Rudiger skipped into town, Dimentio following. Dimentio noticed people were staring at him, and he pulled his hood over his head.
"Rudiger, people are staring at me. Is this because I killed two of the Demons of Sin?"
"Probably. Those two demons did say that you'd become the most wanted person in the Other Realm if you continued with this so..."
Rudiger pulled him by the wrist into a store. Dimentio let Rudiger wander off on his own. He saw a wanted poster hanging on the store's front counter.
The art was extremely detailed, making Dimentio realize that his mask was just a bit unsettling. They had obviously seen him after the battle with Astaroth, since the image's poncho had blood stains on it. Dimentio thought about those two demons, then about the scavenger.
Besides Rudiger, those three were the only people that saw him since he'd arrived, and after he'd beaten Astaroth. One of them had probably reported him to the main authorities, and he knew it wasn't Rudiger.
"Hmph, they captured my likeliness quite perfectly."
"Y-you!" The man behind the counter cowered further behind his cover. "What are you doing here? C-come to kill me too?"
"Come off it. I'm only after the Sins. They're causing issues in their rings so I was taking them out to stop the issues. Once Wrath is gone, you have no need to live in fear anymore. Isn't that incredible?"
"You're mad! Don't you realize what will happen when the Bounty Hunters come for you? You'll be dead within the week!"
"I don't think so. I've avoided death twice, I'm certain Queen Jaydes will allow me one more shot at success." He grabbed a bag of chicken from the freezer next to them with his tail and dropped it on the counter. "How much for this?"
"Two silver Ults."
"Ult? Is that your currency? I should have asked David for some money first then, instead of just leaving him behind. Now I can't buy anything." He thought about the cape he'd bought. "And I basically stole that...Of course. Dimentio, throwing coins on the counter does not count as payment here! I've been to many dimensions, you should have remembered that every world has different currency!"
"L-look, just take it. I don't want any trouble here...I can just get more."
Dimentio shook his head. "No can do, I've taken an honest oath to heroism, so I cannot do that! That would be stealing, and that's bad!"
"N-no! I insist! Just take the food!"
"I insist I don't."
"Really, you must be starving anyways! Just take it!"
"No, I will not take your supplies."
The man at the counter grabbed the chicken bag and tossed it at Dimentio's face. Dimentio caught it with his tail and watched the man run out of the store.
"Hey! You dropped your chicken!"
Rudiger came back. "So, I couldn't find anything your style in the clothes shop next door, or in here. What are we going to do about your wanted-ness?"
Dimentio took out the cape. "I bought this in the last ring."
He put it on. It was a bit too long, blocking the entirety of his poncho and a bit of his shoes. The deep, dark green reminded him of Mr. L. He clipped the leaf pin shut and flipped the hood over his head after removing his hat.
"How about this? I thought it looked pretty natural. I'm glad I bought this back there. Nobody will know it's me, and we can sneak freely into the Wrath Ring! Let's go, shall we?" He held up the bag of frozen chicken. "Also, we were given this. I'll have to cook it later but we have food now. We won't have to resort to eating squirrel anymore!"
"Yay!"
They went back into town and Dimentio looked around. People were no longer staring, which he found strange considering the fact his pointed boots were still mostly visible.
"So, where's this said wizard?"
Rudiger tapped his chin. "I don't actually know. But I heard there's some sort of event going on today? Maybe he'll be there?"
"And we could also hide in the crowd."
Rudiger nodded. "And it must be in the event square. That might be why people are out on the streets, because they're going to the event."
Dimentio and Rudiger forced their way through the crowd and to the doors of the event square. Rudiger made his way out of the group first, Dimentio nearly drowning in people. He took a second to breathe once he made it past the people, then joined Rudiger in the stands. Rudiger motioned towards a higher seat.
"That's the Wrath Demon. What's she doing here? Wait, the rest of them are here too!"
Dimentio looked where he was pointing and saw a small girl who could hardly see over the fencing, sitting near a giant Orc-like creature. He looked a bit intimidating.
"The little one is the Wrath Demon?" Dimentio whispered, trying to hide his laughter.
Rudiger smacked his shoulder. "Don't laugh! She's terrifying!"
"I know, don't judge a book by its cover. But she's so...tiny!"
Rudiger smacked him again, this time harder.
"Hello everyone," she spoke. "Today, we have special offer. We'll call someone from the crowd. And when they beat the competition, they can have free access to the great magician Hevorita's power. Doesn't that sound fun? And the final challenger will be me."
Dimentio felt his blood go cold. It felt as if she was speaking right to him.
"And I'll let my good friend Orisonnanify choose. Isn't that fun?"
The crowd cheered.
The Orc stood. "I'll choose whoever I think deserves such a punishment." He raised his hand. "I choose..."
"Oh no, oh NO! He's going to choose-" Dimentio could feel his bones freezing.
"Him."
Dimentio felt all eyes turn to him. All voices died as he could feel his heart pounding in his throat. Rudiger leaned in a bit and smiled at him.
"Don't forget our deal. If you pass out, I've got your back!"
The cheering returned and Dimentio covered his ears. The Wrath Demon laughed heartily.
"Great choice! Dimentio, get your wanted self down here!"
He had no other choice, and went to the dirt circle that made up the ring. She looked down at him.
"How does it feel, being so small an incompetent? Do you want to know why I chose you?"
"Because you see me as a threat? Although I suppose you should, knowing I'm about five feet taller than you. I could probably just kick you halfway to the next continent. Fully, if I put all of my strength into it."
She growled, but inhaled sharply to clam herself down. "You think you're funny? Well, jingle your bells, little jester. Without an audience to care about you, it's the closest you'll get to hearing applause." She motioned towards the other end of the ring. "Now, for your first contestant!" She kicked her feet. "Say hello to my dear friend Yama! Yama? End this killer."
Dimentio felt the ground shake.
Yama was a tall, snake-like beast with a woman's upper body and snakes for hair. Dimentio chuckled.
"Grapes would love you. She likes snakes."
Yama hissed.
"Congratulations, Dimentio. You were chosen during the third competition. So thankfully you won't need to fight much. However, that means you're close to the semi-finals so your few battles will be deadly. If you survive the entire time, you win."
"S-survive? I thought this was a friendly competition! I'm not battling for your entertainment!"
"Aren't you a jester? Entertain me, Fool."
Yama tackled him to the ground and grabbed his face.
"You're like Medusa, right? Turn me to stone if I look you in the eyes?"
"I'm a 'Medusa,' yes. But unfortunately I don't have that power." She smirked. "But power or not, I'll beat you and become the new ruler of the Wrath Ring."
"Ha! I've seen enough tricks to know that you're just trying to get me to open my eyes! But I don't need to see to fight you!" Dimentio kicked her in the face repeatedly.
She bit his foot, so he punched her in the face.
"Use your magic, Fool!" The Wrath Demon yelled from the stands.
"She doesn't know I'm powerless? If I had my magic, she would have been headless already."
Yama laughed. "Thanks to the tip on how to beat you."
She grabbed his tail and slammed him into the floor. He clawed at the ground as she pulled him towards her.
"It's a demon-eat-demon world out here. If you're not prepared for death, then you'll get dismembered."
"Dimentio!" Rudiger called from the stands. "Use this!"
He tossed Dimentio the spear he had been using before. Dimentio reached up to grab it, but the tip sliced his hand. The spear crashed into the dirt, sticking straight up. Dimentio and Yama both looked at it, knowing that whoever got their hands on it would have an advantage. Dimentio, ignoring the pain from the cut, grabbed a handful of dirt and tossed it at her face. She clawed at her face, hissing, and he kicked her off of him. He scrambled to the spear and tugged at it.
"It's stuck!"
The Wrath Demon slammed her hands against the wood. "What are you waiting for? End him!"
Yama rubbed her eyes and hissed again. "I hope you're happy with your results!"
"Her eyes are closed. I blinded her," Dimentio muttered. He pulled at the spear again.
He tried to breathe quieter as she slithered closer. He held his breath and released the spear as she came next to him. She grabbed the spear and pulled it out. She held it up.
"Come out, Dimentio. I have the advantage now! Just give up!"
He exhaled and she whipped around to look at him.
He tried to slowly back from her. If he had his magic, this would be a thousand times easier. He couldn't run, the doors were blocked by large Orcs. He slowly knelt down and removed his shoes. He tossed on behind her, the gravel shifting where it landed. She turned back around and slithered after his shoe.
He needed a plan.
He couldn't make a sound, and she had a distance weapon, giving her to advantages. He was at a huge disadvantage for being unable to use his magic. He glanced over at Rudiger, who looked nervous. He inhaled deeply and shut his eyes.
He was unsure if it was because of demon instincts, but now he could hear exactly where she was. He still had no clue as to beating her, but if her hearing was messed with in some way...Knowing what she was hearing, seeing how she was able to find him so easily, he thought that would bring him some sort of plan.
But he's Dimentio, he knew he'd think of something.
He looked at the cut on his hand. He sniffed the blood. The scent wasn't that strong, but it could disorient her with enough effort. He wiped his hand on the floor.
"A demon-eat-demon world, hm? Then that means the smell of blood should work." He snuck away from it.
She slithered a little closer to where he was. "You're injured. I can smell your blood. What makes you think you can keep this up for much longer?"
"Oh, you should know. I never quit."
She looked around. "Where are you?"
"What? Did you really think I was going to say aloud weather I was powerless or not?" He threw his other shoe to her left.
She glanced around, a bit of panic on her face. "How can you be in three places at once?"
"A special skill of mine. Is it teleportation? The ability to throw my voice? Puppetry? Or is it cloning? You'll never know as long as you're blinded."
"Stop toying with me!"
"But you should know that's what I do!" He snuck closer to her, reaching out for the spear.
The Wrath Demon began to panic. "Yama! Behind you!"
She jabbed him in the gut with the spear, which he grabbed and pulled from her hand. He rolled on the ground and held up the spear.
"It's over, Yama."
He stabbed her chest with it from behind. She fell to the ground. Dimentio removed the spear and twirled it once.
"You thought you could best me in the first fight? By Grambi's name, you're pathetic."
The Wrath Demon screamed and threw a chair at him. He dodged it.
"You're not supposed to win! This isn't fair! This isn't FAIR!"
"Then make it harder!" He dumped gravel out of his shoe and put it back on. "But you should know that I've outsmarted many great minds throughout the years."
She sat back down. "Orison, take a look at him. He looks familiar, doesn't he? Besides the died hair and strange eyes and scars."
"You're right," he said. "He seems like a creature of legend. Do you think any voices have spoken to him yet?"
"I'm not sure. We'll have to wait and see."