Lyla and Leon stepped out into the arena. I wasn't sure how strong Lyla was, but Leon looked confident, like he couldn't lose.
"Begin." The voice of the speaker boomed throughout the arena once again.
Leon's figure blurred as he rushed Lyla. Leon thrust his sword at the middle of Lyla's being. Lyla spun, using her momentum to swing her sword at Leon's head. He got his sword up just in time to parry Lyla. It knocked Lyla off balance. She quickly regained her balance by flipping in the air.
Leon once again thrust his sword at Lyla. Lyla swatted it away as she took a step. She swung her sword sideways at Leon's ribs.
Leon ducked, lying down, and spun. He kicked Lyla's legs out from under her. She fell backwards, landing on her back. Leon started kicking Lyla. His kicks were powerful, I heard a couple of cracks from bones breaking. Each time a kick landed, she grunted in pain and spat up some blood, but no one was stopping the fight. He started cutting her with his sword, they were shallow. Lyla let out a scream.
Finally, the referee stopped the fight. "Enough. The winner is Leon."
Arya and Sophie's faces were twisted with anger. It looked like they wanted to jump down into the arena and beat the hell out of Leon. It was understandable. I was also angry.
I heard a voice in my head that was trying to feed my anger, but it wasn't my voice. "Kill him, do it, just like you did to that family." It was raw and unbridled. It crawled underneath my skin. I took a couple of deep breaths and calmed myself, the voice faded away.
I thought back to when I killed the Victoria's. I was in the cellar thinking about what I had done. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and I froze. A dark, menacing creature with wings as black as the night sky, blue hair and eyes, like me, was floating behind me with legs crossed.
"An interesting young man." She said, almost as if she was purring. "To do this as an eight-year-old child. You really are one of us." She sounded pleased.
"One of us?" I had a confused look. I didn't understand. She had blue hair and eyes like mine, but what did that mean?
"You are one of us, a Zerx, a demon. Your blue hair and eyes are proof of that. Why do you think you never saw your parents? You were born into the physical realm, so they abandoned you."
My mind swirled with thoughts, but the "Zerx" continued.
"I will tell you more when the time comes."
"Wait," I screamed, but the Zerx was gone.
Arya's voice pulled me from my memory. "Rain? Are you ok?" Her voice was filled with concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine, it's nothing." I tried to be nonchalant.
She looked at me suspiciously but turned her gaze back to Lyla, who was being carried from the arena.
"Rain, beat his ass." Arya was still looking at Lyla, but I didn't need to see her expression to know how she felt. Her voice was cold and angry. It sent shivers down my spine. I've never heard Arya's voice like that.
"Yeah," I said simply and nodded, "I will."
The next three matches were all against unknown fighters, so the fights didn't last long. Arya beat her opponent in a second, the same with Maxwell and me.
Then the semifinals came. The first match was Arya against Maxwell.
"Next match is a rematch from last year's finals, Arya Ferth versus Maxwell the Blade Dance." The voice once again boomed through the arena, and the crowd erupted into cheers.
I leaned into Sophie and whispered, "Isn't Blade Dance kind of cringy?"
She chuckled softly and responded, "Yeah, it kind of is."
"Begin." The booming voice said.
They didn't move, it looked like they were talking about something, but I couldn't hear anything over the cheers.
After a minute, Maxwell vanished and reappeared behind Arya in an instant, already mid swing.
Arya saw this coming, she didn't flinch, she turned around and hit him with a palm strike in his solar plexus. It sent him flying into the air. He landed on his feet and rubbed the spot where he was hit, trying to catch his breath.
The crowd erupted into cheers and chants. Maxwell wasn't all he was cracked up to be. He hasn't even done the sword dance yet, or is he holding back? Did Maxwell hold back last year, and not even use his bland dance against Arya? Is that why she looked so upset anytime Maxwell was brought up?
Arya didn't smile, her facial expression didn't change in the slightest, she was composed. There was something in her eyes, like she was daring him to use blade dance.
The crowd was silent for a single second, and I could hear Maxwell say something.
"Just what I'd expect for someone who has the Ferth blood." He sneered. "You've grown so much in just a year."
I looked to Sophie to see if she had an answer, but she was staring at the King. As if she were trying to figure something out. I followed her gaze, and the King was staring at me, not the match. I met his eyes, my heart beat quickened, and I looked away.
Arya scoffed and didn't respond.
She infused wind magic into her sword and made a slicing motion downward. An arc of wind magic came shooting from her sword. Maxwell deflected it, but when he dropped his sword, Arya was gone. The next second, she appeared behind him, slicing left to right, but it was a faint. She took a step back to dodge Maxwell's attempt to parry the faint, which left him wide open. She took a step forward, closing the distance she took with the step back earlier, and swung her sword the same way, slicing left to right. Maxwell spun, dodging the sword. He used the spin as momentum to swing his sword. Arya conjured a wind barrier around herself, which deflected Maxwell's blade.
Arya smirked. She looked confident.
Maxwell, on the other hand, looked confused, but he also had a gleam in his eyes. He then started his sword dance.
It was just as graceful as I've heard. It didn't even look like he had a sword. It looked like he was just… dancing. Each step was precise and rhythmic. His blade flowed like water.
Arya ducked and dodged, but she could dodge everything. Even though she had wind magic guarding her, a couple of Maxwell's slashes left shallow cuts on Arya.
Arya's eyes followed each of Maxwell's movements, waiting for a moment to counterattack. She found it, she thrust her sword right through Maxwell's dance, and hit him in the chest. It sent him flying back ten feet and landing on his back.
"Match. Winner Arya Ferth." The crowd once again erupted into cheers. They were all jumping up and down.
Arya looked at me, our eyes locked, and she smiled. She gave me a thumbs up and mouthed, "See you in the finals."
I smiled as well and gave her a thumbs up. I then looked back up at the King. He was clapping, it was like he was never looking at me.