"And you're sure you're recording from different angles?" Ath3na asked.
She was standing not three feet away from a creature with the head of a white wolf attached to the body of an extremely hairy and plump man in an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt and ripped jeans.
"Yes, yes, Ms. Ath3na, we are recording everything from all angles," McCloud assured her.
"And you will send me a copy of my battles, right?" she pressed.
McCloud barked happily. "Yes, we'll send you a copy like always… same as everyone else."
It had taken her a long while to get used to talking to this freaky-looking denizen who revealed himself as a member of the Abyss' dev team in a streamer workshop that was held in-game two weeks ago. But McCloud's jovial nature eventually won hers and the other streamers trust, and so they remained in regular contact with anything regarding the game's promotion online.
"It would be easier if you devs would just let me stream live," Ath3na sighed.
"Yes, that feature's impossible at the moment, but we are—"
"—Working to fix it, so you've said," Ath3na smiled. "It's alright, McCloud. Thanks again for the support."
"And thank you for spreading the word of the Abyss to your followers, Ms. Ath3na," he said as he waved a clawed hand at her. "Good luck in the first round!"
Then he was gone, leaving Ath3na alone by the north gate leading into the arena with only her thoughts for company.
Past the gate, she could hear the excited cheers of the audience as Donatella riled them up with her comments.
"Also, since Maestro will be busy referring by the ringside, I'd like you all to welcome a special guest who'll be joining me as a commentator for the third round," Donatella announced. "Hello, Morgue!"
"Hello, Donatella," chirped the cheerful voice of a teenage girl who Ath3na could swear she'd heard before. "I'm quite excited to be here. It's been such a thrill watching all the games so far."
There were some scattered applause given to the new arrival, another NPC who Ath3na suspected wasn't an NPC at all, or at least not for the event.
To this date, McCloud has been the only dev member to interact with the players, but Ath3na doubted this was truly the case. At the very least, both Maestro and Donatella seemed different from their usual selves, and Ath3na guessed these two NPCs had been co-opted by dev members so they might facilitate the event in real time.
Of course, this was just a theory, but one that was widely popular in the forums at the moment. Another popular theory dating back to the beginning of the Abyss was that Maestro was never an NPC to begin with — a very plausible theory in Ath3na's mind.
"Indeed it has, Morgue," Donatella agreed. "And it's only bound to get more interesting… especially this first match."
"Yes, I did notice a bit of bad blood forming between the two challengers back in the first stage," Morgue replied.
"And it's only gotten more heated since Ath3na showed everyone up in the second stage," Donatella added.
"A budding rivalry… how exciting!" Morgue replied.
"And I believe Maestro just called Iceheart to the ring," Donatella announced. "And she receives loud cheers from the audience as she enters through the south gate."
Then it was Ath3na's turn, and as she took in a deep breath, the iron portcullis that separated her from the sands began to rise.
"You're the goddess of gaming wisdom," she exhaled. "So keep calm and carry on."
Ath3na stepped into the light, and the crowd went wild.
"I give you, Ath3na~~a!" Donatella yelled.
A chant of, "Ath3na! Ath3na!" began among the audience.
Ath3na waved to them as she walked toward the raised rectangular ring at the center of the arena, and her fans waved back.
"Oh my, I believe that's a new armor she's sporting," Morgue commented.
The guest commentator was right, of course. Ath3na was decked in new gear that she'd commissioned from Masamune exclusively for this main event.
She wore a shiny steel breastplate over a snug knee-length blue coat. While her left shoulder was covered in a steel pauldron, the part of the blue coat covering her right shoulder was studded. Her arms were wrapped in steel bracers, and steel leg guards covered the leather boots she wore.
To all who saw her, Ath3na was the very picture of a lady knight, beauty and ferocity all in one shiny package.
In contrast, the woman waiting for Ath3na on the other side of the ring wore very little clothing. Her translucent blue flesh was covered only in a bedlah, a dancer's outfit of a fitted studded bra, a thick leather belt wrapped around the waist, and see-through harem pants that left very little to the imagination.
Ath3na reached the edge of the obsidian ring, and it was only then that she spared a glance up at the commentator's box and noticed the platinum-blonde girl sitting next to the maenad. Ath3na couldn't understand why, but there was something about this girl that drew Ath3na's gaze to her.
"Morgue…" As the word passed through Ath3na's lips, it instantly caught the attention of the other girl, and she smiled warmly at Ath3na, almost like she'd heard the whisper despite the distance between them.
"I don't mind being the underdog in this fight," said a woman who's voice seemed to echo slightly.
Ath3na gazed forward, and opposite her, Iceheart's fingers drummed on the blade of the knife in her other hand.
"I don't think you're all that," Iceheart taunted. "And I'm going to prove it in this battle… better be ready, Ath3na, coz I'm about to pull the rug from right underneath you."
In response, Ath3na slammed the butt of her halberd on the sandy floor. "You can try…"
"Alright, alright, ladies, you can continue this cat fight inside the ring," Maestro chuckled from his high seat at the center-edge of the ring. "The fight begins the moment you both step on it."
Both women did as Maestro asked, and as soon as their feet landed on the obsidian floor, the edges of the ring began to glow.
On the floating screens above, the words, [Ath3na VS Iceheart], were displayed above the line [BATTLE START!].
"Go wild," Maestro recommended.
Iceheart was first to strike, turning her whole body into a tidal wave that quickly bridged the distance between her and Ath3na, leaving the other player no chance to dodge.
"All I need to do is push you out and I win!" Iceheart screamed.
Ath3na slammed the tip of her halberd into the floor. Then she braced as the water came crashing down on her.
"Ath3na seems to have weathered Iceheart's Riptide although I can only imagine what kind of splash damage she's just experienced," Donatella commented.
"More than usual, I imagine as she didn't cast Spectral Cloak to defend herself with," Morgue added.
There was a reason Ath3na hadn't used her ability right away, and that was because she was saving what little soul energy she had left for the next round. In fact, for this first round, she'd already decided she would win with her weapon alone.
Once all of Iceheart had splashed away from her, a visibly wet Ath3na dashed forward to create distance between them.
"You're not getting away!" Iceheart yelled from close behind. "Torrent!"
Just as Iceheart cast her spell, Ath3na twirled around, and while holding Red Death like a baseball bat, she swung it forward.
The wind pressure from Ath3na's swing was so strong that it caused the pressurized spray of water exploding out of Iceheart's palm to lose its form. Moreover, the air pressure continued onward — and it was suddenly Iceheart's turn to brace herself as the wind passed violently through her, taking a portion of her watery mass away with it.
"What was that?" Morgue asked in surprise. "Wraith Warriors don't have the kind of physical strength to blow the wind back like that!"
"I believe Ath3na's using Red Death's special ability, Giant's Swing," Donatella explained. "As long as she holds her weapon in that manner, she can fire off those forceful swings until her arms break."
Donatella's deductions were quite right. Ath3na did just use [GIANT'S SWING] to create wind pressure strong enough to repel Iceheart's attack. Unfortunately, Donatella was also right about its effects.
Ath3na gritted her teeth as pain flared up her arms, and it was almost like she'd strained them from trying to lift something that was extremely heavy.
"How many more times," she wondered aloud. "Two… three at most…"
Opposite her, Iceheart's eyes were wide with momentary alarm. She looked worried, afraid even of this unexpected strength Ath3na had just displayed.
"Two or three more is all I need," Ath3na whispered.
She dashed forward.
Iceheart swelled once more, a tall wave that would crash against Ath3na's charge. She wouldn't get the chance to attack, however, for Ath3na had just swung Red Death a second time. The air pressure from its swing caused Iceheart's form to waver and break, forcing her back to human size.
She'd barely stabilized when Ath3na was right in front of her in the midst of her third swing. Uncertainty caused Iceheart to take an involuntary step back. Then she raised her hands and summoned [WATER DAM] to create a wall of water between her and Ath3na.
A second passed but the wind didn't come.
Iceheart's brow furrowed, and it was only then that she realized Ath3na's last attack was a bluff.
In the span of moments it took Iceheart to realize this deception, Ath3na had already altered course to the side of the watery curtain. And while her arms strained against the heavy weight of her attack, she unleashed the third [GIANT'S SWING] on Iceheart.
Iceheart didn't even have time to dodge, and the air pressure shoved her aside, causing her to topple over on her butt hard on the ground behind her.
Suddenly defenseless, she raised her arms over her face to protect herself against Ath3na's next attack, but it never came. And as Iceheart lowered her hands she realized why. Her butt had crossed the edge of the ring. She was out of bounds.
"Ath3na wins the first round!" Donatella screamed into her mic.
Ath3na raised Red Death aloft while the audience yelled and cheered her on.
A chant of, "Ath3na! Ath3na!" began again.
Little did they know that her victory pose took great effort on her part for her other arm was most likely dislocated from that last use of [GIANT'S SWING]. However, despite the pain lancing up and down her arm, Ath3na still managed to smile.
And as a trickle of sweat slid down her nose, Ath3na whispered, "I really, really wish I could have streamed that…"