The many eyes around the colosseum were glued to the arena, where creeping darkness slowly swirled and expanded around the goth girl, her body barely visible at the center of the dome-like ability. Her opponent hummed while biding his time, his head bobbing from side to side as he analyzed the situation.

Adariel had noticed that the girl’s spell had slowed gradually, possibly as its range expanded. He thought he was ‘safe’ as long as he kept his distance, so he was trying to take that as his advantage. But while he was thinking that, Lucretia crouched and placed a knee on the ground, followed by both her hands while her book hovered in the air.

She whispered a few words, closing her eyes and beginning to concentrate her energy on her palms. Adariel watched with curiosity, tilting his head to an unnatural degree and raising one of his eyebrows. Suddenly, from the boundary of the darkness, a straight, shadowy line shot toward the man. His eyes widened in surprise, but he managed to react in time thanks to being so concentrated on the dome.

Adariel dashed to his right side and avoided the attack, but maintained his gaze fixed on the moving line, as a strange sense of caution washed over him. Surely enough, the dark silhouette turned toward him and began to give chase, forcing a slightly surprised Adariel to quicken his pace.

Even though the situation wasn’t in his favor, his face showed a deranged, entertained smile, his lips stretching as much as his facial muscles allowed. “That’s some crazy shit! Hahaha!” He exclaimed, cackling wildly, his body quickly darting through the arena. The audience was cheering once more, the sight beginning to hype them up.

Ascalon watched Lucretia’s powers with great interest. He had seen similar abilities back in Excadia, both involving shadows and dark energy, but were usually on the other side of the battlefield as they were considered ‘evil’ arts. Truth be told, he kind of agreed, especially after witnessing their uses.

It also reminded him of that one night, when that Moleman fellow was gulped down by a similar kind of darkness. But he could feel there was a difference in skill between whoever used it on that occasion and Lucretia. If she had been the one, Adariel would’ve already lost.

Still, he was impressed by her mastery. Lucretia looked around the same age as Lilithra, yet wielded such powerful abilities to an incredible degree. Her control over the dark energy was astounding, and her focus seemed unshakable, even taking into account the kind of weird opponent she was facing. Her eyes had never left her target, and her actions were calculated.

Ascalon couldn’t help but feel that Lucretia would make a fine ally, and was glad that she was on Lilithra’s team. As his mind wandered over the Leporian, he noticed Adariel was beginning to act.

The Flaming Fists’ member kept running away from the line that relentlessly pursued him, while he shuffled some ideas in his mind. He was having fun, trying to come up with the best plan, or the one that would entertain him the most. To Adariel, it was all a game after all, and his enjoyment was the only thing that mattered.

He decided on a course of action, his shoes suddenly glowing while he activated one of his skills. Fire began to rise from the ground, following in his wake, his feet now engulfed in flames that reached past his knees. The pursuer met the fires head-on and started to burn up like a rope coated in oil.

Noticing this, Lucretia cut the connection with her ability, raising both her palms from the floor. The dark tendril vanished into dark particles mixed with smoke, dissipating into the air. She then stood up, her eyes narrowing while she pondered over her approach.

Adariel slowed to a stop, his legs now succumbing to even greater flames, and turned to face Lucretia with a mischievous grin. He launched his hatchets in the air, and began juggling them with seasoned practice, simply to entertain himself as he observed his opponent. “What’s the hold-up?! Do some crazy shit already!” Adariel exclaimed before snickering in a taunting manner, his tone of voice that of an impatient child.

Lucretia ignored his sneering, focusing her thoughts on her next move. She extended her arms and raised her palms, her book circling around her with its pages furiously turning. As she closed her eyes, the tome began glowing with purple light, and the darkness around her began to shrink, appearing to be absorbed by the object.

Both Adariel and the crowd watched with curiosity as the black mass began to take a more compact, solid form. Then, she opened her eyes sharply, and from the monochrome boundary erupted a wave of winged creatures that, once more, resembled bats. “Chapter 3—Night of the Chiroptera.” She whispered one more time, her silky, soft voice contrasting with her attack. This time though, their sizes were enormous and resembled those of big, ominous eagles, their wings stretching as if they could cover the very sun if they all banded together.

The dark beings advanced relentlessly toward Adariel, the crowd gasping collectively as they witnessed the unnatural creatures. Among the cacophony of screeches and flapping wings, Adariel’s voice resounded through the colosseum. “Damn, baby, you really like those flying rats! Hahaha!” He cackled, a mix of confidence and boldness in his voice, as he stopped juggling his weapons and gripped them tightly.

While the bat-like horde approached, the fire on his legs expanded upward through his body—it looked as if the flames were consuming him. But his unwavering smile betrayed the sight.

Then, the massive bats lunged from above. He swung his now flaming hatchets at the nearest one, the blades cutting through the air in an upward, diagonal swing. He felt his attack connect, and the creature caught in flames before being reduced to smoke and ashes. The spectators wowed in amazement, seeing how Adariel handled the monstrous bat so easily.

Still, it was only one of many. Adariel didn’t stop to count them; he didn’t care much about their numbers, but he roughly guessed they were about thirty. In the end, it didn’t matter. He was going to destroy every single one of them! He kept repeating his swings as more of the winged shadows approached, an onslaught of slashes thrown in all directions. Some of the creatures evaded him, others perishing in the process, as flame and shadow clashed fiercely, amazing the spectators.

But something felt off. Adariel’s eyes narrowed as the cunning part of his brain began to analyze a few uncertainties, looking at how some of the bats just circled around him and screeched. He was now clad in his [Smoldering Corpse] skill, so the shadows wouldn’t be able to hurt him anyway, even with the dark aura that comprised them. But were they being cautious? Or just… a distraction?

Adariel looked over in Lucretia’s direction while fending off the winged assault, but the girl remained fixed in place, her expression impassive and her eyes still on him. She didn’t seem to be plotting anything. But then, why? Why were his instincts screaming at him? Why was he so certain that something was wrong?

He was overcome with impatience, his usually deranged, unhinged face, now showed an angry expression with furrowed brows. He felt agitated, and wasn’t enjoying himself. That was actually infuriating for him. It was then that something along the darkness flickered.

Adariel focused, his eyes closing slightly, and noticed her shadow was moving slightly. Wait, shadow? Among the darkness that surrounded her? His brain started working at full throttle, and his body moved in an instant. He jumped in the air, propelled by a fiery streak of flames, and appraised the situation from a birds-eye view. There, he gasped in surprise at the sight, while the girl smiled wickedly.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Behind Lucretia extended a set of dark tendrils, all going in a straight line toward the far end of the arena. Her body, along with the darkness that enveloped her and the incorporeal shape of the lines, made for the perfect combination to hide her next attack.

Adariel’s eyes followed the tendrils closely, seeing how they wrapped along the edges of the arena, and alarm signals began to sound inside his mind. His face showed no trace of his earlier confidence, replaced instead by a visage of pure rage. He propelled himself by a burst of flames, and plummeted toward Lucretia in a raging descent.

But before he could reach her, his whole world turned black. The audience shouted, gasped, and cheered as they saw the whole situation develop. The tendrils had connected with each other, forming an entire circle around the fighting grounds, and had enveloped it completely in a matter of seconds.

Some of the spectators leaned back as the blackness blocked their view from the fight, Lucretia’s dome having reached a humongous size. Ascalon thought he could stretch forward and touch it, though he refrained from doing so due to many, sensible reasons.

Inside the now closed-up sphere, a frantic Adariel shook his head from side to side, trying to perceive anything in the encompassing darkness. But he couldn’t even see his own flames, still burning up fiercely around him. “What did you do to me?!” He screamed with a panicked voice, though this time it wasn’t amplified. It seemed he had been cut off from the rest of the world, and was alone in a dark, vast emptiness.

It was then that a voice reached his ears, wherever they were. “Chapter 8—It cometh.” A hushed whisper echoed through the void, the voice of Lucretia, who appeared as a blur in what seemed to be a distant point in space. He squinted over and over, or so he tried, but her shape didn’t become any clearer.

Then, dread began to creep over him. The hair all over his body stood on end, as a presence began to overcome him with an abysmal, existential dread. Around the Leporian’s almost transparent silhouette, a multitude of gigantic, monstrous eyes began to slowly open up.

image [https://i.imgur.com/koOVohp.png]

In an instant, an unbearable pressure descended upon him, his mind shattering immediately as he gazed upon something he shouldn’t be allowed to—a peek into an unknown, unfathomable depth. It was a place for entities that shouldn’t mingle with humans, yet he had been forced to witness a maddening existence beyond comprehension.

The audience watched in tense, palpable anticipation filling the air. After a few moments, the darkness began to recede. The dome vanished slowly, black particles rising toward the sky as they disappeared. At the center of the arena was Adariel, kneeling on the floor, his weapons scattered around him. His face looked incredibly pale, his once colorful hair now a single shade of gray, and his lips moved up and down as he mumbled incomprehensibly.

Only a select few had been able to peek at what had happened inside the dome, thanks to specific skills, but there were some that knew what kind of powers she wielded anyway. But it was clear to everyone that Lucretia was the resounding victor.

“Uh- ehm- and the winner is Lucretia, the Hushed Whispeeeeer!!!”

The commentator’s voice resounded throughout the colosseum, and the spectators began to cheer reluctantly, until they started getting more animated, and loudly clapped and shouted for Lucretia’s victory. “Hmmph!” She turned back sharply and walked back to his Guild’s place, her confident stride garnering her the unconditional love of many of the spectators. At the same time, the medical team rushed in, and carried the dazed Adariel out of the premises.

“That was a crazy match, guys! And the count is now two to zeeeeeeeroooo!”

J-Rider’s voice pierced the air, as the screens showed the updated matchups one more time, chalking another victory for the Casanova group. The crowd was chanting Lucretia’s name, and a few cheers for Casanova as a whole, the atmosphere turning more animated now that the stakes were higher for the Flaming Fists. They were a single defeat away from losing the entire event, after all.

As Lucretia approached her Guild’s designated spot, her new Guildmates looked at her with awe. Compared to Richard’s fight, hers was a more one-sided show, and her stylish clothes even remained pristine throughout the entire match!

Lucio clapped softly at her return, his voice gently greeting her. “Nice job out there, though you went a bit too hard on him, gamble or not.”Exclaimed the Guildmaster as the girl passed him by. She side-eyed him with a bored look on her face.

“He deserved it for being a weirdo, and, a pervert. And it wasn’t a gamble… I knew he had zero mental resistance.” She proclaimed with pride, as a few droplets of blood began to stain the makeup on her lips.

Her powers were strong but had some nasty repercussions. The latest chapters she had unlocked in her book were focused on illusion magic, but just conjuring these imitations, even if not real, was truly taxing. “Yes, he did deserve it… but you should think about yourself more!” Answered Lucio, with a worried tone of voice that took Lilithra and Selorien by surprise.

They had never seen him behave so… sincerely. But they understood it had to do with the crimson droplets coming out of Lucretia’s mouth, which she was softly cleaning with a cute, purple handkerchief. Even Richard had perked up, and showed a concerned expression on his face.

They realized that whatever she had done in that dome had taken a toll on her body. The girl herself noticed their gaze, and smiled softly. “Don’t worry about this; it’s just an aftereffect of my skills… but I do need to rest.” She spoke with a gentle, but tired tone, trying to reassure her comrades while she approached a nearby bench and sat with carefulness.

Lilithra walked over to her with a bit of hesitation on her steps, Lucretia watching her with curiosity.‎ “Uhm! You were really cool out there! Congrats!” Lilithra exclaimed with admiration, her eyes sparkling as she watched the Leporian.

Lucretia’s lips curled up into a smug smile. “Well, it was to be expected. I mean, who would lose against those jerks?” Her soft tone of voice betrayed her somewhat mean comments. Once again, her social ineptitude had kicked in, though she was still as oblivious to it as ever.

Lilithra laughed nervously to herself, while Selorien sighed and patted her shoulder in understanding. Lucio and Richard observed from the sidelines, Lucio feeling a mix of happiness and satisfaction as the newbies were starting to open up a bit. They had been quite reserved up to the match, so as the Guildmaster he was feeling a bit concerned about them.

In the meantime, at the VIP balcony, a new conversation had been sparked by Lucretia’s victory. Ascalon simply watched and listened as the rest talked animatedly. “That girl is a menace, geez! I wouldn’t want to be in Adariel’s place.” Jay commented as he stretched his arms forward, smiling boldly as usual. Ascalon wondered if the man ever stopped smiling.

‎ “The cutie sure showed him, hehe~! Illusions sure are effective against dumbasses.” Calista chimed in with a playful tone of voice, her face showing a satisfied expression.

While most of them seemed quite pleased by the match’s outcome, there were a few who didn’t seem to share their joy. One of them was the thin man that Ascalon still didn’t know much about. He sat in his weird posture in silence, mumbling to himself and detached from his surroundings, only answering to Urvan from time to time.

The other one was obviously Ignis. He didn’t seem as angry as before, but he looked bothered and disappointed, rubbing his temples slowly. Ascalon would have felt some sympathy if it weren’t for the fact that Ignis was an unpleasant person overall, and leader of an even worse Guild.

The man was probably pondering about the event’s outcome. After all, everyone already knew that the Flaming Fists had lost, and the rest of the matches were just a formality.

If Lilithra and Selorien were to lose, Lucio would be the last standing member of their Guild, and there was no conceivable universe where Bob would win against him.‎ “Sorry, Bob.” Ascalon whispered as he scanned the arena. Even if Casanova’s victory was pretty much set in stone, he was still excited to see his friends' matches! Though he was unsure if they would go on with Lilithra’s fight if Selorien were to win.

But before it could come to that, a shocking development would shake the entire Colosseum, causing Ignis to grin in his seat as a glimmer of hope sparked in his eyes.