A few days later the arena is packed with thousands of people after massive promotion material was spread throughout the capital detailing the matchup between the returning Vannix and the half demon newcomer Laura.
"Um Roderick."
"Yeah Laura?"
"I thought you said this was just going to be like the weekly matches you do?"
"It was until I put you and Vannix on the card."
The stadium is just as packed as it was during the battle of the top tournament. The crowd is a mixture of nobles, merchants and commoners all eager to witness the upcoming battle.
"This is crazy."
"Like I've said before Laura you're something way too rare to miss out on. Every match you're a part of it going to bring in a sell out crowd. Everyone wants to watch the young demon girl go toe to toe with powerful fighters. You're an attraction Laura."
"Thank you?"
"You don't seem to happy about it."
"Well being paraded around like a circus animal doesn't exactly feel great."
"Yeah I know. But that's just the hand you've been dealt. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get this show started, remember your match is the main event so stay ready."
"Got it."
Roderick exits into the arena and begins thanking the crowd and introducing the fighters for the first match. As Laura is watching the first match someone pokes her cheek snapping her out of her concentration. She looks at the culprit and sees it's Eleonora.
"Hey Laura you're looking quite nervous. Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine."
Laura is lying through her teeth since she feels like a pile of nerves. She had resolved herself to fight against Anton because of a number of factors like how he'd never won and how his sister had been making life more difficult for her. But this guy Vannix was only out of the tournament because of an injury that prevented him from participating.
"You don't seem fine though."
"Maybe I'm just anxious."
"I can tell, this is your first serious fight against someone competent after all."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
Eleonora laughs. "I suppose no, nothing I say will make you feel less nervous. After all you gotta get over those nerves yourself if you're going to move up in the world. I'm going to go grab a seat what about you?"
"I'm going to stay here and watch the fights."
"Alright, good luck."
As Eleonora heads off Laura turns back to the arena and sees that the fight she was watching is over. A cheer erupts from the crowd as the victor walks out victorious with his fist raised high.
"So how was that miss demon?"
The guy who just won starts talking to Laura who bluntly states.
"Dunno, I wasn't watching."
The man gives Laura a disgusted look but continues walking away. Laura is now alone and can focus on the upcoming match. As she's watching she recalls her past month of training and starts to form tactics on how she or Eleonora would counter the moves each fighter is making in the match. She does this for every match until it's finally time for her fight. Before she walks out Avery grabs her shoulder.
"Good Luck." She says with a bright smile.
"Thanks."
Roderick stands in the middle of the arena with the sunset lit sky accompanying him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! This is the main event of the night! Are you ready?!"
The crowd erupts in a massive cheer.
"Then let's get this main event started."
Roderick strikes a cool pose in the middle of the arena and points at the gate on the opposite side.
"A few months ago he sustained a severe injury which kept him out of the battle of the top tournament, much to the dismay of many of his fans. But now Scarface Vannix has returned to the ring! Is he here to play nice? No! Is he here to put on a bad show? No. Is he here to decimate his opponents? Oh you bet he is. Now please welcome back SCARFACE VANNIX!!!!"
An explosion of cheers and screams fill the arena as Vannix walks to the center of the arena with his large sword on his shoulder. He glances over at Roderick who points towards Laura.
"And his opponent. A girl from a secluded village deep in the forest! After being thrown away by her fellow villagers she ended up here and she's not going to take shit from anyone. Is she going to have what it takes to defeat him? Only one way to find out!! Ladies and gentlemen please give it up for LAURA THE REJECT!!!!"
Laura approaches the center of the arena and looks at Vannix whose eyes are filled with hatred and spite. She then removes her hood revealing her horns. The crowd erupts again in excitement and wonder.
"Disgusting horns. They're an eyesore. But for some reason I just wanna pull them off and make them a trophy. How about it Reject?"
Vannix speaks in a condescending tone.
"If I'm being honest I hate my horns but just because you said that I like my horns a little bit more now."
She responds in kind.
"So while they're busy taking bets how about you tell me about how demons ruined your life. Maybe I'll spare some pity points for you Scarface."
Vannix frowns and growls at Laura's comment.
"You really think I care about your fucking pity points?"
"Not really, I believe they call what I said sarcasm."
"I'm gonna enjoy killing you."
He doesn't seem to notice that Laura is trying to make him mad in order to hide her nerves. After all the bets are taken Roderick stands in between the two and raises his hand.
"Ready? Fi-"
Laura notices that Vannix is already moving forward before Roderick finishes his sentence. He lunges at Laura who dodges. She then jumps back to gain distance.
"Whoa Vannix the match hasn't started yet. Get back in your corner now!" Roderick scolds Vannix as he tries to get him back into his own corner.
"Shut up Roderick, get out of my way!"
Roderick attempts to quell Vannix but he receives a hard punch to the gut in return.
"This isn't a match, it's a fight to the death."
"Death?" Roderick gasps holding his stomach.
"That's right, death! One of us isn't walking out of here alive! HAHAHAHAHA!"
Roderick gets back to his feet and glares at Vannix but he remains unfazed.
"Laura run! This match is over!"
Roderick lets out a raspy yell telling Laura to run but Laura stands there, not moving an inch.
"Laura what are you doing? Run!"
"Sorry Roderick but I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because every fiber of my being is telling me to respond in kind to Vannix's declaration that he'll kill me. I don't know how to explain it but, I feel so..." All of a sudden Laura appears right in front of Vannix. "...Excited!"
Vannix is taken aback at the speed of Laura but he attempts to slash Laura with his sword but Laura parries it with her claws and punches Vannix in the stomach causing him to vomit blood. The crowd is dead silent.
"I realized something. Before this match I was nervous about having to fight someone like you, someone who wanted to kill me but I realized those weren't nerves. It was my demon side telling me to respond in kind. The very fiber of my being was excited to be able to respond to that bloodlust. That's why I'm not going to run. I'm going to fight you, now get up."
Vannix's expression twists, a few days ago he had tripped this little girl and she responded to him like she wasn't scared at all and now she was standing over him in a complete reversal. Vannix raises his sword once more and charges Laura.
"DIEEEEEEEE!!!!"
Vannix screams at Laura but his slash is easily blocked by Laura's claws then in the next moment he feels a sharp pain in his right leg. He looks down and sees Laura's claw buried deep into his thigh. It pierced through his armor and flesh in a single moment. He falls to one knee.
"Ugh, damn you Re-Reject."
Laura slowly twists and pulls her claw from his leg and it leaves behind a trail of blood.
Vannix still had his sword in a guarding posture even while only being supported by one leg.
"Are you done yet Vannix?"
Laura seeing Vannix's sorry condition asks him if he would like to give up.
"I said this would be a duel to the death didn't I? I'm not going to stop until one of us is dead!
Vannix gets back to his feet while hopping on his left leg. He takes a stance with his sword at the ready.
Laura slowly approaches Vannix who doesn't move an inch. As soon as she gets within his range he takes a big swing with his sword but Laura blocks it effortlessly. Then Laura stabs his other leg with her claws causing him to falls to his knees. Even so while on both his knees he takes another swing at Laura but this time she swipes her claws up causing Vannix's sword and hand to go flying.
Vannix cries out in pain as he clutches his missing hand. Laura stares at Vannix with a look of pure hatred.
"You said this match would be over when one of us dies right?"
Vannix sense Laura's intention and tries to crawl away but Laura grabs the back of his armor to stop him.
"Where'd all that confidence go? Now you're scared aren't you? Funny how that works."
Laura slams Vannix's head into the stone floor of the arena causing him to blackout. She turns him over onto his back and aims her claws at his throat.
"Now... die."
The arena is silent that you can hear the blood dripping on the stone floor of the arena but not Vannix's blood. It's Laura's blood. Using her left hand she dug her claws into her right hand to stop herself from killing him. Her heart races; her entire body is shaking. She regains her sense because of the pain and realizes what she was about to do.
"Th-The winner is Laura!"
The crowd remains silent. Laura had just squashed Vannix; someone who could be top 10 in the colosseums ranking system. They weren't expecting this kind of one sided beatdown.
*clap* *clap*
A small clapping sound reverberates throughout the silent arena. Laura looks to the seating for fighters and see Eleonora clapping for her. She then looks to the gate where she entered and sees Avery doing the same. Gradually the spectators in the arena start clapping one by one but Laura drowns all of it out.
"I was about to kill someone."
A few days later the arena is packed with thousands of people after massive promotion material was spread throughout the capital detailing the matchup between the returning Vannix and the half demon newcomer Laura.
"Um Roderick."
"Yeah Laura?"
"I thought you said this was just going to be like the weekly matches you do?"
"It was until I put you and Vannix on the card."
The stadium is just as packed as it was during the battle of the top tournament. The crowd is a mixture of nobles, merchants and commoners all eager to witness the upcoming battle.
"This is crazy."
"Like I've said before Laura you're something way too rare to miss out on. Every match you're a part of it going to bring in a sell out crowd. Everyone wants to watch the young demon girl go toe to toe with powerful fighters. You're an attraction Laura."
"Thank you?"
"You don't seem to happy about it."
"Well being paraded around like a circus animal doesn't exactly feel great."
"Yeah I know. But that's just the hand you've been dealt. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get this show started, remember your match is the main event so stay ready."
"Got it."
Roderick exits into the arena and begins thanking the crowd and introducing the fighters for the first match. As Laura is watching the first match someone pokes her cheek snapping her out of her concentration. She looks at the culprit and sees it's Eleonora.
"Hey Laura you're looking quite nervous. Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine."
Laura is lying through her teeth since she feels like a pile of nerves. She had resolved herself to fight against Anton because of a number of factors like how he'd never won and how his sister had been making life more difficult for her. But this guy Vannix was only out of the tournament because of an injury that prevented him from participating.
"You don't seem fine though."
"Maybe I'm just anxious."
"I can tell, this is your first serious fight against someone competent after all."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
Eleonora laughs. "I suppose no, nothing I say will make you feel less nervous. After all you gotta get over those nerves yourself if you're going to move up in the world. I'm going to go grab a seat what about you?"
"I'm going to stay here and watch the fights."
"Alright, good luck."
As Eleonora heads off Laura turns back to the arena and sees that the fight she was watching is over. A cheer erupts from the crowd as the victor walks out victorious with his fist raised high.
"So how was that miss demon?"
The guy who just won starts talking to Laura who bluntly states.
"Dunno, I wasn't watching."
The man gives Laura a disgusted look but continues walking away. Laura is now alone and can focus on the upcoming match. As she's watching she recalls her past month of training and starts to form tactics on how she or Eleonora would counter the moves each fighter is making in the match. She does this for every match until it's finally time for her fight. Before she walks out Avery grabs her shoulder.
"Good Luck." She says with a bright smile.
"Thanks."
Roderick stands in the middle of the arena with the sunset lit sky accompanying him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! This is the main event of the night! Are you ready?!"
The crowd erupts in a massive cheer.
"Then let's get this main event started."
Roderick strikes a cool pose in the middle of the arena and points at the gate on the opposite side.
"A few months ago he sustained a severe injury which kept him out of the battle of the top tournament, much to the dismay of many of his fans. But now Scarface Vannix has returned to the ring! Is he here to play nice? No! Is he here to put on a bad show? No. Is he here to decimate his opponents? Oh you bet he is. Now please welcome back SCARFACE VANNIX!!!!"
An explosion of cheers and screams fill the arena as Vannix walks to the center of the arena with his large sword on his shoulder. He glances over at Roderick who points towards Laura.
"And his opponent. A girl from a secluded village deep in the forest! After being thrown away by her fellow villagers she ended up here and she's not going to take shit from anyone. Is she going to have what it takes to defeat him? Only one way to find out!! Ladies and gentlemen please give it up for LAURA THE REJECT!!!!"
Laura approaches the center of the arena and looks at Vannix whose eyes are filled with hatred and spite. She then removes her hood revealing her horns. The crowd erupts again in excitement and wonder.
"Disgusting horns. They're an eyesore. But for some reason I just wanna pull them off and make them a trophy. How about it Reject?"
Vannix speaks in a condescending tone.
"If I'm being honest I hate my horns but just because you said that I like my horns a little bit more now."
She responds in kind.
"So while they're busy taking bets how about you tell me about how demons ruined your life. Maybe I'll spare some pity points for you Scarface."
Vannix frowns and growls at Laura's comment.
"You really think I care about your fucking pity points?"
"Not really, I believe they call what I said sarcasm."
"I'm gonna enjoy killing you."
He doesn't seem to notice that Laura is trying to make him mad in order to hide her nerves. After all the bets are taken Roderick stands in between the two and raises his hand.
"Ready? Fi-"
Laura notices that Vannix is already moving forward before Roderick finishes his sentence. He lunges at Laura who dodges. She then jumps back to gain distance.
"Whoa Vannix the match hasn't started yet. Get back in your corner now!" Roderick scolds Vannix as he tries to get him back into his own corner.
"Shut up Roderick, get out of my way!"
Roderick attempts to quell Vannix but he receives a hard punch to the gut in return.
"This isn't a match, it's a fight to the death."
"Death?" Roderick gasps holding his stomach.
"That's right, death! One of us isn't walking out of here alive! HAHAHAHAHA!"
Roderick gets back to his feet and glares at Vannix but he remains unfazed.
"Laura run! This match is over!"
Roderick lets out a raspy yell telling Laura to run but Laura stands there, not moving an inch.
"Laura what are you doing? Run!"
"Sorry Roderick but I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because every fiber of my being is telling me to respond in kind to Vannix's declaration that he'll kill me. I don't know how to explain it but, I feel so..." All of a sudden Laura appears right in front of Vannix. "...Excited!"
Vannix is taken aback at the speed of Laura but he attempts to slash Laura with his sword but Laura parries it with her claws and punches Vannix in the stomach causing him to vomit blood. The crowd is dead silent.
"I realized something. Before this match I was nervous about having to fight someone like you, someone who wanted to kill me but I realized those weren't nerves. It was my demon side telling me to respond in kind. The very fiber of my being was excited to be able to respond to that bloodlust. That's why I'm not going to run. I'm going to fight you, now get up."
Vannix's expression twists, a few days ago he had tripped this little girl and she responded to him like she wasn't scared at all and now she was standing over him in a complete reversal. Vannix raises his sword once more and charges Laura.
"DIEEEEEEEE!!!!"
Vannix screams at Laura but his slash is easily blocked by Laura's claws then in the next moment he feels a sharp pain in his right leg. He looks down and sees Laura's claw buried deep into his thigh. It pierced through his armor and flesh in a single moment. He falls to one knee.
"Ugh, damn you Re-Reject."
Laura slowly twists and pulls her claw from his leg and it leaves behind a trail of blood.
Vannix still had his sword in a guarding posture even while only being supported by one leg.
"Are you done yet Vannix?"
Laura seeing Vannix's sorry condition asks him if he would like to give up.
"I said this would be a duel to the death didn't I? I'm not going to stop until one of us is dead!
Vannix gets back to his feet while hopping on his left leg. He takes a stance with his sword at the ready.
Laura slowly approaches Vannix who doesn't move an inch. As soon as she gets within his range he takes a big swing with his sword but Laura blocks it effortlessly. Then Laura stabs his other leg with her claws causing him to falls to his knees. Even so while on both his knees he takes another swing at Laura but this time she swipes her claws up causing Vannix's sword and hand to go flying.
Vannix cries out in pain as he clutches his missing hand. Laura stares at Vannix with a look of pure hatred.
"You said this match would be over when one of us dies right?"
Vannix sense Laura's intention and tries to crawl away but Laura grabs the back of his armor to stop him.
"Where'd all that confidence go? Now you're scared aren't you? Funny how that works."
Laura slams Vannix's head into the stone floor of the arena causing him to blackout. She turns him over onto his back and aims her claws at his throat.
"Now... die."
The arena is silent that you can hear the blood dripping on the stone floor of the arena but not Vannix's blood. It's Laura's blood. Using her left hand she dug her claws into her right hand to stop herself from killing him. Her heart races; her entire body is shaking. She regains her sense because of the pain and realizes what she was about to do.
"Th-The winner is Laura!"
The crowd remains silent. Laura had just squashed Vannix; someone who could be top 10 in the colosseums ranking system. They weren't expecting this kind of one sided beatdown.
*clap* *clap*
A small clapping sound reverberates throughout the silent arena. Laura looks to the seating for fighters and see Eleonora clapping for her. She then looks to the gate where she entered and sees Avery doing the same. Gradually the spectators in the arena start clapping one by one but Laura drowns all of it out.
"I was about to kill someone."
