Chapter 805 (2/2)

“How the fuck does Randidly manage this…” Helen muttered, kicking over the broken remnants of a wall. Shaking her head, she continued. But as she methodically worked back and forth, she was able to get a pretty good picture of the state of Hastam and who was in it.

Helen was somewhat disgusted by certain individuals celebration rituals. And oddly aroused.

When she finally found Azriel, Helen felt like an idiot; Azriel was standing in the middle of the Colosseum, looking up at the sky.

The vast building was empty as Azriel stood on the center stage with eyes closed. The immense edifice was like a bowl held aloft to the sky. The sunlight slowly filtered down, filling the place with an incredible weight. Thin layers of light refracted off of Azriel as she stood on the stage, in the focal point. If anything, Helen became more aware of the intense silence here. Staring at Azriel, as she just seemed frozen in time…

Helen couldn’t bring herself to walk forward for a long time. She simply watched. In a way, Helen knew Azriel. They were both women who wanted to accomplish something. Only the methods they went about it were quite different. Azriel chased the feeling of control by perfecting her own spear art. Helen got super fucking pissy about it.

Basically the same… Helen thought while wincing.

After releasing a breath through her nose, Helen walked out onto the Colosseum grounds.

Azriel’s eyes flicked open. “Helen. Have you seen?”

“Of course.” Helen retorted.

“Do you think it was… Randidly?”

Helen had no answer for that. It was the same question that she burned to ask. Yet Helen could sense through their connection that Randidly was deeply involved with something currently. She didn’t want to send a message and risk distracting him from something important.

“...Azriel, I want to offer you something.”

Azriel twisted further and looked at Helen with an inquisitive look. Helen couldn’t help but notice how pristine Helen’s clothes were. Pure with, with a crimson vest. Her eyes seemed to burn like lanterns.

Helen licked her lips. “We fucking won, right? So what the people need are a celebration. The tournament… it was derailed by the Wight attacks. But now those fucks are gone. And that fuck Silo… well he attacked me in the chaos, and I beat him. Your opponent… let’s not pretend like he would have been your equal. So what I’m saying… we should spread the word that we are finishing the tournament. We can fight in front of the crowd, winner take all. I know how important proving your master is… so let’s settle this. All of this. The finals you’ve always waited for.”

Azriel just looked at Helen.

Helen frowned. “What? What are you looking at?”

“You beat Silo?” Azriel’s eyebrows quirked upward. “Surprising. Not as surprising as you beating Skarch, I suppose… but still.”

Scowling, Helen threw up her hands. “I get it. I’m the ultimate underdog. Everyone is very shocked that I continue to be able to get myself out of bed without losing a fight. Your glory, if anything, would be tarnished by a victory against me. Why don’t we all-”

“Helen, you know it's not like that.” But Azriel’s expression was sad. “It is… too late. My Master has left. It… matters not now whether I achieve glory. This isn’t my stage any longer. All that remains is to watch as everything falls apart.”

“Like the Wight army collapsed?” Helen said sardonically.

For the first time since Helen had arrived in the Colosseum, the pressure eased as Azriel’s face twisted into a smile. “Truly, it boggles the mind. What other strange effects will the Ghosthound have on Tellus? I for one, am excited to find out.”

After a few seconds of silence, Helen said again, “...so no fight?”

“No fight,” Azriel agreed. “At least not between us.”

Then her gaze lifted upward toward the heavy sun hanging in the sky. “...but I doubt that the peace will last. Especially now that the external threat has been removed from our necks. I suspect very soon, all those who have been waiting in the wings for hundreds of years will come forward, staking their claim on the soul of Tellus.”

“And those are the people we are going to rip to pieces for glory?” Helen asked. Both women grinned. It was a rhetorical question.