Barric raised a curious eyebrow at her statement. The Queen looked down to the announcer.
"Just ring the bell already." She told him, adjusting her neck with a loud crack.
She took up her position in her corner while Barric readied himself as well and the bell was finally rang.
"Ding!" The bell sounded and the half wolf woman leaped back onto the turnbuckle in her corner. Barric edged forward with his hands up, not used to this style of combat.
"Well I never imagined this is how our first date might go, but it sure is exciting! I just wish to know your name my Queen!" Barric proclaimed as he toed closer towards her.
"First date? You aren't even worthy of this ring! I'll tell you my name when you can defeat me in the battle box! But until then…" She replied, leaping into the air from the turnbuckle.
"Go find a persona!" She said, flying through the air towards Barric with her legs spread. He paused, hoping she might just land on his face, but just before it could happen she closed her strong thighs around his head and bent back with all her momentum. She pulled her legs towards her with the King's head pinched between her thighs before spreading them again. The result sent the King flying through the air just like the orc before him and sure enough he would pass through the hole in the stands Shmork had created just before him.
The crowd cheered at another victory from their champion, yet she still seemed unimpressed at all of her challengers thus far. The Queen took a seat on the turnbuckle in her corner to once again await her next challenger and planted her chin on her fist, seeming bored already.
The rest of the party all peered over the hole in the stands to see the King laid out on the ground beneath, on his back and looking very surprised.
"Master! Allow me to challenge her to restore your honor!" Akahana requested.
"No need, Aki. I'd like to think my honor isn't yet destroyed." He told her as half a dozen men showed up to scoop him onto a large stretcher and carry him off to the medical tent.
The party was quick to follow of course and soon enough they were all gathered around as Barric sat there allowing an apothecary to poke around at him.
"Only a bit of bruising, nothing really to worry about." The apothecary said. "Though I gotta ask, what's your workout routine?" The man asked, stroking his hands over Barrie's large arms.
The King stood, ignoring the second part.
"Well if I'm fine then I don't see why we can't go enjoy the festival now. Besides, apparently I have to come up with some kind of person in order to have a chance against the Queen." He said, excusing himself from the medical tent and back into the festival grounds.
The party was quick to follow once again and Layla was quick to protest.
"You're just gonna get right back in there? Just like that? Did you not see how quick she embarrassed you? What makes you think she won't just do it again?" Layla asked.
The King seemed annoyed at how his sister pointed out the painfully obvious. The painful part being that she was right.
The King walked about the festival, taking in the atmosphere of marryment, and surveying each of the stalls peddling their wares. Many of them were food stalls, but there were plenty of classic wares to fill out the festival grounds. Dresses, weapons, jewelry, magic items, armor, herbs, were just a few of the things that could be found throughout the many vendors that lined the festival grounds.
"What is a persona anyways?" Akahana asked, breaking the silence.
"It's like when you play pretend as a kid. You pretend to be someone else." Layla explained.
"Well, demons don't have childhoods. We are born grown, just like this, so we never played such games." Sylas spoke up.
"Wait, for real?" Quinn asked.
Sylas grined and shook his head.
"No no, that was my attempt at a human joke." Sylas explained.
"Not bad." Barric said with a nod.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I was born to conquer." Akahana said.
"Well, you're not doing much conquering now." Sylas commented.
Akahana looked down at him and scowled.
"This is foolish! Your persona or whatever can just be The King! Her's is The Queen, after all!" Layla was quick to point out.
Barric sighed.
"I actually am The King though. It's not much of a persona. I assume her being The Queen is because she's the Queen of the battlebox or something." Barric argued.
"Oh I know!" Quinn spoke up. "You could be the cat boy choker! You would uh… Ya know. Choke cat boys…" He explained obviously and somewhat suggestively.
This would cause another awkward silence to fall over the party until it was broken by Akahana.
"Master! You should be the conqueror of the battlebox! You are a master of battle and surely no box is a match for you!" The demon said. Layla did her best not to laugh at this, putting a hand over her mouth.
"Thank you Hana, but at the moment I don't quite feel that way." The King admitted.
By now they had made it to the games section of the festival. Each stall always claimed to be some kind of game of skill where you could win a cheap prize that would surely excite a child or even your date. Barric passed all of these swindlers and made his way straight to the dunking tank, where all east he knew the prize would be satisfying.
The King gave the man working the stall a copper and was soon rewarded with a single heavy stone ball.
"Well well! Who do we have here, but some long haired hippie dorkus!" The man sitting above the water in the tank began to mock, as was his job. Barric tossed the ball back and forth between his hands to feel its weight for a moment, mostly ignoring him.
"Why don't you go put a shirt on, you non persona having, battlebox loser! Yea saw that piss poor match earlier!" The man taunted further.
This struck a nerve with the King as he wound up a throw.
"You Mother Fucker." He spoke under his breath as he launched the ball. Sure enough it impacted the target with sufficient force and sent the filthy jester plunging into the water below. The King turned from the stall and tossed the man attending another copper.
"Thank you for that." Barric said, stepping away from the game.
"Hmm, Barric." Sylas finally spoke up. "I know what your persona should be." The demon said, with a confident nod.