The day ends. With the semi finals and final matches tomorrow the remaining fighters quickly head to their quarters to rest up for the following day. Laura despite not participating is no exception with all the hectic events she encountered today being dragged around by Eleonora for some clothes or being caught up in two kidnapping incidents her energy has been sapped nearly dry.
She eventually finds herself lying on top of her bed staring at the ceiling. Her thoughts are elsewhere though.
"After the tournament is over Eleonora is going to train me." She says to herself. "I wonder what she's gonna teach me? What I should expect out of her."
She moves her hand in front of her face, she takes a good look at her claws which she used to slice a man's arm off earlier today. They give her a repulsive feeling in her heart. She laments how she doesn't feel anything toward the man who lost his arm. That feeling disgusts her to her very core.
"I want to learn how to control my strength. I'm afraid of myself."
She sighs.
"But how am I supposed to do that?"
You'll never be happy if you let those thoughts of negativity control you.
Eleonora's words from earlier today come to her.
"I've got to make myself stronger I've got to beat my own self-doubt. If I can do that then-"
Laura's consciousness fades and she drifts off to sleep mid sentence.
The next morning Laura wakes up, the sun is barely peeking over the horizon. It's the day of the finals. The day where the new number 1 will be decided. Looking out the window she sees the final day of the festival is already in full swing.
"It's really crowded this early in the morning. I guess it's because it's the last day..."
She goes to take a shower and after that gets dressed in her black mantle with a pair of clothes she bought yesterday. As she walks through the hallway she hears the sounds of cheering and laughter coming from up ahead. Laura makes her way towards it. When she reaches the end of the hall she finds the source of the noise.
There she sees Roderick conversing with the old man named Groel.
"Good luck today Groel. I hope everything goes well for ya."
Groel gives a small nod in return.
"Thank you Roderick."
Groel turns and walks away from Roderick stopping right when he notices Laura.
"Oh so this is the demon child I've heard so much about."
Laura stiffens at the sight of him but manages to keep her cool.
"Good luck in your match." Laura says as she tries to walk past him but he uses his staff to block the way.
"So you're the rumored demon girl huh?"
"You can call me Laura."
"Laura eh?" Groel looks her over like he's sizing her up. "To be honest when I heard a demon would be joining us I thought we were in for a heap of trouble, but now that I see you...well honestly I'm shocked."
"What do you mean?"
"Well you're not really much of a demon are you?"
"That's something I'm still trying to figure out."
Groel smiles at her. "I can count the amount of times I've encountered a demon on one hand. During my 94 years of life I've only ever seen 2 demons before you. Both of them were fearsome beasts who seemed ready to kill anyone in their way without hesitation. You give off a different aura from those two."
"What happened to the 2 demons you encountered before?"
"I killed both of them." Groel answers with a chuckle. "You don't seem like an ordinary demon to me."
"Well I am a half demon." Laura corrects him.
"Well that must be why then. Your human half is able to purify some of the mana you breathe in which is most likely why you are able to stay sane."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well when a person breathes they take in mana from the air and their bodies purify it and release it back out. Humans are able to use the purified mana as magic. When a demon breathes they take in the mana from the air but their bodies can't purify it so it stays stuck in their bodies and drives them mad. Those little horns on top your head are crystalized mana leaking out of your body. As you grow older your horns will grow too."
Laura touches the horns growing out of her head.
"That's pretty much all I know about demons though. They're a mystery, ancient beings created by the primordial demon that roam the world after his defeat for many decades." Groel moves his staff out of Laura's way. "A half demon huh? Even more mysteries."
He walks away and leaves Laura standing there looking at his receding figure.
"He's 94 years old?" Laura asks herself. "94, and he looks and moves like that?"
A few hours later Laura is seated back at the section for fighters to watch the matches with Eleonora and Raul on either side of her. The semi finals matches were Groel versus some guy named Harbinger, the other match was Royce versus a woman named Kana. Naturally Groel and Royce won their matches and advanced to the finals. After Royce's match in order to give both fighters time to prepare and rest, they were given a 2 hour break. With Harbinger and Kana fighting each other for 3rd and 4th place respectively an hour into the break.
"So Eleonora, what do you think of the two in the finals?" Raul asks Eleonora with a stiff expression.
Eleonora rolls her eyes. "They're both great fighters, but I have to say I'm rooting for Royce. He's a good kid and he's worked hard to get here."
"You sure you're not just holding a grudge?" Laura bluntly asks causing Eleonora to chop her on the head.
"Don't be rude! I'm not holding any grudge." Eleonora scowls at Laura.
Raul sighs and shakes his head. "Well I guess I'll root for Groel then since he's gonna win anyways."
"You think so?" Laura asks.
"Yeah I do, he's been untouchable so far and I doubt Royce has anything that old man hasn't seen before. Besides Groel's approach to fighting is a lot more calculated, he takes the smallest weakness of his opponent and exploits it to it's fullest potential."
"Oh really, and what weakness did he exploit from me?" Eleonora asks with confidence.
"Your arrogance and frustration that you were losing." Raul answers with a smirk.
Eleonora grabs his collar and stares at him.
"You know you're just proving him right, right?" Laura interjects.
"I know, but it's fun watching him get scared."
"Well I'm glad you found a hobby then." Laura laughs.
After a few minutes of bickering between the three Roderick strolls out into the center of the arena. The fans file back into their seats and the atmosphere becomes tense.
"Before we get started I would like to thank each and every one of you in the audience for coming out and watching the fighters give their all over these three days. So I want you to give yourselves a round of applause real quick."
The crowd applauds loudly for a few seconds before Roderick raises his hand to silence them, once they're quite again he speaks once more.
"Now let's get this show started!" Roderick exclaims excitedly as he confirms that both fighters are ready to enter the arena. Roderick points to his left causing all audience members to look that way.
"You know him as a crafty individual who burst onto the scene with a bang. Will his number 1 spot bid end here or will he achieve his goal. It's THE STRATEGIST ROYCE!!!"
The crowd cheers a magnificent cheer as Royce enters waving his hand to the audience members with a smile on his face.
"And his opponent, a man who has only lost once in his entire career aiming to take back the number 1 spot. Will he take his rightful place at the top or will he finally be sent crashing back down? It's GROEL THE VETERAN!"
Stepping out onto the arena with the sun at it's apex Groel removes his white cloak showing off his muscular physique. With his staff in hand he makes his way to the center.
"Gentlemen, you both have fought hard for this chance to take the number 1 spot. Let us see if you are worthy of it. Let the betting begin."
"So Laura who are you going to bet on?" Raul asks.
"I'm not gonna bet on this match."
"Why not?"
"Because I want to watch this match without any favoritism."
"Wow you're diligent aren't you?"
"Also because I lost money betting on Eleonora yesterday."
Suddenly Laura feels her head get grabbed from behind.
"You wanna say that again Laura?"
"Sorry."
After the betting is complete the two fighters take their stances.
"Ready? FIGHT!"
The day ends. With the semi finals and final matches tomorrow the remaining fighters quickly head to their quarters to rest up for the following day. Laura despite not participating is no exception with all the hectic events she encountered today being dragged around by Eleonora for some clothes or being caught up in two kidnapping incidents her energy has been sapped nearly dry.
She eventually finds herself lying on top of her bed staring at the ceiling. Her thoughts are elsewhere though.
"After the tournament is over Eleonora is going to train me." She says to herself. "I wonder what she's gonna teach me? What I should expect out of her."
She moves her hand in front of her face, she takes a good look at her claws which she used to slice a man's arm off earlier today. They give her a repulsive feeling in her heart. She laments how she doesn't feel anything toward the man who lost his arm. That feeling disgusts her to her very core.
"I want to learn how to control my strength. I'm afraid of myself."
She sighs.
"But how am I supposed to do that?"
You'll never be happy if you let those thoughts of negativity control you.
Eleonora's words from earlier today come to her.
"I've got to make myself stronger I've got to beat my own self-doubt. If I can do that then-"
Laura's consciousness fades and she drifts off to sleep mid sentence.
The next morning Laura wakes up, the sun is barely peeking over the horizon. It's the day of the finals. The day where the new number 1 will be decided. Looking out the window she sees the final day of the festival is already in full swing.
"It's really crowded this early in the morning. I guess it's because it's the last day..."
She goes to take a shower and after that gets dressed in her black mantle with a pair of clothes she bought yesterday. As she walks through the hallway she hears the sounds of cheering and laughter coming from up ahead. Laura makes her way towards it. When she reaches the end of the hall she finds the source of the noise.
There she sees Roderick conversing with the old man named Groel.
"Good luck today Groel. I hope everything goes well for ya."
Groel gives a small nod in return.
"Thank you Roderick."
Groel turns and walks away from Roderick stopping right when he notices Laura.
"Oh so this is the demon child I've heard so much about."
Laura stiffens at the sight of him but manages to keep her cool.
"Good luck in your match." Laura says as she tries to walk past him but he uses his staff to block the way.
"So you're the rumored demon girl huh?"
"You can call me Laura."
"Laura eh?" Groel looks her over like he's sizing her up. "To be honest when I heard a demon would be joining us I thought we were in for a heap of trouble, but now that I see you...well honestly I'm shocked."
"What do you mean?"
"Well you're not really much of a demon are you?"
"That's something I'm still trying to figure out."
Groel smiles at her. "I can count the amount of times I've encountered a demon on one hand. During my 94 years of life I've only ever seen 2 demons before you. Both of them were fearsome beasts who seemed ready to kill anyone in their way without hesitation. You give off a different aura from those two."
"What happened to the 2 demons you encountered before?"
"I killed both of them." Groel answers with a chuckle. "You don't seem like an ordinary demon to me."
"Well I am a half demon." Laura corrects him.
"Well that must be why then. Your human half is able to purify some of the mana you breathe in which is most likely why you are able to stay sane."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well when a person breathes they take in mana from the air and their bodies purify it and release it back out. Humans are able to use the purified mana as magic. When a demon breathes they take in the mana from the air but their bodies can't purify it so it stays stuck in their bodies and drives them mad. Those little horns on top your head are crystalized mana leaking out of your body. As you grow older your horns will grow too."
Laura touches the horns growing out of her head.
"That's pretty much all I know about demons though. They're a mystery, ancient beings created by the primordial demon that roam the world after his defeat for many decades." Groel moves his staff out of Laura's way. "A half demon huh? Even more mysteries."
He walks away and leaves Laura standing there looking at his receding figure.
"He's 94 years old?" Laura asks herself. "94, and he looks and moves like that?"
A few hours later Laura is seated back at the section for fighters to watch the matches with Eleonora and Raul on either side of her. The semi finals matches were Groel versus some guy named Harbinger, the other match was Royce versus a woman named Kana. Naturally Groel and Royce won their matches and advanced to the finals. After Royce's match in order to give both fighters time to prepare and rest, they were given a 2 hour break. With Harbinger and Kana fighting each other for 3rd and 4th place respectively an hour into the break.
"So Eleonora, what do you think of the two in the finals?" Raul asks Eleonora with a stiff expression.
Eleonora rolls her eyes. "They're both great fighters, but I have to say I'm rooting for Royce. He's a good kid and he's worked hard to get here."
"You sure you're not just holding a grudge?" Laura bluntly asks causing Eleonora to chop her on the head.
"Don't be rude! I'm not holding any grudge." Eleonora scowls at Laura.
Raul sighs and shakes his head. "Well I guess I'll root for Groel then since he's gonna win anyways."
"You think so?" Laura asks.
"Yeah I do, he's been untouchable so far and I doubt Royce has anything that old man hasn't seen before. Besides Groel's approach to fighting is a lot more calculated, he takes the smallest weakness of his opponent and exploits it to it's fullest potential."
"Oh really, and what weakness did he exploit from me?" Eleonora asks with confidence.
"Your arrogance and frustration that you were losing." Raul answers with a smirk.
Eleonora grabs his collar and stares at him.
"You know you're just proving him right, right?" Laura interjects.
"I know, but it's fun watching him get scared."
"Well I'm glad you found a hobby then." Laura laughs.
After a few minutes of bickering between the three Roderick strolls out into the center of the arena. The fans file back into their seats and the atmosphere becomes tense.
"Before we get started I would like to thank each and every one of you in the audience for coming out and watching the fighters give their all over these three days. So I want you to give yourselves a round of applause real quick."
The crowd applauds loudly for a few seconds before Roderick raises his hand to silence them, once they're quite again he speaks once more.
"Now let's get this show started!" Roderick exclaims excitedly as he confirms that both fighters are ready to enter the arena. Roderick points to his left causing all audience members to look that way.
"You know him as a crafty individual who burst onto the scene with a bang. Will his number 1 spot bid end here or will he achieve his goal. It's THE STRATEGIST ROYCE!!!"
The crowd cheers a magnificent cheer as Royce enters waving his hand to the audience members with a smile on his face.
"And his opponent, a man who has only lost once in his entire career aiming to take back the number 1 spot. Will he take his rightful place at the top or will he finally be sent crashing back down? It's GROEL THE VETERAN!"
Stepping out onto the arena with the sun at it's apex Groel removes his white cloak showing off his muscular physique. With his staff in hand he makes his way to the center.
"Gentlemen, you both have fought hard for this chance to take the number 1 spot. Let us see if you are worthy of it. Let the betting begin."
"So Laura who are you going to bet on?" Raul asks.
"I'm not gonna bet on this match."
"Why not?"
"Because I want to watch this match without any favoritism."
"Wow you're diligent aren't you?"
"Also because I lost money betting on Eleonora yesterday."
Suddenly Laura feels her head get grabbed from behind.
"You wanna say that again Laura?"
"Sorry."
After the betting is complete the two fighters take their stances.
"Ready? FIGHT!"
