The arena went silent, the crowd having taken a collective breath. Those who spoke, did so in whispers to their neighbors. Unlike them, my senses spread far enough to see inside the barrier. While I couldn't see through the purple mist, I could sense two signatures inside.

One dwindled, but remained at a steady constant. Sereza. She had moved from her position after belting out the poison cloud, but judging by the signature near hers, Zog had too. Only, his was close to hers, too close while Sereza wasn't actively moving.

As for the orucan…

Seconds passed and I sighed. I leaned back and stretched, pulling against the tightness in my ribs.

"It's over," I declared.

"I haven't seen this skill before. Do you know it?" Celenae asked.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I don't. But it doesn't matter. The match was over the moment he caught her. Unless she's willing to lose her tail."

"You sure?"

"What are you sensing?" Teddy prompted.

My gaze flickered to the screen, honing in on where a small spot inside the dome had started to darken. "I think we're about to find out."

After nearly a minute, the small spot of dark purple was no a black that covered nearly the entire dome. Zog's mana spiked and flames burned in an upward cone. Where the fire-aspected mana touched Sereza's skill, it burned it away in a bright clash that devoured the mist.

More flames scoured the mist clean in rapid bursts, revealing the two combatants inside.

I winced.

Thought so.

Teddy sighed. "I see. You were right. It is unfortunate but she tried her best. There was always a chance for a bad matchup."

"What an interesting application of his skill. He obviously has some form of fire manipulation," Celenae muttered, while scribbling in her notes.

Zog's chest swelled and he released another lungful of air into the ball of flames between his hands. His fingers were shaped in a curve, forming a triangle from which the fire mana spewed. Three more bursts cleaned the dome of the purple entirely.

He dropped his hands, and I noticed his right arm hung limply while the skin was a different shade from the rest of his body. Sereza kneeled before him, clutching her shoulder.

"A dangerous skill, one surprisingly potent considering the dispersion. An effective means of using the air-tight seal of the barrier to your advantage. It was an applaudable effort," he said. He turned his shoulder and revealed a row of scratches that bled with purple-tinted blood. He shook his head. "A paralytic? Mana infused for it to activate so quickly. Again, an applaudable effort."

Sereza coughed and blood coated the marble below. She looked up and glared at the orucan with a wince as she adjusted her shoulder. "Toxin resistance? Of course you have a passive for it. Just my luck."

Zog shook his head again. "I do not have a skill for such specific resistances. The paralytic would have ravaged my body if I had refused to allow it to circulate."

Her eyes narrowed. "How did you resist my skill? That was concentrated triblanog venom. You should be on the ground by now."

Sereza coughed and more blood spilled down her throat. Zog waited for her to steady herself before raising his working hand. He touched his chest and grunted as flames seeped out his body. Unlike before where the flames were vibrant red and orange, these flames were darker, more rust-like. They oozed out of his skin, growing that flickered the further it emanate from his body.

His fingers clenched and he made a pained expression before stopping the skill.

"Because you made me reveal more than I intended, I will answer your question. It's a skill called Beggar's Only Sacrifice. I burn the mana in my blood and purge myself of toxins and other debilitating effects. A surprise I wished to keep for my fight with him. I'm glad it was revealed because of a worthy opponent."

Sereza raised her head and spit to the side, revealing blood-stained teeth. She blew hair out of her eyes and grinned. "Finish it then, but don't let them heal me. Just drag me into the staging room."

He raised an eyebrow but nodded. "As you wish."

His fist came as a quick jab, one backed by flames that narrowed to coat only his knuckles. Sereza's tail attempted to stab through Zog's leg but he stepped into her guard and delivered the blow. The meaty thwack echoed through the arena, and she crumpled to the floor.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Zog stepped back and waited. Her bracelet changed and the announcer riled the crowd up. A orb of light appeared but Zog punched through, shattering the skill before it fully formed. He then swept Sereza's daggers in one hand and lifted her onto his shoulder. When he approached the barrier, the mana dissipated, allowing his exit.

I stood up and stretched. "Welp, looks like I'm up. Expect something insane I suppose. I have a feeling that they don't want me to win this round."

"Cyrus, wait," Teddy interrupted.

"Yes?"

He stood up and moved closer. "Tell me why you want to proceed."

Ahh, I was wondering when this would be brought up again.

"My answer is the same as last time. It's because I want to. These assholes want to cheat and preen their feathers. So be it, but I'm not letting them bully me out of a competition. It's fun, I'm learning new things about my skills, and I get to piss them off despite their efforts. I might as well enjoy playing Mordred while I can. It'll be over soon anyways."

Celenae sighed, while Eodyne looked annoyed. Teddy stayed neutral as did Khrem. Meanwhile Isaac…

He snorted. "That's not what you told me two days ago."

"That's because you called me an idiot and demanded an answer." I gestured to Teddy. "You see how he asked a question without making me want to punch his face in? Very demure."

Eodyne spoke up. "You don't need this. They tried to cripple you, torture you. Going down there knowing they are not only willing to do more, but have been given express permission from someone higher up, makes you stupid."

I turned to face her, briefly taking off my mask so she could see my face.

"Maybe. You're right, it is stupid knowing that. But stupid hasn't stopped me from doing a lot of things. I've faced gods and creatures beyond the anger issues of some pampered noble."

She scowled and turned away.

Teddy moved to the side and smiled. "We'll be prepared. I'm sure you'll handle it, but we'll be there in case things go drastically wrong."

I nodded. "Thanks. Have fun betting on me."

As I made to move past him and exit the booth, Teddy's hand landed on my shoulder. I paused and he gave it a firm pat before pushing me forward.

"We'll discuss the damage to your body when you're done. But Cyrus?"

"Yes?"

"Go kick ass."

I blinked, taking in the playful gleam in Teddy's gaze. With a shake of my head, I laughed and exited the booth. An attendant was there and he activated a device attached to his wrist once he saw me.

Already the strange headache and squeezing in the center of my chest started a light tapping in rhythm.

I adjusted to the discomfort and summoned Áine. She appeared in the back of my hood and settled in. My ribs twitched and she activated her skill, soothing the annoyance.

"Bad," she whispered.

I grimaced. "I know. Sorry."

She sent over her disapproval through the link but kept a gentle stream running down my neck. I rolled my shoulders and kept walking.

Upon entering the underground arena, I found Zog standing near Myol. Sereza laid on a brightly-colored towel at his feet while he stood to the side, watching me approach.

"Is that a pillow? She looks like sleeping beauty went through a rough time," I said, stopping near them.

"It seemed rude to leave her on the bare floor. Now that you are here, I will take my leave," Zog said, bowing.

"Hey," I called out.

"Yes?"

"Thanks for helping her. Do you want the blanket and pillows back?"

"No. I have dozens more like them. I'll be fine."

He opened his mouth and for a second looked like he wanted to say something more, but he glanced at Myol and left.

The arenamaster stayed silent, her arms crossed with her back against a wall. She had a complicated expression, one that bordered on near thunderous and yet… Sad.

Ignoring her for the time being, I crouched and activated Spirit Lord's Invocation. Áine moved through the skill's command and the transformation took hold. I placed my hand over Sereza's abdomen and probed her body.

So that's why you look like a plague victim. Idiot.

Using Áine's skill to heal, allowed me to push my senses through her body. Her tongue was swollen and even though the skill had ended the remnants of acid damage continuously bled, pooling blood in her throat.

Blisters on her lungs, some aveoli sacs are already filled with fluid. Lesions down the throat and some cuts around bleeding gums. Even her esophagus is swollen, restricting her breathing.

After cataloging the injuries, I pushed the mana through the area, concentrating where the acid-aspected mana remained. It fought, but I simply overwhelmed it. As the lesions started to heal, I turned her to the side and opened her mouth, while I carefully punctured her throat with the tip of my tail.

Blood leaked out and the injury sealed shut without a scratch.

Sereza sputtered and blinked rapidly as her eyes fluttered open.

"Auugggh. Ooh. Fuck, my face hurts," she groaned.

"That's because I was too busy fixing the acid damage. Give me a second," I replied.

After repairing her body back to full, she sat up and stared at the bright fuzzy blanket draped over her legs.

"He's kinder than I thought he'd be. He struck me exactly hard enough to knock me out."

"He said you can keep the blanket and pillow."

"Of course he did. He's making it harder to hate him." She took my hand and got up. With a swipe of her hand, the blanket and pillow disappeared into her dimensional storage. "Still can't believe he has a damn purge skill. I thought I had him."

"Well, good news is that I can beat him up for you during our match."

"Lovely," she said, deadpanned.

"So about that skill of yours. It did serious damage to your respiratory system. Drained a decent amount of mana."

"It's not one I like to use if I can. It's better now that I've built up tolerances with every new poison, but the skill isn't fully poison based."

"Acid. Should have mentioned it earlier, we could have tried finding something to fix that."

"Later," Sereza glanced at Myol and lightly bowed. "Thanks for waiting, arena master. I'll be on my way now."

"Do me a favor when you get back to the booth," I said.

"Sure, what do you need?"

My mask changed into a wolfish grin that stretched across my face. "Whatever Isaac bets for me, bet on the opposite."

She chuckled and started walking. "Sure. It'll help distract the others from lecturing me on having a double-edged skill."

I waved goodbye and stifled another thrum of pain. Stifling the skill with some healing mana, I undid the transformation and thanked Áine before she returned to the soulspace.

Myol followed Sereza's leave. When she disappeared from the stairwell she flexed a finger and the door to the under arena snapped shut. Myol activated a skill and her barrier appeared stretching over us, sealing the room with a bubble of golden light.

She clenched her arms and her neutral expression broke. I braced ready for another lecture to be thrown my way.

Instead she leaned back and banged her head against the wall, shattering the stone as if it were glass.

"We need to talk."

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