Chapter 51 - It’s a Creep

<p>"… I expected as much, but did she have to beat her in less than ten seconds?"<br/><br/> I stare at Eniyala in the arena, who had easily defeated her opponent. She stares back, even having the audacity to stick her tongue out just enough that I can see it. "This bi—"<br/><br/> "Wow!" Our small-brained brute of the party says, clapping and cheering with the rest of the crowd as the dome starts to turn black. "She's really amazing sometimes. It was like someone lit a fire under her today!"<br/><br/> The boy who had lit a fire under her gives the Bard a look, sighing loudly. "Sometimes, I envy your optimism."<br/><br/> "Thanks! It's helped me through a buncha things."<br/><br/> "That's good, buddy. That's good."<br/><br/> I give the man a gentle pat on the back, and he springs to his feet. "Come on, let's go get ready to meet up with her!"<br/><br/> "Yeah, yeah," I groan, slowly standing back up. I eyeball a walking shield two rows below us, tall enough that no one sits behind it, as they wouldn't be able to see. "How strange. Maybe it's some kind of living armor or something?" <br/><br/> I shake off the thought as Lynsel grabs my arm and tugs, turning me into the likeness of a rag in fierce winds, holding on for dear life as a beast of great strength carries it as if it's nothing.<br/><br/> When he finally puts me down, I'm nothing more than a shivering beanpole thanking the Gods above that I was touching the ground again. Being thrown around like a ragdoll was exactly as fun as I thought it would be. Which was not at all.<br/><br/> As I slowly begin catching my breath, the doors open and Eniyala walks out, closely followed by her opponent. Everyone starts clamoring, but they back off quickly as blue flames fly up in the air. There is just enough space for me to see the other girl getting too close to Eniyala and even shoving her back. I dart forward, hopping on the shoulders of her fans to avoid getting stuck. 'One more,' I think as I reach my foot out to step on one more guy's shoulder. <br/><br/> But, the bustling of the crowd bumps him forward a bit, and the sole of my shoe hits thin air. Instead, the top of my foot slams into the back of his, as I fall forward onto my face right next to the two girls.<br/><br/> Everyone, including the crowd, freezes to stare at me face down, ass up.<br/><br/> No one moves for a full minutes until I finally sit up, sliding my knees under me. "What's up?"<br/><br/> The other girl looks at me with slight disgust in her dark green eyes. "Do you kno—"<br/><br/> "Nope. Never seen him before," Eniyala is so quick to respond that the girl can't even finish her sentence. <br/><br/> I sigh, hopping to my feet. "Don't be like that. I'm—"<br/><br/> "Ahhh. It's a creep. Heelp." Eniyala throws her hands on her cheeks and cries out unenthusiastically. I grit my teeth and stand. "Y'know, I was gonna help you, but I think I'll actually help Ms. Pissy here instead."<br/><br/> She scoffs, and Ms. Pissy gasps slightly. "Who said I wanted your help?"<br/><br/> I give her a dirty look, and she inspects me closely. "Wait, aren't you Liwuukay?"<br/><br/> I stare blankly at her, debating whether I want to bite my tongue off or not. "No, I'm Luke."<br/><br/> "I'm pretty sure you're Liwuukay."<br/><br/> "I'm pretty sure you lost your goddamn fight."<br/><br/> Her forehead slams into mine as we stare each other down angrily. It stays that way as we shove our heads together, trying to overpower the other. She pulls back first, replacing her face with her fist.<br/><br/> Pap!<br/><br/> "Ow," I mutter, grabbing her wrist. Trickles of blood sprout from my nostrils, and in one swift movement my right side is pressed against hers. She's only just started to react when I slide my leg behind hers, pushing her upper body forward, and watch as she falls with a loud thud onto her back. The crowd is shocked by the speed I've moved at. Hopefully not because I got into an altercation with a girl. <br/><br/> I just believe in gender equality, that's all.<br/><br/> Slowly, the crowd starts to leave, deciding not to go against a competitor who had already taken out three big names in the past week. <br/><br/> Eniyala sighs. "You didn't need to do that."<br/><br/> "I know." <br/><br/> She groans, but reluctantly she walks over to me and uses Healing Waves to stop my nosebleed. "So don't do it again."<br/><br/> "I might. It was fun."<br/><br/> She just shakes her head in defeat, turning her head to look around. The only other people around are a couple of randoms milling about and Lynsel, who waits patiently. She sighs, pulling out her Manaphone, to text Yorun. I sigh and stand up, walking over to Lynsel. "Come on, buddy," I say, pulling him with me. He comes, but he turns his head to see if Eniyala is trailing behind us. She isn't, instead typing away on her phone in the same spot she was in before.<br/><br/> "But—" <br/><br/> "Just leave her, bud. She isn't gonna listen to us right now, anyway," I tell him, and he nods sullenly as we return alone to the inn.<br/><br/>* * *<br/><br/> The boy flips his dark hair out of his face, expertly grabbing it in his other hand to pull it back in a ponytail. Once it's tied off, he steps into the shadows, knocking three times on the wall of an unassuming bakery. With a loud clunking and grinding sound, which makes the boy wince, the wall pops open, revealing a hidden passageway leading downstairs into darkness. As he steps inside, the wall closes behind him, encasing him in total darkness. <br/><br/> Even with his vision cut off, the boy navigates the stairwell expertly, staying within the middle of the stairs even when they curve around at unexpected angles.<br/><br/> It takes him about three minutes to reach the bottom, which is dimly lit with old orange lanterns lining either side of a long hallway. <br/><br/> "I hate how long this shit is," he groans quietly, trudging down the long and narrow space. Another minute later, he opens a door to reveal who he was answering to.<br/><br/> A large round man dances slightly as he sprinkles sugar onto some fresh muffins, easily popping the hot treats onto a cooling rack one by one. Dusting his hands off, he turns with a smile to the dull boy staring at him, twirling one side of his long mustache.<br/><br/> "Ah! Yorun! Muffin?"<br/><br/> Yorun waves off the extended muffin the man had grabbed as he shakes his head. "I'm okay. It's still so surprising how you can move that Mannequin so well."<br/><br/> The blue veins of the man's bulging eyeballs pulse slightly as they move to look the boy up and down. "All in good practice, my boy!" He laughs, turning his black eyes away again. "So? How is it going?"<br/><br/> "Your Prophet was right. Blue hair, red eyes. She's moving up to the semifinals. Didn't you say the implantation was unwillingly moved, though?"<br/><br/> "It doesn't matter," the man says, laughing again. Although it sounds completely normal, the laugh has always unsettled Yorun. <br/><br/> "The Prophet said this works out better. With this, the Mage Saint's candidate will be taken care of, and we can then focus on finding the others. Whatever happens, she must be taken care of first."<br/><br/> "Good, good," the large man says thoughtfully, stroking a small beard on his chin. "Any word on the Sword Saint? The candidate is supposed to be showing up shortly, aren't they? What have you seen?"<br/><br/> Yorun shakes his head. "Only one, and he's too much of an idiot."<br/><br/> The man's bellowing laugh fills the room. "Good! Keep an eye on him, you hear me?"<br/><br/> Yorun nods, turning and heading the long way back from where he came from. As he does, he checks his phone to see numerous texts. <br/><br/> "Ugh, how annoying," he complains, shoving the phone harshly in his pocket before beginning to walk up the long flight of stairs.</p>