Chapter 86: Chapter 78 – Lord of the Underworld

"Fair play? Hah! A jest, certainly! My friend, EVERY game is rigged, but let that not halt your step. One cannot win, when one refuses to bet, after all." - Azar'ēl Cèbrúnæ, lifelong Mayor of Sev-Galas.

 

Even as the students were baffled by the city, which broke most of their expectations, the group made their way to the Mayor's residence. Along the way Aideen bought some local specialty, a ring of dough deep-fried in oil until browned and crisp, smothered in what looked to be a generous drizzle of syrup.

 

Cal snacked on the food and found its sweetness unusual, quite unlike anything she tasted before, with a herbal tinge that reminded her of strong tea, which moderated the sweetness from being excessive. It had a very pleasant flavor, and she asked Aideen what it was made from, out of curiosity.

 

Ognar nearly choked on his food when Aideen nonchalantly said that the glaze was made with extract from the Cannabis plant. More commonly known as a recreational drug elsewhere. It was not really a surprise to Cal however, that the place which legalized all the normally illegal drugs would be the one to find alternative uses for them. She did ask to ensure that it didn't have the usual addictive properties of the drug, and once assured, popped the rest of the sweet into her mouth.

 

The Mayor's residence was again one that broke their expectations. The students had expected a grand mansion that rivaled the palace of kings, and instead found themselves before the gates of a very normal mansion, of reasonable size, but by no means a large one. From what they could see from the gate, it wasn't particularly luxurious either. Just… normal.

 

The guards at gatehouse opened the gates without question the instant they laid eyes on the three unliving women. They stood ramrod straight and saluted until the group passed through, before they dared to relax and closed the gates behind them. Cal even caught it as one of them sighed in relief as they passed.

 

When Salicia knocked on the door, a very old goblin in butler clothes opened it and welcomed them into the mansion. Cal judged the goblin to be at least fifty years of age, which was nearing the end of their lifespan in average, and as the old butler chatted with Salicia and Grünhildr as they walked, she heard how the butler mentioned that he had prepared his nephew to take over his place when he passed on in time.

 

He introduced them to said nephew - a much younger goblin, probably still in his teens, similarly dressed in butler clothes - who bowed in respect to the group. They made their way to the third floor of the sparsely decorated mansion - what few decorations there were, Cal found fitting and tasteful - where the old butler knocked three times on a wooden door.

 

"Enter," said a dignified male voice from beyond the door.

 

As the old goblin butler held the door open for them, Aideen led the group in. They saw a tall, gaunt middle-aged elvish male - Cal instantly pegged him as a pureblood from how long his ears were - who looked up from the desk where many sheets of paper were arranged in an orderly manner. The elf had a silver-rimmed monocle over his right eye, and kept his shoulder-length platinum blonde hair in a tight ponytail, while his left hand absentmindedly twirled his long, thin moustache. He had a neatly trimmed goatee on his chin, one of the rare elf males who grew facial hair.

 

"Aideen? Sal and Grün too? What brings you all here?" He asked with some puzzlement. "Our schedule isn't for another half a decade, I thought? And who are they?"

 

"Cal, and kids, meet Azar'ēl Cèbrúnæ, the boss of the town," Aideen introduced. "Az, this is Celeysria Ambervale, from Al-Shan. And those kids are kinda out students."

 

"We wanted to show them the other side for a bit, and hey, what better place than here?" Chimed in Salicia from the side.

 

"That's amenable with me, sure. And an honor to meet the Blood Demon of Al-Shan in the flesh," said Azar'ēl as he gave a slight bow, which Cal returned politely. "What do you three have in mind?"

 

"Well, definitely a tour around the seedier parts, though a visit to the brats would be nice too," said Salicia.

 

"A couple matches in the pit, mebbe? Would be good experience for 'em. Ain't like any of your fighters could drop a Blood mage permanently anyway," Grünhildr added.

 

"Add a couple rounds in the gauntlet as well, might wanna bring some of the guards along. Let them see what's coming their way in half a decade," Aideen finished with a smirk on her face, while Azar'ēl nodded to their words.

 

"Let's head for the pits first then. You likely don't know, but we got a new champ these last couple years, a newcomer who could be knocked down a peg or three," replied the Mayor thoughtfully. "He's a blood mage too, so I figured it'd be good practice for those kids."

 

"How competent a mage?" Asked Cal.

 

"Decent, but unpolished as far as I can tell. He has a match in an hour or so, and takes challenges afterwards. Can easily slot you in there."

 

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"Works for me. Lead on."

 

The largest arena in town where gladiatorial deathmatches were held - illegal in most lands, other than dwarven lands and Sev-Galas - proved to be a good distance away from the mayor's mansion, and it took them over half an hour to get there. They sat themselves comfortably in the private booth reserved for the mayor and helped themselves to some refreshments even as the mayor summoned the arena's manager and had him handle the arrangements.

 

"So which of your students will take on the champion?" The mayor asked as he nonchalantly sipped some wine. Below in the arena, three fighters armed with nets and tridents fought desperately against a slim, agile, flightless bird monster that had a toothy maw where a bird would have had a beak.

 

"Depends on how competent the guy is, but likely Giselle," Cal stated. "The other three are bad at holding back, and blood mage or not, I can't guarantee your champion would survive them."

 

Ognar, Willa, and Leila all blushed somewhat at Cal's admonition, but turned their eyes back to the match as the crowd cheered. One of the fighters were down and clutched the stump of an arm - an arm that was now in the monster's maw - but the other two managed to entangle the beast with their nets properly. From there it was a simple matter to put down the bound beast while the audience cheered them on.

 

After a five minute break, in which workers cleaned the arena and sifted new sand over the worst bloodstains, the champion walked into the arena to the wild cheers of the crowd. The man was a tall and slender lizard therian, with ridges along his spine and a shirt horn on his snout, armed with a pair of short swords designed for stabbing. His opponent was a big, burly orc armed with a two-handed axe and clad in chainmail.

 

Cal had not needed to observe the fight for long before she knew the lizard therian would be the winner. He was indeed a blood mage, one who fought much like Giselle at that, and from what she could see her students had greater mana capacity by a good bit compared to him.

 

"Giselle," Cal said as the lizard therian brought the orc down with stabs to the back of his knee, and swiftly had his swords crossed before his opponent's throat. The crowd roared the champion's name wildly at the spectacle. "You're taking him on. Only use your self enhancements at half power, understood?"

 

"Understood," Giselle nodded, as the arena manager called for the crowd to decide whether to spare the challenger or not. The crowd that night was rather pleased, and they raised their fisted hands, which signaled for mercy, to the orc challenger's relief. "Anything else, teacher?"

 

"Nope. Other than that, go wild and knock him down a peg or two. He fights like you used to, so you ought to know how to screw him over," Cal said nonchalantly. "Oh, don't go for the head or heart. I don't think he's strong enough to shrug those off yet."

 

Giselle nodded in understanding, and left the private booth as she put her leather armor on. Her swords already sheathed by her belt.

 

"So… these kids are trained by all of you?" The mayor asked as Grünhilde interrupted with a "Not me! Yet!"

 

"The three of you? Together?" He asked again as he changed his question, to which Cal, Aideen, and Salicia nodded. "That's good then. Our champ has grown a bit arrogant as of late. A little setback ought to do him good."

 

The crowd had roared wildly when the arena manager announced that they were to have a special exhibition match, where a blood mage from Levain would take on their champion. Said champion stood still in the arena with his arms crossed confidently as he waited for his opponent, and his eyes lit up when Giselle walked out from the gate opposite him.

 

Both combatants drew out their swords as they circled one another slowly at first. Suddenly, Giselle made the first move as she pushed herself at the champion with dazzling speed, her longsword swung towards his hip. The champion attempted to parry away her sword, but was surprised when he found her to be stronger than he was, and had to hop aside awkwardly to avoid the slash.

 

Giselle pushed her advantage, and barraged the champion with a series of rapid slashes and thrusts he barely avoided or parried. One bad parry he made allowed Giselle to strike at his blades with both of hers, which resulted in the champion losing his grip on his blades, and he looked at Giselle in despair as she held the tip of her longsword before his throat.

 

Neither of them paid much attention to the crowd's wild cheers - and the jeers of those who lost their bets.

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