by Andur
He is pushed back a little bit, but that's all. A strange feeling of excitement starts to rise within me. “~Hahahaha!~ You are the first one I met who can trade blows with me besides my husband. But that axe looks like it won't hold much longer.”
I point at the axe. There are two big dents in its cutting edge from when Druug hit me and an imprint of my fist from just now. “Please try to hold out for a little while. ~I am just beginning to enjoy this.~”
By channelling my mana through my body, I propel myself forward and start raining down a series of punches and kicks on my much bigger opponent. Druug is totally overwhelmed by my vicious attack and is barely able to defend himself.
He manages to create some distance between us by smashing his axe into the ground to create a screen of dust and pebbles.
There is no reason to feel safe just because you created some distance! I take a stance and inhale while collecting my mana into my fist. Then I punch in the direction of his silhouette while using all my power.
The cloud of dust is blown away and the volcano behind it dissolves into a shower of small rocks and pebbles which are travelling away from me at high velocity. A fountain of magma erupts at the former position of the volcano.
“Tch! He got away!” There are no signs of Druug and I can't feel him anywhere. Was he blown to pieces?
“I admit that you are strong! But mere strength doesn't win fights.”
I turn and block his axe just in time by catching it, then both of us start to grapple for the axe. How did he get behind me? I didn't feel any air pressure at all! And why did he announce his attack?
As if to answer my question, Druug's eyes start to glow.
“KYAAA!”
A blinding light and searing pain takes my eyesight! I feel something hot burning over my skin and strike in blind fury at the person who just used a very underhanded trick!
But there is nobody there! He let go of his axe and retreated! I grab into my pocket while holding the axe with the other hand and pull one of the healing pills out to swallow it. He has something like fucking laser eyes!
“Almost nobody ever expects it.”
A voice to my right! I throw the axe with all my power at the source of the sound. Something hits my leg and takes me off my feet. I fall flat on my back. A heavy weight sits on top of me and my hands are grabbed.
“I'll enjoy this!”
I wring one hand free and reach for a strap on my thigh while opening one eye. It's almost healed again and I find Druug's blurry face above me. His eyes start to glow again!
*Pfffffffffffffffffft.*
“AAARRIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!”
His scream is loud and has a high pitch. No more laser eyes! Or whatever it was that blinded me! I continue spraying my enhanced version of pepper spray at him while he rolls off of me and squirms on the ground.
I added some very painful ingredients to the mix. One component dissolves flesh, while another directly stimulates the nerves for pain. So it doesn't really matter where I spray it. Of course exposed parts of the skin are the most ~effective~.
The spraying-can wanders back onto the strap on my left thigh. Originally I took the stuff with me for self defence. Just in case, but I suppose that this goes too.
The commentator said that everything is allowed. And if that thug is allowed to use an axe, then I can use some potions at least!
I pull a small blowpipe from my strap and lift it to my mouth. *Pft* The mana crystal tipped dart embeds itself smoothly in Druug's neck. He vanishes.
Haaah. He ran away by using a pathway. No matter. I follow the pathway he used with my hands behind my back.
After three teleports and a little concentration on his aura, I find him a little farther away in the forest on a small glade.
He is quivering while lying on his back. The paralysing poison on the dart did its job. I smile and kneel down beside him.
“~Oh, I wonder what you meant when you said that you would enjoy this.~”
Blinding me like that hurt! I made sure that he never uses that trick against me again! I pull a small talon shaped crystal dagger from my thigh strap. “~Originally I intended to have a good old fist fight with you. Just pulling off some limbs you know? Nothing dramatic or too painful.~”
The small dagger wanders smoothly into the skin on his right arm and I peel away the flesh while avoiding the important veins. I don't want him to die too early from blood loss.
“~Those laser eyes hurt! Have you ever been on the receiving end?~” I take another vial and pour the content onto his exposed flesh.
“~Too bad that the paralyser stops you from screaming. Haaah, but you should feel everything perfectly fine.~”
His body starts to shake violently and I continue to watch while he changes his shape. The excess flesh liquefies and trickles away in the ground. His body already looks as if its half digested. A very painful and gruesome process which should be amplified by the poison in my pepper spray. The whole procedure takes up to two minutes. The time changes a little from person to person.
I stand up and watch until the change is complete. Even his bones dissolved into their basic components.
A red puddle is all that's left. And inside it is a rather large black bug. Though it's covered with red, slimy goo and has a hard time trying to free itself.
“~I gave you the chance to give up, so don't blame me.~” I lift my foot and place it slowly on the bug. Then I increase the pressure bit by bit until I hear a final crack combined with a squashing sound.
Everything turns black and I feel myself falling.
***
I am back in the arena. Druug is across from me. Looks like he is perfectly healthy again. The whole arena is unnaturally silent. A look upwards confirms that there are still people in the ranks of spectators. Nobody moves. Some are bent over while doing something with their heads between their knees. Strange...
Druug attracts my attention by bending over and barfing on the ground.
I turn to one of the judges at the edge of the ring. “Something wrong?”
The judge shakes his head and moves again, running over to Druug and leading him out of the arena.
“... And that's another victory for the newcomers! Though I really don't know if I just watched a fight, or an unethical, wicked experiment!”
98 - Rage.
Sphere of Sous
Jazira
“Unbelievable! What's taking them so long? I want to fight and be done with it!” Lidith pouts while looking down into the arena. She is standing in front of the huge glass window in our lounge.
Lidith should learn a little more patience in things like this. She played her stupid game with us for years. I don't understand why she has issues with a little waiting now. “They have to clean up. Half of the spectators barfed on their seats while watching Celestial's fight. I must admit that even the mighty me wasn't completely untouched. A few hundred years of war and I never saw something that... gruesome... disgusting? I can’t find the right words to describe such a thing.”
Celestial huffs and crosses her arms in front of her chest. “You guys should have spent a few of your lifetimes in medical research. Those gods are really just a bunch of sheltered sheep if they can't take a little melting flesh. Earlier they watched people getting hacked to pieces or disintegrated. Why was it different this time?”
Ascathon raises a finger. “Maybe it's because you saw the agony in his face while he couldn't scream. The pain while he could do nothing more than twitch. Some people are heavily affected by watching someone else suffering in front of them. They imagine themselves in the other's place. It's a good method to get them to talk.”
I mumble with a low voice. “And I am sure that you found that one out by...”
“... experimenting on living subjects of course. I don't believe the stuff which is taught by books.” He smiles.
Lidith claps her hands together. “Finally! The ranks are filling up again! Finally the teacher can show her pupi
ls how it's done! ~MWAHAHAHAHA...~”
She disappears with a small distortion of the space around her. That means that she was taken down to the arena. I stand up to take a look out of the window.
Lidith is already inside the well known circle. Her opponent is there too. The goat guy has a long staff in his hands.
“... Aaand finally! There she is, Lidith the Red! I think that I don't have to say anything about her fighting style. Nobody thought that we would see her again after the last tournament! But there she is! A few unfortunate... no... shut up, I am the commentator!... No, I say what I want!... No, I won't deactivate the micro!... What?... very well... A few BRAVE! people decided to team up with her. But we’ve already learned that the whole team consists of monsters, so this might not be such a bad combination.”
“Her opponent is the perfect sacrifi... I am being censored again... just that you know it! Her opponent is Baphomet the Fertile! Is that really his name? You guys are sure that there was no mistake? Very well... Baphomet specializes in various curses and spells to weaken his opponent. Let's see what that's worth against Lidith!”
The tournament finally starts and the arena is replaced by the magical screen. The battlefield is a rocky wasteland with many cliffs and fissures.
Celestial frowns and joins me at the window. “I am really interested in what Lidith is like when she fights for real. She seems to have quite the reputation.”
I nod while I watch the events as they unfold.
“... Baphomet immediately cursed his opponent! It looks like he is using a combination of slowing and life weakening effects! Now he is trying to stay at a distance while Lidith keeps pressuring him with her favourite spell! She is hurling one arcane lance after the other at him! He is striking back by applying one curse after the other to stack their effects. Lidith seems to become weaker and weaker...”
Ascathon purses his lips. “I expected more to be honest.” He waves at the screen. “Sure, she is devastating the battlefield but that's all.”
“... Finally! Baphomet decided to strike back at his weakened opponent! He sent Lidith flying with a horrible strike to the head! That wound looks nasty! Is it the end. NOO! There it is! Finally! The infamous Lidith the Red takes the stage! ...”
After Lidith was almost struck unconscious, she was flung to the ground and impacted hard. For a few moments she didn't move, but then a sudden change happened to her entire body! Her blonde hair changed to red and her fingernails changed to long claws. Fur started to sprout on her hands, while the hair on her head grew longer! A red aura enveloped Lidith and her eyes changed to the ones of a feline! Her ears became even longer and grew red fur. A long and bushy tail sprouted from her butt!
Celestial calls out in wonder. “A werecat!?”
“... And there she goes! Luckily her opponent is the only one on the battlefield! Baphomet is running even faster now! He seems to have experience with her second form! A goat knows when it's his last hour! … Shut up when I talk! *BAM!* Finally! No Censorship from now on! Aw, she got him at the leg! And wham! Wham! That's how we know her! ...”
Lidith is holding Baphomet at one leg while kicking and hitting him like a toy. Baphomet is frantically trying to protect himself, but Lidith is in something that can be only called a murderous frenzy!
“... Now she even gutted him! She is using his own intestines to strangle him! The Red sure comes up with new ways to use her opponents body parts against them! If I remember correctly, she hit one of her own team-mates unconscious with his own foot during the last tournament!”
“The fearsome thing about her killing sprees is that she seems to retain a shred of sanity! A pure beast would hardly use someone's limb as a club, or their intestines to strangle them! Baphomet doesn't even resist any more! Looks like his fighting spirit is broken! I even think that he may already be dead! There is blood everywhere! Lidith is completely covered in her opponent's blood!”
The screen turns dark and disappears. Lidith and Baphomet are back in the arena.
Don't cancel the spell while she is still in her rage-mode! Didn't you learn anything from the last time!”
Baphomet turns to run.
That was exactly the wrong thing to do. As he is the only moving object within the arena, Lidith's attention is attracted to him! A small creature of pure rage flies on his back and claws itself into him. She bites into his shoulder with her small sharp teeth. I hear a dull scream through the glass of our window. Several judges run forward to separate them.
But even they are no match for her... slowly the ring turns red with blood...
“... Yeah... That's what I was talking about! ...”
“... But what do I know? I am just the foul mouthed commentator! ...”
99 - Cat = God?
Sphere of Sous
Lidith
When I came back to myself, I was covered in blood. The arena was a mess with moaning judges all around. A few were still clinging to me, trying to restrain me.
That's it. Now they know! I thought I would be able to control it. But I am actually pretty weak without changing into my second form. Even though I am back to normal and cleaned up, all three of them are staring warily at me.
And now here I am. A bloody mess. I take a cute pose and smile. “~Tehe!~ How was that? I am strong aren't I? We'll surely win the team matches.” I give them a thumbs up!
Jazira shakes her head. “We need a plan!”
Celestial nods. “A good one!”
Ascathon points at me. “How about throwing her at the opponents while we hide behind a strong barrier? Then we wait until they are defeated or Lidith runs out of steam. Afterwards we mop up the rest.”
Jazira looks doubtful. “I am not sure that I can make a barrier strong enough to keep her off! And what if the enemy manages to turn her attention towards us and hides somewhere?”
Celestial nods again. “She is too much of a wild card! We can't count on her attacking the opponent first. She tore even the judges to pieces!”
Ascathon scratches his cheek. “Then how about defending her to our last breath while she hurls those arcane missiles around. If she turns her rage mode on after we are dead, then there is no problem.”
A syringe with big long needle appears in Celestial's hand. “I have a better plan.”
She takes a step forward and I take a step back. I have a dreadful feeling when I look at her. “What are you planning to do to your teacher?”
“~Hold her.~”
“~I need a sample.~”
***
Red hair? Cat eyes? Long, bushy tail? Cat ears? I am holding my long tail while looking at myself in the mirror. “What have you done to me? I can't show myself to my worshippers like this!”
Celestial makes a dismissive gesture while watching the fight down in the arena. “Don't fret over it. Isn't this half awakened state better than running amok?”
I touch one of my ears while holding my tail with the other hand. It tends to swing around without control as soon as I let go. It's like it has a will of it's own. “Why do you even have a medicine like this? And my awakening is my strong point!”
Celestial huffs. “Our personal guard consists of werewolves. Of course I would do some research in that direction. If you had told me about your state, I would have been able to solve the problem without such a half-assed method.”
Ascathon shakes his head and sips on his juice. “Better no awakening and losing, than being annihilated by your own comrade and losing.”
I pull at my own tail with mixed feelings. “As long as it's reversible?” It hurts! It's real!
A thin thread dangles into my field of view and I fight the urge to catch it. I turn towards Jazira who was dangling it from behind me and glare at her.
Jazira is smiling creepily and drool comes from the corner of her mouth. “She is so cute! I want to cuddle her. Can't you make this appearance permanent?”
Celestial shrugs. “It's permanent if she doesn't get the antidote.”
Jazira's creepy smile broadens. She grabs my tail and starts rubbing it against her cheek. “And can you make her a little smaller? She would be perfect if she was even smaller!”
“~Nyargh!~” I try to recover my tail, but Jazira holds it with an iron grip. “Let go! That's not how you are supposed to … ~Haaahhngh!~” A strange feeling bolts through my body.
Jazira grabs my left ear and a prickling runs down my spine! “~Haaah!~” I fall to my knees while my entire body shakes. Finally I manage to pull my tail free and press it to my chest while curling up around it.
Celestial kneels down beside me. “Hmm. A strange side effect? I didn't expect her new appendages to be that sensitive?”
The feeling finally fades away, but I keep lying there with tears in my eyes. “I feel violated! I was violated! In front of my pupils! By my pupils! My pride!”
Even Ascathon looks at me with a dangerous expression! “That was inspiring!” A dangerous fire is in his eyes.
I get to my knees and crawl away from them. “I am going to the restroom!!”
Jazira steps towards the door which leads to our private restroom. “I'll help you to take care of it!”
There is no time for consideration. I leap forward and grab her ankle, tripping her. Then I run for the door and lock it behind me.
Fists bang on the other side of the door. “I just wanted to help a little. Building up some skinship you know!?”
I turn the lock another time. Just to be sure. “No thanks! Get a guy!”
***
We are down in the arena. This time it is all four of us. We decided for me and Celestial to play the roles of frontline bruisers while Ascathon and Jazira to stay back and assist us. They insisted on this strategy in order to test if I would still fall into a mad frenzy.
Celestial nods towards the judges. “I know that the question comes a little late, but how many fights do we have to win as a group?”
I uneasily rub my hands together. “The one on one duels were the easy part. They are just something like warm-up matches. From now on we get points for each kill and if we do good enough, we can advance to the finals at the end of the day. The finals tomorrow use a knockout system. So if me make it there, we need to have the last man or woman standing at the end of the battle.”
