Arm Wrestling Competition

"Elise? Where are you?" a distant, muffled male voice shouted.

"Hmm? Oh, it's another one of those dreams..." Luna thought.

The environment was completely dark, with a small beam of light partially illuminating a rocky ceiling.

"Elise?" The voice echoed, as if it had been emitted through a long corridor.

"I was with Sariel, Quetzal, and Pagui until now... Why do these things happen so suddenly?"

There was an uncomfortable smell of blood. It was cold, and the only sound produced was that of a drip, whose drops hit the ground constantly.

"But what!?" the same voice shouted in panic, now just steps away from Luna. "ELISE! WAKE UP, PLEASE! ELISE!"

Amidst these desperate screams, Luna could perceive the voice becoming more and more trembling and failing.

"Wait... I know this voice from somewhere! Who's around here? Let me turn around!"

"Elise..."

It wasn't long before the man finally burst into tears, crying beside something Luna couldn't see, as her vision remained fixed on the dark rocky ceiling. She wanted to turn around, but for some reason couldn't.

The man continued to cry for a long time. Luna tried to turn around, look around, or even try to get his attention, but nothing. This agony of not being able to find out what was happening tortured her.

"My voice doesn't come out..."

She tried everything to get some idea of what was happening, but she ended up giving up. It would just be another one of those dreams where she heard voices but saw nothing.

 "What...? "

And it was at this moment that she was surprised. The man had noticed her presence. He approached and finally came into her field of vision, revealing a man of about 50 years old, with blond hair and beard, which already had several white hairs, and dark eyes full of tears.

*****

"Father!?" Luna shouted.

The moment she uttered this scream, her mind awakened and was taken back to where she was, which was instantly silenced by her voice.

Those present, who until then had been listening attentively to the music, looked at her confused. The musicians, who were in the center of a circle of people, also stopped playing.

"Luna? What's the problem?" Sariel asked.

"Ah!" The princess of Fordurn cowered behind the traveler, embarrassed for having interrupted the performance. "It was nothing..." she whispered with her voice almost disappearing.

"I understand..." The traveler turned to the musicians. "You can continue, it was just a scare."

The musicians didn't linger and continued with their performance, drawing the attention that had fallen on the princess back to them.

The music of that kingdom was very distinct. Most of the instruments were wind instruments, such as flutes, trumpets, and cornets, all made of wood, and percussion was also very present, with drums dictating the rhythm of the music. Some instruments still resembled rattles, and others imitated the sound of birds and animals.

The music was tribal and slow, and seemed more appropriate for a ritual.

Some people danced with slow and staged movements and wore wooden or animal masks. The performance was more like a kind of ceremony to ask the Goddess Kura for prosperity than a dance.

The performance seemed to end very quickly.

At the end of the performance, everyone got up and left one by one, except for Luna who sat and remained thoughtful.

"How about we eat something?" Quetzal suggested, offering Luna her hand and helping her to her feet.

"Good idea, I didn't eat much during lunch."

The trio walked once more through the beautiful streets of the Scorched Mountain, as lively and cheerful as ever. All the pedestrians had smiles on their faces and seemed free of any worries.

Luna walked with her mind focused on what had happened earlier. That man she saw was definitely her father, a few years younger. However, what did that mean? What place was that? Why was he crying? And most importantly, who was Elise?

"Hello? Vilon to Luna?" Sariel waved his hand in front of the princess's eyes, who was staring straight ahead without noticing the traveler's presence.

"Oh! Sariel, sorry, I was distracted..."

"You're kind of spaced out today, aren't you? Still not feeling well?"

"It's not that, I was just thinking about my..."

BAM! A loud sound of a large object hitting the ground interrupted Luna.

"What?! He already had 16 shots and is still winning?"

When the princess looked at the origin of this commotion, she found none other than Raymond, drinking two shots of some alcoholic beverage in a single gulp and, immediately afterwards, competing in an arm-wrestling match.

Shiina was beside him and cheering for the bodyguard's victory, who defeated his opponent without any problem and turned two more shots immediately afterwards.

"What..."

Luna couldn't find words to react to the scene she had witnessed. She never expected to see Raymond, someone who always kept himself serious and formal, act that way. It was so surreal that she wondered if it wasn't an illusion.

"Looks like they're having fun... how about we don't spoil their fun?" Quetzal suggested.

"Good idea, why don't we eat somewhere else?"

"Aah... maybe."

The trio returned the way they came, however, not before Pagui left Luna's shoulder, stole a large piece of meat that was on an inattentive man's plate, and landed back on her shoulder.

"HEY! THAT MEAT WAS MINE!"

"Sorry!" Quetzal shouted, holding back her laughter as much as she could.

"Well, what a troublemaker!" Sariel commented.

Luna just laughed and petted Pagui, who was still swallowing the huge piece of meat he had stolen.

Meanwhile, Raymond continued his winning streak, drinking two more doses.

It was all a game created by the kingdom's people. The arena wasn't always available for fights, so the citizens created this game to compete outside of it.

The rules were simple, two people competed in an arm-wrestling match. Whoever lost drinks a shot, and whoever won drinks two. The person who won had to keep playing until they lost, or had an alcoholic coma, which was the most likely case for the bodyguard.

Despite the excitement of the people around him, Raymond's expression showed that he wasn't exactly happy about it. In fact, he felt like he had been deceived by Shiina, who had promised him to reveal information about Aegreon if he defeated everyone at that game.

His count was already at twenty-four shots, and at this point his face was already red.

"Come on, friend! This time you will be defeated!" A man sat down and offered a handshake to the bodyguard.

"Hm."

Both gave their hands and waited for Shiina to allow the competition to begin.

"Very well. On your marks..." Both stared at each other deeply. "Get ready... Go!"

Another competition began, but this time Raymond did not get an immediate victory. His arm gained an initial advantage, lowering his opponent's arm halfway, but he held the jolt and slowly recovered.

Upon realizing his opponent's strength, Raymond applied even more force and gradually forced his opponent's arm to almost touch the table.

However, his opponent, exerting all the strength he could muster, held back the advance, stopping his arm mere centimeters from the table's surface.

The competition seemed to last an eternity, but after long seconds of a standstill, Raymond applied all his remaining strength and forced his opponent's arm against the table.

"Raymond wins!" Shiina declared excitedly.

"Ouch! You're really strong, huh?" the man commented as he drank his shot and then offered his hand for a handshake.

"Thank you." Raymond shook his opponent's hand.

"Well, it's my turn now," Shiina said as she sat in the chair.

"This time I'll win," Raymond replied seriously.

"Oh, are you still sore from losing in the arena?" Shiina provoked. "Why don't we make this more interesting with a bet?" she suggested in a sensual tone.

"What kind of bet?"

"The winner gets to order the other to do anything, and they can't refuse."

Raymond hesitated for a few seconds, but accepted the proposal without much thought and firmly took her hand.

"Done."

"Let me start the contest." Raymond's previous opponent approached. "Ready... Go!"

In one swift movement, Shiina immediately tilted Raymond's hand and almost made it touch the table, and the bodyguard barely reacted in time to hold the jolt and lock his arm.

From then on, the assassin forced Raymond's arm millimeter by millimeter. The bodyguard tried to contain the advance, but the drink had already greatly reduced his strength.

"What's the problem? You're going to lose like this. Looks like all those shots are taking effect, huh?"

'Damn it! She planned all this just for me to lose,' Raymond cursed.

Realizing how easily he had been manipulated, a fury and indignation rose in his soul, pushing his sportsmanship to the limits of his being.

With his strength rekindled by rage, the bodyguard pushed the assassin's hand back to the starting point, and his advance did not stop, bringing her arm closer and closer to the table.

Shiina's desperate expression filled Raymond with confidence, who was getting closer and closer to victory.

However, when he was about to win, the assassin smiled a sadistic and confident smile. Using an absurd amount of strength, Shiina made Raymond's arm touch the table in a single movement.

"Ha! I won!" Shiina stood up with a mocking expression.

'Damn... She could have just defeated me directly, but she pretended to be losing just to play me.'

"Tsc... I don't know what you expected from someone like you."

"Hey! Don't you think you're being a little rude saying that?"

Raymond tried to get up, but felt dizzy and sat down again. He put his hand on his head and kept his eyes down.

"Hey, what's going on? Are you okay?" Shiina stood up and stood beside him.

"I'm a little dizzy, that's all..."

"Hmm, why don't we go back then?"

"Alright, but help me."

"Sure." The assassin helped him up and took him back to the palace. "Sorry guys, we have to go."

The people lamented in unison, continuing the game without Raymond and with little enthusiasm.

Both walked slowly through the streets. The sun had begun to set behind the great mountain.

"Argh, if I knew you had planned something like this, I would never have accepted your invitation... You really fooled me with all that insistence," the bodyguard complained.

"Hehe, you're so easy to deceive..." Shiina laughed with a smug expression. "That reminds me, I can order you to do anything, right?"

"If you tell me to do anything against Luna..."

"Of course I wouldn't do that, silly..."

Shiina brought her mouth very close to Raymond's ear, and brought her body closer to his, making several places touch.

"Call me by my name..." she whispered very close to the bodyguard's ear.

"What? Why would you do all this just to ask for that?"

"You've never called me by my name, I know that. That way, we can get closer."

"There's no way there can be anything between us besides distrust."

"That's exactly what I'm trying to change, unlike that Sariel who keeps creating friction."

"How can I trust you and Aegreon after he confessed that he only wants to use Luna?"

Shiina sighed audibly. "It's obvious he was lying. Do you really think Yaxun would agree to offer his army if he said his goal is simply to open the Astrum Lux to protect his little princess?"

"Well, that actually makes sense... but that doesn't guarantee if your intentions are true or not."

"Listen, I shouldn't be telling you this, but..." The assassin was silent for a few seconds and carefully observed the surroundings. There was no one around, but she decided not to be careless. "It's better to talk about this in the palace."

"Alright..." Raymond agreed suspiciously.

They both quickened their pace and returned to the pyramid. Shiina took the bodyguard to his room and closed the door when she entered. Then, she raised her left hand which manipulated the light around, as if absorbing small particles of light, and created a small pink sphere of light. Then, this light expanded around the room, covering the walls, floor, and ceiling.

"This magic... it's the same that Sariel used," Raymond observed.

"He used this magic before?" the assassin asked invasively.

Meanwhile, the pink glow in the room gradually decreased and disappeared completely.

"Yes, he covered the walls of the inn the same way. He said he was going to prevent the sound from leaking out."

"Did you see him use any other magic besides Illusion, Ice, and Alteration?"

"I saw him use Protection too, but the shield was weak."

The assassin showed an intrigued expression.

"Well, I'll be direct. There's a good chance that Sariel is the Pillar of Illusion, so Aegreon and I will need your help to eliminate him."

"How can you be sure of that? I saw him using Ice magic."

"Was it a high-level magic?"

"...No."

"Then the chance is that he probably has a bit of the Ice element, but his main element is Illusion. It's very likely that he's using a magic to alter his own appearance."

 "That still doesn't guarantee anything."

"Listen." Shiina moved closer to him and looked deep into his eyes. "I know it's difficult, but between us and Sariel, it's better to trust us. You know who we are, unlike him. If you want to protect the little princess, then you should be on our side."

Raymond remained silent once more with a thoughtful expression. Indeed, what she said made sense, because trusting someone whose past and intentions in the group were worse than staying with those two, especially considering that Sariel was as strong as a Pillar, seemed like the logical choice. On the other hand...

"I won't be on your side or Sariel's; I'll be on Luna's side."

Shiina stared at him for a brief moment, then sighed, turned around and left the room.