--------

Shaheera cursed silently while wiping the water away from the fur on his face while trying to step around another huge puddle. The weather was miserable and had been ever since this whole thing started five days ago. At first, the forest had seemed quite inviting as far as battlegrounds went, as the large trees offered some cover, while the lack of undergrowth made traveling easier. However, it was like the skies had opened soon after the event started, and it had been raining non-stop ever since. The rain was thick with large drops of water coming down almost like a heavy-duty shower that covered the entire forest. Even the trees above didn’t offer any meaningful respite.

There wasn’t a single dry piece of clothing anywhere in their group, despite several of the mages trying to use their magic to protect themselves. The moisture was everywhere, and the forest floor couldn’t absorb all the water, so the place had turned into something like a swamp. Even the more appearance-focused mages had given up eventually as there was no dry place anywhere to even sit down, not to mention sleep. The water also hindered visibility and morale, and everyone was miserable, tired, and losing their focus. Even Shaheera had trouble staying sharp despite all the lessons with Karna, who had kept hammering the importance of focus. According to her, you were only allowed to lose focus when you were strong enough to deal with the consequences. A good lesson that he’d kept in mind ever since.

The group itself was a hastily made gathering of allies that had come together to oppose the other alliances that had formed in the last four days. Most of their group was made up of the weaker participants in this event, so grouping up provided security, and with the leadership of a particularly charismatic Holy Knight they had managed to deal with all resistance they faced. In fact, as far as Shaheera could tell, they had defeated all the other alliance groups in this event. Their leader had been very effective at combining the strengths of the various members of their group, which had allowed them to stand against seemingly more powerful enemies.

That in itself was also starting to become a problem. Many members of their group were beginning to believe that they’d already dealt with all of the other enemies. As there could be only a single winner, or so they assumed, sooner or later they’d have to address the problem of each other. And those that believed they’d dealt with all the enemies thought it was time. The weather wasn’t helping things either. It made people irritable and impatient.

Their assumption wasn’t entirely without merit, albeit foolish. Their group alone had dealt with over two hundred participants, and Shaheera had managed to take out a couple more before even joining the group. If they assumed the other groups and solo participants had done their share before falling to Shaheera’s group, the number of participants couldn’t be much above a hundred at this point. And their group represented a full third of that. The last time they had seen someone was over twelve hours ago, and people were getting impatient.

Shaheera knew better, due to the simple fact that they had not run into Karna. And if Karna was still around, so were others that had enough power and skill. They had also not seen any sign of a handful of other participants he had taken note of before the event started. Theoretically, all those dangerous participants could’ve been defeated by others, but that seemed very unlikely. The problem was proving it. The forest was so filled with magical power that searching spells were almost entirely useless over any kind of significant distance, and the constant torrential rain washed away any physical tracks.

“You do realize that we have to deal with Lucian sooner or later if we want to have any hope of winning this thing, right?" Shaheera's sharp ears overheard a couple of his 'allies' whispering to each other. Lucian was the Holy Knight leading their group and the strongest member of their group.

“Yes, but if we make our move too soon, we’ll be defeated by other threats.” Another ‘ally’ responded reasonably.

“Threats that might not exist. And we aren’t entirely dependent on his power. Yes, he’s the strongest, but we’ve faced the dangers together and come out just fine. And we’ll have to take him by surprise if we want to succeed. Maybe along with the next enemy, if we do actually find one. Accidents happen.” The first person proposed.

Shaheera noted that he wasn’t the only one that had overheard the discussion. “You seem calm about this.” He pointed out quietly to the Holy Knight standing close by.

“It’s not exactly surprising. In fact, I’m more shocked they haven’t tried anything sooner.” Lucian responded with a small gentle smile that seemed to be permanently etched on his face. Except Shaheera knew that while the almost beautiful man could be gentle, there was a lot that went on behind that expression. The Holy Knight had been the one to come up with most of their plans, some of which had been downright nasty in their ruthless effectiveness.

Shaheera was pretty sure the man wasn’t a human, just by the almost unnaturally attractive appearance he possessed, but he wasn’t entirely sure what the man was. There were plenty of attractive races that were close to humans in appearance, and many of those had wisely hid their nature during this event. What Shaheera did know, was that Lucian was extremely powerful. From what he could tell, the man was at least at the eighth rank, even if not the ninth.

“What will you do?” Shaheera asked while keeping his voice down much more effectively than those they had listened in on.

“I have a feeling I don’t have to do anything. Our next adversary is close by, and I don’t think we’ll be able to come out of this fight without losses. Anyone that has lasted this long can’t be weak, and my instincts are warning me to be very careful. The fact that I can’t sense even a hint of that enemy aside from those same instincts is telling in itself.” Lucian replied.

The two had talked and gotten somewhat familiar over the last couple of days. Lucian knew Shaheera wasn’t really participating to win and was happy enough to bring him along to gain experience. Shaheera on the other hand got a fascinating perspective into the mind of another genius similar to Karna. Lucian wasn’t as brilliant as his old friend, but he made up for that with sheer power and the authority he seemed to possess so naturally.

It was interesting to observe the differences and the similarities between his old friend and Lucian. Both were ruthlessly effective, and often came up with plans that could turn around seemingly impossible odds, but while Karna liked to build up her friends and allies, she rarely relied on them when things got truly dangerous and often carried all the burdens by herself, while Lucian was quite happy to allow others to take responsibility and fail. Some of that could be because he didn’t mind if his competitors failed and died, while Karna protected her friends, which Shaheera was more than willing to admit might skew the perspective quite a bit. And it wasn’t like he’d known the Holy Knight for long.

Lucian’s instincts turned to be right, as it didn’t take more than twenty minutes of walking forward in the wet terrain before an ominous laugh seemed to sound from all around them. ”Kakakaka! You little flies have done well taking care of the trash, but it is time to swat you down.”

Lucian’s blade glowed with a golden light as he slashed down, seemingly cutting some kind of magical shroud that had been hiding their enemy. What greeted them was the form of some sort of huge troll-like abomination that was wearing the rags of a dark robe with several bone piercings all over its slime and scale-covered body. The creature looked like the stereotypical troll witch-hag, so much so that it roused Shaheera's suspicions. Apparently, he wasn't the only one as he heard Lucian declare loudly: "Illusions within illusions. Your true form will be revealed soon enough witch."

“Kakaka. That’s if you survive long enough. Come my pretties, take care of the flies.” The troll illusion gestured towards the group, and from under the ground and the watery swamps burst forth creatures just as horrid and grotesque as the troll itself. Poisonous centipedes fought along with screeching tree-spirits, some sort of twisted magical abominations that looked to be a mix between goats and men, and a lot more.

The group had faced plenty of ambushes before, so they reacted instantly and in a very coordinated fashion despite their earlier grumbling. Warriors stepped forth to protect the mages, who in turn cast many supportive and protective spells before turning their power into deadly bursts of magic that blanketed their surroundings, every mage covering their own sector. The warriors took care of anything strong enough to get through the magic, while Lucian’s own power protected them from whatever the witch itself seemed to throw at them. The shadowy tendrils of magic that crashed against his golden protections told a grim story though.

Their formation wasn’t quite as effective or complex as what Karna had trained their group to do in the Academy, but for a group that had only been together for less than a week, Shaheera was forced to admit that it worked quite well. He got further confirmation of that as a pulse of golden power washed over the group and struck down some sort of shadowy creatures that had managed to slip through the gaps among them. The golden light had not been quite fast enough as some of the mages had gotten wounded, but by the time the heated combat was over, they were all still standing.

Shaheera breathed heavily and swung his sword to get rid of the poisonous blood that was still stuck on it. “So, what now witch? What will you do without your minions? Summoning all of them had to have taken quite a bit of effort, but that couldn’t have been your entire plan.” Lucian stated with a booming voice, yet that permanent smile never slipped from his face.

“Kakaka. You’re right. unfortunately for you, you’ve already lost. You really shouldn’t challenge a witch in her chosen battlefield. Gives the chance to lay down all sorts of traps.” The witch cackled. That laughter was really getting on everyone’s nerves, which might have been the entire point.

Shaheera's eyes narrowed as he searched his surroundings with all his senses, and his magical sense finally provided an answer. One that he didn't like one bit. "Poison! Protect yourself!" The entire area was covered in very subtle and hard to detect pollen, which they had been breathing in the entire time they had been fighting. He could already sense something wrong with his body.

“Very good lionman. Unfortunately, it’s already too late. Kakakaka.” The witch gleefully boasted. As she spoke, many of their group started coughing, and as they did, they spat out blood and some kind of black sludge, which Shaheera could already feel filling his own lungs. How had this poison slipped through Lucian’s protective magic?

“Your poison isn’t strong enough to affect me, witch!” Lucian dashed forward and unleashed another golden slash at the troll, but his blade didn’t face any resistance, and the illusion just scattered.

“Maybe it doesn’t Holy Knight, but your allies don’t share your protection. Next time you won’t have your little minions protecting you. We will meet again.” The voice and the presence seemed to disappear.

Shaheera collapsed on his knees, doing his best to try and rotate his Qi and mana to cleanse his body, not having much success. He only managed to slow the progress. He also noticed Lucian take a knee next to him. “I’m sorry about that friend. Her magic managed to somehow slip through.”

“Cough! Did it, though?” Shaheera asked with a knowing look.

“Good. You’re smart enough to have a bright future ahead of you. Still, it is time for you to retire now. It is time the real competition begins.” Lucian’s gentle smile lost just a bit of its gentleness and Shaheera got a glimpse of the ruthless pragmatism that hid behind that smile. Ruthless pragmatism he had noticed before, so he wasn’t too surprised.

Then the Holy Knight reached down and snapped the bracelet that Shaheera had on his belt, and the next thing he could see was the insides of some sort of infirmary as healers rushed about trying to help those of this group that had also been disqualified. “Not bad disciple. Not as good as you could’ve done, but not bad either.” Ashanti stood by his bed as a Leonid healer did her best to treat the poison inside Shaheera’s body.

“How many?” Shaheera managed to ask between coughs, already feeling better, though extremely fatigued by the process.

“How many are left? A little under twenty by my last count. And yes, your old friend is naturally among them. Rest up so you’ll be able to see the finale. It’s going to be quite spectacular.” Ashanti grunted.

---------

Karna ducked under her enemy’s blade as another one of her hard-light constructs shattered, despite her only using it to parry the blow. Her opponent chased after her with another precise strike, but that one was stopped by the gauntlets that had appeared in her hands. She had wanted to face her enemy with a sword of her own to test the level of the skills the Kensei possessed, but her Qhaysh constructs simply couldn’t stand up to the expertly crafted sword of the blademaster. The difference wasn’t in the materials, as her magic was quite robust and pure, but a Kensei could turn a simple tree branch into a deadly weapon, so their own sword would naturally be much stronger than that.

She had come close to the Kensei twice more in the preceding days, but they had avoided each other in favor of going after easier prey, but this time the Kensei had pursued her with enough determination that they had come to blows. And while her Vanagandr form was great for fighting against most opponents, against a real Kensei the large size would be more of a hindrance than a benefit. Against this enemy, she needed precision in both her movements and strikes, and not power and ferocity. The time to use her more bestial form was over anyway. She’d gotten whatever benefit she would out of it already. She’d retained the claws on her hands though, and they were now peeking out of the finger portion of the gauntlets she wore. The convenient holes for her claws made it seem like the gauntlets had been made for her.

Where before she had been forced to dodge and parry the Kensei’s blows, now she met the strikes head-on. Of course, her style still revolved around graceful parries, but now she was more than happy to meet the heavy strikes from the large no-dachi blade with her own fists and claws. “Hmm, finally getting serious.” The Kensei muttered with a smile. “It’s about time. This wouldn’t have been fun otherwise.”

“Agreed. It wouldn’t do to strike down someone like you without at least showing some respect.” Karna gave a small verbal strike.

“How confident. I hope you’ll be able to show me you’re not all talk.” The woman verbally parried, enjoying their little tête-à-tête. "Perhaps I should show some seriousness as well." She hefted her blade onto her shoulder before a powerful force surrounded her. To Karna’s eyes it was clear she was about to transform into her true form, but they were both interrupted.

"Stand by remaining participants." A mechanical but clearly female-sounding voice announced over the whole area. "By popular request, you will now be transferred out of the current arena to a stage where the final part of our trial will take place."

They were both surrounded by the same light that had carried away anyone that lost their bracelets, and they were transported to a new arena. Karna noted that she was standing on a round platform of stone that seemed to float in the void of space. Her surroundings were dark, and only the platform was illuminated and seemed to glow with a soft light. Well, her platform and the other similar platforms also floating in the same darkness. She did a quick headcount and realized there were fourteen other platforms just like hers.

She idly noted that Shaheera was not among those remaining, not that she had expected him to be. She recognized the Kensei on one platform, as well as the two brave ones that had hunted her on the first day. The female still wore a heavy robe, though she was already shedding some of the extra clothing now that the weather no longer required it, and the male had already tossed away his cloak. A quick analysis showed her that at least three of the remaining participants were magical beasts in disguise, though nearly everyone had assumed the form of a human. Another participant was covered in heavy illusions, which she could penetrate if she wanted to, but saw no reason to do so at this moment.

It was also clear that she was the lowest-ranked person present, with everyone else being at least on the seventh rank either as mages, warriors, or holy power users. Or in the case of the magical beasts, just by their very nature. The man in the open shirt and gun-metal grey hair looked around and spoke before anyone else could. “Where’s the huge wolf? I refuse to believe it was killed since the winter was still present when we were transported.”

The dark-clad woman, who now shook her short white hair out of her hood, revealing a pair of white cat's ears looked at the man like he was dumb. "What are you, blind? She’s right there.” She gestured towards Karna, who in turn tipped a non-existent hat towards the feline beastwoman in a slight show of respect.

“Winter? That means we were not in the same place as we faced nothing but monsoon rains.” A man that had almost angelically attractive features, and who stood in heavy plate armor added. The gentle smile on his face seemed unflappable.

"Such a shame. Our re-match seems to have canceled." The magic-user under heavy illusions spoke towards the literal knight in shining armor.

“Vat is ze reason for zis change?” Another devilishly handsome man in a pure white uniform asked with a slight accent. “Ve are not done yet.”

“It seems we're the final participants, pretty boy." A muscle-bound woman that was at least three meters tall spoke in an amused voice while leaning against a huge axe as tall as she was. It was easy to see she had at least some giant blood in her.

“Correct.” The same mechanical voice sounded around them. “By the popular demand of the observers, we’ve pulled the rest of you out to have a more interesting finale as things were turning into a game of hide and seek due to how large the previous arena was. There were originally supposed to be sixteen of you, but several people got eliminated at the same time just before this.”

“Kakakaka!” The one under heavy illusions burst into laughter while the smile on the knight’s face got a bit strained.

“In any case, stand by while we run a poll with the observers to see the most interesting way to bring this to a conclusion.” The mechanical voice spoke. It seemed the Sentinels were now a bit more forthcoming with explanations, though not much more.