BAM!...
BAM!...
BAM!...
In a certain white room, the sound of someone getting brutally beaten up was echoing through the sterile air. The perfectly white floor was splattered with dark red blood, a shocking contrast that made the scene even more horrifying.
Dr. Magi was laying unconscious in a corner, his body briefly bound to a chair
Right now, the one who was taking the beating was Igris, one of the Holy Knight members that Scarlett had captured.
The one who was beating him was also Scarlett. In her hand, she held a baseball bat with dozens of sharp iron nails dug into it, turning a simple game item into a lethal, terrifying weapon.
BAM!...
She gave another hit on Igris's already broken mouth. The impact was sickening. His lower jaw's muscle tissues tore and fell off, hanging down his neck in a disgusting, fleshy way. His lower teeth were now fully visible in an eerie, grotesque smile.
"Speak... Speak what you all are actually trying to do," Scarlett shouted, her voice raw with fury and frustration.
She had already tried multiple things. Even a soul search, but the Holy Knights had already prepared for such things in advance. It was not working. The best and most reliable option was to make Igris say it from his own mouth, but of course, he only spoke foggy, unclear words and didn't reveal everything about the Holy Knights' true intentions.
But despite getting beaten up so many times, he still refused to reveal everything. His spirit, though his body was broken, remained stubbornly defiant.
"C'mon, say it!" she shouts once again, smashing the baseball bat against his head again.
CRACK!...
The impact was so strong that the wooden baseball bat actually cracked and broke into two pieces in her hands. At the same time, Igris's body went limp, and he finally fell completely unconscious, his head slumping to his chest.
Scarlett sighs, throwing the broken pieces of the baseball bat away. They clattered loudly on the white floor. "Phew, well that actually felt kinda good. I can feel some of my manliness coming back," she says to herself, a small, tired smile on her face.
Another reason for beating Igris up was to take out her frustration. She was trying to deal with the strange changes in her emotions that were happening. By beating someone up brutally, she was trying to make her brain release that adrenaline rush or dopamine, whatever it was that would make her feel normal again.
And for the weirdest reason, she actually did feel slightly better. The sharp, focused rage had pushed away the confusing, soft feelings that had been plaguing her.
At that moment, the white room's door opened. It had a very thin outline, and if someone closed it, it would be hard to know that there was actually a door in this seamless, white room.
Li Feng walks inside and stood casually, his posture relaxed. "Everyone is waiting. The tent has also been erected. The only thing left is your arrival," he reported, his voice calm.
Scarlett turns back with a faint smile. "Yes, but before that, I had a question."
"Did you make any preparation where I'll be greatly welcomed the moment I arrive? Like throwing flowers at me or something like that?" she added, a hint of dread in her voice.
Li Feng nodded. "Unfortunately, yes!" he said, trying to sound annoying on purpose.
"Then go back immediately and cancel it. It feels so cringe," Scarlett ordered, her expression immediately turning serious.
It would have been fine for her if there was a festival, a big tournament, or if she was coming back from a long journey. But some grand, cheesy welcome for something like this—a competition between her lovers—would surely make her feel incredibly awkward and embarrassed.
"I will gladly," Li Feng smiled from ear to ear. He didn't even ask why. He just turns around and runs away immediately, eager to do what Scarlett said.
Scarlett sees him go and sighs, shaking her head slightly. "I never saw him do something I told him to with such satisfaction,"
****
Meanwhile, in the outskirts of DreadHaven, at the fixed place where the duel was about to be held, everything was ready.
A big yet modest tent was prepared. It looked more like a stage for a performance than a tent for living. It had multiple chairs lined up in a neat row, all facing the empty battlefield. This was for Scarlett and the other higher-ups to sit quietly and enjoy the battle like spectators at a grand arena.
Lunatic, Reiza, and Irish had already arrived. They stood a little away from the crowd that was gathering around the tent, their expressions a mix of excitement and nervousness.
And finally, Scarlett arrived. Just as she had ordered, there was no grand welcome with flowers or cheering crowds. She just casually walked up, and everyone else who saw her immediately bowed their heads in respect and greeted her lightly. The air was filled with a quiet reverence.
She gracefully walks up the steps to the tent stage and sits down in the large, comfortable middle seat, like a queen on her throne.
Cryptus, the little skeleton, follows her silently and quietly sits beside her without saying anything, his bony hands resting in his lap.
Later on, Ingrassia sits on Scarlett's left side. Aoto sits beside Ingrassia, trying to look cool but failing to hide his tension. Richard sits next to Aoto, and Chiyoko sits beside Richard, forming a neat line.
Chiyoko, though, stretched his head to look on the other side of Scarlett. He was thinking that if he had just sat on Scarlett's right side, besides Cryptus, that way he could have been more closer to her. A small pang of regret hit him.
As for Li Feng, Baron Nova, Seiira, Semiath, and others, they stood behind her quietly instead of sitting alongside her, like loyal guards ready to serve.
In the crowd, there were many fighters and mages present. They had come to witness the battle of some of the strongest people in DreadHaven and to take inspiration from their skills. There were artists as well, holding sketchbooks and charcoal, ready to capture some of the insane fighting arts they were about to see.
"Well then, you three are ready?" Scarlett asks, her voice clear and commanding.
All three of them nodded, their faces set with determination.
"Then make a twenty-meter distance between yourselves," she orders.
They did as Scarlett told, moving to form a perfect triangle on the dusty ground, each one facing the other two.
"Now I'm repeating the rules again. Lunatic, you are forbidden from using your ultimate skill," Scarlett said, her eyes locking onto him.
"Next, once someone surrenders, you can't attack any further. No killing. And finally, don't drag your fight towards DreadHaven. I won't tolerate any kind of infrastructural damage," Scarlett explains the rules, her voice leaving no room for argument.
Reiza, Irish, and Lunatic looked at each other, standing in a triangle formation. They were ready to strike the moment Scarlett's signal came.
Meanwhile, Scarlett casually raised her hand, her palm open, and then slid it down in one smooth, quick motion.
"Start!" she shouts.
BAM!...
A huge shockwave burst forth from the center where the three warriors stood, causing a massive cloud of dust to fly up into the air. At the same time, the shockwave hit the magical barrier that had been put up for protection, shattering it into a million glittering pieces in an instant.
"Knew there was no point in keeping the barrier," Li Feng sighs, shaking his head with a small, knowing smile.
A few seconds later, as the dust began to settle, the one still standing on the ground was Irish, her face a mask of complete confusion.
Meanwhile, Lunatic and Reiza were high up in the air, exchanging lightning-fast punches and kicks with each other. They were moving so fast they were just blurs, and they didn't even look down towards Irish at all.
She had just been ignored by both of them. They didn't even treat her like a threat. In their own minds, once one of them won their intense duel, that person would likely be the winner without a doubt. Irish was just an afterthought.
Irish also realized it. Her lips twitched in annoyance, her face turning red with anger. "Hey you! Stop ignoring me!" she shouts, pointing her sword up at them and stomping her feet on the ground like a spoiled child.
Yet, they still ignored her completely, their focus entirely on each other.