Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Chapter 268 The First Match

"Welcome one and all to our glorious arena!" An excited voice rang out, echoing off the stone walls of a massive cavern.

Nearly a thousand people had gathered in stands carved out of the rock. They all looked down at a large, oval-shaped arena. At either end of the oval were two fighters. One was an elf dressed in light armor that barely covered her upper torso and upper thighs. The woman's midriff was completely exposed. It was an impractical set of armor but was mostly for show anyway.

Her opponent, standing on the opposite end, was a blonde woman with wolf ears, a tail, and gray eyes. She wore a similar set of armor to the elf. One major difference between the two was that while the elf had a sword and shield, the beastman woman had nothing to arm herself with.

The discrepancy in their gear caused a frenzy at the different betting booths set up in the stands. Some believed that the proprietors of the arena were punishing the wolf-girl and setting her up to lose. While others thought it was a trick and that the beastman was a powerful warrior designed to set up the house for a win.

None of this mattered to Kalliope, though. This was her first match in front of the public. During all of her training sessions she had purposefully held back her skills so that her captors would underestimate her. However, it ended up working against her.

The man in charge of the training seemed to be able to sense that she was hiding her real strength and skills, so he set her up in her first fight against a powerful opponent. The elf that Kalliope was facing was a former champion fighter and had almost fifty wins under her belt and only eight losses.

Kalliope, on the other hand, was fresh blood in the ring without a record. That did not matter to her because, as far as she was concerned, only two people had bested her so far in a direct match. Those two people were Lucius and Kalivas. She would be damned if one of these dirtbags would join that list.

"In one corner, we have a former champion. The killer elf herself, Neshia the Blooded! And her opponent facing her tonight, a new addition to the ring! We have the Feral Mutt!"

Kalliope gagged at their poor naming schemes while the crowd above roared with excitement. She could pick out a handful of laughs and jeers directed her way. It was also not lost on her that the announcer omitted her name from the introduction. It was possible they were worried that some among the crowd might recognize her name.

"Betting is now closed. Please enjoy as the fight… begins!"

"[Tempestas: Lightning Charge]!"

The elf's first move caught Kalliope by surprise. Thunder Magic users were very rare. So rare in fact, that Kalliope only knew two off the top of her head: Lucius and Wally. However, the surprise only lasted a moment and was replaced by a disappointing realization.

"She's slower than him. It's basically no contest…" Kalliope muttered dejectedly. "[Beast Arts: Prey Drive]"

Golden mana concentrated in her eyes before enveloping her body in a thin layer of light. Her heart began to beat faster and harder. The sounds of the crowd quickly faded away and were replaced by the sound of her own heart and that of her opponent.

The elf's movements slowed to a crawl while Kalliope felt her own quicken. Her teeth grew in length, and extra fur grew along her skin. Her nails elongated and hardened into weapons of their own.

Dust and gravel scattered through the air as the shifted wolf-girl launched herself at her opponent. The elf responded quickly with a downward slice. However, it too was moving in slow motion allowing Kalliope to simply palm the flat of the blade, sending it slamming into the rock. Sparks flew into the air from her claws raking against the elf's sword.

In response, the elf leaped backward and tried to exit the beastman's range. It was a hopeless endeavor, and Kalliope vanished in place before appearing behind Neshia. She delivered a swift kick squarely into Neshia's back.

The former champion flew a dozen feet away, caught herself in a roll, and returned to her feet before sliding a few feet more. Sweat dripped onto the ground, and a small drop of blood dripped from behind her shield.

Neshia looked down at her arm and saw jagged slash marks that had cut down her arm, piercing her armor near her elbow. She spat in frustration after realizing that Kalliope had cut her without her knowing.

"Damn, rabid mutt!" Neshia growled.

Kalliope's ears twitched in response to hearing the insult. Instead of being angry, she simply smiled and got down onto all fours. Her fur bristled at the same time as all the muscles twitched. Again, she vanished the same instant Neshia blinked.

This time, she prepared and was able to predict Kalliope's path of attack. Neshia raised her shield to cover her vitals while also swinging her sword in a diagonal slash. Kalliope changed course at the last moment and transitioned into a slide. Her sudden change threw Neshia off her rhythm, making her unable to react properly.

Kalliope slid past her opponent, but not before latching onto the elf's exposed calf muscles with her teeth. Neshia cried out in pain and blood splattered across the ground. The momentum yanked Neshia's leg from under her, slamming her face into the dirt.

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Kalliope jumped into a standing position but refused to let go of her opponent's leg. A horrible, wet tearing sound filled the arena as the audience watched in stunned silence.

Kalliope stood over the screaming and crying elf and spat out a large chunk of bloody meat to the ground before releasing a victorious howling into the air. No matter how hard the elf tried, her body refused to listen to her commands to stand, forcing her to admit surrender.

"And that's it, folks! Our winner is the Feral Mutt! This was the fastest takedown of a former champion in our long and bloody history! Don't worry about Neshia, dear audience! We have the best healers available and she will be back on the field of battle in a few days!" The announcer shouted to a mixture of cheers and boos.

Many people decided that betting on the wolf-girl was too risky and tried to play it safe by going with the powerful, known warrior. Those who chose to risk it all earned a large sum of money from the house.