Irene Lunar sang softly, her calm and soothing voice putting waves of exam takers to sleep as they heard her.
Across the field, now riding his wooden horse across the sea, Simon Saturen swung his lance up and sent out a tidal wave of water and vines that smashed down onto a large crowd of enemies, the sea becoming his shield and blocking all the spells.
Even further, in an open field, Nori Jupitari let his glass wings fade as he sat across from Emma Marsian, who had her guns down. The two were no longer fighting and instead shared a drink together.
All three of these zones were of particular interest and unknown to the exam-takers; far, far above, past the clouds themselves, several figures were watching the shows that were going on with great interest.
"My, oh my, this year really brought in a lot of eager-eyed recruits." Gorgon couldn't help but grin and lick her lips. Strands of hair twisted around her suit, forming tendrils that held up dozens of screens, all showing various views of the battlefield that was unfolding in the simulation below.
"Only a few this year have caught my eye." Myth grunted. Unlike Gorgon, he didn't have a screen; instead, he rested in his throne, staring down at the battlefield.
All seven captains were seated in their chairs, and it was their mana that kept this simulation running. One of the many magic towers had been torn down, and its insides were torn out in order to build the testing grounds. The power source that once ran the tower had unfortunately faded out, so the only way to keep the arena's simulation running was if five captain-level mages all used their own mana, something they could do while sitting on their provided thrones.
The thrones in question would drain a bit of a captain's mana and use that energy to generate the simulation in which all the life-and-death fights were taking place. It also served as a means for the captains to look upon the battlefield while seated on their thrones. From hundreds of miles above the simulation, they could pour mana into their eyes or ears to stare down at the land and see and hear all that was happening.
In Gorgon's case, she found it far easier just to use screens since it would drain less mana that way. Unlike the other captains, she didn't have anywhere near the amount of bottomless mana they all did, and just helping to keep the simulation running was draining enough.
"Who do you have your eye on this year, Myth?" Gorgon demanded. "Last year, you got lucky by recruiting that fire mage. She's been a Knight for only a year and has already received the mana of Haru and a name from the king. The year before that, you also got that ice mage!"
Myth gave a nod, a smug smirk forming onto his lips. "Yes, Cinder and Snow, the two of them were quite the lucky draws. They've done well, especially when I send them both into the field together. Perhaps Lady Luck will once again smile upon me, and I'll be blessed with another excellent pick."
"Sorry, Mythy, but Crowy and I got our picks already done." Dark Star called out. The older woman gave a toothy grin, revealing a mouth that was missing many teeth, and she slapped her knee. "Ain't that right, Crowy?"
Crow took another drag on the cigar, holding it in one hand. The eye-patched man was lazily slumped on his throne, half-dangling off of it. "Eh, a few of them pretty gals with the low-cut skirts caught my attention. The one girl with the cape and druidic magic already got my vote." In his other hand, he lazily held his phone and watched as he got a notification. Someone had bought his Shadow Robe spell. Maybe if he was lucky, it would be a bombshell of a babe, and she'd send him a pic.
Gorgon let out a whine. "Crow., you're supposed to wait until all the tests are over before you give out votes! Any person who gets a vote from one of the big three Guilds will jump at it, and it means we don't get to compete for them properly!"
"Ya snooze, ya lose." Crow shrugged.
"Try harder, deary." Dark Star laughed. "This ain't my first rodeo; ya gotta vote first and ask questions later. That's why Father picked this to be the first test that's taken, ain't it, daddy-man?"
The largest throne, the one that flew the Shining Sentinels banner, was in the center of the other thrones. This was because Father's mana was bigger than every other captain's combined, and he was doing the majority of the work maintaining the simulation. The armored man remained on his throne, and he had his gaze fixed down. A small smile was present on his face. "Well, I may or may not have asked Pretty Face to rig the tests so mine would be first." The man sheepishly admitted. "But only because I thought it would be the best way to start the exam. By having all the exam-takers fight each other in a stakes-free battle, we've gotten to see what they can do, and it's already given me a few ideas on new members I would like. Of course, I've decided to play by the rules and wait until all the tests are done before I cast my vote." The man clapped his hands together. "Enough about me, though. How does it feel to be up here, Dye? You're the newest captain, so this is your first time seeing the exams in action, is it not? Is everything to your liking?"
Dye's only response was a low grunt. The man was covered in even more paint and clearly hadn't been paying attention; instead, he was scribbling away at his canvas with a marker in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, which was magically changing colors every few seconds.
"Yo, Dye, we asked ya a question," Crow called out.
"What? Yeah, whatever, I don't care." Dye shook his head and poked his head out. "I'm in the zone."
"What are you even making?" Myth asked, raising an eyebrow. Due to how all the thrones were floating, it was impossible for him to see Dye properly.
Dye kept weaving his hands out as fast as he could and didn't look like he'd be stopping anytime soon. "My masterpiece." He breathed out. "I don't know why, but her mana spoke to me when I laid eyes on her. It was a little tricky since she had a costume change, but I think I've almost gotten it down."
Gorgon was able to use her hair to send a strand out Dye's way. It was wrapped around the handle of a mirror, and she angled it in such a way that she could see what he was making. The painting itself depicted a young woman with snow-white hair and blood-red eyes, who, for some reason, was dressed in a black, witch-like outfit.
"Is she one of the exam takers?" Gorgon asked, frowning softly. "I think I recall someone that looked like her, but they weren't that interesting and had shit stats, so I scrolled past them." Dye was back to ignoring everyone, his eyes transfixed on his painting as he continued to add details and make improvements. "Whatever. Yo, Grampa Green, how do you feel?"
The smallest throne of the circle was also the lowest down since it provided the least amount of mana. Two people were actually on this throne. The first was Grampa Green, the withered old man literally attached to his chair with roots and vines, and the second, hanging onto the throne for dear life, was his caretaker, Paragon, the only vice captain allowed to sit in on Captain meetings.
Grampa Green's eyes rolled around awkwardly in his skull. He opened his mouth, about to speak, and there was this horrible popping sound as his entire lower jaw snapped off.
Paragon's hand shot out, and she caught it and jammed it back in place. She muttered a spell under her breath, and a thin grass-looking thread jutted out of her palm and began to sew the jaw back onto Grampa Green's face. "Please stop asking him questions." The healer said flatly.
"Everyone," Father began. "Please direct your questions to Paragon if you want to ask Green anything. Remember, she is his eyes, his ears, and his mouth, now and forever."
Crow blew out a puff of smoke. "Aye, I give it a week before old man Green is dead and gone."
Dark Star let out a snort. "That old bastard will outlive us all. That elf blood that pumps through his veins is serious shit, ya know. He can't die even if he wants to." She laughed.
"The exam will be ending soon, won't it?" Myth asked. A blue screen appeared before him. It had a timer that was rapidly counting down. "Less than five minutes left. I imagine most of the small fries are out of the game now."
"Well, them and some of the unlucky guys who happened to wander into the wrong lion's den," Crow said, sighing. "Rip to that gray-haired wind mage for running into the one guy that can split air apart."
"I wonder how the losers are doing." Dark Star snickered again.
"Hey," Father shook his head. "We do not call them losers; they are people who tried their best. Just because they failed this test doesn't mean they don't have a chance to pass the other upcoming tests."
"Nah, they're losers," Crow said, pulling out a new cigar from his shadows and lighting it up. "Never has there been a mage in the history of these tests who has become a Knight after failing the first exam."
Father folded his arms and frowned. "Well, that's the thing about history, isn't it, Crow? There is always someone who will be the first to do it."
Crow was about to say something but stopped when a screen of his own flashed before him. Every Captain got one. The test was finally over. The simulation was about to end, and those who died would reappear.
***
Davi tried to open his eyes, but they wouldn't budge. He tried to move an arm or a leg, but again he got no result.
Only one thing was certain for him. He was in pain. His body ached, and he could feel his blood pouring out of him. Enough to where he was sure he should be dead, yet he wasn't. He was still alive.
Above him, or rather on him, he could feel the thing that was crushing him. Massive and bulky, like a boulder, but made of flesh, it pressed down into him hard. His organs groaned and popped, and his bones erupted in a shower of splinters piercing past his flesh, and yet he still wasn't dead...
Olivia was gone. Unlike him, the impact had killed her instantly. All the agony, all the pain, it was all his to bear, and it was horrible. Almost as horrible as the day he had become frozen in ice. The day the Dragon had ruined his life. He wanted to die, but he couldn't. He was crushed and broken beneath a giant overgrown head, forced to live, just like how he had survived, encased in the ice alongside his brother for Haru only knows how long.
Luckily for Davi, mercy smiled upon him.
In the darkness, he saw a flicker of blue.
'Congratulations. You made it to the end of the first exam without dying. Your total points: One. You have gained the eye of one Captain. The simulation will now come to an end.'
Back in the colosseum arena, Davi felt his feet touch the ground. He was in the exact same place he had been standing at before he left, tucked away in a corner. Ash was next to him, too, the grey-haired boy screaming as if he had just been sliced to bits.
Davi blinked and looked down at both his hands, which were still attached to him. He also looked down at his clothes, which had changed back to what he wore before he stole Rowan's armor. He was back in the shitty shirt and tunic.
"Row Shadow Vault." He held his hand out, but to his sorrow, Rowan's wallet or sword didn't come flying out. "Damn, now I have to rob him twice; he'll totally see it coming the second time."
Ash dropped to his knees, hyperventilating. "I'm alive? Oh, right. It was all fake. I didn't get my head sliced clean off." The boy patted his neck as the image of the silver-haired swordsman flashed through his mind. He shuddered. He wasn't the only one screaming either. Dozens of people were yelling and having borderline panic attacks as they came to in the arena. One moment, they had been dying a brutal death, and the next, they were back to life. Most people were used to exams, but very few people constantly died in them like Olivia did, so this experience of death was a first for many of them. Ash tiredly looked at Davi. "I'm guessing you did well?"
"Nah, I got crushed to death," Davi said flatly.
"Why aren't you screaming then?"
"I guess I'm not mentally sound."
"Well, that checks out…"
"Speaking of which," Davi cracked his knuckles and frowned down at Ash. "Did you come to fight me again?"
"What did I do for you to assume I'm ready to throw hands with you?" Ash yelled.
"So you're not here for a rematch?"
"No!"
"Well, then, leave me alone." Davi turned around and began to casually walk away, leaving a confused Ash behind.
"What did I do?" Ash yelled out. He then frowned as he watched Davi leave. There was a flicker of blue, and Ash was a little shocked to see the blue box from the simulation return. It was likely some enchantment set up by the arena.
'Thanks for participating in the first exam. Unfortunately, you failed to reach the end of the test. Better luck in the other exams. Your total points: thirty. Zero Captains have set their eyes on you.'
Ash clenched his jaw. Even after fighting alongside Bruno, he hadn't gotten the eye of a single Captain on him? "Damn it." A bit of blood dripped down his lip from how hard he bit it. "No. This isn't fair. I tried so hard, though."
Davi began to weave in and out of the crowd. As he did that, he pulled his phone out and looked through his grimoire app. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that he still had three spells. Even if everything else in the simulation had been fake, him buying a spell from the market with Rowan's money had been real, which also meant he gained the ire of Rowan—bonus points.
"Davi!"
He looked up when he heard Olivia holler his name and found her and her friend Bruno running toward him. Like him, Olivia was back in her usual outfit and no longer sported the witch-girl clothes.
"Sup, bro." Bruno gave Davi a nod and grinned. "Olivia told me about the test; how in the hell did I make it to the end, but you didn't?"
Davi shrugged. "Bad luck."
"Nah, I ran into this dangerous bro, and I still survived; maybe I'm just better than you." Bruno chuckled and winked. "We should have a match; I wanna know how I stack up against you."
"Sure." Davi pulled his fist back, about to throw out a mean right hook.
"Not right now!"
"Oh, whoops."
"I did pretty well, though," Bruno smirked, and as if on cue, his box appeared.
'Congratulations. You made it to the end of the first exam without dying. Your total points: Two hundred and thirty-two. You have gained the eyes of six Captains.'
"How did you get so many points?" Olivia asked in shock. She knew Bruno was powerful, but the number of points he had was crazy.
Bruno let out a laugh. "I found out that if you beat someone, you get the points they had! The guy I fought had a butt-load of points, and it was a mega close fight, but in the end, your bro managed to squeak out the win!" Bruno flexed, and his smirk grew.
Olivia couldn't help the jealous flame that stirred up inside of her. She was happy for Bruno, she truly was, but her own results were awful.
'Thanks for participating in the first exam. Unfortunately, you failed to reach the end of the test. Better luck in the other exams. Your total points: one. One Captain has set their eyes on you.'
It might sound good to have a Captain have their eye on you, and in a way it was, but it didn't mean you'd get in. The Captains could vote at any time of the exam, but they were technically only supposed to do that once all the tests had been finished. In the case of someone doing well, the Captains would break this rule and give their votes out early. This is what happened with Bruno, and it was impressive that he had six, since that meant six Captains had voted for him.
So, having one set of eyes on you would be good?
Wrong. The reason it was bad if only a single pair of eyes were on you, especially in a case like hers, where she did bad, was because it was most likely Phoenix Flight.
Since half the time, the Captain of Phoenix Flight was either MIA or dead, an AI had been built which was programmed to vote for the worst of the worst, since Phoenix Flight needed to use their votes up as well, even if they usually didn't get members. Having zero eyes on you was better than having one, because there was a good chance that one pair of eyes was the worst Guild in the world.
Even then, having a vote from Phoenix Flight didn't mean anything, since the AI would give votes out to everyone that did bad, which typically disqualified Phoenix Flight from getting any members, thus leading to no one even being able to join it, despite having a vote. Not like anyone would want to join that Guild, that anyone who did finish the exam with the eyes of Phoenix Flight on them would often turn the job down at the end and try again next year.
Olivia sighed and folded her arms. She looked around at all the panicked people who were only just now starting to calm down. She had been through a ton of simulations and even almost died a whole bunch in the real world, so the fake death that had happened to her barely even caused her to pause. She hoped the captains would notice that cool trait about her, but she had a sneaking suspicion she was already standing in the shadows of the people they had already voted for.
The captains in question were all sitting on their thrones, back up top, while the stands of the stadium filled with many of the Knights who had gone to the backrooms. Many of the Knights went to their vice captains or their captains, showing them clips they saved. Even though the captains and vice captains had watched the fight, it was impossible for them to truly see everything, which is why they had various other people watching and taking notes for them.
"Alrighty!" A loud booming voice announced, and Pretty Face once again floated through the skies, clapping her hands together. "That's the first test down! I have to say, I'm a bit scared at how many of you went for the kill right away! A couple of sickos, huh? That's okay, though! We Knights don't judge!"
"You totally do, though," Davi said flatly, though his voice went unheard from all the yelling and cheering. The gloomy looks were fading from everyone's faces now that the test seemed to be entirely over. "I hate the loud yelling." He sighed and plugged his ears.
Pretty Face stood in the air, her wings extended, and she gave a large grin and struck a pose, pointing down to the crowd. "Alrighty! Now that you've finished the test, I think it's high time you all take a break! You didn't physically use up any energy, but I'm willing to bet you're all mentally exhausted; am I right?"
More cheering exploded through the stadium, and Pretty Face clapped her hands together. Once more, there was a deep rumble like last time, but it was a lot more manageable. Sections of the ground began to open up, and from metal platforms, dozens of tables rose.
Smoke rapidly started to spread out along with the aroma of expensive-looking food. Several bellies all growled, and mouths filled with water. Several of the people who had all taken the exams before all managed small grins, some relief flooding onto their faces, and Olivia couldn't help but giggle as she saw all the options.
"The rumors were true."
"What rumors?" Davi asked.
Olivia's eyes scanned from massive steaks to giant stuffed turkeys. "The forum posts all talk about how the Knight exams create one of the greatest all-you-can-eat buffets for the recruits every year." Her own stomach rumbled as she saw rows of buttered lobster and massive plates of colorful fruits and veggies. There were even entire bowls filled with nothing but ice cream. "This is one of the reasons I wanted to come here! Well, besides all the other more important ones, I mean…"
"We had all of this stuff prepped for you!" Pretty Face said happily. "For the hour, the captains will be reviewing the footage that was taken of the matches and looking it all over! This means you all have one hour to eat, rest, or talk amongst each other! If you want to use any of the bathrooms, find one of the many doors and just walk in a circle until you stumble across one! We knew Phoenix Flight would be here this year, so hundreds of additional rooms were all built just in case!" She stayed floating as everyone stood there motionless. "Well? What are you waiting for? Dig in!"
The first soul walked forward cautiously. It was a tired-looking man who reached out and took a crab leg. He sucked the meat out and let out a moan. That was all it took for everyone else to surge forward and start grabbing food as well.
"Bros, this looks amazing!" Bruno let out a girlish giggle and rubbed his hands together eagerly as he made his way over to a table, followed closely by Davi and Olivia. "I'm pumped! First, I beat that silver-haired boy, and now I get to enjoy amazing food. Sign me up!"
Olivia nodded her head. "Oh yeah, I've waited my whole life for this food; I hope it's as good as my dad told me it was! What are you going to get, Davi?"
"Fish." Davi casually smacked some poor guy, sending him flying back several meters so he could pick up the entire plate that was full of grilled catfish. He was just about to enjoy it before something slammed into the top of the plate, knocking it to the ground. "..."
"You jackass!" Davi felt someone grab him by the front of his shirt, and he was forced to look at Rowan, who was glaring at him. Standing behind the noble boy were an equally angry Sera and Ashley. "Do you know what you did? Did you seriously think you'd get away with robbing me? You did that on camera, you know! Those exams were all streamed, and I'm going to get a copy of that and show everyone how you used my card! That was real money you stole from my account! I'm going to have to call the bank and get a refund and complete a lot of paperwork because of you as well. And until I do, I can't even use my card! Wait until my father hears about this!" Rowan breathed heavily and glared at Davi, who kept his blank look. "Well! What do you have to say for yourself?"
Davi slowly reached up and then patted Rowan's shoulder. "My bad. Sorry."
Olivia awkwardly looked around, hoping she could get help from somewhere, but Davi wasn't the only one in danger of starting a fight. Plenty of people were beginning to get the courage to yell at the people who killed them during the test, and mini-fights had started to break out all throughout the arena. The Knights weren't doing anything about it either.
Rowan's angry look only grew, and he placed a hand on his sword. "The first two tests are held on the first day." He spat out. "After the second test, exam-takers are given rooms where they can sleep and rest before the last two tests, which are held the day after. I don't want to see you here another day, though. After the second test, you and I are going to duel. One-on-one, me versus you, we start at midnight. Got that." Rowan hissed. "And when I beat you, which I will, you're going to step down and stop taking this test."
"You can't just challenge him to a duel." Bruno cut in but was stopped when Davi held his hand up.
"What do I get when I win?" Davi asked, giving a confident smile.
"When?"
"Yeah, you said I have to leave the test if you beat me, so what do I get 'when' I do beat you?" Davi asked. "If you don't have a response, we can make it something simple. You give me the money I borrowed from you and forget about it. Sound fair?"
"No! You already stole that money! Do you know how many Bells I lost?" Rowan reached into his pocket and he pulled out a golden bill. The paper was square and thin, and on the front of it, there was the outline of a man in a crown. Rowan tugged on the Bell bill in between his fingers, threatening to tear it. "One golden Bell is more than your kind should ever see, and you spent nearly one hundred of these!"
"Alright, then I'll just pay you back." Davi shrugged. "How about that? If I win, you forget about pressing charges and give me the chance to pay you back."
Rowan finally pulled away and gave a deep frown. "Well, I guess it was just chump change, so it isn't a total loss."
'There were so many zeroes; that's what you call chump change. Fuck you, rich bastard, eat shit.' Davi kept those words to himself.
"Master Rowan, you're not considering his suggestion, are you?" Sera asked, still glaring at Davi.
Rowan turned away and let out a snort. "It doesn't matter. He only won because of a dirty trick." Rowan began to walk off but stopped and shot a glare back at Davi. "I won't make the same mistake a second time."
Davi quietly opened his vault, sucking in the catfish and plate that had been dropped on the ground. He then turned and found Olivia and Bruno giving him looks. "What?"
"You seriously agreed to duel that guy?" Olivia asked, sighing. "He seemed pretty confident he could beat you."
"I'm confident I can beat him also," Davi said, flicking Olivia on the forehead.
"Yeah, but you don't have a sword, unlike him," Olivia said, huffing. "Or any weapons, for that matter."
"That's true." Davi folded his arms and tilted his head to the side. "I'd better go find one then."
"What do you mean by find—" She didn't get to finish as Davi took off, walking shockingly fast as he dodged and weaved through the crowd.
"Think Davi can win?" Bruno asked.
"I do." Olivia nodded her head after a moment. "I still don't like the idea of him dueling another guy, though. That was a member of the Zyne family. They're not one of the five noble branch families, but they're closely tied to the Helios family. It's bad news. Even if Davi does win, they might throw him under the bus. Why did he have to steal, and all for a stupid witch-girl outfit?"
"Hey, that outfit was good," Ken said casually. "I liked it."
"Was it?" Olivia asked. "I guess I didn't get a good look at it, but it wasn't that bad to wear it. Maybe if I could tweak it a bit, I'd like it more. There is this Knight I look up to who also wears a witch-girl outfit, and—wait a second? Ken Yuan!"
"Sup. How's it going?" Ken gave a grin and lifted her hand.
Bruno grabbed his wand, ready to fight, but stopped when he saw the casual look Ken had. "Bro, did you befriend her?"
"I don't think so?" Olivia said hesitantly. "Why are you here?"
"Hey, we had a life-and-death battle." Ken snorted and folded her arms. "I'm sure that doesn't mean anything to you, but in Rossum, that's how friends are made."
"The more I learn about Rossum, the more it sounds like a violent place…"
"Now you're getting it." Ken winked. "Seriously, though, no hard feelings, right? I mean, I knew I beat the ever-loving shit out of you because you suck, but you can look past that, right?"
"I see you're still a total bitch." Olivia sighed. Then she forced a smile and casually slapped Ken's hand. "Whatever. Sure. I can look past that. I did blow a hole through you, after all. That said." Her fingers suddenly grew tighter around Ken's hand, and she stepped forward, getting into the girl's face. "If you hurt one of my friends like that again, I'll stop you for good."
"Scary," Ken said sarcastically. The red-haired girl yanked her hand away, her smirk only growing. "But, I hear ya. Loud and clear." The girl reached down, and for a moment, her fingers curled around the gourd that was at her side. "If anything happened to my friend, I'd be livid as well. You should tell that black-haired man that he's lucky that was all a simulation. For that reason alone, I will look the other way. Next time I cross his path on the battlefield, though, I won't hold back."
Olivia narrowed her eyes and watched as Ken left. Bruno cleared his throat after a moment. "So, I take it you two aren't friends?"
Meanwhile, Davi found himself walking the halls of the stadium. Along the sandy floor, there were several doors that led to enclosed sections of the building. The hallways were made of white marble and had various lights that hung up above, and the entire building looped in a circular line, with multiple stairs appearing every now and then, presumably leading to higher floors.
He had just started walking and taking random flights of stairs, hoping he'd stumble across a weapon room. He knew the chances of that were slim, so he also hoped he'd randomly run into someone who would be willing to give him a sword.
Surely, a Knight or two would be willing to give him something, right?
At least, that had been the plan, but as he arrived on a new floor, it became clear something was wrong. All the doors along the wall were torn off, and past them, Davi found himself peering into destroyed rooms that might have been a bathroom at one point.
The entire hallway had become flooded with water, and each bathroom he passed was the same as the last. The toilet was torn to bits, and all the pipes had exploded. Even doors that hadn't been opened were ruined when he checked in on them.
It was like this entire section of the floor had been built to contain nothing but bathrooms, and every single bathroom had a bomb go off within them.
'Who keeps blowing up all the bathrooms?' The water was all the way up to his ankle, so he quickly opened his vault, sucking it all up in order to rapidly dry the hallway off, but more water just kept coming, and even more doors would burst open, shooting out more torrents of water.
He was about to continue on but was stopped when one of the doors directly next to him exploded open, and he had to duck down to avoid it. More water came spilling out, and the door was ripped off its hinges, the wooden object shattering when it slammed into the wall behind him. A groan came from the now-open door as someone stepped out.
"Damn seafood, constantly running through me." Davi blinked, completely taken aback by what he was seeing. "Sweet Haru, why does this keep happening? How has it not left my body yet? This feels like an E1 Grade poison."
It was a woman. One who was a hot mess, in her early forties, clearly having the worst time of her life.
She was dressed in white robes that were mostly soggy now, and torn to ribbons, as if someone had taken a pair of scissors to her clothes. On the sleeve of her outfit, the outline of a bird was etched into the fabric out of a mix of red and gold, with its wings extended outward.
The woman's hair was a platinum blonde that at one point had been done up in a bun, but strands were poking out every which way now. Her face was a little green, and bags resided under her eyes. Resting at her side was a katana, one that kept slipping off her belt, which was the only thing holding her robes together since there was a massive tear across the back. She had to hold the belt up and keep catching the sword that tried to slip off. She had only one shoe, a wooden sandal, and her other foot was completely bare, kicking up small puddles of water.
The woman stalked forward, wobbling slightly, and kept one hand on her belt and the other on her stomach. She walked directly past Davi and then stopped and turned, a frown on her face as her eyes met his.
"What do you want?" She asked flatly.
"You smell like shit," Davi said casually, and he plugged his nose. "This is toilet water I'm standing in, isn't it..."
And on that day, perhaps through fate or dumb luck, Davi Hawker came face to face with the leader of Phoenix Flight.