- Outside the Waiting Room, The Succubus POV -
I walked through the corridor, and I turned back into my true form, that of a succubus with long pink hair going in waves to my lower back, pink eyes, and 1 set of curved backward horns adorning my head.
While my body became even more curvaceous with DD breasts and my beautiful heart ass, my skin turning to an even whiter colour with me standing at 5'10 tall, I was clad in a pink knee-length dress and high heels.
Feathered wings, 6 feet long, spread from my back, and my tail, tipped with a small heart, swayed slightly.
I was thinking about the little demon I was about to place my bets on. The time had come. I still felt the urge to kill most of those lowlifes who were lusting after my body.
I am the heir of the duke house of Agares under the Great King of Satan, the daughter of Eleanor Agares, Stella Agares, one of the most powerful young devils, being only the age of 29 and already at the power level of an Overlord.
Coming close to the Betting Station, I observed some other lowlifes making their last bets for the current fight.
An ash imp versus a fire demon could be interesting, but not all that; they're barely normal demons. I snapped my fingers, and one of the servants came over and greeted me.
"Mistress, how may I assist you?" he asked, bowing his head.
I replied, "Give me the contract of... Fuck, I forgot to get his name." I then showed him a picture of the demon I was interested in.
After a short while, he returned. "Here is his contract and the scan our systems took of him, Mistress."
I took the datapad and reviewed the information on Kaelen Nightingale:
Bone Age: 19.
Gender/Sex: Male.
Appearance: A young man with pale skin, Golden snake-like eyes, black shoulder-length hair, a snake tail, two forward-pointed horns coming from his forehead, and retractable claws.
Personality/Disposition: He seems cautious, cunning, stoic, and just wants to survive.
Equipment/Attire: He wears a snakeskin shirt and pants, and has no weapons.
Parents: Unknown.
Demon Race: Unknown, but seemingly a snake-type demon.
Power Level: Normal Demon.
Demonic Energy Capacity: Greater Demon, higher than average for his Power Level. (changed because numbers are a bad way to classify power levels to me)
Height: 5'6", below average.
Weight: 101, malnourished.
Injuries: Many scars on the back and sides, but healing looks like he's been in many fights, and some scarring around the tail, but that's most likely from offensive attacks.
Motivation/Goal: Seems like he's here for the 5-day room and food for winning a fight.
Chances of Survival: 35%.
"Fuck, while this doesn't look good, I will still bet on him," I muttered to myself.
The look in his eyes tells me he's hiding something, and if he does lose, I will keep my promise and kill him myself after breaking him. After looking at his contract and information, I went towards my mother's Office.
When I entered my mother's office, I saw her typing on her keyboard. When she finished typing what she was typing, she looked up at me. She had pink hair just like her daughter, but blood red eyes and horns coming from the back of her head, and also had feathered wings, but they are hidden, and she also has a big heart-shaped tail with a point at the end.
"What does my lovely daughter, Stella, want from me?" she asked me whilst tilting her head, like she had no clue what I was going to ask, but knowing Mother, she was probably watching me as I was in the Betting Station and heard what I said out loud in the waiting room.
"Nothing, mother," I began, adopting a playful, almost childlike tone, "just a small, incy bits request. Could you make Kaelen Nightingale the last to compete in the ring?" I knew that tone always made my mother fold, even if she pretended otherwise.
"Of course," Mother replied, an easy-going smile spreading across her face, but a sharp glint in her eyes betrayed her playful demeanour. "For a simple deal. So, what are you willing to bargain for him to go last, my little star?"
'Fuck, this is going to suck,' I thought, knowing she smelled blood in the water and won't stop till she gets something.
"I will go out with one of the marriage candidates next week and won't hide," I said, a slight ache in my heart at the thought of the forced pleasantries, but reminding myself, "It is just a date, nothing is signed yet, so it won't matter."
"Really, all that for a 19-year-old demon who is a normal demon? The one with the only 35% chance of survival?" she asked, her shock seeming genuine as she leaned back in her chair.
"Yeah, I won't matter, it's just a date, nothing signed, ok, mother," I reiterated, needing to clarify that I was not doing anything close to marriage, just a fucking date, that's it.
Eleanor Agares considered this, tapping her perfectly manicured finger on her desk. "Very well, Stella. You have your word. He will be the last one up." She then chuckled, "See? Wasn't that easy?"
"It was painless, mother," I conceded, already anticipating the misery of next week's date.
And so I got what I wanted, that little demon shall go last, and hopefully he can show what I am feeling.
As I walked out of my mother's office, she called out, "Hey, my lovely star, be safe and don't ever do what you said to scare that kid with your future husband, ok, bye bye, my love." She said it dead seriously, like she had seen this exact scenario before.
I just nodded and left, then walked down to my room in the Gladiator ring, which was located close to the arena floor.
As I was turning a corner, I ran into a servant. Only she fell while I stood, completely unaffected, with nothing spilled on me.
The servant scrambled up immediately, stammering, "I apologise, Young Madam! I am so sorry!" and left in a hurry.
'Weird,' I thought, glancing at the empty spot where she'd fallen, but I paid it no mind. My thoughts were already back on the upcoming matches and the curious little demon with the high Demonic Energy Capacity.
I reached my room, a spacious, opulent box overlooking the arena, designed for the comfort of the Duke's house and high-ranking guests. I stepped inside and immediately pulled up the live feed of the current fight.
The ash imp and the fire demon were still fighting, their movements clumsy and predictable. I leaned back on a plush crimson sofa, resting my cheek on my fist. I wasn't paying attention to the fight; I was watching the flow of energy, analysing how the crowd reacted, and considering the variables of the betting grounds.
The fight felt slow, and I found myself growing impatient for the main event, Kaelen Nightingale's fight, which now, thanks to my deal, would be the final, my most anticipated bout.
"He better be worth it, I'll have to take important hours of my day to pretend to tolerate a potential "future husband" or more aptly one of those spoiled brats from those houses," I murmured, my tail twitching slightly due to my annoyance.
The system pinged, notifying me that the fire demon had finally collapsed, leaving the ash imp as the winner.
'Humm, unexpected but nothing to worry about'
The announcer's voice boomed over the arena's loudspeakers, "And that concludes the first match! The next contenders are being prepared! Place your bets now!"
I pulled out my own private betting device and keyed in my information, placing an abnormally large bet on Kaelen Nightingale, despite his 35% chance.
The amount I wagered was enough to make even my mother raise an eyebrow, but it wasn't about the money. I wanted the arena to know that I was interested in this fight.
I wanted to see what that feeling I felt when he was pushed to the absolute limit, I thought, my Pink eyes narrowed as I stared towards the waiting room. Show me what you are hiding, Kaelen Nightingale.
- Waiting Room Kaelen's POV-
As the minutes bled into the past, a peculiar shift occurred within me. I felt less and less fear. Not because some naive hope suggested the path ahead would magically smooth itself out, far from it.
No, the creeping dread subsided because the last fight of the day and my opponent is a pathetic imp; it was almost... laughable. It had looked like I was going to be fighting an imp, which should be a walk in the park. Yet, even with this slight reprieve in opponent anticipation, I knew I still needed to be careful; complacency was a fast track to ruin here.
The previous spectacle on the blood-stained arena floor concluded with predictable violence. The fight had been a brutal exchange between a massive rock demon and a lean, surprisingly swift goat-like demon. The rock demon, a mountain of granite and muscle, obviously won.
The goat demon, despite its speed, was just... limited; it was a fat target, and no matter how fast you are, if you cannot inflict meaningful damage, your agility is ultimately useless against sheer power. The crowd's roar died down, leaving an air of anticipation for the last fight.
I leaned against the cold wall of the waiting area, my eyes glued to the flickering, oversized screen broadcasting the arena floor. Suddenly, the announcer's voice, loud and booming, cut through the rest of the chatter from the stands, officially introducing the final match of the day.
"Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the final fight of the day!" The voice echoed, drawing out the word 'final' with dramatic flair.
"This match, viewers, is a special request from the upper echelon! We have a young demon and first-timer, Kaelen Nightingale, stepping into the ring..."
I watched my own name flash beneath a hastily rendered image on the screen, feeling a knot twist in my stomach. A 'special request'? That succubus really went through well. She did not seem like a liar, but we are demons, so what could you expect?
The announcer's pitch heightened to another level. "...and he will be facing the absolutely perfect hybrid of the Ring! A mix of the terrifying agility and blistering speed of a goat demon... and the impenetrable defense and crushing strength of a rock demon! Give it up for Bafomet!"
The collective sound of the crowd's intake of breath and subsequent, deafening cheer was almost physical.
"This," the announcer continued, his voice now laced with a malicious, satisfied edge, "should teach that kid from doing shit like this! Make it hurt, Bafomet! Now let's hear you roar for the fight, ladies and gentlemen!"
The screen displayed a massive, hulking figure in shadow, framed by fire. The cheers turned into a rhythmic chant.
"Bafomet, Bafomet, Bafomet, Bafomet, Bafomet, Bafomet, Bafomet, Bafomet."
I stared blankly at the screen for a long, quiet moment. Then, a single thought crystallised in my mind.
'This was unexpected. It's utter Bullshit!'
I hadn't asked to go last! I hadn't asked for a main event, a 'special request' against a damn hybrid. I just wanted to win a couple of low-stakes fights, get that 5-day room and food package, and disappear.
'FUCK THAT SUCCUBUS!' I clenched my fists, the adrenaline now a hot, searing current flowing through my veins, replacing the dwindling fear entirely.
"Come on, kid, let's go, it's your turn. Have fun, hahahaha."
The guard delivered the words with a sneer that twisted his features, his tone dripping with malicious glee. He roughly grabbed my arm, the sudden, unwelcome contact snapping me out of my focused dread.
We were moving now, walking the short distance toward the ring. The noise of the crowd, which had been a muffled roar, intensified instantly as we stepped into the open air of the stadium.
In the centre of the arena stood my opponent, Bafomet.
'Fuck, this is not going to end well.' The thought was cold in my mind as I stepped onto the sand. Just seeing Bafomet up close was jarring.
He towered at a monstrous 7'8" tall. His skin was Onyx black, not dull, but gleaming faintly under the arena lights, looking like hardened obsidian. His eyes were twin points of glowing crimson, set beneath massive, curling ram horns. A long, thick, and clearly hardened tail swished impatiently behind him. He was jumping up and down, throwing quick, heavy punches into the air, the wind whistling around his fists.
He caught sight of me and immediately stopped his warm-up, a cruel smile stretching across his wide face.
"So you're my opponent, the little cheater, hey?" His voice was a deep rumble, loud enough to cut through the crowd's noise. "How about you save us all the trouble? Just give up now. I promise, I'll make it quick." He teased, clearly enjoying the spectacle of my small frame against his obviously bigger and stronger frame.
I said nothing. Engaging him now would be a waste of breath and time. I just walked straight to my designated corner, keeping my gaze forward, waiting for the bell, or whatever they used to signal the start. The only tell of my inner tension was my tail, which moved side to side subtly, catching the airflow.
The announcer's voice boomed once more, vibrating the floor beneath my feet. "And START!!!"
[End of chapter, so leave a comment, please support me on Patreon to get early chapters, and if you're reading from here, thank you for the support, and have a blessed or great day/night. This is my first novel, so please give comments to help me get better.]