Ravens of Eternity

123 Pit of Vipers, Pt Rezhathii’s fans erupted in wild cheers when she saw her slam her opponent a dozen meters away, but soon quieted when they saw Eva recover quickly. Those cheering fans quickly turned to jeer at her, as though she had cheated them of her defeat.

A few were astounded by what they saw.

“D-did you see what that human did?”

“So what? It’s just another frail ape! It’s only gotten lucky so far – just you watch!”

To some, it was unthinkable that any Drogar would fall to any human and did their best to reinforce that idea among those around them. A few were completely unconvinced and realized that there was more to humans than frailty.

Rezhathii was one of those Drogar. She now understood that what she faced wasn’t any ordinary human. Her eyes narrowed as she reassessed her opponent. And when she spoke, there was venom in her tone.

“I’ve fought your kind before,” she said. “Back at the borders, where the spoils are juiciest. You were all weak and soft and pitiful. I recall tearing your kind to pieces with my own hands.”

“Some of us, maybe,” Eva replied. “Just like some Drogar are weak and soft and pitiful. Wanna know where you lie? How soft you are in comparison?”

Rezhathii bent down and moved into an aggressive stance, as though she was getting ready to pounce.

.....

“Quiet, ape,” she said. “Stop trying to provoke me.”

“Hmph. All I have to do is exist for you to get all worked up. So I may as well aggravate you even more in the meantime.”

“Then I suppose I’ll just have to remove you from existence!”

With a guttural cry and unbridled strength, Rezhathii leapt at Eva. With a precise and powerful swing, she slashed the edge of her knife right where Eva’s throat was.

But hit nothing except air as her target spun out of the way within a hair’s breadth.

Not that it stopped the Drogar. She continued slashing at Eva with grim determination as her fans cheered loudly around her. All were convinced of her victory. She poured every ounce of energy into her blade arm, and used every technique she had in her arsenal.

Eva fended off her vicious opponent with equal temerity and even found a few inroads through her defense. She found a gap, small as it was, buried in between every four or five swings.

She used those few opportunities to strike at her opponent, and turned almost all of her parries into decisive ripostes. Although each slash and stab were small, they were enough to slice or puncture her opponent’s armor to the point where she drew a little blood.

Likewise, Rezhathii’s attacks were far from inefficient. Her blade also met with Eva’s armor numerous times and was able to cut through to her flesh underneath. Both had multiple cuts and nicks in their armor, some deep enough to bite into skin or scale.

All throughout their heated exchange, the two duelists circled around each other as they traded blow for blow. It all seemed as though they were evenly matched. Well, almost.

The stands went wild as they watched the spectacle unfold in front of them. A frail-looking human traded blows with a strong and lithe Drogar! Although many weren’t at all thrilled with the inclusion of a human in their games, they were quickly swept up in the thrill of this fight.

They hadn’t seen anything like that at all – in all of their fiction, all of their news, all of their lore – no Drogar had ever lost to a human. Not in hand-to-hand combat.

Many thought Eva would fall, but she didn’t. Instead, she held her own.

And that struck a chord in a number of them. They understood what it meant to push back against the odds, and to prevail despite them. So, a few more began to cheer for her.

Human or not, she fought ferociously.

Alevos was absolutely over the roof with what he was watching. He had jumped up from his seat and cheered on Eva.

“Just like that!” he yelled. “Cut her to ribbons! Keep up your guard! Backstep! Backstep! You’re doing great!”

“Sure, she’s not dead,” said Doleth, “but she’s not doing so great either. She’s having a rough time against this first one, and she just can’t seem to clinch any victory.”

“Look closer,” said Miko. “Her wounds are more superficial than her opponents. She is hardly slowed down. I believe she is putting on a show.”

“Well, I did advise her to be more theatrical,” added Szereth. “I mentioned it would only help our odds. Didn’t think she’d allow herself to get damaged like that though.”

Eva sidestepped gracefully as Rezhathii swung her blade. She quickly spun down and forwards, then thrust her beltknife right into the Drogar’s abdomen. The tip punctured through the armor and embedded itself into Rezhathii herself.

She yelped in pain and jumped back a few meters reflexively. The Drogar clutched at her abdomen as pain radiated out from it. As she peeled her hand back slowly, she found a pool of blood in her palm. A great amount of it spilled out of the gash in her armor as well.

Rezhathii’s armor was covered in little cuts and nicks, some of which trickled blood. Save for the one large gash, which poured it out instead. Her heart thundered in her chest as the fringes of her vision began to muddy.

Her breaths had become deep and ragged, after having pushed her body for so long. She staggered slightly, but quickly recovered her balance with a half-step back.

I just need a moment, she thought.

But she wasn’t afforded one. Eva was smart enough to capitalize on her advantage, and rushed forward to close the gap between them. With her breaths heavy but even, she drew her blade close, and ran towards her opponent.

“Filthy ape!” cursed Rezhathii.

She clenched her bloody hand into a fist and reared up to her full height, then roared in anger.

With her mind clear and her body focused, Rezhathii launched herself into a counter-charge and decisively thrust her blade forward, confident of her reach advantage. She knew she wasn’t going to last long, and needed to make a decisive move.

With a scream, Rezhathii pierced through Eva’s armor, right into her abdomen. Not that she seemed to even care – she had predicted her opponent’s trajectory, adjusted slightly to minimize the damage, and allowed the thin blade to pierce right through her.

And though it slid into her, right up to the hilt, it barely even slowed her down. Even as her opponent’s blade skewered her painfully, Eva resolutely swung out her blade arm and slashed her opponent across her neck, just underneath her helmet.

It seemed as though all the air was sucked out of the arena as everyone held their breath at the sight. Eva with a beltknife through her abdomen, and Rezhathii frozen in shock.

Rezhathii coughed and stepped backwards, let go of her weapon, and clutched at her neck. Thick streams of dark red blood soon gushed out in between her fingers and down her chest. Her throat wheezed and gurgled as she desperately tried to continue breathing, but the flow of blood clogged up her windpipe with each passing moment.

It didn’t take long for her to fall to her knees as she gasped for air. More blood flowed freely from her neck as she felt her energy fall further and further. She collapsed face-first on the sandy ring and gasped for air as a pool of blood spread all around her.

Eva walked up to Rezhathii’s shivering, gasping body, sheathed her beltknife, and bowed. Then she pulled her opponent’s weapon from her abdomen, pointed it at her opponent, then shoved it through her back and into her chest.

She punctured armor, scales, and bone with incredible ease. And once she pierced through the Drogar’s heart, she pushed through to the other side, past more bone and scale and armor.

Rezhathii, the scourge of the Lower Green Quarter slums, was dead and breathed no more.

Her fans were shocked into absolute silence while much of the rest of the arena erupted in massive cheers.

Drone lights swung over and illuminated Eva, who was clutching at the wound in her abdomen. Blood flowed freely from it. The cheerful announcer’s voice echoed throughout the coliseum once again.

“Wow! I hope you all saw that! Congratulations to challenger Ra’ventrii! This... human has somehow claimed rights to hold the Fifth Seed of the Seventh Tier! It’s not bad, I guess. Well, regardless if that was luck or skill or both, enjoy it while it lasts! Because she still has to survive a challenger to confirm her seat!”

Alevos was laughing wholeheartedly at seeing his winnings multiply, and after having experienced such a fight! He even got up and danced a little, then grabbed one of Szereth’s shoulders, and shook him vigorously.

“This is the best idea you’ve ever had!” he said. “She went up against that Drogar and cut her to pieces! What a great show!”

Szereth pushed him off with annoyance in his voice.

“Can you please sit back down, you oaf!”

“Lighten up, my friend,” replied Alevos. “I’ve just made a crapton of coins! And I’m certain the both of you did as well!”

He looked over at Doleth, who was sitting with eyes wide. She watched as her ledger swelled in her DI.

“Wow,” was all she could manage to say.

Alevos then turned back towards his friend but was dismayed to see his face still sour. Szereth, despite having won a great deal as well, still wasn’t happy with the state of things. For whatever reason.

“Look,” said Szereth. “I’m glad we did this, and I’m glad at our first turn’s profit, but look at our duelist! First fight and she’s already messed up! She had a bladeknife through her! How’s she going to go up against the follow-up challenger now?”

“Don’t worry about that,” replied Alevos. “We’ll just shoot her with a medgun and fix her up back to full in no time flat.”

“Aren’t you being a bit careless about all of this?”

“Perhaps. I’m seeing this as our investment beginning to pay off. I’m excited. You should be, too.”

Szereth scoffed at his friend.

“You know,” he muttered, “you’re being awfully nonchalant about gambling with such high risks. In fact, you seem like you know more about gambling than I originally thought.”

Alevos waved to the air around them.

“I’m the owner of a First-Row VIP Box Seat at the Viper Pit,” he said. “Of course I know about games! And I definitely know about winning them! Or did you think I spent all my time getting slow-cooked by my own forge?!”

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