"There you are!" Ken huffed when Davi finally rejoined the group. "You missed the entire match!"
"I saw enough to know who won." Davi shrugged.
"You should have still been there to cheer for Olivia, though," Ken pointed out.
"My bad."
The first game had been a little surprising. Pantheon still won, but Phoenix Flight put up a slight fight. The second game went exactly as everyone expected, though. Pantheon utterly trashed Phoenix Flight in Blitzball, not allowing them to score a single point or make any sort of comeback. For the full game's time, Pantheon dominated, beating Phoenix Flight down so badly that it had lost all sense of fun.
When the game did finally end, and Ho began to try and hype the crowd up more, Olivia, Clause, Ghost, and Pock all walked down the ramp looking ashamed.
"Sorry," Olivia muttered. "We lost again."
"Who cares?" Laerton snorted, and she roughly slapped Olivia on the back. "It's just a game."
"Hardly a fair one if you ask me." Clause chuckled and winced as his bones popped and cracked. "That was enough fun for me. I don't want to play in any more games."
"Even though we lost, I still had a good time!" Pock laughed, still carefree.
"Same." Ghost grinned and jammed a finger into Falco's side, knocking the air from his lungs. "It was loads of fun!"
"W-Why are you poking me?" Falco gasped.
"Because I can!"
"Is it too late for me to switch teams?" Susie asked casually. "I'm not technically part of the guild, right? No offense, but it feels like you guys are just going to keep losing."
"Even a loss can be turned into a moment of victory!" Ragna announced loudly. "We should still all try and do our best!" Greenie transformed into a mass of tentacles and screeched as the mimic wrapped fully around Ragna's neck.
"Ragna's right." Mama Herta nodded. "Winning or losing isn't what's important. We need to have fun and chill out. Games are meant to evoke joy."
"Easy for you to say." Miranda snorted. "A squire didn't beat your ass."
"Sounds like a skill issue, if you ask me," Gormay said bluntly.
"I'll show you a skill issue!" Miranda tackled her brother, and the two began to wrestle.
Olem sighed and shook his head before placing a hand on Olivia's shoulder. "The others are right, though. You don't need to say sorry just because you lost a game. We don't even need to play to win. All we have to do is play out the last few games, and then we're done." Vlad kept silent, playing on his handheld device, but he did give a thumbs up when Olem finished speaking.
Olivia forced a smile and nodded her head. "Yeah. I'm just being dumb."
"You're not dumb." Ken lightly punched Olivia's shoulder. "Don't say mean things about my friends. For what it was worth, I thought your plan was good."
"I did also," Sieg admitted. "Next time these games happen and we're all a little stronger, we'll win for sure." He tapped his demonic mask. "I swear on the devils."
"Don't go doing that," Laerton warned. "We gained our curse because of the demon Sleetdrazer. When it comes to demonic stuff, we don't have a good track record."
"Demonic?" Davi frowned, and for a moment, the visions he had seen earlier flashed through his mind. One of a red-skinned being. He quickly shook it off as Ho finally got ready to start the next game.
"The score is two to zero! Pantheon has taken the lead!" Ho said happily, doing another little dance. "We've arrived at our final game! Get ready to place your bets, buy another round of drinks, and eat a lot of yummy food, because the third Enforcer game is starting now!"
Everyone's attention turned to the screen as it began to rapidly flicker through names at a high speed.
"Please be me, please be me, please be me!" Falco prayed.
"Please not me, please not me, please not me!" Olivia begged.
"Please be Olivia again, please be Olivia again, please be Olivia again!" Ghost chanted.
"Ghost!"
"What? It'd be funny if you did three in a row!"
Finally, the board decided who the next player would be. Laerton's eyes narrowed, and she gave a faint smirk. "This one ought to be good."
"Can't wait to see what'll go wrong this time." Clause snorted.
Even several members of Pantheon began to mutter when they saw the name.
"That's…"
"I know him?"
"Isn't he the guy who fought those captain-level threats?"
Davi stepped forward and walked up the ramp that led to the arena, his name flashing on the screen. He folded his arms when he reached the top and waited. Unlike the first or second game, this one instantly went to select a Pantheon member, which meant it would be a one-versus-one game.
Once he reached the top, the screen spat out the name of Pantheon's player, and the crowd all gasped in shock. Both Phoenix Flight and Pantheon looked stunned, and even Ho stuttered and froze as he tried to register the name.
"I-Is that allowed?" Ho asked.
Just as slow as Davi did, Myth walked up the ramp and stood across from the raven-haired man, looking a little annoyed. "I didn't know it could select captains." The man muttered.
Davi versus Myth. Phoenix Flight's Squire versus Pantheon's Captain! Davi was about to face off against his greatest foe yet.
Ho let out a nervous laugh as people were still stunned and processing what they were seeing. "T-The selections are totally random, so, y-yeah, a captain of a guild can be picked. It's never happened before, though." He shot a look at Davi and winced. "Sorry, man, you got unlucky."
"It's fine." Davi shrugged. "Let's just play and see where the cards go."
"Don't think I'll go easy on you," Myth smirked. "The pride of my guild is resting on my shoulders. I'll win this."
"Sure. I'll try for the same." Davi lazily said and gave a thumbs-up.
Laerton face-palmed and growled. "This is so fucking bullshit! Rigged! These games are rigged!"
Once the crowd finally got to a state of what could be called calm, Ho let out a nervous laugh. "S-Sorry about that, folks. Things seem strange this year, huh? A-Anyway! Let's see what the third game is! Since it's the final one for the day, let's all hope it'll be something good!"
Everyone watched in nervous excitement as the screen rapidly switched through dozens of symbols, going past tons of games, before it finally landed on an icon. The letter 'B'. Below it, the words 'B-Shift' appeared.
Ho's eyes lit up as he saw it. "Ooh! We are in for a treat! Looks like we got a real special game! B-Shift!"
In the previous games, the arena had changed, and then the rules appeared, but this one was clearly different because the rules popped up right away.
'Welcome to B-Shift! This is a game where the rules and goals will constantly change. In B-Shift, two players compete until one is unable to continue. What game do they compete in? That's the neat part, all of them. Randomly, the game you are playing in will shift and change, bringing in new rules that must be followed. All games must start with the letter B, and you will be given a second to read the rules for the new game when it starts. Your goal is to get the other player to lose one of the games before it shifts or to make them break the rules! Good luck! Have fun!'
"Seriously?" Davi's eye twitched in annoyance. "So we have to play multiple games-"
As he was speaking, there was a flash, and a new rule box appeared in front of him. The arena also suddenly changed. It grew smaller, and the stone was replaced with a white mat. A thick elastic rope formed a box around him and Myth, trapping them inside, and both lost all their clothes save for a pair of shorts, his pink while Myth's was blue. His hands were also suddenly covered in large rubber gloves.
'Boxing! Neither player can use any form of mana! Your goal is to knock the other one out!'
Davi barely had enough time to read the words before Myth appeared in front of him. Even without mana, Davi could tell Myth was stronger than him. The man was stupidly jacked with iron-like muscles and dark skin that was littered with scars. Myth threw out a punch that shook the entire arena, and Davi did his best to block it using both of his arms.
The sheer force of the strike cracked the bones along his elbow and lifted him into the air. He gasped, all the air being ripped away from his lungs, and then Myth swung a second punch, clocking him right upside the head. The one strike nearly knocked him out then and there, and all he saw was the world spinning as Myth rammed a third strike into his chest, shattering all his ribs.
Davi stumbled back, wheezing and spitting up blood, and it was a miracle he was even still conscious, much less standing. With a grin, Myth got ready to end it and threw out a fourth strike. It stopped inches away from Davi's face as the boxing arena rapidly faded away.
Suddenly, the two of them were dressed in casual clothes, standing on a wooden floor. Davi glanced around, seeing two lanes with bowling pins at the end of them and a bowling ball placed directly in front of it. All the damage he had taken from Myth's beating still transferred, so Davi took a few moments to see straight so he could read the new set of rules that just appeared before him.
'Bowling! Neither player is allowed to use mana or engage in physical violence. To win, try to get a strike before your opponent!'
Davi and Myth glanced at each other, then both ran toward their own lane. Myth arrived first and grabbed his ball, rolling it with all his might. Davi couldn't afford to waste any time, so he didn't even bother to pick it up and instead used all his momentum and force to kick his ball as hard as he could! It spun and rapidly caught up with Myth's, the two traveling side by side before they finally rammed into the pins, knocking them all down at the same time!
Before the pins could even reset, the arena changed yet again, this time the two finding themselves standing in what looked like a dimly lit bar. Two stools stood before them, as well as a table littered with hundreds of shot glasses.
'Beer drinking contest! Both players must drink as much as they can! Whoever passes out first loses!'
They slammed themselves down into their chairs and took shot after shot, over and over again, fighting the urge to vomit.
"W-What's wrong?" Myth hiccupped and downed another shot. "C-Can't hold your liquor?"
"I-I think I broke my foot kicking that bowling ball. Why the fuck did I do that?" Davi tried not to sob. "I'm so fucking dumb."
"Y-You're not dumb; society is dumb. That move was rad as hell." Myth hiccupped again.
The arena changed suddenly to a cold alleyway, and a radio appeared next to them, spitting out funky tunes!
'Beat boxing! Rap like your life depends on it!'
It changed again to a massive pool!
'Backstrokes!' They had to swim backward and reach the finish before the other one!
Then the two of them were falling from the sky!
'Base jumping!' They had to play a game of chicken and see who would pull the parachute line first as they both dropped from the sky. Neither of them did, and so the two of them both rammed into the stone floor hard enough to shatter most of their bones, which left them mainly groaning until the next game started.
'Blitzball!' The same arena Olivia had played in appeared, and the lightning zapped them both, their already wounded bodies getting worse.
Again and again, the games kept rapidly changing, getting faster and faster, as the two players kept swapping their mindsets and goals with every new one! It was absolute madness, and everyone who was watching the matches had a hard time figuring out what was going on or who they should root for, because despite what everyone assumed, Davi was keeping up and actually playing the games on the same level as Myth!
'Baseball!'
'Basketball!'
'Barrel racing!'
'Bathroom disco!'
'Beach flags!'
'Blind bomb defusing!"
'Boulder punching!'
'Bull running!'
'Bodybuilding!'
'Bob sleighing!'
That last one caused Myth to tumble off his sled due to being drunk, dizzy, and partially exploded. He vomited, unable to hold it in.
Davi didn't even get a chance to laugh as the arena changed once more. His eyes widened slightly when it reverted back to how it had been before any of the games started. The crowd had returned, still cheering and yelling, and he looked around, wondering if the games had ended when the next rule finally appeared.
'Battle. Both players fight with everything they have and try to knock each other out of the arena.'
"Looks like we're at the end of the match." Myth managed to collect himself and wiped his mouth clean. "As much fun as this was, I'm afraid I can't play with you anymore."
"You really think it'll be that easy?" Davi flared his mana up. "Row Shadow Armor. Row Shadow Vault." He drew Storymaker, the sword humming in his hand as his ebony armor formed around him, and the crowd all gasped as they took in the sight of a being with armor just like the Ebony Knight.
Myth shook off the last bit of a hangover he had and let out a tired sigh. "Yeah, I know that this is where you're losing. I hope that you know it also. Surely not even you can think that you actually stand a chance in a fight with a captain? This game was made to let me win. An all-out battle? Even without my magic, I'd beat you."
"Maybe you're right, but I still have to try, right?" Davi shrugged and tried to ignore all the pain that was coursing through his battered form. "All my guildmates did everything they could to win, even if the odds were fully stacked against them. I owe it to those who came before me to do the same."
Myth let out a calm hum and then smiled. "I like you."
"You do?"
"I do." Myth nodded. "That's not a joke or a bit either. I genuinely do like you as a person. You saved one of my guildmates. When that city was on fire, and everyone was busy putting it out, you marched right into the flames without a care in the world and brought Sera out. Because of you, Snow was able to get a proper burial as well, and we learned some information on the bastards that kidnapped Ashley. You did what no one else could or rather should. I have always had my eye on you ever since the Arcane Knight exam. I've found myself looking at someone who reminds me of myself in my younger years. Someone who is worthy of being called an Arcane Knight and possibly even a hero."
Davi shook his head. "I'm not a hero. Lots of people would do the things I do if they could."
"And you manage to stay humble as well."
"..." Davi just sighed.
"You're someone I respect, Davi Hawker." Myth slowly lifted his hand. "Because of that respect, I'll honor you and go all out-"
Davi blasted forward and swung his sword as hard as he could. The blade rammed into Myth's chest and was deflected by the sheer raw mana that coated the captain's flesh. It was so plentiful and thick that Davi felt the cutting edge of his own blade as the force was redirected into his body.
Myth didn't even blink and instead just smiled. His mana flowed into his palm, and it began to take shape, morphing into a thick book filled with hundreds of pages—a tome. One made of pure energy with the words 'Life' inscribed upon its front and 'Death' carved into the back.
Myth opened the book and turned it to a page. "Allow me to show you my respect." He ripped the page out of the book, the energy growing so bright that Davi was forced to shield his eyes. "Ril Necromancy Rebirth."
The page began to grow thicker and longer, stretching out in the space it floated in, and it started to bend and twist, folding itself up and shaping into some form. It just kept changing and morphing until finally the paper had become a person, one who landed on the ground before Davi.
Screams rang out throughout the arena as everyone took note of the figure. He was no longer made of paper. Instead, he wore dark ebony armor that was made from twisting shadows, and he had a helm that was shaped like the head of a bird. Jagged talons ran along his claws, and from his back, two massive wings coated in white feathers spread out behind him. Along the wings, massive eyeballs grew, blue orbs as colorful as the fire that jutted from his armor, and the figure raised his claymore.
A familiar claymore. One Davi had seen before, because that was the very same sword as the one in his vault.
"Don't worry." Myth spoke up when he saw the pure panic in Davi's eyes. "It's not actually the Ebony Knight. My spell just creates a lookalike of pure mana. It lacks thoughts and emotions, and it's not even a fraction of the real deal's power. Hell, this one's not even half as strong as I am. Still, you might want to block."
Davi raised Storymaker up just in time as the false Ebony Knight swung his claymore out. The force of their blades connecting was unlike anything he had ever felt. The vibrations tore through his armor and muscles, and nearly all his bones shattered. In the past, he could have used Way of Self Iron, but he had the ability sealed, unable to be used the way it once was, along with Old Bird's Flapping Wings, due to his Vow. Because of this, Davi could do nothing against the sheer power that rammed into him, and he was lifted off his feet and sent blasting out of the arena.
By some miracle, he didn't slam into anyone as he crashed into the bleachers, ramming into a section that was thankfully empty. His spine was snapped in two, and he had never been hit anywhere as hard as the blow he just took.
Myth hadn't been lying. He went all out.
Everyone was stunned as they stared at Davi, who had seemingly blacked out, then back at Myth. The form of the Ebony Knight crumbled away, and in his place, a single page fell out, which Myth caught and placed back into his book.
"Looks like we're done here." Myth turned away. "I win-"
A blinding flash of white erupted out of Davi. It lit up not just the entire arena but the city as well, and Myth froze in his tracks as his senses went haywire. He was able to tell someone's strength with just a glance, and before, Davi had been so weak he knew he'd win, but now, in under a second, Davi Hawker's power and mana skyrocketed. It went from something around the level of a squire to surpassing most Arcane Knights—an impossibility.
Myth whipped around and stared as Davi stood back up and wobbled slightly. His mana was blue, like fire, yet that color was gone. All that coated the man in the destroyed armor was a pure white aura, far bigger and more durable than his normal energy. It screeched like lightning, zapping out wildly and scorching the air.
"W-What is that?" Myth demanded.
Davi smiled. "Oh, cool. I pulled it off. I was worried it wouldn't work. Sealing away Self Iron and Old Bird's Flapping Wings was worth it. This power is exactly what I needed, and it's all mine. Davi Hawker."
"What-" Myth suddenly felt a sting as Davi appeared before him, almost as fast as a Mana Step, and swung his sword. It was unable to slice into Myth's neck, but it left a bruise, causing the captain to wince. "So, you still have some tricks?" Myth grinned, and his own aura grew, rapidly dwarfing Davi's new one. "Let's play then! Ril Necromancy-"
"And the third game has come to an end!" Ho declared, causing both Davi and Myth to freeze. "Davi Hawker lost! This win goes to Pantheon!"