The atmosphere in the arena was thick with anticipation. Above the roar of the crowd, the announcer's voice boomed, amplified by magic:
"Ladies and gentlemen, lesser demons and devils, welcome to the main event! Prepare yourselves for the first fight of the night, a dance of destruction! In the red corner, we have the fiery tempest, the blazing terror, the unstoppable force: The Burning Scourge!"
A wave of intense heat radiated from the centre of the ring as the fire demon entered, its grin catching the light.
"And in the opposing corner, the silent storm, the ethereal menace, the master of dust and shadow: The Ash Wraith!"
The crowd's excitement spiked as the ash imp took centre stage.
In the ring, the Ash Wraith turned his wings into ash, the fine, grey powder erupting and letting it spread out in a 5-meter radius.
"A clever opening move from the Ash Wraith! Establishing his advantage by creating a defensive perimeter of ash! The Scourge will have to get through the cloud to close the distance!" The Announcer said, giving a bowing announcement to the crowd
The Burning Scourge just let its hands, tail, and teeth catch on fire, the flames burning with a blazing intensity, and rushed toward the imp.
"With no hesitation from the Burning Scourge! He engulfs himself in fire, turning his body into a weapon of fire! The heat should be enough to repel the ash!"
The fire demon bellowed a challenge: "Face me, shadow!"
The imp, seeing this, turned his whole body to ash and dodged the attack, reforming a meter away.
"Incredible! A complete dematerialisation! The Ash Wraith is turning himself into the element! The Scourge's charge was utterly and completely useless!" the announcer said in a teasing tone as he called the charge useless.
The imp then tried to send the ash into the fire demon's body.
"The Ash Wraith seeks to suffocate his opponent! A brilliant strategy to extinguish the internal flame of his opponent, thus extinguishing the external flame!" the announcer said with growing excitement.
But the fire demon just let out a ring of flames to stop it, creating a brief, explosive shield. "Not a chance!" he roared, and then he rushed towards the imp again. As he was rushing towards him, he sent out a fireball.
"What speed! What power! The Scourge unleashes a projectile, forcing the Wraith to commit!" the announcer shouted, leaning into the microphone.
While the imp tried to move, it had its arm hit and started to drip black blood, and it yelled out in pain.
"Agh fuck! Damn you! That fucking burns you, pile of shit!" and then brought back the ash, forming them back into wings and flew up.
"A direct hit! Blood on the floor! That's the first wound of the match! The crowd is going wild, folks! The Ash Wraith is injured but retreating to the skies!" the announcer declared, milking the audience's reaction.
While all this was happening, the crowd was screaming, excited by the fight and even more by the blood.
"Did you see that hit?!" a woman shrieked, her voice filled with glee at the pain of the imp.
"More! Give us more!" a deep voice bellowed from an older fire demon from the stands.
"He's bleeding! Look at the blood spray out! Get him, you beast! Get him!" The cries mixed into an ecstatic, unified roar as the crimson liquid hit the sand.
"My coin's on the Burning Scourge! Finish him!"
"He's tiring out! Exploit the weakness, fool!" a man roared, shaking his fist, being one of the few cheering for the imp.
Seeing the crowd happy, the fire demon extinguished the flames on his tail and teeth, and then engulfed both his arms in flames and went back towards the imp. He looked up and mocked: "Come down and fight, you fucking pussy!"
"The Burning Scourge is focused, preparing his next assault! The aerial advantage belongs to the Ash Wraith, but for how long?" the announcer questioned dramatically.
Seeing this, the imp felt fear for its life and ran away. "This isn't over yet!" he muttered under his breath, and the cat and mouse game started with the fire demon sometimes hitting the imp, but also getting some ash in its lungs.
"A high-stakes pursuit! The Scourge lands a glancing blow, but watch out! He's inhaling the Ash Wraith's well ashes! That could come to bite him in the ass later on!" the announcer warned, his voice low with suspense.
As the imp started to get tired, it made a final battle cry, turning around and running towards the fire demon, yelling: "I'm done running! Come and get me, you pile of shit!"
"A desperate move! Is this his final charge, or a calculated strategy?!" the announcer yelled, his voice cracking with anticipation.
Seeing this, the fire demon had a big smile on its face and taunted the imp: "Is that all you've got? Come on! I'll roast you alive, you fucking weakling!" and ran even faster, even though it was also tired, but what it did not expect was the ash from its flames turning on him and stabbing him in the chest and making him bleed.
"Unbelievable! The Scourge's own flames have betrayed him! The Ash Wraith used the ash from the Burning Scourge's own flames to hit him! Now he's wounded and bleeding!" the announcer screamed in shock.
But still kept moving because he was almost about to kill the imp, shouting: "I've got you now! Die! Just a little more!"
But the unexpected happened, the ash in his lungs turned thick, not letting him breathe, and the fire from his arms went out, and then he fell, gasping for air.
"He's down! The ash has solidified in his lungs! The Burning Scourge is suffocating! His fire is out! This is the end!" the announcer proclaimed with a solemn tone.
The imp, seeing that its plan worked, extended its claws and stabbed the fire demon's heart, which is its core, for all its demonic energy, and the fire demon died. The imp pulled his claws out and whispered. "Never underestimate the aah you shit face, now you're fucking dead you ass."
"It's over! The Ash Wraith has done the impossible! The crowd is on its feet! What a devastating victory with trixes and stratagy!" the announcer shouted, his voice booming over the crowd.
Seeing the twist, the crowd went wild, screaming and cheering, shouting: "What a match! Unbelievable! An absolute masterpiece of a fight!"
"And that concludes the first match! The next contenders are being prepared! Place your bets now!" the announcer said, grinning at the microphone.
But it's not like the imp was unscathed. The arm that got hit was burnt to a crisp. The fire demon kept firing at it, and it had other small burns on its front and sides, but 3 big ones on its back, and it won and went to a resting station.
- In the Waiting room, Kaelen POV -
Seeing how the imp won, I thought deeply about how to make the next fight better for me. That little imp's victory, based purely on strategy and exploiting his opponent's weakness like his arrogance and element, was an important lesson.
I realised that while I don't know the full extent of my own demonic abilities, like what element I may have or if it may be something else, I still have the tools I was born with. I still have my snake tail, my sharp horns, my lethal claws, my crushing teeth, and, most importantly, my brain.
My physical attributes give me options: the tail for speed, balance and and a little range, the horns for gorey headbuts, the claws for tearing, and the teeth for a decisive bite when close or to give them a scare. But against a stronger foe, or one with a powerful elemental attack like that fire demon, relying only on brute force is idiocy.
I will need to make a solid strategy for whoever I am facing next. It won't be enough to just rush in. I have to study my opponent, find a weakness in their abilities/technique or just themselves, like arrogance in their approach, just like the imp used the ash from the fire demon's flames.
I need to use the environment, and every inch of my physical form, to my advantage. My brain is my most formidable weapon, and I will use it to make as many tactics that will guarantee my survival and victory.
[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.]