Naraka sat in the luxury box overlooking the arena. He was with several other high-profile civilians, such as a few wealthy patrons who contributed large sums of money to the tournament. Above him was the box reserved for active Jikininki members, ten seats in total. Less than half of the Jikininki seats were filled. There were few faces he recognized, such as the spymaster ranked fourth named Grendel. Alongside him was the infamous ‘Golden Devil of Yomi’ ranked fifth, Kishin.

It made sense for them both to be witnessing the fights live. Grendel was a well-known hedonist that lived for the carnage of battle. Kishin was another matter altogether. Rumors persisted regarding the golden-haired man, with some telling that he tore apart a horde of demons with his bare hands. The general consensus was that he was certifiably insane.

Dagon Jinn hovered about the arena space like a trapped fly. Naraka crossed one leg over the other, his robes draping over his intricate ebony armor. He lifted a finger, calling a young woman over towards him with refreshments.

“Here you are, Lord Naraka!”

Naraka thanked the woman as he chose a goblet of fermented plum wine from her selection. He placed two gold coins in her hand as a tip, prompting her to bow and thank him graciously.

Dagon announced the next contestants as a young man walked out into the arena along with his Thrall, brandishing a double-bladed spear. He wore a sleeveless, beige long coat overtop a grey shirt. Naraka’s eyebrow raised at the fashion choice. The shirt itself had a short sleeve on the left and a long, cuffed sleeve on the right. The man’s shaggy black hair fell over a crimson headband accented with green jade.

—Mura, eh? Kids these days, taking more after those humans with every passing moment.

Naraka smiled as Mura flashed a finger gun at the camera as the crowd ate up the machismo. The crowd gasped and cheered once their opponents, Paimon and Orobas strode out as well. Naraka gripped the armrest slightly, he knew what this was. The massive beast named Orobas was half-bison and half rotting devil. He was a Shitidama; a demon that had lost its mind and reverted to an animalistic, feral state. This happened all too often to demons if they consumed human souls.

Normally such beasts were contracted to be hunted and slain immediately, as reformation was costly and near impossible in some rare cases. But in the Zoroaster Tournament, anyone from a peasant to a wild animal was acceptable to compete. It made Naraka’s stomach churn at the thought. Whatever happened next, it would most likely be grisly.

❇ ❇ ❇

Mura flourished his spear as Lilith fused with him in a flash of light. He narrowed his glowing eyes with a grin. Most often he tried to avoid a fight, but Mura had been in enough scraps to know how to win when he really became serious. His mind was already racing with thoughts.

—Damn, that Orobas is freaking huge! Let’s see… That frame of his, he probably hits like a truck no doubt. Gotta see if he can keep up with me in terms of speed.

Once the gong was rung, the match had officially started and Paimon yelled out at his Thrall. Discolored saliva flung out of Orobas’ mouth as the monster charged like a bull towards Mura. Mura didn’t run around like a headless chicken, nor did he panic. He steadied his breathing and knew what he had to do as the duo charged at him.

Placing his weight into his feet, Mura propelled himself to the side and rolled expertly in a somersault. Orobas missed his target, planting his hooves into the dirt as he skidded to a halt. Orobas let out an aggravated roar as the arena thundered with cheers at Mura’s dodge.

—Alright Lilith, I know how to beat him. At least, I think I do.

”You think?! What do you mean, ‘you think’?” Lilith yelled back, her voice echoing from within Mura’s mind.

—Did you see how he was skidding around like a rock sliding across an icy pond? He’s so heavy that once he gets that forward momentum, it’s pretty tough stopping suddenly or turning.

Mura was set, this was the strategy he was rolling with until he found a better one. Paimon flung his fiery hair back with a single hand, scowling at Mura.

“Goddammit, Orobas! Don’t miss him anymore, got it!?” He yelled at his Thrall, slapping Orobas’ flank harshly.

“SSSSSowwwwyyyyyyy…. M-Massssturr……,” Orobas struggled, his mind too corrupted to form coherent sentences any longer.

Mura gritted his teeth at the sight. This was how all Thrall users were to him; acting like nothing more than slave drivers. This beast was once a normal looking man, like everyone else at some point in his life. Orobas had probably been abducted and forcibly fed human souls like many promising Thralls; all so they could transform into shitidama. To demons, human souls were more addictive and damaging than any drug in existence.

But Mura didn’t have time to pity, he had to stay focused. Paimon whipped Orobas once more as he had the Thrall charge at Mura. He could tell Paimon had something in store for him, as the redhead’s veins were shining through his skin. Forcing himself upwards, Mura used the spear to vault up into the air as Orobas charged his way.

“Now Lilith, let’s give this asshole a little something special!” Mura shouted as time seemed to slow before him.

He was airborne and high enough to be with Paimon at eye level. Mura felt Lilith’s soul ignite with his own, like a car engine revving once the pedal is floored. Flames materialized into a flickering orb within his palm as Mura extended his hand towards Paimon.

“Jigadō Number Fifty-Four: Gleam!” Mura shouted as the incantation completed, sending the fireball flying at Paimon’s widened expression.

As Mura began to fall out of Orobas’ path, Paimon grimaced just before the blast engulfed him.

“Bastard!” Paimon shouted, swiping his glowing arm out towards Mura’s direction while guarding his face with his free hand.

A black glowing sliver of magic leapt from Paimon’s swiping arm at Mura, slicing his back. Mura cried out as blood escaped from the wound, seeping into his coat. At the same time, the fiery blast from Mura’s Gleam spell exploded onto Paimon. He screamed as Orobas burrowed his hooves into the soil once more to stop himself, almost ramming the arena’s wall.

The audience let forth several gasps as Dagon Jinn smacked his forehead in surprise.

“Not to worry, everyone! We have a magical barrier protecting the audience at all times, so you all will be safe no matter what. Woo boy though, I bet our contestants wish they had a barrier too after that!” Dagon said in an enthusiastic voice before continuing.

“Mura’s Gleam hit him dead on! But was it worth it? It appears Paimon let loose an Umbral Blade spell just in time. Unfortunately for him, since he didn’t say the incantation while casting the spell, the effectiveness was greatly reduced!”

Mura staggered, picking himself up off the ground while blood gushed from his back.

—Crap… If he severed my spinal cord, I’d be done for. The full power of that spell would have split me in two.

“Mura, patch yourself up… Please… My back feels like it’s on fire…”

Mura almost forgot about her. While Lilith was protected inside his soul from any physical harm, any damage Mura received while bound would always be reflected back onto his Thrall.

—Sorry buddy, lemme cast a healing spell. Sadly I suck at these, so this minor one will have to do.

“Jigadō… Number Ninety-Five: Renewal” Mura muttered as he picked his spear off the ground, using it to rest his weight on as Orobas turned to face him. He could feel a cold prickle course over the wound on his back, causing some of the skin and muscle to regenerate and clot the blood.

Mura strained to see from far away if he had done some substantial damage to his opponent. Paimon wasn’t out of the fight, instead glaring daggers at Mura while he lowered his scorched arm. The skin was charred on Paimon’s arm, upper chest and neck. Pink, glistening flesh was exposed to the stinging air on the areas where the flames struck true.

“Y-You little shit! Look what you’ve done to me!” Paimon screamed across the battlefield. “Orobas! Chomp that bastard in half!”

Orobas grinned, his wobbly gums stretching apart to expose horridly warped teeth. The entire arena was completely silent, on the edge of their seats. This had been the most electrifying fight so far and in a few moments, it would all be over for one of the contestants.

Mura simply spun his spear and chuckled to himself.

—Checkmate.

Orobas rushed forward at Mura, charging at full force. Mura backed up slightly, nearly against the arena’s stone wall. He pointed his spear at the duo while Paimon, not wanting to chance anything, readied his arm for a fatal spell.

“This is the end, kid!” Paimon cackled.

As Orobas neared him, Mura rushed at the charging shitidama. Everyone in the audience gasped and cheered at what happened next. Mura gripped his spear close and slid underneath Orobas’ torso. His massively bushy, hooved legs were barely centimeters from Mura’s face.

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing here, folks! Mura has slid underneath the charging Orobas! I truly can’t believe it!” Dagon Jinn screamed into his microphone.

Paimon canceled his spell, having no target to hit. He looked around desperately before realizing he had a whole other problem on hand. Orobas was headed straight for the spectators’ wall. This had been Mura’s plan all along, from the very beginning.

“No! Stop you idiot—“

Paimon couldn’t finish his sentence in time as Orobas’ skull collided into the concrete wall with a deafening crunch. Everyone unfortunately seated in the audience on that side felt the shockwave of the collision reverberate through their bones. Dagon nearly fell backwards out of his levitating podium from the shock as Orobas collapsed onto the dirt. Thick, murky blood oozed out onto the stadium ground, flowing freely from the caved-in cranium of the motionless Thrall.

“H-Hey… Hey, Orobas! Get up! You can’t just die here, I paid nearly one-hundred grand for your worthless ass! You were supposed to win me this whole thing, carry me all the way!” Paimon shouted, still fused from the waist down to the hulking torso.

That’s when he heard it, the sound of frantic footsteps behind him. Paimon twisted his body around to the best of his ability to see Mura leap up onto Orobas’ back. Mura’s arm reared back as a look of determination plastered itself onto his face. Mura raced along the shitidama’s back towards Paimon. Before he could defend himself, Mura launched his fist directly into Paimon’s face.

Blood shot from Paimon’s mouth along with numerous shattered teeth as his head whipped back from the impact, then drooped forward. Mura slid off Orobas, panting hard as Lilith unfused from him. Paimon’s unconscious torso slumped forward as he unwittingly unfused with Orobas, rolling down onto the dirt.

With a weak, exhausted smile Mura lifted his arm into the air as Lilith mirrored him. The entire crowd stood on their feet, applauding the victors.

“Paimon is unable to battle! Mura and Lilith win!” Dagon Jinn shouted out, congratulating them.

As Mura walked back into the private quarters, he held Lilith’s hand. From up in the crowd, Naraka smiled lightly and clapped for the young man. His curiosity in Mura was piqued. If he survived this ordeal, he might just be the one Naraka was searching for.