Reaching into it, Vanas pulled out five pieces of paper and handed them over to Kritz.
"This better be a good catch." He hissed at Kritz.
'Why are you telling me that trash?! I don't get to decide.' Kritz had a deadpan face, simply ignoring and reading out what was on the paper.
"Andree Brandon, Yuria Smithy, Jena Paddley, Nadinka Ashton, and Ashlin Rudges." He announced.
Hisha snapped his fingers, black blindfolds were strapped around their eyes and over the bridge of their nose.
[00:29:58]
As they had gotten accustomed to the monotonous voice, they all stared at the displayed name above.
[Andree Brandon]
[Yuria Smithy]
[Jena Paddley]
[Nadinka Ashton]
[Ashlin Rudges]
Hisha had his cheeks resting on his palm, keen on a specific harem that had slightly caught his interest.
'Yuria Smithy.' He hummed with a wicked grin.
She had her double-wielded sword held in her tight grip, her black wavy hair tied in twin buns, and two tendrils swaying to the wind.
Slamming her sword into the floor, the ground shook with reverberation.
'That wasn't a mistake." Hisha observed as she stood, waiting out for the rest to search and find her from the sound.
Almost as though easy, she placed her palms on the blunt top of the blade, her legs upwards as she maintained the stance.
There was an awkward silence as everyone was as curious as they had ever been about the strange show Yuria was putting on.
Schwp!
Narrowly dodging an arrow shot in her direction as she made a split of her legs.
She had worn loose mesh pants with black underwear visible and seductively appealing.
Maintaining the position, they could all see her butt cheeks much more prominently before she reverted to her stance.
"Aah!" Andree screamed in pain at the arrow lodged into her shoulder from the crossfire.
Watching the three other ladies approach Andree from the distraction caused by her screams, they all knew who would be the first to lose the battle.
Picking another arrow from her quiver, Nadinka used her ears as a form of pinpointing the location before the others could approach and deal the final blow.
Schwp!
The metallic arrow cut through the air and passed through Ashlin's back, pinning Andree in the mouth.
Buzz!
[Andree Brandon - Terminated]
[3000 points acquired]
[Harem: 6232]
There was a collective grimace from the audience as they watched Andree's name washed in red after the loud buzz.
Nadinka had a wicked grin at finally having a hit on her target, standing and listening while having her hand ready to let go of the drawstring.
Ashlin bit on her bottom lip to stifle her cry and end up like Andree. Blood dripping from her left arm, she held onto her hand with her right, taking steps back to avoid colliding with anyone.
Jena on the other hand, dressed in a conservative flower-patterned skirt, which had been torn with its jagged edges reaching towards her knees.
There was no disputing the fact that she might have ripped it to cut short her long skirt because of the previous duel she had watched with the others.
Her body-fitted blue crop top hugged tightly to her bust as she had her hands covering one of her ears and the other on her waist.
Although her method was equally strange, there was something different about her which was her bare feet which felt the floor as she moved.
The moment she felt some liquid in the dust, she paused, then swiftly followed the trail until she reached the body of Andree.
Giving her an idea that another member was hit at the same moment Andree was killed.
Feeling at the sand, she squatted to pick at the sand, unintentionally dodging an arrow shot in her direction.
Hisha chuckled at the lucky coincidence of Jena, shaking his head and what tactics she was going to use when the person she was searching for was merely a few meters away from her.
Huff!
Huff!
Jena's ears pricked up at the sound and taking a handful of dirt, threw it at Ashlin.
Ashlin unintentionally let out a yelp at being startled out of her skin at being found out.
The duel felt like a mouse game with a blind cat on their trail.
Not wanting to duel anymore, she ran towards the edge of the arena while trying to tug at her blindfold, upon touching its walls, a shockwave coursed through her hand and channeled towards her eyes.
Splurt!
There was a miniature explosion from her eyes that made the blindfold bulge and blood ooze from all sides.
Buzz!
[Ashlin Rudges - Terminated]
[3000 points acquired]
[Harem: 6231]
Punching on the floor on which he sat on the edge, Hisha let out a deranged laugh, disturbed by the fact that some of them just don't learn from the rules set before them.
'It was said you can't quit, don't you fucking get it!' He thought with rage, his brows furrowed while watching her body drop to the floor.
Turning his attention back to Yuria, he was skeptical about the sword slowly digging into the ground with each passing minute.
With thoughts to the last duel, they were all cautious as to how they approached and the sounds they made.
Each aimed to get to Yuria who was the first to create enough noise to draw their attention.
[00:17:45]
Draegul narrowed his eyes on the arena, there was something about her sword that didn't sit well with him.
Breathing out steam from his nostril, he had gotten the confirmation he needed when the middle grip which had been lowered into the floor oozed out with hot steam clouding the ladies.
Cough!
Cough!
Getting to his feet in a rush, he stared at Yuria with a look of shock and bewilderment.
'How did she manage to get a sword from my people?!' He gawked, getting the attention of other tribal chiefs and in turn–Hisha.
"Get back to your position, Draegul. The duel isn't over!" Hisha snapped, making him reluctantly do as he was told.
"I apologize, my lord." His deep voice resonated, causing the other tribal chiefs to adjust in their chairs.
It looked to them as though Draegul was on the verge of challenging Hisha if he was strong enough.
Letting out a sigh on being spared from Hisha's wrath, they turned their attention towards the arena which was starting to clear up gradually.
Slash!
Bits of Yuria's sword sprung out from the floor upon sensing Nadinka approaching its designated radius, spreading out in branches as it coated the floor in tiny blades that caught up to Nadinka's feet.
Losing her balance, Nadinka felt another stab to her side and was immediately impaled with several tiny blades stabbing into her head.
Buzz!
[Nadinka Ashton - Terminated]
[3000 points acquired]
[Harem: 6230]
[It would seem she had been planning this from the very beginning]
Hisha was too stunned to respond and stared at her sword whose tiny blades retracted from the floor and gathered underneath.
Getting down from the sword, she patted the top of the sword which began to pull itself from the floor until she grabbed a hold of the middle grip.
There was something oddly strange about the sword which caught his attention, although she had stayed on the blunt surface, the sword needed a blood medium to function and had taken a bit of its user's blood.
Wiping her hand on her sword, all traces of blood could not be seen and Draegul had a smirk as he felt a life essence rejuvenate him.
'That would explain her strange stance at the onset and her plan to carry this out if the others had approached her if the distraction didn't emerge.' Hisha concluded.
[00:03:00]
The timer paused and rounded off to zero.
Ding!
The blindfold dematerialized, allowing Yuria access to her vision once more.
"Yuria Smithy wins the second round!" Kritz announces in a loud voice.
[Duel: 5]
[Number of possible harems participating: 25]
[Victories: 8]
[Points accumulated during the tournament: 24000]
There was silence as all attention was solely on her sword which could be a problem to any who faced her.
Alta scoffed, looking back at her wings, there was no way she could be caught, most especially if they wouldn't be blindfolded.
Taking a place with the others, she sat closest to Jana who was still recovering from what she had done.
"Hi!" She waved at the distracted brunette.
*****
Draegul stared at Yuria with keen eyes, hatred booming in his heart. "I have found your slayer, Khaleesi!'
*****
A/N
¶ What do you think about the connection Yuria has with Draegul? Or is it just just a coincidence?
¶ What's your take on Draegul's motive?
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