The next day, after some more training, Rieren did indeed head over to the stands to observe Amalyse’s match. She was a little late. By the time the noise had started blaring out of the arena, Rieren realized she had lost track of time and had arrived while the match was already underway.

Whispers of “Destroyer!” followed her as she pushed her through the crowd of the monsters to take a spot at the head of the stands. Had Amalyse tried to find her before her match had begun? She would have been disappointed to not see Rieren clearly visible.

It brought up a tinge of guilt, but the hollow nothingness within was still far greater. Maybe Amalyse had a point in worrying about Rieren’s condition.

At least the match was going well for her friend. Her confidence hadn’t been misplaced. She was soundly lording over her opponent with a combination of her Domain, her fiery Aspect, and the skill that let her summon nearly any crimson weapon she could think up.

“I am betting on the red one to win, Destroyer,” the Darkstalker said.

Rieren smiled. “That would have been my bet as well.”

“I fail to fathom how her opponent has managed to survive to this point in the tournament.”

No wonder. Rieren was forced to consider the same as well. The easterner attempted to use some sort of windy Domain, manifesting as a tornado around him. It looked powerful. But that could be said for most Domains. It all came down to how the Domain itself was utilized, and this cultivator clearly hadn’t mastered any surprising techniques to trouble Amalyse.

Alongside weapons, Amalyse had manifested red armour as well. A glowing scarlet breastplate, gambeson, greaves, gauntlets, and even a helmet. All of which were protecting her from the gust. Even when the wind whipped into scythe-like blades, Amalyse wasn’t harmed. Her armour was more than strong enough to deal with it.

In return, she rushed her opponent down with a red greatsword that was as tall as she was. Her opponent attempted to protect himself with a thick, wooden staff. It didn’t work.

A few minutes later, Amalyse stood as the victor.

“There you have it, folks!” the announcer yelled. “Our winner of the second bout is Amalyse Arraihos!”

The crowd cheered loudly. It looked like they appreciated the variety. After the close, thrilling contest of yesterday, they appreciated that they had received a shorter but still exhilarating matchup.

Amalyse raised her hand like a champion. She nodded at the dignitaries’ stands, before turning around. Rieren smiled as her friend’s gaze landed where the monsters were located.

She wondered if Amalyse could see her smile.

“Destroyer.”

Rieren turned to see that the monster who had accosted her was one of the newer Arisen. This was the same combination of the Aetherian Fellserpent and Abyssal Blightmane. Its serpentine head was almost comically oversized compared to the rest of its body.

“What is it?” Rieren asked. She noted how it stood like a supplicant before a god. Another comical note. Despite towering over her, in truth, it looked more like it was about to start begging.

“My match is tomorrow, Destroyer,” the Arisen said.

“And you wish for me to tell you how to defeat your opponent?”

“We promised, Destroyer. We would assist each other in the tournament.”

Rieren shook her head. “All that was promised was the fact that you would assist me, in return for me granting the monsters their wish of a new home. Do you deny that was the terms of the original deal?”

The Arisen growled. It was strange to listen to, as though it wanted to hiss but had forgotten how to do so. “Perhaps that is true. Perhaps I was mistaken to refer to the deal we made together. But will you decline providing any assistance in our moment of need?”

“Leave it,” the Darkstalker said. “Rely on your strength to overcome your opponent. If your strength prevails, then so will you. Resorting to such underhanded methods of gaining the upper hand is something that already taints the humans. We have no need to sully our methods with it.”

“You weren’t in the fray, Darkstalker,” the Arisen said. “You never gazed upon the efficacy of a proper battleplan. There is great power in strategy. All I want is to be prepared as well as I can for my battle.” Its claws clenched into a fist that was all too human. “You don’t understand the power behind the lead that the Destroyer can grant us.”

The Darkstalker looked down at Rieren. It wasn’t the only one. All the nearby monsters were looking at her, waiting for her answer. To see if she would take the step of going against her former race just as she had done in the first round.

“Alright,” Rieren said. “Let us craft another deal.”

“Another deal?”

Rieren nodded. “I will tell you what you need to know to defeat your opponent. But in return, you must do your best not to kill him.”

The Arisen stared down at her with slit-pupiled eyes. She could see the murder in its eyes. It wasn’t a malicious, knowing intent. Destruction was just a part of a monster’s nature. Had been, so far. But they were trying to get past it through this wish of theirs to acquire themselves a home.

It was only natural that they ought to prove they could restrain themselves from annihilating any opposition they faced.

“As you wish,” the Arisen finally said.

“And if you fail to keep your word?” Rieren asked.

“That will not happen. I have given my word that I will restrain myself as well as I am able. The true outcome will no doubt depend on the particulars of the battle.”

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“Not good enough.” Rieren looked around at the other monsters who had all become an audience to the exchange between her and the Arisen. “You must all hold yourselves and each other accountable. If any of your bouts spirals out to cause any undue deaths, you will set back your own true intention by leagues.”

Several monsters grumbled at that.

“Nonsense,” one glowing Aetherian said. “We’ve already killed some of these precious cultivators in the first round. What’s a few more deaths?”

Several echoed the question.

Rieren stomped her foot. The little quake roiling through the stands made them all quiet down. “For any monster who requests my assistance and goes on to uncaringly murder their opponent in the tournament, then I will personally end your life once you exit the arena.”

As expected, that caused a bit of a ruckus. Several monsters growled. The Arisen’s eyes had widened in shock, and even the Darkstalker looked enraged at Rieren’s words.

She didn’t waver, of course. Before they could start protesting properly, before they could become enraged enough to attack her, she stamped her authority over them. “You asked me to lead you to your homeland, yes? You asked me to secure you a world where you no longer needed to go around killing everything? Then understand it requires commitment.”

Their rage had quietened a little. A part of her understood how the creatures before her worked. The threat she had made would typically have been absurd. Someone claiming such a thing as a human cultivator would have been ostracized from polite society one way or another.

But while the monsters were no less repulsed at the threat, they were more angered by the reason behind it than the threat itself. That killing others even in a circumstance of a tournament would be met with swift, fatal reprisal.

Death and destruction of their own selves wasn’t as offensive as the fact that they couldn’t dole out their own brand of devastation.

But that was what the monsters needed to work past. That was the reason why Rieren had regretted the Shifter’s intentions and inclinations back where the corpses had been. A home and a belief of might makes annihilating right couldn’t coincide.

“That is extreme, Destroyer,” the Arisen before her said. “What if I was forced to kill my opponent? Will you seek to end my life even then?”

“I said uncaring murder. Accidents can happen. A fight is never cut and dry. But if I see any of you heading out there with murderous intentions from the beginning, then I will end you, should you survive your encounter.”

“That’s still wrong!” one monster shouted.

Another raised a clawed fist in her direction. “You cannot do this, Destroyer!”

“A traitor! Just like in the first round.”

“That’s right,” Rieren said, letting the severity fill her voice. “I have made the condition of my end of the bargain clear. Do you accept, or do you decline?”

Several of the monsters scoffed and leered, but the Arisen before her stepped forward.

“I accept,” it said.

That shut up the naysayers. No doubt, there were many who would never put up with such a demand. But this one, at least, was willing to put its life on the line. Both in the fight itself, and afterwards, should it succeed.

“Your opponent is not someone you need to worry about,” Rieren said. She gritted her teeth, recalling all of Morel’s little tricks, all the powers he had shown her. “All you need to be aware of is a Domain that can trap you, one that cannot be broken by force. Find a way to free yourself without the need for relying on overwhelming force, and you can win.”

“I… see,” the Arisen said. “Anything else I ought to know?”

“Beware his knives. That should be enough.”

The Arisen looked thoughtful. Rieren’s answer hadn’t been that detailed, but she suspected the monster had performed something of a surveillance of Morel already. She didn’t need to get into too many specifics.

Rieren looked around. Several were trying to make out the true meaning behind her words. Some even looked skeptical.

But Rieren wasn’t here to answer their every question. If this Arisen wanted more, it knew where to find her. She had her own preparations to take care of, her own training to perform. So, while the Arisen chewed on what Rieren had said, she made her way through the crowd of Abyssals, Aetherian, and Arisen to leave the arena.

Rieren wasn’t left completely alone by the monsters, however. Not after what happened the next day.

She attended the match between the Arisen and Morel too. Something about it compelled her to do so. She wanted to see how Morel fared against a monster, a powerful one at that too.

Rieren was a little late again, but not as much as she had been for Amalyse’s fight. The commentator had already announced the names of the day’s competitors and had called the fight to start. In other words, Rieren had missed the unnecessary preamble. A small blessing, if she was being honest.

Morel looked prepared for the fight. He had his long knives in both hands, and his Domain was spiralling out from where he stood.

But the Arisen was well aware of the danger posed by the red threads of Morel’s Domain. It leaped back once the strings got too close. Then it roared and leaped right at Morel.

He dodged quickly. Morel had always been spry on his feet. But when he tried to counterattack, his knives left no mark against the spiky, metallic skin the Arisen had inherited from its previous, Blightmane form. He was going to need to find a way to hit the monster in its weak spot around the lower gut area.

It didn’t take long for the battle to turn one-sided. Morel was constantly pushed to the back foot by the overwhelming might of the Arisen he was facing.

The monster was larger, faster, far more powerful to boot, and worst of all, almost impervious to all damage. But one thing had changed now that it was an Arisen instead of a regular Blightmane Abyssal.

The new serpentine head it sported didn’t have the typical metallic fur, which meant Morel could hurt the beast if he could land a blow on its head.

But the monster was too powerful. It wasn’t about to let him get a clear shot. All he could do was defend and evade, defend and evade. The Arisen was bypassing all the traps Morel’s domain sought to inflict. Morel’s desperation was starting to become evident in the way he almost got caught multiple times. In how the swipes of the Arisen’s claws barely missed him.

And then he got his chance.

Rieren wasn’t the only one who leaned in. The crowd hushed, as though certain this was about to be the final exchange of the bout.

The Arisen was avoiding getting mired by the red ropes of Morel’s Domain by leaping from one free spot to the next. Seeing that his Domain wasn’t working on the monster, Morel had reverted to using it on himself. The ropes were stretchy. It was clever to use them to launch himself at his target just as the Arisen had taken another leap.

He had piled his skill to add to the momentum as well. The same skill Rieren recalled from the time they fought against one another.

Except, Morel hadn’t counted on his opponent’s reaction time being ridiculously fast. Morel had oriented himself so that his knives were pointed straight at his enemy, seeking to stab them either in the vulnerable guts or the furless head.

But the Arisen had twisted with blinding speed, faster even than Morel had shot towards him. The knives stabbed at the metallic fur. Sparks burst outwards at the impact, but it left no damage on the Arisen. The monster was perfectly fine.

And perfectly positioned to continue twisting, bringing its claws around in a vicious swipe. This time, Morel was caught.

He screamed out as he and his opponent were thrown in different directions. Morel’s initial momentum had flung the Arisen back, and Morel himself thudded down further to the right. His Domain disappeared, his body remaining unmoving as blood started pooling at the spot he’d struck.

Rieren stared at how unmoving Morel was. It didn’t take long at all for the match official to declare the victory to the Arisen, nor for the healers to come in and carry him away.

All the while, the Arisen stared up at the booing audience, almost reveling in the vitriol.

“What will you do if he dies?” the Darkstalker asked.

Rieren had seen how the monster had fought. She had witnessed how the flow of battle had developed, how Morel had never stood a chance. Not only of winning, but also of surviving.

“I will hold a remembrance ceremony,” Rieren said, then turned and left.