It had taken years of her experience not to wretch at the sight. She couldn’t help it. With all the horrors she had seen, this one was one that was going to stay with her for years to come. Valentina walked past the number of city guards and members of the Knights. She had seen the corpse when she arrived. Her nose curled up in disgust. Getting closer only worsened the stench the cadaver exuded.

Valentina looked down at the body. It was a young female adventurer. The telltale signs were the same as the others. The same as William. She took note of the pointed ears. This adventurer was an elf it seemed.

“My Lady, we found her like this. There are more inside. Not like her. Just dead bodies in general,” the knight said.

Valentina gave him a solemn nod and waved him away as she knelt to inspect the corpse. It did appear to be the same as the Beastification of the Kin. Her natural features were warped. Her pointed ears were elongated past her head. On the left of her head, the crown of her skull had split open, splintering the skin and forming a row of ridges similar to the spines on the back of a dragon. Her canines had become much sharper and were now sharp enough to easily penetrate flesh. Her back had split open as the telltale signs of her ribs detaching from her spine and tearing her flesh were seen. Her lungs were exposed to the air and covered in black sinewy material which she guessed kept oxygen pumping through her body despite her lack of need for it. Along her forearms were places where spines had grown and her fingernails had elongated to resemble talons. The woman resembled a predatory bird more than an elf.

“Stand back,” Valentina said. The other Knights and members of law Enforcement nodded and took a step back. “Before I do this, I need the names and the names of everyone inside that building.”

“Raelina NyFadden,” the knight said. “She was a registered member of Ataraxia Guild and took part in the tournament like… the other victims. The people inside are her family members. Her brother, Korin McFadden, her mother, Evelin Nyn Asterson, and her father, Fadden McBoris.”

“Are they like this too?” she asked.

“No, but it appears that she killed her other family members. We found her like this the next day. It appears some of these things have shelf lives. She’s the first corpse we found that wasn’t a pile of ash or killed by beheading,” the Knight said.

“It appears to be so-”

Raelina suddenly snarled and snapped at them. The undead adventurer rose to her feet, spilling her black blood all over the cobblestone pavement. She swung one of her talons at an unsuspecting knight, scratching his armor. The knight stumbled back and was knocked over as Raelina tackled him and attempted to bite through his throat. Her saliva dripped on his neck as the Knight tried to push her off.

In a flash, Raelina’s body was relieved of its head. The knight opened his eyes to see a headless body feebly thrashing its arms before suddenly falling limp. He turned his head and saw the open mouth and glazed-over eyes of Raelina NyFaddden staring back at him.

“Get up. I need to dispose of the body and get yourself cleaned up. Her blood and saliva are dangerous,” Valentina said.

The Knight in question nodded before running off to find the nearest washroom.

Valentina sighed and raised her hand. Her eyes turned gold. Energy crackled around her hands and ionized the air. A blood-red lily appeared before her and released a small wisp that engulfed the corpse. In a mere second, the corpse had completely vanished with no traces left. It had been erased from existence itself. She raised her hands towards the other corpses and used the same method.

After she finished, she lowered her arm and sighed. “I want you to increase security around the guild and make sure to put extra Knights around the Hospital. No one goes in or out unless they have identification. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am!” the Knights saluted.

Valentina’s eyes reverted back to their blue color as she looked in the direction of the Arena. The Semi-Finals should be happening soon. She hoped that everything would go well.

The atmosphere of the Arena was charged with energy. The cheers of the audience had electrified the air and created a chain reaction that provided the venue with ample hype. The beginning of the Semi-Finals and the second to last day of the Tourney were finally here. Many fighters had come and gone and now it was down to the final four.

Embla sat in her bed. Next to her, Cal and Pandora sat in chairs, watching the Television Crystal that projected a light screen and live view of the arena.

“Two of us left,” Embla said.

“I lost to Adori. That girl had a few tricks up her sleeve that I wasn’t able to notice in time,” Cal said.

“I would’ve loved to see your ass get kicked but I was in a coma,” Embla said, crossing her arms.

Pandora giggled at their interaction. She had suspected Cal lost for a different reason but chose not to comment. After all, Pandora wanted this to develop naturally.

“Ow!”

Pandora looked over to Embla with slight panic and saw the girl attempting to raise her left arm to grab her juice. While her arm had been miraculously repaired, the damage was still there. Repairing Embla’s muscle, bone, and ligaments had not repaired the nerves on her arm, and lifting it required lots of effort and pain. Thankfully, a Bishop had arrived and was scheduled to visit Embla in the coming days.

“Embla, you have to take it easy. Just give it a few more days,” Cal said, grabbing the glass and placing it in her right hand.

Embla sighed in frustration and glanced down at her left arm. “This is going to take some getting used to. I do lots of things with my left hand.” She raised her right arm, taking a sip of her juice.

“Nothing healing and physical therapy can’t fix,” Cal said.

Embla nodded and focused her attention back on the screen.

“Are you alright?”

Yuki opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder. She smiled when she saw Red’s smirking face as he leaned against the doorway. The matches for the semi-finals had been announced and she was going first. She was fighting Kaguya of all people.

“Trying to make a breakthrough to Extinguishment before my match starts which is in” Yuki took a gander over at the clock, “five-ish minutes.”

“Well, good luck with that,” Red said.

“Mom said I was on the verge of breaking through but something’s holding me back. I figured that clearing my mind would help me figure out what it is. I don’t know. I’ve gotten nothing so far,” Yuki said. She grabbed her sword and strapped it to her side. “I guess I have to go to the floor. Match starts soon.”

Red nodded. Before Yuki could make it past the door, Red grabbed her hand. Taken aback by his action, all Yuki could do is stand there.

“Hey,” Red said.

Yuki nervously turned around. Her eyes grew wide as Red closed in on her. After a few seconds, he moved back and smiled. There was an equally healthy red blush across his face.

Yuki’s face flushed completely as she clasped her cheeks with both hands. “U-Uh! I-I have to go!” Yuki said, running out.

Yuki walked to the edge of the entrance to the arena floor and stopped. She looked out onto the stadium floor. It was as if destiny was playing with her. This encounter was long overdue and the two had been skirting this encounter for three years. And by some providence of the Gods, the two were matched up. Yuki clenched her fist. Just the sight of Kaguya entering the field made her blood boil. They might have been friends at some point but what she did to her party member was unforgivable in Yuki’s eyes.

And with that resolve, Yuki stepped onto the floor. Her ears were pierced by the thunderous applause and claps of the audience as Azalea and Kvasir announced her entrance. She stopped after taking several dozen steps and stared at her opponent.

“So, we’re matched up against each other,” Yuki said, trying to make small talk with her foe.

Kaguya uncrossed her arms and stared at her former Princess. “It seems that, unlike all the other years, you’re actually participating. I was surprised to find your party registered to participate in the tournament,” she said.

“Well, I’m glad I get you in this match,” Yuki said, closing her eyes and smiling.

“Oh, and why is that?” Kaguya raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“I get to pay you back for everything you’ve done to me. I get to pay you back for what you did to Embla. And most of all, we can finally end this pointless conflict between us,” Yuki said.

Kaguya narrowed her eyes and unconsciously gripped the hilt of her sword. “So, after years of running away from me and your past, you’re finally owning up?” Kaguya asked.

“I had to get it beat into me,” she replied.

“Fighters! Are you ready?” Azalea announced. Neither of the two fighters replied or made any sound of acknowledgment.

Yuki grabbed the hilt of her swords and drew them. Kaguya tightened her grip around her sword.

“Fight!”

Neither Yuki nor Kaguya made a single twitch of movement. The two were staring at each other, analyzing each other’s breathing patterns for any sign of movement. The audience watched with bated breaths as the two just stood there.

Kaguya felt a bead of sweat trickle down her forehead. The confidence she had in defeating Shirayuki was now waning with each passing second. She may have trained in the time Yuki left to bring her back but she never thought how much Yuki had improved. Her stance was solid and her expression made her already oppressive aura all the more overwhelming. Even with her Arts, Kaguya knew that in order to win this fight, she would need to fight for every inch.

“First move wins,” Yuki said.

Kaguya tilted her head in confusion. “First move-” Her honed instincts screamed inside her mind.

Yuki took a single step and suddenly appeared in front of Kaguya. She swung her blade with great speed. However, Kaguya’s instincts had saved her. The blade was blocked barely in the nick of time.

Yuki narrowed her eyes and pushed down on Kaguya’s sword. The girl fell to a single knee and grunted in an effort to push back. She kneaded the mana inside her body and forced it into her lungs. Kaguya took a small inhale of oxygen, puffing her cheeks up.

Yuki’s eyes grew wide as she pushed the swords down. She raised her knee and kicked Kaguya in the chin, forcing her head to face the sky. The woman’s mouth opened, unleashing a meteoric burst of flames.

The fireball rocketed towards the sky and collided with the barrier.

Kaguya looked back down and saw her vision filled with a boot. She was sent flying across the arena before crashing into the ground. She shakily got to her feet and wiped the dirt and dust from her eyes. Kaguya gritted her teeth and reached for her weapon. However, her sword was embedded into the arena floor by Yuki.

“Disarming me in the first few minutes? Are you trying to get me to surrender?” Kaguya asked.

“I know for sure that you’re not defenseless without a sword,” Yuki said.

She smiled. Kaguya kicked off the ground, kicking up a literal ton of dust in her wake. She traveled several times faster than the sound from Yuki’s voice could leave her lips.

Yuki’s eyes grew wide as she blocked Kaguya’s kick. The force of the kick could be felt in her bones as she slid backward several feet. However, there was no moment of reprieve in between Kaguya’s actions.

The girl had grabbed her sword and began a merciless assault on her. A slash from the left. A slash from the right. An overhead slash. Her strikes were precise and designed to put someone out of commission.

Yuki parried one of Kaguya’s attacks before kicking her back to gain some room. She jumped into the air and aimed her sword at Kaguya. A blue aura made of mana formed around Yuki. “Icicle Raid!”

Kaguya jumped back, deftly evading the hail of ice spears. She turned her gaze towards Yuki.

Yuki raised two of her fingers off her sword. A ring of fire formed around her. She fired the flaming circle at Kaguya.

Kaguya clicked her tongue and swung her sword. A wave of compressed air sliced the ring in half. Yuki dodged the attack, landing gracefully on the ground. She dashed towards Kaguya, swords poised to strike.

Kaguya met her in the middle, clashing blades with the white-haired Princess. The two glared at each other. Yuki clenched her jaw. Kaguya was clearly physically stronger than she was. The mere weight of Kaguya’s blade against her own was enough to send her to her knee.

“This sight looks familiar,” Kaguya said. Her muscles became flooded with prana as she pushed back against Yuki.

“Yeah, during our spars back when we were kids,” Yuki replied.

“And look how the tables have turned,” she said.

“Only for now,” Yuki said. She boosted her strength with her prana and pushed back against Kaguya. Slowly but surely, Yuki got off her knee and was soon level with Kaguya. In a burst of strength, Yuki suddenly pushed Kaguya back, forcing her to stumble.

Taking advantage of her momentary trip, Yuki sheathed one of her swords and slammed her palm into the ground. “Flash Freeze!”

The burst caused a cascade of frozen spikes to erupt from the ground. The surge of frozen spears rolled towards Kaguya. The spikes nearly impaled her. However, the girl had erupted in time, swinging her blade and slicing the initial wave of spikes. She jumped into the air and tightened the grip on her blade. Prana nourished her muscles and empowered her. “Flickering Strike,” Kaguya muttered.

A series of slashes had sliced the air around her apart. The swings were so violently executed that the slashing of the air created a vacuum blade. The cascade of icicles shattered into numerous pieces, sending shards of ice flying everywhere.

She sheathed her sword. Her eyes roamed the entire arena. Yuki had disappeared from her spot and was nowhere to be found. She knew that the girl was still here. Kaguya could sense her presence. Her eyes narrowed as she drew her blade and slashed at the spot next to her.

Yuki’s eyes widened as she felt the blade pass through her. A shocked look appeared in Kaguya’s face as Yuki faded into thin air.

An Illusion? No, a Virtual Body Clone, she thought.

“And you fell brilliantly for it,” Yuki muttered. She swung her blades furiously, increasing in speed and strength with each swing of her sword.

Cuts appeared all over Kaguya’s body as she tried to block every one of Yuki’s attacks. “Divide Impact!” several of Yuki’s clones appeared around Kaguya. The clones all converged on her, determined to reduce Kaguya to a mumbling mess of blood and torn flesh.

As Yuki was about to grievously wound her former friend, Kaguya suddenly disappeared. The sudden burst of speed had caught her off-guard but she knew what it meant. That speed was not speed at all. It was Kaguya’s Arts. She quickly turned around and pain shot through her skull. Her vision was flooded with white as she flew across the arena and crashed into the ground.

Yuki sat up with a groan of pain.

“Well, my lady.” Kaguya’s tone was anything but respectful. The disdain was present in her voice.

“Your Arts,” Yuki said, wiping blood from her mouth. “Your Arts isn’t to slow down time…”

“What?” Kaguya raised an eyebrow.

“Embla said your Arts wasn’t the ability to slow time. I always thought that whenever I saw you fight and you disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the field that you teleported. Then, you said you were slowing time but that looks like it’s not the case. Embla told me that slowed time feels like a lag like you’re sluggish. But that isn’t the case at all. You’re not slowing down time. You’re speeding up your own,” Yuki said, leveling her blade at her.

Kaguya narrowed her eyes.

“And during that fight, you had with Embla, I was wondering why you didn’t use it more often,” Yuki said.

Kaguya said nothing as she gripped her blade.

132 seconds, she thought.

“Looks like you have a cooldown,” Yuki said.

“So?” Kaguya said.

Yuki looked taken aback.

“Do you think explaining how my Arts works will actually do anything? I’m moving faster than you can formulate thought and process information. How are you ever going to do anything?” Kaguya said. “Even if there is a cooldown, all I have to do is kick things up a notch now.”

Yuki narrowed her eyes as she drew her blades. Kaguya grinned.

The two kicked off the floor and dashed towards each other, clashing blades once more.