We fell into our groups: Lesky, Ithiel, Ulrich, Deodat and Stellio on one side, and me, Deepa, Senga, Ashley and Amr on the other. We each had our weapons and gadgets, and we knew which team we were about to face.
As I suspected, we were up against Romuald's group—his allies, not his whole gang—which reassured me. I could finally fight him and maybe make him see reason or at least humiliate him in front of the crowd. We were teleported and found ourselves on a floor of the tower—I don't know which, but I hadn't passed through this one before, I'm sure of it. The arena consisted of steep hills on the left and gigantic flowers on the right; the playing area was narrowed by the slope on the left, so we shouldn't have had trouble locating Romuald's team.
Ashley and Senga had armed themselves with baseball bats—Ashley had preferred to leave the sword to Deepa, claiming she hated using swords. Senga had modified his bat with Ulrich's help into something that looked fairly futuristic: the bat could electrocute people. We were all also wearing one of those bracelets that protects against ice magic—since we didn't really know their Deadhorses, you never know.
We kept moving but found no one; we turned toward some plants and suddenly shards of ice flew toward us—only to be immediately absorbed by a kind of shield deployed by the bracelet.
Then I saw Romuald's team appear from multiple directions; they'd set an ambush for us.
"No way!" Wolf, the pale green-haired noble, exclaimed. He's number 18 and there were ice spikes swirling around him—probably an heir of the Deadhorse of Winter. He looked furious that he'd failed to ambush us. Since we were the ones ambushed and Lynette, Romuald, Emilliana and Admetus were closing in, Deepa conjured her fire magic to create a brief ring of flames that pushed Romuald's group back for a moment.
"They're immune to ice… Wolf, fall back," Romuald ordered in a leader's tone—but I wasn't going to let Wolf get away that easily. I took advantage of his disorientation and leaped on him with my sword. I managed to drive my blade into his abdomen, but Wolf responded with a kick that shoved me back slightly, giving him time to flee. I wasn't entirely sure what was happening around me, but I watched Wolf run off. I didn't know whether killing him would be useful right now—he was wounded, and his ice magic was ineffective against us.
I felt heat behind me and saw that Emilliana, the Borrun from Romuald's team, had picked up a flamethrower—but it backfired on her and she seemed to have injured herself. She'd launched the flamethrower— which turned out to be basically deodorant and a lighter, but improved and more effective than the stuff we used to make illegally at school to impress our friends.
Admetus comes at me with his sword — I have to be careful with this little guy. Ophidra can temporarily turn people or body parts to stone. He has the same kind of long sword as Romuald, Wolf, and Emilliana, which differs from the blades I usually face. Our strikes clash, but neither of us manages to gain the upper hand.
Off to one side I see Wolf charging back in and fighting Amr. Deepa tries to help with her fire magic, but Wolf holds his own. What bothers me is that I can't see Romuald because I'm locked with Admetus, but the moment I spot him, he's moving toward Amr while Amr is still wrestling with Wolf.
"Amr!" I shout, turning my head, but Admetus won't let go — I barely dodge his sword this time. A few seconds later I risk a look toward Amr and see that Romuald has got him from behind; Amr nearly goes down from the blow to his back, but he manages to pull away a bit from the fight. I see Senga rushing to help Amr, but Romuald is too fast — he wounds Senga and snaps her baseball bat.
Things smell bad for her, so I run to her, abandoning Admetus who pursues me. I take in the rest of the fight: Ashley is grappling with Lynette and seems to have the advantage, while Deepa is trying to handle Emilliana.
When I reach Romuald, it's effectively three on three: Amr, Senga and me, wounded, against Romuald and Admetus who are intact — though Wolf is also injured.
Admetus charges Senga, but unarmed she can't defend herself, so she's forced to fight with her fists.
"Senga! Wait! Don't do it!" Too late. Despite my intervention with my sword, Admetus's left hand touches Senga's skin and her arm turns to stone. On one side Amr is struggling against Romuald — who to help? — but the time I spend deciding costs Senga her life: she collapses as Admetus's sword drives into her stomach. Senga has been eliminated.
"Come here so I can finish you, Romuald!" Ashley yells as she charges, bat in hand. She lands a hit and Romuald steps back, but he creates distance and uses his long sword to strike Ashley twice in the torso. It doesn't stop her — she's just briefly wounded. I see Wolf trying to rise; I can't let the fight end as four against five, so I rush him and finish him with a blow to the heart. He falls and disintegrates, eliminated from the match.
I stand back up — I don't know where Admetus went — but Romuald is dominating Ashley, and she cannot land a single decisive blow. Suddenly I see Amr running with his sword; even wounded he's trying to save Ashley. I don't think Romuald noticed him, so I know I can trust Amr to handle Romuald for a moment. Meanwhile Deepa is still fighting Emilliana and Lynette.
I arrive too late, though. While Deepa is fighting Lynette — who's armed with a knife — Lynette pulls out pepper spray and blasts Deepa in the face, blinding her and allowing Lynette to try to stab Deepa. Thankfully she misses and hits Deepa's stomach instead. I run as fast as I can, but Lynette lands several blows on Deepa; I hear her moaning in pain. I close on Lynette, preparing to attack, but she's quick and dodges my strike.
-"Distracted by my beauty?"
"I can't believe I let myself fall for that… damn it."
I can't help but growl in frustration — but suddenly, just as I'm about to finish off Lynette, a notification pops up that makes my blood run cold. Amr has just died. I take a few steps back as Deepa launches a burst of fire toward Lynette. She's barely standing, "recovered" being far too generous a word for Deepa's condition.
I glance toward Romuald and Ashley — there's no doubt about it. Amr was just killed by Romuald. It's now three against four. I still can't see Admetus; Ashley is locked with Romuald, while Deepa, badly hurt, is still trying to fend off Emilliana and Lynette.
I rush toward Emilliana. She's armed with a sword, which makes her the greater threat. Our blades meet — her long sword suits her strength well. I can feel my muscles straining to keep up with her power. Then another notification pops up — no, no, no, no!
Deepa is dead. I glance sideways and see Admetus — he got her from behind. We're in serious trouble now. Ashley runs back toward me, having taken Amr's sword after realizing her baseball bat put her at a real disadvantage.
"Two against four… do you really think we can take them?" I ask, panic rising in my voice. To beat them, we still have our secret weapon — the smoke bomb made from perfume thanks to Ulrich. I toss it toward the group, and as it hits the ground, a pink fog fills the battlefield. But then, suddenly, a white cloud appears right in front of us — a real smoke grenade. They just threw one back!
Now we're all trapped in the haze. Ashley and I grip our swords tightly — we'll have to fight blind, and the HUD system isn't working anymore. Why?! I start running, circling wide in an attempt to flank them. It works, partly — I manage to land glancing blows on Admetus and Lynette, but nothing decisive.
Then I hear Ashley cry out in pain — she must've been hit by Romuald or Emilliana.
Admetus suddenly turns toward me and his hand brushes one of my fingers — it turns to stone instantly. My sword slips from my grip into the mist. Then, a sudden strike slams into my leg. I scream in pain — and through the smoke, I see Romuald's face, twisted with rage and hatred.
"Roxy?!" I hear Ashley shouting somewhere in the fog.
"Stay down, would you?" Romuald snarls.
Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain in my other hand — Lynette has driven her knife straight through my palm. She's holding down my other arm, her foot crushing my hand against the ground, while my injured leg keeps me pinned. I can't move. Luckily, the knife isn't poisoned this time. Maybe… maybe they did that on purpose — a cruel reminder of how I survived last time purely by chance.
I hear footsteps — someone running. I imagine it's Ashley. Then a sharp sound of pain — Emilliana's voice — followed by a notification flashing before my eyes: she's just been eliminated.
Ashley appears right in front of me and lunges straight at Lynette, trying to kill her outright. But Romuald comes up behind her and drives his sword into her back. She collapses, and another notification appears — Ashley is dead.
The smoke begins to clear. Romuald stands over me, Lynette beside him, still crushing my hand under her boot, and Admetus watching silently from the side. I'm the only one left — and I'm in a pitiful state.
(DISCLAIMER: SCENE CONTAINS GRAPHIC VIOLENCE)
Romuald crouches next to me, looking down with a wide, twisted smile.
"What are you waiting for to kill me? Lost your nerve?"
"Me? No."
He drives his longsword through the same palm where Lynette's knife is still embedded. I scream in agony. He pulls the knife from my hand and holds it to my throat.
"You know… I've changed since our first encounter in the cemetery. I realized that killing you… wouldn't bring back Melinda — my girlfriend."
"So you finally understand that I didn't kill her—"
Even as he says I won't die, dread fills me. There's something wrong — something dark and sick in Romuald's intentions.
"Instead… I'll make you suffer."
He plunges the knife into my stomach — not deep enough to kill, just to hurt. Even though death here isn't real, even though I'll be resurrected later, the pain is. The pain is real.
"I'm going to take everything from you."
I swallow hard. I'm in pain — terrified — and he can feel it.
"Your dignity. Your honor. Your pride. And your guild."
I growl weakly. "Don't you dare touch them!"
"You took away the person I loved most, and you expect me to just forget? No… your guildmates will die, one by one. You'll finish these trials alone… until I'm satisfied enough to take your life myself."
He presses his boot against my throat, tightening it. I can barely breathe, too weak to fight back. The pressure grows — then releases — but suddenly another sharp pain bursts through my lower stomach, then my thighs, my legs, my feet. I scream in agony. Tears spill from my eyes. I'm crying, shaking, gasping with every stab Romuald delivers. I suffer with every blade that pierces my flesh.
Lynette and Admetus just watch. Their faces waver — they're not sure anymore. There's pity in their eyes, but they don't act.
"Romuald… maybe we should end this. If we want to win, we can't waste too much time," Lynette says quietly.
He stands, nodding. "You're right. The bleeding will finish her off slowly."
I wish he'd just kill me. I wish he'd end it quickly so I could be resurrected and escape this pain. But no. I can't. I'm forced to suffer until my eyes grow heavy, my body cold — and then… nothing.
Darkness.
Complete, endless darkness.
So this… this is what death feels like?
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Lore informations
Elimination order
Senga killed by Admetus
Wolf killed by Roxy
Deepa killed by Lynette
Amr killed by Romuald
Emilliana killed by Ashley
Roxy killed by Romuald