CHPT 481: Urgency Red

Something about holding a sword. Her sword. She never had a sword as a child. Or when her mother first told her she was entering womanhood…..whatever that meant. A sword was never commonplace for Maris. It held no historical weight like it may have for the young warriors surrounding her.

And even still, when she unsheathed her blade, and felt the handle settle into the malleable grooves of her calloused palms, it was like life setting into place fully. Like the final two pieces of a puzzle.

She could focus. Drown out the noise. Feel the blood that was an accessory to the blade like greed to…. Well you know who.

She wondered if it was the same for Ursula with her Axes. Or Warren with his bow. She wondered if they could also feel time slow when their weapons slashed through flesh and bone….

SLSH!!

SHNK!!

CLANG!

"AGGH!"

"Maris seems to have no advantages other than her nimble footwork! At this point it's a battle of her stamina against Obi's Armor! And let me tell you, Sunlandian Metals are no joke…" The Announcer commented as they battled.

"Sunlandian Metal…" Maris thought as she leaned backwards to dodge a swing of Obi's battle axe. She could hear his heavy armor click and clang against its sectional portions as he followed through.

Maris hopped out of the way and gave herself distance, studying slowly as she made his sweat stab him in the face and eyes.

"ACK! Dammit!" He swatted at his eyes before erupting in a ball of flames that evaporated his sweat.

He didn't waste his stamina chasing her.

He let her study him knowing she had thirty seconds before facing penalty.

She looked over his armor, taking notice of its black stone-like appearance.

"Black….. maybe to attract sunlight. But why? Maybe there's Runes on the undersid—"

FWOOSH!

A wall of flame flew at her. Maris enveloped herself in her ocean blue aura and moved fast, pushing the muscles in her calves as her arms moved a mile a minute.

Obi charged the fire, swinging at the first thing to emerge from his (Flame Wall) Elemental Spell.

CLNK!

His axe met the touch of leather armor and straps.

The crowd erupted in ooouu's and ahh's as Maris came from his left, slicing the back of his knee.

SWSH!

She slid across the sand colored platform as she turned to face him. He fell to one knee.

Maris felt something was…. different.

She lifted her blade to find no more than a few drops of blood….. and a dent.

Obi's dark blue Aura sat tightly over his armor like a second skin.

"This is ridiculous…" Maris commented just as Obi threw something she'd never seen.

He reached out to her. Flames crackled and blossomed into an aura shrouded blast of dark blue flames in the shape of a serpent.

It hissed its own torrent of fire like a dragon as it slithered after her amidst the crowds adrenalized excitement.

Maris dropped and rolled out of the way, never stopping once she got to her feet and flipped out of the way again.

Even still, it turned completely and splashed its unbearable hard heat into her.

SPWSHHHH!!!

[70% HP Remaining]

Her ears rang….

Her skin stung despite the activation of her Aura. It was just like Prof. Alvis said. Their Aura's like reinforced steel. Their element's like extensions of their imaginations instead of limbs.

Hell, the Sunlandians first year had a heat seeking fire serpent spell.

"MOVE MARIS!" Ursula yelled above the others so loud it almost sounded like the roar of an angered bear.

Maris opened her eyes as the floor shook with Obi's heavy footfalls.

She dropped her blade. Her missing piece. Sometimes you had to cut your losses to bind your win.

"No." Maris replied before letting Obi smash into her.

THUD!

Maris let out a pained sigh as they rolled. Stopping with Obi on top mount.

He leaned in, aiming to smash his weapons handle into her face with a staff jab.

Maris weaved out of the way, spitting her blood into his face as blood needles.

SPTOO!

He moved barely, letting it fly past his face.

Fastest Tank she'd ever faced.

Before he could attack again, she grabbed him, pulling him close to expose the back of his neck.

Her fingers flicked downward, causing the blood needles to rocked down from the sky and sink into the back of his neck.

For the first time it bit past his aura. She could feel his blood. And it wasn't a loose grip like it was before when his impossibly tough aura cut off her connection. She was in.

He tried to disconnect, using his strength to move her arms and get back standing. Before he could go, she lifted her legs and caught him in a triangle choke.

Obi looked at her, "You're not a very intelligent swordsman…"

He lifted her as if she was weightless.

She braced herself and poured her Mana into her Aura, thickening it around her back like the shell of the reptilian creatures she used to swim with back in her village.

"Glorians…" Obi grunted from the choke hold of her legs.

"Here it comes!" The announcer hyped the crowd.

Obi slammed Maris flat on her back.

FWBOOM!

Spit left Maris' mouth as the wind fled her lungs. Before she could attempt to recover, he lifted her again. Rinse and repeat.

After the third slam the Sunlandian Guards began closing in on the combatants. Men and women in the crowd cheered at the easy cash grab having placed their bets in Obi's favor.

Maris' Aura fluttered like a dying flame, losing its solidity as Obi lifted her to slam her into the crater they made once again.

BOOM!

Despite the offensive onslaught, Obi shook with exhaustion.

"What the hell..?" He coughed before panicking and attempting to erupt in flames.

All he got out was a spark before simply loosing consciousness.

Maris dropped her legs from around his neck and rolled away from him, sluggishly getting to her feet and spitting blood.

In the silence she walked over and picked up her sword and tossed armor.

In the end, victory was bound. And so were the severed losses.

The blood she pulled from Obi pooled under his unconscious body as if he fell in the crater from the sky.

The bizarre upset finally hit the crowd. Nobody cheered. Nobody at all it seemed like when compared to the rage of all the betters and Sunlandian supremacists as they broke out into a riot from the stands.

The Announcer found his way back on the stage, stepping over Obi in shock. The dark skin of his face covered in sweat from the effort he put into commentating what he thought would be a one sided grisly massacre.

He grabbed Maris hand, only for her to pull away.

"What are you doing?"

The Announcer raised an eyebrow at her, "Oh you really are an odd one…"

He turned to the crowd split by few cheering and many raging. Popcorn and ale flew across the sky like food colored fireworks.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Our Victor of the first battle of the day is Maris, Of The University of The Phoenix!"

She stood, watching the madness of the crowd. But listening to the people behind her.

"LES FKING GO MARIS! Show these Goblins what it is! New Gloria is UP!" Warren yelled as he cheered with Isaac.

"That was awesome, Maris! Claude did you see how she got him?!"

"Yea….. she's got it."

Maris' chest felt weird if only for a moment before the Announcer shoved a magical microphone into her face.

"Anything to say post victory, Maris?!"

Maris grabbed the mic, "Yes. For those of you in the stands, if you're so angry why won't you enter the tournament?"

The Announcer took the mic back, "Something tells me you are seriously asking that."

Maris nodded.

The Announcer blinked twice in shock, "Well, everyone, Maris. Your Victor moves on to the next opponent in The Indus Rebirth School."

People in the crowds scrambled to re-examine their bets while others ran to flee the stands being flanked by ominous large men in the distance.

Whatever that meant. Maris readied herself for the next bout.

And the next bout came.

And the next…..

And the next…..

Surely, other regions were developed far beyond The Glorian Students. And with Maris being Reborn for less than a year….. and possibly younger than the average first year, she was behind. But she had an equalizer.

***

"Ladies and gentlemen, Maris!"

Blood stained the tournament floor in pools as if bodies were being drained on the spot.

Sunlandian Guards were stationed in mass along the stands to hold back the people left in uproar.

Her friends weren't cheering this time.

"Maris!" Claude yelled to her.

She turned slightly to find him pushing his way through the formation to approach the front, urgency plain on his face as he called out to her.

"I understand you're eager to fight strong students, but there's things happening in the background here that are beyond you. Lost bets isn't the only problem, Maris." Claude explained while trying not to obviously point to someone in the stands.

Maris turned if only for a moment to search the crowd.

Amidst the growing madness, The Nine stood watching the crowd. The other important folks stood watching her.

The funders of the event.

The Fiara Family.

She hadn't seen Rupont since interview day one.

And now there he stood. He didn't have his smug smile. He looked pale. Even she could see that from the distance.

The woman accompanying him whispered in his ears with furious faces before he eventually swatted them away angrily.

The whole time he never stopped staring.

"Maris! Please!" Ursula said.

SHZSHKAKOOOM!

A bolt of lightning in six different places smashed into the earth all around the Ra Stadium. It sent a shake through the entire arena that made Maris' fingers numb as her sword vibrated in its sheath.

The crowd hushed as Ronin looked around at them all with his team of overpowered Heroes. The Dominator chuckled with Rory.

"Control yourselves or we will." Ronin's voice somehow carried the vastness of the stands like thunder.

"Yes…. Thank you Ronin of New Gloria. I'm sure you're proud of your nations success. Once again, Maris is your victor. We're approaching a record for New Gloria. Anything you'd like to say?"

Rupont leaned in over the railing, viewing her from a side eye. His movements spoke so distinctly it's almost like he was talking to her in that confident playfully evil tone.

"Do I know you, Maris?"

Maris grabbed the mic to answer the announcers question— somehow quieter in comparison to Rupont's soundless inquiry, "Yes. I'm done."

She walked off the stage, new students from other nations left to view New Gloria in a new light while the more experienced powerhouses chuckled at the chaos that reminded them of a Tangent.