by Jason Herc
I shook my head. "I don't like getting tied up with too many people. Or trusting them."
"What about us?" Ember asked.
The succubi were different. I could sense their loyalties, and they were bound to me in a way that others couldn't.
"You two are special. You know that."
Allura wrapped her arm around my neck. "No. You're the special one. Even she could tell that."
I looked up at the rooftop where Vessa had stood.
"She could just be messing with me to get an advantage if we fight in the tournament."
Ember opened her mouth to speak, but I held up my hand.
"Stay focused," I said. "The tournament began the moment we stepped into the registration line."
I looked at the Seeker Ember had defeated. His body wasn't moving anymore.
"And something tells me this one isn't going to have any participation awards."
***
The next morning, we headed back to the tournament grounds. The iron gates were open and a steady stream of sect members in colorful clusters of reds, browns, greens, and more were entering the gates.
Occasionally, I saw a Seeker stop and present an obsidian tab. Those must have been the contestants.
I approached the gate with my succubi.
"How many sects are there, exactly?" I asked the two demons at my side. There had to be nearly a hundred combinations of robe colors and patterns.
Allura's eyes swept across the sect members already on the other side of the gate. "There are many small, weak sects. The large, powerful ones would suit you best."
I showed my obsidian tab to the guards. "They're with me," I said as I pointed to the succubi.
Allura wore her mock obedience collar again, while Ember had found a plain leather collar to wear instead as some kind of matching fashion statement.
The guard took the obsidian tab from me and focused intently on it for a moment. Then, he grunted and handed it back to me.
"See the tournament masters on the far side to receive your match assignments."
I thanked the guard and made my way inside. I weaved may way through the crowd of sect members. Even though it was a milling mass of bodies, I didn't spot a single person bumping into another. I dodged out of the way, shifting my position by an inch to avoid running into someone else walking past.
Once we reached the tournament masters, a group of wizened old men with severe white robes and bald heads, I gave them my obsidian tab again. They checked the tab and consulted a set of scrolls.
The master looked up at me and back at the scrolls. "Aidan Ward. Pet trainer, correct?" He glanced at Allura for a second.
"Yes, that's me."
"Your first match will be with the Dark Star at arena three. Wait there, and they will call your name when it's time."
I took back my obsidian tab. "Got it."
We left and wandered over to the designated three. "So was I supposed to pick a nickname?" Personally, I thought Dark Star was a bit cheesy. Ember could have come up with something better, I was sure.
Allura shrugged. "It's a bit presumptuous to come up with a name. Usually your foes are the ones that name you."
"Maybe he wants to remain anonymous," Ember said.
"Why would he want to be anonymous?" I asked.
"You'd be surprised how many families are involved in some kind of feud or vendetta," Allura said. "Or to hide your techniques or weaknesses."
"Or something everyone wants. Like Helix," I added.
I supposed it made sense. No one really knew how I was here, and in any case, it wasn't like I was some big shot Seeker. Ryder seemed to be interested in me. Then again, I hadn't heard anything from the boviary clans in a while.
I scratched my head. Maybe I should have given a different name. Oh well.
From the sound of the cheering crowd, a match had just ended when we arrived. I couldn't see anything, although Allura hovered in the air briefly to look past the people.
"Aidan!" I turned to find Vessa making her way through the crowd as well.
"Hey, you fighting here, too?" I asked.
Vessa shook her head. "I won't be fighting until much later."
"Really? They didn't bother to give me a time. They just told me to wait here."
Vessa smiled. "They let me skip the first round."
"You can do that?" I paused.
Was she someone important? Or did she have an inside track on the tournament. Until she had mentioned it, I hadn't even thought the tournament would be anything but fair. If things worked in the Abyss like they did back on Earth, though…
The tournament master in charge of this arena shouted something.
"Isn't he calling for you?" Vessa asked, changing the subject.
"Aidan Ward and the Dark Star!" the tournament master called again.
"Right. Wish me luck." I grabbed Allura's hands and she lifted me into the air over the crowd.
Together, we flew over to the center of the arena. Allura dropped me and landed lightly.
A figure wrapped entirely in black like some wannabe ninja superhero stood before us. He even had a dark star shaped pattern on the front of his chest.
"Are you kidding me?" I asked Allura softly.
The tournament master looked half-bored. "Ready?"
Dark Star nodded fiercely. "Ready!"
"Are there any rules?" I asked. It was a bit late, but I thought it couldn't hurt to ask.
The tournament master laughed. "Rules? There is only one rule here. Win!"
He stepped backward off the arena and raised his hand high. "Begin!"
Dark Star flew away from us with a high leap. He threw something small and fast.
I dodged left, then right before drawing my sword. I wondered briefly if the thrown objects would hurt anyone watching.
As my Flame surged through me, time seemed to slow, and I could make out the shape of a black object hurtling towards me. It was a four-pointed throwing star. A shuriken.
I sliced downward. At the last moment, I twisted my sword slightly so that the flat of my blade caught the shuriken instead of its edge.
I didn't know if Dark Star's weapons were made of Flame or not, but on the off chance that they were, I didn't want to reveal the power of my Bloodstain right away.
The deflected shuriken embedded itself into the arena's floor with a thud.
Allura leaped into the air with a counterattack, spraying Dark Star with a hail of needles. With her second Node opened, she could keep up a near constant torrent of needles, as long as I was nearby to give her with a steady supply of Flame.
She stopped, though, after a one second burst.
Dark Star's body had blurred, and Allura's needles had simply passed through him before striking the arena's floor.
Dark Star's body solidified. A mask covered the upper half of his face. His mouth twisted into a sneer.
"You trainers hide behind your pets like cowards."
He threw another shuriken, but Allura was already beating her wings in anticipation. An extra strong gust of wind blew the shuriken off course, sending it into the crowds.
An onlooker casually plucked the shuriken from the air with his bare hands and tossed it aside.
"Damn trainers," Dark Star snarled.
He had a point. I didn't like the idea of hiding behind Allura. Besides, I was the stronger one with my refined Seeker techniques. I didn't want to risk Allura getting hurt needlessly.
I was going to move forward to attack, but I paused. If trainers tended to use their pets to attack, maybe it was better if I kept up appearances. I had seen a couple Seekers who weren't wearing the gaudy robes of a sect member. They were all potential future matches taking notes on what I could do.
You attack him, Allura. I'll stay back unless needed.
Allura opened up with another stream of needles to show that she had understood. This time Dark Star leaped through the hail of needles as his body blurred.
I drew my pure Flame o
ut of its infernal shell and sent a stream of it to Allura. I needed to actively circulate my Flame through her two Nodes for her strongest techniques. Not that I wanted her to reveal more than necessary, either, but in the heat of battle, I wanted Allura to be free to react fully.
Allura spun her needles around her in her defensive formation, two counter-winding orbits of needles intersecting in an X-pattern.
Dark Star stopped his leap mid-air before crashing into Allura's defense and double-jumped backwards. He had mastered at least basic Flame-walking. I didn't know how other Seekers usually progressed, but I hadn't gone that far.
I tightened the grip on my sword, ready to step in.
Allura didn't push forward, as she preferred to fight at range. The twin circles of needles orbiting around her shot forward as two intertwining streams of needles. Dark Star's form blurred again, but Allura's needles didn't strike the ground this time. They formed into a hovering mass of needles just behind him. Ember had named this Allura's Swarm technique.
When Allura focused on a single mass of needles as her Swarm, she could direct them in an arbitrary pattern, like some kind of remote-controlled cloud of deadly needles. She couldn't send much more individual attacks while maintaining her Swarm, as it strained the limits of her Flame.
Allura's Swarm swept through Dark Star's still blurred body once, then again.
Dark Star sprinted to the right, trying to outrace the Swarm. He dove, managing to get a body length in front of it, and turned solid to throw a pair of shurikens. His body blurred again as the Swarm caught up to him rolling on the ground.
He can only attack when solid? I sent the mental note to Allura.
Dark Star had aimed for Allura's legs. She couldn't block the attack with a technique or focused use of Flame. Instead she naturally rose higher to let the shurikens fly beneath.
I realized that had been Dark Star's intent as he rushed forward, still in his blurred form. He had been hoping to separate Allura from me.
I laughed to myself, keeping my face stony. If he wanted a piece of me, I would give it to him.
In a burst of speed, Dark Star once again outran Allura's chasing Swarm. He grinned as if he had won already. He spread his hands, but nothing shot out of them. Instead, I was surrounded by a ring of shurikens that suddenly collapsed on me from all directions.
Moving on instinct, I unleashed a Whirlwind with my blade, simultaneously dropping low and spinning my body on a second axis. I held the Whirlwind high as I spun.
The combination of my Bloodstained sword and the Flame cuts generated by my Whirlwind blocked all of the incoming shurikens.
I recovered into the First Stance, ready to block another attack, but Dark Star was flipping backwards as Allura's Swarm harassed him. She swept low to interpose herself between Dark Star and me again.
Sorry. He got past me. I could feel the apology in Allura's message.
I was a bit annoyed that I had revealed a technique. I watched as Allura continued to press her attack, although she was unable to defeat his seemingly invincible form. Would my sword be able to pierce him if that was some kind of Flame technique? I was going to step forward and try just that, but the shimmer of my Swordsight stopped me.
I had been noticing sight lines popping up across the arena but hadn't been paying much attention to them. I had become somewhat accustomed to their appearance, and I thought all they did was signify that some Seeker technique was being used. But before, the sight lines had always aligned with the limbs and weapons under use.
Many of the sight lines were appearing in places where Dark Star was absent. That didn't make sense, unless…
I briefly considered using a Flame attack, but I sheathed my sword instead. I quickly reached into the void of my spatial band and withdrew the small dagger I had obtained long ago on the Gluttonbarge. I needed something of my own to throw.
Allura was still harassing Dark Star, and he was responding with the occasional shuriken. Allura made sure that he couldn't cross over to my side again, but I purposefully moved closer to his blurry form.
The next time a sight line glimmered in my vision, I whipped the dagger at the spot. If I was wrong, I would look silly…
My dagger stopped mid-air as if it had struck something. Someone cried out. Then, Dark Star's blurry form, currently under assault from Allura, vanished.
Instead, Dark Star appeared in front of my dagger, which was stuck in his upper arm.
Dark Star grimaced. "Lucky shot."
Allura's Swarm caught up to him. His body blurred again and my dagger fell to the ground. My Swordsight picked up another fragment of a sight line to the right.
"There!" I shouted. Allura's Swarm chased after the spot.
Dark Star's blurry form on the other side of the arena vanished. He appeared where I had pointed and retreated several more steps.
"Impossible!" Dark Star screamed. He threw a pair of shurikens that I dodged easily.
"Allura, get behind me. Recall your Swarm."
Allura landed in front of me. I stepped in front of her. Her Swarm dissipated.
"What's going on?" she whispered to me.
"He's a trickster. Nothing more," I said loudly. I didn't want to reveal exactly what I had learned to everyone, though, who might figure out something about myself. I switched to our mental bond.
He's not invulnerable when he turns blurry. It's a decoy. An illusion. He can make himself invisible while creating those decoys.
Oh…I see. He must be quite fast, too.
Exactly.
But how could you see where he is?
I get faint signs of his true position from my Swordsight.
That's amazing, master.
Focus. They'll be time for kissing up later.
Yes, master.
I'll block his attacks. Aim your needles where I point when I give the word.
Yes, master.
Dark Star was attacking with cautious probing throws of his shuriken. Either he couldn't, or he was afraid of using more powerful techniques like the one earlier from all sides.
I was able to block his shurikens with basic sword strikes without resorting to techniques.
Dark Star was too far away to attack, but I pressed forward slowly. He retreated until he was at the edge of the arena.
I pointed my sword at Dark Star, and Allura responded with a thin stream of needles.
Dark Star's body blurred, as expected, to avoid the attack, but this time I was on the lookout for any sign of sight lines.
There. Up high. He was leaping at us. I pointed with my sword.
"Everything! Now!" I shouted.
Allura raised both of her hands and sent a torrent of needles forward from either side of me. They converged in front.
Dark Star materialized a few yards in front of us in the air, screaming as the needles tore through his body and shred apart his torso. Blood splattered in all directions as Allura filled him with a continual spray of needles.
"Enough," I said.
The needles ended abruptly as Dark Star's lower and upper body fell to the ground as two separate pieces. Allura's stream of needles had been thick enough to completely sever him into two halves.
The onlookers cried in approval, and above the noise, I could hear the tournament master declare my victory.
"The winner of this match is Aidan Ward."
CHAPTER 31
The next round of matches wouldn't take place until the next day, but I lingered around in case I could glean anything about my future opponents.
I also wanted to see if I could snipe a few techniques with my Swordsight.
Unfortunately, I didn't learn that much from the matches I did have a chance to watch. Most of the matches in the first round were severely one-sided, ending in quick defeats that didn't even require the victor to use his particular techniques.
I scoured the arenas for someone using a sword. When I found a match between two swordsmen, I thought I had hit upon a jackpot for technique
s. But again, neither side used a Seeker technique until the very end, when one of the swordsmen used some kind of finishing move.
I wasn't sure about the limits of my Swordsight. I could have been too far away, or my Swordsight may have required direct interaction with the technique under observation. In any case, my Swordsight's sight lines didn't trigger, and I wasn't able to copy any Seeker techniques.
What I was able to learn was how well my regular sword skills would likely match up with the field. I was about average with my Bladebrush style. More importantly, many of the fighting styles were severely biased towards certain offensive tactics or skewed the balance of risk and reward in one way or the other. Perhaps one of the strongest advantages I had was the wide repertoire that the Bladebrush had taught me. It included a response to most of the styles I saw.
I had forgotten about Vessa, but she caught up to me towards the end of the day.
"Congratulations on your match," she said.
My succubi moved to the side to give me room to move closer to the female Seeker.
"You saw it?" I asked.
She nodded. "You figured out his technique was primarily illusion-based, right?"
I hadn't explained what I had done to anyone. "Right. How did you know that?"
"How did you?" she echoed.
I wasn't about to give away the secrets of my Swordsight. I simply smiled. "Luck?" I answered for both of us.
Vessa smirked. "Indeed. But we both make our own luck, don't we?"
"How's that saying go? Fortune favors the bold."
"I hadn't heard that one before. I like that." Vessa sidled up next to me and leaned closer to whisper. "Have you heard from any sects yet?"
"No. Was I supposed to expect something…?"
Vessa frowned and moved away. "I'm sure someone will be in touch sooner or later. The tournament's primary purpose is recruitment, after all."
"You've heard from a sect." I scratched my head. "Well, they knew you well enough to give you a bye for this round. You must be famous."
Vessa shrugged. "I had a famous teacher. It's not a big deal."
I looked at the blue-haired girl out of the corner of my eye. She didn't look particularly deadly, but I knew better than to judge a Seeker by appearances. Crowley, after all, was a grumpy old beggar by all appearances. If she was connected with the Seeker world, maybe she could fill me in on some details.
