CHAPTER 2

Maria looked out the entrance. She had been monitoring a group of hooded figures who slipped into the arena halfway through the match. They all wore hoodies twice their size. Had a pirate skull biting a fork on their left shoulders. They wore masks to hide their faces. They entered the arena and spread out in all directions, strategically hanging around the big shots. No one seemed to notice except her and the bureaucrat she was supposed to protect. He gestured for her to inch closer to make her work less tasking, but she sat there waiting for what the street gang's next move was. From the corner of her left eye, she could see one slide out a dagger from his pocket and placed it by his side while another stood watch beside him. Maria stood up while the crowd cheered wildly for the brutes in the ring. Rather the brute and his punching bag.

She casually walked towards her target while swerving incoming human traffic and holding her breath so she wouldn't pass out from the beer and sweat. Digging her hand into her pocket, she brought out a small blue pen. The pen looked normal to the naked eye until you spot the eagle insignia plastered on its cap.

She got behind her target, the dude with a knife and gently pressed the edge of her pen to his neck. A surge of lightning so small it couldn't be noticed coursed from the pen into his body, paralyzing him from the neck downwards. His pupils rolled back into their sockets, and he fell silently to the ground.

His partner noticed his unconscious partner sprawled on the floor and he panicked. He looked around to see who did this, but he also fell unconscious after receiving three ounces of pressure to the vagus nerve from a Maria who was standing behind him.

Maria looked around the audience sections in the fight club. It was a big place for something under a small bar.

'Kind of like a mini colosseum' she thought to herself after reviewing the structure. The fights happened in a cage like arena in the center of the whole arena. Chains hung around the cage surrounded by metal netting preventing contestants from leaving the ring. Rune magic was inscribed on the chains although she couldn't tell what they stood from since she was far from them. The audience stood around this cage-like structure since it was elevated. The guests of honor sat on the special cases which were on the same level as the cage for premium viewing.

Maria looked around and saw the rest of the gang steadily closing in on the big shots. She caught a glimpse of one of the members who had noticed her movements and was steadily moving towards her, dagger in hand. She looked for the exit and noticed the gang had already blocked it.

'Uh-oh, what's the plan now' she silently muttered to herself

The cheering of the crowd as the smaller guy gained advantage interrupted her train of thought. She looked around once more 'Everyone was already distracted they won't notice a little turbulence' she thought to herself before walking towards her attacker.

He swung the knife at her hair, but she stepped back in time. The people around them gave them space, forming their own fight club right there. He thrusted the knife at her stomach. Maria side stepped again and knocked him out with a single hit to the jawline. He fell cold, but her side was warm…oddly. She looked down to see that she had been stabbed already, probably when her punch connected

"This won't do" she said to herself. She brought out an old watch from her pockets as the rest of the gang seemed to be closing in. After turning the second hand a few rotations back, she closed the watch and waved goodbye to the thugs.

She opened her eyes, and she was back to the moment her and her attacker met. She already knew what was going to happen, how it happened and what to do to avoid it. He swung the knife at her again. She side-stepped.

He lunged at her again, knife aimed at her neck. This time she waited until the last second before moving slightly and making him lose balance. The thug staggered but regained his stamina in no short time. He turned around to try the same tactic.

Maria grabbed his wrist and punched his elbow, sending the dagger straight to the ground. He stepped back in pain, holding his elbow, cursing. Maria picked up his dagger and surveyed it

"Fine dragon scale grip. Orc metal. Seemed it was forged in no ordinary furnace. Tell me kind sir, who do you work for" she asked before assuming battle pose with it.

"Why would I tell the likes of you" he asked grinning

"Because you have two choices. Either you tell me, and you go silently to prison, or you wind up a dead man"

"I hear hell is lovely this time of year" he said chuckling. Maria looked at his neck and noticed something very disturbing. There was a tattoo, tattoo of an azure dragon and the dragon was moving horizontally, as if it were flying round his neck, and it kept increasing in length. So much that it already covered his full neck.

"Long live Jafar" he said as the dragon bit his tail and he was no more. Maria lowered her magical shield which she conjured up in time. The audience were covered in blood, wondering what the hell that was. She couldn't find any of the gang's members in the arena anymore. The men in the ring had paused to see what was going on, but soon resumed the fight.

Amid the confusion and the resuming match, Maria felt a tap at her shirt. She looked around and saw a tall handsome young man. He had sleek brown hair and eyes so brown they reminded her of tree barks. He had a tailored three-piece suit, free of the blood that was just distributed courtesy of her. He looked and smelt like money and didn't seem like he wanted to hide it. Either that or his perfume was just damn expensive and worth it.

"Come with me" he gestured to her

"What for" she asked, and he pointed towards the bigshot she was supposed to protect

"He would like a word with you"