"Hoh? You are from the Spire, are you not? I remember you!"

In response, the girl’s fluffy white tail started happily sweeping the ground behind her.

“Y-you really remember me?” she stuttered awkwardly. “I’m surprised you remembered s-someone like me...”

I was used to those becoming tongue-tied in my presence, but her stutter seemed like it did not stem from a fear of me, but in her naturally timid disposition. ‘Twas somewhat amusing, I thought.

“Of course I remember you! I remember you dealt me a wonderful blow to the back, allowing the Daughter of Gluttony the chance to strike and send me plummeting into the bowels of the Spire’s depths. ‘Twas you, was it not?”

“A-ah, no, it was, but— That was... B-big sis Mei-Mei called it a gun. It was her that gave it to me and t-told me what to do with it. I didn’t do anything...”

“Nonsense!” I grinned back at her. “A weapon is only as effective as its wielder’s ability to make use of it! ‘Twas an attack that caught me completely by surprise, if I recall. I was most impressed!”

The girl’s tail continued to sweep the floor even more.

It was just the two of us down there on the spacious lowest levels of the stadium, and yet she stood in the middle of my path towards the stairs. As if not wanting me to ascend them.

“Now!” I began. “I have grown bored of this place, so I feel ‘tis time I left it! Perhaps I shall turn this city into rubble as my beloved Gluttony did those twenty-four years ago! Gyahahaha!”

Strangely, the girl didn’t budge from my path, instead looking back at me with an oddly conflicted expression that was difficult to read. “H-how about we stay down here and t-talk instead...?”

“Hoh? Well, I do happen to be an excellent conversationalist! However, I’m of the belief that a conversation between the strong should be done with their bodies as opposed to their mouths! As one who survived the Spire and dealt me a most wonderful blow...” The grin on my face widened. “Would you still like to stay and talk?”

“...” The girl looked down at the floor in silence, twiddling her fingers together awkwardly. However, she still did not budge from my path. Although she remained silent, her answer was clear.

“Gyahaha! Very well!” I laughed. “Then let us talk!”

And so I lunged at her.

Closing the distance between us in a single bound, I raised my leg to kick at the small girl and then—

—I suddenly found myself staring out at the empty stairwell.

“Hm?” Lowering my leg again, I glanced around the room in puzzlement.

What was I doing? Who was I fighting? For whatever reason, I could not recall the interaction that had just taken place, nor even remember that the girl who I had only just attacked had ever even existed.

How amusing!

“Um...” The girl’s voice suddenly called from behind me, and all the memories of her I had forgotten came quickly flooding back into my mind.

Whipping around towards the source of the voice, I found her standing there, as if nothing had happened, awkwardly twiddling her thumbs together while looking down at the floor still.

“What's your f-favourite colour?" she asked. "Mine's p-purple...”

“Hmm...” Humouring the amusingly innocent question, I gave it a moment’s thought, before coming to a satisfactory answer. “Red! ‘Tis both the colour of battle, and of my beloved Gluttony’s eyes!”

And then I lunged at the girl once more. Quickly closing the distance—

“... Hm?” I soon found myself once again with my leg raised in the air, with no memory of what I was just doing, what I was talking about, and with whom I was even talking.

“Red is a p-pretty colour. Like your hair. I like it t-too...”

I span around to find the girl back at the stairwell once more, all of the missing memories of her suddenly flooding back into my mind.

How very amusing indeed!

For the next few hours, we continued in the same fashion. 'Twas like a game, where I would chase her around the room, and she would seemingly disappear and reappear again—from both my vision and my mind—while asking me whimsically meaningless questions.

“What’s your f-favourite animal? It’s hard to pick just one...”

“’Tis the slow loris! A most amusing beast indeed!”

“What is...? Ah, n-never mind...”

After a while of failing to land a single blow on the girl, I eventually came to a stop, taking a seat on the floor instead.

“Gyahaha! Very well! I concede!” I grinned across at her and slapped the empty space on the floor beside me. “As you wish, we shall talk with our mouths instead!”

Her tail began to wave furiously at her back, before suddenly coming to a stop.

“... This isn’t a t-trick, is it?” she asked, cautiously eyeing the spot I was gesturing for her to sit in.

“Hoh? ‘Tis smart to be cautious! However, I would not do something so underhanded. Though I admire all forms of strength—trickery included—‘tis not the kind of strength I strive towards.” I patted the spot on the floor once more. “You know, our game just now reminded me of a fight against another of the Seven. Would you like to hear about it?”

Nodding vigorously, she set aside all previous signs of caution and came to sit right beside me. Without fear or hesitation, she brushed her small body up to mine so that our legs were almost touching, the excitable sounds of her tail sweeping noisily at our backs.

This girl truly was amusing, and I quickly found myself growing rather fond of her. Not in a way that made me want to fight her to the death, but in an almost... familial way. A way that I hadn’t felt since... since I was a little girl, I suppose. All those millennia ago...

“Well!” I began, recounting my story. “’Twould have been eighteen years ago now. When I first encountered the Envy of this era. I have fought many an Envy to the death in my lifetime, but this one was by far the most amusing! Why? Because they are the only Envy I have ever lost against! Gyahahaha!”

The girl’s yellow eyes sparkled with keen interest as she listened on attentively.

“’Twas a fight that lasted for weeks on end,” I continued. “Without food or rest, we remained locked in mortal combat. The very landscape was torn asunder by our endless battle! Every tree reduced to splinters! Every rock and boulder ground to dust! The very mountains reduced to mere craters across the path of our destruction! But most amusing of all, in those weeks we spent in battle, neither of us had inflicted a single wound on the other!”

Titling her head to the side, the girl’s expression pleaded for me to continue.

“How, you may ask? Well... I could not touch them! And they would not strike back at me! You see, ‘twas a fight where I spent many a day and night trying to strike them, while they did nothing but evade! All of my attacks served only to damage our surroundings, and they would not return a single attack of their own! In the end, ‘twas my loss, and I was taken to the hundredth floor of the Spire where I was forced into that endless slumber.”

The wolfgirl tilted her head to the other side. “If they never hit you, h-how did you lose...?”

“Hm? Ah, ‘twas self-inflicted, you see. A knee to the jaw with enough force to render me unconscious.”

“... Huh? You kneed yourself in the jaw? And kn-knocked yourself out?”

“Well, I hadn’t intended to use as much force as I did. The tease of being endlessly edged along the height of my bloodlust without the satisfaction of dealing or being dealt a blow was too much for me to bear, and so, in an act of premature self-satisfaction... I knocked myself out, yes. In the end, ‘twas still my loss, brought about by my own weakness. There are no excuses in mortal combat, after all!”

“I—I see...”

Sitting side by side, me and the small wolfgirl spoke about many a topic, becoming lost in pointless yet oddly amusing conversation.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“So... Why are you d-down here?” she eventually asked. “Are you going to fight in the t-tournament too?”

“I am!” I replied. “I was brought along by another. She offered me an oni in exchange for lending her my strength to fight an opponent in the tournament that she deemed too strong for her to deal with alone. I’m curious to find out what kind of opponent this is! If even an oni was deemed not up to the challenge, they must be very strong indeed! Stronger than an oni even!”

“Stronger than an oni...” The girl sat in silent thought for a moment, before turning her pleading eyes back to mine. “C-can I ask you to drop out instead...?”

Her expression looked pained. As if deeply conflicted by my words.

“’Tis not possible.” I shook my head. “My apologies, little one. I know not the reason for your request, but no amount of pleading shall persuade me. Either I will slaughter the one who I was brought here to fight, or they will be the one to finally put me to rest. One of us will die in that arena, of that I am sure. ‘Tis inevitable.”

“But... why?”

“Gyahaha! Because I am Lust! Blood and battle is something my body yearns for! No, ‘tis something my very soul yearns for! And ‘tis my strong belief that one should stay true to one’s own self! Do you not agree?”

The girl looked back at me, seemingly in shock as she processed my words in silence.

And then she smiled.

“... Mm. I think that’s important too.”

‘Twas an odd reaction, I thought. A smile so pure. As if she had been waiting to be told such words from another for the longest time.

Perhaps she too yearned to see the city in flames by her own hand, but was disheartened by her diminutive frame.

Well, she was still young. She looked to still be a child. ‘Twould not take long for a wolfman like her to grow of age and acquire a more capable body. Unless, of course, she were half elf. Then I suppose it could still take many more years indeed!

Eventually, after a while of sitting in silence, her ears pricked up and she pointed her face towards the ceiling. I did the same.

“Ah... It sounds like the tournament is going to s-start soon...”

“Indeed it does!”

Standing up from the floor, she straightened out her dress before turning to face me.

“I n-need to go talk to my friend before the tournament begins...”

“Very well then! I shall not keep you!”

She hesitated for a moment, still standing directly before me.

“I won’t ask you to d-drop out anymore, but...” she continued. “Can you at least wait down here until it’s time for you to fight?”

I stood up from the floor as well, a wide grin spread across my face.

“Gyahaha! Only if you promise to join me once again and relieve me of my boredom!”

A smile broke out on her face and her tail wagged happily behind her. “Mm! I will!”

And then she left.

Now, for reasons I still do not know, all my memories of her disappeared in that moment, as well as the encounter I had just had with her. But, an odd feeling of contentedness still sat within me. 'Twas a feeling she had left me with. And so, for reasons I could not recall, I no longer felt the need to ascend the stairs. Instead patiently waiting below for Mistress Cinnamon to return.

Of course, the girl did come back. Many times, in fact. Not only did she come back, she chose to spend most of every day down there with me. Nights included.

Our time was spent with more idle conversation and more games where I would once again chase her around the room, and she would once again run from my every attack. 'Twas a most enjoyable experience!

During one such instance of our game...

“Gyahaha! You know, ‘twould have been an opportune moment for you to strike back just now!”

“... Huh?”

“When you ducked beneath my kick! ‘Twould have been a fine time for a counter!”

“I—I don’t really want to hurt you...” Trailing off, she looked down at her nails and gave her fingers a hesitant flex.

“Hoh?” I glared down at the reluctant girl with a wide grin on my face. “I am Lust of the Seven, you know? ‘Tis a title I’ve held for several millennia! To hold yourself back for such a trivial reason... ‘Twould be an insult to your opponent, don’t you think? Is that what you wish? To insult me?”

“N-no! Never!” The girl shook her head furiously in response.

“Gyahahaha!” I gestured her forward with a hand. “Then prove it to me!”

From that moment on, our games became a little different. In between evading my attacks, she would strike back at me, her little claws digging lightly into my exposed skin. As our game continued, I would give her tips to improve upon her technique, which she seemed to eagerly take to heart, quickly adapting them into our mock battle.

However, she was clearly still a novice at striking back, and many a strike from her left her own body open and exposed. Occasionally, one of my attacks would connect with her, sending her tiny body rolling across the floor.

“Ah, ‘twould have been better to step into the attack and not away from it that time. Do you still wish to continue, little one?”

“... M-mm! Again!” she would reply, enthusiastically crawling back to her feet.

“Gyahahaha! Very good!”

Although I had previously lectured her on rudely holding back during a fight, it seemed ‘twas me who was the rude one. It appeared I could not bring myself to fight her seriously. Not out of any disrespect, but I felt it would be a waste to stamp out such promising strength before it had a chance to reach its full potential. ‘Twas only just a game, after all.

For whatever reason, I found a certain forgotten memory bubbling up to the surface of my mind...

“Child of Lust...”

“... Huh?” the young wolfgirl paused at my words, putting a temporary halt to our game.

“Hm? Ah, forgive me. I was just reminded of another of the Seven. The Pride of this era. You know, your movements remind me of his quite a lot! Both your speed and agility too! ‘Tis a stark difference in aggressiveness that sets you apart though. Would you like to hear about my encounter with him? With Pride?”

The girl looked hesitant for a moment, before slowly nodding her head.

“Hmm... Well, ‘twas not that exciting an encounter, admittedly. ‘Twould have been... twenty or so years ago now. At the time, I was so distraught by the disappearance of Gluttony that I scoured the land in search of new strength. Unable to find one who could excite me as much as she did, I decided the only one who could do so was myself! And so I aimed to bear a child. I aimed to create a spawn of my own that would one day come to best me in mortal combat! A Child of Lust! And to do that, I had to seek out a male. A strong one, preferably. One of the Seven. That male ended up being Pride.”

As I recalled my story, the wolfgirl’s expression was difficult to interpret, but she nodded along attentively for me to continue anyway.

“’Twas a short fight. Though his movements were quick, he overestimated the strength of his own strikes and left his body exposed. ‘Twas over in a single kick. From there, I forced him to bear me with child, and then made my leave. Several months later, I eventually gave birth. ‘Twas a boy. A Son of Lust. I immediately sought out Pride once again and left the young babe in his care, hoping he would help it grow to defeat me one day. That was the last I saw of them both. ‘Twould have been shortly before my battle with Envy, you see. Before I was taken to the Spire. ‘Tis a memory I only just remembered now!”

“...” The wolfgirl seemed to disappear into deep thought for a moment, before turning back to me with a question. “D-do you think you might want to see them again? The child, I mean...?”

“Well, now that my beloved Gluttony has reappeared, I no longer have a need to!”

“I see...” The girl pouted, her fluffy white tail drooping low to the floor.

“However...” I continued. “Though I no longer have a need to, I am curious to see how strong the Son of Lust has become in all these years apart! Perhaps I shall pay them a visit after the tournament! Gyahahaha!”

“Mm!” she replied happily, perking back up again. “I think they would like that...”

And from there, my days continued much the same. The young girl would spend most of her time in mock battles against me, while occasionally Cinnamon would arrive as well, causing the girl to scamper and hide away until she left. Of course, I would also don my cloak a few more times and make fools of the knights above ground, giggling away as I amused myself with the silly facade of a little girl beneath.

The wound that the Demon Queen had dealt me back at the Spire still had not fully healed. In fact, it seemed to only worsen by the day, continuing to itch and ooze beneath my attire. But ‘twas a burning feeling that I had grown quite fond of. ‘Twas a symbol of my passionate encounter with my beloved Gluttony, after all. And though I would still occasionally vomit blood and bile, ‘twas of no concern to me. I had been in much worse conditions, after all!

As the tournament drew on above my head, Cinnamon came down to me one day, an expression of deep resolution on her face.

“It’s time,” she said simply, and gestured for me to follow.

With a wide grin, I ascended the stairs behind her, my muscles twitching in anticipation.

I could hear the cheers of the crowds as I made my way up. The excitement in the air. Thousand upon thousands of people, all here for one reason and one reason alone. To see blood! And so, I decided, blood they shall see!

Making my way through the interior of the stadium and into the tunnels that lead into the arena itself, I found an unexpected sight already waiting for me. ‘Twas just as Cinnamon had promised...

“Hoh...? This is... ‘Tis truly....”

Surrounded by the bodies of bloodied slaves scattered across the wide corridor, a hulking beast stood before me. Broken shackles and chains lay at its feet as it shovelled the torn limbs of its victims into its razor-edged maw.

‘Tis a beast I had not seen in over a thousand years, yet I could recognize it instantly. The blackened eyes, the crimson hair, the white horns... It truly was...

“Gyahahaha! An oni!” I laughed, immediately lunging at the beast.

As I did, it roared back at me violently, tossing the remains of its bloodied meal aside.

“I’ll be waiting on the field,” I heard Cinnamon say, as she continued through into the light beyond. “Don’t be late.”

And then she left, leaving me to indulge myself in combat.

The battle lasted a few short minutes, but it was a most satisfying one indeed, with each of us dealing many a satisfying blow.

As the bloodied, dying creature stumbled away into the light, I took a short moment to bask in the nostalgia of the fight that had just taken place.

“Gyahahaha! Truly wonderful indeed! Hm—?”

And that’s when I heard the crack of a whip, followed by the distant sound of Cinnamon’s voice.

“Kill them. All of them. And turn this entire city into rubble.”

A wide grin spread across my face—

“Hoh? It seems my fun is only just beginning.”

—And continued out into the sun, and into the arena.

...

Gazing across the field at the demon whom I met in the Spire, accompanied by the small wolfgirl I had come to know over these past few days, I can't help but let out an excited exclamation at the unexpected turn of events that led to this very moment.

“Truly wonderful!”