There was one person in the tournament who wasn't supposed to be there.
The rest had resolved to kill her first. Oh, how simple they were.
There is, pain, and then there is suffering. One you can endure, the other you cannot. One is self-inflicted.
Ella knew how to avoid suffering, and pain didn't bother her. But it was about to bother them.
She faced them across the field. Although technically they were in a circle, she could tell that all of their focus was on her. And she wouldn't have it any other way.
As the start sounded, Ella smirked to see them all run at her. She would destroy them one at a time. By the time they discovered her strength, it would be too late.
The first one was a fire user, by the looks of it. His eyes were like glowing embers, and by the look of his blade, it was infused with a discordant energy.
As he struck at Ella, she didn't block. She didn't even draw her blade.
His sword bit deep into her flesh, searing her skin and piercing through to cut the muscle underneath.
But as his sword passed through her arm, something happened.
As soon as the metal left her, her skin and muscles knit themselves back together. And before he could see, she had buried a knife in his throat.
He fell with a look of shock on his face, and Ella kicked his body away disdainfully.
This brought them up short. Clearly, they hadn't expected this.
But it was too late for them. Ella was already dashing toward them with a long knife in each hand, and a grin on her face.
She loved the taste of blood. She was the hunter.
Never again would she be prey.
Many of them broke and ran.
Some others faced her, attempting to deal enough damage that she couldn't heal from it. They were fools. They did not understand. No amount of damage would ever be enough. These people had killed her family. And they would be made to pay.
One who used lighting was next. He was supercharged, and his power was tearing at her, trying to pull her apart. But it was not enough. He tried to stab her through her heart. But he did not know her pain. Her heart had shriveled long ago.
She didn't try to stop him. And at the look on his face, she grinned, wild, fierce, the grin of a wolf among sheep. As this man knew, most would have been killed instantly from a blow to the heart, regeneration ability or not. But not Ella.
She traded blows with him, putting a knife through his eye and another through his skull.
She spun about, rending flesh, as precise with her strikes as a master butcher. And that is what she was. A master. None of them stood a chance. They might as well have lined up to be killed.
No number of opponents could overcome her.
They had brought this up on themselves. And now, they would have to deal with the fallout.
Even the gods could not kill her if they tried. And all the while, she smiled.
Her ability was unrivaled.