XVII - Deadly but Beautiful

After an hour of absolute boredom, because apparently the only thing you could do in the waiting room was to wait, the small metal panel embedded into the wall adjacent to James flickered to life. If his memory served him correctly, the metal panel was called a projector; one of Xyrcadia City's most famous inventions.

He wasn't exactly sure how it worked, just that it involved a lot of crystals, science, and brainpower that he would much rather use to think about his strategies for the tournament. Gods knew he would need them badly.

James stood in front of it, tapping his foot against the ground as he waited for the picture to become clearer. Bill, who was previously just engrossed in picking chunks of mystery meat (none of which looked anything like the bacon he had tossed him) out of his mouth for the past hour, pulled up a chair to watch with him.

A small buzzing sound that slowly grew louder started to emanate from the projector, and it didn't take long for James to realize it was the cheers of a very, very large crowd. In place of the bronze metal that the plate had just a few seconds prior was now a dashing young man, his backdrop being the thousands of fans screaming inside the arena.

The announcer had an ear-splitting grin smacked right onto his face, one hand over his ear to tune out the crowd's yells as the other preoccupied itself with straightening his tie. Each tournament had a different theme that the events would revolve around, and the announcer's outfit was always one of the main hints to what the year's theme would be. James' eye visibly twitched as he took in the not-at-all-subtle theme that the announcer's suit gave off.

"Seems like shit is really gonna heat up today..."

After a couple more seconds of awkward struggling, the emcee finally managed to straighten his tie. Unable to sit still in his chair, the announcer cleared his throat as he began, "Welcome one and all, to the 169th annual X Tournament!"

His loud yell was quickly drowned out by the audience's own high-pitched wails and screams, and James wondered if arena staff had medical insurance for the hearing problems they would certainly have once the day was over.

"Alright, let's settle down everyone," the emcee said, waving his hand downwards as if though he could actually control the crowd, "we'll be starting this year's competition off by introducing our competitors, and then revealing this year's theme!"

The arena burst into another deafening roar, the spectators cheering for their favored warriors. Whether they were loved ones, avid fans, or desperate gamblers, all of them had one thing in common; they were all excited as Deus* for what was about to unfold in front of them.

A tingling sensation erupted all over his body, and James nearly stumbled over his own feet in shock as his body was suddenly enveloped in a blinding light. His vision was too impaired to watch as the announcer swiveled around his chair, gesturing at the large open area in the center of the arena that was now glowing just as much as James was.

Like a really fast flash spell, James' vision was shrouded in white, his senses overloading as magus energy coursed through him. The experience was over as quickly as it had begun, his ears instantly being assaulted with the jarring sound of thousands of people screaming.

"Let's give this year's competitors a large round of applause!"

Despite the announcer being hundreds of feet above James, his voice still boomed throughout the arena, somehow even louder than when James was listening from the projector in his room. As the fans descended into a cacophony of whoops and clapping, James took the opportunity to regain his bearings and size up his opponents.

His earlier premonition was infuriatingly correct, with pretty much everyone standing taller than him. James was able to get at least a little relief upon seeing one or two participants shorter than him though, a small tear of joy streaking down his cheek at his discovery.

Looking around him, he realized that they were all standing on top of some sort of cylindrical stone platform erected in the middle of the arena's sandpit. The wind chose that exact moment to pick up, swinging a mouthful of sand and dirt right into his face.

James cursed the gods as he tried to rub the sand out of his mouth, only stopping his futile actions once he started to feel the air around him heat up.

'My gut is right again.'

He shifted his gaze to the announcer's spot, using his hands to shield his eyes from the flying sand. Right on time, the emcee pointed down to the arena, and with a perfectly timed snap of his fingers, all of the sand disappeared. James was disappointed to note that the granules of sand that had found their way into his mouth did not disappear along with the rest.

The arena was suddenly bathed in an orange glow, the source being the scorching pool of deadly liquid that had been expertly hidden beneath the sand. It matched perfectly with the announcer's black-and-orange color scheme.

James noted the varying reactions of the competitors to the big reveal; some with pursed lips as they analyzed the new factor with a heavily calculated gaze, others with enigmatic smiles like the addition of lava was of little to no concern to them, and a small few with no reactions. Of all those responses, it was the latter that scared him the most.

"Alright! With the two big reveals over, let's take it back a notch and get to know our brave competitors a little better. Starting off with a fan favorite, Musk Balon!"

One of the taller trees amongst the group stepped forward, the crowd chanting his name like their lives depended on it. James tuned out the introductions, instead choosing to scan the crowd as he searched for a pair of unmistakable cyan eyes.

And sure enough, Thena sat in one of the reserved VIP booths right next to the Don. While she seemed quite uncomfortable being forced to sit right next to her captor slash benefactor, she was still able to send James an enthusiastic pair of thumbs-ups when their eyes met.

With that done, James focused on the two large unknowns in the tournament.

Like the gods had conveniently timed it, the announcer called out her name just as James started searching for her within the group.

"A retired assassin who's never failed a hit and a sight for sore eyes for a lot of us here, behold the beautiful but deadly Lady in Red!"

James, and probably most of the male population of the arena as well, was absolutely shellshocked. And that was saying something since he had laid his eyes on literal goddesses of beauty.

In accordance with her title, she was clad from head to toe in swaths of red. A silky red scarf was wrapped around her neck, the ends trailing behind her and flapping in the wind like a pair of writhing snakes. The rest of her outfit left little to the imagination, the skintight crimson jumpsuit she had on hugging her generous figure and emphasizing her generous proportions. It took all of James' willpower to tear his eyes away from her glorious assets.

Despite how much of a bombshell she was, it wasn't those things that made James gulp with wide eyes as he stared at her. If that was the case then he would be on the ground drooling every time Sera popped up to disturb him.

No, what drew him to her was the indescribable aura of power that she exuded as she stood tall, her golden hair streaming behind her as the wind pulled against it. Her unwavering eyes that stared impassively at the crowd were the same color as her hair, a brilliant gold that shone as bright as the gods' ichor. She didn't seem to have any visible weapons on her, but that only made to strengthen the deadly vibe she gave off.

She embodied the description of James' favorite flower, the nightshade. Deadly but beautiful; alluringly lethal.

He would have to be on high alert if he ended up fighting her. That is if she didn't kill him before he even realized he was about to face off against her.

The audience's cheers died down as the Lady in Red vanished back into the group, much to the disappointment of the large population of male viewers that had screamed their throats dry when she came out.

James thought about following after her and seeing if he could gain any more information about her, but a familiar sensation that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end made him whip around in the span of a heartbeat. Someone or something was watching him from the crowd, something that wanted to kill him.

He was so preoccupied with scanning the rows of fans for the source of killing intent that he didn't even realize he was being called forward by the announcer, and that focus was the only reason he was able to sight the almost imperceptible glint of silver that shot towards him.