The Demon Rat growled and hissed as she circled the Death Wolf, nothing on her mind but murderous intent. She was hungry, volatile, vicious and desperate to taste blood. She was a colossal entity, 4m long with a 2m long tail, covered in thick fur, heavy armour and spikes, decorated in glimmering lights. Everything else was dark, apart form the Death Wolf, in his silly black armour, his yellow plating only just visible underneath.
Growing bored of circling, the Demon Rat roared, then lunged at the Death Wolf. Of course, the Death Wolf simply moved out of the way. As he did so, he drew a dagger and dragged it across the Demon Rat’s side. He was blatantly aware that the Demon Rat would do anything and everything in her power to kill him, but at the same time, the Death Wolf wasn’t concerned. After all, he was patient. She was not.
The Demon Rat snarled in pain. The dagger hadn’t done much, but it did hurt. That didn’t stop the Demon Rat from attacking again, throwing her entire weight at the Death Wolf. However, again, neither her jaws nor her claws connected with her potential victim and she instead made massive gouges in the earth and snapped at air. This didn’t bother the Demon Rat. She shook herself down, span around and kept on throwing herself at the Death Wolf. He couldn’t dodge forever.
On the fifth lunge though, the Death Wolf did more than just scratch her. He disappeared into the darkness and reappeared to the Demon Rat’s side. With a silent smile, he forced a dagger into her left eye, blinding her. The Demon Rat shook her head, throwing the Death Wolf away, forcing him to back off.
The Demon Rat was genuinely angry now. She wanted blood. She wanted the Death Wolf gone. Demolished. Devoured. She was going to tear his limbs off, rip his chest open and eat his heart in one bite. She was going to destroy the Death Wolf for even considering existing.
With a whip of her tail, the Demon Rat tried to knock the Death Wolf off his feet. He ducked underneath her tail then darted to her side, luring the Demon Rat towards a large, rocky wall. She charged towards the Death Wolf, hoping to impale him with the horns on her head. The Death Wolf though had other ideas. He darted through the shadow, then dived underneath her, running a blade through her stomach. The Demon Rat roared in absolute agony as blood poured from her wounds. In a bid to squash the Death Wolf, she threw herself downwards, hoping to crush him under her weight.
As she lifted herself up though, she realized the Death Wolf had vanished. He was no longer beneath her. He was… nowhere. The Demon Rat snarled, then paced around, the lights across her body and the glowing torch beams from her eyes being the only things lighting the area. The Demon Rat scanned her surroundings. There wasn’t really anywhere for the Death Wolf to hide.
But it turned out, the Death Wolf wasn’t hiding at all. He was stalking. Waiting in the darkness, looking for an opportunity to strike. The Demon Rat realized this and returned to the centre of the area, reclaiming her territory. This was her domain. The Death Wolf was a trespasser. One that would die.
Something cracked behind the Demon Rat. A footstep. She immediately span around, shining her glowing eyes on the spot where she had heard movement.
Suddenly, something sliced off the end of the Demon Rat’s tail. She flicked it away then whipped it to one side, hoping to catch the Death Wolf, but to no effect. Yet again, the Demon Rat span around, but this time, she did a complete 360, keeping her tail low to the ground. This time, she did catch the Death Wolf, her tail, what was left of it, catching his feet.
The Death Wolf tumbled to the ground, then grabbed the Demon Rat’s tail and pulled it with him through a nearby shadow, before abruptly cutting it off. The majority of the Demon Rat’s tail had now been completely severed, leaving nothing but a stump, cauterized by the Death Wolf’s shadow powers.
This caused the Demon Rat to panic. She began to flail wildly, kicking and screaming and roaring. This prevented the Death Wolf from getting close to her. The Death Wolf did throw a couple of daggers in her direction, but most of them just bounced harmlessly off her armour.
Backing off, the Death Wolf went back to stalking, to dipping in and out of the shadows. The Demon Rat couldn’t flail forever. And, after about a minute, she did calm down. However, the Death Wolf found that the Demon Rat was directly staring at him.
Was that a smile on the Demon Rat’s face as it charged towards the Death Wolf? It didn’t matter. The Death Wolf sighed to himself as he lured the Demon Rat back towards the large wall. He grabbed onto the Demon Rat’s head as she tried to crush him against the wall.
To the Demon Rat’s surprise though, she… went through the wall? All of a sudden, she couldn’t feel her body.
“I’m sorry. You get a quick death.”
The Demon Rat blinked her remaining eye, then fell silent, as she realized her head had been removed from her body, having been dissected by the Death Wolf’s shadowjump. In just a couple of meager seconds, she passed away, slipping into a permanent, cold sleep.
The Death Wolf sighed some more, then dragged the Demon Rat’s head back to her body. With a heave, he pushed the colossal body over, revealing her unarmoured underneath. He drew his last dagger, a familiar, dark blade, then ran it down the Demon Rat’s chest. He flayed the flesh, then snapped open the rib cage. Finally, the Death Wolf removed the Demon Rat’s heart. He hesitated, then tore at the heart with his teeth, before throwing it to the ground.
After four eerily silent seconds, lights erupted across the area.
Kayel blinked awkwardly in the bright arena lights as the mostly Ksithan and Banikan-filled audience erupted into applause. He wandered around the arena, circling the corpse of the Kaoshan that he had just killed, before turning to the crowds and waving. Kayel’s eyes were drawn to the rich seats, particularly the Gold Suite right at the top of the arena. There was a glimmer of light in there, suggesting that someone was watching, even from up there.
Five Ksithans wearing black robes entered the arena from the heavy, golden gates, wheeling in some sort of platform. They all bowed to Kayel, then circled the dead Kaoshan. After some more silence, the Ksithans all muttered some prayers. Four of the Ksithans hauled the body of the Kaoshan onto the wheeled platform, then dragged the body out of the arena.
The last Ksithan bowed to Kayel once more, then revealed a bowl of black liquid, which they dabbed onto their fingers and rubbed across Kayel’s face and chest.
“Thank you, Death Wolf, for your sacrifices for us all.”
“I do this for you all. Honour my sacrifices by living good lives.”
“We will, Death Wolf. Thank you.”
The last Ksithan bowed yet again, then took the bowl, poured a new, clear oil into it, and drew a circle across the middle of the arena, around where the Kaoshan’s head had been left behind, before pouring the rest of the liquid onto the head itself. As they worked Kayel caught a glimpse of underneath their hood, and realized that the Raptor was speaking to him, she was doing this ceremony.
Satisfied, the Raptor stepped back, then lit a match and dropped it on the decapitated head. The head burst into flames, then swiftly melted away, leaving nothing but bones. She turned to Kayel and nodded, signalling for him to leave.
Kayel bowed, sheathed his dagger, then walked through a shadow, exiting the arena. He reappeared in the House Fighter Observation Lounge, where his friends were waiting for him.
“That was pretty damn cool!” Nyssi exclaimed as Kayel rubbed blood and ritual fluids off his face. Thankfully, Retvik was on hand to give him some wet wipes and a towel.
“Eh, it was… fine, I guess…” Kayel frowned. “Wasn’t hard. Was just… weird. Being part of a ceremony for a religion I don’t follow, knowing that Arkay doesn’t like religion.”
Nyssi though was undeterred and just shrugged. “He doesn’t like religion, but I’m sure he appreciates the kind thoughts?”
“I guess…” Kayel sighed. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go clean myself up and rest up. I’ve… got a lot on my mind right now.”