ROSES HAVE THORNS

Ayako sprinted across the cracked stone of the arena with her katana low and ready against her hip. In her path, the ground trembled and swelled, bursting upward to form a defensive wall of ten towering golems.

The ginormous constructs were knitted together from earth, thick roots of ironwood, and braided veins of green moss that pulsed with Lily Mathers’ mana.

The first golem, an unbreakable mass of stone, brought its massive fist down for the kill, but Ayako didn’t even shift her stride or give it a second look.

The fist slammed down, but instead of crushing her, the stones passed straight through her body like mist. While dashing onward, her boots barely skimmed the ground as she completely ignored the next several constructs as their arms swung straight through her.

Except for the last three.

Unlike the last seven, these ones caught Ayako’s attention.

As the first stone golem lunged, Ayako sank into a low crouch and clicked her blade out of the scabbard. With a single horizontal slash, she sheared the construct through its thighs, causing it to crumble. She then leaped off its falling torso.

High in the air, the second golem, woven entirely from dense wood, caught her mid-flight with a sweeping backhand. Ayako spun against the wood, moving her blade in a vertical wheel that carved the wooden arm into kindling.

She landed gracefully on the head of the third construct – a mixture of stone and earth – and drove her weapon in one full downward motion that had enough force to shatter its core.

Right behind the ruined golem stood the final construct. It was an extra towering amalgamation of all three elements – stone bones, wooden muscles, and a glowing green core of pure nature mana that rattled the air.

Ayako’s lips pulled back into an ecstatic smirk. Her inner battle junkie was practically singing at the sight.

At the VIP seats, Diana sat with her arms tightly crossed over her chest. Her heel tapped against the concrete floor in an impatient rhythm, and although her eyes narrowed at the fight in front of her, her mind was clearly elsewhere.

She bit her lower lip while occasionally looking back toward the dark entrance tunnel.

When Mia noticed the tension, she leaned towards Diana with a curious expression. "What’s wrong? You look like you’re about to bite someone’s head off."

"Rosie isn’t back yet. It’s already been fifteen minutes since he left for the restroom."

"Only fifteen minutes?! Ha, Dominik sits on the John for at least thirty every time he goes. He says it gives him a quiet place to ’think’. Isn’t that right, Dommy?"

"GO ON, LILY! SMASH THAT KATANA RIGHT OUT OF HER HANDS! YOU CAN DO IT! ELDORIA BELIEVES IN YOUUUU!!!"

He was far too invested in what was happening before him to notice his fiancé’s question.

Diana’s expression remained worrisome. "Rosie is usually finished with his business in exactly seven minutes. I factored in the crowded corridors, so I expected him back by the ten-minute mark at the latest. For an extra five minutes to have passed must mean that something is wrong..."

.

..

...

Meanwhile, in the bustling open field just outside the coliseum walls, Kurt was digging through a rack of shirts at a merchant stall. He was looking for anything that didn’t feature obnoxious golden trim or bright neon dyes.

Before he could pull a plain gray shirt with a white printing that simply read "Future" from the rack, his ears picked up the drunken chatter of a group of visitors standing near a food cart just a few yards away.

"... I’m telling you, the guy looked like he’d seen a god change its mind! He ran out of the south tunnel with his trousers half-down, screaming at the top of his lungs about some one-eyed demon that was drowning people in the shit bowls! Ahahaha!"

"... A demon? In the toilet? Shit toilets? Oh! A shitty toilet demon, ahahaha!?"

"... T-The *hiccup* The guards have been put on high alert. I heard the description – a guy with a black eye patch, black shirt, and maroon blazer. I think they’re about to search the stalls right about now."

’Are you freaking kidding me? Great.’

This sudden development forced Kurt into a ridiculous game of low-profile stealth.

He ducked behind a display of novelty wizard hats, trying to casually slide a couple of bronze coins across the counter to the merchant while keeping his face turned away from the main walkway.

"Just give me the shirt, please."

"Bronze? Do you not see the price tag? That’ll be three silver pieces, sir, and I also need to calculate the local tax for the Eldorian–"

Bam!

"Keep the change," Kurt hissed as he slammed one gold coin down.

"W-Wow! S-Sir. This is... I mean– Thank you very much–!"

"Hey! You there! Turn around slowly!"

Glancing over his shoulder, Kurt saw three guards marching his way with their hands resting on the hilts of their shortswords. They were staring right at him.

"Screw it," He abandoned the coin, grabbed the first piece of clothing within reach without looking at it, and bailed.

"H-HEY! HE’S RUNNING! STOP THE SUSPECT!"

Kurt dove headfirst into the maze of merchant stalls. He moved with a frantic agility born of pure social panic. He took a blinding turn around a tent selling enchanted crystal balls, nearly knocking over a display of glass gargoyles. He heard the heavy clatter of armored boots right behind him as the guards struggled to keep up with his erratic path.

He then pulled a hard left through an obscure path formed by two parallel canvas tents, ducking beneath a clothesline of flags. He could hear the whistles blowing from multiple directions now.

The guardsmen were closing in fast. He needed to change or get a disguise, and he needed it now.

That was when he caught sight of a temporary dressing tent behind a large stage. Sitting on a wooden crate just outside the tent flap was a large, padded costume head shaped like a cartoonish, golden-feathered bird. It was the Golden Phoenix mascot of Myria. The rest of the oversized body suit was draped over a nearby stool.

As the guards rounded the corner of the tent with their swords drawn, they scanned the surroundings. "Where did he go? He was just here!"

They ran straight past the Golden Phoenix mascot, which was currently standing near a banner, awkwardly practicing a hip-swaying mascot dance to blend in with the surrounding performers.

Once the sound of the clanking armor faded into the distance, Kurt – stuffed uncomfortably inside the suffocating layers of the bird costume– let out a massive sigh of relief.

’... Looks like the coast is clear.’

Keeping the massive bird head firmly on his shoulders, he began his slow, awkward waddle back toward the coliseum entrance.

"Hey, Suzuki-san! Where’re you going?!" A performer called to him.

"Errr... Ehhh... T-Toilet..."

"Toilet? Alright, be careful, you hear? I heard there’s a creepy man that eats people’s shit. Make sure you have someone watching your back."

"O-Okay..."

’Dafuq?!’

.

..

...

Back inside the arena, the serious atmosphere of the tournament couldn’t have been further from Kurt’s ridiculous plight.

.

..

...

CLANG!

Lily, who was currently piloting the terrifying golem, connected a devastating blow to Ayako’s side. As she launched horizontally across the arena, her body bounced violently against the white stone before she managed to drive her blade into the floor to arrest her momentum.

When she finally stopped, a thin line of blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth.

The stadium fell into a stunned silence. Lily Mathers had just landed a clean hit on the undefeated heiress, proving to everyone in the stands that Amber and Emelie weren’t the only monsters Eldoria had brought to the battlefield.

A few minutes later, Kurt finally made his way back to his seat.

Except, he was still in the mascot suit. Cartoonish face and all.

It was a tight squeeze, but he managed to slide into his seat next to Diana, trying his absolute best to act cool and nonchalant, crossing his legs and staring intently down at the arena.

Diana slowly turned her head and looked at the ridiculous character sitting beside her. It slowly turned its giant head to look at her too when it finally spoke, "Hey, Ana."

"Rosie...? What the... Pray tell, what the hell are you wearing?" she asked with dangerous curiosity.

"Oh, you know how much the birds love me–"

BOOOOM!!!!

An explosion from the center of the arena cut their conversation short.

Down on the field, Lily and Ayako had reached the crescendo of their fight. The entire stone floor had been reduced to gravel and the air shimmered with a volatile mixture of nature and pink sakura petals.

Ayako stood at the edge of the crater, her gray eyes burning with unrestricted joy as she held her mana infused katana high above her head.

At the same time, Lily stood her ground. Her face was pale from exhaustion, but her expression was fierce. She gathered the entirety of her mana into her fists and drove them both straight down into the broken stone, creating a multi-layered shield.

Ayako jumped and swung her blade downwards like a thunderclap.

BANG!!!

A giant sakura tree erupted from the arena and pierced the sky in a dense cloud of smoke. When the thick smoke finally began to clear, the outcome was revealed.

Lily was lying face-down on the shattered stone, completely unconscious in her half-broken golem suit, her green mana faded from the golem’s core as the medical priests rushed forward.

A few yards away, Ayako remained standing. Her uniform was torn to shreds, and her chest heaved with ragged breaths, but her face was split into a wild smile of victory as she slowly sheathed her katana with a soft, satisfying clack.

["THE WINNER OF THE MATCH... TAKING ELDORIA’S FOURTH CONSECUTIVE CONTESTANT, IS IZUMI AYAKO!"] Ken’s voice screamed through the speakers, sending the Myrian crowd into a frenzy.

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