***
Out of the hundreds that entered the tournament, only four now remained. Arcona was face to face with her first real fight, as the flock she killed the other day couldn’t be classed as meaningful resistance. A humanoid was her foe, a morningstar-wielding succubus. She had the advantage with flight, range, and magic; but Arcona wouldn’t be beaten.
The arena was oddly quiet. The combatants didn’t move and the audience merely whispered to one another in anticipation. The light breeze blew sand back and forth onto Arcona’s heels, and the hot sun burnt her exposed armour under her long black cloak. It was clear this foe of hers was a professional; her stance, her calm demeanour, and her analytic patience. Arcona made the first move and sped forwards, jumped at the height of her speed, and launched a horizontal slash at the succubus.
Something was wrong. The succubus didn’t move or react; she just stood there like a statue. Arcona calmed her battle-rage and sensed magic in the air. She halted her attack and skidded inches away from her foe. The hidden flares fizzled and disappeared; the trap had failed.
“My, my, that is impressive,” she said.
“But!”
Thud!
The clanking chain of the morningstar had been still just moments ago, but in one quick movement the deadly spiked ball came crashing down on Arcona’s location. Clang! Arcona spun her sword to deflect the attack but didn’t realise her strength was working against her. The spiked ball was indeed deflected but now her sword was caught in the chain of the succubus’s weapon.
“Silly girl.”
The succubus was taunting, thinking she had the advantage now she’d taken Arcona’s weapon away. Her sword was thrown high out of her grasp and landed on the far side of the area; she’d been totally disarmed.
“Now be a good girl and die!” The succubus screamed.
The ball and chain was brought back and then repeatedly thrown and swung dangerously at Arcona. She side-stepped and jumped out of the way to avoid taking blows but couldn’t get near. Whooosh! A close call almost left Arcona with windburn as the attack was that fast. With every advance Arcona made, the succubus cleverly wrapped more of the morningstar's chain in the air around her arm and sped up her attacks to impossible degrees, preventing a counter on Arcona’s part.
Arcona thought it was about time to shed her human camouflage, and slowly walked towards the succubus in an uncaring way.
“Do you have a death wish? Hahaha,” she jeered.
Swing, swing, swing. The morningstar built up speed and was headed straight for Arcona at a horizontal angle. The succubus was suddenly in a state of shock and confusion as her weapon had been stopped. The spiked ball had indeed made impact on Arcona but not in the way she imagined it at all. Arcona stood there in the middle of the arena bleeding from her hand, which held the sharp ball of death. She was in indiscriminate pain but didn’t care in the slightest as she tightened her grip and yanked the chain with great force.
The succubus had a choice, lose her weapon or be pulled towards her foe at a great disadvantage. She chose the former and yielded her weapon to Arcona, the seemingly crazy woman clutching a tool of death as if it were nothing. Arcona then charged the disarmed succubus but failed to make contact as she utilised her wings and flew high into the air.
It was a spectacular sight to see the succubus lift off and even more so to witness the dark magic she possessed. Lightning as dark as the night was thrown at Arcona. It seared the floor and turned the arena into a battleground as Arcona dodged the attacks with ease. It was clear the succubus was tired from both casting spells and maintaining her flight. Arcona saw an opportunity and took it. The ball of the morningstar was still inside her hand; she spun it with determination and threw the handle of the weapon towards the airborne succubus.
Arcona had ensnared her target and yanked with all her might downwards, and then prepared a suitable landing for her foe. The succubus had fallen onto Arcona’s raised hand and twitched as the spiked morningstar plunged into her gut. Arcona then threw down her defeated foe and walked away as the crowds celebrated her victory.
***
“That was more entertaining,” Arcona mused as she entered her inn room.
She threw her cloak and spiked armour on the bed and sat down while looking at her broken arm and deeply cut hand.
“This pain is…”
Arcona wasn’t sure how to react to pain; she learnt to just take it when she was brought up, if you could call her childhood that. Arcona didn’t realise it at the time but she had now crippled herself for her upcoming matches. That was stupid. She wanted to hurt herself more for making such a bad judgement, but reconsidered.
Pain suddenly filled her head and her body; not related to the wound from her match, this was…something else. Demons were known to possess very powerful abilities but also strong magic. Arcona had thus far displayed no form of magic and was beginning to think her sleepless nights and routine “pain days” were the cause.
“How do I…get it out?” She voiced in a vulnerable and pained state.
Arcona clambered into bed and held her sheets tightly over her sweating body. No comfort came but at least she could sleep tonight from thinking about her successful match today. However, soon her next match would begin...
***
Light shone brightly through the slightly ajar curtains to Arcona’s room. She winced as she drowsily opened her eyes and felt the excruciating pain in her arm. She’d been leaning on it as she slept and couldn’t bring any strength into it. Bloodstains were on both her body and the bed, and her swollen arm was becoming a bother.
Arcona knew nothing of healing; she was always focused on the opposite and had no idea what to do. She prodded and inspected her limp appendage but was still at a loss. A strange feeling suddenly surged through her broken arm, forcing it to tremble. Arcona closed her eyes, trying to lock out the pain somehow, but a voice inside her head was giving her other ideas.
Let it flow…release the energy.
Arcona did as she was told and embraced the darkness that now covered her previously injured limb. Thoughts of hate, of evil, filled Arcona’s mind as she harnessed the catalyst for bringing forth her power. Magic flowed along her blood as she if she had opened a doorway to her inner sorcery. Her arm had suddenly regenerated through this magical power; it was although she’d taken a spare arm from somewhere and seamlessly attached it to herself. This power had been unlocked by listening to the demon in her heart. The feelings of darkness, despair, wrath, brutality, fear, hate, rage, and pain, as well as other sinful expressions, fuelled Arcona’s magic.
Whispers as sinister as could be, assaulted Arcona’s mind; whispers of spells, tactics, power; everything was revealed to her by her inner demon. It spoke also of solitude, loneliness, and the inability to love. Arcona wasn’t concerned with any of that and doubted she’d ever feel such ridiculous emotions. If she betrayed this evil, then she could never again wield its power…
***
Arcona’s second-to-last fight was about to begin. Her opponent had survived the preliminaries and defeated his foe in the last round; it was going to be a good fight. A human this time was stood stoutly in Arcona’s path to rule. He was heavily armoured and was equipped with a longsword and shield. A natural hatred arose in Arcona’s chest; he could not be allowed to live. This man was a recognised saint in the land and the top contender for the tournament. He waved to his fans and lowered his helm as the battle had begun.
Once again Arcona made the first move and attacked her foe with greater ferocity and speed than she had demonstrated thus far. Clang, clang, thud. Her opponent blocked and deflected her blows with finesse only a hero would possess. Despite being heavily armoured, the man must have been very strong as he moved fluidly with his weapons.
Arcona kept up her barrage of strikes on her victim; her eyes shone with delight after she made each attack, her bloodlust growing beyond her control. Simple swordplay wasn’t working in Arcona’s favour and
she needed to use her newfound tricks if she wanted to win; but winning logically and defeating her opponent in the most brutal way possible were two different things. Arcona was clearly aiming for the latter.
“Grgh.”
The man was floored by a swift low kick to the knee but he held his stance and was ready for any attack. He didn’t beg for mercy like a weakling, not yet anyway. Arcona jumped high and plunged her sword deep into the earth. She looked up, annoyed that her foe had escaped her wrath and stood ready to attack once more.
Arcona was getting agitated. The warrior she faced had a sturdy defence and appeared to be thinking of how to dispatch her. He was biding his time, learning Arcona’s skills and figuring out the most efficient way to win.
I won’t let you! I’ll crush you!
Arcona headed into the fray once more and put more power into her strikes. The man was unable to effectively parry these powerful blows and ended up hiding behind his shield. Arcona hammered and hammered onto the man’s shield with no letting up. Clang, Clang; the loud echoing of metal on metal filled the coliseum. Clang, clang, snap…
Arcona’s sword split clean in two and fell to the floor; she was too strong for her stupid weapon. The warrior eased up his defence slightly, before suddenly going back into his defensive stance in great bewilderment. Arcona began punching and clawing repeatedly at him. The warrior’s shield was being tested and he had no opportunity to counter attack.
Die, die, die!
The constant thumping and kicking cracked the shield further and further until it shattered spectacularly.
“Just what is this woman made of!” he thought.
The man rolled away from Arcona’s clutches of death and was now picking himself up after the beating he’d received. His arm was shaking from the constant vibrations he’d endured, and his resolve was wavering now he’d lost his means of defence. Attack was the only option, so attack he did.
The warrior brought his sword down at a diagonal angle, aiming for Arcona’s neck. Arcona caught the silver blade and snapped it in two with her strong claws. The man was now weapon-less too.
“Ok, you have me. I concede...” The man said, raising his arms and backing away.
Arcona didn’t hear him and advanced slowly towards him.
“I-I give up ok!”
Arcona still didn’t understand the noise this cockroach was making.
“H-help!” The man shouted at the spectators, the guards, anybody…
All Arcona saw was a weak human who’d lost his toys. It’s time to break you!
The warrior started running to the other side of the arena, anywhere but near Arcona; he tripped during his escape and looked pitiful. A weight was suddenly felt on his back and his armour was torn from his body. Arcona had jumped on him from afar and severed his last means of protection. Next she bit him on the neck, or rather, ‘violently tore a chunk of his flesh out.’ The poor man was floored and clawed into submission, then beaten into a bloody pulp. Arcona kept punching the ground where his face was, yet nothing was there anymore. The meat had been pounded into smaller and smaller chunks until it was just absorbed into the sand.
Weak! Weak! WEAK!
Her thoughts were polluted with anger for some reason. No satisfaction came from killing this man, yet she did it anyway. An unlucky guard that asked her to leave when the coliseum had emptied was also killed hastily.
Just leave me alone!
The madness that transpired in the arena was big news in the city. People wondered what would become of the capital if Arcona was to emerge victorious over the King tomorrow. Arcona herself didn’t have the answer to that, for now she’d just find some prey to pass the time…
***
Arcona woke up. It was time, time for her final battle.
This mysterious King better not be a weakling.
It was natural for Arcona to not know anything about this man, but the rest of the kingdom should surely know who he was. The King was rumoured to never see the light of day or the dark of night. Whispers gave reason to believe he wasn’t of this civilization or planet; this interested her.
Waking up was such a bother for Arcona, especially today. She’d gone a bit far with her fun last night. Five corpses were decorating Arcona’s room, each beginning to rot from infested wounds. She looked around the slovenly floor and let out a strange girlish giggle as if thinking ‘oh yeah, I did that last night.’ It was laughably easy to get a group of humans to follow her back to the inn. Four males and one female were the victims, tortured and raped to death by this mad demon.
Arcona left her room for her match against the King. A deafening scream could be heard as she walked outside and towards the arena. Pity the poor soul that found the remains of last night’s endeavours, for they will never again be sane…
So many humans and humanoids…
The streets were littered with people of all species, probably trying to get good seats for the upcoming fight. Arcona decided to take a back alley, before she murdered everyone for getting in her way. The peace and solitude from the alleyways was soothing on this gloomy day…at least for a while.
Metal boots could be heard, all around Arcona. The roof, the cobbled alley, even inside the houses this noise could be heard from. Arcona stopped. The metal sounds stopped also and there was silence for a time.
“Ssstop wasting my time and fight me!” Arcona hissed at her impending foes.
The sky was suddenly blacked out. The windows smashed all around her. Arcona was surrounded by foes in silver clad armour. At least she thought it was armour until she tore the closest one asunder. Metal bolts and wires scattered all over the place when she decapitated this being. They were fashioned weapons, humanoid weapons. This technology didn’t exist in this world, magical and organic weapons took precedence here. Arcona however, couldn’t care less.
These robotic warriors were fast and Arcona couldn’t keep up with them in such a narrow space, especially since there were so many of them. For each enemy she broke she’d receive a wound in kind, whether it was a strong steel kick or a jab from their sharp gauntlets. Sometimes they’d continue to operate even after she’d taken off their heads; she solved this by crushing them completely.
After what seemed like a lifetime of struggling, Arcona’s rage and pain threshold reached the limit. She hammered her fists on the floor and brought forth her dark power to finish the deed. Crimson and black crystalline spikes erupted from the walls and floor; impaling all her foes and restraining them, as their artificial circuits sparked.
The robotic humanoids eventually stopped moving and the buzz from the busy streets started to seep into the now quiet ally. Arcona was curled up into a ball surrounded by these deathly spikes like she was imprisoned by them. She’d now used her magic, released a burden on herself. She felt…free. The human side of Arcona was no more; the demon now took lead of her soul.
Arcona jumped high like an acrobat and landed on a nearby roof. From there she floored it to the arena, hopping from building to building until she’d made it to her destination. Then she jumped so high she could have been mistaken for flying. Crash! Arcona landed in the centre of the large coliseum and startled all the spectators into a cheer.
Arcona looked very beaten up. The belts and spikes covering her bust were torn and chipped, her cloak was dirty, and her high knee-socks were ripped. Arcona’s body was also abundant with cuts and bruises, yet she’d never felt better. The grand doors behind her began to creak open and a figure entered the arena.
***
“You have…done well.” A slow, deep, monotonous voice said.
Arcona turned around to face the origin and was taken aback by the shocking size of her foe. This was no mere humanoid, it was a monster. A bigger more deadly version of the things that attacked her before was stood in front of her. This being was covered in steel plates; its face was masked and a strange beam of light was going side to side from where his eyes should be. Four arms this ma
ssive humanoid possessed; and fists larger than Arcona herself.
“You look…beat up.”
The robotic creature jeered. It was clear who had sent the assassins just moments ago. Arcona was happy her foe looked intimidating; it would be all the more pleasurable to kill. As she thought that, her foe pulled back his mighty fist and thrust it towards her. It was slow and easily avoidable, but then something extremely unexpected happened. The gigantic fist disappeared in mid-air; it was going into an empty space as if being absorbed by the atmosphere itself.
Smash! Smash!
Arcona’s back was hit by a massive blow and she was sent straight into the King’s raised foot. She was now looking up at her opponent, her body and mind still recovering from the intense shock she had just received. Arcona was paralysed; her spine had almost shattered from the force of the attack. She was helpless as the King’s gigantic metal foot was brought down on her from the heavens.
A loud crashing sound erupted and a whirlwind of sand engulfed the arena as the King’s stomp came to a halt. He was certain he’d minced his mark but noticed his foot wasn’t quite touching the ground. Arcona was holding it up with her powerful demonic arms.
“Kaaa!” Arcona shouted as she threw the giant’s foot with all her might and forced him to stumble and sit on the ground. The sand cleared from the arena and revealed Arcona’s new appearance to the world. Enlarged fangs, sharper claws; Arcona was covered in muscle and her skin had turned black at the sides and on her back, giving her a unique pattern as it intertwined with her original paleness on the front. It was almost as if her fittingly feline-like armour had fused with her body and created a protective layer of black skin.
The King could feel the hate irradiating from Arcona, and the malice assaulted him as if it was a weapon. He got up and spoke again…
“My name is Valdrassgo, you are the first…to live that attack, but now…you die.”
Valdrassgo initiated a frightening display of combat against Arcona. She deflected and dodged all his sinister attacks while pummelling him at the same time. ‘A harpy buzzing around a dragon’ was the collective thought of the spectators. Valdrassgo could manipulate the very space around him in terrifying ways. Arcona would launch an attack at his abdomen but would then be sucked into an invisible wormhole to hit the wall behind him. It was…frustrating. Offensively, was how this ability was used best, attacked from every angle and as suddenly as an explosion, which was what Arcona had to deal with.