Novus tightly gripped her sword and shield. She had barely managed to purchase them before the tournament, and she still wasn't entirely used to them. Her new suit of armor still had a foul smell lingering from the tanning process.

She knew she should be focusing on her opponent, but her eyes again drifted towards the crowd. Thousands of them, cheering and waving and watching her every move. Speaking in front of her class of twenty had made her sick with nerves when she was in school. Right now, the staring eyes and jeers of countless strangers made her want to throw up.

Novus closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Just like her master taught her. Ignore the distractions. Focus only on the enemy. Slowly, she opened her eyes and examined her opponent. She kept her gaze low, so she wouldn't see the crowd.

A child in a black robe, face obscured by a weird stone mask with eyes painted on it. Was it even a child, or a small demi-human? It was impossible to be sure with its body obscured, but the build looked male. His arms, if it even was a boy, were hidden by the cloak. He hadn't drawn the expensive-looking sword on his back, but it was possible he had smaller weapons hidden out of sight. She couldn't even guess if he used magic. With his face covered, its hair was hidden too. Hair could be dyed as a form of deception, but it was still useful information.

All of the uncertainty worried Novus. But worse than that, even worse than the crowds, was the way he moved. All the way from the waiting area to the ring, he had moved as if sliding. Never bobbing up or down or swaying like any normal person would when walking, he instead moved like a ghost.

Then, there was that thing he did with his head. It was constantly moving, swiveling, and jerking erratically. Sometimes it would make movements that shouldn't be possible for someone with a spine. They seemed completely erratic, and she could find no pattern in the movements despite observing him for some time. But the creepiest part was that, no matter how the head swiveled and twisted, there was always one painted eye looking directly at her.

Leader Ghul had finished his speech at some point and the judge was in the middle of the ring, holding his open hand like a barrier between her and the black-robed figure. He said something, and it took her a moment to understand what he had asked.

"Y-yes, I'm ready."

Her opponent said nothing, but the judge seemed to accept his silence as consent. Stepping back and raising his arm in a wide arc, he yelled out in a booming voice. "Begin!"

Late to respond, she lowered into her fighting stance. Luckily, the black-robed figure did not capitalize on her momentary flat-footedness. Instead, he began slowly gliding towards her.

A wave of vertigo struck her. The small black figure looked suddenly larger. She knew he was still on the other side of the ring, but he looked like he could reach out and grab her. The faces in the stands all looked like they hate her. An urge to vomit rose, but she swallowed it down.

Deep breath. In, out. Focus only on the enemy.

Then the voice came. Youthful, but flat and lifeless. Like a speaking corpse, bereft of all emotion. It seemed to come from all directions at once, and from nowhere. It sounded like a whisper, but was as loud as a scream.

"I'm going to make a mess in this ring unless you surrender."

Novus unconsciously took a step back. Was that his voice? Her opponent, Mud? Was that a threat, he's going to mess me up, or cover this ring with my blood?

The black robe figure slowly slid towards her. Again the corpse voice appeared.

"You're going to fail here. You can't accomplish your goal."

Novus clenched her teeth. How did he know about her goal? No, he must be bluffing. He's just trying to scare me. Despite her rationalizations, her teeth continued to grind together.

The black phantom slid forward silently.

"I'm going to burn down your creator's... your parents home."

Novus froze, eyes wide. She couldn't even breathe. What kind of sick threat was that? This was just a tournament, why would he threaten her family. She looked around to the judge. Surely this kind of behavior wasn't allowed.

The judge only stood there, passively watching the fight. Neither did the crowd react to his cruel threat. Maybe she was the only one who could hear his haunting voice. Forcing her eyes away from the twisted, jeering faces of the crowd, she refocused on the phantom.

Still closer it slid, head twitching erratically. Its head twisted sharply to the right, then vibrated slightly.

"I'll take something your parents own to keep for myself. You'll never get it back."

Novus was reminded of a serial killer that was caught two years ago in the capital. Rumor was that every time he killed someone, he would keep something from their corpse as a memento. There was another rumor; that he had an accomplice that was never caught.

The reaper drew closer still. It's close enough to strike her now. Its robe parts. From within, a glint of metal. Slowly, like a snake, a thick chain climbed up the reaper's body and around its shoulder. It hovering in the air like a viper ready to strike. At the end, a meat hook.

"I'm going to break your body and mind. Then, I'm going to kill you."

"I SURRENDER!"

Mud was taken by surprise as the human girl suddenly screamed and ran out of the ring. It seemed the threatening strategy worked. She didn't stop running even as she entered the hall to the waiting room and disappeared from sight.

It seemed the Judge was equally surprised. With a momentary delay, he cleared his throat and raised an arm high in the air above Mud. "The winner of this duel is Mud!"

Some of the crowd exchanged confused whispers, but one energetic boy stood up and shouted above the murmur. "Executioner Mud beat her without even drawing his sword! She knew if she tried to fight him he would drag her to the abyss!"

Nearby adults smiled at the energetic display, and some light clapping spread across the stands.

An arena employee beckoned towards Mud from the side of the ring. "Follow me, you'll be waiting in the ready room until it's your turn to fight again."

Mud wanted to watch the other fights to gain information on his future opponents, but it seemed that it was not allowed. Mud's fight had been the third to finish, but the golem's next opponent was not yet decided. In another ring, far in the corner, Cob was fighting a man with two swords. The match was undecided, but Cob was already covered in blood. Despite the wide gash on his chest, he looked happy. Manic, even. Cob laughed as he swung his curved sword in rapid arcs.

That was the last Mud could see as the golem was taken back to the waiting room.