When Mud arrived back in the waiting room he quickly spotted Novus in the corner, leaning against Ovis's shoulder as the demi-human slowly pat her back.

"Shhh, you're safe here. Deep breathes now, Novus." The priestess spoke in a calm voice as the younger girl clung to her, head buried in her fluffy, sheep-like hair.

"Hello."

Novus screeched and nearly jumped into the air from her seated position as she rapidly spun around. There, close enough to touch her, stood Mud. After a moment of frozen shock, she closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. When her eyes reopened she instead wore a look of anger.

"Novus, the threats I made during our competition were a deceptive tactic for the purpose of causing you to surrender. I do not and did not intend to actually carry out any of those actions."

Her angry expression shifted slightly to one of suspicion, one eyebrow slightly raised. "And why are you telling me this?"

"Oh, this sounds juicy~ let me in on the conversation Mud!" Ovis's eyes sparkled at the prospect of drama.

Making sure to transmit to the demi-human as well, Mud explained while standing calmly. "As your primary directives appear similar to my own, I do not wish you to proactively seek my destruction as a precautionary measure."

"My primary what?" Novus seemed to forget her earlier emotions in her confusion. "You mean, you thought I would... like, kill you to protect myself?"

"That is correct."

The girl sat back down on the bench with a thump and leaned back against the wall, a joyless smile on her face. "Ha. You're scared of me. What a joke."

"You're not going to seek revenge?"

Slowly, Novus shook her head. "No. My loss was my own fault. I never should have fallen for such obvious provocation. My master would be ashamed." The girl let out a deep breath and stared into the air. "That crowd already destroyed my nerves. I thought I got over it, but when the round started it all came crashing back. I might have had a panic attack even without your threats."

"Hmmm." Ovis hummed lightly and swayed her head. "Mud, did you cast a little spell on her? One that would make her scared, maybe~? You're a mentalist, right~?"

"That deduction is correct."

Novus leaned up excited, fists clenched. "Really? So it was a spell, I didn't just panic! That's great! Ah! But, you cheated! I was scared of the crowd even before the round started!" An accusatory finger was pointed at Mud.

"I didn't cast my spell until the round started. That was just you."

"Oh..." her finger drooped as she pouted. "Well, don't worry about it, I forgive you. You followed the contest rules, so it was a legitimate strategy. I won't hold a grudge."

"Good, I didn't want our relationship to be harmed due to a misunderstanding."

Novus nodded and smiled lightly.

"Do you want to be my pet?"

Novus froze mid-nod.

"Eh?"

Ovis clapped lightly and smiled cheerfully. "I'm so glad I stayed for this!"

In the VIP seating area, Jabrax continued to gorge herself on pastries and cider. Although Sapients are all disgusting filth, the snacks they make are pretty good. As she finished off her fifth donut, a handsome man with a chiseled jaw and short-cropped hair approached her, wearing a dignitaries uniform.

"Hello there, miss. I don't believe we've met before. My name is Vale Farwind. And you are?"

Swallowing her huge bite of donut, she smiled sweetly at the wealthy-looking man. "Jabrax. It's nice to meet you, Mr Farwind."

"Oh please, call me Vale." A light smile formed on his rugged face. "Say, it's a bit noisy here. Why don't we go someplace a little quieter to chat a bit? I have a private room reserved for my use here in the arena."

After standing up and wiping a few crumbs off her shirt, Jabrax linked her arm with the mans. "Sure thing, Vale. Lead the way."

Vale guided her out of the box, down a few halls, and finally into a private room. Releasing Jabrax's arm, he walked to a desk on one side of the room and activated a small magic device. As soon as the white lights appeared on its surface the carefree look on his face vanished, replaced with a serious expression.

Turning on his heel, he faced Jabrax with a stiff posture. Jabrax, too, now stood in a more serious posture.

"It's safe to talk now. I wasn't expecting to meet a real here."

"Neither was I." Jabrax crossed her arms and grinned wickedly. "You look like you've done well for yourself. Got yourself hooked up with some government? I'm sure you can do a lot of damage there."

Vale smiled wide, revealing a row of daggerlike teeth. "Ha, perhaps even more than you expect. I'm always finding new ways. How about yourself?"

Eyes shifting to the side, Jabrax mumbled her next words. "I'm under contract."

Vale nodded sharply. "I understand. I'll arrange for an assassination of your contractor as soon as possible. What's his name?"

Jabrax shook her head and raised her palms. "Actually, hold off on that. There's benefit to following this for a while. I think if I shape him just right, we'll get to see something really fun."

The male demon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Oh, like that guy we convinced to try to wipe out all goblins? I'll look forward to it."

"Please do. Besides, this contractor isn't so bad."

A look of incomprehension twisted Vale's face. "Not so bad? How is that even possible? Did he do something to your brain?"

"Here's the thing; he's not one of the Archon's pets. My contractor is a construct! Can you believe it!"

"Wow, that's... unique. I've never heard of that happening before. I suppose that would be a lot better than working for cattle." Despite his words, Vale didn't appear totally convinced.

Jabrax shrugged. "Yeah, it's not perfect, but it's worth it for the end result I'm hoping for."

The room was silent for a moment.

"So... how do I contact you later if I change my mind and need that assassination?"

A pile of green corpses rose high on both sides of the dungeon entrance fortification.

"ROTATE!"

At the spirit enhanced roar of the Sergent, the front row of soldiers shoved forward as one with their shields and spears, then stepped back. With perfect coordination, their spots were filled as fresh soldiers stepped between their retreating forms.

Once clear of the chaotic whirl of green blood and steel, the soldiers collapsed onto the floor in a heap. Rainbow-robed clerics quickly ran to their side and began chanting prayers to Yaldabaoth, healing their countless wounds.

After gasping to catch his breath for a while, a young dog-like demi-human turned towards a much older soldier beside him. "Hey, isn't the wave not for two more days? Isn't this too much?"

The older soldier grimaced, wiping some green slime off of her face. "This is... worse than last year. Worse than any year I've seen." Pushing at the ground with her spear, she rotated in her seated position to better see the chaos at the fortification gates.

"Usually the Association is here, those freaks gobbling up the vermin as quickly as they can spawn."

"But the dungeon is closed." The demi-dog completed her thought.

"Exactly." The veteran spit to the side. "I don't know why the abyss they would do such a thing. It doesn't make any sense. Did you know a Corpse Worm came to the surface earlier today? It was before our shift. Someone almost died."

The demi-dog collapsed down to lie on the ground. Staring up at the drifting clouds, he tried to relax his sore muscles. Before long, he would be up there again. How many times had been up there already? How many of those bugs had he killed? The stench didn't seem to bother the others much, but the chemical smell the Giant Caterpillars let off when they died was nauseating to him.

"I wish the Captain was here. Or Ghul. Or the prince. Any of those bigshots, they could handle this by themselves. They probably wouldn't even break a sweat." The demi-dog spoke wistfully, looking up at a cloud that looked like a fish.

"They were here, last year."

"ROTATE!" The booming voice rang out again.

"I want to take a bath."