The Red Hand

Chapter 256 – The Spectator.

"Huh..." Akagi wasn't exactly surprised that things went this way, but that didn't mean she was ready for it. "Well, sorry folks, but it looks like that match ended before it even began." She could tell the audience was none too happy with the immediate surrender by Shisa. They'd enjoyed Mami's defeat, but that was because it was brutal, and the people watching were here to see blood.

{Good to see humanity still has that primal need to watch people kill each other...} (Hishya)

"At least this means that Avahn didn't end up killing the poor girl." Hishya tried to find the silver lining. "I'd rather you didn't have to scrape Shisa off the pavement and put her back together."

"I mean, I would've liked to see that." Silfana snickered. "Blood sports are truly the highest form of entertainment." She'd held numerous events of that type in her own realm to allow the different races to bash each other's heads in, and they were always a popular spectacle.

"While I enjoy watching two people gut each other as much as the next Demon Lord, I prefer that it not be a one-sided romp." Akagi enjoyed a good old fashioned slugging match.

"You say that, but you very much enjoy bullying the weak." Hishya commented.

"And are you saying that you are any better, lizard?" Akagi glanced at her.

"No." Hishya laughed. "I'm just pointing that out, is all. Can't have you trying to paint yourself as some high-minded Demon now, can I?"

"Oh no, Akagi is a hypocrite. The whole world is shocked to find out that she doth not practice what she preaches!" Akagi feigned despair over her 'secret' being discovered.

"The Demon Lord is evil and hypocritical?!?" Silfana joined in on the fake shock. "I never would've expected it." She chuckled.

"It may come as a shock, but I ask you to be understanding." Akagi laughed, and as she looked at the live chat, she saw it was filled with either a thumbs-down emoji or a custom one that she made which was a silly picture of a cat staring at the screen.

"See, even chat is disappointed in you." Hishya continued laughing.

"And yet, they came to see you idiots knock each other's brains out. So tell me, who is the real hypocrite here?" Akagi sighed before turning back to the main event. "Anyway, with Shisa running off like a chicken, that leaves us with one more fight for the day." She pointed to the arena where Halifax and Ferrix were already walking toward the middle.

"Ah yes, Halifax." Hishya's eyes locked on to the orange-haired girl. "I've wanted to spar with her ever since she arrived, but she told me to wait until the tournament." She let out a slightly evil laugh. "I'd better see you in the finals, Halifax."

"Looking forward to fighting her?" Akagi asked with a laugh.

"You hyped her up, and from what Mizumi told me, this girl may actually give me a good challenge." Hishya's eyes showed a hunger for battle, and it was as if her very soul was blazing with anticipation.

{Damn, that's one thirsty Dragon. Poor Kana is gonna get the brunt of that frustration tonight, I'd bet.} (Akagi)

"I know that she is apparently a very powerful warrior from that other world, Enoris, but beyond that, I have no information about her." Silfana said.

"I can tell you that she'd flatten you even easier than Hishya did when you fought her the other month, Silfana." Akagi said in a completely serious tone of voice.

"Really?" Silfana didn't like that assertion, but knew that if Akagi was saying it, it was probably true.

{Interesting.} (Silfana)

"I don't know that much about her power, but what I do know tells me that she is probably roughly equal to Hishya here in power." Akagi continued. "There is a bit of information that I cannot disclose about her out of respect for her privacy, but be aware that Halifax is not like the rest of our otherworldly guests, and taking her lightly will only see you swiftly defeated."

"Then I suppose her matches will be interesting, at least once she removes the trash that is." Silfana smirked.

"Yeah, Ferrix is doomed." Akagi laughed. "Though I don't feel bad for him."

"Oh yeah, wasn't he racist against Kana?" Hishya scowled. "Perhaps I should visit him in the infirmary and ensure he understands his mistakes." She started cackling.

"Now, now. There's no reason to go grim reaper on his ass. He apologized and promised never to do that again, so let it go." Akagi figured that Hishya might actually kill the man if she didn't stop her. "People make mistakes, and while it doesn't make his actions right, I understand why he has such a dislike for humans considering what they did in his world."

{I'd be more surprised if the Spirits didn't resent them after what happened.} (Akagi)

"Fine, but if he acts up again." Hishya ran her thump across her throat in a slitting motion.

"And you call me ruthless." Akagi rolled her eyes as the two fighters readied themselves for battle.

_____________________________________________________________________________

"To think I'd get to fight against the legendary Halifax, or should I call you Hally?" Ferrix asked as he drew his great sword from his back.

"I see that you know who I am." Halifax smiled. "Though I guess that shouldn't be a big surprise. My reputation proceeds me where the guild is involved." She was quite well known within the adventurer community, and most would have at least a vague idea of who she was, though few knew her true identity.

"Mami, Shisa, and I were in a Silver-ranked party called Four Blades before the war..." Ferrix paused for a moment. "Once things hit the fan... Everyone, even some of our oldest friends, turned on us..." Many fellow adventurers either distanced themselves from them or even attacked them, and their guild status was revoked after the declaration of annihilation. "We lost a lot of friends. Hell, Mami even lost the man she loved." He laughed in a way that told Halifax that he knew and respected the man in question. "I never got along with Ryon, but he'll always have my respect for putting himself in harm's way to ensure we got out of Elnsburg."

{That a human saved our lives... I suppose painting them all as evil was truly stupid of me. I'm sorry, Ryon.} (Ferrix)

"What the people of Enoris did to you..." Halifax shook her head. "It makes me ashamed to be from that world. I'm sorry." She'd always hated what was going on, but there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Can I ask you something that I've been curious about ever since things kicked off?" Ferrix had a question that had been on his mind for years.

"Go ahead." Halifax nodded, feeling that she owed him this much.

"You were a legend among us. Hell, I'd go so far as to say that every adventurer wanted to be you. You were the best of us..." Ferrix took a deep breath before continuing. "So why didn't you help us? Why did you stand by and do nothing while we were killed?!?" He raised his voice slightly as he spoke, his anger seeping through. "With your power... More could've made it. So why? Why did someone like you sit back and do nothing when you could've helped?"

{Why did you abandon us?!?} (Ferrix)

"I..." Halifax paused for a moment. "It's not that I didn't want to help, Ferrix." She shook her head. "It's that I couldn't."

"Why not? You're definitely strong enough! And your word alone may have swayed so many people's minds!" Ferrix scoffed at her claim.

"Because I cannot defy the Gods, Ferrix." Halifax answered. "My past is... complicated, and I do not wish to get into detail, but know that when the Gods came to me seeking my help in exterminating your kind, I declined." She continued, his eyes widening in surprise. "I am bound by them and their will, and if they'd wanted... They could've forced me to join their crusade against you, against my will." Her body shuddered slightly. "They've done it before, and I was afraid that if I rose my blade against them in defense of the Spirits, they'd do it again...” She felt her throat go dry for a moment as she recalled what Elariel had forced her to do. “So I chose to do nothing, hoping that by keeping away from the conflict, the chance they'd use me against you all would be reduced."

{I'm still surprised they never forced me to help, though that might have to do with a past incident rather than some kind of remorse.} (Halifax)

"What control do they have over you that would force you to act against your own will?" Ferrix asked, not expecting to hear this.

"I don't want to answer that." Halifax shook her head. "Just know that they can control me physically if they wish, and there's nothing I can do to stop them."

{I can still hear the screams of all those innocent people they made me kill... The feeling of my blade tearing through their flesh and bones... It still haunts me...} (Halifax)

"So I'm sorry, Ferrix. I couldn't help you all, despite how much I wanted to." Halifax's eyes teared up slightly. "I had to stand by and watch how so many people I came to know were killed, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it!" She exclaimed. “I was forced to watch... To be nothing more than a spectator as innocent people were killed... I'm sorry...” She wiped away her tears with her sleeve. “But that's why I'm here now. I couldn't do anything to help your people before, but by coming here... I can at least try and do something...”

"I... I see." Ferrix nodded slowly. "I'm sorry for making you talk about something so painful. I just need to know... To know that you really were the person we all thought you were. I'm sorry for doubting you, Halifax." He smiled. "So let's give our audience a nice show. I think we've delayed long enough."

"Yeah, let's." Halifax smiled as she wiped her eyes.

"Are both of you ready?" Kira looked between the two of them. She'd wanted to stop their discussion since it was taking too long, but Akagi told her not to get involved via telepathy.

"Ready!" (Halifax x Ferrix)

"Then, begin!" Kira started the final match of the day, and immediately things kicked off with Ferrix moving in for a first strike.

"Hugha!" Ferrix swung his great sword down at Halifax, who simply smiled and moved out of the way. "Oh yeah? Then, let's try this!" He swung again but was dodged in much the same way.

"Oh, come on, it can't be that hard to hit me, can it?" Halifax giggled. "I mean, that's such a big blade!"

"I'll wipe that smile off your face!" Ferrix roared as he continued his futile attempts at hitting Halifax.

*SWING* *SWING* *SWING* *SWING* *SWING* *SWING* *SWING* *SWING* *SWING* *SWING* *SWING* *SWING* *SWING* *SWING* *SWING* *SWING*

Again and again, he attempted to hit Halifax with his blade, and again and again he was always easily dodged by her quick footwork. From an outside perspective, it was as if she was toying with him, and it seemed more like she was engaged in an intricate dance as she stepped around his blade with ease.

{Not too bad, but I can understand why they only got to Silver if that's the extent of his power.} (Halifax)

Silver wasn't a low rank in Enoris' guild, but it was leagues below Mythril which was the highest rank possible under normal circumstances.

"Are you ever going to at least try to hit me?" Ferrix growled in frustration as he was evaded again.

{She's just toying with me!} (Ferrix)

"Hmmmm, ok!" Halifax laughed as she sidestepped one of his strikes and proceeded to knee him in the stomach.

"Ugh!" Ferrix recoiled from the blow, and it nearly knocked him off balance.

"Was that too much?" Halifax laughed. "I held back quite considerably, but it seems that even that weak kick was a bit overkill."

{I heard that she has a tendency to do things like this to her opponents, but I never believed them. I suppose that's just what happens when you get to that level.} Ferrix righted himself and took a deep breath to focus.

"I was hoping that I'd get to clash blades with you." He sighed.

"Trust me, you don't want me to draw this blade." Halifax said with a cold smile. "If I do that, then I might just go a little bit overboard with my fun."

"I think I can handle whatever you can dish out, so go ahead." Ferrix readied himself for Halifax's next attack.

"Fine, but don't go getting mad at me." Halifax sighed as she slowly drew her blade. It had no sheath and so quickly found its place in her left hand, whereafter she twirled it around at high speed before putting it away. "There, it's done."

"What?" Ferrix was confused. "You didn't even do anything!"

"Give it a moment." Halifax grinned.

"Wha-" As Ferrix was about to ask his question, he felt a strange sensation warp around his body, and a moment later, all of his armor peeled away as it fell to the arena floor in a dozen pieces leaving him with only his tunic and shorts.

"Hey, look, it worked!" Halifax laughed. "And I didn't even get a single slice on your body! Nice!"

{I was worried that I would take his underwear off, so I'm glad he didn't have to suffer from that embarrassment.} (Halifax)

"What did you just do?!?" Ferrix was stunned by the removal of his armor.

"They make that move look so easy in the stories, and you wouldn't believe how long it took until I got that down. Sadly, too many mannequins were destroyed in the perfection of that move, but it was worth it!" Halifax smiled.

"You destroyed my armor..." Ferrix sighed. "Yeah, that one's on me... I asked for that... But... I can still fight!" He raised his sword toward her.

"Nah, we're done here." Halifax snapped her fingers, and a large blast of energy erupted from around her body like a shock wave and carried Ferrix off the stage and onto the clay floor below.

"What?!?" Ferrix was again confused as he hit the floor.

"Sorry to everyone who's watching, but I promise you that future matches will be much more interesting." Halifax snickered as Kira called the final match of the day.

{Avahn will be my next opponent, and then after that Hishya. I can't wait to see what you're made of, Dragon.} (Halifax)