Ravens of Eternity

Rank: 4th Tier, Top Seed

Win Streak: 14

Odds: 37:1

KO Bonus: +7

Next to her fight card was her opponent’s – duelist Ledoss, a Reborn Anew. Unlike many others, his armor was sleek and light. It clearly provided an amazing amount of flexibility, similar to the Ra’ventrii armor.

Unlike it, however, its outer plates were scales rather than feathers, and were colored an offwhite with gold accents. It also had intricate filigree around the seams.

.....

Clearly, he was no brute.

Rank: 3rd Tier, 22nd Seed

Win Streak: 7

Odds: 0.16:1

KO Bonus: +5

Eva looked at her opponent’s long beltknife and noted that it was completely straight, like a rapier. He also had a few key differences himself. Unlike most of the other Drogar she had fought, this one had a different combat style altogether.

Just his footwork was different from everyone else she had fought thus far.

Equally important, he stood at 2.2 meters. While he was taller than Eva, he was shorter than all other Reborn. He was even shorter than some normal Drogar. Combined with his lithe form, she realized he was going to be more troublesome than anyone else she had encountered.

“Betting’s now closed for Ring Chisza!” said an announcer. “Duelists Ledoss and Ra’ventrii are free to now fight!”

The crowd cheered all around as the two duelists bowed to each other with respect.

Eva and her opponent entered their main stances and wove into each others’ range. Eva danced while Ledoss weaved. And though they were both fast with their footwork, it was Ledoss who decisively opened the match.

He did a simple feint before performing a few strong thrusts at Eva, but she dodged and parried them easily.

“Ra’ventrii,” said Ledoss. “Been looking forward to this.”

“Oh yeah? Got a little crush on me, do you?” she replied.

“I’ll crush you, alright.”

Eva smirked as they exchanged blows a few more times. Their blades met with every attack, parry, and riposte, but none hit the others’ armor.

“I’ve heard it all before,” said Eva. “What’s your claim, then? Can’t have apes in the dueling ring? Don’t wanna see someone as small as me destroy big, strong, tough Drogar like yourself?”

Ledoss harrumphed as he pressed a series of attacks, most of which were thrusts aimed at many of her vital spots. Though he wasn’t quite as powerful as someone like Orsethii, his speed was absolutely killer. Eva was driven back by his blade’s velocity alone.

“As if I would be so shallow,” he said. “Honestly, I’m a little insulted that you think I’d be that simple-minded.”

He punctuated his words with a fast lunging thrust aimed at Eva’s head. She was barely able to parry it in time, and felt the edge of his beltknife scrape against her armor. Just barely, anyway.

“And none of those apply,” he continued, “You’re messing with the odds, and that must stop.”

Ledoss performed a couple of vicious cross slashes to get her to evade, and just as she began to spin, thrust in the direction where he predicted she would be. With a decisive stroke, he jabbed the point of his beltknife right into her arm.

She yelped and slid back to avoid further damage.

But he used his speed and continued his attack, and pressed her defenses with every fiber of his being. With every slash and jab, she would get nicked here or there, particularly when she would evade or sidestep his other attacks.

Though his strikes weren’t large, they were slowly becoming plentiful.

Just as she had done to many of her opponents, Ledoss now turned the tables on Eva, and whittled her away with absolute speed and precision.

Eva began to sweat under her armor. Clearly, Ledoss’ footwork was far superior to her own. He must have been a master of whatever combat form he was using, and she couldn’t get past it – not with bladedancing.

“Speak for yourself,” said Eva. “Every Reborn in the rankings are messing with the odds. So you can take that self-righteous garbage and get the fuck outta here.”

Ledoss harrumphed loudly.

“Our effects are minimal compared to yours,” he said. “What you’re doing is causing mayhem with the odds. They can’t trust it! Drogar out there with little money are losing everything they own because they’re compelled to bet against you.”

He lunged at her again with a double downwards thrust, which Eva parried easily. But he quickly followed up with a lateral slash and caught her off guard – she was expecting a third thrust.

Ledoss’ blade cut into her armor, and sliced her ever so slightly. She clutched her chest protectively as blood trickled out of it. The cut was only skin deep, but it stung all to hell.

He lunged at her again, but this time she was prepared for it. Instead of evading away, she instead aggressively spun inwards and penetrated his defenses.

She leaned down then slashed upwards, and cut him deeply inside his upper right arm. And with that opening, she slashed and attacked him with increasing ferocity. Little by little, she repaid each cut she received and gave many back to him in return.

“Who cares if a bunch of loudmouth, abusive, speciesist Drogar bet against me?” Eva retorted. “It’s their fault for being too idiotic to think for themselves, to think ‘oh maybe I shouldn’t bet against the ape that keeps winning’. I would think that any sane person would actually stop and think about that.”

“That’s exactly the problem,” he said. “You keep riling up their anti-human hate!”

“Yeah, well, any anti-human that comes at me is gonna get cut. That means you!!”

She spun into him once again, and jabbed at his side with the point of her blade. But he quickly jumped back just as she slashed upwards with her beltknife.

“Don’t you dare lump me in with those people!” he said sharply.

“So why defend them?!” Eva yelled. “They’re scum!”

“Because they’re being manipulated, you fool!” he screamed.

His anger quickly got the better of him, and he surged forward with fire in his belly. The thoughts of the people being manipulated for others’ greed... It was too much for him. When he saw Eva’s rise, and how she played to those same manipulations...

Well, he knew he needed to face her. And stop her with everything he had.

He charged forward with surprising speed, which threw Eva off balance – she definitely wasn’t expecting a brute-force attack from Ledoss.

Ledoss threw a left hook and slammed right into Eva’s helmet. He followed up by striking her on the top of her head with his sword handle, which further locked Eva in a daze.

As she stumbled back defensively, he slashed at her chest a second time, and left a bloody “X” on her. Then, he kicked into her stomach with all his strength, which flung her back nearly a dozen meters.

Eva’s breath was knocked right out of her when she landed in a heap on the sandy arena floor.

She was starting to realize why they kept telling her to avoid the Reborn. Tough as she was, they were clearly much more capable than her. At least, this high up in the rankings.

Dizziness still overtook her mind, even as she clambered back to her feet. But it didn’t take long for Ledoss to close the gap between them. With a burst of energy, he leapt at her, grabbed her by the neck, and lifted her up off the ground.

She could vaguely hear him talking to her. His voice was filled with venom, and his hate for her was clear as day.

“Not that you would know anything about what my people are going through, would you?” he said. “Much less care. No, just like everyone else, you’re just grabbing whatever Coin you can find.”

Ledoss reared his head back, then slammed his forehead against Eva’s, and brought her to the ground with a massive WHUMF. Sand was blown in the air from the force of the impact, and was pushed outwards in a wave of force.

“I don’t take pleasure in taking your life, human,” he continued. “But your greed streak has gotta end. Right now.”

As he drew back his blade arm and aimed its point right in the center of the X on her chest, his words sunk deep into Eva.

He was right. She was being greedy. How did it come to that? It was something she herself hated. It was something she vowed to kill herself. And yet she fell to its allure all too easily. For what? Some Coin? A beltknife?

Eva cursed herself for being so base. It was easy enough to make money, and she didn’t need to break other people’s lives to do it. Guilt washed over her as she realized the damage she might have done to some people. Whether they were hateful or not – they didn’t deserve to get used even more.

She most certainly understood the fury that Ledoss had felt. He had the right of it, and deserved to win.

But it didn’t mean she was going to let him kill her.

Eva inhaled deeply, cleared her mind, then entered Ascendant Form just as Ledoss brought his beltknife down. His blade was swift, and his blade was true. But he wasn’t quite up to Eva’s level, not when she was Ascended.

With all of the speed and force she could muster, she leapt up and spun around Ledoss’s blade, drove her fist straight into his jaw, and shattered his helmet to pieces.

It was as though time had slowed for everyone – the sight of Eva performing a supersonic, spinning, flying uppercut against the dominating Ledoss had the whole arena in wide-eyed shock. Shards of his armor wrenched free as a streak of blood flew from his mouth.

And his jaw cracked.

~

Eva and Severas went out into the street after her duels had concluded for the cycle. Her armor and body had been patched up, but was hidden neatly under her robes. She had even retracted her helmet just so she could enjoy the “fresh” Lower Dome air.

“I think I need to stop dueling,” said Eva.

“Oh? Was that last one a bit too close for comfort?” asked Severas.

Her voice was a little bit mocking, a little bit playful.

“I thought you were having so much fun, poking holes and making Coin,” she continued.

“Aren’t we all?” said Eva. “I mean, sure, everytime I poke a few holes, Coin comes falling out. But they’re covered in blood. Not just mine.”

“Without a doubt. Some of us have to lose for others to win. That’s how the galaxy works. It’s how all life works. The predator needs prey, or it’ll die.”

.....

“Sure, but there isn’t a single life out there that eats well beyond full. Unless they’re sick.”

The two of them continued walking down the streets as they talked. Though Eva stopped them when they reached a small street food shop. It wasn’t anything special, just a hole in the wall where a guy made delicious-smelling soup in large pots behind him, their contents slowly simmering.

She pointed to the #5 on the menu off to the side, then paid the vendor through her DI.

In exchange he poured her a generous bowl of what looked like a reddish, oily soup. There were all manner of things floating around in it: leafy greens, mushrooms, thin strips of meat, and thick, long, white noodles.

Eva and Severas of them moved off to the side and sat on the stone benches nearby.

“Uh, you know what those are, right?” asked Severas.

“Yeah, boiled stringy worm guts, I know,” Eva replied. “I’m trying hard avoiding knowing where they came from. All I need to know is that they just taste crazy good. And it feels really nice to drink this down after a long cycle of fighting, you know. After many long cycles of fighting.”

She slurped down some of her soup, stringy worm guts and all. Then, she sighed with absolute satisfaction.

“I’m surprised you haven’t killed any of your Reborn opponents yet,” mused Severas.

“They’re like me,” said Eva. “How could I kill them?”

“But the normal ones like me are okay to kill?”

Eva didn’t have an answer to that. For whatever reason, she felt more of a kinship with the Reborn.

It was a few moments of silence, and another mouthful of soup before Eva spoke again.

“The ones who lose,” she said, “what kind of lives do they lead?”

“I hope you aren’t gaining some sort of conscience about the anti-humans,” said Severas.

“Shouldn’t you? I mean, between the two of us, you’re the Justicar.”

“What the law demands, and what my conscience tells me are two different things. I’m bound to follow one, but not the other. Whenever they collide, anyway.”

“That doesn’t mean you don’t have one.”

Severas sighed, but one out of exasperation rather than satisfaction.

“These people,” she said. “They live in districts represented by people who have little sense of law, or conscience. These people are among the poorest, least educated, and most desperate in the city. Also the angriest.”

Severas rubbed the top of her head, as though she was massaging out a dire headache.

“Even if they were mind-controlled,” she said, “it doesn’t stop them from being a threat to Drogar life. Cycle after cycle, they protest things that don’t matter, kill people who’ve done nothing, destroy things they don’t own, and spout rhetoric harmful to the whole gods-damned city.”

After hearing the stress in Severa’s voice, Eva offered her bowl of soup to her. The Justicar took it, and happily gulped down a mouthful. Then she too sighed with a little satisfaction.

“I get what you mean,” said Eva. “Stuff like that happened in my old life, too. They’re poisoning their own well, and it’s hard to watch. We had no way to fix that where I came from. I don’t know what would fix something like that.”

“Some people think that by replacing their leaders, it might change things,” said Severas. “I know at least one person who’s trying to do just that. But I don’t think it’s gonna go the way he wants. In my opinion, the only way to solve it is through total excision from the populace. It’s the only way to save the rest. But that’s just my conscience talking.”