When the light withdrew, a different scene emerged. Schwarz was far away from Fuchsia, laying motionlessly on the ground. The boy was unharmed, though he got scared for a moment.

“Thank you, Roseus,” he turned to look at the fairy on his shoulder.

She lay on his shoulder plate, faint smoke escaping his body. Fuchsia’s poked her with his finger, to which she responded with a loud snore. He poked her again to wake up, but after grumbling something half-intelligible, she fell back into the world of dreams.

Roseus spent all her mana on a defensive spell that cost all her energy.

The battle turned into a two-on-one, but Fuchsia still boasted a self-assured smile.

“Looks like I’ll get all the joy of kicking your asses! Now that I don’t need to watch out for my partner, I don’t have to hold back my attacks. Prepare for some recklessness!”

The corpse stood up on her feet without moving a muscle, it appeared as though she was weightless. The worm in her chest disappeared as it withdrew from fear of the bright light. She noticed it and knocked on her ribs to invite it outside, but it refused.

The boy snickered, then spun the censer twice before launching it at the corpse. Like before, she responded quickly by lowering her stance to get below the weapon’s path, but Fuchsia expected this move.

“You travelled through the shadow cast by my weapon to get in range with that freaky thing inside you. Sneaky, but I’m sneakier!”

While she awaited the censer, Fuchsia lowered his other hand and silently cast a spell. Pink light enveloped his palm and took the shape of a rose’s head. As soon as it manifested into existence, the flower shot through the air, drawing a spiky stem in its path.

Before the censer would have got within range of the corpse, Fuchsia withdrew the chains and shouted to activate his spell.

“Pink Essence: Mega Bloom!”

The rose grew to an incredible size, engulfing Schwarz in its petals and closing in to block her escape.

The huge ball of rose connected to Fuchsia’s palm. He placed his other hand on the stem and, putting all his weight into it turned, raised the gigantic flower off the ground, spinning it around. He was not weak by any means, and though the trap was heavy, he managed to lift it off the ground in no time, achieving an incredible speed with spinning.

When the thing spun fast enough that he could barely hold onto the stem, he took a deep breath and entered phase two of his attack.

“Cease from this world!” he yelled, casting a different spell with his free hand. It opened a pink gateway in his palm and a sharp stained glass poked through it. Raising his hand high, he cast down with a precise swipe, freeing his other hand from the flower.

Tanuki watched in utter awe the two opponents’ performance. Trying to find logic and reason behind their decisions made him appreciate their creativity even more.

When he first learned warriors would compete for the right to invade his world, he expected mindless brutes who rely solely on strength. He was wrong. Though he knew it was unwise to admire a possible opponent, he could not help but feel excited about Fuchsia’s attack.

“Why is he cutting the stem?” he wondered as Fuchsia cast down the glass sticking out of his palm.

“To launch Schwarz into the wall,” Edgar answered, one eye peeking through between two fingers, “The rose will continue its path and bash into the stone wall. With that much force put on the monster within, her bones will break, if not shatter.”

“But the flower’s petals are as soft as pillows, wouldn’t they defend her?”

“Hmmm,” Edgar shrugged.

They watched in anticipation as the stained glass severed the stem, and their eyes snapped wide open when something unexpected happened.

Fuchsia knew the ball was soft and it would defend Schwarz upon hitting the wall. He also expected she would hide in the shadow cast by light shining through the opaque petals.

Those two attributes of the rose made it impossible for him to hurt Schwarz in a meaningful way, if in any way at all. He would have had to turn the plant into something else to solve these issues.

So, that was exactly what he did.

As he cast down the stained glass, he shouted to an invisible force.

“King of Fairies, grant me your strength!”

The stem severed and the wound left by the cut immediately welded with stained glass. Like an infection spreading through its veins, the stained glass travelled through the flower’s stem, turning it from plant to beautiful glasswork. Green turned into pink, but its rough appearance and thorns remained. The faces of fairy saints appeared along the stem, stretching through its material. The spell spread to the head of the rose and the large ball turned from petals into glass.

It was empty at first, but as the ball fully transformed into the transparent work, with the disappearance of shadows Schwarz popped back into the pink globe. As she returned, there was little place for her to squeeze into, and whatever passage she could fit was so narrow and so full of twists and turns that her back broke while trying to fit into it, the rotting flesh peeled back on the sharp glass, the worm screamed as it was squashed and stabbed from all directions.

As the ball was separated from his hand, it travelled the same path with an incredible speed, flying at the stone wall and bursting into ten thousand pieces as it bashed into it. Shards of glass flew through the arena and rained down on the battlefield as pink crystals. The sound of tinkling danced through the amphitheatre as the shards hit the ground like crystal snowflakes.

Tanuki and his companions would have been hit by the attack, but Kukusi raised a protective barrier around them and his servants. He appeared behind Tanuki without anyone noticing. He was the only one outside the protective barrier, as instead of defending himself with magic, he opened his umbrella.

The sombre look of displeasure sat on his face. Whatever went through his mind was not a thought of joy.

Below, in the haze of pink, Fuchsia’s form appeared. He was panting heavily, as the ball was heavy, and he put a lot of energy into invoking the fairy king’s power. The armour had grown a helmet made of the same material to defend against the rain. Once almost all the shards had fallen, the headwear retreated into the body armour’s mass, flowing down like some liquid to resolidify around and strengthen his chest plate. A single cut managed to hit him and evoke some blood on his face.

“Is it over?”

A heap of pink sat in front of him. He carefully approached it, searching for any signs of Schwarz. Shards cracked beneath his feet. Once close enough, he crouched down and began digging.

He could not find her, so he shifted his legs and tried a meter away. He dug through the glass and found Schwarz’s fingers. He threw them aside and continued his work.

The white pair of bones fell a few meters behind him. One slowly lifted from the ground as something appeared in its shadow. First, a hand came through it, missing two fingers, bite marks remaining in their stead. Then came an arm bending in three places and feet, or rather, her only in-tact foot. Broken legs. Shattered pelvis. An arm that ended in an exposed bone. And finally, a blind eye hanging from the remaining socket of a skull diagonally cut in half.

Tanuki watched in horror while Edgar jumped up from his seat and yelled out to Fuchsia.

“Watch out, little boy! She’s behind you! Kill her! Kill her before she does something! Kill that hideous monster!”

Unbeknownst to him, Kukusi did not lower the protective barrier around them. It served not only to defend them from debris but to make sure their voice could not be heard on the battlefield.

A faint smile curled up on the pig’s lips.

“I underestimated you, Deity of the Pink Rose. You were a formidable warrior who could live up to his words. Unfortunately, when all you got is one flashy move, you’ll find your candle blown out soon if your opponent survives. Schwarz may not have any grand attacks, but she gets the job done. Her ability is consistent, while yours can only be used once before you tire out. That’s why she is better than you. That’s why she will beat him.”

Schwarz shuffled her remains forward. The worm hung half-dead from her chest, bumping against her abdomen with every step. Still, she moved slowly enough not to make a sound. When close enough so he would have no time to react, she tapped the worm on its head, and it suddenly sprung alive for an opportunity attack.

As its sharp teeth would have bitten through his neck, Fuchsia swirled around and caught the worm in the chains of his censer.

“You fell for it, fool!”

The heavy metal entangled the creature. Fuchsia grabbed the handle of his weapon with both hands and jerked it as hard as he could. Schwarz tried to resist, but she was too weak and Fuchsia yoinked the worm out of her chest.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

It was disturbingly long, more than three meters. It twisted and turned crazy while trying to escape, but Fuchsia had a strong grip on its head. He hit the censer like a whip and bashed the worm into the ground, then quickly let go to attack its head. The monster was already weakened, so he easily squashed its face. The thing died immediately.

“That’s it for the strong one! Now then,” he turned to Schwarz.

The corpse was focused on the worm. She stared at its remains with her last remaining eyeball.

Fuchsia was confused at first, but quickly found a grin.

“What, you’re missing your pet already? Don’t worry, I’ll reunite you two soon enough!”

Schwarz shuffled to the worm, stumbling as her legs gave away. Still, she fought to stand back up. Fuchsia followed her right behind, mocking her with every fall.

“You need a hand?” he offered his, then quickly pulled away to fix his hair, “Dang, so sorry, but I know how beggars are these days! First, they ask for something, then a little more, and the next thing you know you’re the one begging them for cash! I can tell you’re in dire need of some charity, especially with intact bones, but you know, I don’t care! I bet you were ugly even before that thing ate you from the inside out. Just give up! Remain on the ground and I’ll make quick work of you.”

Schwarz leaned forward to grab the worm and raised its head. It was completely flattened, a mess of grey gore. She gently stroked its back, pulling out the large glass shards that penetrated its skin. She could manage a few, but the worm slipped from her hands. She did not go after it but simply stared at its remains.

Fuchsia stood a few feet away from her, the censer hanging from one hand, the other on his hips. His glaring white teeth lit up his grin.

“You ready to meet your maker?”

For the first time, Schwarz responded.

“So many steps, head from the heart to sever

If but a neck, soon should we be together:

I like the earth this season, mourn in black,

My Sun is gone so far in’s Zodiack,

Whom whilst I ’joy’d, nor storms, nor frosts I felt,

His warmth such frigid colds did cause to melt.

My chilled limbs now nummed lye forlorn;

Return, return sweet Sol from Capricorn;

In this dead time, alas, what can I more

Then view those fruits which through thy heat I bore?

Which sweet contentment yield me for a space,

True living Pictures of their Fathers face.

O strange effect! now thou art Southward gone,

I weary grow, the tedious day so long;

But when thou Northward to me shalt return,

I wish my Sun may never set, but burn

Within the Cancer of my glowing breast,

The welcome house of him my dearest guest.

Where ever, ever stay, and go not thence,

Till natures sad decree shall call thee hence;

Flesh of thy flesh, bone of thy bone,

I here, thou there, yet both but one.”

The arena was silent. None could speak a word as their mouth hung agape.

Time had frozen for a moment, then melted alive with Fuchsia’ wholehearted laugh.

“What was that? An elegy? Who even speaks like that, especially about a fucking worm? Are you insane––“

Schwarz turned around and slit Fuchsia’s throat. The boy stumbled a few feet back, holding onto his neck. He slowly let go to observe the damage. His palm was red from blood. The wound was deep.

He looked up at Schwarz. Her weapon was one of the glass shards she cleaned off the worm. It was as bloody as his hands.

Fuchsia gritted his teeth. He turned the blood from his neck into stained glass with a spell to stop the bleeding.

“You’ve fucked up big time, young lady,” he aspirated while spinning the censer.

Schwarz did not move. Though her eyes were blind, the hatred in her gaze was as clear as daylight.

“Die!” Fuchsia cast his censer.

Rage fuelled him with the power needed for a devastating attack. It also blinded him to reasonable thought.

Schwarz lowered her stance. As the many torches cast a shadow of the censer on her, she disappeared into them.

Fuchsia dropped the weapon and stepped back. Raising his palm, he sneered.

“Idiot! That’s one of the holy weapons bestowed on Fairy Guardians by the Fairy King himself! It’s a weapon directly attached to my soul! I can summon it on will, but also dematerialize it if need be! As soon as I recall it, that weapon turns into particles, and you are exposed! Got it? I will be standing on my feet while you’ll be squirming in the dust like a worm! I will be above you! I am above you! I am beauty manifest! With this beauty, I will erase you from this world!”

Raising his other hand, he channelled a spell. A pink ball of energy engulfed his fingers, crackling with lightning as he summoned all his mana for one final attack.

“Die you, worthless piece of shit!”

As the weapon turned into particles and the shadow cast by it disappeared, Fuchsia launched his final attack––but stopped himself once he realised, Schwarz was not there.

He stepped away and jerked his head from left to right. He did not let go of his spell, but his focus dimmed as his heart rate grew.

Roseus flew out from under the armour. She made sure to keep at least half her spirit form to cast light around herself in case she would be attacked. Like before, a frustrated frown took her brows.

“You woke me up, again! And let me ask, why are you screaming about superiority? Do you know how insane you sound?”

Fuchsia did not answer her but mumbled something in fear while turning around.

Roseus grew angrier. “Oy!” she called out to him, but realising the fear in his eyes, she was too confused to continue berating him. “Hello? What’s wrong?”

“It disappeared! The corpse disappeared!”

“You idiot! Did you attack her without thinking?”

“She was trapped in the weapon’s shadow… I let go and had it dematerialised, but she was not there… where did she go… where is she…”

“Maybe she got into your shadow. Here, let me burn her away,” Roseus said and channelled her own spell. Pink light engulfed Fuchsia’s armour, erasing all shadows around him.

Still, there was no sign of Schwarz.

Fuchsia noticed the glass from the corpse’s hand was gone and screamed.

“It’s gone! She took it! She took the shard with her!”

“Shut up!” Roseus yelled, “You’re going to wound your heart if you don’t calm yourself…”

She recoiled. Something was wrong. She felt another presence, which was to be expected, but its whereabouts shook her to her core.

Her anger dissipated into nothingness. Her face bore no emotions. She froze down. Throughout her life, she had never been in a situation like this before.

She felt many things for Fuchsia. He had a lot of potential, but besides that, the boy had grown on her. She was hesitant to explore these feelings in greater depth for fear of there being something more than sisterly love.

“Roseus?” Fuchsia called out to her when he saw her empty gaze.

The fairy could not look him in the eye. She could do one thing for him, but her heart was too afraid to make that sacrifice. She would let him down either way and to be the one to do it would stain her heart forever. So would not doing it, but at that moment, she was too afraid to do the right thing and kill him herself.

After he called out to her again, Roseus turned into spirit form and flew away.

“Hey, Roseus! Where are you going? Don’t leave me here! Please! Don’t leave me…”

He stumbled forward as something pushed him. He felt something come up his throat and he got to his knees to throw up. Blood spat forth from his mouth.

“What? What is happening? Roseus?” he cried in utter terror that turned into screaming as he felt something pierce his guts. That sharp pain travelled up to his stomach and he felt something collapse inside him. He bellowed in agony as a pushing force bloated his stomach and pushed his intestines against his armour. The pain travelled up to the lungs and he felt blood fill them. He could not breathe, only vomit more blood. Finally, he collapsed from shock as the large shard of glass found its way to his heart and burst through it.

The battle was over.

Later, staff found the corpse of Schwarz dead in his remains. His insides were whisked into a bloody tar that she made. A passing rumour had it that Schwarz’s true corpse bore a smile when they unearthed her.

Both contestants died, which was a first for an appetiser round. Still, the stars shone brightly above the arena as a hundred onlookers clapped in amusement.

Roseus was seen in spirit form floating above before disappearing. No one knew where she went, only that she had left this realm.

Tanuki and his friends were informed only after both corpses were removed that both contestants died. From their perspective, Fuchsia won the fight with the weapon’s dematerialisation, and after that, they thought he collapsed from exhaustion. When asked how he died, Kukusi refused to answer.

“Where are they taking him?” Tanuki asked while watching two small pig-people carry Fuchsia’s coated remains through a portal.

Kukusi adjusted his monocle. “The Fairy Guardians are sponsored by the Garden Witch. In return for monetary support, they sell away some of their rights. One of them is the right of burial. The Garden Witch will be granted his remains.”

The portal closed after the two piglings went through. Kukusi reequipped his showmanship attitude and returned to the arena to hype up the next fight. Only three contestants remained, which meant only two more fights. However, due to his charisma, he successfully managed to sell it as a positive.

Tanuki felt troubled. He tried to digest what happened, but it was hard, especially because he did not even realise what he admiring for minutes was not a triumphing champion but the corpse of a young boy. It shocked not only him but Edgar too. He remained silent for the rest of the evening, only speaking a few words here and there.

But in the end, Fuchsia’s death did not matter in the grand scheme of things. After all, Kukusi said it best.

“The show must go on.”

Somewhere in the backstage area of preparing fighters, a pig ran through with a silver plate in his paws. The cooked head of a pig sat atop it; a red apple stuffed in its mouth. The servant ran into a well-decorated room that bathed in the haze of exotic candles.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!” the servant bowed rapidly after placing the plate on the table.

Ahead of him, a green creature observed herself in the mirror. She was twice as tall as the pigs, but next to an average human, she would still have had a hard time reaching up to their hips. Straight black hair ran from her head down on her curvaceous body like a midnight waterfall, she tied it into a large bun above her nape. Two belts fastened around her chest and hips, casting thin clothes to hide her private parts.

She dipped her fingers into blue paint and smeared it across her forehead. Her sky-blue eyes met the scared servant’s in the mirror’s reflection.

“First, you mess up my order, then you return late. But worst of all, you bother me while I’m trying to apply my battle paint.” She kicked the wall and turned to him with the chair. “Now tell me, is it only goblins who know how to treat guests with proper respect? Should I share my knowledge with your court or is it only you who thinks a gobbo’ would find this treatment reasonable?”

“Yes, Ma’am! I mean… No, Ma’am! Or… Yes! No!” the servant stammered until he finally accepted his fate. He closed his eyes to prepare for death. “I’m sorry, Miss Soup!”

The goblin jumped off the tall seat and walked up to the pig. For a few seconds, the deafening silence was only broken by the pig’s occasional whimpers.

Then, she finally moved.

“You are so cute when you’re afraid!” she hugged the pig with incredible force, raising him off the ground and rubbing her face into his belly, “Are all pigs as cute as you? I want to eat you! You are so cute, I want to devour you! Yes, can I buy you? I’ll treat you well, I promise! Pleaaase~!”

The pig’s back nearly broke from her incredible strength. He could not breathe and stood on the brink of passing out. Fortunately, she let go of him before that, and the pig could flee squealing.

Kukusi’s voice boomed through the halls as he announced the next match. Soup heard it and a grin grew from her smile. She quickly rubbed on some more paint to be adjusted on the way there, then grabbed her stuff and ran.

Before she would have left the room, she turned around one last time and masked her excitement with a serious voice.

“You know what happens if you leave this room. If you don’t want to lose a tooth or two, I recommend you keep your ass hidden.”

A wooden chest in the corner of the room jumped a little as a happy little voice spoke from within.

“No worriez! Maduka iz one sneaky gobbo!”

“Good.”

Soup locked the door behind her and ran. She took the head of the pig, and half a minute later, it was all gone.

The arena gate came into her sight at the end of a long corridor. The servants tried to stop her, telling her that Kukusi wanted to make her appearance formal and that she needed to remain until told otherwise. She shoved them out of the way and ran for the gate with childlike excitement.

“It’s about to get a lot more interesting!”