"It's a..pleasure meeting you as well Nythra."
Nythra's eyes widened.
"Ooh, someone's gonna be in trouble." Speedy muttered with a mischievous giggle from nearby.
"Yeah, no way dear Key's gonna like that." Spam added, her grin wicked.
"Classic Mori." Ravenna scoffed, crossing her arms. "He's tried the same thing on my sister and me. Doesn't know when to quit."
"Yeah he's bad news really.." Thana murmured, shaking her head.
Back to Nythra and Mori, Nythra retracted her hand back.
"Thanks for the gesture, but… I already have my eye on—" The image of Key flashed in her mind.
"Oh?" Mori tilted his head, leaning in. "I doubt he's as dashing as me."
Just then, a deep voice filled the room, stopping Nythra in her tracks. "And what exactly is this place?" Key asked as he, Sketch, and Gamble walked in, looking around with mild confusion.
"Oh this is..actually I don't know what the hell this is?" Sketch questioned, confused himself.
Nythra immediately recognized his voice and straightened, preparing to leave Mori behind. "I'm sorry, but I have to—"
Before she could move, Mori's grip tightened on her wrist. "I wasn't done talking to y—"
Suddenly, Mori was lifted into the air by the back of his collar, his words cut off by a cold, dangerous voice. "She said she was leaving." Key's eyes were sharp, his tone deadly as he effortlessly held Mori aloft. "Don't make her tell you twice."
With a simple flick of his wrist, Key tossed Mori aside, sending him crashing into a nearby table. Key turned to Nythra, extending a hand. "Let's go."
Momentarily stunned, Nythra placed her hand in his, feeling a surge of warmth. Key was protective of her… he cared.
Mori struggled to his feet, glaring. "Don't think you're leaving ye—"
"Save it for the Annihilation Games, Mori." Sketch cut in, his own eyes narrowed.
Mori sneered, his gaze flickering from Key to Sketch. "Fine. I'll make sure you both regret this." he spat before storming out.
Key just shook his head, indifferent to the threat. Then, he felt a gentle, warm hug as Nythra embraced him tightly, a soft smile lighting up her face. "Thank you… for stepping in."
Key's expression softened, and he returned the smile. "Of course."
"Ugh, Mori's always been such a pain." Sketch scoffed as they walked away. "Remember when he tried that same act on Speedy and Spam?"
Gamble snorted. "They didn't hold back. Speedy just gave him this look and was like, 'No thanks, I don't date guys who look like they lost a fight with a mirror.'"
Sketch burst out laughing. "And Spam just laughed right in his face, didn't even bother giving him a real response."
Speedy caught up, grinning as she heard them talking. "He tried to say we 'just couldn't handle his vibe.' His vibe!"
Spam snorted. "Please. His vibe is like stale bread. I'm still cringing from secondhand embarrassment."
Nythra stifled a giggle, glancing at Key. The ridiculous image of Mori's past failures only made Key's intervention feel all the more satisfying.
"While Mori's annoying, he's also very powerful." Thana warned lightly, her eyes serious. "Don't underestimate him."
"Yeah, didn't he take down, like, a thousand Abyssal Beasts on his last mission?" Ravenna added, raising an eyebrow.
The members of the Ascended Dominion exchanged glances and started laughing, as if the challenge was nothing more than a joke.
Thana and Ravenna exchanged confused looks. "What's so funny?"
A little later, a crowd had gathered around the Annihilation Games arena. Sorcerers and mercenaries of all kinds watched as the first match was about to begin: Sketch versus a mercenary named Sable.
"Go, Sketch!" Spam cheered, her voice cutting through the crowd.
"Show him why it's bad to fuck with the Ascended Dominion!" Speedy added with a smirk.
"You already know what to do." Gamble said just loud enough for him to hear.
Nythra smiled supportively and held a thumbs up and Key gave him a nod.
From across the arena, Sable's group sneered, barely holding back laughter.
"HA more like Ass Dominion! Sable's one of the strongest out of our group. There's no way that pretty boy's beating him right Silas?" He questioned to the blonde haired man beside him.
"Hell yeah! This should end in a minute then after we're going to get some good money from that A-Ranked long sword."
Both then chuckled.
The long black haired woman beside them, Mirelle, shook her head as she heard them.
"You should focus on your fight Varis. You're up next against Gamble." She said, referring to the first guy.
"Not worried in the least.." he replied with a confident smirk.
'You should be.' She internally thought with a roll of her eyes. Her eyes then lingered on Sketch for a minute.
'It's..been a minute Sketch. Let's see how much you've improved..' she thought, smiling slightly.
On the platform, Thalorin, the announcer, held his hand up. "Hope you're ready!" He waved it down sharply. "Fight!"
In an instant, Sable charged forward, his sword slashing down to end it quickly. But Sketch blocked with a swift summon of a silver mana shield, smirking.
"Didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?" he taunted, raising an eyebrow.
Sable growled, his sword igniting with fire as he launched into a series of rapid strikes.
Sketch unsummoned his shield and now held a silver transparent long sword. With precision, he blocked and dodged all the slashes. He quickly spun around and delivered a sneaky spin kick to Sable's midsection, launching him back.
Then, with a focused expression, Sketch raised his pointer finger, summoning silver Abyssal Energy to its tip. "Sketch Portal."
A swirling portal appeared, swallowing Sable and spitting him out beyond the arena's boundaries. A resounding cheer erupted from the crowd.
"Sketch wins!" Thalorin announced, raising Sketch's hand high.
Sketch grinned, turning to see his friends cheering him on. Sable approached, his expression tense but respectful, as he handed over the dark gray jacket with white markings. "Congrats." he muttered.
Sketch accepted the jacket with a genuine smile. "Appreciate you for not being a sore one."
"Looking quite dapper with that new look!" Speedy teased, making him chuckle.
His laughter faded, though, when a familiar voice called out. "Someone's excited about their new jacket…"
Sketch turned, surprised to see Mirelle standing nearby, her gaze thoughtful. "You look… good with that haircut. I remember when your hair reached your shoulders."
Sketch's smile faded, his tone guarded. "Thanks. Didn't expect to see you here."
"Why's that?" She leaned closer, her smile hesitant. "I… I missed you, Sketch."
But Sketch's eyes were cool. "I don't remember you making much time for me back then."
Mirelle's expression faltered, regret evident in her eyes. "I know I made mistakes—"
"See you around.." he interrupted, turning away.
"Sketch.." Mirelle said quietly. Her head was down as she walked back to her seat.
Back in the stands, Key raised an eyebrow at his friend.
"Damn..you both got history don't you?" He questioned knowingly.
Sketch nodded, his tone dark. "Not the best kind either. Caught her cheating with that guy next to her."
Key grimaced. "With him? Why do women always cheat with the ugly ass dudes?"
"Tell me about it." Sketch said with a humorless chuckle. "Back then, I was a pushover."
"She missed out on a king!" Spam said, shooting him a warm smile.
"Yeah! Who'd cheat on this cutie?" Speedy teased, pinching Sketch's cheeks, making him laugh.
"Her loss." Nythra added with a smirk.
Sketch chuckled, a genuine smile breaking through. "Thanks, guys. You're making me blush."
Key clapped a hand on his shoulder. "One woman's loss is another's treasure. You did the right thing walking away."
Sketch nodded gratefully. "Let's watch Gamble's fight."
"Let's." Key replied, his eyes fixed on the arena as the next match began.