Nimbus pointed towards the sky and an electric blast was released from his index. The blast reached the cloud, causing an electrical discharge, which made it become a very big thunder cloud, releasing lightning at random.

Nimbus eventually reached the water, determining his fate. He lost, but not without a fight, and to a worthy opponent.

Reaching the edge of the arena and peering over it, Mateo let out a sigh of relief and whiped the sweat from his brow. While it may have seemed like he won just as easily as his last rounds, he knew that he'd toppled someone with strength much greater than his past foes and had narrowly avoided the worst.

However, just as he'd straightened his posture and reached up to straighten his collar, a sharp shock struck the back of his left leg, burning through his pantleg and bringing him to his knee in agonizing pain.

"Aaargh, what the-"

He looked over his shoulder, and was met with the sight of lightning cascading haphazardly over the entire arena. Realizing he wasn't in the clear just yet Mateo ducked and dove to narrowly avoid the incoming bolts, cursing as his injury screamed out in pain.

"And the winner is...Mateo Nemeroff!"

"Fucking sore losing asshole!"

Thinking fast, Mateo focused his shinsoo to create another orb, this one large enough to cover his body as he placed it on top of him. Keeping his hands up to hold the orb in place, he gritted his teeth as his makeshift shield took shot after shot of lightning. Each direct hit shook his body and threatened to break the construct that was never meant to take so many hits in the first place, and Mateo quickly began to worry the onslaught would never end.

The spheres shape distorted and Mateo's hands began to shake as he struggled to maintain its form, and just as it seemed he'd falter...The barrage stopped. Sunlight once again began to shine over the arena, the cloud slowly vanishing into the air. As soon as he realized he was safe Mateo dropped his arms to his side, letting his shield vanish and exhaling deeply.

One win down. Easy.

Most of the crowd cheered in delight at the intense spectacle of brain and brawn.

"Wow, what a performance, ladies and gents! This is what I live for! Apart from reseach of course." Quiz exclaimed in excitement. In the meantime he would enter data from the fight on his computer, like he did for the Nyra and Exodus one.

OverconfidentMagi The One Eyed Bandit simj26 Rantos Brendanfp QuirkyAngel

 

[simj26]

Han Ji-hyeonShe raised the cup to her lips, and blew on the brew once, before taking a sip. She let the earthy taste remain in her mouth for a moment, before she swallowed, then rested the cup back down on its coaster.

"Strategy is preparation, and preparation is reserved for before the battle. Do I have to repeat this again?"

"Then clearly, you're not strategizing fast enough. You've much to learn, grasshopper." Her companion leaned back on her chair, balancing it precariously on its rear two legs, and swept a lock of her snow-white hair from her face.

"If I hadn't such a slow teacher, maybe I'd be done with the syllabus by now." Ji-hyeon looked into her cup, rather than at her partner, and scowled. She didn't get it right this time either. The lingering aftertaste felt weak, but the previous brew had been chokingly strong. She made a mental note to adjust the volume of water the next time.

Her partner shifted her weight forwards, sending her chair slamming down onto the ground. She brought a fist into the table, expression incredulous."Excuse me! It isn't my fault you don't take to any lessons I dispense!" She pouted, and drew her jacket over her almost bare chest, covered only by a cropped tank top. "In any case, we must strategize for--"

"There is nothing to strategize over." Ji-hyeon picked up her cup, and swirled the contents in it, coursing the remaining tea within along the inner walls of the cup in a perfect circular motion of her hand. "Literally. We have no idea what we are going to go up against."

"Then we should at least prepare."

"Preparation is for the ill-prepared." She gave one more cycle of her hand, and flicked the cup towards the sink. A spiral of translucent green tea shot forth from the cup, like a twisting dragon racing from the mountains, and onto the earth below, before crashing into the metal surface of the sink. Both ladies looked quietly at the sink, letting the silence ring loudly in the air, before Ji-hyeon rose from her seat.

"Time to go."

Yoo HaewonHe drew on his coat, and brought his hood over his head, and, once more, for what seemed to be the umpteenth time in his life, disappeared into the darkness within. This had become a daily routine. Until he was comfortable with being seen again outside as his true self, that was how it would be for the foreseeable future. Even now, there was an aching hole in his chest, reminding him of something that he didn't know existed in his life. It was negligible once, just a feeling that he could easily set aside. Now, however, that abyss had grown larger, and larger still, consuming his entire being, until only an abject emptiness remained. Yet, he didn't know what exactly this hole sought. All he knew was that it called for chaos, or so it seemed. He yearned for it, but like a man with no tongue, he could never taste exactly what he wanted.

The first cycle of competitions had started already. He supposed he should go and see them, but it would also do to prepare for the next day. Both ideas were trite ones, admittedly. He had little reason to go and see beasts masquerading as men bite and claw each others' eyes out, and preparation was for the ill-prepared. He didn't suppose loading knives into his sleeves would do much against an automaton either. Psychological warfare only worked on those with a psyche to war against. He sighed, and took his cup to the sink, discarding it with a loud clunk.

He supposed he could go and see what the others wanted to do first, and probably tag along with them. He strode towards the door, then turned around to cast one more glance at the room behind him. He hesitated, then retreated to the table to adjust the chair, before making his way back to the door, making his exit out of the now-empty room. He made his way towards Eurasia and Yeon's rooms, which were conveniently positioned right next to his own, for ease of access, he supposed. He knocked on their doors respectively.

"It's me, Haewon. Do you wish to spectate the Champion tournaments, or perhaps meander about whilst waiting for tomorrow?"

Azure Sky The One Eyed Bandit

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Water ran with a scalding fury across Areum's body as she indulged herself in a morning shower. As much as she was loathe to admit, the hoodie freak had decent taste. Granted, the ability to sniff out a place with a good bathroom wasn't exactly something she'd write home about, but it was enough of a boon in light of the past six months she'd spent in low-pressure motel hell.

Areum tapped on the shower's controls to shut off its flow, and stepped out from its glass cubicle. As she patted herself dry, her thoughts turned to the tournament to come. With only three teammates, she wasn't counting on their chances to come on first place. Assuming Haewon and the Yeon weren't hiding any tricks up their sleeves, at least. Under normal circumstances, she would've walked not long after the hooded slimeball tried to win back the shitstain from yesterday, but here she was.

Her brow furrowed, and she collected her clothing from her bedside; An old sweater, a shirt and a pair of jeans laid sprawled across the covers, which she was quick to throw on. In the corner of her room, Areum's luggage lay in a dejected sprawl. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd cracked it open. She frowned, and her movements caught for a moment as she spared the lonesome suitcase a glance.

She sighed. It could wait until another day.

When Haewon knocked on her door, Areum was quick to answer. Sitting around on the eve of an event like this would only make her antsy.

"Morning, Hoodie. You ever take that tacky thing off?" Stepping into the hall, she shot Haewon a bemused glance. The mystery hood wasn't the weirdest fashion statement she'd seen during her climb, but it nagged at her none the less. "You can forget about watching that clown show. Why would you wanna watch a bunch of desperate idiots beat the tar out of each other for the sake of some Workshop Exec's kicks? So uncivilized, don't you think?" As she spoke, Areum recalled Mateo's challenge from their scuffle the previous day, a chuckled a wry laugh.

As if a stain like him was worth the time. She wasn't sure if the was his smarmy little voice croaked in indignation was more amusing or infuriating.

"Anyway, I'm going for breakfast. Play tagalong. We're gonna have to figure out some way to not get clowned out of a shot at winning because of this three amigos bullshit, right?"

simj26 Azure Sky

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

Yeon Maeum ​

Maeum couldn't see the arena well from her seat in the stands. If she'd used her family name she could have probably gotten a better view, but she'd used the name "King Fire Death" when buying her seat and now here she was in the nosebleed seats. "This suuuuuuuuucks!" she whined, falling back into the lap of the person behind her. The man glared down at her. "Yeah?" She returned his look. As soon as he moved to push her off, Maeum flipped herself up to land on top of his head. She looked around and spotted a light pole. That would work. She kicked off the man's head and jumped across the stands and around and up the pole to land cross-legged atop the lights. "Much better," she commented on the improved view. The distance was a bit far, but her vision was rather impressive if she'd say so herself.

She was more interested in seeing the latter two fights with the princess and the Mena hybrid, but since she didn't know how quick these unimportant boring fights with no-name regulars would be she'd settled for watching them all. Who knows, she might even spot a dark horse and make a fortune betting against one of the favorites. Maeum prided herself in winning unfair wagers, and betting against a princess would be quite the play. She hadn't bet on anyone in this round of fights. There was no point, she hadn't bothered to watch the preliminaries, and betting on the easy wins like the princess and Mena was too boring. The semi and finals would be the exciting fights.

The first two fighters appeared in the arena. A man with long bright red hair, like fire. "He looks really cool!" And a... black cloak. "Oh! Mysterious. Also cool." Maeum nodded in agreement with the style choice. But... "My cursed eye sees through all of the secrets of the tower!" She brushed her black hair from her right eye.

[Cursed Eye]

The entire arena burst into imaginary flames. The stands were a blinding halo of so many burning figures all squished together. Maeum didn't care about the crowd, she was looking at the fighters standing alone in the arena. Alone? "Oooooooooh." Maeum burst into laughter, almost falling off the top of the light pole she was perched atop in the process. "That's fun!" What she saw in the arena was interesting enough that she'd become interested in this unimportant fight.

To everyone else watching it might look like there was two people standing in the arena, but her eye saw the situation much clearer. Five? Six... seven... eight? she could distinguish eight living things down in the arena. There was a little girl hiding crouched beneath that cloak, sitting atop a lighthouse, but she had three more creatures hiding in there with her. And Maeum had missed when it had appeared, but there was another creature circling around behind the cloaked girl towards the red guy. The things under the cloak were hard to make out, but the one sneaking around was clear as day at least to her fiery view. It was a large cat. The red guy hadn't seen it. That was unfortunate for him. But fire-hair man wasn't exactly normal either. He had two different flames in his body. The second one was kind of hard to see, especially from this distance. It looked almost like a shadow of the first, like it was hiding behind it. That was really strange. Had he eaten someone? Was he a cannibal? Why did all of the hot guys have to have some weird thing about them? Oh well, she hadn't been interested in him anyway. It seemed like he was an anima as well from how his big container thing was burning like it was alive. "These two are fun!"

Maeum watched the fight as normal, only using her cursed eye to check where the invisible cat was when the red guy's shinheuh started whipping around. It seemed to be looking for an opening, but the slime thing kept surrounding its master, making it difficult to approach. Aside from when the red guy regenerated his whole body from his arm - Maeum had switched views in time to notice the second flame flare up just then - the fight was completely one-sided. Maeum had kind of expected as much after seeing what that girl was hiding under her clothes anyway. Aside from the cat which ended up not doing anything, the girl's other monsters hadn't even fully emerged from their bowls during the fight. Two-souled anima guy hadn't stood a chance.

"Nyra Carciphi..." Was this her dark horse? Even if she had no chance against the two favorites, Maeum could probably make a few easy credits betting on the anima in her semi fight. She'd have to see who the girl was up against, but it was unlikely just any regular could take on an anima with that many monsters under her control. It was basically cheating at this level. Most of these regulars probably had never fought against an anima, let alone know how to beat one. Maeum knew the trick, so that girl wouldn't last two seconds against her, but as the invincible flame master she was unbeatable anyway, so it'd be cheating if she participated. Wait, could she have bet on herself? Was that allowed? "My fortune!" Maeum cried at the loss of her easy money.

"Fight...start!"

"Oh!" Maeum hadn't been paying attention. She hadn't gotten a good look at the fighters before it began.

[Cursed Eye]

"I spy..." Two normal people. "Whaaaaaaaat? That's so booooooring!"

Maeum didn't even care to watch the rest of the fight at that point, but knowing there would more interesting fights coming up after this one kept her from leaving. The only interesting thing that happened was one guy turned himself into a cloud. "Woo..." So he was a little harder to punch, what good did that do at all against a shinsoo user? Did this guy have clouds in his head too? "Boo! Next fight!" Of course no one could hear her from so far away. Thankfully the fight didn't last long. Cloudy slipped into the bath and self-destructed, so the wave controller guy won apparently. Weird fight.

So the anima would be up against the wave controller in the semis. "His spiny attacks seem close enough to a spear bearer taking out the anima master from range, so it's not like he has no chance of winning..." But Maeum didn't see it happening. It might have just been because she'd somehow recognized her opponent as an anima like herself, but the Nyra girl had opted for getting in close in her fight, which went against how anima were supposed to work. If she did the same thing against the wave controller, it would probably work just as well. Wave controllers usually wanted to avoid fighting close as much as anima, so he might not have a way of dealing with a close attack. "Okay! I'll bet on the anima girl!" ... "After the princess and Mena fights!" No way was Maeum going to risk missing out on the actually important fights.

 

[Brendanfp]

Volk vs Haewon
collab with Azure Sky ​

Princess Haewon Zahard! Strongest E Rank Regular!

It had a nice ring to it, Haewon thought as she completed a set of stretches in her waiting room. With arms high over her head and leg outstretched she pulled against her ligaments and tendons releasing the stress and tension that had built up over the last couple matches. She was on a roll, each victory had been flawless domination. The Princess hadn't even used her spear yet! She was making an effort to improve her skills as a Fisherman and Hwayeomsa. Her next match was against Volk who she had already fought once before, but that match had been too close for comfort. She had played smart and kept her range only striking him down at the peak of his vulnerability. This time though she would conquer that beast in convincing fashion. The Princess hopped from foot to foot in anticipation with a gleeful toothy smile plaster across her face as she awaited the start of the battle.

Volk in his own room was burning with anticipation. Another fight with Haewon Zahard. He could finally properly see the results of his training. He was shadowboxing to deal with his restlessness.

C'mon, c'mon, hurry, hurry, hurry!

"And now, a match you are all likely very anxious to see. Princess of Zahard, Haewon and Volk, the Mad Dog of Yama. A truly exciting match-up. You may now start betting. The Regulars shall be teleported." As Quiz finished his sentence, both Volk and Haewon were teleported from their rooms.

Finally!

Volk glared at Haewon with his typical sharp-toothed grin, still holding the same club as he did in the underground arena. His excitement made the Shinsoo around him go haywire, with cracks forming on the ground beneath him.

Haewon could barely contain her excitement as the waiting room melted away and she found herself standing on the same stage as Volk. The stadium on the Archimedes dwarfed that of the underground arena, and there wasn't a single seat left empty. Haewon cocked her head to the side and widen her stance before parting her lips.

"Volk!" she shouted across the stadium, "You ready to get your ass kicked for the second time?!" Red hot embers were beginning to spark around Haewon.

The voice brought back memories, and the memories got him on fire. His grin became wider, the Shinsoo more volatile. He loved her arrogance. Made him want to defeat her more!

Yes, this is how it should be!

"Begin!"

Volk roared like a beast, generating a sonic blast as he did. It was one of his new techniques, called [Howl]. As soon as he did, he threw his club in the air, and his left arm suffered a transformation, getting covered in fur, as the nails became longer, sharper and tougher (Partial Transformation). He unleashed a Shinsoo-based slash with his enhanced claws, as he jumped forward, blasting off and leaving a small crater on the ground, high in the air, and caught his club with his right hand.

"Ignite!" The club was covered in energy, which took the form of a giant hammer. He swung it at Haewon.

"Picking up right where we left off, you sure don't waste any time Volk!"

The Princess braced with both arms as the powerful shockwave washed over her body rattling her bones. As the wave of energy passed Haewon quickly threw both arms in front of her and formed a fiery baang in each palm. She took a second to pour a massive amount of Shinsoo into each baang before launching them both at the incoming Shinsoo slash.

[Quinn-Style Shinsoo Control: Furies Firebolt]

As the twin fireballs whizzed forward at the incredible speed they elongated and became like javelins right before colliding with Volk's slash and causing a massive explosion that kicked up dust and debris.

Her eyes tracked Volk as he vaulted up into the air and ignited his club. A wave of nostalgia washed over the Princess as she readied herself. This time she would meet his attack head-on. A burst of flame engulfed the Princess as she set the Shinsoo around her ablaze. She trained her eyes on Volk as he reached the peak of his bound. Haewon took a deep breath in. Suddenly the torrent of flame that engulfed her imploded in on itself and surge into her body and then the flames were no more. The Princess winced as pained racked her body.

[Quinn-Style - Infernal Technique]

Volk was inbound now closer than ever. Haewon lowered herself into a crouch and then with explosive power leaped off the stage and into the air towards Volk. The concrete that had been beneath Haewon shattered as flame erupted from her feet and she prepared a fist to meet his club.

The club intercepted the fist and a battle of brawn began. Waves of energy pulsed out from the force of the two regulars colliding. Shockwaves and swathes of flame meeting at the point of impact. Gradually the incredible Shinsoo from each side of the struggle canceled each other out. The two grinning monsters began to descend back towards the ground.

"Is this your way of telling me you don't need a weapon to defeat me anymore? Well..." Volk said, falling on the ground and cracking it yet again. He put his club in his Arms Inventory as its ignition ended.

"Nah. Just pushing my limits that's all" Haewon landed in front of Volk, her fist throbbing. She watched cautiously as the Mad Dogs other arm began to warp and transform.

[Partial Transformation: Both Arms]

As the name suggested, both his arms suffered the mutation from earlier. Volk then performed a "technique" that he liked to call [Frenzy]. It was merely a claw rush attack that sent Shinsoo slashes continuously.

This must be the famous power of the Canine Race, She thought to herself. The Princess braced once more as the onslaught began. Volk unleashed a barrage of Shinsoo slashes from his monstrous claws as he advanced on her. Shinsoo and Flames wreathed Haewon's body as she reinforced herself and sought out an opening to counter-attack.

Volk also searched for an opening. Haewon's defense was impeccable as always. It was quite the conundrum. But what if...

The Mad Dog tapped the ground with the toes of his right foot, generating a shockwave. The intense energy from the wave created a small crater, releasing debris and dust in the vicinity of the fighters. covered by the dust, Volk formed three baangs. One launched a blast to the right-hand side, distant from his target, to create a distraction, while the other two shot where Haewon was standing, one around her left leg, the other around her right elbow.

Haewon felt pressured as the Mad Dog pushed his advance. His eyes looked hungry and his slashes intensified. Then suddenly, the ground exploded beneath her and a cloud of dust consumed both combatants. The Princess felt her focus intensify as her surroundings darkened.

Tch! What was he trying this time?

Then suddenly a light. A single baang shot out to the right. Haewon tracked the baang as it flew off target.

Where was this oaf aiming? She thought, not seeing the trap he had laid for her. Her guard dropped and immediately she regretted it. Pain shot up through her left calf and right elbow. Haewon's face contorted in pain and curses followed. That dirty dog had got her good, but this too presented its own opening.

"That fucking hurt!" she yelled out as her left hand shot up at Volk who towered above her. The Princess grit her teeth through the pain and proceeded with her counter-attack. Her open hand grasped at his collar, where his neck met his body and clamped down. Then with herculean strength, she dragged the Canine down towards the ground with the intent of slamming him into the ground.

"I kno-" Volk was immediately grabbed by the collarbone and slammed headfirst into the concrete, his body making a human-shaped hole as he made contact. He stood there for a while then his body twitched.

"Guh..." He slammed the ground with his left, releasing one of his characteristic shockwaves. Then he released a shockwave yet again, from where Haewon grabbed him.

Haewon's hand recoiled back with the shockwave.

"Ghh... Pfft. Heh..." He rolled around, still on the ground. "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Started laughing like a madman as soon as he was face-up.

The Princess looked down at the massive Canine laid sprawl out on the shattered arena concrete. He was bloodied and so was she. There weren't many regulars who could give her a good fight, but Volk never failed to disappoint her. And as he laid there Volk began to laugh. His laughter was free and pure, so childish despite his grizzly appearance. Only a stone heart could do anything but join in such genuine mirth.

"Pft... Hahahahahahahaha" snorted the Princess. The combined laughter of the two monsters echoed throughout the stadium. Even as her injuries screamed in pain she only felt joy at that moment, "Get up you dufus, we have to finish this fight," she chuckled as she extended her good arm out to Volk.

Volk took the arm and got back up. "Very well." He fixated his eyes on Haewon as he took a fighting stance. The Shinsoo around reverberated as he enhanced himself, both arms returning to normal. What followed was a punching rush, each punch thrown with such speed that it looked like Volk had multiple pairs of arms. Each impact of his fists would release a shockwave.

With a mad grin on her face, Haewon took a stance as well. The air began to heat up around her. Shinsoo from both the Princess and Mad Dog built-up pressure. Like two storm fronts about to collide, the air around the pair was tumultuous.

Volk threw out a strong right jab, and Haewon received without giving an inch. The Princess returned in kind and yet the Mad Dog remained steadfast. The two began exchanging a flurry of punches, one came quickly after the other, neither regular defending themselves but instead putting every ounce of energy into their attack. The speed of the blows built up and soon their fists were but a blur of raw force. Blood painted the ground between them as they both racked up damage on their bodies but their smiles never faded throughout the entire blitz. The crowd was in a roar now and the energy of the arena was electric.

"Is this all you've got!" Haewon shouted out as she clenched her fist and infused it with more fiery Shinsoo than ever before. Her small hand shot out wreathed burning flames as she aimed her punch at Volk's jaw. The punch connected, but as soon he saw it coming Volk also saw an opening. He intensified the Shinsoo in his fist and launched one last right hook with all his strength. A sickening sound reverberated across the arena as the punches both landed at the same time. The two regulars reeled back in sync with one another, their eyes devoid of light. A unified hush came over the audience as they watched the conclusion at the edge of their seats. Then suddenly at the last moment, Haewon regained her senses and steadied herself at the last moment. She let out a labored exhale and watched through the fog of exhaustion as the massive frame of Volk fell before her.

The silence in the stadium was broken as the crowd erupted in cheers and applause. The tiny Princess couldn't help but indulge herself and so raised her left fist high into the air.

Winner: Haewon Zahard

A moment later the Princess and Mad Dog were both teleported off of the arena and back to their waiting rooms.

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Ajax Cruise + Shinyoo Hyek

As the people around him cheered, Ajax silently recorded 2 of the 4 battles that would choose the semi-finalists. His predictions, it would seem, were on the mark for both battles. Exodus’s fights, from what he’d seen thus far, didn’t tend to be very long and, despite Nimbus being stronger physically than Mateo Nameroff, the later seemed quite adept at shinsoo manipulation and was able to generate an explosive force strong enough to knock the lightning cloud user into the water.

“Is this seat occupied?”

“Not anymore,” Ajax replied to the person he knew would be aboard the Archimedes and would come find him eventually. “Its previous occupant had to go tend to her brother…and I doubt she’ll be coming back anytime soon.”

“Good, good.” Shinyoo Hyek plopped himself into the seat Goyangi Sul once occupied. “Haven’t seen ya’ in while, Ajax. How’s the tower been treating you?”

“Well enough. Thank you for the consideration, Mr. Hyek.”

“Shinyoo.”

“Mr. Shinyoo.”

Shinyoo rolled his un-patched eye. “God, I forgot you still talk like that.” However, it didn’t really matter to the white-haired Ranker how he was addressed so he changed the topic, lazily resting one arm atop his seat’s backrest as his gaze drifted to the arena. “You know why I’m here, don’cha?”

“Mr. Wicker has informed me, yes,” Ajax pulled out a small usb from the pocket of his trousers and slipped it inconspicuously into the Ranker’s other hand. “This contains all the requested information.”

“Good job,” Shinyoo whistled before sliding it into his own pocket. “No wonder Wicker values you so much.”

“You’re exaggerating too much, Mr. Shinyoo. What the Boss values is highly dependent on his mood.”

“Haha, that's true. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble—catering to his whims.”

“My reactor core still a little unstable if that’s what you’re asking. Fortunately, the Team Matches are tomorrow so I’ve got plenty of time to make sure it’s fully operational.” Ellia being present on the ship would quicken the process as well. It was all laid out too perfectly to be natural. “The rest of the items are at my team’s current residence. Stop by to pick them up when you’ve got the time.”

“Team, eh?” When Shinyoo pulled his hand out again, it contained a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. He lit himself a stick being before continuing. “That reminds me, I don’t see that cat Evelyn likes around here.”

“She’s training with another teammate,” Ajax replied. “And, along that line, I have a favor to request of you, Mr. Shinyoo.”

“A favor?”

“While you’re here on the Archimedes, and while you don't have anything else to do, do you think could show Selicity a thing or two about fighting?”

“…you want me to beat her up?” Shinyoo stared at Ajax’s masked face incredulously. “Did you two get into a fight or something?”

“No, I want you to teach her a couple of tricks. My entire team in fact. I think it would benefit them to learn a bit from someone who’s actually made it to the current top of the tower. Even without manipulating shinsoo, you are one of Ophidian’s strongest Rankers and even Mr. Wicker acknowledges your ability.”

Shinyoo rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s nice of you to say, Kid, but there is no trick to it. I wouldn’t recommend the way I chose to climb to anyone.”

“What do you mean?”

“It took me two millennia to reach the current top. I took a long, difficult road and—while I don’t regret it—it’s not for everyone. Compared to some of the kids here, I don’t think I was nearly as strong when I was their age…so their ain’t much I can teach.”

“Two millennia…” Shinyoo could see Ajax’s brain calculating his response. “…you were the infamous Spear Angler? The one no one believed would be able to make it to the top?”

“Haha, yeah, I guess administration did give me that nickname when I was still active. Don’t go telling anyone though. I enjoy being ‘inactive’. Makes my job easier.”

“If I don’t, will you consider it? You and Selicity are quite similar, there are things you can show her that I can’t, and I believe she will more likely listen to you than she does me because you both have similar personalities. Just think of this as a favor for co-worker.”

“Heeeh…is that so? Well I did wanna get a good look at the girl that managed to land a punch on Wicker…” Shinyoo smirked at Ajax. “You really don’t have any shame, do ya? Askin’ a Ranker to help train Regulars—least of all someone like me. Aren’t you worried about the repercussions?”

“Shame is for those who don’t know how to make use of the opportunities given to them,” Ajax replied. “As for the repercussions, your legend has long since faded in the annals of history. The only reason I know if it is my tendency to look into obscure information. Besides, the Boss seems to trust you regardless of your background and that’s good enough for me.”

“Hm, then let’s make a bet.”

“A bet?”

“What did you think of the battles thus far?”

Was this a test? “The first was a battle between anima. The second between wavecontrollers.” Nyra Carciphi didn’t fight like a typical anima and an average person, that didn’t do their research, would think she was using an odd assortment of weapons. However, given the sheer diversity, and the way they moved on their own, it was quite clear—to Ajax at least—that they were alive and being partial utilized in combat. Just to be sure, Ajax did a temperature scan with his lighthouse. Given the limits on anima contestants, it was obvious that she was skirting the rules.

Any Ranker worth their salt could be able to tell.

However, Ajax wouldn’t condemn her for it. If she managed to succeed in cheating than it was simply proof of her cleverness. Besides, there was…something…not quite right about Exodus. However, Ajax couldn’t quite put his finger on it. “Miss Carciphi partially summoned multiple compressed shinhueh to fight with her while Exodus summoned one that was capable of generating output strong enough to damage the arena. Towards the end, it was quite clear that Mr. Exodus jumped out of the arena himself—though whether it was because his creature was defeated or he called it back is un-determined. Neither did substantial damage to each other. The second fight was more interesting from an analytical perspective, thought it was more straightforward as well. Mr. Nimbus attempted to direct attention away from the thunderclouds he was forming by fighting close-ranged as if he were a physical fighter, but underestimated the sheer power Mr. Nameroff was able to generate from his baangs. Being able to block lighting with shinsoo is no simple feat and it was quite possible both were holding back until they got a better sense of their opponents.”

“Who do you think would win if those two semi-finalists fought?”

“An anima choosing to fight close ranged is a great risk, especially if she has her bowls on her, and Mr. Nameroff seemed quite perceptive and versatile with his bangs as well, but he also received an injury from the previous fight which could hinder him in the following match…”

This one was a bit difficult than the others. Skill-wise, Nyra Carciphi seemed much more talented, being able to maintain 8 shinhueh, and being quite tricky herself, but Mateo Nameroff had been winning more fights than Ajax expected him to win. Not that he hadn’t displayed talent himself…

“Miss Nyra Carciphi I suppose…”

“Oh? Then I’ll bet on Mateo Nameroff.”

“Do you have a preference for him?”

“Nah, my favorite fighter so far was that Nimbus kid, cause he seemed very willing challenge himself and take hits. I just like playing the devil’s advocate. It’s not my money I’m betting anyway.”

“…why are we betting?”

“Two reasons: First, fights don’t always turn out how you think they do and the losers of today could always turn out to be the victors in the next. Since people aren’t numbers, trying to predict what will happen based on data like rankings, titles, and past accomplishments is bullsh*t. I wanna prove that. Second, I have faith in my luck. Therefore, if you managed to manage to overturn my luck, I’ll listen to what you have to say. Doesn’t that sound like fun, Regular?”

“Very,” Ajax responded dryly. He did enjoy gambling, but he liked winning more. “I’ll get us a drink. Is there anything you like?”

When he said get them a drink he really meant get Shinyoo a drink since he himself didn’t drink. No. What he meant was that he wanted a moment to stretch his legs while they cleared the arena for the next fight.

“A bottle of cheap beer is fine.”

Ajax nodded. By the time he returned, the Princess and made dog fight had begun, the cheers were endless, and it concluded the exact way he predicted it would. People weren’t all data. That was probably true. There were always glitches every now and then—people that defied his expectations—but, for the most part, they could be fit into their molds of patterns and data. Therefore, he didn’t completely agree with Shinyoo Hyek, but that was fine. They simply had different world views—just as he and Selicity did.

“That was a good fight, don’cha think?”

“It was very…brutal.” There was nothing complicated about it. Just an exchange of fists from two people that enjoyed fighting. In other words, a fight Selicity could enjoy. Though, Ajax supposed he should try to enjoy it as well since he had another 4 fights to record and extract data from. "The Princess has certainly grown stronger since the last time I saw her."

"Yama's crazed pet against the Blitz family's crazed Princess," Shinyoo laughed, not seeming mind the outcome as he leaned back in his seat, a bottle of beer in one hand and cigarette in the other. If it was anyone else, Ajax would've warned him about health problems, but, honestly, he wasn't quite sure it applied to Rankers. "Guess the Empire won this one."

 

[Azure Sky]

Yeon Bulsajo​

Jo was thinking. Or better yet overthinking. Was he good enough? What could he do not to disappoint? Would he be able to continue teaming up with Haewon, or even Areum, after this? He also remembered the events of a day prior. Why was he like that? What could he do to change? He started reminiscing about the past...

"C'mon Jo, just a limb! Tehehe."

"Let's test that healing property of yours."

"You won't die from this anyway, male trash! Hahahahaha!"

As he was deep in thought someone knocked on his door.

"Gah!" he was startled, and it made him jump, hitting the metallic ceiling with his head and making a dent in it.

Oh, it's Haewon-nim.

"I- I would love to." For the first time Bulsajo found team mates he enjoyed the company of. Yes, that included Areum, which surprised even him (in his mind she might have been just the type of person to make him overcome his fears). Granted Jo was socially inept and truly not very good at reading people, and his past made the baseline of what he considered "great" and "kind" people quite different from what would be considered the norm.

He followed Haewon as he went to ask Areum the same question. She was quite sassy, but at the very least, she seemed to be joking. In good enough spirits to ask them to have breakfast together while discussing plans. Jo simply nodded. He was still struttering while speaking, but he felt slightly more comfortable in Haewon and Areum's company than with others, so he was making some slight progress. Even if he didn't realise it.

simj26 The One Eyed Bandit

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

Upon a throne inside a castle atop a frozen mountain within a blizzard sat a doll-like girl. She sat on her pedestal perfectly motionless and dressed in fancy clothes impractical to wear normally, but by far the most doll-like thing about her was her eyes. They were empty and unmoving, as if made of glass. Though dozens of lighthouses swirled before her, her eyes didn't react at all. Had any of the few people that knew her well been present, they would have asked the dead-eyed doll what she was so focused on watching. When her vision went so far away to leave her eyes this empty, it meant she was seeing something interesting far away.

The doll shifted and sat up properly. The swirl of lighthouses reacted to her mental redirection and brought up all of the information on the regulars involved in the current E-rank workshop battle happening down on the 30th floor. The doll opened up each and every name like a folder, accessing all of the information about every single regular involved. Only a small piece of this information was what had caught her attention, but by accessing everything at once she made it difficult for someone to pinpoint what she was looking for, in the unlikely scenario that her breach was detected. She extracted the data all at once and disconnected from the workshop's network. A lighthouse floating near the doll's head now was still playing the broadcast that had made her want this information. Right now it was showing a regular fighting a cloud.

The doll pinpointed the name she cared about among the hundreds of regulars listed in a fraction of a second: Carciphi. Full name given as Nyra Carciphi. So she'd heard correctly. This was almost certainly the little sister of that annoying man. The doll explored the rest of the information the workshop had on file for the girl, at the same time pulling up the girl's official regular data. Her species was listed as Deep Sea Wraith? Sea Wraiths were native to the 84th floor, but there was no such thing as a Deep Sea Wraith. The doll scanned available databases for confirmation, and then did a sweep of historical data on this floor to check if any signs of known writings contained the term Deep Sea Wraith. The only result was information about that man and now this regular. Their files were the only sources listing Deep Sea Wraith.

Both he and Nyra were listed as Anima, with notes from various test administrators about their abnormal potency. One of the notes speculated possible at a Lo Po Bia relationship. The doll pondered this, her lighthouses all around her pulling up sources and dismissing them faster than the human eye could follow. It was possible that man and this girl were both made by the Lo Po Bia. A new hybrid project of the family? But why would they have tied these two to the 84th floor then? The Lo Po Bia had no influence or presence here, and the doll would have known if they had. The doll knew everything that happened on her floor. Almost everything. Technically that man had been made ruler of a small corner of this floor as a reward for having the hubris to challenge a guardian god to a fight.

The doll lifted her hand, and the swirl of information and lighthouses paused. After making a cut of the broadcast only showing the beginning of the girl's fight where the announcer yelled her name, the doll sent it in a message to her unwanted floorguest. She watched through one of her countless lighthouses as the man received her message and watched the footage. Then her system notified her that he'd sent a response.

Thank ya Esc! That's my adorable lil sis! Isn't she the cutest!

Adorable? Cute? Esca, the doll, had seen what the girl looked like as a regular from her search results, but all he'd seen was the clip when his sister had been completely covered up by a ratty hood.

Is this current?

Esca replied with the live feed of the workshop battles, now featuring a princess fighting a wild animal, as well as the time the clip with the Nyra girl had happened.

O Good. I can still make it in time to see my sis win the finals. Thanks a lot for letting me know Esc! I owe U big time now! >>--> Arsean

Getting from the 84th floor to the 30th before the end of the ongoing tournament? Esca hadn't known that Arsean had a monster capable of such a thing. Through her lighthouse she watched as he summoned a small white creature. Her searching identified it as a Myan even before it opened up its portal mouth and swallowed Arsean whole. The one-eyed mouse shinheuh shrunk back down and scampered off back to wherever Arsean had pulled it from, leaving Esca observing an empty scene. She considered hijacking the workshop's system to access the observer network aboard the Archimedes so she'd be able to keep an eye on him, but hacking the workshop's systems at all was risky, and keeping a high-activity live connection open for that long would be far too blatant. Watching the broadcast feed would have to do. She doubted he would actually cause any trouble, it was more likely he did just want to see his sister in person. The doll slouched back down in her throne and the lighthouses resumed their dance before her distant eyes.

 

[simj26]

SweetSweet’s fingers danced across the virtual keyboard as her eyes darted from one monitor to the next. Though it had taken her some time to get used to the operations of a Lighthouse, these few years had given her multiple chances to improve upon crafts beside her marksmanship, and Zahard only knows how well a bullet to the brain pan would work out against the multitudes of Regulars here. If handling a couple of Lighthouses had taught her anything, it would be that she would have a lot of trouble relying on her five senses again once she got out of the Tower. IF she got out of the Tower. The sheer freedom of reconnaissance work she could execute from the comfort of a soft bed spoiled her silly.

Right now, her one of her smaller Lighthouses floated above the audience of the Championship tournament, while the other hovered above in a corner of a certain training room, both having tailed after her respective teammates. She distributed her focus across three things at once- the tournaments, Ajax and his companion, and Sel with the other Irregular. As the fights erupted across her multitudes of screens, she hit the record buttons for each of her operating Lighthouses, making sure to capture the action. The one focusing on today’s tournament, she made sure to keep Ajax and the stranger on screen. She could probably focus the Lighthouse’s audio receiver to pick up whatever they were talking about, but she thought better of it. She trusted Ajax, to a certain point, to ensure his privacy. The Irregular, on the other hand…

Sel seemed to share a certain bond with him, though that very idea of a ‘bond’ seemed, at least to a third party like her, to be warped. Stranger and stranger. She held up her hands, and drew them apart, enlarging the video of Sel and her partner, watching intently as the Irregular met Selicity’s blows, unwavering. Sweet shuddered, her fingers trembling slightly. It’d take more than a few shots to the head to put this one down. She sighed and shook her head. What was she thinking? She didn’t know why he was here, why he had chosen to enter the Tower, and though she was sure enough that he didn’t come in here by accident, he was also a teammate, even if it was for the time being. Though one may become an enemy tomorrow, teammates share a unique bond with another that could never be broken.

At least, that was what she chose to believe. Perhaps that was the strange ‘bond’ she noticed between Sel and Illiam. Something, however, had torn them apart, and tried to, badly, stitch them back together. Sweet rubbed her temples. This was none of her business. “Just keep out of it, Sweet,” she advised herself. As she always did. If they needed her help, as impossible as that might sound, they’d come to her. She was in no position to make any suggestions or try to patch up whatever hole that was burnt between them. She sighed, and reclined back onto a pile of pillows, watching, and waiting.

 

[Azure Sky]

Von Hare - "Are you Alice?" Part 1​

Walking around the giant ship, Von Hare was searching for something... or someone. He went to the arena first, but he didn't pay attention to the matches much. He was more interested in the crowd. Some powerful individuals in it. Yet he was not interested in them though. He was not looking for an opponent. After Mateo's match, he left.

He looked around in the gym area as well. He sniffed a familiar scent, but he was not there for Illiam either. Where was this person? He walked around the entire ship, until finally he decided to check out the areas where the rooms were located. He took a stroll while reminescing about the past. The wars, the horrors, the losses he suffered...

"Damn, the flesh of the young ones is so good."
"I thought we were gonna be gonners."
"Nothing personal, Moon Rabbit."
...
And then blank. Woke up in a pool of red, warm liquid.
...
"There are no gods."

A particular scent snapped him out of it. It was them. The person he was looking for. Thus he found himself in front of Sweet's room. And he knocked. And he waited.

simj26

Mentioned: Rantos cojemo

 

[Brendanfp]

Mena vs Bourbon
A collab with Azure Sky ​

"And now, a fight that promises to have a level of intensity and entertainment on par with the last one. The outstanding warrior born from both the Ha and the Arie family: Mena. The mysterious swordsman that demonstrated peerless skill with the blade as he blew away his competition: Bourbon. This will surely be another match to remember" As Quiz was talking, some bots were repairing the arena, as they did after every match.

In her waiting area, Mena was kind of bummed. Haewon's opponent was strong and the match was close, which meant she would not be in tip-top shape if she would win this upcoming fight and face her in the semi-finals.

"As if...pfft." Mena chuckled. "The only one who can currently defeat me in battle is me." She said it with an air of surprising sadness.

On the floor of his waiting room, Bourbon sat legs crossed and both swords laid in front of him. He has just finished cleaning his blades of last rounds bloodstains. His last opponent has been a rather kind young man skilled in various forms of martial arts. The fight had been fun for a while, but the kid was just out of his league. Just another life cut short by his blades. Bourbon's lips curled into a heinous smile as he recounted the events.

"Mena... a descendant of the Arie... I can't wait to taste your blood on my blades," he murmured to himself.

"And now, the participants shall be teleported."

Mena saw herself in the arena as soon as Quiz finished his announcement. She was quite used to being teleported, considering Luce's repertoire of skills. Glancing over the other side of the arena, she took a look at her opponent. The baggy clothes could not hide part of his chest and his thick wrists.

"Ah, here we go," Bourbon as instantly transported onto the arena. A few meters from him stood Mena, and she was already looking him up and down.

"Mhmm. The muscular type~" Perfect for dominating bullying. She then took a look at the blades. She was going to fight a swordsman this time. For this occasion, she would use her usual D-grade katana.

"Please be entertaining." Mena unsheathed her blade and took a one-armed, kendo-style stance. As always, she would at least take her opponents seriously. Common courtesy.

Entertaining? Jeez. Bourbon didn't know why he expected a less pompous attitude from the prodigy child of two great families. She was probably thinking this match would be an overwhelming victory in her favor. If that was the case, Mena was in for a rude awakening.

"Good luck and have fun!" he offered with a sincere smile, a hand on each katana. Not even a moment after his comment, Bourbon dashed with vicious ferocity drawing both blades. A sweeping slash aimed with precise technique closed in on the wrist of Mena.

She formed a fist with her free hand and punched the sword away with pure physical might. For some reason, she was angry.

"No Shinsoo infused..."

Both her body and blade started pulsating with volatile flame-like crimson Shinsoo.

"You dare fight me half-heartedly?" The bloodlust was palpable.

Bourbon's face contorted into an expression of sheer disbelief. The brat of two families didn't dodge or block his strike but choose to punch his blade instead. He took a step back still reeling from the counter-attack.

"Killing you quickly wouldn't be fun," Bourbon teased attempting to hide his disbelief. The girl rushed him now with a blade in hand. She looked furious beyond reason. Why was that he wonders as she went came to slash him.

[Mena Style: Fake Out]

She swung her sword, looking like she'd perform a one-armed overhead slash. But the sword seemingly disappeared, just for it to appear again as Mena swung it from bellow. The Arie could truly do anything with swords.

Bourbon blocked high with both blades crossed over one another. Suddenly she vanished, and her high strike became a low sweeping slash. Bourbon tried to pivot but was too slow as Mena's cut through his abdomen in an upward arc drawing first blood.

"Fuck!" he cursed as he continued to stumble backward away from the monster that was Mena.

"So this was the legendary swordsmanship of the Arie family, combined with the stupid strength of the Ha bloodline." he chuckled.

Bourbon was bleeding out at a dangerous pace. He had underestimated the hybrid brat; he wouldn't be doing that again. Both his blades now came to life as the shrouded them in Shinsoo.

"Heh." Mena chuckled. "You won't even get to graze me if you don't take this seriously." She looked at him with a sadistic smile plastered over her face.

"My blades will taste your blood Mena" he spat at his opponent. He was starting to feel a familiar bloodlust swelling up inside of him. Bourbon raised a single katana over his head infusing even more Shinsoo into the blade.

[Shinsoo Control Skill]

Bourbon's muscles swelled as he brought down the sword his great force. His katana, Raize, carved a path through the air and released the stored Shinsoo.

"A single katana?" Mena was getting vexed. He was using just one of his swords, against her?

[Cresent Moon]

The curved crescent slash pulverized the concrete as it closed in on Mena.

Mena was receiving some huge disrespect from this man. Maybe she should treat him the same way. She had already gathered Shinsoo in her sword, but she added some more.

[Mena style: Dawn]

It was an overhead slash like Bourbon's, releasing a powerful Shinsoo slash, in a similar fashion to his, but of a different color (crimson). It would soon collide with his.

Bourbon gawked as Mena's crimson Shinsoo crashed like a great wave into his own colorless wind-like Shinsoo. Her slash dwarfed his own and in a matter of seconds, her Shinsoo swallowed the smaller wave whole. In a panic Bourbon leaped to the right; diving into a roll as her crimson slash continued to surge past his previous position.

"Are you finally ready to take me seriously now?" she asked, with a look of disdain.

Bourbon's heart was racing as he stood up from his crotch. He winced in pain as his wound stretched out, still bleeding. The swordsman met Mena's callous look with a sheepish smile.

"You'll have to forgive me, I'm not used to taking on such powerful opponents," he said with a half-smile. "I promise I won't disappoint you again."

"You'd better not." Mena pouted.

Bourbon took up his blades once more. He was now gripping them tighter than ever. That sinister feeling was once again filling his chest. Perhaps Mena was a brat, but she was the most skilled swordsmen he had met in the tower, period. He couldn't keep half-assing his attacks, he would have to push himself farther than ever before.

"Ha, Mena Arie. I will cut you down if it's the last thing I do."

Bourbon inhaled a deep breath before letting out a primal roar and rushing the woman that stood before him. Both his katana out at his sides; Shinsoo flowing off both of them. He began to let out a flurry of slashes, backed by his Shinsoo and physical might.

Mena smiled as she let out a flurry of slashes of her own.

[Deva]

It looked like Mena had three pairs of arms holding a sword each, but obviously two pairs were illusions from her fast hand movement. Courtesy of the Arie style, her swings were fast, unpredictable, and engulfed in crimson Shinsoo.

The crowds' chants grew with the intensity of the battle as the two swordsmen began to dance around one another exchanging blows. Bourbon was heaving now as sparks and blood flew in every direction, though the blood was almost exclusively his own. Mena was stronger than anything he had ever faced before; her arms were like blurs.

"I told you I wouldn't be a push-over right!?" he growled through grit teeth.

All hope wasn't lost... he still had the Harvest Moon technique. He just needed to find an opening to catch her off guard. He'd be able to end the match in a single stroke. Just one opening and victory would be --

Suddenly a pain in his chest from his previous would. He grimaced; squeezing his eyes shut for a brief moment. Then a shattering sound. Then pain. Bourbon opened his eyes; right before them his left hand hung suspended in the air, severed. In his right hand his prized katana, Maize, was shattered. It all happened so suddenly Bourbon didn't even have time to process the event before another slash came down upon him. He raised the shattered sword up in defense instinctively. His eyes were still wide with befuddlement.

This was the end, Bourbon lamented as he accepted his fate.

Mena stopped her swing midway and sheathed her blades. From their exchange, she received some shallow cuts, but overall nothing serious. She was hoping she'd be in a worse condition, so she could fight the Zahard Princess on equal grounds. A bit disappointed that didn't happen. But the fight was fun near the end. If she would have not given it her 100% she would have been in danger.

Bourbon collapsed onto the ground before Mena. Why was she sheathing her blade? The fight wasn't over. He was still breathing...

"You were a good opponent, Bourbon. It has been a while since someone kept me on edge." Mena smiled at him cheerfully. "You managed to graze the great me many times, and that is a feat almost nobody can claim." She took a short pause, looking at Bourbon's state. No particular emotion could be read on her face.

"Finish me..." Bourbon moaned as he glared up from the ground. Using his free hand he, place his katana into his mouth and took up his broken blade in his free hand. Slowly he crawled towards Mena. "I can still fight!" He mumbled with a blade in his mouth.

"I will not kill you, Bourbon. You are a true warrior. Become stronger."

Winner: Ha Mena Arie.

The crowd cheered furiously. It was a fierce fight like most of the others, but it was special. The tension near the end was palpable and on a different level from the previous "heavy-weight" fight.

 

[simj26]

SweetShe winced at the finale of the most recent fight. She was never good with dealing with impromptu amputations like that. Not exactly a surprise- she never really was on the receiving end of one, and she never delivered one either, at least not at a close enough range for it to matter to her. Ha Mena Arie. A Ha and Arie mix, huh? That sounded dangerous enough to avoid. She made a mental note, and fiddled with the recording, bringing it up on a seperate tab, and reviewing it again. Some have said that the Arie school of swordsmanship had no weaknesses, or had no defenses against it. She wasn't eager to test this, but the best she could do was to study the pattern just enough to aid her comrades, or her bullets, to help them find the mark, if it ever came to that. At the very least, she could build her basis of attack or defense against a similar foe in the future. She couldn't depend on others for help forever. Some may find solace in climbing the tower, riding off the coattails of their stronger peers, but Sweet found it almost degrading. Once, she would have been happy to hide in the shadows, and let storms pass. She furrowed her brow. The Tower was a bad influence on her, it seemed.

A knock on her door dispersed her brewing thoughts. Who--? She flipped through her screens. Ajax and Sel were still on them. She opened up a new screen, on the smaller Lighthouse positioned above her door- a precaution she took just for this kind of situation.

It was a rabbit. One with the physique of a man. She immediately shot up straight on her bed, cold sweat beginning to form on her forehead. Even through the screen, she could feel a certain sense of trepidation seep into her from just seeing him. Who was he? Why did he seem familiar, and why was her hand clutching at the rifle beside her now? She tried to remember, but try as she might, the memories from long ago refused to emerge. What was this person? She forced herself to release her gun, and swing her legs off her bed. She stood up and exited her Lighthouse, turning it Invisible with a wave of her hand, then focused her attention on the door.

She took a deep breath, turned the knob, and opened the door, coming face to face with this being. Her eyes slowly made their way up his chest to his face. Her instincts yelled at her to back away, but something about his face made her want to reach up and squish his furry cheeks. Though he was clearly reeking of danger, she couldn't deny her baser instincts to fawn over something cute. She suppressed both of these emotions, and gave a quizzical smile. "Hello, sir. Can I help you with somethin'?"

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Ajax Cruise + Shinyoo Hyek
“Whoo! D’ya see that? Blockin’ a sword with her fist! If that ain’t a show of strength I don’t know what is.” Shinyoo chuckled, tossing his finished beer bottle into a nearby garbage can as the last of semi-finalists were chosen. “Kinda reminds me of Taeyang.”

“The Black Swordfish?” Ajax asked as he reviewed the footage of the last fight, slowing down the movements he couldn’t catch with simple sight and checking the time to calculate the relative speeds of the two fighters. The acceleration each move used. The relative power behind each swing based on wind velocity. The amount of shinsoo used in each technique. He recorded it all down so it could be used by his teammates whenever it was needed. Preparation was the key to success, after all. Even if neither Selicity or Illiam understood (or remembered) all the information given to them—being the blockheads they were—it was enough that they got the gist of it. If nothing else, it provided solid numerical goals to achieve since Ha Mena Arie was certainly faster than Selicity (and thereby Illiam)…under normal circumstances, at least. He intended to send the information to Gladioli as well. She was likely doing the same as he and they could compare notes since Ajax didn’t consider himself immune to calculation errors. If not, it didn’t hurt for her to have the information either. “I don’t think it’s fair to compare an E-ranked Regular to a Ranker.”

“No, I guess not,” Shinyoo stretched before popping the cigarette back between his teeth. “But she’s also a Ha trying to perfect the sword. Left home for it before finding her way to Ophidian, ya know.”

“Not Arie Swordsmanship though,”

“Course not,” Shinyoo rolled his eye. “That’s only for Aries and people of the main Zahard family. Even if I asked, Hon probably wouldn’t teach it to me. Definitely not now that we've become enemies at any rate.”

“Do you want to learn it?”

“Nah, if I betray my baby Voyage and pick up a sword she’ll never forgive me.” Shinsoo took a slow drag before continuing. “Besides, there are only a number of Aries that actually make me wary. Most are kids trying to imitate Daddy and swinging their sword like it's unstoppable.”

“How would you even stop an Arie sword?” Ajax asked, studying the sword swings that seemed to have no identifiable pattern to them. It was little wonder Bourbon had a hard time keeping up.

“Break it.”

“…”

Shinyoo shrugged. “That’s just how I beat most of the young Aries I've come across. They tend to give up after they lose their sword.”

“...that doesn't explain how it's done.”

“There’s no special trick to it,” Shinyoo laughed. “You’ve just got to train yourself to be stronger than they are. Train your eyes to see at higher speeds. Or, better yet, feel which part of your body’s about to be sliced off based on the goosebumps and do your best prevent that from happening. I think Hon gives a special test on floor 100 that really trains you for that if you’re interested.”

“Did you take that test, Mr. Shinyoo?”

“Of course I did. Failed on the 99th stroke though,” Shinyoo closed his eye as if recalling a fond memory. “I was still too stubborn to manipulate shinsoo at the time and spent a good decade trying to pass without shinsoo before conceding defeat. Didn’t manage to net me a pretty castle, but I haven’t been afraid of a sword since. If you get the chance to, you should definitely try. It’s a good experience assuming you live through it.”

“Come to think of it, I do know an Arie…”

“Yeah?”

“Mr. Yeong-Su. He was broadcasted yesterday as a mysterious Arie wave controller.”

“Huh…I think I remember that…” Shinyoo smirked. “Well, I’m glad the kid's trying something different.”

“Why’s that? Wouldn’t he be stronger by practicing what’s inherent in his blood?” Ajax recalled the first time he thought Yeong-Su was an Arie based on how well he reacted to that Lin girl’s blade. Didn’t look into though because they never ended forming a team so it didn’t really matter, but it was nice to get a confirmation that he'd been right.

“You can’t beat someone by copying them,” Shinyoo exhaled smoke. “I thought that’d be obvious. All the kids these days practicing their Daddy’s techniques are just contributing to the Great Arie Blade that Hon wields for Zahard’s Empire. Personally, I like to see someone try to wrest that sword out Hon's hands and take it for themselves. That’s why I rather liked that 10th Slayer. Pity what happened to him.”

“…are you sure it’s wise to be talking about such things here in a public place?” The legendary 10th slayer was also a rumored mass-murderer who killed billions in the outer tower and caused quite a bit of grief as well, possibly more than the king of the tower who did more good for the tower than bad, but Ajax wasn't about to get into a political argument with a rumored FUG slayer...even if they were inactive and happened to be a co-worker. He valued his life after all. Besides, he wasn't exactly someone who could defend morality without becoming a hypocrite.

“Pfft, if Zahard actually cares what I say he can come down here from his throne and tell me that himself,” Shinoo chortled. “But I can tell you he doesn’t give a sh*t. Didn’t give a sh*t when I joined his army. Didn’t give a sh*t when I left it. Ants like us don’t mean a thing to him…though that does remind me of something.” Shinyoo glanced over to Sweet’s lighthouse, hovered innocently over the audience section of the stadium. “That lighthouse has been tracking us for some time now. Should I break it?”

“No, it belongs to my teammate,” Ajax replied. “It’s natural for team members to watch over it each other in the event that something happens. Extra security. Besides, her lighthouse being near makes it easier to connect on my end as well.”

By hacking and utilizing her lighthouse, he could also see what she saw, which was useful in expanding the range of the team’s information gathering network. Ajax demonstrated with a few quick swipes on his virtual keyboard and it wasn’t long before he caught the sight of the bipedal, man-sized rabbit on his screen as well. “Interesting…”

“Is that your teammate?” Shinyoo stuck his head over Ajax’s shoulder since there was nothing better to watch until the semi-finals started.

“No. My teammate is the pink haired one.”

"Ah, the cute girl," Shinyoo nodded. “Then who’s the rabbit? A friend of hers?”

“I…actually don’t know,” He didn’t actually know much about Sweet beyond her skillsets and team contribution since it wasn’t his nature to pry into personal businesses, especially since he had many secrets of his own. No. That was a complete lie. It was totally his nature to pry, but he’d been restraining himself to maintain a respectable relationship with a teammate. It wasn’t as if he had very many he could call teammates to start with. He probably did, once upon a time, but those memories were long gone and he had no real desire to get them back. As for Selicity, she was an open book compared to Illiam and Sweet. Both of them seemed to have no background before climbing. Both seemed to have some sort of connection to Wolhaiksong. Ajax felt there was one missing piece that tied them both together…but what? “That doesn’t appear to the case from the looks of it...”

“I remember back in the days when spying on girls was a hobby of mine as well,” Shinyoo snickered. “Glad to see becoming a living ignition weapon hasn’t destroyed your libido, Kid.”

Ajax didn’t even bother to dignify that statement with a response. There wasn’t much he could tell from the screen, but he did get a dangerous vibe from Gladioli's visitor. The way the rabbit walked. The way he stood. No openings. Whoever it was, they were very skilled…and Sweet, who wasn’t much to say in close ranged combat, just casually opened the door. A Wolhaiksong member? If Sweet appeared to have at least recognized the rabbit, Ajax might’ve disconnected himself from her lighthouse then and there since whoever she let into her personal quarters was her own business. But that didn’t seem to be the case. With the team battle only one day away, he couldn’t deny the risk of another team trying to sabotage their team by assaulting the weakest link either. Or that a team member's location on the Archimedes was compromised by a stranger none of them had given the address to. If that was the case, contacting Selicity or Illiam to back up the least physically inclined of their teammates would be the optimal option since they were closer.

For now though, he’d just wait and see. Rabbit-man had been polite enough to knock, after all, and Ajax's curiosity had gotten the better of him. Might be a while before he saw the results of his next round of betting anyway. Nyra Carciphi and Haewon Zahard. Both were fairly risky choices for finalists since the former was a pretty close call and the later had gotten more injured than he'd expected. However, if Ellia was assisting the princess, then he doubted injuries would be much of a problem. As for the former...it was four baangs against eight shinhueh. While he was still uncertain about about the number of shinhueh Carciphi was able to control at a time, the anima had variation on her side, seemed to be able to shuffle through her bowls with relative ease, and didn't appear to be limited by the rules. The nimbleness she displayed while facing Exodus couldn't be ignored either. While Mateo's overall speed was superior to Nyra on his floating disc, the "deep sea wraith" seemed to have the edge in reaction time given how quickly she'd managed to respond to a blast from near point blank range. That was his calculation anyway. While Ajax did his best to consider all the factors, the future had too many variables to predict and, unlike Evelyn Wicker, he was no guide.

At the end of the day, no matter how well he researched or tried to deduce the more probable outcome, it was still gambling.

(mentioned: Rantos simj26 Azure Sky Brendanfp OverconfidentMagi )

 

[Azure Sky]

Von Hare- "Are You Alice?" Part 2​

The rabbit man sniffed.

It is her.

"Greetings, fair lady." Von Hare slightly bowed in a simingly polite manner, and smiled with a closed mouth. "Pardon the visit, but there's something that I really need to know." He paused briefly as he took a carrot out from his pocket and started gesturing with it as he continued his speech. "Before I entered this tower, I travelled through many planets. One of them had some very intersting literature classics. A particular favourtite of mine was Alice in Wonderland. The story about a little girl discovering another world, with completely different rules and notions from her own, just because she followed a peculiar rabbit in a suit down a hole, out of pure curiosity." He bit from the carrot, and continued talking after he gupled. "Which brings me to my question." He finished what was left of the carrot. Throughout his speech and eating, one could see he had sharp teeth, uncharacteristic of a rabbit.

"Are you Alice?"

Von Hare already knew Sweet was the person who followed him at the Tower's gates, but he didn't know why she was there. Out of pure curiosity, like Alice, or did she follow him for another reason? And if it was the later, would her reasons get in the way of his plans? He was about to find out. After centuries, he could distinguish the truth from a lie. The wisdom of old age, was it?

simj26

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

Nyra Carciphi vs Mateo Nameroff
Collab with cojemo​

"Fucking princess and your fucking...you have nothing to be proud of, you arrogant..."

Crunching up and tossing aside the bottled water provided for the contestants into a slowly growing pile of its discarded cousins, Mateo bitterly mumbled to himself as he picked up another and gulped down its contents quickly. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as he slowly paced back and forth, his breathing noticeably more shallow than normal as he anxiously awaited his next battle. Breath and focus, that was his main goal. Was he worried about his opponent? Not as much as he should have been. His mind was so focused on bitterly hating the Zahard girl that he'd only picked up the basics of what Nyra could do, and now he was just trying to clear his mind.

"Now, we move onto the semifinals to decide the two contestants who will duke it out for the crown! First up we have Mateo Nemeroff Vs Nyra Carciphi!"

Grumbling, Mateo discarded his current drink and stood up straight, wincing slightly at the tinging sensation his left leg produced as he waited for the battle to be transported to the arena.

"Let's get this over with." The boy clenched his fists, and moments later he was transported to the arena.

Nyra was still wearing that black cloak that concealed her body, its tattered bottom swaying in the wind. Given her performance in the last combat, it wasn't unlikely that even now she was floating just above the ground. She said nothing, made no movement at all, until the announcement came.

"BEGIN!"

And suddenly she was flying across the arena like a spear aimed at Mateo's body. This time there was no sign of her strange lance.

Immediately Mateo started the fight just as he did the last, forming the orb of Shinsoo he'd ride on while four smaller bangs appeared at his side. As he jumped onto his ride, however, his left leg buckled slightly as he gritted his teeth at the lingering injury.

Because of this he managed to zip away from Nyra much later than he'd like, quickly creating distance between the two of them and launching his smaller shurikens at Nyra as he began to circle. What was up with this girl? He hadn't watched her match too closely, but even he could tell something was..different.

Nyra didn't even pause as she changed direction to pursue Mateo, at least not until his projectiles slammed into her body. But then the projectiles flew out of the back of her and the wraith-like Nyra resumed her rush through the air towards her opponent.

Mateo's eyebrow arched slightly as his attacks seemingly phased through the girl. He couldn't make out his opponent underneath her cloak so he couldn't deduce what had happened, but nevertheless the boy kept his distance, pelting the pursuing foe with shurikens while kiting her.

Despite the projectiles seeming to have no effect on her, the wraith changed its tactics as it began to move erratically to avoid being hit. Many of the shurikens still managed to find their mark, stabbing into the black cloak and emerging through the other side. So Nyra changed her approach again, stopping her pursuit to instead fly higher above the arena and Mateo. There she stopped and floated, like she was recovering her strength or waiting for something. That something proved to be a bellowing roar from just below Mateo.

Upon hearing the roar, Mateo would quickly boost backwards, a burst of Shinsoo giving his orb a quick burst of speed to get away from whatever that sound was. Invisible shinheuh? Either way, he'd need to keep focused. Flicking his wrist, two much larger discs would replace the four inferior ones, and still keeping in motion he'd launch the two feet long projectiles, one buzzing right for the floating cloaks mid section and the other vertically slicing across the ground towards the origin point of the sound.

Nyra didn't try to avoid the projectile. She'd already learned that the attacks were faster than herself. Two massive crab pincers emerged from within the cloak's folds. One shielded her while the other closed just as the large disc struck. There was an unpleasant grinding sounds as the destructive shinsoo met the strong carapace of the crab's claws, and the floating Nyra was pushed back by the impact, but the claw had stopped the attack. With a cracking noise the claw crushed the disc of shinsoo.

However, at the same time Mateo would lift his left wrist slightly, and on command the second shuriken, which had skid behind the target, would fly into the sky and make a beline for her hoping to pincer the cloaked figure and cut her in half horizontally.

His attack went exactly how he'd intended, the disc catching Nyra from behind without her being able to defend. It sliced through the cloak, and finding no resistance it continued entirely through, bisecting Nyra through where her stomach should have been. The top of the cloak barely moved, still floating in the air where it had been, two crab arms emerging from inside it. But the lower half of the cloak fell towards the ground below, revealing the figure of a much smaller person covered in ripped bandages and fresh shallow cuts, crouched on top of a grey lighthouse and holding a glass sphere against her chest. This was Nyra Carciphi finally forced into the light. The hate-filled look in her eyes as she glared down at Mateo implied that she wasn't exactly happy about being out this.

"Fucking trickster, can't make things easy can you?" Mateo grumbled to himself, wiping the sweat from his brow as the disc vanished into nothing.

At a mental command from the girl, the upper body of Nyra's cloak flexed its "arms" to make sure taking that attack hadn't done some damage she couldn't see, and then each of the claws reached inside the remaining cloak and pulled out what looked like a glass sphere, identical to the one she herself was holding onto. Nyra, or rather the crab she was in control of, threw both at Mateo, and then she, the real her, dropped out of the sky after them, seemingly going back to her tactic of rushing directly at her opponent. The crab limbs retracted back into the folds of the cloak just before it fell out of the sky as Nyra left it behind.

While he'd have liked to cut both spheres out of the sky, Mateo simply boosted past to avoid them. The closest orb to him missed him by only a foot or so as his speed had noticeably dropped.

The surface of the bowl rippled just before a black diamond shape emerged from within its depths. As the shape broke through the boundary of the compressed bowl and rapidly grew to its real size, the shape revealed itself to be the wide open mouth of a massive creature, all of its black needle-like (and needle-sized) teeth poised to crunch down on the regular and the shinsoo sphere he was riding on.

Mateo's eyes widened in fear as he was suddenly met with the gaping maw of a hungry eel. Thinking fast, he launched himself backwards several meters just in the knick of time to avoid being eaten, with the orb being sent towards the rushing Nyra on a collision course.


Bracing himself for impact, his shoulder crashed hard against the arena floor. He tumbled over himself, clunking his head against the concrete and putting him in a daze as blood ran down the right side of his face. He knew he had no time to waste though, so even with his vision blurred and barely able to see what was in front of him he focused his shinsoo as much as he could, forming an orb half the size of his normal one under his feet, wobbling as he tried to stay on it.

With a mental command, the massive eel turned its deadly jaws away from Mateo and with a lunge that seemed far too quick for its size, swallowed the orb whole. The massive eel crushed the orb and expelled the shinsoo from its mouth with a shake of its head before turning its golden eyes back towards its prey.

The other thrown bowl hit the floor of the arena and simply exploded with a sharp cracking sound, flooding the arena with a wave of rapidly expanding shinsoo as all of the shinsoo that had been compressed inside burst out at once. Both of the fighters avoided the tsunami as it swept across the arena by virtue of simple elevation.

Nyra hadn't waited for Yazi to go on the offensive, rushing past her eel as it took care of the shinsoo orb, flying atop her lighthouse to attack Mateo herself. Clutched in her hand was a short metal dagger.

Move.

That is what his rattled brain tried to tell him, but after the impact his skull had made with the floor he was barely able to perceive what was in front of him. It wasn't until the last second that his body received the signal, Nyra coming inches away from skewering him on her knife as he skid in the opposite direction.

Mateo's right hand waved in front of himself as he clutched his throbbing skull with the other, and four small shurikens scattered in front of him erratically. Most of them missed wildly, clinging against Nyra's lighthouse or flying off into the distance in some other direction, but one vaguely hit its mark, just grazing Nyra's shoulder and causing her to bleed.

Mateo's eyes focused quickly on the mark left by his attack, his forehead crinkling in confusion. The gears in his head began to spin again, until suddenly his eyes widened in realization.

He had an opening. He had a chance.

As the giant eel began to shift its attention back to him, Mateo made a quick judgement call and boosted towards Nyra head on. With just enough force Mateo pushed himself off of his sphere into Nyra shoulder first, his forearm blocking the dagger and her other arm. The two of them would tumble to the ground, and in a scramble Mateo would quickly wrap his arms around her neck and head and his legs around her waist, desperate to get her into a rear naked choke hold.

Nyra's body hit the floor of the arena. Such a minor impact wouldn't have bothered most regulars at this level, if they noticed it at all, but Nyra's body had never been especially strong. The opposite in fact. So when she hit the floor with Mateo's weight on top of her own, the impact sent her reeling. Though she did manage to keep her grip on the dagger, the bowl in her arms rolled away from her grasp. A bandaged arm lunged out after it in desperation but only succeeded in knocking it further away. Something cracked in Nyra's mind.

"Don't touch me!"

She panicked. The girl thrashed on the ground, for some reason acting like her own physical strength would do anything to get her free from the thing holding her. Mateo might not be particularly large or strong by regular standards, but Nyra was well below his level physically, and her thrashing accomplished nothing but exhausting her energy and breath. She struggled to breathe. In her panic, she lost her hold over her shinheuh.

A bellowing roar shook the air as Yazi saw her mother being attacked, followed by a second identical roar from some unseen second monster. The large golden eel was momentarily distracted by the sound. Thankfully the eel wasn't the only shinheuh Nyra had that cared about Nyra enough to act on its own to protect her.

As Mateo was choking Nyra on the floor of the arena, an invisible creature placed its teeth on his shoulder, only applying enough pressure to make its presence known. His body tensed up as he tightened his grip instictively.

"Y-" Nyra choked as she struggled to get air out. "-v- -p" The invisible teeth removed themselves from Mateo's shoulder.

For a few seconds the boy was left confused, before his frustrations boiled over and he began taking his rage out on the girl, bringing his right arm up and elbowing her in the skull."JUST. FUCKING. QUIT. ALREADY. WITH. THIS. BULLSHIT." Each frustrated shout would be punctuated with a sharp elbow to the top of Nyra's head, relentless as he poured what strength he could muster into each shot.

The massive eel's tail slammed into the arena floor some distance away from where the two regulars were struggling. Yazi wanted to kill the thing attacking her mother, but with her size she was afraid of hitting and killing both. For all her size and strength, the eel could only threaten and roar.

With each blow, Nyra's vision swam and lost focus, a mix of the pain and the tears filling her eyes. You win! I give up! That was what she'd tried and failed to say. But even as she coughed and forced the air she'd need to say the words aloud into her lungs, she panicked. She absolutely couldn't lose. She needed to win and then get Siri back. Her head slammed against the floor so that she saw drifting lights behind her eyes. She heard Yazi roar loud. She needed to get Siri back... but if she blacked out now what would happen to Yazi? She'd rampage, and then she'd be killed by rankers.

"I lose!" She spat the words out so forcefully it sounded like they'd torn their way up her throat. "I give up. I lose." Hearing her forfeit, the boy would roughly shove her off of him to the side without care, leaving himself spent and gasping for air as he laid on his back. Nyra's head dropped to the ground and stayed there as she cried. She'd chosen Yazi over Siri.

"A-and the winner is Mateo Nemeroff!" The crowd cheered and yipped in excitement as the match came to its rough and brutal conclusion, but ramblings of confusion could be heard throughout.


"H-hey. She used two Shinheuh." One of the spectators observed.
"Yes, so?"
"Wasn't that not allowed?"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Let me show you." He made his pocket visible and searched for the data regarding the rules of the fight, but...
"Eh, they allow two Shinheuh for anima?"
"See, you misread."
"Don't think so. They probably updated the rules."
"Yeah, yeah..."

Meanwhile...

"That was a swift update, Quiz."
"Thank you, Miss Yume. Pardon my ignorance, while I am interested in the battles for the valuable information they bring for my research, Nyra Carchiphi is still cheating anyway. Was the update necessary?"
"The crowd doesn't know that."
"That is true but..."
"And I have my own way of dealing with cheaters and impertinence." The ground underneath her started to crack.
"Are you...angry?"
"Oh my, dear Quiz, you could tell?" She asked with a million dollar smile on her face. The nearby wall started cracking as well.
"I just took an educated guess..."

 

[Rantos]

Selicity Faars + Illiam Herlaa
(A Collab with QuirkyAngel )​

Part 2

“I did i—Illiam?!” Violet eyes widened as laughter rang out in the white-washed walls of the training room. Purple eyes dulled into a gray-ish black hue at the realization of what she had just done and the excitement of her accomplishment drained out, leaving only regret. She’d done it again. She hurt a friend in her excitement—lost herself in the madness that she’d trained so hard to control. It hadn’t been her intention to go overboard while training, least of all injure a teammate right before the team battle. Ajax would have her head. Granted Illiam didn’t seem too hurt, given that he was laughing, she might’ve just as likely knocked out a couple of braincells when she hit his head.

Looking from the blood on her fist to Illiam’s fallen body, Selicity hurried over to her teammate. “You’re okay right? Why didn’t you dodge? Why are you laughing?!”

A hand raised and waved in weakness. His arm outstretched moved in wide circles, looking for its mark that seemed to twist and twirl with the room. His giddy laughter subsided, his hand finally brushed that which it sought. Long fingers, gentle and slender, resting upon Selicity's head.

"I guess I just forgot." She wouldn't believe that. But Illiam's shaken brain couldn't think of anything better. He hoped she would believe him. Or at least he hoped the smile he forced would be enough to make her believe.

"That's a good punch, I need a minute." Illiam's hand drops down. Tapping the floor once as it goes slack, then twice more as he suggests with his gesture that Selicity should sit, with him.

“You forgot…” Selicity repeated incredulously, too flabbergasted by his response to brush aside the hand that pet her head like she was a child. Nonetheless, the Cat Sidhe sat down where Illiam requested and counted a full minute, occasionally glancing worriedly at Illiam, before speaking again. “Don’t tell me I really did knock out a couple of brain cells…”

“Took some time to reach that poor conclusion.” Illiam finally sits up. The room is no longer shaking, his eyes can focus on Selicity now. They do for a moment but quickly pull away. “I just wanted to see how hard you could hit for myself.”

He can feel the blood as it drips down his forehead. Tasting it as it drips further. Yeah, quite the hit. “That frown’s insulting though. You got me to bleed, so what?”

“You’re my friend, so it’s different,” Selicity explained simply, as if it were an entirely obvious matter. “I didn’t have many friends growing up, you know. I always used to hurt the people I played with so no one liked to play with me. That’s why I didn’t really belong in my village...but you’re different. You’re strong and you didn’t mind when I got violent. I enjoyed playing with you on the second floor so I don’t want to lose you like we lost Seefi and...well...I have no idea what you are thinking at times.” Selicity tilted her head curiously. “Like why were you laughing? Do you like pain?”

“Yeah, I do.” It made sense to Illiam, as welcome a distraction from thinking as any. Not to mention a constant that was as equally welcome.

“You don’t need to worry about me. Getting hit seems to be something I’m good for.” That aside, his thoughts strayed as they replayed that single word he seemed to latch onto. Friend. It’s meaning was kind enough, warm to the ears. From Selicity the words rang genuine. “So we’re friends still? Though it’s been so long.” It felt disappointing to say it aloud.

“Yeah, we are.” Selicity replied firmly. “Even though you’re a weirdo, and we haven’t seen each other for a long time, we’re still friends. And we’ll continue to be friends for as long as I can help it.”

Even as she called Illiam a weirdo, she knew she was one too. Only a weirdo could befriend a weirdo, after all. The sight of blood. The thrill of a good fight. Excitement that pumped her blood and told her she was alive. Death. None of that repulsed her. Therefore she could understand the fact that Illiam enjoyed pain. She did too to a degree. However, she’d also grown up since her violet-eyed violent days. She could still hear Ajax’s words in her head scolding her when she took risks. When she did something dangerous and, sometimes, she wondered if he was the only thing keeping her alive. Ajax was the sort of friend to keep her grounded.

And, as strange as it was, Selicity also wanted to be that sort of friend to another as well. “That’s why I worry. Getting hit if you’re good at it is fine, but don’t overdo it, okay? Pain is supposed to tell you what to avoid.” Quoting Ajax seemed like the proper thing to do at the moment and she honestly couldn’t care less if she sounded hypocritical. She didn’t want to be the cause of a friend dying. She didn’t like losing people. One day, if he continued to overestimate his endurance, Irregular or not, he would die just like Seefie did. “It’s only good in moderate doses.”

Muscles are torn to grow stronger. Strength was gained from adversity. Those were things Selicity knew instinctively even if Ajax didn’t drill them into her. Illiam taking all those beatings from Yaga made sense in that case. However, Selicity still didn’t like it. Perhaps Illiam was built differently from her. Perhaps being an Irregular made all the difference in what Illiam could take. Selicity didn’t know. She didn’t really know anything at all about Irregulars. “Hey, Illiam, tell me about what it’s like to be an irregular.”

Perhaps, if she learned more about irregulars she could become closer to Sweet as well. That way, they could become a real team.

“It’s bullshit.” The answer came out quickly. In a resolute tone that suggested he needn't give the answer much thought. Or rather, it suggested he’d already came to this answer long ago. “And it’s suffocating, once someone knows they don’t take their eyes off you.” Though in that fact there was something to be grateful for. If it wasn’t for the eyes of Hex and others in Wolhaiksong. They kept him safe for a time.

“That kid, Sugar? If she’s one too I wouldn’t draw attention to it unless she’s into showing off.” Illiam could understand the sentiment. But there’s a time and a place for that word to be said, and both should be decided by the one it impacts the most.

Illiam pushed himself off the ground, slowing rising to a sitting position as his gaze turned upwards. “Otherwise, I guess the power is pretty nice. The expectations are a drag.” And terrifying in equal measure. “So don’t worry when I get hit.” The words came out with an audible bite.

Surely, she spoke from a place of sincerity, the dotting words that prayed for his caution seemed kind enough. But that made it all the more infuriating to hear. From her, it almost sounded insulting. “You don’t need to treat me like that.” He stood finally. With the room having long since stopped spinning, he was ready to leave.

“Hmm...okay.” Selicity accepted, dusting her legs as she stood. It hadn’t been her intention to insult him. “Let’s continue training then~I wanna work up a good sweat!”

Being an irregular sounded unnecessarily complicated, but it wasn’t as if anyone could help being abnormal. So long as she didn’t lose him like she’d lost Seefie, it was enough. She wouldn’t let anyone suffocate him either. Not him nor Sweet. “Unless you’d rather do something else…?”

The only response at first was Illiam’s hand as it rested against Selicity’s head. “Next time.” Were the solitary words that accompanied his action of turning his pocket to visible mode. Talking about Hex and Wolhaiksong got Illiam thinking. There was a call he needed to make.

“I’ll see you after the battles. Bet well so we can eat good.” The sudden dismissive words that Illiam left in place echoed through the room, along with the slamming of the door behind him.

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Goyangi Sul + Holangi Lo Po Bia
Archimedes - Hospital Room

“Did you see that, Goyangi? Two shinhueh! She was clearly cheating her way up the tournament! I should know. If I’d been allowed two shinhueh when I was fighting that Gorilla of an Arie, I would’ve won easily!”

Goyangi didn’t think that would be the case even if her half brother used all three of his cat creatures, but the E-ranked defender chose not to comment. She simply sat quietly in the hospital room, peeling an apple as she listened to Holangi rant at the TV. With a cast on his right arm and his left leg strung up by another one, it was clear he wasn’t going to be moving around any time soon. She supposed she ought be grateful he hadn’t died given his opponent and the risks involved.

“And she’s even crying after her loss! Pathetic! A disgrace to all anima in the tower!”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far, Brother…” It didn’t make sense to her that someone who hadn’t uttered a word throughout the tournament, who was daring enough to go for close ranged combat despite being an anima, would cry over something simple like that. However, it wasn’t as if she knew Nyra Carciphi very well. “Tears are a natural response to pain.”

Both physical and emotional.

Goyangi was surprised her brother even noticed the small detail, given the bandage-wrapped anima had her head to the ground and wasn’t entirely obvious about it. Then again, Holangi had always been quite perceptive, especially when it came to sound.

“It’s pitiful,” Holangi shook his head. “If she were in the Lo Pia Bo family, she’d have been kicked right out.”

Goyangi opened her mouth to disagree with her brother again, but decided against it. Once he got an idea in his head, he wouldn’t listen to other opinion anyway. She fed him a slice of apple. “You shouldn’t stress about such things, Holangi, and just focus on your recovery." Else it may be a while before they could climb again. “There are still other events you can prove yourself in.”

“I know that,” Holangi glanced away, not liking to be reminded of his own loss. “I heard you found a group to do the team challenge with.”

“Yes…it’ll only be for the duration of the Workshop Battle though.”

"Congratulations." He didn't sound happy for her in the least. “Are you prepared? I’d hate to be seen climbing with a useless disappointment.”

“I think so…” Goyangi cut another slice of apple. “There isn’t much that can be planned without seeing the android we’ll be facing, but I believe Ajax intends to short circuit the machine. We do have a team member called Illiam that can discharge electricity, after all.” Though he seemed to stick close with Selicity who didn’t appear to like her very much. Ajax told her not to mind it, but she didn’t like being a cause of discord either. She’d joined to help not be a hindrance.

“Who are the other members?”

“A sniper that knows how to operate a lighthouse and Selicity Fars, who was listed in the announcement yesterday as one of the top E-ranks.”

“Tch,” Holangi scowled. “Any list that doesn’t have me in it isn’t worth anything.”

Goyangi didn’t comment and simply held out another apple slice. There was no denying that Team Hellcats had its fair share of strong members, but whether that amounted to victory was yet to be seen. Teamwork wasn’t something that could be built in a day. She herself didn’t care much about winning or losing, but it would be good for her and Holangi to make strong friends that could help pave the path up the tower. Ajax seemed to be of the same mindset, though she couldn’t be certain. She wasn’t even sure why she was invited in the first place.

“…keep an eye on them, Goyangi. If they win anything worthwhile, bring it back to me.”

“I don’t thi—,” Goyangi froze, her eyes glazing over, and, before she could stop herself, the werecat found herself nodding to the command. It didn’t last very long, but, by the time the light returned to her eyes, she had a splitting headache. “S-Sorry, what were you saying, Brother?”

Holangi smiled innocently. “I was wishing you the best of luck in your battle tomorrow, Sister.”

(mentioned: OverconfidentMagi simj26 Rantos Azure Sky )

 

[Azure Sky]

Yume Yu and the Splat​

Before Mateo and Nyra could be teleported, paint balls of various colours where thrown on the arena.

Splat, splat, splat, splat...

None of them hit the two Regulars though. The entire arena was silent. Suddenly, a person descended from the sky. It was Yume Yu.

The people in the arena were restless.

"Hey, look it's High Ranker Yume Yu!"
"Damn, pretty women in formal wear are my weakness."
"Who cares, she wouldn't take notice of ugly bastards like you anyway..."
"Why you son of a..."

"Congratulations, Mateo Nemeroff!" Yume spoke loudly, and the arena suddenly went silent.

"In a competition full of known strong Regulars, you managed to reach the finals. No Great Family blood, no particular equipment, no cheap tricks, and no cheating. Your sheer ability, both tactical and the suberb Shinsoo control will surely be an inspiration for other Regulars. Beyond the talent, and gifts of lucky birth, hard work topples everything." She then turned to the crowd. "A round of applause to Mateo Nemeroff! This young man will become a legend someday!" She said, as she winked.

The crowd cheered in a freenzy, although it was unknown if it was for Mateo, or for the fact that Yume winked. And another pain ball was seemingly thrown on the arena.

Splat!

The splat of red paint looked bigger than the other ones and was more liquid in nature... Because it was blood. The invisible aqua cat that Nyra had around had been reduced to a puddle. Yume waved goodbye at the crowd as everyone was teleported away. Mateo to his quarters and Nyra with her Shinheuh... to an unknown place full of lights. Everything was glowing white.

Yume was still with her and took out two bowls, placing them near the bandaged girl.

"The two creatures inside are unharmed." She turned around to leave. "You know... all you had to do was... not cheat. And also, I thought I told you to show your face, tehe..." The gravity in the room increased for a bit, but it quickly came back to normal. "But, no matter. I do not care anymore. Just do not partecipate in anything else and we are good." She said, as she clapped her hands.

SPLAT!

The sound of something being crushed could be heard near Nyra. The blood was also an indicator that it happened to a creature. It was the golden eel that was standing by her side. Its head was gone. Reduced to a puddle.

OverconfidentMagi cojemo

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Ellia Aris Khun and Haewon Zahard

(Collab with Brendanfp )​

Before the Semi-Final matches...

As Ellia watched Haewon’s battle with Volk, she wasn’t quite sure how she felt. Annoyed? Worried? Exasperated? It seemed to be a combination of those feelings, though Ellia’s face remained ever impassive. Clearly, the young Princess hadn’t listened to a single word she said about stepping back if the fight became too much. Ellia wasn’t surprised. She knew Princess Haewon’s fiery temperament, after all. Her need to improve. Her love for battle. The same flaming passion Ellia respected in Haewon was the very cause of her distress in this situation.

Princesses weren’t invulnerable.

Even though she glorified the Zahard blood when Ajax asked for her assessment, she was old enough to have seen Princesses die. There was a limit to the strength that could be passed down. They weren’t immortal. Even a fall from a great height, which would normally kill a person, could take 3-7 days to heal. Yet, here the Princess was, fighting as if she were--as if to push the limits of the gifts given to her. She wasn’t even trying to block Volk’s punches. Not that it made any sense to try to try to physically overpower a monster that produced recoil damage with every hit in the first place. She was a spear-bearer wasn’t she? Learned from Maschenny didn’t she?

It would’ve been at least half understandable if Haewon went all out in the finals, but it wasn’t even the semi-finals yet. Was Haewon even thinking about her next two matches? Her next opponent, according to Ellia’s data, would be her strongest one yet--a girl representing two of the Great Families with the inborn strength of the Ha(s) and grace of one who practiced the tower’s “finest” swordplay. Under normal conditions, Ellia didn’t think Haewon would lose, but if she exhausted herself right before her important matches that was a different story. Did the princess even intend to win?

Sighing, Ellia climbed down from where she stood watching the fights and moved to where the waiting rooms were located as the two fighters were teleported away. It was natural to go support a teammate in their challenge, which was why Ellia was even at the stadium at all though she did not especially enjoy watching fights. They hadn’t seen each other since yesterday because Ellia chose to spend the rest of the day working on her challenge at Ajax’s place, so the former workshop disciple figured that the least she could do was congratulate the princess on her previous victories and well in the following matches.

Tucking a stray blue lock behind her ear, Ellia knocked politely on Haewon’s waiting room door. “It’s Ellia. May I come in?”

Haewon was slouched across one of the waiting room couches when she heard a knock at her door. The Princess was in the process of wrapping her bloodied wounds with gauze provided by the Workshop. Her face was a cross between painful grimace and haughty smile as her mind filled with fantasies of her next match. Mena would surely overcome the no named swordsman, which would leave Haewon facing against her greatest peer. Any fight that came after this would surely pale in comparison. The subtle knocks came again, and this time paired with a soft voice. Haewon recognized it immediately and jumped up from her seat to answer the call. With hair still in a fray, dress torn, and bloodied gauze hanging from her arms and legs, the Princess pulled the door open to greet her friend.

“Elley!” Haewon gushed as she laid eyes on her elegant partner.

“I came to congratulate you on your victories…” Ellia’s gaze drifted from Haewon’s torn dress to the awkwardly wrapped gauze. Her fingers itched with the need to fix the unprofessional wrappings so she led the young princess back to the couch she’d been sitting on and did just that--skillfully re-doing the hastily wrapped bandages. “You should learn to do this properly, Princess.”

Especially if she intended to fight like she did Volk.

The Princess moved with a bounce in her step and a dopey smile on her face as Ellia dragged her over to the couch. Immediately her diligent partner began undoing her gauze, cleaning up what Haewon had thought was a decent job. She began to respond to Ellia’s comment but was cut short by a sudden growling sound originating in her gut.

“Hey Elly… did’ya bring any food?” the flame headed Princess pondered aloud with a longing look in her eyes.

“Unfortunately, I did not,” Ellia replied, eyeing the bruises and lacerations as she unwound Haewon’s loose bindings. It was a lack of foresight on her part to not bring food. Of course nourishment would be required to replenish energy lost in a fight. Seeing the longing look in Princess Haewon’s eyes though, Ellia felt guilty for her mishap and further added. “I do have an item that will heal your injuries though...”

“You can have a what?!” Haewon exclaimed in awe at Eliia’s claim.

Her eyes gleamed with curiosity now as she stared up at her partner, even more intently now. Then a moment of realization; her gleaming eyes faded into a skeptical glare. Haewon pursed her lips slightly.

“This wouldn’t involve you turning me into a machine like, AJ would it? Cause while I appreciate your skills of invention I prefer my fleshy bits!” blurted the Princess.

Ellia blinked. AJ? “N-No, nothing like that,” She cleared her throat before unstrapping the watch she wore. “It’s not even an item I invented. Rather, it’s something I picked up at a rare item shop on the 20th floor.”

Showing the watch to Haewon, Ellia continued. “The watch doesn’t tell time, but rewinds time on the wearer’s body for up to 24 hours depending on how you wind the hand. If you turn the time back to right before the Volk fight, your body will return to the physical condition you were in right before that fight. It can only be used once a day, so if you use it now, you won’t be able to use it again if you get injured again in later matches. However, it will allow you to fight Ha Mena Arie, who is probably your toughest competitor of the tournament, in your best condition.”

Of the day at least. If Princess Haewon hadn’t been feeling well in the morning, it certainly wouldn’t help to reverse the body’s time back to that period.

There was also the fact that incurred damages were a natural part of how tournaments operated.Those that mistakenly let themselves get too injured early on suffered the consequences later. Reversing those consequences didn’t seem fair and, knowing Princess Haewon, she wouldn’t want to win unfairly. However, fighting a strong opponent in a weakened state wasn’t the brightest idea either and likely would lead to an unfavorable outcome--or a poor battle. That wasn’t necessarily “fair” either since losing in such a manner did not prove strength nor was it fair to the other party. In the tower, those with advantages used them. The ones that could heal, did. The ones who had the support of teammates used them. Ha Mena Arie, being a direct descendant of two Great Families, probably had healers among the friends she climbed with as well.

Ellia was curious as to what the Zahard princess’s definition of fairness would be.

Haewon gingerly took the watch into her hands. She examined its face as well as the buttons along the side. If this watch could really do what Ellia claimed it was a great resource to keep around for their climb… but the time for its use wasn’t now. It just wouldn’t feel right to win that way. The Princess would face Mena just as she was now and she would win like she did time and time again.

“Wow Elly, this gadget is amazing… but I can’t use this… not during this tournament at least.” Haewon sighed as she returned the watch back to her friend, “Keep that thing around though, I’m sure it’ll come in handy!”

The Princess thought about how lucky she was to have a friend like Ellia. She hoped to be able to climb with her partner up until the end. Haewon wondered what other strong and interesting allies she would make on her journey to the top. At the thought of what the future held she flashed a big toothy grin at Ellia and embraced her.

“I really appreciate you Elly.” she gushed, “you mind finishing up my gauze before the next match?”

Ellia nodded expressionlessly as she took the watch from Haewon’s fingers and strapped it back on her wrist. She didn’t like seeing Haewon injured and taking on risky fights, but she somewhat expected it. The same way she was starting to get used to the hugs Haewon liked to give out when she was happy. Princess Haewon was as affectionate as she was arrogant, believing that she could win against a powerful opponent even with the injuries...but it wasn’t as if Ellia disliked those qualities in the young princess. On the contrary, she admired them. If it were her in the ring, she would’ve fought like Exnor and dropped out the moment too much effort was required. Winning the tournament simply wasn’t worth it for her. However, the same couldn’t be said about Haewon and others like her who enjoyed the challenge and the thrill of battle.

“Sure,” Ellia replied, neatly tying the gauze after applying whatever ointments or salve she could find in the waiting room to soothe pain and prevent infection. She didn’t like it. The sight of blood. Handling living tissues. There was a reason she told Ajax she didn’t like dealing with living specimens, after all. However, just because she didn’t like something didn’t mean she couldn’t do it--whether it be fighting for her family or watching Haewon walk closer to death. “If it’s any motivation, Ajax has agreed to your proposal and will pay for dinner if we both win our respective contests--so do your best not to lose.”

What Ellia really wanted to say was okay to back down if she ever found her life in serious danger, but knowing Haewon, that advice would only go through one ear and out the other. She already said it anyway and she knew better than to ask Haewon to forfeit her next match. If Haewon wouldn’t give up, then it was better that she win.

“Don’t worry about me,” Haewon cheerfully offered. Though her partner had said nothing, the Princess had grown used to her subtle expressions. Ellia was always looking out for her, just like a big sister. Haewon wouldn’t let her down, “I’ve got this Elly… you won’t be disappointed.”

Ellia nodded, though the only way she would be disappointed was if Haewon died. “I’ll take my leave now so I don’t accidentally get teleported with you when it’s your turn of fight. Best of luck out there, Princess.”

She finished bandaging up the injured princess before leaving the room and returning to the chaotic cheers outside. These sort of things really weren't her cup of tea.

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

Yeon Maeum ​

Maeum frowned. Imaginary flames danced across her narrowed eyes. What... had just happened?


Maeum had been excited to watch the princess and mutt fights, the princess especially. But it wasn't for the reason most of the regulars and rankers sat glued to their seats to get a glimpse of an actual princess of Zahard in action. Maeum wasn't interested in seeing how beautiful the princess was or getting to see her beat up some random regular. She just wanted to see how hot this princess's flames were. She was curious if a bit of Zahard's power could even make the Blitz family's cold fire burn hot.

As excited as she was to see the fight, once it began in earnest Maeum barely paid any attention to it. One look at the princess's flames told her enough. She wasn't anything special despite having the king's favor. Even Jo's wimpy excuse for a flame burned hotter than this little Blitz girl's. Maeum clicked her tongue. "Hmm, I guess that answers that." She grinned. "No flame burns brighter or hotter than the cursed demon flame of Yeon!" High atop a light pole in the arena, a chuuni girl was making a fool of herself by making ridiculous poses. The regulars and even rankers below glanced up and then made a point of not looking at the embarrassing girl again.

The princess might have been disappointing, but of course she still won her fight. A princess losing to a nobody would have been a scandal. Maeum wasn't stupid, she assumed the workshop would have prevented her opponent from winning even if he did prove stronger than the princess. Still, if was embarrassing that the princess seemed to struggle at all. Was this really all the legendary Zahard princesses were made of? Man, seeing your heroes up close really was disappointing. If she was this weak, the mutt might actually beat her. Maeum was suddenly more interested in that fight, but she still wasn't reckless enough to put money down against a princess, no matter how many pitying looks she shot down at the Blitz girl.

The resolve that kept her from betting against the princess weakened even further as Maeum watched the mutt's fight. Ha Mena Arie was every bit as strong as she'd expected the princess to be. Her victory was swift and decisive. Maeum had only used her cursed eye to watch a few moments of the swift exchange of steel, but it was enough to tell her that even knowing where Mena's blades were aimed wouldn't be enough to avoid being cut. The princess would most likely lose to the mutt. How embarrassing that would be, both for her and for the king. If such a thing was allowed to happen. The anima versus the princess or the anima versus the mutt. If it was the latter that was that, the mutt won. The princess would squish the anima like a bug as well, unless the odds were pushed a bit. Maeum grinned at the prospect of winning a lot of money.


The anima that Maeum had bet on lost.

That should have come as a shock to her given how confident she'd been that the wave controller had little to no chance of beating an opponent with so many more strengths and options than himself, but as soon as the two regulars had been teleported into the arena Maeum had noticed that something was wrong. The wave controller's flame was unstable, shifting and twisting all about, but is seemed calm and tranquil compared to what Maeum saw inside the anima. Her flame was sputtering and erupting and changing shape and color is ways that actually made Maeum sick to look at. She'd seen people with flames that looked bad, and this one was bad. Something had happened to the anima between the end of her last fight and now. What?

It was a difficult fight to watch. If she hadn't put money on it, Maeum would have gone to the bathroom and grabbed food to pass the time until this fight was done with. It was an unpleasant experience. The wave controller was completely outmatched by the anima, as she'd predicted, but the anima was in no state to be fighting. She threw away every advantage she had just to rush her opponent, and she didn't stop her illogical charge until it had left her collapsed on the floor of the arena covered in her own blood and tears. Maeum wanted to look away, but seeing the anima's soul ripping itself apart before her eyes was too terrible and beautiful a sight to tear her eyes off of.

"Hey, look it's High Ranker Yume Yu!" A person in the crowd was the first to call out at the ranker's sudden appearance in the arena.

The anima's soul almost tore in two in that instant, half paralyzed in fear while the other flared with an almost inhuman hatred. The ranker said a few words that sounded like worthless fluff to Maeum - as if this nobody wave controller stood a chance against any of the other regulars in this tournament in a fair fight - and then she and the two fighters and the anima's monster were teleported away.

Maeum frowned. Imaginary flames danced across her narrowed eyes. What... had just happened?

Her cursed eye had seen everything, but it was still difficult for her to make sense of what she'd seen. She'd been looking right at the anima when she'd been teleported. She'd watched as the burning flame of the anima's soul had vanished... a full second before she'd been teleported away. No, not vanished. Extinguished. The flame had disappeared like a candle being blown out.

Maeum had a bad feeling. She stood up and jumped down from her private seat atop the arena lights.