Preparations

(Azrael)

"Whoooaaa!"

"It's really her!"

"This is so exciting!"

The exciting cheers of the audience were so loud, it felt like the Arena itself was rattling. Well, I was also anxious to get started, so I couldn't exactly blame them.

"You're the one who's set a new record in the Arena, huh?" said Lily as she took a stance and gripped her sword tightly ,"I'll have to warn you that I won't be so easy to beat"

"Ha ha, of course", I smiled and unsheathed my dagger as well ,"I'd expect nothing less from the famous dragon slayer"

The audience quietened down after seeing us ready, holding their breaths in anticipation. The announcer's voice was the only sound that could be heard as he said:

"READY?"

I took my stance and got ready to defend.

"SET?"

Lily's gaze was locked onto me and she looked like she was ready to pounce. Seeing her serious expression, I couldn't help smiling a little.

"FIGHT!"

And it was on!

Sure enough, as soon as the match begun, Lily shot forward like a bullet from a gun.

'So fast!' I thought in surprise as she swiftly swung her blade upward. I narrowly dodged it and I felt it slice the tips of my hair.

I quickly leaped back to get some breathing room.

"Oh? You actually managed to dodge that?" Lily asked in surprise ,"But I'm not done yet!"

She rushed forward once more and this time attacked me with a flurry of slashes. It took all my concentration to avoid and parry her blade.

'How is she so strong?!' I gritted my teeth 'She's able to push me back even at 20%?!'

For the previous matches, no one had managed to get me to use more than 10% of my power. And this single human girl was able to make me struggle at 20%!

Lily managed to slice open a cut on my shoulder and I winced. My shoulder felt like it was on fire! Was she using a blessed sword?

"Where's you mind, Azrael?" said Lily as she made another cut across my cheek.

I stepped back once more to catch my breath ,"I'm just surprised that you're this powerful"

The audience cheered loudly, clearly enjoying the show. They must've been so bored during the previous matches. Now they could let loose and show their support.

I touched my shoulder and chanted "Hazais"

The pain subsided and the wound vanished without a trace.

"That magic...", Lily's eyes widened ,"Was that...Origin magic?!"

I raised a brow and thought 'Origin magic?'

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't", I bluffed ,"Either way, here I come-"

I increased my power to 30% and charged her. My sudden increase in speed stunned Lily for a moment but she still raised her rapier to counter me.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

"WHOA FOLKS!" said the announcer ,"THEY'RE MOVING SO FAST THAT WE CAN'T EVEN FOLLOW THEIR MOVEMENTS WITH OUR EYES!"

Even after increasing my strength, I still couldn't overpower Lily. And she didn't look like she was struggling at all to keep up with me.

'What a monster of a human!' I thought to myself 'But-'

The blood and adrenaline in my veins were rushing so fast through my body. This feeling felt so...exhilarating!

'That's what makes this exciting!' I thought with a smile and increased my power to 40%.

With that, I started pressing Lily back, slicing at the chinks in her armor. Lily tried her best to defend but she must've figured out that she couldn't keep up anymore.

She stepped back, breathing heavily with sweat gleaming on her forehead ,"Why are you suddenly faster?"

"That's a secret" I grinned and pointed my blade at her ,"Come on, let's keep going!"

"Ha! I'll only tire myself out and let you win if this drags on", Lily took another stance with a determined expression on her face ,"I'll end this with my next strike"

"Alright" I nodded, grinning as I gestured at her to attack ,"Come!"

Her grip on her rapier tightened and I saw her take a deep breath before lunging forward with renewed speed.

"Sword magic!" Lily chanted ,"Fallen Meteor strike!"

She brought her blade over her head and swung down, aiming to cleave me in two. The rapier's blade was glowing red hot and I could tell that if I took that hit, I was as good as dead.

'Not good!' I thought as I watched the blade come down towards me.

BOOM!

•

(OVERVIEW)

A huge explosion erupted, shaking the entire arena and rocking the people in their seats.

"HOLY SMOKES PEOPLE!" the announcer shouted excitedly ,"WITH A HIT LIKE THAT, IS OUR NEWCOMER STILL ALIVE!?"

They all watched as the smoke cleared and gazed in complete shock at what they saw before them.

"N-not bad" Azrael said through clenched teeth ,"You almost had me"

Azrael was on his knees, holding the blade in both his bare hands, inches away from his face. Lily's eyes were wide in disbelief as she kept trying to push her blade down but it wouldn't budge.

"I-impossible..." said Lily through gritted teeth.

"Yeah I get that a lot" said Azrael with a grin ,"I'll be taking my win now"

He twisted the sword out of her grip and kicked her in the gut. With a grunt, Lily was sent flying across the ring and out of bounds.

There was a brief moment of silence before Azrael slowly got to his feet and raised his hand in victory. The audience roared enthusiastically.

"THERE'S YOUR WINNER EVERYONE!" said the announcer ,"AZRAEL!"

Azrael walked over to where Lily was and offered her a hand.

"Nice match" he smiled kindly.

Lily hesitated for a moment before accepting his hand with a smile and he pulled her up.

"Yeah right", she said solemnly ,"I could barely hit you"

"Not true", said Azrael and he showed her his hands. They were swollen and bleeding from the impact earlier ,"You're actually the first person ever who managed to push me to 60% of my strength"

"Just 60%?!" Lily cried out in surprise. Then her expression became determined as she said ,"I vow to work hard until the day I can make you use a 100%"

Azrael turned to leave and waved his hand ,"I'll be waiting for that day"

Lily nodded and gave a small bow before leaving as well. Azrael went over to Ginger who jumping up and down in excitement.

"You were incredible out there!" Ginger shouted ,"I can't believe you actually beat her!"

"Don't tell me you actually doubted me" said Azrael, wincing in pain as he sat down on a bench.

Truth be told, just the impact from Lily's strike had messed him up considerably.

"Of course not!" Ginger said quickly as he rushed over and helped Azrael clean up the blood on his hand.

Afterwards, he brought out another brown pouch as well as a metal gauntlet.

He offered them to Azrael ,"Here are your prizes by the way"

Azrael looked at them and said ,"Nah, you keep them"

"Eh?" Ginger said in surprise ,"B-but-"

"Consider it a token of my gratitude" said Azrael with a kind smile ,"For the opportunity you gave me"

"Dude, I'm the one who should be grateful", said Ginger as he wiped away a tear ,"Thanks"

"Your welcome, Ginger. I guess I'll see you around-", Azrael stood up to leave but a tall grey haired man in a black suit came forward and blocked his path.

"Young Master" the man bowed ,"I'm Geram, a butler from the house of Bahram"

"T-the house of Bahram?!" Ginger stammered ,"One of the city lords?!"

"What do you want?" Azrael asked.

"One of my master's important guests has requested your presence, young master", Geram explained.

Azrael thought for a moment before turning to Ginger and said ,"Well, I'll see you around then"

"I sure hope so!" Ginger called as they walked out of the Arena.

Geram led Azrael to a horse drawn carriage and they got inside. Azrael sat in silence as the carriage moved, with his eyes closed and his arms folded.

"Does the young master have no questions about who sent for him?" Geram asked after some time.

"None at all" Azrael answered simply.

Geram looked at him with a curious expression for a brief moment before turning away with a small grunt.

After a while, the carriage finally drew to a stop inside of a huge estate, right in front of a large marble mansion. The surrounding trees and fountains only added to the place's beauty.

Geram stepped out first and moved aside to let Azrael through. Azrael whistled, taking in the scenery around him.

"City Lords sure live pretty nicely, huh?" he said to Geram.

"Of course, young master", Geram replied, sounding rather proud as if he were the city lord ,"This way to the garden please"

Azrael followed him down a paved pathway around the back of the house to a large canopy that overlooked a large rose garden.

Even from where he stood, Azrael could smell the sweet fragrance of the roses but that wasn't what had his attention.

A girl was seated under the canopy.

She had long brunette locks of hair and wore a maroon colored dress that sparkled with all kinds of gems. She was elegantly sipping a cup of tea but set her cup down on the table in front of her when she saw Azrael and Geram approaching.

Geram bowed to the girl before he moved to stand silently behind her. The girl stared at Azrael, her brown eyes studying his face as if waiting for something. Azrael stared back but simply chuckled lightly and took a seat in front of the girl.

"It's a little too early for us to meet up" said Azrael with a smirk ,"Don't you think so, Sam?"

The girl still kept a blank expression but the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.

"Pardon me, young sir", said the girl ,"I think you are mistaken. My name is Janet, Daughter of Lord Bahram-"

"Cut the crap", Azrael pointed at her ,"You can try to hide inside a human as much as you want but there's no hiding your aura"

The girl swore under her breath ,"And here I thought I did a pretty good job this time too"

"Oh you did" Azrael pointed out ,"But there's just no fooling me when it comes to this type of thing. Speaking of which-"

Azrael pointed at one of the pillars holding up the roof of the canopy.

"Burn brightly and devour all", he chanted ,"Primordial Hell flames-"

"WAIT WAIT WAIT!" came a panicked shriek from the pillar ,"ALRIGHT, WE'LL COME OUT!"

The air shimmered and revealed Abigor, dressed in a white tunic and green robe. A cloaked figure stood beside him, with their hood drawn to cover their face.

"Ha, try again next time", Azrael grinned.

"Seriously dude", Abigor complained ,"At this point, I might as well just give up. But what the hell! You were about to burn me to a crisp!"

Azrael simply shrugged ,"It was just to double check"

"Double check my a**!" Abigor yelled at him.

"Anyway", Samira cleared her throat and looked at the person standing behind Abigor ,"Abi, who is this person?"

"Hmm? Oh, you mean Fey!" He said and turned to the hooded figure ,"Lose the cloak already, Fey"

"As you wish, Master", came a feminine voice from under the hood. Fey drew back her hood and took off her cloak.

"You...", Samira muttered ,"You're an elf, right?"

"Yes", said Fey, her green eyes sparkling like emeralds. Her beautiful platinum blonde hair and pointed ears had given her away. She wore adventurer clothes and had a long bow slang across her back.

"Hmmm", Geram stroked his beard thoughtfully ,"I cannot remember the last time an elf was seen in this Kingdom"

"Is it that rare?" Azrael raised his brow quizzically.

"Yes", Fey answered simply ,"Us eleves don't usually associate with...humans"

It sounded like she wanted to use another word in place of humans but no one pointed it out.

"I...see", Samira nodded ,"So does that mean you're an outcast of your kind"

"Quite the opposite actually", Abigor laughed ,"Just after we parted ways, I ventured to one of the forests on the outskirts of the city and stumbled upon a hidden temple"

"Really?" Azrael sat up, now interested ,"I'm guessing that's where you found her"

"Exactly", Abigor nodded ,"Fey and her friends had decided to explore it but had gotten caught in one of the traps. Luckily for them, I managed to undo the trap easily and saved them"

"So what does this story have to do with her being and an outcast?" Samira asked with a bored expression on her face.

"One, because the treasure we managed to get from that temple is going to be a big help for us. And two-", Abigor gestured at Fey with a smug expression ,"Fey just happens to be the crown princess of the elven empire"

"What?!" Geram exclaimed.

"What?!" Samira shot to her feet.

"Really? Cool", said Azrael with a shrug.

Fey nodded in confirmation. Geram and Samira calmed down a bit and settled down.

"It wouldn't have hurt to mention that first, you know", Samira frowned at Abigor.

"It must have slipped my mind", said Abigor coyly.

"Lady Fey, why don't you sit down with us?" Samira smiled kindly at Fey.

"Apologies, my lady", Fey said as she shook her head ,"As Master Abigor's wife, I must stay by his side in order to be ready to attend to his every need"

Silence...

"Ooooh", said Azrael mischievously as he poked Abigor's arm ,"What was that I just heard? Wife, did you say?"

"N-now now, wait just one minute-" Abigor nervously tried to explain.

"Yeah, Abi..."

The atmosphere around them suddenly became very cold, literally. Frost spread across the entire table and on a few of the pillars that were close to Samira. She still had a smile on her face but there was no kindness or warmth anymore.

"Please go ahead and explain, Abi...", said Samira darkly.

Abigor gulped nervously ,"W-w-well, s-s-so-"

"Please don't misunderstand Master Abigor", Fey interjected ,"Since Master saved my life, it was only right for me to offer up my hand in marriage as a token of my gratitude"

"Ah", Samira nodded in understanding ,"I see. In that case, I don't mind but let's get one thing clear-"

Samira pointed at herself ,"I come first, got that?"

"Of course, my Lady" Fey bowed respectfully.

"Thank the gods", Abigor let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah yeah, so-", Azrael clapped his together and rubbed them enthusiastically ,"What's this treasure you were talking about?"

Abigor turned to Fey and nodded. Fey took out a small crystal-like blue box and four separate chain links in the shape of petals.

At the sight of them, Geram gasped.

"H-how is that possible?!" he exclaimed in shock.

"What is that thing?" Azrael asked, his expression now serious as he looked at the cube in Fey's hands ,"It's giving off some very ominous mana"

"The elves are race that were created between the union of a human and an angel", Fey explained ,"When the elves grew in number, the world dragon declared us 'The Mercenaries of Heaven'. A race capable of hunting almost anything, including the gods. And this was one of the weapons we used-"

"A Gleipnir rose...", said Geram quietly ,"A powerful artefact forged by the dwarves. Capable of sealing away even the powers of a god"

"What a devious little thing", said Azrael ,"Can I play with it?"

"Oi!" said Abigor in alarm ,"We need it to capture the dragon god tomorrow evening"

"Yeah", Samira nodded in agreement ,"My preparations are all ready. I even have someone watching him and apparently he's having a party this evening"

"He better enjoy it since it will be his last", Abigor snorted ,"What are we going to do afterwards though? The agreement that binds us with our mysterious master means that as soon as we hand over this dragon bastard, we'll be sent back home"

This time, Samira smiled and said ,"Oh, I think I found a solution to that problem"

"Great!" said Abigor brightly ,"Now we just sit back, relax and wait for tomorrow evening-"

"No"

Everyone turned to look at Azrael. He had been quiet for a while but now he stood up and looked at all of them, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"We strike tonight during the party", said Azrael as he cracked his knuckles ,"Time for some fun"