A month has gone since I resigned. For the past month I've been doing everything in my power to find out more about that lady.
Going through city after city just to find more clues about her, yet I've found little to nothing.
-There's got to be a clue somewhere.
I continued to dig deeper into my search until, not long after, I was introduced to this underground fight tournament.
It was held in secret, and the purpose?
A qualification to join a certain evil organization...
At first, hearing this didn't spark any interest in me. I was even about to leave, until that individual showed me something that caught my attention. The organization's symbol.
Back went I got a glimps of her she had a ring on her middle finger.
It was dark and I was only able to catch a glimpse of the ring's design when she turned around, and there is no mistaken, it the same symbol.
This could be very well the only clue I will ever got to find her. After careful consideration, I had decided.
"Fine, you got my attention… Since you able provided this information, I would assume there would be no problem for me to join this tournament ."
The informant broke into laugher hearing my words. Catching his breath as he speak
"That place isn't for individual without power."
Well, his words weren't wrong. With this kind of secret tournament held by such organization, it would tend to attract troublesome people's... Not that I cared much.
The informant, laught turn silence after a while, as he finally seems to caught up that I'm being serious.
He spoke finally taking this seriously
"… If you don't value your life, that's fine. I can put you in… But the participants aren't the only thing that matt-"
Abruptly, before he could finish his sentence, I slide bag full of goods across the table, landed exactly infront of him.
"That won't be a problem."
The informant's shocked expression turned into a smile as he dragged the bag into his arms.
"Oh well, whatever you say, dear customer... The tournament will be held two days from now after midnight, under the Great Cri Bridge. I'll meet you there. With this goods, I'll enter you as a participant—plus the working fee. Don't be late."
After hearing all he had to say, I left the tavern.
Sigh. "Looks like this is my only chance to find what I'm looking for."
Walking into the busy street, I strt to wondered what kind of weapon I should use.
-
Two days later, midnight.
The city wasn't as quiet as one might expect. In fact, it was still crowded even at this hour. Using this to my advantage, it was easier to get to where I wanted to go without being caught by the guards.
Checking the area for any patrols, I quickly made my way under the bridge. In the shade, the informant was already there.
He spoke first.
"You weren't late… What a surprise."
"..."
"… Going straight to business huh?... Come, follow me."
His hand brush against the wall before stopping at certain brick.
He then pushed that brick and suddenly, the stone beside us began to contract and split apart. A hidden passageway formed, leading down into the depths.
I followed him, and the entrance closed behind us on its own.
As we descended deeper, the informant spoke.
"I had picked a name for you, for this tournament since you didn't provide me with anything… You'll go by the name Mori."
Unfazed by the name, I only gave a small nod, and we continued walking down the stairs.
The familiar sound of shouting and cheering closed in.
By the time we reached the bottom, we were hit with the deafening roar of the crowd.
A massive underground arena stretched before us, with countless spectators watching a match between two fighters.
As we made our way through the crowd, I watched the match unfold.
One fighter conjured flames in the palm of his hand, throwing them toward his opponent. The opponent was caught off guard unable to react in time, and the fire struck him directly...what left behind is blackened remains.
The informant let out a small laugh.
"That's the kind of opponent you'll be facing… you still got time to back down."
But I left him without a respons.
Seconds later, we reached the side of the arena.
The informant spoke to who looked to be the event organiser.
As they conversed, I turned my gaze toward the other participants.
They all carried a serious, murderous intend while some looking outright terrifying. And from the looks of it, they all possessed some kind of power.
In this world, humans have two kinds of power. Magic or Curses.
The two can be similar or different depending on how they're used, but as far as I know, that are the only types of power humans can wield.
Lost in thought, I was snapped back to reality when the informant returned.
"... Your turn… Try your best to survive."
He patted my shoulder before leaving.
The event organiser gave me the signal, and before long, I was standing in the middle of the arena.
The crowd fell silent.
I expected as much since I never had any records in this kind of thing. But then, here came my opponent.
Each step he took shook the arena.
The once-silent crowd erupted into waves of cheers.
With a massive battle axe in hand, he made his way in front of me.
I muttered to myself.
"This won't end nicely, will it…? Well, it been quite the time since I had a proper fight. Maybe I should put a bit more effort this time around."
Bringing my arms up, I took my stance.
The crowd roared even louder.
My opponent readies his axe and the match begin.