"Huh... I may have underestimated you a bit, elf. Didn't know I'll have to give this fight my all this early on in the fight," the viper master said as she struggled to raise from her pull of blood.
"W–what are you?!" the elf asked as she backed away in fear. I felt an intense pressure building up from the Viper, and I think it was even worse for the elf.
"Steal!" STEAL!" the elf screamed desperately as she tried to use her skill on viper once more." Why isn't it working?!"
"Come now, sweetie. You can't steal a power from its source, you should know that by now," Viper master advised as she pulled herself up from the crater.
Everyone gasped when all her injuries were fully healed. Not just fully healed mind your, her entire body was covered in scales, green scales to be exact. Her eyes looked like a that of a predator and right now, there was only one target for her today.
"You want to know why they call me the viper master?" she asked with a dangerous smile.
The elf pulled a dagger from her hood and stood in a defensive stance.
"Honey, that's not going to help you much," Viper said and suddenly, the elf was disarmed. "See?"
Two seconds later, and the elf had a clean cut on her face. She stumbled in shock as she grasped her cheek.
"What the...?" the general muttered. Judging from his reaction, I'm guessing he didn't know of this power too.
The elf stood no chance. With her fists growing into claws, the Viper master attacked the elf from all sides, never giving her a chance to counter(nor our eyes to adjust for that matter). A swipe on the leg here, a deep cut to the hooded hand, man... It was clearly a one sided fight. The elf tried holding her ground but evidently, she was out matched.
"I... Can't... " the elf breathed when the viper eased a bit on her. She was bloody all over, gaps around her hood showing her white prestige skin. She was really pissed at her weakness, that much was obvious. Even her perfect elven face was ruined with her scalp bleeding over her golden brown her.
The fact that she was still standing showed that she really was strong. Or maybe a certain someone was pulling her punches.
"Come on dear, give up now, save yourself from the pain," Viper master suggested as she licked her palms of the blood.
"Never! I... Have....to...win!" she huffed and stumbled forward. The ref, who with good reason was hiding under the crater created before, came out dusting himself like he had been doing his job through out the match.
" Well, ladies and gentlemonsters, I'll have to give the win to–"
"NO! I'm not done!" the Elf gasped within deep breathes. She took one last deep breath and tried activating that skill of hers again.
"Just give up, hon. Don't embarrass yourself–" Viper's words were cut short when the elf's red eyes began glowing even brighter. "Now hold on, I don't think that's safe–"
"F*ck what you think! My reputation as the boar elf won't be tarnished by the likes of a monster reptile!" she screamed in rage as her power built up. The viper master stumbled as her power was being rapidly drained.
"Chill out girl! It's just a normal competition!" the Viper tried to reason with the elf but that crazed look in her eyes told everyone she was already too far gone.
She ripped up what remained of the hood only to reveal a golden skirt with a bikini top shirt to match. The muscles in her arms and legs showed us just how much she worked hard to gain such a title as the boar elf. I eyed some representatives enjoying the view of her body, but that didn't last long too.
Before us, her muscles began twitching and growing much larger, her skin turning a dark red. This new development made me question what that elf was doing. Once she was done, a much larger version of the elf(and more monster like) was left, and a deranged smile to finish it off.
"Ugh...I don't get paid enough for this!" the ref said and rushed back to the safety of his crater.
The Viper master shook her head in disappointment when she saw what the elf had turned into.
That basically counts as a loss right? She's using some type of cheat! Isn't anyone going to step in?!
I turned to everyone around and they too were shaking there heads in disappointment. What I'm I missing?!
"YOU'RE DEAD!" the beast roared and pounced on Viper. What followed next was so brain numbing, that I had to close my eyes just so that my mind could process what had transpired clearly.
All that was left in the arena was the Viper master raising her hand in victory, the beast falling to the ground in defeat.
"I knew this would happen," the soul reaper muttered. I held my head with both hands and used my magic to cast a spell to ease the migraine that just appeared after witnessing that speed.
I don't have the exact details, but I'm pretty sure that when the beast launched its attack, the Viper master made a movement, and suddenly, the beast was defeated.
"I–is it over?" the ref peeped from his safe haven," Huh, well then, the winner of the first round is the Viper Master!" he announced to the audience.
I turned to the kings and saw that the Elf king had a frown on his face.
"This win belongs to my warriors!" the Beast king announced proudly.
"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" all the representatives who weren't powerful enough to follow the match asked.
The king snapped his fingers and a video appeared in the monitor. I too wanted to watch it, to fully understand what happened. With the images being enhanced and slowed down, we were able to see just what happened in that extraordinary win.
Viper master seemed to have been waiting for the beast to gain closer, then her predator eyes glowed a cool green before she delivered a decisive punch to the monster, with so much strength to knock it out, but not enough to kill it.
"Before you ask, yes Max, that's how a monster is powerful when it knows how to fully utilize its abilities," the general answered the million dollar question.
"Wait, so she wasn't using her full capabilities yet?" I wondered.
"You just saw a glimpse of it. That's the kind of speed she exhibits, only just a bit of it cause such a power always has a drawback," Mr Ben said.
"And I have to ask, that transformation with the scales, is it another type of skill?"
"Nope, that's a skill all monsters have. To unlock it though, that's another story," the general explained.
"What a performance that was! Incredible work from the Viper master," the Beast king praised as he appeared in all screens. " She has obviously qualified for the position of one of the elites. Next match has now been updated on your screens," he continued.
We all rushed to see who's match up was next.
"The general is up next. That's a match I'd like to see," someone spoke from behind me. A scaly hand suddenly grasped my shoulder. I slowly turned my head only to be met with the Viper master smiling down at me with blood dripping from her head, enhancing her already scary smile ten fold.
I shuddered and immediately sprinted away from her and attached myself to Mr Ben.
"H–how?" I muttered.
"Awww! Don't be scared sweetie, I don't bite," she said with a laugh.
"Should you even be here right now?" I asked as I unmounted Ben. I definitely lost some of my dignity with that scare the Viper pulled on me. I really don't care either way. That woman is scary.
"Perhaps you have a point, cutie," she said and dropped down from exhaustion. The Were girl caught her just before she could hit the ground.
"She'll be out for a while. I'll be leaving now, wish me luck," the general said as he was heading out to the ring.
"Like you need it," I heard Mrs Kelly whisper.
Nephis helped the Were girl move the Viper master to the infirmary. But not before giving me a smirk. I definitely shouldn't have acted like a coward in front of her. Anyways, water under the bridge( I hope).
The Elf too had regressed back to her normal form, and was quickly rushed to the medical centre once the match had ended. I felt a sort of vibration and Vwala! The arena was as good as new, ready for another match.
***
"This is going to be boring," Mrs Kelly said as she walked over to me. The Were girl and Nephis had already returned to watch the match, their eyes filled with anticipation.
"What's with all the excitement?" I asked to no one in particular.
"You've never seen how powerful a demi-gon is have you? Well, you're in for a ride of your life,"
The general marched into the ring with a calm look on his face. I heard whispers from the representatives and caught a few words in.
"A demi-gon? is this really going to be a fair fight?" one asked.
"This will be an easy one," another added.
Shows what they know. I'm pretty sure they elf's got something up their sleeves.
The same emerald door opened and as usual, another hooded elf walked in. This time though, the elf chose to reveal his face to us.
He looked around thirty or so, his face just more beefier than normal. His eyes shined with determination when he realized who his opponent would be.
"The Demi-gon Krill the exterminator. An honor to meet you," he spoke as he bowed.
"No need for such formalities here, lad. I go by general these days," General Zard said.
"Of course. My name is Helf von sein. Let's give this fight out all!" he proclaimed.
The previous referee appeared with a few bandages on his face. Guess he came out with some injuries after all.
"Now, I want a fair and honest fight and blah blah blah. You know the rest. Now, BEGIN!" he announced.
Different from before, both warriors were still in their position. The elf took this chance and removed his entire hood, revealing a full plate armor which looked buffed up with enchantments. A large iron sword was attached to his side, which he immediately unsheathed.
"This armor is one of the strongest in our family. Not even a powerful dragon can dent it! And this here is my trusty plasma sword. Rumored to pierce dragon scales. No offence general, but you do understand why I had to take such measures, right?" the elf said with a smirk.
The general had a neutral face when he answered," You do what you gotta do,"
The Elf charged in with a confident sprint, ready to attack the general head to head.
"Idiot!" Mrs Kelly cursed. I wonder who she was insulting?
The general waited patiently for the elf to come into striking distance, then he pulled back a punch and just threw out a normal fist.
Immediately, a really strong force of wind caught the elf head on, and he was suddenly stripped of everything in his arsenal except his undies. His nose began bleeding on his surprised face, but he quickly fell down and passed out (probably in shame).
"Wow... That's a demi-gon for you. The winner of this match is the general Zard!" the ref said in a surprised tone on how quick the match had ended.
Not even a clap was heard as everyone was numb with shock.