PVT Round 2 Entry

By: Sage of Stars

Characters
Shala: Sage of Stars
Kree: Carni-vore 

Shala stood before the door to the preparation cell she’d stayed in before her first match, and thought on what had brought her here, and why she was fighting as she was. This Elder God had the power to defeat in an instant an opponent that was challenging her, and a fleet of ships that individually would have been more than a match for entire galaxies, all without seeming to do anything. What prize awaited the winner of the tournament could be almost anything, and that gave her a shred of hope that maybe, she could use it.

The cell door opened, as it had before, but instead of opening into the small, cramped, closet like space that it had before, Shala was surprised to discover it opened to the outside world. For a moment, she considered that maybe she had been freed from this tournament, for whatever reason, but then she shook her head, knowing that was too good to be true, as she stepped forward, walking through the portal, into the unknown, already summoning the Mana to her.

What waited her through the portal this time? What strange arena had the Elder God dreamed up for her, and whoever her opponent was? These questions had been plaguing her since her last match, which had been on an arena that was nothing like Shala had expected, and yet, was so mundane as to be almost laughable. Trying to expect the unexpected, she looked around at everything about her, and had to fight the urge to laugh herself.

She had thought something unique would be in store for her, something out there, at the far edges of imagination. What she found herself in though was merely a city. Just a simple city. It was from some post industrial civilization by the looks of the buildings, made of stone and glass, with a road work between them made of asphalt. Though she herself was from a civilization that focused more on magic than tech, she recognized it from her own dealings with some advanced civilizations as the typical version of such a world.

It wasn’t the first time she’d seen such a world up close either making any surprise she might have felt at the sights around her quite a bit less than one from her type of world would usual feel quite a bit blunted. She was a bit put off by the condition of the city around her though. It was….ruined, literally. Some buildings had been smashed in completely, others had gapping holes in the side that were unmistakably damage from a battle, crackling sounds around her being loose stones falling through the rubble to clatter among the debris.

That was when she realized how quite everything was. Her last match had started off so loud, with the whoosh and roar of the flames, that she hadn’t noticed any sound but them. This time though, there was nothing but the rubble, the wind, and her own heart beat. The sky was overcast, a dark kind of overcast that came of soot and other particles in the atmosphere, covering the whole world, and darkening the skies, probably having been there for years, and not going to leave for lifetimes yet.

Sighing, Shala began to walk around a bit, wondering where her opponent might be. She had expected the arena to be much more closed than this. Even the steak had had an edge she could see from where she started, but her vision down each street showed her blocks and blocks of more ruins, stretching away into the distance. After a few minutes of walking around, the ice elf decided to get a better vantage point on her current situation, and located a mostly intact structure on one of the streets.

Judging the distance with her eyes, she spotted a fire escape on one side, and with a grunt, rushed toward it, using her power to shorten her dress, allowing her to run easier, and then leapt at the ladder leading upward. Catching one foot on a rung, she propelled herself into the heights, using her momentum to swing over the side to the next level up on the escape, and then jumping skyward again, becoming something of a reverse slinky as she made her way to the roof, landing with the grace of a cat, not adding even a thud to the sound of the city around her.

Panting only a little, Shala took in the sights of the city, and actually got a bit of a shock this time. She had expected the city to be the site of some great explosion, bombs of that sort being the favorite self destruction agent for post industrial worlds, but instead, she found something quite a bit different. Leaning against a building, not two blocks over was a mecha, a robot that was as large as the building itself, with a loose hominid shape including two arms, two legs, and a head.

The sight of the mech did explain the rather haphazard destruction around her. Nuclear bombs left a uniform destruction around the cities they devastated, the inner parts annihilated in a flash of light, but the outer areas scorched with life melting radiation, leaving the general buildings intact, though knocking out anything less sturdy than a brick wall. This city, meanwhile, had some buildings barely standing on one or two supports, while others around them seemed completely untouched.

What shocked her though, was what the mech was holding in its free hand, the other hand holding a gun that had obviously been pointed at the thing it was holding when it went offline. It was a squid, but bigger, the size of the mech itself, and with hundreds of tendrils snaking out of a cone like body, a huge beak situated between the tendrils where they met the main body, that beak embedded in the mech, having torn through what was probably the cockpit of the unit.

This was the site of a battle, in a war that had utterly destroyed this world. Quite a war too, as she soon noticed other such pairings everywhere, mechs downed with holes torn through them, or ripped into pieces by those deceptively soft tendrils, while bits and pieces of their enemies lined other streets, whole blocks seemingly decorated with squid guts. The sight stirred many emotions in Shala, who had twice seen her own world destroyed in much the same fashion, though she quickly pushed all that aside.

This world, whatever had happened to it, if it even existed at all and was not some fanciful realm the Elder God had dreamed up, was not her concern. She was here to take on her opponent, to defeat an enemy in combat, and then devour them. Those were the tournament rules. Steeling herself, she gathered up all her feelings, and with a single breath, let them go, in a ritual of mental cleansing designed to give her the focus and clarity that she would need to do battle.

That clarity was rather rudely shattered by a cry of pain, that caused Shala to start a bit, before she rushed to the edge of the building she was on, and leapt toward the structure next to it, making her way across the rooftops as best she cold considering some of them were sitting at weird angles. Within a few minutes though, she came upon a sight that was almost as odd as the remains of the long forgotten war that rampaged around her, as several…things were chasing something else.

“Leave Kree alone!” shouted that one being chased, a bird like human, with wings, a harpy if she remembered her own world right. What was chasing her though was most definitely not something from her world, or any world Shala knew of. They looked like mouths with two legs sticking out of the sides, the legs bending, and then springing straight, allowing the things to pursue the flying harpy with ease, actually nearly overtaking her a time or two.

“Well now, isn’t this interesting?” she commented to herself. It took only a bit of brainpower to realize that the Elder God probably wouldn’t drop her off in a place with more than one sentient, meaning that the harpy was probably the one whom she’d come to devour, a bit of a leap for some, until you realized she’d seen most of the combatants at the start of the tournament, and recognized the harpy as one of the pictures on the board that listed the matches.

The things pursing her were a bit more active than she had expected of the arena floors traps, as they’d been called when this all started. By traps that ate you Shala had thought they’d meant some kind of plant, something that couldn’t really move far from where it was set, something to lead the opponent into. These weren’t anything like that. They were active, and mobile, and from the looks of the teeth around their circular maws, they were probably rather predatory.

Kree, which she took to be the harpy’s name, wasn’t without her defenses, and as Shala watched, she spun about, and whipped her wings back at the things, sending a spray of feathers towards them, the seemingly innocent bits of fluff, tearing into one of them like they were daggers, making the ice elf rather glad she weren’t on the receiving end of that little attack, as Kree started away again, as a few more of the creatures emerged, the two she struck down replaced by six more.

“Lucky number seven huh?” she said to herself, commenting on the number of creatures in pursuit of the harpy. She considered for a while what to do about this little development, as the rules of the tournament only said the opponent had to be devoured, not who had to do the devouring, and those things looked quite capable of devouring Kree without her help, allowing her a good view of the action from her vantage point atop a dilapidated building.

Of course, what honor she had told her she needed to win this match fair and square, and beat her foe herself, not allow something else to do it for her. Still, she wasn’t sure she could take that many creatures with her power at the reduced level it was, even with the help of Kree, if she would give it, which wasn’t assured, as she’d heard from a few of the spectators that Kree was little better than an animal in her own mentality, and might not be up to the idea of someone helping her.

Shala didn’t get much time to ponder any of this, however, as she suddenly heard a low wuff like sound, and turned to find she had her own two legged creatures eyeing her as a meal. Hers only number in at three, but considering they were less than twenty feet away, and she’d seen the others cover than distance in a single bound, she was quite sure they would be a problem, and quickly whipped out both arms, calling on her power a quick as a thought.

An instant later saw one of the creatures leap at her, it’s circular maw flaring as the teeth went wide, and she side stepped it with a flourish, spinning around and making a sweeping motion with one arm. In a flash the monster was behind her, and she stared now at two opponents, their third member standing for a moment behind her, before falling over…in two directions, cut cleanly in two down the middle of its body, as Shala’s hands were now encased in ice, with wickedly sharp four foot blades coming out of the ends.

“Heh, I lose more dance partners that way,” she joked at the pair, who weren’t smart enough to run after seeing the other one get bisected, the two remaining ones leaping at her at the same time. Quick to see an opening in the attack, Shala dove forward, the two creatures colliding at the place where she had been, slamming into each other with an almost comical sound, as Shala spun around, and then in a bit of acrobatics, shot towards the two in a spinning leap, her arms fanning out.

She didn’t even feel the impacts as she slashed into them, only heard the screams as her blades sliced through their flesh as easily as the air, one of the monsters landing on its side, a severed leg bleeding badly, as it tried to bound toward her again, the other dead before it hit the ground, the blade having taken off the mouth, as well as sliced into it’s brain cavity. The still living one though, proved a problem, as it’s flailing attack struck the wall on which the ice elf stood, the already decayed structure collapsing under the assault.

Screaming, Shala fell from the building, find her descent a short one, as the area in front of the building where she was standing was covered with rubble, making it so she landed with a grunt on top of the pile of debris only five feet from the top, and then rolled down the mound toward the ground, coming to a stop with a clatter of various broken bits of stone, as they rolled along with her, all motion finally stopping as she finally hit the hard street below.

Shala grunted with the effort as she slowly rose up from the crumpled heap she’d become from her landing, her body a bit bruised, but none the worse for the wear. Of course, looking around where she’d fallen proved that she had less to be thankful for than one might think, as all the noise had attracted some unwanted attention. Namely that of Kree and her pursuers, the former of which was now fleeing towards her, either because she wanted help, or more likely to give the creatures another prey to go after.

Her hands, still encased in ice, with the blades still sticking out of them, were brought up as she got to her feet, and just as the harpy passed overhead, Shala dashed toward the creatures, finding a rain of steel edged feathers coming around her, tearing into the things on either side, as she went through the middle of their formation, slashing with her blades where she could, and finally, as she passed by them, leaving two more alive, she focused again, and then tossed, allowing the blades to fly from her hands.

They tore into the remaining creatures easily, this time killing them soundly, and letting Shala fall to the ground again, though this time cart wheeling as she did so, landing on her feet after a moment, to stare at the harpy, who was grunting as she flapped her wings. It was obvious that she had been dealing with those creatures for a while yet, and looking back down the street, the ice elf saw many of the things corpses littering it, most with feathers sticking out of them at odd angles.

“So, now that we got rid of the distraction,” she said, looking at her opponent, and sizing her up, “ Should we start our own battle now?”

“Kree no like things, you no like things too, but Kree hungry, and things no good eats. You smell like good eats,” came the response. Kree was actually moderately intelligent, at least enough to have led the creatures towards her, but her motivations were the most base of all. She was hungry, so she ate. No thoughts to the future or the past. She was a wild animal, and that meant she would fight like one.

“I am, probably, but I’m not like those things. You’re not going to eat me without a fight,” she told the harpy, and spun her hands before her, in a flash she was suddenly holding a pole of about two inch thickness. The harpy either couldn’t think enough to realize the pole was a weapon that could hurt her, or more likely just thought she was good enough to get around it, as she sent a hail of feathers toward Shala, who smirked as she spun the pole in front of her, deflecting everyone, and then lashing out with her weapon.

The attack missed of course. As winded as the harpy was, she was still an aerial opponent, and that meant Shala need range to get to her. Luckily, she had chosen her particular weapon based off this idea, and as Kree climbed high to get away from her, the ice elf drove the pole into the ground, with a simple mental spell, it shot her upwards, her grip on it tight enough to make her white fist red with the blood pressure inside it, as the harpy cawed out in surprise, before Shala’s foot found her face.

The decision to attack that part of her body had been made in an instant, as she realized the feathers, used for attacks, were probably just as good at the defense, and that meant her target had to be something without them, the face seemingly the only spot of note that didn’t have them. Of course, had Kree been a bit more of a thinker than a predator, she might have somehow adapted, and dove out of the way of the attack, but she operated primarily on instinct, and that meant to her, the sky was safe, where no one could touch her, making her slower to dodge attacks that could reach her.

Not to say that the attack felled Kree with that one strike. It disoriented her, and sent her toward the ground, but Shala herself was not out of danger either, as she picked the pole up and then jammed it into the ground again, using it to slow her descent, but not completely, and she slammed into the ground again, for the second time in a few minutes, having to crouch, and then rise, finding herself facing a cry of rage, and extended talons, as Kree recovered, and came after the one she blamed for her pain.

This was just what Shala had been hoping for through, and quickly whipped the pole around, bringing it in front of her, and then sweeping it forward. Kree, of course, flew back a bit, expecting an attack this time, but she found something altogether different happening, as suddenly the end of the pole came apart, separating into two pieces, and then spreading out, the two halves at the end slamming into the part of her legs just over her claws, and then forming into manacles, that clamped right into place.

“Let Kree go!” she quickly shouted, and began to fly upward again. It was obvious that the harpy was used to carrying burdens like Shala up into the air, and to some place where she might dine on them in peace. Of course, usually these flights were either short, or were done after a single dive, not after a protracted fight, which sapped her energy to the point that Kree only took Shala a few feet into the air, before the pair was falling, and falling, and falling.

The ice elf, as she focused on the part of her that allowed her to reduce herself, and the harpy in size, wondered if her opponent understood what was happening, as she and Kree soon were the size of mice, and Shala let go of the spell holding the pole together, the harpy cawing out in victory at her freedom, as Shala smiled to herself, and focused again, quickly expanding back outward, growing to full height and then landing on her feet on the rubble strewn ground, rising to find her face right in front of her foe.

Kree froze as she suddenly found herself face to face with what to her was a giant elf. Her mind, primitive as it was, couldn’t cope quickly with such a radical change, all taking place over a single fall, and so she was silent, as Shala quickly opened her mouth wide, revealing a cavern of blue flesh, and a pure white tongue below. The elf’s head shot forward, and the harpy, aware of what was going on, tried to flee, but that snow white member, soaked with saliva, caught Kree in it’s grip, and drew her back in, before the dagger sharp teeth closed around her prey with a clack.

Shala didn’t keep the harpy in her mouth for long, and quickly swallowed her down, running her finger along her insides, focusing within herself, and causing ice to form along her throat wall. Inside, Kree found herself in for a bump ride, as the walls undulated around her, pushing her down farther, while the ice coating prevented her from striking out, the thin to Shala coat of ice protecting the otherwise sensitive flesh inside the elf maiden from the wickedly sharp feathers.

The lump moved down her throat, and then into her chest, vanishing to the world, as Shala flicked a switch in her mind, and her belly, which had been as silent as before, turned into another mode, and became as active as any normal one would be, with acids far greater in potency than most. Kree, dumped into this environment, fluttered within her devourer’s belly for a moment, before another thought allowed the ice in Shala’s throat to melt, and a waterfall carried the surprised harpy into the stomach juices below.

Rubbing her stomach, the ice elf felt the harpy splash into those caustic liquids with a single splash, and then nothing else, as nothing of her remained the instant it touched those juices, as trick the elf had picked up in a strange park during her travels. A moment or two passed as Shala basked in the feeling of contentment that came from a meal that any predator would feel, and then, with a look of surprise on her face, the elf maiden suddenly let loose with a rather loud belch, that echoed back around her through the ruins.

Then it was gone. There was no melting away of the scenery this time, no moment where the arena she knew she was in, and the ruins where she had been fighting were one and the same, as there had been for her first fight. There was just one second of being in the devastated city, and then the next, she was in the arena again, getting cheered and applauded by those watching her, making the blue skin purple as she blushed, and then started toward the already opening door, wondering all the while what lay in wait for her in the next rounds of this tournament, and if her future opponents would also taste like chicken.