My Way.

'This has to be the only place in existence where people gather to watch other people get whipped and cheer for the person getting whipped… I mean, cheering for public torture is medieval, but not new… Cheering for the person getting tortured though… That's… Creative… I guess…'

I stepped up onto the stage one last time. 'Where I come from, if you want the crowd to cheer, you win the fight… You don't take a beating… Although, a bit of both usually gets a bigger cheer.'

The judge wrapped the chain around his hand. I exhaled and opened my eyes wide, staring at him. The moment our eyes locked he flinched ever so slightly.

I could feel my pupils expanding and contracting as I took in everything around me. The sound of the chain hitting the ground as the thick scent of blood lingered on its links. The moment it bounced off the wooden stage small particles of dust lifted from the ground and my breath slowed until I wasn't breathing at all, time slowing with it.

It was as if it was the same chain the Ghoule had used against me… It was even around the length of the one I had severed…

The judge's muscles tensed more with every step closer to me and the crowd cheered, some jumping or raising their arms as if it were a concert. 'I won't lose…'

I felt my skin tighten and harden as my body tensed, my arteries filling my muscles with blood as time began rolling forward again, even faster than normal and the judge took his first swing.

'Stay light on your feet… Don't let it trip you up… And never stop moving your arms…' The chain whipped, cracking and snapping as the tip cut the air right next to my face, but I didn't flinch even a little, maintaining perfect awareness of how it would move from the moment the wave started at the base of the chain. A strike that wouldn't even hit me wouldn't get me to move.

He cracked the chain again and I expertly moved under its arc, forcing it to tear into the wood as it carried through into the stage. The judge growled, his eyes showing his anger, but that just made things feel more real… 'I can't lose…'

I could see every link in the chain move separately and perfectly predict its trajectory, each time dodging as I slowly moved closer to him, dancing around the chain like a drunk man trying to mimic the waves at the ocean. With every step he backed up, but eventually, he ran out of room.

He planted his back foot and whipped the chain around above his head before aiming right at my shoulder. 'If I lose I die…' I twisted my body, toughening my arm, and let it wrap around, digging into my skin. I toughened my body more and took one last step closer, grabbing the handle of the chain and staring him in the face.

"What do you think you're doing…"

As he came to grips with the fact I was fighting back I slammed my free hand into the crook of his elbow, pulling back on the chain at the same time and taking it completely away from him. I wanted to say something cool back… But I couldn't think of anything, so I just stayed quiet.

His face slowly turned sower, but no matter how fast he moved I could react faster, my eyes seeing every change, even in his breath. As he tightened his core, even before he threw another attack I had already jammed the handle of the chain into his sternum, and after a kick to the side of his knee, and a big shove, he fell off the stage entirely, only then did the adrenaline start to fade and I start to think clearly again.

'Serves you for trying to hurt delicate little girls…'

I loosened my grip on the chain, but it was too tightly wrapped to just fall off and even felt like it was digging into my skin. The crowd once again looked on in complete silence. 'The only real question… Is what happens now… I… wasn't actually supposed to fight back…'

Noticing all of their eyes made me start to feel naked somehow… Of course, my outfit didn't help… With no real plan, I reacted on instinct and nervously left the stage, walking away slowly as my body stiffened from their eyes, dragging the long chain behind me.

Not even Lily had anything to say to me… So I just walked past her too, continuing on all the way back to the tint out of habit, sitting down in silence.

After a few minutes, Lilly came back and started quickly rummaging through different supplies she had set out. "How is your arm?"

"Oh… Uh…" I looked down. "It should be fine I think…" I slowly reached for the handle but she quickly slapped my hand away before I could touch it.

"No touching. You'll make it worse if you do it wrong."

"O-ok…" I stared at her, my eyes focusing and refocusing like cameras as she moved around. I couldn't tell if she was mad… Or disappointed… I felt like I did something wrong… But I wasn't really sure if that was the case… If I would get disqualified… Or… Anything really… At the same time, I had no regrets. Which made me feel like even if she was mad I couldn't apologize…

"Sit down, but don't let your arm touch anything." 

"I… Am sitting down though…' I moved to the chair in case that was what she meant and she quickly kneeled on the ground, carefully unwrapping the chain with a mix of slowly moving it and guiding out the barbs with an awkward-looking pair of pliers. The whole time I was too nervous to feel anything else. Even when it was finally out, it didn't really hurt until after it was fully bandaged. 'What's with that chain… was it really barbed?'

"That was really dangerous you know…" With a relaxing sigh, she leaned back, switching from kneeling to sitting and giving a casual smile that finally put me at ease… If only a little. "What possessed you to do that?"

I tried my best to awkwardly smile back. "I couldn't just let him ruin my clothes… I'm borrowing them…"

Her smile slowly widened as she shook her head before standing up with a sigh. "Well, whatever, You should start preparing for the last event. There are only two girls left counting you who haven't been outed, so you and the other girl will go at the same time… Probably soon."

My body suddenly felt hot again, like I had a fever that had just broken. "I'm not disqualified?"

"The only way they can disqualify you is if the judge deems you unfit to continue and since you made it through two minutes… You are eligible to continue… If you are up for it… This fourth round is the test of will. Willpower is the control of your own impulses. In this case, it is the ability to endure an intense amount of pain. This won't actually cause any physical harm to you though. You will take a poisonous herb that causes pain but has no other significant effects. You should know that this test usually causes the participant to pass out as well."

"Uhm…" 'just to be sure…' "You said no other significant effects… Which implies there are other effects…"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't worry about them."

"That might be difficult…"

"Seriously it's nothing, just prepare yourself for a lot of pain."

"You're not getting it… I really need to know what the other side effects are… If I'm taking a drug that has a chance of making me lay eggs and breathe fire, and potentially tearing my soul in half, I'd REALLY like to know that beforehand…"

She stared at me blankly for a minute. "That's an… Oddly specific example… And… Doesn't exactly sound insignificant…"

"Lilly…" whined.

She quickly raised her hands as if surrendering. "Fine." she scoffed. No, geez, nothing like that ok. It just makes everything taste minty for a few days and makes your piss smell different."

"Eh?"

"It's not permanent… And it's not like anyone will notice… What are you so worried about? I'd be more concerned about the pain… Most people don't stay conscious you know. In which case the first person to pass out loses."

"R-right… So you said." I sighed. 'I'm not sure I've ever really blacked out from pain though. Usually, it's more because of trauma or fevers…' 

"Yes, I made it through… Although my knee dropped to the ground… So I lost…"

"And you're sure there isn't anything else? Like I won't be supper weak, or anything like that?"

"I mean… Assuming you stay conscious. There would be a couple of hours of recovery, but after that, you should be fine. You are pretty small, so it might take a bit longer to recover, but you know…"

I slowly swallowed. "And what does this plant do to dragons?" 'just in case…'

She growled. "Siya… Do I look like a dragon… I thought they were immune to poison anyway… Look, are you doing this or not? It's perfectly fine to be scared, but weather or not you are prepared to do it anyway is up to you."

It felt like I shrank the moment she raised her voice. "S-Sorry… I never said I wouldn't… I'm just a bit nervous I guess…"

She rolled her eyes, calming down almost instantly and letting out another scoff as she scratched her neck. "No, I'm sorry, I guess I'm nervous too… just stay focused and I'll come and get you soon."

"Right…"