Okay! I finally got a new chapter up! But before I go into my usual spiel, I just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and I hope everyone had a good holiday! :)
So, we're finally at the fights, and more importantly, a fight between Ban and Cat! YAY! Sadly though, it took me forever to write this, I think this is my 5th/6th version of this chapter? I finally got it to where I actually enjoyed my fight scene! It's been forever since I've written a fight scene, so it took me a while to really be able to portray what I wanted to get across. I finally did it, and to be honest, I love it. I even had a co-worker read it just to make sure it made sense and she said that she was really into it, so double Yay! So, I hope you guys enjoy my fight scene between Cat and Ban, and I hope it comes across the way you would expect it too. :)
Well, don't be too surprised by what happens, I had a hard time deciding who was going to win and wasn't. And let me tell you, between these two characters that I absolutely love, it's impossible. So... don't get too mad at me, okay? :)
I had fun though with this chapter, after the initial battle finally got written. I hope you guys have fun with this chapter too, and if I get you to giggle, snigger or anything of the sort, I know that I did my job! Haha.
Anyway, next up is when the fun really starts, and honestly I can't wait to write it out! Hopefully it won't take me too long to get get the battles written up and get you guys on the next part of Cat's journey!
As always, thank you guys for reading and I really do want to hear from you! I love hearing what you guys think!
See you all next update!
Disclaimer: I do not own Seven Deadly Sins, which is a Sin in itself, or any of the major plotlines. I do however, happily own Hecate and Dante, and whatever deviations from the storyline that come about.
Please note that this story contains: Mature subject manner, swearing, gore, and potential mature subject matter in the future.
Whispers traveled through the eagerly waiting crowd, wondering when the fighters would return so the tournament could finally start. Some talked about the fighters, placing bets on the ones they liked best so far. Others were questioning the decision to let nine fighters go at it when tradition only allowed eight. It was a strange year to be sure, but that didn't seem to dampen the excitement of the tournament.
Eying the shack where the finalists were taken many debated on how things would turn out. Many believed their previous champion was going to take it, while others talked about the newcomers that arrived in their village to take part in the festivities. There was no telling who would come out on top.
Hearing the shack door open, the crowd turned and watched as the fighters returned, following Love Helm as the imp all but floated into the ring. Behind him, the fighters had dispersed amongst the crowd, keeping near the front to access to the ring more easily. For the most part, the fighters were calm, some even smiling knowingly at something the crowd had no knowledge of, yet.
As Love Helm took to center stage, two fighters stood side by side while the others dispersed through the crowd. Neither one looked at the other, but it was clear they were ready for something.
"The Vaizel Fighting Festival finals will now begin!" Love Helm declared, gaining the attention of those who were getting drinks from Hawk. "The rules are still simple! You win if your opponent taps out or passes out! Fall out of the ring, you lose then and there! Let's get right to it!" The crowd cheered loudly in anticipation, all pumped up for action.
"First fight will be between Baaaan and Kitty Cat, to see who will move on to the next round!" the sprite declared, gaining rounds of cheers from the crowd who were ready for the fight.
The two fighters took to the platform, standing opposite of each other. The man was relaxed, smirking as if he already one, while the woman pointedly ignored him. Clearly, she was upset about something, but no one cared, so long as the fight got started and kept them all entertained.
"Before we begin, do either of you have weapons?" Love Helm asked curiously, knowing how much the town valued tradition in this fight.
"Nope." The man drawled lazily with a grin.
The woman was about to shake her head before stopping and looked down at her bag, as if realizing something.
"Give me a second here." She spoke and opened her bag, only to sigh a bit when she spotted something inside. "I forgot I picked up some new knives earlier…" She admitted sheepishly, causing the crowd and her opponent to laugh.
"I'll hang onto that for you, Cat!" a voice called out from the crowd.
"Thanks!" the woman replied gratefully with a smile as she took her bag off and tossed it to a short, blonde man who caught it with ease. Turning back to Love Helm, she grinned now. "All good." She laughed, causing the others to join her.
"Right, let's get things started then! Fighters, when you're ready!" Love Helm declared before disappearing as the fighters immediately ran at one another.
The fighters almost collided when the woman pivoted on the ball of her foot, raising her other leg at the man's head. The mam raised his arm qt the last second, blocking the attack as he was pushed across the arena. The woman smirked at the man; her fangs glimmered interest sunlight as she charged at the man once more. The man grinned wickedly at her and met her part way as he grabbed her arm and swung her around him a few times before releasing her.
The woman stumbled, her face going green for a split second as the man laughed before righting herself and shot the laughing man a glare. In response, he merely winked at her and charged at her this time, though she braved herself for impact as the man slammed into her. She skidded back a few feet, her heels digging into the arena as the man continued his charge. The woman didn't have enough time to counter as he let out a barrage of flying fists.
The crowd cheered at the action they were seeing until the woman suddenly dropped to the ground. Her legs flew upwards ad her hands supported her weight on the ground, catching the man in the jaw before she flipped back onto her feet in a crouched position.
She wiped the blood from her lips, a bloody smirk crossed her face as she shot forward. The man was shaking his head from the blow, letting out a grunt as the woman slammed her fist into his stomach. Blood spilled from his mouth as he flew back from the woman and he knelt on the ground, coughing as the woman followed him. She let out a flurry of kicks against the man, not even flinching when his blood splattered against her skin. To those watching, it seemed to excite her more.
In one movement, the man shoved the woman away with an irritated growl, causing her to fly back a few feet until she landed in a crouched position. The crowd watched as she licked the blood from her hands, purring sensually while looking at the man. Her pink eyes glowed almost neon as the man glared at her, unamused at her actions.
"You trying to kill me?" the man asked, coughing up more blood before standing straight. "Geez, Kitten… what I do this time?" He complained, cracking his neck as if it was nothing.
"Just a little payback for the name." the woman purred out, smirking in amusement as she stood slowly.
"Coulda fooled me." He whined now as the woman giggled, breaking the tension between them as the man let out a loud laugh.
There was silence in the crowd as the atmosphere between the two fighters changed drastically. No longer was there tension and a sense of bloodlust in the air. Now there was merely playful competition between them.
Off to the side, King let out a groan at the two Sins. The two of them were such children sometimes that it was hard to remember they were a lot older than they appeared.
"I can't believe them sometimes…" He complained quietly while their Captain snickered beside him.
"What did you expect? You know it's impossible for those two to stay mad at each other, let alone keep being serious while fighting." The blond man pointed out in amusement
"Still, this is supposed to be a fighting competition…" King muttered, hugging his pillow closer to him.
"And you remember that those two, love egging each other on until they end in a draw." Their Captain reminded him, causing the Faerie to pause.
"You can't seriously mean…" King sputtered, loudly groaning this time.
"Probably, yeah." The blond shrugged. "So long as we can fight and get Diane's treasure that's all that really matters…"
Across the arena in the crowd, Howzer observed the two fighters as they went back to fighting. Something about it bothered him as he watched the fighters go at it again. There was so much joy in their eyes as they exchanged blows, as if they knew something no one else did. It was the smile in their eyes that gave it away as they man grabbed the woman's arm and swung her around until she crashed into his body with a groan.
"Damnit!" Howzer could hear her curse as she struggled against the man.
"Awe, you'll hurt my feelings, Kitten." The man teased with a laugh as she aggressively dug her elbow into his ribs. "Hey! Cut that out!" He whined.
"Let go of me first, you ass!" the woman grumbled, trying her hardest to break out of his hold.
"Or what?" He egged her on, smirking as she continued to fight against him.
"You don't want to know." The warning came out clear as the woman stopped her struggling and turned to face the man a bit.
"Try me." He dared her, grinning widely as he laughed in her face.
"I warned you…" She told him slowly as she managed to shift herself to face him.
In a move that Howzer could only describe was either an act of malicious intent or desperation; the knight watched as the woman clamped her teeth down into the man's neck. There was a distinct sound when it happened and everyone in the crowd flinched back. The man's eyes went wide in disbelief as the woman kept latched onto him. Howzer felt queasy when he spotted the woman's throat bob slightly as if she was drinking from the man.
"What the hell, Kitten!?" the man yelped, trying his hardest to get the woman to let go. "Get off me!"
It took the man a second before he managed to pry the woman off him, but it was clear that the damage was always done as four deep puncture wounds appeared. The man tossed the woman across the arena as she landed easily in a crouch. Her face was glistening in blood, her eyes glowing with feral desire as she licked the rest of the blood from her lips.
"I did warn you what would happen if you didn't let me go!" the woman retorted with a snort as she stood up again.
"But I didn't expect you to bite me! For fuck sakes woman!" the man yelled, his eyes still wide at filled with disbelief.
"Oh, don't be such a baby." The woman scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You're already had up. Besides you can't be killed." She dismissed him simply as she rested her hands on her hips.
Around them, the crowd began snickering, knowing that's exactly what the woman said, but they were still understandably leery about the woman and her actions.
"I-I think we'll just…" Love Helm spoke up before either contestant could speak. "I think we'll just call this one a draw and have a three-way battle later on!" He told everyone. "I think it would be best for everyone if we continued on with the fights!" He said quickly, missing the clear disappointment on the man and woman's face as they went to speak up. "That's our final decision! Fighters, please leave the arena so we can continue!"
"Dammit…" both man and woman cursed ad they sulked back to the main area and rejoined their friends.
"Now look what you did!" Bam accused the wanting next to him, scowling as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Me?" Hecate scoffed, "You were the one who wouldn't let go! I had to resort to that!" she hissed, as they joined King and their Captain.
"You two are such troublemakers!" King complained once they reached them, only to receive a shrug from them. "I can't believe you two sometimes!" He groaned.
"On the other hand, that was one hell of a fight." Their Captain told them with a snigger, handing the halfling back her bag.
"We did try…" Hecate said with a small laugh.
"Not my fault we had to run into a draw." Ban drawled.
"Was too…" Hecate muttered under her breath.
"Was not." Ban snapped, and the woman huffed in response.
"By the way, when did you get that coat?" the halfling asked as if she now just noticed that he wasn't wearing an apron any long.
"Are you kidding me!?" King and Ban exclaimed, looking at the woman in shock and mild humor.
The halfling merely shrugged as the others sighed loudly at her. While it was rare for the woman to miss something obvious like that, it did happen when she had other things on her mind, or she was too focused on something to really care. Ban let out a long sigh, chuckling as he did while shaking his head. Sometimes his Kitten was too good to be true, and in cases like this, she was truly nonchalant about the entire thing.
"Next fight! Griamore vs. Matrona!" Love Helm declared as the next pair of fighters took to the stage.
The two fighters were vastly different from one another. Griamore was a large, muscular man with dark shoulder-length hair. He seemed to tower over Matrona who stood opposite of him. The other woman fighter was around Hecate's height if any of them were to guess, shrouded in a large purple hat and cloak. But even then, Meliodas knew the exact measurements of the woman as Love Helm gave out the information of each fighter. Someone from the crowd asked for Matrona's measurements and almost as a reflex, the blonde spoke.
"36, 23, 35." He stated simply.
"What do those numbers mean?" King yelled out, flushed from embarrassment as a fist slam into his head from Hecate.
"Honestly! You never give out a woman's measurements like that!" she scolded him with a slight glare.
"What?" the blond asked, rubbing his head a bit. "It's not like she's more developed, you got her beat at 38, 24, 36—" he was immediately cut off by both Cat and Ban's fists connected with his skull.
The halfling's face tinged from embarrassment as her measurements were spoken out loud, and the immortal looked pissed that their Captain did that to his girl. King watched his with a heavy sigh, shaking his head at their antics. He couldn't take them anywhere without them drawing attention to them.
"Not that I don't mind hearing those measurements," the immortal stated in a slow drawl, "but you don't say them out loud in a crowd like this!" he scolded their Captain.
"Also, you don't just tell people that kind of information either! It makes a girl uncomfortable!" Cat added in, crossing her arms over her chest in a subconscious way to take attention off her.
"Oopsie!" Love Helm spoke up, "Miss, the hat is fine, but please remove your cloak. Just to be safe, I have to make sure you aren't hiding any weapons!" the imp told her, and it was clear on Matrona's face that she was less than pleased by that.
Instead of arguing with the imp, Matrona seemed to let out a sigh before taking the cloak off, but to the joy of the crowd as cheers and whistles went with the reveal of her outfit. For the rest of the Sins though, the reveal was more shocking than anything. The outfit Matrona wore was the uniform Elizabeth always wore at the Boar Hat. Though the skirt was a little short and the top was much tighter than when Elizabeth usually wore it.
Hecate though was having a hard time distinguishing the smells from the fighter. She rubbed her nose a little, feeling a little put off as she tried figuring out who was up there. She could smell both Diane and Elizabeth, their scents intermingling with one another as if they were both there at the same time, but it was clear only one person stood on the stage.
"Captain, that outfit! I don't believe it!" King spoke in shock, unable to wrap his head around what he was seeing.
"Yeah, no doubt about it!" their Captain spoke surprisingly calm, "That's my tavern's uniform!"
"What?! That's Elizabeth?!" Hawk's voice shrieked in the air, though it was mostly muffled by the sound of cheering.
"Princess Elizabeth is that strong?" King asked, almost hesitantly.
"I don't think so…" Hecate murmured, scrunching her face up a bit as she rubbed her nose some more.
"If that's Elizabeth, there's something that doesn't add up." Their Captain stated simply, though there was uncertainty in his voice.
"Doesn't add up?" King repeated, looking over at the man now, "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Her bust is a little smaller than usual, and her butt is a little larger." Their Captain stated in thought as he looked over Matrona, causing King to flush again at the blatant observation.
"I can't get a good scent reading either…" Hecate complained a bit, sighing as she gave up trying to pinpoint the scents.
"You can't?" The others asked in surprise and the woman shook her head.
"No, I can't pinpoint a single scent, there's two overlapping one another…" the halfling told them with a slight pout. "I don't know what happened, but something is different…"
"Don't worry, Kitten," Ban chuckled a bit as he rested an arm over her shoulder. "No doubt we'll see what's going on." He assured her, much to her amusement as she looked up at him with a slight smile.
"Oh, I know." She chuckled in response as Love Helm began the fight.
The moment Love Helm spoke, Matrona rushed towards Griamore, letting out a flurry of punches towards his abdomen, but they did little damage to the massive man as something started to appear from his body. Matrona backed off at the sight of it as the thing began enveloping the large man's body until a dark bubble like object surrounded him. The mere force of it caused part of the arena to crumble as the man's magical ability, Wall, as he called it, lifted him up from the ground.
"Hey, judging from the strength of that ability…" Ban pointed out, the Sins focusing on the fight now than their earlier discussion.
"This guy's another Holy Knight?" their Captain supplied, tilting his head a bit.
"So, we have to be extra careful then?" Hecate murmured, though she knew her gig was up with what happened earlier.
From where they were, they watched as Matrona rushed towards the Wall and began smalling her fists into it, rapidly going faster as she concentrated on a single spot. From where Hecate stood, she knew or at least she could tell that no normal person would be able to penetrate the barrier. She doubted most Knights would be able to break through it without first breaking into a sweat. Matrona continued to slam her fists and elbows into the wall, only to be forced to stop when it began growing larger and forcing her back to the edge of the arena. It looked like she was using every ounce of her strength to push it back, but it didn't seem to be enough.
"Thanks to this mysterious power of Griamore's, Matrona's in big trouble!" Love Helm exclaimed over the crowd.
Griamore spoke to Matrona, but the words were lost to the crowd due to their cheering, but something he said must have triggered the woman as she began gritting her teeth. "That… That's never going to happen!" she yelled out and with all her strength slammed her fist into the wall.
Due to the amount of force from the impact, the Wall began to crack, causing a small part of it to fall away. That Gave Matrona access to Griamore, who was staring at her in shock as the woman took advantage of the situation and charged at the man. Frozen from shock, Griamore couldn't do anything except watch as the woman ran up to him and punched him once in the stomach and another in the jaw, causing his ability to break while he went flying out of the arena and out of town. As this all happened, Matrona's hat came off and locks of brown hair fell around her body as she landed in the arena. Purple eyes and a pissed off expression were revealed as Diane stood in the arena with a finger pointed up in the air.
"Griamore has left the ring!" Love Helm declared. "Therefore, the winner is Matrona!"
The crowd went wild over the win, their cheers deafening as the Sins stood stock still. It was only Hecate who couldn't stop herself as peels of laughter escaped her as she realized why she had such a hard time understanding why she couldn't get a read on the scents.
"A single blow from this slip of a girl brought low that hulk of a man!" Love Helm said over the crowd as Diane stood there, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger.
"Never in my wildest dreams would have thought of this…" Hecate mused, more to herself than to the others as she shook her head.
"I don't believe it, that's—" Ban murmured, trying to come to terms with what he was seeing.
It seemed that the only person who didn't recognize Diane was their Captain, who looked at her impassively while King rubbed his eyes, doing a double take on what he was seeing.
"Captain, I… am I dreaming?" King asked, still in disbelief, as if he was just waking up from a dream.
"Darn, I was hoping to stay hidden for a while longer!" Diane playfully pouted as she joined them on the ground, giggling happily at everything. "The jig is up!" she laughed, leaning towards their Captain, who still didn't have a reaction to her.
"Do I know you?" the blond asked curiously, still oblivious to who was standing in front of him.
Hecate and Ban shared a knowing look and stepped away from their Captain as Diane's face fell into anger. She didn't even hesitate when she slammed her fist into their Captain's stomach. Both of the Sin's flinched at the brute force she used as she stomped away from them.
"I'm done with you! You're a jerk, Captain!" she shouted moving through the people as they parted like the sea for her.
"What did I do?" Their Captain asked as he struggled to get up, his voice shaking slightly as he watched her move away.
"You really are an idiot, Captain." King told him blandly and went to follow the miniature Giantess.
"I knew you were clueless, Captain… but even Ban picked up on who that is…" Hecate murmured, rubbing the back of her head a bit.
"I mean… really…" the immortal responded with a sigh, though it still sounded uneasy as if he was still processing what he saw.
"Come on, we should go after them and find out what happened." Hecate said and began trailing after King and Diane.
She could hear the others following her as they came up to the hut where the contestants were locked in earlier at the start of the entire thing. As they got closer, the halfling could hear King and Diane talking to one another until the miniature Giantess glared at the Faerie about something.
"So, how'd this happen?" The Halfling asked, figure it was a good time as any to reveal themselves to the others.
Before Diane spoke, their group headed into the hut where Diane stood in front of them and recounted the tale from earlier that day after the four of them left for the village. With Diane revealing where Elizabeth was kept, which was in between Diane's breasts, hidden by the bow of the uniform. Apparently, the girls were scavenging in the forest when Elizabeth found mushrooms, but before she could pick any, a giant mushroom appeared, scaring her. Diane came to her rescue and hit the thing, which caused it to release some kind of fume that covered them before it ran away. When the fumes were gone, the girls found themselves shrunk down.
"I borrowed Elizabeth's outfit for the being." Diane explained shyly.
"But we didn't have any clothes that would fit me." Elizabeth admitted shyly.
"Ah, so that's why you're jammed into Diane's cleavage." Their Captain stated bluntly, not to the shock of the others.
"Captain, don't be so vulgar!" King snapped, his face beat red still as he held his nose closed, but there was still blood dripping from it. "It must have been an eringi mushroom variant of the Chicken Matango." He murmured, looking off to the side as he spoke. "They're monsters with cowardly dispositions that rarely show themselves, but when they feel threatened, they release spores that shrink living things."
The group hummed a little at King's explanation, Ban and Cat nodding a bit when they thought back to the different creatures, they saw in the Faerie Forest. It didn't surprise them that King would know about the different variants of the plants. That place was swarming with different life forms and monsters. The two shared a look and shrugged a bit, not that they could say anything about the situation anyway.
"Why didn't you speak up sooner?" The Captain asked Diane, looking back at her now.
"Can you blame me?" Diane asked sheepishly, gaining King's attention as the immortal and halfling shared another look.
"Do you think she'll…" Ban murmured to his Kitten, who nodded her head with a sigh.
"No doubt about it…" she responded quietly, causing the man to sigh now.
"I wanted to surprise you, Captain!" Diane squealed, jumping into the air and landed in their Captain's arms.
The blond wasn't as impressed as he caught her. Diane was giggling like a little girl as she flicked her legs up in the air happily. King, on the other hand, was horrified by this as he screamed out 'No!' and clutched his head in his hands. Diane wrapped her arms around their Captain's neck, rubbing her cheek against his.
"Being held by you is a dream come true!" she giggled happily. "I've been jealous of Elizabeth for so long!" she admitted happily, but it was enough for Hecate to immediately bow out from the conversation.
"I think I'm going to head out…" Hecate sighed, shaking her head as she headed for the door. "I don't think I can stand watching anymore of this…"
"No kidding…" Ban drawled in agreement and followed behind his Kitten, shaking his head the entire way.
Once the door to the hut shut behind them, the duo let out identical sighs as they tried their hardest to forget what they just saw. They began walking back towards the arena again, knowing it would be a while before their comrades returned, especially with the way Diane was acting.
"I kinda feel sorry for King…" Hecate murmured, shaking her head as she stretched her arms up above her head.
"I guess," Ban mused, shrugging his shoulders. "But I don't think it's a bad thing to act like that once in a while." Smirking down at the woman next to him, who scowled in response.
"Don't even think about that. I'd have thought you knew me better than that." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest a bit.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't tease you about that." He said with a laugh, causing her to elbow him in the ribs.
"Be nice, Ban." Hecate sighed, shaking her head as the man laughed some more.
"Can I at least get King to make you more tops like this one?" he asked, his tone a bit more serious than earlier as he lightly traced a finger down the small of her back that wasn't covered by the strap of her supports.
A loud squeal escaped the woman, causing a few crowd goes to turn to them as Hecate turned and slapped Ban's chest. The man himself was doubled over in laughter, unable to control himself as his woman flushed from embarrassment. In all the years that he had known her, he never expected to hear her sound like that from a simple touch. Even when he tickled her, she didn't make such a noise. He knew for certain she would try to kill him for it, but he couldn't help but want to hear it again.
"God damnit Ban!" the woman yelled, "Don't do that!" she whined, trying her best to find some way of covering her back so he couldn't do that to her again.
"I'm-I'm sorry Kitten!" Ban managed to say through his laughter. "I-I didn't expect you to squeal like that!" he sniggered.
"You know I'm ticklish though!" She whined at him, pouting now as his laughter began settling down.
Straightening up, Ban looked down upon his Kitten, looking at the way she looked at him. He couldn't hep but think she was adorable, even if she was mad at him for what he did. Cupping her cheek, he lifted her head up a bit as a fond smile crossed his face.
"I'll make it up to you later, alright, Kitten?" he spoke softly and gently stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb.
"Fine…" she murmured softly, knowing there was no point in getting overly worked up about it. They still had things to do, and they weren't there to fun and games.
"That's my girl." He chuckled softly and pressed his lips to her forehead warmly. "Come on, let's see what's about to happen next."
On stage, the duo could see Howzer facing off against the previous champion, Taizoo. It looked to be quite one sided as Howzer immediately gave the other man a beating. Surprisingly, Taizoo was still standing, though he was breathing rather hard. It was as if he going to do his best to not be bested by someone like Howzer, though it was clear he was no match for the Holy Knight. Howzer looked as if he was trying to find a way to end the fight without causing the man to lose too much pride, which was admirable, for a Holy Knight in this age.
"This isn't going to take as long as I thought…" Ban mused, watching the fight with mild interest.
"No, I don't think so either, Taizoo looks ready to keel over." Hecate mused, but she knew if that was the case, then their comrades would have to come back sooner, and that meant whatever was going on in the hut would have to come to an end.
"Wanna get them?" Hecate asked, tilting her head a bit.
"Nah, you?" Ban replied lazily, shaking his head.
"Not really…" Hecate sighed and tried weighing their options. "Wanna bet on it?" she asked him, holding up her fist in question.
"Really?" Ban whined, pouting slightly.
"You don't want to, and I don't want to… but someone has to go get them." She reasoned, watching as Ban reluctantly held up his fist.
"Fine, one round though." He stated, causing the woman to nod in understanding. "Alright…"
"Rock, paper, scissors… GO!" the two of them said simultaneously as they brought their hands down together.
"Yes!" Hecate chirped, seeing that Ban had used 'rock' instead of scissors.
Groaning, Ban scowled at her and playfully swatted her rear as he turned to walk past her so the fights could resume. Laughing softly, Hecate felt her cheeks heat up as she watched him go, knowing he wasn't too happy about losing to her on that. Turning back to the fight, she watched as a small whirlwind appeared in the arena, growing bigger with each second.
"Unlike Griamore, I didn't want to resort to this against a civilian." The halfling could hear Howzer say, almost as if he was resigning himself to the fact. "But it'd be cruel to you if I didn't end this quickly!" This time, wind was twirling around his arm as Taizoo charged at him, probably thinking he was going to end it with one hit. "Thanks for a good fight." Howzer mentioned before unleashing his attack that hit Taizoo directly and sent the man flying off with a yell.
Letting out a small whistly, Hecate had to shield her eyes from the sunlight as she watched the man fly. She was impressed by the height and distance the other man flew, considering how large and bulky he was.
"Victor, Howzer!" Love Helm declared happily as the crowd cheered for the Holy Knight.
"Oh, yeah!" the man grinned and immediately posed.
"He's pretty good." Their Captain mused, standing next to the halfling again as the others took their places around them.
"Good of you to join us." Hecate mused, without taking her eyes off the Holy Knight.
"He sure is…" Ban mused with a grin, getting excited to get back to fighting,
"And now, our third pairing, Cain vs. Old Fart!" Love Helm declared, causing the crowd to cheer even louder.
"Who, me?" King asked, still unimpressed with the name from Ban.
"Who gave you such an utterly tasteless name?" Diane asked wearily, only to sigh when the others pointed towards Ban.
"I figured…" Diane stated blandly as Ban grinned.
"You gave yourself a pretty weird name, too." The immortal pointed out, much to Diane's irritation. "What's up with the 'Matrona'?" he asked.
"It's the name of someone I used to know." Diane mentioned plainly, looking away from the immortal.
"I'll hold onto Chastiefol." Their Captain offered with a smile, though King didn't look too sure about it.
"Thanks." The Faerie sighed as he handed over his sacred treasure.
"Go get 'em, Old Fart!" Their Captain said cheerily.
"K—Old Fart, you can do it!" Diane caught herself and cheered for the Faerie, who turned around with his human face showing as he gave her a thumbs up.
"I guess that's his game face." Ban mused as Hecate let out a sigh.
"I don't think he's confident in this…" she shook her head a bit.
"Wow, this is perfect as a pillow." Their Captain mused as he held onto King's treasure, causing the halfling to laugh a bit.
Love Helm gave the stats for both fighters, but it was clear even to the halfling that it was truly a one-sided fight. As much as she had the confidence in King, she knew he has no strength at all. He was a magical fighter, not a physical one like most of them. She would honestly be surprised if he got a hit in at all. Looking at King's opponent, she could tell that the man, despite being drunk, was ready for a fight, and that he knew how to fight well. There was something about him that told her that, it was subtle and not very noticeable with the way he swayed and stumbled where he stood. But it was clear that the man was more aware of his surroundings that he let on.
There were several people in the crowd who doubted the ability of either fighter, but Hecate wasn't convinced that was true. She crossed her arms over her chest and shifted from one foot to the other, trying to get comfortable as she stood.
"It's time to fight!" Love Helm told the crowd who were all ready to see the sparks fly.
"I've never seen King fight without a weapon before!" Diane said, her worry for the Faerie coming out clear as she watched.
"This'll be my second, I guess. His unarmed combat is a sight to behold." Their Captain stated, causing the halfling a bit.
"Is it?" she asked curiously, only to watch as the blonde nod his head. "Huh…" she mused.
She honestly never heard of a Faerie fighting without a weapon or magic before. From all the tales she heard from Elaine, Faeries weren't naturally inclined towards physical attacks, preferring to relay on their magic and any weapons they had imbued their magic into. Everyone watched as King went into a form that reminded the halfling of a dance form.
"It's that unbelievable?" Diane asked, turning to their Captain, unsure whether or not she could believe him.
"Yeah, without his weapons, King…" their Captain spoke as King shot off towards Cain, only to trip over a piece of debris and fall flat on his face. "…is totally weak!" he declared.
"I knew it…" Hecate sighed, resting a hand on her head while shaking it. "Why did you have to make it seem like something grand?" she asked him dryly.
"Why not?" the blond shrugged, but she could hear the amusement in his voice.
Hecate couldn't help but sigh as she watched as Cain go to punch King only to hit him over the head. The crowd was understandably unenthused by the fight they were witnessing, but she honestly didn't know what to think about it.
"Oh, my!" Love Helm declared. "This is a battle of decidedly un-epic proportions!"
The jibe was probably meant to cause the fighters to start fighting seriously, but it seemed to be lost upon them. She doubted anyone would be taking this fight seriously, she didn't even know if anyone other than King was taking it seriously.
"I once saw him fight a cat that swiped a snack from him, and he lost." Their Captain recounted a tale about King, but it really wasn't helping matters at all.
Back on stage, it looked like Cain was egging King on as the two faced off against one another again. King had an aura of seriousness that began surrounding him, as if he was going to put all of his focus and might into his next attack. Instead, Cain seemed to act immediately, as if reacting to King's focus and rushed him. He slammed his hand into King's chest, the force of it was enough to send King flying and tumbling across the arena until he fell off in a heap of dust their Captain caught him with his treasure. It was done so quick that Hecate had to rub her eyes a bit just to make sure she saw it right.
"Old Fart has left the ring!" Love Helm declared. "Victor, Cain!"
The crowd cheered around them as the old man sheepishly rubbed the back of his head with a grin. "That whippersnapper startled me." The older man laughed sheepishly.
"That's mean… I only used my Diaster power to aggravate his rheumatism a little!" King whined to the others, not sure how to take his sudden loss.
Hecate did her best not to laugh in amusement as she gave King an understanding smile. All of them knew he wasn't a fighter, knew he didn't even want to fight in this tournament… but he still did so for Diane, and tried his best to win for her. It just… didn't go his way.
"Moving right along, the final trio of the finals!" Love Helm declared, causing everyone to focus back on the imp. "Since we called it a draw in the very first fight, we're going to have a three-way battle, the winner is the one who knocks out the other two! Baaaan vs. Meliodaf vs. Kitty Cat!"
At the sound of their names, the three of them shared knowing smirks. Because of the first round turned into a draw, the trio knew there would be no tag-teaming and ganging up on each other. It would be a fair fight between them, and they would enjoy every moment while it lasted.
"May the best one win…" Hecate murmured under her breath, ready to let loose.