Kaas was disappointed. Not because the Ahngreel who attacked the Hidaar had failed. Rather, he was disappointed in their plan. Did they think they stood a chance with such poor execution? Horace should have known better than to be death fodder. And the hammer thrower had no purpose after the initial attack.

It was sloppy work. Of which the Hidaar took advantage. He was wise to target the Ahngreels’ heads to end the fight quickly—if it could be called a fight. It was the fastest way to kill an Ahngreel.

Kaas made a note of all the errors he spotted in their attack. Indeed, this information would be useful to his team. He had to leave as soon as possible. He had told them two hours. If he was not back by then, they might start to worry. Alén might do something reckless. And the whole plan would be compromised.

Though, from what he could tell, it appeared he was trapped. He watched Darris climb up the wall to stand atop the auditorium.

“Now that we have that out of the way, the way this works is simple.” He said as he put on his coat once more. “We will have a short tournament to determine who is worthy of the ranking of Equituum. That’s all. The Saltabiiq will remain as they are unless, by some miracle, a non-Saltabiiq qualifies for the Four.”

He chuckled to himself, “For the Four….” Then he seemed to catch himself. “Yes, um…Well, the matches are simple one-on-one anything goes. The top four become Equituum. From there, we’ll determine the rankings with the semifinals and finals. And if anyone wishes to invoke Faljinsi along the way, you may. But please, for the love of God and decency, wait until after the tournament. I can say with absolute confidence that no one wants to watch. Especially me. So please, I ask that you practice self-restraint so I can be as far away as possible.”

Kaas rolled his eyes. It was difficult to tell if the Hidaar took any of them seriously. He seemed to, but with the constant jokes at the expense of the Ahngreel, it was hard not to get offended.

“As a bonus,” the Hidaar continued, “Everyone here who dies will be instantly Risen guaranteed. With a few exceptions, of course, such as those four buffoons, and….” The Hidaar’s eyes settled on Kaas for a split second. “…anyone deemed unworthy. They must earn their way back to life as per usual.”

As the Hidaar looked away, Kaas stiffened. He definitely knows. Somehow, he knew that Kaas was up to something. Though how much he knew remained a mystery. He had to get out. Now.

“Our first battle will be between two non-Saltabiiq. Vir… and Kaas.”

Kaas froze. By Freelan, why me… Today was just not his day. He felt targeted.

The Ahngreel began to move to the surrounding seats. All except Kaas and another Ahngreel, who was covered from head to toe in black armor. Kaas had never seen this Ahngreel before, nor had he ever heard the name Vir. He tilted his head curiously.

It was hard to say anything about this Ahngreel. Were they man or woman? Young or old? The armor concealed all. All but a pair of vivid green eyes, which stared at him from behind the helmet. There was no emotion in those eyes.

So, Vir was a non-Saltabiiq too, eh? Perhaps they would be evenly matched after all. Kaas began to hop on the balls of his feet, alternating his stance from left to right. He beat his chest rhythmically and tossed his head so that the long braid he had knotted at the base of his scalp began to whip around. If the Hidaar was going to force Kaas to fight, he might as well enjoy it.

He stirred shouts from deep within his breast as he continued hitting his pectoral, over the tattoo of his blades that sat above his heart. He could hear some in the crowd shouting with him. The reason that the Hidaar had called this tournament no longer mattered. Battle was imminent, and it called to their very souls. They were one in purpose. They were Ahngreel!

Kaas finished his ritual with his loudest shout, stomping his feet so they were firm upon the ground. His blood was alive and filled with Rau. He was ready.

He stared down his opponent, who had not moved. They just stood there, waiting for the Hidaar’s call.

“Fighters ready?” The Hidaar paused, waiting for any dissenters. When no one did, he shouted, “Then start!”

Kaas raised his fists and waited. There was no need to rush. He had to be the one to take control of the battle first. But his Rau required him to be on the defense. He would have had more options if he had brought his twin swords. Since he did not, Kaas had to be patient.

The armored Ahngreel moved. Kaas raised his arms to block whatever their attack was. But it never came. All the Vir did was point their finger at him. That was all. Now Kaas was confused. He could not even see any aura from this Ahngreel. Were they that weak? No, he could not sense fear from them. Maybe they were stupid?

There was booing from the crowd. They were getting impatient. Nothing was happening—no actual fighting. Something had to occur, or the crowd would get violent.

Kaas decided that he would be the one to take the initiative. He figured he should close the distance to provoke an attack. However, as Kaas tried to will his legs forward, something stopped him. He had no idea what it was, but his gut told him he would die if he took a single step forward. He returned to his senses enough to suppress his Ahngreel instinct. What am I doing?! Why was he risking everything for one stupid battle? If it were possible to beat this Vir, it would only be a momentary victory as he would put himself at further risk in the later brackets. But he was trapped in this fight. He needed to end it or risk death.

He pushed past his instincts and raised a foot to step forward. Before he could, however, something small whizzed through his left ear. He froze as blood trickled down his face. The crowd cheered, though Kaas heard a few confused shouts.

What the—?

Kaas looked at the armored Ahngreel, who was still pointing at him. Though something was different, Kaas couldn’t tell what it was at first, but as he looked closer, he noticed that the finger pointing at him was naked. The thing that Vir had shot at him was the fingertip of their gauntlet. And now that Vir’s pointed grey finger was exposed, he could see the distinct blue energy of Rau emanating from the skin. It was faint and low, but it was there. The aura vanished as Vir lowered their hand and pointed at him with the other.

The icy fist of fear gripped his chest. He understood. This Vir, whoever they were, was not a non-Saltabiiq because they were weak. The low aura was not due to a lack of ability. It was the opposite.

A weak Ahngreel would burn their aura at once in an uncontrolled blaze. But Vir’s aura was perfectly managed. Not a drop of Rau wasted. It didn’t matter what their Art was. Kaas could tell when he was outclassed. If he was to survive, there was only one thing to do. However, it would destroy what little reputation he had.

Feeling like he’d rather be shot in the face, Kaas dropped to his knees. “I…I concede.” The word tasted of bile. This was the second time today that a more powerful opponent had cornered him.

The crowd erupted with anger.

“An Ahngreel surrender?! You diver!!”

“Go jump in the lake yourself!”

“Disgusting! You’re no Ahngreel!

“The Hidaar is far more Ahngreel than you!”

“Kill him! Kill him!”

A chant was beginning. The crowd was whipping themselves into a frenzy. Kaas looked at Vir, who stared back at him. His gut told him that Vir was not like the other Ahngreel. Surrender guaranteed death, but not with Vir.?

Then they began to walk toward him. Kaas’s heart sank. Had his gut been wrong?

If it was, there was nothing he could do except bow his head in defeat. Kaas was ready to accept the end of all his plans, hopes, and dreams. My soldiers, what will they do without me? All because he had been reckless.

As Vir’s clanking footsteps neared, Kaas closed his eyes. He could sense Vir right on top of him. And then they weren’t. The footsteps walked past him. Kaas lifted his head and looked behind him. Vir’s back was to him as they stood in front of the wall.

The crowd was booing Vir now.

“What are you doing?! Kill him!”

The chant “Kill him” started again, but Vir ignored them as they turned around, placing the missing fingertip back on their gauntlet. Then they walked past Kaas without a second glance.

Many of the spectators stood, veins popping and fists raised. Kaas had to agree with their rage. It was one thing for an Ahngreel to ask for mercy. It was another to actually grant it. All eyes turned to the Hidaar. In the end, it came to his decision.

He was silent for a moment before waving a hand dismissively. “I’ll allow it.”

Even more boos. It had turned out in Kaas’s favor, but even he was disgusted. Still, he shouldn’t waste this chance.

Kaas stood and walked to the exit. Many Ahngreel threw things at him, be they weapons, pieces of the arena, or their clothes. Whatever they could get their hands on, he let it all hit him. He deserved every rock, every putrid shirt. This was his penitence for his cowardice. As he entered the tunnel that led to the Tenth, Vir was waiting.

“I’ve never seen an Ahngreel surrender before.” Vir’s voice echoed beneath the helmet. Though the voice had depth, it was unmistakable. Vir was a woman. Her eyes were curious as she studied him. She was a few inches shorter than he, but they felt like equals. “Why would you choose shame over death?”

Kaas looked at her and thought about his answer. Then he said, “Honestly, I feel conflicted. It was foolish of me to come here in the first place. I see that now. And you outclass me in every way. Yet you defy the Ahngreel ways with your compassion. I could tell you would grant me mercy if I asked for it. Why?”

Vir’s eyes remained as stony as ever. “There’s no point in cruelty. Just like you understood me at a glance, I understood you. You live for something beyond normal Ahngreel. There is an aura of nobility about you. Though you lack physical power, that aura makes you strong.”

What did she mean by that? Kaas was not offended by her criticism of his strength. Her tone held no disrespect. He had been wrong to think of them as equals. To him, she stood as tall as the Hidaar.

“Are you really Ahngreel?” The question slipped out before he could stop himself. He began to sweat. He had put himself in danger with a question like that. He wasn’t even sure why it had come to him in the first place.

However, Vir did not seem angry. The eyes behind the mask closed as she seemed to contemplate an answer. “Tell me something, what does it mean to be Ahngreel?”

Kaas was taken aback by that question. “Well, an Ahngreel gives everything he has in order to win.” That’s been the Ahngreel creed for as far as he could remember.

“Is that so? Even if it cost you your pride?”

He looked at her, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

 “If you’re willing to destroy yourself to the degree you did in our battle, then you must have a dream to make a reality as well. Does that make you more or less Ahngreel?” Her eyes opened, and Kaas saw something in them that nearly pulled his breath from his lungs. There was a fire unlike any he had ever seen.

“I… don’t know.”

Vir nodded, “Understandable. I hope you figure out the answer someday. Good luck with your dream, Kaas. May we meet again.”

And with that, she clanked back into the arena to the boos of the crowd.

His jaw was slack as he watched her go. It quickly tightened into a smirk. She was a strange one, that Vir—talking of dreams. Really, who does that? And what was that nonsense about being more or less Ahngreel?

As much as he wanted to stand around and think, Kaas couldn’t stay here anymore. Otherwise, a straggler might try to jump him with a surprise attack. So, with one last look into the arena, Kaas turned and ran back into the depths of Desmortia.