Marie is led to Roderick's office all the while not once looking up from the floor as she hangs her head in shame. When they get to Roderick's office she finds her brother inside sitting across from Roderick's desk waiting for them. Marie lifts her head up and stares at her brother before looking away in shame.
"Anton, I..." Marie starts to say but Roderick cuts her off.
"Sit down Marie."
Marie sits in a chair beside her brother and Roderick pulls out a chair and sits down behind his desk with two guards flanking him.
"Now Marie... I'm not going to pretend that I have a moral high ground here seeing as how I'm going to be using Laura to make money. But I want to say I'm very disappointed in you. Not only did you drug her but after she beat your brother anyway you took it upon yourself to try and kill her in her sleep. Even if a regular knife without magic wouldn't hurt a regular demon we have no idea how that would have affected her as a half demon. I could have you arrested for attempted murder."
"Please wait sir." Anton cuts in. "Sure my sister tried to fix my match against Laura and she might have tried to kill her afterwards but she was just trying to protect me."
"That excuse doesn't fly with me Anton. Protect you from what? Your opponent? Aren't you a fighter? So you're saying I should forgive your sister because she has no faith in you?"
"That's not..." Anton begins to say but he can't seem to find the right words.
"When I first met you I thought you were just some upstart kid with more ambition then actual sense and it seems I was correct. Anton you're fired."
"Sir I..."
"Your services are no longer needed."
Anton slumps in his chair and drops his head.
"Your inability to win any fights is to blame for this."
Marie lifts her head and stands up. "If Anton has to leave then I'm leaving to."
"Oh I intended to fire you too Marie, don't worry." Roderick tells her.
"You can't seriously be taking that demon's side in all of this!" Marie shouts.
"Of course I am." Roderick replies.
"She's evil Roderick. She'll kill every single one of your fighters and leave you with nothing. That's what demons do, they ruin everything they come into contact with. You should be praising me for trying to kill her."
"Praise you? Laura is going to sell out this colosseum in the future. Not only is she a rare species because of her half human and half demon blood but she's exceptionally powerful at just twelve years of age. Demons usually get stronger the longer they live due to the mana in the air staying unfiltered in their bodies but what about Laura? Will her human side be able to filter the mana or will her demon side keep it unfiltered. Who can say? It's exciting to think about."
"Exciting!? Excitement isn't something you should be talking about when you're talking about a demon like her!"
"Oh but I will Marie. She may have been drugged for her first ever match but her next opponent won't have the handicap that you decided your brother needed. I can build up so much hype around her that it's not even funny. Just imagining the sell out crowds is getting me excited. The people will be coming from all over the world just to see her fight."
"If... if that's the case I'll just tell the church about her. They won't sit idly by and let a demon like her run loose. They'll come and kill her and arrest you."
"So what?"
"Huh?" Marie asks confused.
"I've already talked with the church about Laura. Considering she's half human and is under the influence of a slave collar she has been deemed as a non threat at this time. Though that could change in the future. If Laura continues to grow and uses her abilities to become more powerful than any other demon we know of, they'll have no choice but to declare her an enemy of humanity and take action to destroy her. But for now she's just a twelve year old girl in my care."
Marie slumps her shoulders. That was her last chance to change Roderick's mind.
"Now would you two please leave my office, grab all your belongings and leave this colosseum."
"Yes sir." Marie says with an apologetic look on her face.
Anton and Marie both stand up and leave the room. Once they are out of sight Roderick leans back in his chair and sighs.
"Damn that was easier than expected. Now I can focus on the tournament rather than all this crap."
Roderick being a man of business does not care for Marie's worries. All Roderick cares about is making money. He doesn't care who gets hurt along the way as long as he makes a profit. If the church had come in and arrested Laura it would have meant a loss of revenue for him so he went and made a sizable donation to the church in order to get them off his back.
The colosseum of dawn was a rundown and barely used arena that was falling apart. Until Roderick made what those close to him would call a foolish investment. In just five short years he had managed to turn this eyesore of a colosseum into the most profitable place in Dawn. Not only did he make millions of gold but he also drew in the respect of everyone in the capital. Even the royal family was impressed with him.
Petty things like what Marie was going on about didn't matter to him one bit. Because it would lose a potential source of great income. Get rid of a failure of a fighter along with a maid that was average at best or part with Laura? It was an easy choice.
Roderick stood and looked out the window in his office. The view showed him a vast expanse of the entire capital and the view was complete with the castle right in the middle of it. This was the view he had achieved on the blood of others. What a spectacular view it was.
Marie and Anton trudged toward their respective rooms to grab their belongings not saying a word all the while. When they had finally collected all of their things they met up and walked out of the colosseum gates into the festive crowd who had just watched the first day of the battle of the top tournament.
The two departed the colosseum in their street clothes worried for their future and how they'd be able to survive. Their sullen expressions at odds with all the happy festival goers. People were everywhere enjoying themselves and celebrating the fights they saw on the first day. They could hear people talking about the fights they saw. How Eleonora flawlessly defeated her opponent or how Royce's strategy worked perfectly to seal his victory.
The two of them found a less crowded place to calm themselves. Next to a food stand Anton ordered some food for his sister and him.
"Hey Anto-"
"I'm not in the mood to talk." Anton answers flatly.
Marie sighs. She wanted to talk but her brother rejected any small talk.
As Marie is contemplating how to talk with her brother she can hear a group of chatting people approaching.
"Man can you believe how those fights went down today? Eleonora is awesome."
"Yeah she's probably the favorite to win this whole tournament. She's definitely gonna be the champion."
Marie's ears perked up at the conversation not because of Eleonora but because of what they said next.
"But man can you believe they have a demon in the place now?"
"Honestly that was surprising though she seems a little rough around the edges, coulda been first fight nerves."
"Oh don't even talk about that fight. The guy next to me said she was walking funny so he was gonna bet on that Anton guy. He had the age and experience advantage so I bet half my money on him to win. What a loser."
"Yeah well he got his ass handed to him and by a little girl to boot. HAHAHA!!"
Marie ever the hothead begins to yell at them when she feels a hand on her shoulder.
"Anton?"
"Don't make this any worse for us. You know I can't fight so if you pick a fight with those guys they'll probably take all our money."
"But they..."
"Don't"
Anton's firm rebuke shuts Marie down. He looks at his sister with worry in his eyes but doesn't say anything.
After their meal the two of them get up and walk aimlessly down the streets of the capital city. They find themselves wandering through a market as they try to decide where they should go. The two of them had lost everything once and now they're back at rock bottom. But at least the two siblings still have each other.
Marie is led to Roderick's office all the while not once looking up from the floor as she hangs her head in shame. When they get to Roderick's office she finds her brother inside sitting across from Roderick's desk waiting for them. Marie lifts her head up and stares at her brother before looking away in shame.
"Anton, I..." Marie starts to say but Roderick cuts her off.
"Sit down Marie."
Marie sits in a chair beside her brother and Roderick pulls out a chair and sits down behind his desk with two guards flanking him.
"Now Marie... I'm not going to pretend that I have a moral high ground here seeing as how I'm going to be using Laura to make money. But I want to say I'm very disappointed in you. Not only did you drug her but after she beat your brother anyway you took it upon yourself to try and kill her in her sleep. Even if a regular knife without magic wouldn't hurt a regular demon we have no idea how that would have affected her as a half demon. I could have you arrested for attempted murder."
"Please wait sir." Anton cuts in. "Sure my sister tried to fix my match against Laura and she might have tried to kill her afterwards but she was just trying to protect me."
"That excuse doesn't fly with me Anton. Protect you from what? Your opponent? Aren't you a fighter? So you're saying I should forgive your sister because she has no faith in you?"
"That's not..." Anton begins to say but he can't seem to find the right words.
"When I first met you I thought you were just some upstart kid with more ambition then actual sense and it seems I was correct. Anton you're fired."
"Sir I..."
"Your services are no longer needed."
Anton slumps in his chair and drops his head.
"Your inability to win any fights is to blame for this."
Marie lifts her head and stands up. "If Anton has to leave then I'm leaving to."
"Oh I intended to fire you too Marie, don't worry." Roderick tells her.
"You can't seriously be taking that demon's side in all of this!" Marie shouts.
"Of course I am." Roderick replies.
"She's evil Roderick. She'll kill every single one of your fighters and leave you with nothing. That's what demons do, they ruin everything they come into contact with. You should be praising me for trying to kill her."
"Praise you? Laura is going to sell out this colosseum in the future. Not only is she a rare species because of her half human and half demon blood but she's exceptionally powerful at just twelve years of age. Demons usually get stronger the longer they live due to the mana in the air staying unfiltered in their bodies but what about Laura? Will her human side be able to filter the mana or will her demon side keep it unfiltered. Who can say? It's exciting to think about."
"Exciting!? Excitement isn't something you should be talking about when you're talking about a demon like her!"
"Oh but I will Marie. She may have been drugged for her first ever match but her next opponent won't have the handicap that you decided your brother needed. I can build up so much hype around her that it's not even funny. Just imagining the sell out crowds is getting me excited. The people will be coming from all over the world just to see her fight."
"If... if that's the case I'll just tell the church about her. They won't sit idly by and let a demon like her run loose. They'll come and kill her and arrest you."
"So what?"
"Huh?" Marie asks confused.
"I've already talked with the church about Laura. Considering she's half human and is under the influence of a slave collar she has been deemed as a non threat at this time. Though that could change in the future. If Laura continues to grow and uses her abilities to become more powerful than any other demon we know of, they'll have no choice but to declare her an enemy of humanity and take action to destroy her. But for now she's just a twelve year old girl in my care."
Marie slumps her shoulders. That was her last chance to change Roderick's mind.
"Now would you two please leave my office, grab all your belongings and leave this colosseum."
"Yes sir." Marie says with an apologetic look on her face.
Anton and Marie both stand up and leave the room. Once they are out of sight Roderick leans back in his chair and sighs.
"Damn that was easier than expected. Now I can focus on the tournament rather than all this crap."
Roderick being a man of business does not care for Marie's worries. All Roderick cares about is making money. He doesn't care who gets hurt along the way as long as he makes a profit. If the church had come in and arrested Laura it would have meant a loss of revenue for him so he went and made a sizable donation to the church in order to get them off his back.
The colosseum of dawn was a rundown and barely used arena that was falling apart. Until Roderick made what those close to him would call a foolish investment. In just five short years he had managed to turn this eyesore of a colosseum into the most profitable place in Dawn. Not only did he make millions of gold but he also drew in the respect of everyone in the capital. Even the royal family was impressed with him.
Petty things like what Marie was going on about didn't matter to him one bit. Because it would lose a potential source of great income. Get rid of a failure of a fighter along with a maid that was average at best or part with Laura? It was an easy choice.
Roderick stood and looked out the window in his office. The view showed him a vast expanse of the entire capital and the view was complete with the castle right in the middle of it. This was the view he had achieved on the blood of others. What a spectacular view it was.
Marie and Anton trudged toward their respective rooms to grab their belongings not saying a word all the while. When they had finally collected all of their things they met up and walked out of the colosseum gates into the festive crowd who had just watched the first day of the battle of the top tournament.
The two departed the colosseum in their street clothes worried for their future and how they'd be able to survive. Their sullen expressions at odds with all the happy festival goers. People were everywhere enjoying themselves and celebrating the fights they saw on the first day. They could hear people talking about the fights they saw. How Eleonora flawlessly defeated her opponent or how Royce's strategy worked perfectly to seal his victory.
The two of them found a less crowded place to calm themselves. Next to a food stand Anton ordered some food for his sister and him.
"Hey Anto-"
"I'm not in the mood to talk." Anton answers flatly.
Marie sighs. She wanted to talk but her brother rejected any small talk.
As Marie is contemplating how to talk with her brother she can hear a group of chatting people approaching.
"Man can you believe how those fights went down today? Eleonora is awesome."
"Yeah she's probably the favorite to win this whole tournament. She's definitely gonna be the champion."
Marie's ears perked up at the conversation not because of Eleonora but because of what they said next.
"But man can you believe they have a demon in the place now?"
"Honestly that was surprising though she seems a little rough around the edges, coulda been first fight nerves."
"Oh don't even talk about that fight. The guy next to me said she was walking funny so he was gonna bet on that Anton guy. He had the age and experience advantage so I bet half my money on him to win. What a loser."
"Yeah well he got his ass handed to him and by a little girl to boot. HAHAHA!!"
Marie ever the hothead begins to yell at them when she feels a hand on her shoulder.
"Anton?"
"Don't make this any worse for us. You know I can't fight so if you pick a fight with those guys they'll probably take all our money."
"But they..."
"Don't"
Anton's firm rebuke shuts Marie down. He looks at his sister with worry in his eyes but doesn't say anything.
After their meal the two of them get up and walk aimlessly down the streets of the capital city. They find themselves wandering through a market as they try to decide where they should go. The two of them had lost everything once and now they're back at rock bottom. But at least the two siblings still have each other.
