'You have five seconds to tell me where he is,' Tiam said, voice cracking at the seams. The demon made a double take, licked her lips, then extended her claws. This discussion couldn't go any less than awfully. Tiam paused to consider that none of the patrons were leaving. Of course, despite their current partying state, they were all arena fighters. In fact, this may have been the first fight they had ever gotten to watch this close.
'You're frightening the customers.' The serpentine eyes of the woman didn't leave Tiam's. The stare down felt eternal.
'Three.'
'Oh come on.'
'Two.'
'Everyone, kindly make some space.'
Tiam breathed slowly, taking in the last true lungful for probably a minute or two. When the adrenaline of battle hit, they didn't waste much time with thinking about oxygen. Every cell in their body was dedicated to the fight. They hesitated a few extra milliseconds, just to allow the patrons to make more room. Their Key rose above their head, becoming like a teal third eye. Tiam's scimitar appeared in their free hand, throwing off their balance, which only helped the way they planned to fight.
'One.' The second it left Tiam's lips, claws struck steel. The demon was across the room in a flurry of tossed glasses. Coloured drinks splashed into the air behind her, like a sea parting. Tiam retaliated with their big cutlass to block, then drove their scimitar home. The demon dodged, but that let Tiam pivot into a twirl. Like a spinning top, they chased the demon through the room. Their blades lit up with holy energy, and their back blasted the room with teal light that blinded any patron looking too hard. As they moved with great speed and unpredictability, they used the growing chaos to bend the furniture around the demon. Timber warped upwards like tendrils, as if they wanted vengeance for their former lives as trees.
'Cute.' The demon said that, but she looked like she was having a difficult time of it. Between avoiding the angry furniture and apparently the very entertained partygoers, the demon was sure to start unleashing her power at any second. Tiam was ready, no matter what form of hellfire or burning acid she controlled. They stepped onto a table and bent its edges around them like a shield to cover up to their waist. Placing both blades together, Tiam cut the air and sent slashes of bright light bending through the bar. They carved up the bar itself, glasses and even accidentally nicked a man trying to steal a drink, but never once caught the demon. She was fast, and looked ready to attack.
'Put your weapons down, child,' she demanded. Tiam almost obliged. They crouched to lay their weapons before a very loud 'boo' from a woman snapped them out of it. Of course, Tiam should have realised there would be more up a demon's sleeve than just physical attacks.
This would prove a challenge. They couldn't rely on someone else to save them next time, so they needed to come up with a way to block it out. Mental attacks weren't something a lot of fighters in the colosseum had access to, so Tiam never really trained to prepare for this. What could they do? What would Leo do in this situation?
'Darling, stop attacking,' the demon said with a tone as gentle as a still lake. Tiam paused their attacks. Not spectacular. This time, it was far more powerful. They were completely aware of the attack, but still couldn't resist. What would it take? What were they supposed to do?
'Good child,' said the demon. Those words set a fire in Tiam's chest. Was this part of the mental attack? Did the demon know what to do to set them off? No, this being couldn't possibly know what Tiam's childhood was like. No creature would have prepared for the possibility that Tiam would arrive in pursuit of Leo, right?
The Demon appeared inches from Tiam's face, and a sharp pain struck their chest. A single slash tore away at the padding until it reached their unprotected side. Blood lacerated the air, arcing until it splattered against the wood, feeding the dead plant life with fresh stains. The demon smiled, licking the blood from her claws like a child getting their food everywhere. Then she moaned, and that was about all Tiam could take. They wanted to vomit.
'Stay right there, darling.' The demon plunged another claw into Tiam's other side. And that was when it hit Tiam. All they needed was a single word and the right mindset. The groaned until their teeth parted, lips forming the single most aggravating word they had heard Leo use.
'No.' Tiam curled their scimitar around the demon's wrist and severed the hand from its owner. They finally smiled as the demon screeched something terrible. 'Now you'll listen to me.' Tiam dropped their scimitar and gripped her throat. 'If you won't tell me where he is, then I'll find the answer in your remains. If I don't find it there, then I'll simply rip your establishment to ribbons and find him that way. So what do you say, darling?' They rested their big cutlass on the demon's shoulder, blade teasing black blood from beneath the surface.
The demon looked defiant for a moment, tried to say something, then paused. Maybe she finally got the message that Tiam meant business.
'Back door,' she croaked. 'Locked.'
'Not for long.' Tiam lit up their blade and cut the demon in half. As the remains of the once seductive demon melted into a brackish pool, Tiam collected their blade and floated to the door.
Patrons also finally got the message and decided it was safest to leave. Whatever this person who just carved up a demon wanted, it wasn't worth risking their position in the colosseum to find out. Tiam was a walking sword of judgement.