As usual, the secret venue was packed with the regular participants of this underground combat event along with the spectators who came to make some side bets on matches. The prize money up for grabs was worth 20,000 credits made from the entry fees paid by the participants and the bonus thrown in by the event organizer.
‘Looks like it’ll be another good evening tonight.’ The bouncer’s thoughts were interrupted by a knocking from outside the steel door. He moved to slide the miniature latch at the top to see who was outside and only saw a black visor with a pink jagged design on the front, preventing him from seeing the guest’s eyes. “Yes?”
“I understand that an event is scheduled to begin at nine sharp? I would like to participate.”
He briefly pondered if it was a cop in disguise who wanted to infiltrate the place. After all, this wasn’t exactly a sanctioned combat event like what was run at the DSAA although there was no law in place that made it illegal to run such a fight club. “Lemme clear this up with my boss first.” He slid back the latch and made a call to his superior, the one who ran the place.
It didn’t take long for him to receive a response. The boss had surveillance cameras everywhere on his property. After getting a clear picture of the guest outside, a quick cross check to the most up to date police personnel list (obtained through a plant in the police force) confirmed that she wasn’t one of them. With that information clearing his doubts, the bouncer opened the steel door to let her in.
She was really something. Already, she was in her barrier jacket which consisted of a light-green mini dress (with long puffy sleeves) covered by a white jacket, long white socks, and black boots. A choker on the neck topped off the appearance and her hands were equipped with customized fingerless gloves.
He shook his head briefly to get his focus back. “Just pay the entry fee and you’ll be slotted into the brackets. Don’t be late for your match or you’ll be disqualified.”
“Thank you.”
‘Huh… silvery green hair colour? Weird chick…’ It was all he thought as she passed by him.
The fee had been paid and her entry confirmed. Now all she could do is wait for her match. In the meantime, she decided to duck back into the women’s washroom and hide herself in a stall. Once she was certain that nobody had trailed her and that there were no surveillance cameras around, she released her combat form in order to conserve energy.
Einhart Stratos had never expected to find an event like this in her neck of the woods. Even a world like Karnarog had another side to it, concealed from the view of the TSAB. But she was grateful for this chance. Not only would she be able to get valuable live combat experience and test her Kaiser Arts, she would be able to take another step closer to her goals.
For as long as she could remember, she had these recurring dreams about Ancient Belka. A dream about regret and weakness and the inability to protect what was held dear. She didn’t understand it at first and the fact that it caused her distress during her childhood years put a lot of strain on the relationship between her parents. Especially when her mother had difficulty in believing what her father had said earlier about how he and Einhart were descendents from a royal bloodline in the time of Ancient Belka and how their ancestor’s regret is what is generating those dreams. He experienced them as well but because he didn’t inherit a great deal of magical power, they didn’t haunt his sleep too often. In Einhart’s case, the dreams came every night because of how strongly her ancestor’s magic manifested itself inside her.
Once she had an idea of what was causing this, the next step would be to find a way to put that regret to rest. That would mean researching and learning more about her heritage. From what she had found out so far, the best way to do that would be to go to the heart of the Saint Church itself on Mid-Childa. Enrolling into the Church’s school wouldn’t be too hard as they do welcome anyone with the will to learn, regardless of what world they originate from. Her parents wouldn’t have minded making a move to that world.
However at the moment, it wasn’t feasible due to how the nature of the work that her parents did had them rooted to this world. In a few years, they probably would be ready to go but she wasn’t sure she could wait that long. So she struck a deal.
If Einhart could prove that she could manage herself responsibly and raise the money (through legal means, obviously) needed to travel and live there, she could make the move on her own. Already, she had budgeted out what she would need in terms of funding. While St. Hilde provided for living arrangements with dorms that were within walking range of the campus and had some basic necessities in place like a meal plan, she would have to earn enough funds to make her way to Mid-Childa. Civilian flights between worlds weren’t cheap. And on top of that, she figured she would need training equipment to furnish her room.
So she kept her eyes and ears open for anything while saving up what she could from allowances and gifts and putting herself through heavy training to maintain her Battle Form longer. It didn’t look like she would have any luck until she overheard someone at an outdoor café discussing something about a fight club. With persistence and some luck, she managed to find what she was looking for.
“Attention please: Garoth Aynan and Heidi E.S. Ingvalt are to report to the Cage. Your match is scheduled to begin in five minutes.”
Upon hearing the intercom’s announcement, she slowly released a breath before summoning her magic and replacing her visor. “Armed Form.”
As she made her way to the Cage, she pondered on what she would find on that world. Perhaps inside the Grand Cathedral, there were more resources that could explain more about her ancestor beyond what was written in history textbooks.
‘No… now’s not the time to think about that.’ She entered the arena and spotted her opponent, someone with shoulder length black hair and a barrier jacket that resembled a tuxedo of sorts.
“Is this your first time here? Maybe I should do you a favour and go easy, little lady…”
“If you want to do me a favour…” She got into her stance. “Then shut up and show me what you got!”
See other episodes by Yasanagi
(Posted Mon, 26 Sep 2011 05:18)
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