Chapter 35

Dancing out of the way, Kal spun his staff, deflecting both of the arcing sticks his latest opponent used for weapons. Each baton had two red metal rings set into the wood toward the tip with a couple finger widths gap between that popped and snapped with electricity. Each time he deflected one of the weapons, he received a small jolt through his staff, but the shock was muted enough that it didn’t affect his ability to fight. Kal did not want to find out what a direct hit felt like.

The mage spun his staff in the other direction. The platinum tip struck a baton right next to his opponent’s hand, sending it flying. With a wave, Kal used a simple cantrip to send the baton flying out of the ring, only to watch it stop spinning, reverse direction, and streak back to its owner. The baton flipped around in the air, aligning itself before coming together with its mate. The red rings snapped together with a loud crack, but Kal’s foe ignored the noise, grabbing the handle of his recovered baton and pulling them apart in a curtain of arcs before launching another attack.

Kal ducked, dodged, and deflected the arcing rods while getting several hits in, but in trying to avoid being touched, his strikes lacked the power to do significant damage.

Adding to his frustration was a tiny bit of pressure from the taunts Kashka threw at Nao after the last round. He felt rushed despite knowing there was no time limit on these matches. Kal felt he needed to finish this match quickly, at least before Nao finished his, or he would disappoint the assassin.

Kal deflected both rods, knocking them wide before thrusting forward with his staff. The man ducked and attempted to dodge out of the way, but ducking brought his collarbone in line with the tip of Kal’s staff. The crowd groaned as they heard the bone crack. Kal’s adversary grunted as both batons dropped to the ground, and he grabbed his shoulder

“Halt! Halt!” shouted the judge as he ran over and snapped open a large white folding fan between them. Attacking once the fan was open resulted in immediate disqualification according to tournament rules. He had noticed its use a few times during Asahi’s fights and asked Ichiro about it. Now he was thankful he had that opportunity as he stepped back.

“What are you on about?” Kashka sent over the bond. “You’re more than smart enough to know that when the judge says stop, you don’t attack anymore. Why do you feel like you needed to specifically be told that?”

Kal didn’t have an answer for the cat. Her words stung because they were true. He didn’t understand why he was being so foolish and not trusting himself.

“It’s Ikuno coming back in just a few days, it’s your new business venture in Silvermoon, and it’s me, ” the cat answered, her tone over the bond subdued.

“Explain.”

“You have gotten more and more nervous every day closer to Ikuno’s return, and you worry if you will be up to the task of protecting her if Azrin attacks. Assuming ownership of Darrow’s holdings has you shaken because you don’t know what you’ve gotten into and worry that the whole mess will come crashing down on your head. And you still feel guilty for taking me off of The Scarlet Bitch and away from Ratt. They’re all hurting your confidence.”

Kal watched as two Azum priests escorted the man off the field while mending his broken collarbone. The judge folded the paper fan and declared Kal the victor, but Kal hardly felt like one as his opponent disappeared into the crowd.

The bond led him to Kashka and the others to watch Nao’s match in an adjoining ring. His opponent had heard about Nao’s previous victory and used a variety of ranged spells to keep the youngest brother at a distance.

Three balls of purple energy streaked across the field. Nao batted two of them away, his sword shimmering with magic with each hit. The third ball struck him in the shoulder. The brother audibly grunted as the tip of his sword dipped and he reached across to clutch the injured arm.

“It’s over,” said Ichiro, shaking his head.

“That’s all it takes to beat your brother?” Kashka asked.

“Not for Nao, for the other man,” said Asahi. “Nao could have easily deflected all three of those balls but didn’t even make an attempt at the last one. He has seen something in his opponent that will assure his victory. It’s the only reason he would take a hit like that.

The mage kept up a steady stream of low-level attack spells that Nao barely managed to dodge or deflect, each time wincing in pain.

“Uh oh,” said Kal. The two brothers, Kashka and Yua, nodded knowingly as the mage began advancing on Nao.

The mage loosed an arrow of fire that the youngest brother barely dodged by sidestepping and leaning out of the way. Steam rose from the front of his shirt as he threw a hand out toward the mage.

The hand tracing the next spell stopped as a thin strand of silvery rope shot out from Nao’s arm and wrapped around the mage’s. He quickly shuffled his feet for a better stance and pulled hard on the rope. The magic-user stumbled forward as Nao grabbed the rope adjusted his grip and pulled again, keeping him off balance. The mage continued stumbling forward, unable to do anything else as he tried desperately to get his feet beneath him. When Nao held out his sword, the man attempted to throw himself to the side, but the blade’s tip followed him. The mage howled in agony as the sword sunk into his gut and exited out his back.

Nao’s opponent looked down in growing horror at the red stain radiating out from where the sword pierced him. Shaking hands tried to grab the blade and pull it out as the judge halted the fight.

Nao batted his hands away and snarled, “I’m not getting disqualified because you bled out and died from cutting your fingers off. I’ll take it out when the healers arrive.” The man could do little more than nod as all the color drained from his face.

Moments later two priests ducked under the ropes and ran toward Nao and his opponent, their healing spells already drawn and ready. The mage shrieked again as the brother pulled his sword free then grabbed at the wound, pressing his hand over it to staunch the flow of blood. Sobbing, he dropped to his knees as the priests’ magic went to work.

Nao turned, ignoring the scene behind him, and pulled a cloth from a pouch to clean his blade. Tossing the bloodied cloth behind him, he sheathed his sword and strode toward his brothers.

“You play too casually with other people’s lives, brother,” said Ichiro, as his youngest brother ducked under the rope fence.

Nao scowled. “The rules state that killing your opponent is a disqualification, not hurting them, even severely. I placed my sword well. Even without the priests, that wound would not have been lethal.”

“I understand, but just because you are allowed to run a man through does not mean you should. The spirit of this tournament is to disable your opponent or make them yield, not leave them standing at death’s door.”

“I won. That’s all that matters.” With a pointed glare at Kal and Kashka, Nao flashed Ichiro an evil grin. “If I get thrown out of this tournament, I will at least make it worth the effort.”

“I think he intends to kill me,” Kal said as the youngest of the three brothers walked away.

Kashka sighed. “And now, your victory is assured.”

“I don’t understand,” said Ichiro.

“I think I know what she’s getting at. After these last two matches, I was considering dropping out,” said Kal. “Fighting for gold, prizes, and prestige? I’ve only fought to train or protect myself and those with me. This whole tournament seems silly. But now, when I fight your brother, I will fight for my life.”

“Though I hoped to see you put Nao in his place, you can still drop out if you don’t feel this is for you.”

Kal looked over at where the priests were helping the mage to his feet. The man’s face was still white as a ghost, and his hands shook uncontrollably as they led him out of the ring.

“For the sake of his future opponents, I don’t think I can.”

Ichiro and Asahi joined Kal back at his tent after the last of the day’s fights. They arrived to discover a small orgy happening in and around Zakku’s tub. After the monster girls’ matches, many fighters stopped in for a soak in Dioga’s healing slime. Taking care of so many injuries left the slime-girl drained, and she asked the nearby monster girls in the camp to donate some of their energy to help replenish her.

Of course, Dioga’s offer didn’t come without a reward. Joining those sitting in the tub were a dozen or so women around it. Monster girls stood with their legs apart while others bent over, gripping the tub’s rim More women were down on all fours, and a few opted to just lay on the ground. A green tendril ran from Dioga to the crotch of each monster girl and was the cause of the womens’ constant moans of pleasure filling the air.

“Kal!” the slime shouted as soon as she noticed their approach. “Kal, I need your help, and your friends too if they can!”

“It seems like you’re having a wonderful time. What do you need us for?”

The slime’s shoulders slumped. “I can’t keep up. It’s taking more power to heal the fighters than I’m getting from the girls trying to help,” she said, glancing around at the women surrounding the tub in the throes of pleasure.

“Then what can we do?”

“Men’s seed is filled with half the energy needed to create life. It’s a lot more effective than women’s sex juices. You three could give me enough to keep up, especially if you use that spell of yours, Kal.”

Ichiro shook his head. “Not me. I can’t help.”

“Pleeease?” she begged, but the brother refused.

“Not until after the tournament,” he said crossing his arms.

“I think these two can help out,” came a voice from the camp. Everyone turned to see the panda-woman coming toward them with the arm of a struggling young man in each hand. The panda tossed them to the ground beside Zakku’s tub. “They seemed to be enjoying the show,” she said with a wave at the woman quivering in pleasure from the tendrils. “I’m sure they won’t mind helping our slimy healer in return for peeping.”

“First of all, no,” said Kal. “Sex with a monster girl should never be considered a punishment. If they want to leave, they can go. Second, are you two of age?” he asked the boys.

Both nodded, and one said, “It’s how I got away from my mother. I told her she couldn’t make me stay at home anymore.”

“I told my mother I was going to look for a wife and she nearly threw me out the door,” said the other.

“Your mother is weird.”

“She just wants grandkids really bad.”

Kal knelt in front of them. “Have either of you been with a woman?” They shared a look and blushed bright red before both shook their heads. “My first time was with a monster girl,” Kal continued. “In my homeland, it is better for a man to die than give his seed to a monster girl. I was ashamed and even sickened with myself for letting her have her way with me. Now, I have many monster girl lovers and can tell you truthfully, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Are you okay losing your virginity to one of these ladies?”

“What if they steal us away?” one asked.

“They won’t. I can promise you that. What do you say, men? Are you willing to help out the monster girls where the tournament’s clerics and priests won’t and feel amazingly good doing it?”

The boys looked around at the surrounding women. Some stared back with expressions of lustful hunger, while others awaited their answer with hope-filled anticipation. They shared another look before one nodded, as did the other a moment later.

Asahi’s partner from earlier, the tan and white dog-girl, came over and offered a hand to the boy closest to her. “I’d be honored to be your first if you’ll let me,” she said with a kind smile and wagging tail.

Asahi’s other lover, the gecko, arrived behind the panda and raised a hand, “I’ll be—”

Asahi trotted over and swept the lizard-girl off her feet, spinning her around. “Oh no, you don’t. I was looking for you earlier, and I’m not letting you get away again.”

“Nevermind,” the gecko laughed, wrapping her legs around Asahi’s waist and pressing her lips to his.

“Much as I’d love to claim your first time,” the panda grumbled to the other boy, “I like getting a little rough, so I’ll leave it to my woman,” she said, looking back at the deer girl Kal spoke to shortly after first meeting the panda. “Show him a good time for me, love.”

“Ria,” Kal called as the doe helped the second boy to his feet. “Help these four get comfortable inside. Maybe make a few extra rooms for them. My tent is soundproof, at least from the outside,” he explained in response to the questioning looks from the young men and monster girls alike. “This way, you can have a little bit of privacy.”

“Just remember, whatever those two put in you, you bring out here and put in me,” Dioga called out as deer and dog monster girls led the two young men into the tent followed by Ria.

“You’re more generous than I, Kal. I think I can number you among my friends, but I’m not sure I would let you borrow my bed just for some fun with a lady,” said Ichiro.

Kal chuckled. “My tent is special. It can create rooms for those four and leave my bed alone. Ria knows the incantations and can say them better than I do. Runes are my specialty, not singing in Elvish. Although, it is something I will probably look into in the future. The mage who created monster girls could make his spells extremely powerful with something called ‘tonal magic,’ but I haven’t found anything about it.”

“I may be able to point you in a direction. I won’t say that it is the right direction, but I know of a tribe north of Silvermoon that can do this strange kind of singing. I believe they have magic based upon it. But first, you said that monster girls were made?”

“Let’s get in the tub first. This is a long story.”

As the mage told how Prentas assumed ownership and fixed up the tower, the dog and deer girl led the blushing young men out of the tent to cheers and applause from men and monster girls alike. The two women requested Kal cast the rejuvenation spell on the boys then got the young men started with their next monster girl partners. When they each had a woman happily bouncing on his lap, the deer and dog let Dioga thoroughly clean them inside and out before joining the rest of the women standing around Zakku listening to Kal. By the time the mage finished telling about the origins of monster girls, the surrounding audience had grown considerably. Women in the camp came both for his story and because three of five men in the healing slime’s tub would happily sleep with them.

Kal and the eldest of the brothers again refused to have sex with any other monster girls, but there were exceptions. Ichiro let Yua ride him, though Dioga still prevented him from cumming, and the mage allowed Zakku to give him a long and luxurious blowjob when her head and upper torso appeared between his legs.

As the night went on, talk turned to sex, and the area around the tub turned into another minor orgy. Dioga offered to help some monster girl couples by creating slime undergarments that grew two phalluses. One slipped inside the wearer and pumped into their sex as the wearer thrust into her partner. This caused a small influx of even more monster girls, mostly couples, who wanted to try this new way of making love with the slime’s help. They also recieved a taste of what the panda-girl meant by liking it a little rough. To the amazement of those watching, her deer-girl lover didn’t seem to mind, and even coaxed the panda to fuck her harder.

Eventually, the orgy wound down as exhaustion overcame the participants’ lust. The two boys returned home with promises to keep coming back for the length of the tournament and festivities afterward. Asahi had passed out from all of the sex. The gecko-woman woke him with a gentle blowjob before the two brothers dressed and, along with their monster girl companions, returned to their tents.

“Shall we?” Kal asked, glancing at their own tent’s entrance.

“Yes,” replied Kashka, “But I think you should give Zakku a little more if you have it in you. I think she’s been getting neglected.”

“Not as much as you think,” said Dioga. “I’ve been sharing what I can with her, and I think tonight really helped restore both of us.”

Despite the slime’s words, Zakku’s human body rose up out of the tub next to Kal. With her hands resting on the tub’s side, the mimic flashed him an inviting smile before arching her back and wiggling her bottom.

“However,” said the slime. “Sharing energy is no substitute for a good hard fuck.”

Ichiro won his three matches the next morning, though he seemed to struggle with his third opponent. Asahi explained away the close bout as Ichiro not wanting to show his full skill until necessary.

Completely opposite of his brother, Asahi stormed through his duels, taking his foes down with skill and speed, leaving the spectators impressed but also grumbling about the lack of a show.

They again passed the time before Yua and the rest of the girls needed to get ready by having lunch with Zakku and Dioga. Once they were relaxing in Zakku’s tub, Asahi explained that he was effectively doing the same thing as his brother. Instead of holding back, the middle brother ended the matches before anyone could really study his technique or gauge his true skill.

The day’s respite was significantly less amorous than yesterday’s and consisted mostly of talk about what they had seen or experienced in the tournament so far. A few women did request some time with Asahi when the gecko girl wasn’t sitting in his lap. He happily obliged with the help of Kal’s rejuvenation spell.

The middle brother’s gecko companion went by Yamori. Kal got the impression it wasn’t her actual name but the Azum word for her kind. This wasn’t very unusual as monster girls often referred to each other by their type until they got to know one another better.

As the human women’s tournament wound down, Yua and the rest climbed out of the tub and began preparing for their duels.

Yua’s first match was over in seconds, but she ended up squaring off against the panda-girl in her second bout. It quickly became apparent that the two were evenly matched. Though Yua was notably faster than panda-woman, she had difficulty doing significant damage. Even when she landed a particularly strong blow, the larger woman seemed to shrug it off. On the other hand, the panda couldn’t land more than a glancing blow on the darting and weaving pika. The duel soon became a battle of attrition. Could Yua do enough damage with her steady stream of nearly ineffectual hits, or would she tire and slow to the point the panda could land solid blows?

The panda-girl lashed out. Yua sidestepped the strike and then crawled up the panda’s arm before letting out an ear-piercing shriek. Ichiro leaned forward, worried something had happened to his lover as the pika jumped away. But Yua merely landed a safe distance from her opponent and dropped into a defensive stance watching the other woman. The crowd gasped as the panda howled in pain, holding a hand over one of her ears as she dropped to her knees.

The judge called a halt to the match and asked the panda-woman if she could continue. The panda made a valiant effort to stand up before dropping to her knees again and answering with a tiny shake of her head.

“I see blood,” said Asahi. “Her squeak ruptured the panda’s ear.”

Kal snarled as the judge declared Yua the winner and walked away. Clerics that hurried out to help the human contestants were now nowhere to be seen. The mage pushed through the crowd and dodged the tournament guards before ducking beneath the rope fence and running across the combat ring to the kneeling panda. Kal covered her hand with his, pushing his healing magic into the panda’s damaged ear. A few seconds passed before she relaxed as the pain faded.

“You’re a handy human to have around,” she said pulling her hand away and inspecting the blood on her palm while what had pooled in her ear trickled down the side of her head.

“I’m sorry,” said Yua.

The panda snorted. “No, you’re not.”

“I’m not sorry I won. I’m sorry I had to hurt you to do it.”

The black and white woman glanced over at the pika. “I can respect that.”

With the ear healed, Kal cast a quick cleaning spell to remove the excess blood and helped the panda to her feet.

She rubbed her ear for a moment before smiling at Kal. “I know you didn’t have to come out here and do that, and now you’ve used magic you might need for your own fight on me. I don’t have much to thank you, but until this tournament ends, if you’re ever in the mood for a big girl, just find me and bend me over.”

“I appreciate the offer,” Kal replied as they made their way to the side of the ring, “but don’t hold your breath waiting. I traveled here on a ship crewed by monster girls, and you can probably imagine how I paid my fare. I’m happy sticking with my woman for now.”

“What about Hattori?”

“That was part of her terms for bringing Zakku, Dioga, and Ming here.”

The panda chuckled. “Waving your dick in front of monster girls to get what you need. Some of the prostitutes here could probably learn something from you.”

“I get what you are saying, but I don’t make my living by sleeping with monster girls,” he explained as they ducked beneath the rope fence. “I could have easily paid my fare on that ship or taken another one entirely. The same goes for Hattori. Instead of gold for her help, she wanted time with me, so I think of it as merely a pleasurable trade instead of prostitution, though it may just be a semantic difference.”

Yua darted ahead of them and leapt into Ichiro’s arms, wrapping her legs around him and plastering her lips against his. Humans and monster girls alike scowled at the display, one with disgust and the other with envy.

“Lucky bitch,” muttered the panda. “Wouldn’t mind having a man like that stuff my pussy every night, or watch him fuck my woman senseless. But that little rat will have a harder time for the rest of the tournament. Everyone knows her secret now, and they’ll be ready for her.”

The mage just nodded in agreement.

Kal couldn’t figure out why the Azum man he matched against for today’s first round was so nervous until the announcer started the fight and the man promptly disappeared. Electricity and invisibility seemed to be the winning strategies for the time being. It made sense. You can’t beat what you can’t see, and you can’t fight when you don’t have control of your body.

The mage guffawed when his opponent vanished. Pointing his staff at the perturbations of magic, he called out, “The problem with relying on invisibility is you forget to actually learn to fight.” The tips of his staff whistled as he spun it around and dropped into a defensive stance.

The man stopped and suddenly became visible again as a small dagger spun toward Kal. The speed rune on Kal’s bracers lit up as the mage easily knocked the blade aside and immediately fell back into his stance. His opponent stood and stared for a few long moments as he considered his situation, then slipped his armband off and threw it on the ground. Shaking his head, the man retrieved his dagger and exited the ring.

“Impressive, my friend,” said Ichiro as Kal rejoined Kashka and the others. “I’ve fought in many tournaments, but never won without landing a blow.”

“If I only had one trick that suddenly lost its advantage, I’d have to do a hard reassessment of my other skills. I guess his weren’t up to the task, and I respect his ability to acknowledge that instead of wasting time on a futile fight.” Kal shook his head. “Not that this whole tournament isn’t pointless already.”

“Says the man with the most impressive and boring victory so far,” Ichiro laughed. “But remember, some make their living through these tournaments, either by managing them or being sponsored by a noble. A few fighters are good enough to live off of prize money. Tournaments also bring a touch of fame and some new blood to small towns like Sayaka. Perhaps most importantly, it’s all entertainment. It has no more purpose than watching a play or listening to musicians or minstrels. We’re just watching people fight.”

“Minstrels don’t get stabbed in the stomach either.”

“Ever seen one take the wrong woman to bed at the end of the night?”

“Fair enough, but you know what I meant.” Everyone turned toward the announcer as he declared the end of the first set of matches.

Kashka laid a hand on Kal’s arm. “I appreciate you are doing all of this for my sake, but—”

“No, I’m not dropping out,” he said, reading her intent. “At the very least, someone needs to be put in his place. Even if I had no other reason, I’d stay for that alone. Time to go find out who I’m fighting.”

Nao and Kal stared at each other across the fighting ring as the announcer waited for the sign that the men were ready. The youngest brother wore a light brown leather cloak that hid most of the pouches on his belt and any extra weapons he might have tucked away. The sword he used to stab his opponent in yesterday’s match hung from his hip. Much of Nao’s gear showed signs of enchantment to Kal’s eyes, including his sword, cloak, and a few of his pouches. But none of the pouches looked like or were comparable in magic to Ria’s bag.

“How about we make this more interesting?” said Nao. “If I win, you give me your cat to play with for the night.”

“This is the part where I’m supposed to say that if you lay a hand on her, I’ll kill you, isn’t it? The problem is that if you lay a hand on Kashka, you will be dead long before I ever have the chance. I thought we explained this to you on the road here. Besides that, unless you are offering to renounce your family name and never return to Soma, you have nothing I want.”

“You expect me to give up my family name while I merely asked for a night with your woman. That’s hardly fair.”

“Even if I were willing to accept and she agreed, I heard about how you use your women, and I see it as a perfectly fair trade. But I’m not about to accept any more than you are, so it’s of little consequence.”

“True,” said Nao, drawing his sword and pointing at Kal with it. “Just so you know, I don’t care if I get disqualified.”

“Oh? That’s good, because as Kashka said, Ikuno would have nothing to do with a man so lacking in character. But that works out for me because I’m sick of fighting for sport, so now I can stop caring about disqualification as well.”

“Kal!” Ichiro called from the side of the dueling area, “Please don’t kill my brother. Asahi and I don’t want to explain it to our father. Nao, don’t kill Kal for the same reason.”

“Why would you need to explain his death to our father?” he called back without taking his eyes off the mage.”

His eldest brother directed a long glance at the cat-girl beside him. “If you kill Kal, I doubt you will survive the night.”

“You think I can’t protect myself from a single neko?”

“Asahi and I have spent the last two days with them and seen how she moves. If you killed Kal, I doubt the three of us and all of our guards could protect you.”

“Horseshit.”

“He speaks the truth, brother,” Asahi chimed in. “Killing the mage is akin to committing suicide. Remember that.”

“I can’t believe you two idiots have so much faith in your new friends,” Nao sneered. “Weak-willed fools, the both of you.”

Ichiro turned to Asahi. “If father asks, we can at least say we warned him.”

Nao lowered his weapon and stomped over to the side of the arena. “Siding with a stranger over your own brother?” he looked around at Yua, Kashka, and Yamori. “These half-breeds have you thinking with your cocks instead of your heads. Support me, or I will tell father you’ve been bewitched by these whores and are no longer fit to inherit his name.”

“You stand at the edge of a cliff while we tell you not to dash your body on the rocks below. How is that not supporting you, brother?” said Ichiro, the last word coming out through clenched teeth. “Tell father whatever you like. You will never be his heir. He knows perfectly well that naming you his successor is the quickest way to a knife in his back.”

Nao stepped back, his eyes widening. “I would never—”

“Don’t lie to us,” said Asahi. “Look at your collection of magical trinkets. You grab at power whenever you can, and your ambition would make you a direct threat to Soma’s head family. Father knows as well as Ichiro and I that you would bring ruin and disgrace upon our name. You will never be head of this family.”

“Ready yourself to fight or forfeit the match.” The judge called out. “We are all waiting on you.”

Nao’s expression shifted from surprise at his brother’s words to anger before he spun around and stomped back to stand before Kal. As the judge looked nervously between them, Nao snarled, “I’m going to kill you.”

The mage shrugged. “Plenty have tried. I doubt you can succeed.”