[Katie POV]
How does Amari even like this guy? The thought gnawed at me as I glared at Zagan slumped against the ground like a sack of grain left in the rain.
Despite possessing a superior class, despite being armed with Kitsune's own weapons—gifts that should have given him a terrifying advantage against ordinary contestants—he was pitiful. Weak. Hesitant. His every swing lacked weight; his resolve bled out of him before his blade even met flesh.
And yet fortune clung to him. A fiancée who adored him. Allies who shielded him. Even fate seemed to bend around his mistakes, allowing him to scrape by.
"I wonder if this girl will finally open her eyes," I muttered, staring down at the pathetic boy pouting into the dirt.
"Hey," I snapped, voice sharp, "get your butt up and fight." Without ceremony, I grabbed him by the collar, hauled him upright, and let him drop back down with a thud.
Turning before he could stammer out another apology, I hefted the claymore Kitsuna had crafted for me. Daggers clanged against its broad white surface, sparks and frost scattering into the air. The weapon was wider than my torso, which meant I could tuck behind it like a fortress wall, letting the enchanted steel catch and deflect the barrage with ease.
"Let's gang up on her! She's alone!" a man bellowed. His voice carried, and suddenly the thirty or so fools around him surged forward like dogs following a bell.
"Zagan," I called over my shoulder, my patience running thin, "you need to start taking responsibility for your actions. If you don't, I will." My glare cut into him before I turned, raising my free hand. Water spears shimmered into existence, a dozen crystalline javelins glinting in the sunlight. With a flick, I sent them raining down on the mob.
"Dodge? She's a mage!" The leader shrieked as his lackeys scrambled.
"It's Katie Anabald! Of course she's a mage, you stupid idiot!" another hissed, panic rising in his tone.
"Then why is she swinging that white claymore?" a girl demanded, staring at me like I was some contradiction of nature.
I almost laughed. Arguing mid-battle? Are they seriously that careless?
"I don't know," the boy stammered.
"Stop talking and attack her!" Their leader barked, rage bleeding through his panic.
"Yes, sir."
"Fucking commoners," he spat, face twisting with contempt.
"Oh?" I raised a brow. "You're also a nobleman?" I didn't recognize him at all. I knew the families of our territory well, and he wasn't one of them.
"Of course I am! I'm from the house—"
"I don't care which house," I cut in, shifting my grip on the claymore. "What territory?"
"Woman, I am a faithful follower of the Duke!" he shouted, puffing himself up like a rooster.
"Ah. That makes sense." My blade whistled through the air, cutting down one of his lackeys who lunged at me, their head separating cleanly from their body.
"What does that even mean?" The man sputtered, confused.
"…Sigh." I raised a wall of water in front of me, his fire spell crashing against it with a hiss before vanishing into steam.
He leapt away, grinning triumphantly as though he'd scored a victory. "Have you learned nothing? You never take your eyes off your enemy!" he crowed.
"Dude, just shut up." Frustration boiled in my chest. I swung the claymore, cleaving through my own water wall. The blade tore through, the spell dissolving as three startled heads fell to the ground in its wake.
Dropping the claymore for a moment, I conjured two spheres of pressurized water, hurling them into another pair of attackers. The orbs struck with a crack, caving in their chests and dropping them like broken dolls.
"Ugh! Get her!" the leader roared.
Ignoring his barking, I whipped the blade back up, sweeping it in a wide arc. A crashing wave of water burst from the edge, forcing the mob to scatter. Some leapt aside, others vaulted skyward, but none dared charge straight through.
"Zagan!" I shouted, fury spilling over. "Are you going to actually do something, or are you just going to sulk on the ground like a pathetic frog?!"
I leapt back, giving myself space, another dozen water spears forming in the air around me. My throat burned from the mana expenditure, but I didn't care. The spears rained down again, skewering more of the fools.
"You goddamn useless fuck!" I snarled, glancing down at Zagan. He hadn't moved. His eyes were hollow, and his shoulders sagged, as if the fog of despair had swallowed him whole.
With a sharp click of my tongue, I turned back. If he wouldn't stand, I'd just carve the path myself.
"Amari might want to kill me for this, but fuck it." I muttered under my breath, twisting aside as two swords slashed past. I wove through them, the fog thickening around Zagan, suffocating him. By the time the blades pierced him, I was too far to intervene.
His cry was weak and strangled. And then he was gone.
While they were busy ripping their swords free from his body, I swung my claymore in a wide, merciless arc. Frost laced the air, and every one of them fell in halves, bodies crumbling before the barrier whisked them away.
"Zagan!!" Amari's scream split the stadium, raw with grief.
"His teammate abandoned him," the leader sneered from afar, his smirk dripping disdain. "He was weak anyway."
The commentator's voice cut over the crowd. "There we go, ladies and gentlemen! We have our eight winners!!"
"Fuck, I wanted to kill this bitch," another man spat, glaring at me from the right. His hands trembled, his face twisted with hate.
I tilted my head. Did he truly think he could still challenge me? Is that why they'd banded together? It might work against ordinary fighters, but against me… laughable.
Strapping the claymore across my back, I strode toward Zagan's rewinding body. He was limp, his features pale. Without hesitation, I lifted him into my arms and carried him out, ignoring the cheers, boos, and curses that trailed after me.
"What the fuck, Katie!!" Amari's voice slammed into me the moment I stepped into his private room. Her eyes blazed as she stormed up.
"What?" I asked flatly.
"How could you let him die?!" she shouted, fury trembling in every word.
I barked a humorless laugh. "Hey, you saw him. Useless in the fight. What have you been teaching him these past months? How to curl up and mope?!" I snapped, glaring back down at her.
"You—!" Amari's voice cracked. Mana swirled around her hand, coalescing into a sphere of vibrant light, pulsing with deadly intent. My eyes narrowed, widening a fraction at her recklessness.
"You're going to attack me?" I asked, chuckling, though my muscles tensed.
"Attack? No. Threaten." Her glare hardened, the sphere glowing brighter.
"Oh, because I called your future husband a deadbeat?" I drawled, mocking.
"Katie, you talk too much!" She roared, hurling the spell.
My eyes widened for half a heartbeat.
Bang!
Kitsuna appeared, slapping the spell into the wall with casual disdain, as if it were nothing but a pebble tossed by a child. "Going off like that isn't healthy, Amari," she remarked coldly.
Amari's face crumbled. She looked from the smoldering wall back to me, the realization dawning of what she'd almost done.
"S-sorry, Katie! I'm sorry—I didn't mean to—" Her words stumbled over each other in panic.
"Amari, leave," Kitsuna ordered. "You fight tomorrow. Go home, cool off. We'll talk later."
"But—"
"Don't tell Mom what happened here. If she asks about the wall, say it was me." Kitsune's voice left no room for argument.
Amari swallowed hard, nodded stiffly, and left. But not before glancing at Zagan, lying unconscious, worry etched deep in her eyes.
When the door closed, Kitsuna looked at me. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Good. We won't speak of this again. Sorry she lashed out."
"Not your fault."
"She's my sister anyway." Kitsuna's grin returned as she tilted her head. "How was the claymore? Saw you cutting them up with it."
"It's a useful weapon," I admitted, running a hand along the blade. "I'll need more time to get used to it."
"Good. I'll forge you a few more over the coming days. Spares."
"That won't be necessary. This won't break."
"Maybe. But I'd rather you be overprepared." She glanced at Zagan. "What happened to him?"
"He was useless. Dead weight."
"I figured." Kitsuna shrugged. "Guess I'll handle him myself." She grabbed him by the collar, vanishing without a goodbye.
I groaned. "She's as bad as ever with her manners."
The door creaked open again, Stacy's head poking in. She scanned the room, said nothing, and disappeared as quickly as she'd come.
"I suppose they are related, despite their differences," I muttered dryly, turning to my left. My mother sat on the couch, calm as always, her eyes sharp with amusement.
"Ah, you finally acknowledge my presence."
"Mother. Why didn't you stop Amari's spell?"
She shrugged. "Kitsuna was faster. Kitsuna knew that the situation would occur and made preparations accordingly. I didn't bother. Thought she'd only threaten."
"But she didn't."
"No," she agreed, her smile cold. "And she'll pay for it."
"From you? Or from Kitsune?" I asked, arching a brow.
"They're sisters. So am I." She grinned wider, unbothered.
"Just wait until after her battle tomorrow."
"Of course." She tilted her head. "What do you think I am?"
"Avenger," I said simply.
She blinked, then laughed softly. "I suppose." And with that, she vanished.
I groaned again, slumping back in my chair. "What the fuck is with people today not saying goodbye?"