「What a disrespect, ladies and gentlemen! What a disrespect! This fight only goes to show how dangerous and high-level the competition is this time around!」
The announcer's voice echoes as a team of healers hauls the beaten young man onto a stretcher, and carries him out of the arena. Straf takes a different way back, going to the top level of the auditorium where the betting tables are. He collects his winnings.
「I'm back.」
Straf says as he walks down from the stairs next to Cycelia. He scoots past her and sits down.
「Ah, welcome back. Straf, did you go easy on that man?」
「Yup. Very easy. He'd be dead if I didn't.」
「I see…」
Cycelia nods slightly, with incredulity in her voice. The announcer reads his contestant list, then lifts his eyes up from it.
「Ladies and gentlemen, next bout is… Lloyd Smith! Versus! Roderick Thorn! Two unknown fighters, here to make a name for themselves! But only one will succeed!」
He speaks with his index finger out and raised. Two men enter the arena after staring each other down for a few minutes. Cycelia bet on Roderick, having had ascertained him as the stronger one.
Shortly after, the fight begins. Lloyd and Roderick charge at each other, then slow down just before they enter the striking distance. They try to circle around each other without much success, as one is trying to out-circle the other.
Finally, Lloyd gets impatient and steps in, swinging his sword wildly at Roderick. He misses, then jumps back. Roderick jumps in, thinking it to be his turn. He swings his sword in a haphazard flurry of blows.
Cling! Clang! Clang! Clink! Crrrrk!
Lloyd manages to block them all, eventually pushing Roderick away. This pattern of circling, attempting to strike and backing out while attacking in turns repeats a few times. The overall energy level of the audience is very low. Non-existent, even.
「Man, what a drag.」
Straf says, hunching over with his elbows on his legs and propping up his head up on his hands, as he stares down at the men flailing about. He glances at Cycelia, and although she watches attentively, the excitement in her eyes from before is gone.
「Well… There has to be someone weaker and someone stronger, right?」
She tries to justify the low combatants' poor skills and even poorer entertainment factor. Straf sighs and straightens out, then crosses his arms. The entire arena is almost completely silent. A few cycles of jumping in and out repeat with minimal variation, until both of the fighters are panting and sweating from exhaustion.
Then, Roderick manages to wrestle Lloyd down and step on his sword arm. He points his sword at his throat, and Lloyd reluctantly lets go of his weapon, raising his free hand up.
Gonnnnnnnnnnnggggg…
「Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner… Roderick Thorn wins, defeating Lloyd Smith after an arduous and even-matched battle.」
Roderick steps off his opponent, and lifts his sword in the air triumphantly. The fight has sucked out the enthusiasm from everybody - even from the announcer, as he declares the winner with a monotone voice and quick utterances. He clears his throat.
「Ahem. Can we have a round of applause and a cheer for our brave contestants!?」
The announcer makes a request, pointing his hands at the men below. Some of the spectators start clapping quietly and stop within seconds. A few people cough.
「Thank you, thank you! Our next fight is…」
The announcer forces out the last emergency scraps of energy into his voice, perhaps out of sheer professionalism and experience. He announces another fight. Cycelia once again bets on her projected winner, and once again wins.
However, the fight turned out to be almost an exact copy of the last one. As one of the flailing men snatched victory from his opponent, the announcer almost sighs after declaring the victor, but at the last second he manages to turn it into an inconspicuous throat clearing.
「They really let just about anyone in, huh?」
「…Tomorrow there should be really intense matches, though! And maybe the next one will be interesting!」
Cycelia rationalizes the dull fight, but the boredom on her face is cracking through despite her bet winnings. Her hopes of an interesting match are shattered by the next one, as the fighters yet again flail their weapons at each other wildly in hopes of hitting something.
Eventually, one of them gets lightly injured, and immediately surrenders. This, and the random variations of elements from previous matches repeat for 4 more bouts.
「Lia… Don't tell me you're actually enjoying this. Watching paint dry would probably be more fun.」
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「…It is getting a little old.」
Gonnnnnnnnnnnnng…
Cycelia admits with pursed lips. The announcer declares the winner, then looks at his list again.
「Ladies and gentlemen… Next fight is… Oh.」
The announcer speaks with palpable boredom in his voice, until he reads the names, that is. His voice regains genuine vigor.
「Well ladies and gentlemen, you are going to like this one! Wulf the Northerner! Versus!…」
He squints as he reads the name of the second fighter.
「Sturm? Is that a name or- Doesn't matter! Wulf the Northerner versus Sturm! Some of you may recognize the name. Wulf has come to us from the frozen north, where he is also known as a notorious brigand and manslayer!」
The audience claps, some cheer quietly in hopes of finally witnessing a good match. Straf gets up and shuffles past Cycelia.
「Be right back.」
「Huh? Where are you going, Straf?」
「I need to take a shit.」
「Huh- Now!? But the fight is about to-」
She points at the arena. A long-haired man wielding a massive two-handed sword, and wearing only hide pants enters the bloodied battleground below.
「Hey, what can I do? When the latrine calls, it'd be rude to everyone around to put it on hold!」
Straf shrugs, lifting his hands up as high as his shoulders as he walks up the stairs.
「Are you sure you're going the right way, Straf?」
Cycelia shouts a question as he's walking away, but Straf either doesn't hear or ignores her. The announcer points to the topless man covered in scars from bites, slashes and stabs of all shapes and sizes.
「Ladies and gentlemen, please give the man of the cold a warm welcome! Wulf is supposedly keeping his nose clean around these parts!」
The audience cheers and claps. Cycelia joins in on the clapping. Partially to not be left out, and partially to not be the odd one out. The Northerner waits alone in the arena for quite some time.
「The bets will be closing momentarily, but we are still awaiting contestant Sturm! Contestant Sturm, you will be considered disqualified if you fail to appear in a timely fashion!」
The announcer warns. Shortly after, a wolf-masked man covered in a dark green hooded cloak appears from the entrance opposite of Wulf. This seems to amuse the Northerner, as he gains a slight smirk. Cycelia rubs her lips with her thumb as she thinks and appraises the fighters below.
《Hmmm… That Wulf man looks very tough, but…》
She focuses on the man in the cloak. He walks with his sword out and angled downward, the tip barely sticking out from beneath his green cloak. She can't make much out of his body shape, stance, or whether the man really is a man after all. The cloak simply obscures his form too much, and Cycelia struggles to make her judgement.
《This is the first time I don't know who might be stronger… The Northman seems like an obvious choice… But that was true for the first fight too… Hmmm…》
「And there he is! Contestant Sturm! Is it his name!? Is it his nickname!? Is it his false identity!? Why is he hiding his face!? And why a wolf mask!?」
The announcer points his hand at Sturm as he enters. Sturm stops and stares at Wulf.
「So many questions! And the irony! As some of you may know, wulf means wolf in the Northerners' language! Contestant Wulf seems to find it risible, that he's about to fight another wulf, this far from home!」
The announcer explains, now pointing both of his hands at the wolves below as they stare each other down. Wulf the Northman adjusts his grip on his two-handed sword, holding the blade flat against his shoulder. Sturm stands still like a statue.
「Combatants, prepare yourselves! Wulf the Northerner! Versus! Sturm! Ready…」
《Ahh! This is too hard! I'll just see who wins and then decide who to bet on tomorrow! Why is Straf taking so long!? He's going to miss the fight!》
Cycelia once again subconsciously rocks back and forth in her seat as the announcer lifts his arms…