Chapter Eighty-Two: Mascots

1 year ago…

Akari Asato was busy training in the castle's backyard, doing pushups with massive boulders on her back as her brother watched from a nearby bench.

"Sister, you know that overworking yourself isn't healthy, right?" Atomu pointed out.

Akari ignored him and continued to do more reps. "3335, 3336, 3337, 3338…"

Atomu shook his head and stood up. "You never listen, Sister."

Akari held her position for a moment, catching her breath. "Practice makes perfect, brother. Have you seen the way the Generals themselves look at me? It shows the work I do will be acknowledged."

"Really?" Atomu asked. "So you believe there will be no threat to your next Tryout?"

Akari shook her head, resuming her pushups.

"No candidate is better than I am. Not that Nishiyama girl, that Kazue girl, Hikari, that weird boy, Tsugumi, and not even you, Brother."

Atomu remained silent for a long moment. "So what are you trying to say?"

Akari stood up, easily smashing the boulder. "There's no one in this nation, except the Generals, who can match my power level."

Her eyes began to glow white. "No one."

Present Day…

Inside the Raijin Arena, the crowd recovered from the devastating final clash between Aoki and Akari. Dachii and Hikari frantically searched the dust cloud, looking for any sign of the girls.

"Did they kill each other?" Dachii wondered. "They split the entire arena in half!"

Hikari tried to jump down, but the electric barrier kept her from doing so. "Damn it, let me out!"

The dust cleared, showing Akari and Aoki facing each other, a few feet apart. Aoki's face and chest were covered in blood, Akari's right arm was severed from the forearm down, and she was missing an eye.

Aoki raised her blade, ready to strike. "Hmph. You're not dead."

Akari observed her, breathing hard. As she raised her arm up, Venus approached them from behind, clearing her throat.

"Well, well! That's enough fighting, girls! Based on the damage to each other, Aoki narrowly escapes with a win!"

Akari's arm and eye immediately regenerated. "What? I can heal, she can't!"

Venus put a hand on her shoulder and leaned in close. "Don't worry, there'll be plenty of time to 'ELIMINATE' her later on. For now, you'll just have to SPECTATE!"

Akari's eyes began to glow. "Spectate? To hell with that, I'm taking my teammates back—!"

Aoki took a step forward. "Watch it. You lost."

Akari immediately fired an energy blast at Aoki, which knocked her back. "You shut the hell up."

The crowd gasped, watching as Aoki got up and prepared to charge at her. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Venus snapped her fingers, and an army of Zharian Gladiators came from the tunnels. "Now, now, girls. Let's not tear up this place anymore. Aoki remains on Dachii's team."

With another snap of her fingers, Dachii fell out of his cage, landing on the ground. Akari immediately checked on him.

"Are you alright?"

He rubbed his head. "Yeah, perfectly fine…"

Venus raised her lips to the mic. "Well, now that our first match of Round 2 is complete, you all get a short break! Competitors, regroup in your designated locker rooms before the next match begins. See you shortly!"

She turned on her heels and walked into a tunnel. The Zharian Gladiators raised their weapons at Aoki and Akari, and Mar came from the pack.

"Don't try anything funny, you good-for-nothing elves."

Hikari noticed the barrier had disappeared, and she immediately jumped down and ran toward Dachii and Akari.

"Akari! Did she hurt you?"

Akari held out her hands. "No. You know me, she couldn't possibly damage me. At all."

Aoki scoffed. In a blur, she grabbed her sword, and Akari felt herself get slashed in the eye.

"Watch your tongue, Princess."

Akari's eye healed once again and she turned toward Aoki, preparing to attack, but Hikari held her back.

"Akari! Wait! It's not worth it!"

She stopped, calming down. "Right, you're right. Sorry."

Dachii stood up, just as Grishna and Ayana made their way to him.

"Dachii, mate!" Grishna called out. "We've got the entire crew back, and that was one hell of a show!"

Ayana stayed a little further back, but she patted him on the shoulder. "Was it fun watching?"

"No," Dachii responded.

Akari studied the two. "Who are these people?"

Dachii had a nervous look on his face. "They…they're friends! Met them during the Games!"

Akari took note of them both. "An orc…and a human? Wait, are you SURE that's a human?"

Ayana held up her arms and turned around. "I'm 100% human, but thanks for asking."

She turned towards a tunnel. "Dachii, you and your team should head to your locker. Round Two of these games never goes well."

She left, and Aoki also made her way to a tunnel. "She's right. Come on, weaklings."

Hikari stomped her feet. "I hate that girl so much! I just hate her!"

Akari sighed. "I can see why."

Mar pointed after her. "You heard the girl! Move it!"

Dachii, Grishna, and Hikari walked after Aoki, but when Akari tried to follow, Mar stopped her.

"You're a spectator, remember? You ain't on a team, freak."

Hikari stopped walking. "Hey, let her come with us! What's the harm in having a supporter?"

"NO."

Akari stepped away. "It's fine. I'll catch you guys after."

As Hikari and the others reluctantly left, she began analyzing the arena. "Which of these tunnels is my way out?"

Mar folded his arms. "Figure it out yourself."

"Fine. I will."

She walked up to a wall and punched it, breaking it instantly. She saw Raijin City in the distance and began heading off in that direction.

Eliza emerged from the Gladiator pack as Akari left. "Be wary of that girl. You saw how she fought. Just like Aoki, she may pose an issue for us when the time comes."

Mar spit on the floor. "I don't care about any spoiled Voltian brats. Especially not a Princess."

He took a glimpse at Dachii as he disappeared through the tunnel. "But we do have to keep an eye on him. His powers are growing stronger, just like the Master anticipated."

Inside the tunnel, Dachii, Hikari, and Grinsha found a room a few feet away with a sign that read:

"Team Dachii"

"Well," Dachii said. "That clears any doubt."

When they walked inside, they saw Aoki examining the outfits in the lockers, which were black and purple battle suits.

"Hmph, they expect me to wear something as inconvenient as this?" she muttered to herself.

She tossed an outfit to each of the three, before grabbing one and heading into a bathroom. Dachii examined his.

"Why does my suit look so different from you guys?"

"Because…we're girls?" Hikari suggested.

"No, LOOK at it!"

Dachii held his outfit up, which was a full black and orange bodysuit, as opposed to the black and purple ones Hikari and Grinsha held in their hands.

"Wow," Hikari remarked. "They have a fixation on you. I WONDER why."

The chest was marked with a "Team Mascot." Dachii slapped his head.

"This won't go well, I can see it."

Grishna gave him a stiff pat on the back. "It fits ya! You're the face of our crew!"

In the next few minutes, they headed into the bathrooms and changed into their outfits. Dachii noticed his outfit had a hood attached to it, and he put it on.

"Hey, at least they got this right!"

Aoki visibly cringed as she looked down at her outfit. "Yuck. Crap like this makes me sick."

Hikari examined hers. "I like it! Looks better than that military suit I wear like every day!"

Grishna looked at her outfit and shrugged.

Aoki immediately headed for the exit. "Hurry up, children. The quicker we get this done, the quicker I can take this shit off."

The intercom rang, causing everyone to halt.

"Well, well, well? Is everyone ready? I hope you are! Line up in the arena! We will commence the next match of ROUND TWO!"

Aoki rolled her eyes. "Let's see what evil plans the witch has now. I'll kill her."

As the four left, they encountered other teams leaving their locker rooms, all visibly nervous.

A pair of young dwarves bumped into Hikari, and they immediately backed away and pointed at her.

"You! You're one of those evil creatures who attacked us in our home!"

The entire crowd rounded on the group, gossiping and booing Hikari. Aoki drew her blade.

"Shut up."

As she stared them down, the entire crowd immediately stopped talking, shrinking in fear.

Dachii looked at the scared faces of the dwarves and monsters in the crowd, but Aoki simply sheathed her blade.

"Don't concern yourself with them. This isn't a playground."

"She's so rude…" Dachii noted. "Does she even have friends?"

As they reached the end of the tunnel, they found Venus waiting at the top of the arena, a bright smile on her face.

"Good, you've all made it! Round Two will continue the individual fights. Each team will be able to send one fighter out per round, and fighters can't fight back-to-back. Also, Mascots can only fight other Mascots. That's it! Now then, let's get into our next match!"

She clapped her hands, and a horn began to sound. A bracket appeared out of the ground, rising in the middle of the arena.

"Team Dachii vs. Team Zok! Come on up!"

"WHAT? Already? Didn't Aoki just fight?"

Everyone heard a loud thumping behind them, seeing Zok and his band of orcs pushing through the crowd.

"Heh! Heard my name called! Who's the lucky punk!"

A bunch of hands in the crowd pointed to Dachii's team, and Zok laughed. "Oh? You guys want an ass-kicking? Happy to help!"

Venus clapped her hands, and the bracket disappeared. "Zok, which fighter do you send out for this match?"

He pointed to himself, smiling. "Yours truly."

The entire arena roared. "ZOK! ZOK! ZOK!"

"Ooh!" Venus said, intrigued. "That only means one thing: ZOK will be facing DACHII!"

The crowd cheered even louder. "DACHII! DACHII! DACHII!"

"Fighters, take your spots on either side of the arena! Competitors, head up to the stands!"

Aoki gripped Dachii's arm. "Don't falter to that big oaf, Dachii."

"…Right."

Hikari nodded. "You got this."

Grishna gave him a thumbs up, and the trio headed up the stands, finding Akari sitting in a row by herself, drinking a cup of tea. Hikari sat next to her, and Grishna did as well.

"Akari!" Hikari exclaimed, hugging her. "They didn't ban you from the arena?"

She shook her head. "Nope. As long as I don't directly interfere, I should be good."

She looked at Aoki, who was making a point of sitting as far away from Akari as possible.

"Hmph."

Akari rolled her eyes. "They're making Dachii fight now? What's their plan here?"

Hikari shrugged. "No clue. Ever since I got here, it's like they're trying to make it harder for him."

Aoki sat down a few seats away. "They are."

All three turned to look at him, as the horn sounded. "Fighters, choose your weapons!"

Two tables emerged from the ground, loaded with weapons. Dachii glanced at them, noticing the swords, spears, axes, and other items before him.

"This feels so familiar. Not in a good way," he thought.

Zok grabbed a pair of axes, twirling them in his hand as he eyed Dachii.

"Nothing against you, kid, but this is just my luck! Taking down the special guest? The world will know my NAME!"

Dachii picked up a sword, admiring the feel in his hands. "Huh, always wanted to use one of these."

Venus smirked as the horn rang again. "Are you both ready? Good. Let the Games begin!"

Zok took a few steps toward Dachii, bloodlust in his eyes.

Meanwhile, in a dungeon…

In a quiet dungeon room below the arena, Ionix paced back and forth as a Voltian man wearing an S-2 uniform was dragged and tossed into a cell by Zharian guards.

"We found this one snooping," a guard said. "Luckily, he didn't get far."

Ionix stopped. "Good. The princess failed to eliminate the swordsman, and now we have both of them on our hands. I'll need you to monitor the situation very carefully, and tell Venire not to let her guard down.

The guard nodded, and he and the other guards left the dungeon. The Voltian soldier, bleeding all over, defiantly grabbed the bars and stared at Ionix.

"Himeka…and those S-1 kids…will stop you…"

Ionix lifted up his hand, shocking the cell bars and making the man fall to the ground.

"As if I'm worried about that. You fail to realize, I have a trump card of my own."

He stepped aside, and in the cell in front of the man, was an unconscious Marachii, black lines running across his face.

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