I spit out a mouthful of blood. My scythe is on the other side of the room. Again. “Come on, I ain't got all day,” I growl through clenched teeth. It was half way through day two of the three days. My nine Death Dealers look at each other with concern. They have been beating me black and blue for the past eighteen hours with no breaks besides water and restroom breaks.

Cloud hefts his giant sword and sighs before rushing me. I close my eyes and take a deep breath in. I widen my stance, raise my arms up, my hands open and palms down. I can feel the bones in my left arm being knitted back together by the nanobots. I open my eyes as the sword comes down. I side step the strike, block another from Zeke. Push Tifa into Shade, forcing him to drop his weapon to prevent from skewering her with his pike. I kick Cloud's knee, immobilizing him momentarily by breaking it. Scatty and I trade three blows before I kick her square in the chest and send her flying back several yards.

Phobos slashes his swords at me, I dodge one and I twist when I see the other coming behind the first so that instead of getting fully stabbed in the stomach, he only pierces the very edge between my hip bone and the bottom of my ribs. Now I'm too close for his long swords to be of use. He drops his swords and goes for a pair of daggers, I catch his wrists and break both simultaneously. His eyes widen when he feels my right foot land on top of his left knee. I use Phobos as a springboard. He falls back, unconscious from being kicked in the jaw by me.

I land and look at the last three Dealers. These three are the newest ones, ones I never worked with until now. “Come on Merlin, Callahan, Seareth.” My arm is fully repaired now, I point at them and beckon them on. The rest of the Dealers know they've been defeated this bout and stay back and tend to their wounds. Cloud grunts in pain after Scatty resets his knee so it can heal correctly.

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Merlin is fast, he leads the charge with twin daggers. Callahan follows up with a pair of sai. Seareth stays back a ways, being able to do so with a quarterstaff. I stand in place and just dodge Merlin's and Callahan's attacks.

Mistress Nyx and Lilith walk in as this is happening. Lilith shakes her head and heads over to check on the injured. Nyx calls out, “Stop playing with your food and finish it. You won't get any faster by sparring with those three.”

I scowl and kick out Merlin's legs from under him, punch Callahan in the stomach. Then I leap at Seareth, who manages to actually hit me in the head with the quarterstaff. It doesn't stop me from tackling her to the ground and straddling her chest. I pin her arms to her side with my legs. “If you wanted to actually stop me, Seareth. You should have put more force behind that strike.” I stand up and offer her my hand. “I know you three don't have the anger and feeling of betrayal the other six have, but to fight me, you need ferocity.” Seareth takes my hand and I pull her to her feet.

Seraph’s three loyal Death Dealers walk into the sparring room, “Marethyu, we challenge you to a spar.” The room freezes, we were not alone in the room as it was a massive room in the complex but the challenge was clearly heard by everyone present.

I raise an eyebrow and give Nyx a questioning look. She nods in approval. “Mistress Nyx, what are the rules and regulations regarding death in spars? I know broken bones are permitted, but I don't remember anything about killing in a training spar.”

“Accidental death is frowned upon, so avoid killing them. Maiming is allowed along with the broken bones and breaking their will,” Nyx looks at me. “As your mistress and mentor, I am telling you to break their will. Remind them of who you are.”

Everyone, about a hundred of them, in the room line the edges of the room in anticipation of the 3v1 sparring match.

I grin, “I'm fired up now.”