Barry reached the end of the tunnel, stopping on a wooden platform that had an engraved rune symbol on it that hummed a low-green light. With his weight added on top of it, the platform sunk into the ground just a bit, sounding off an audible click. He figured this would take him above the surface where the arena truly was.

  ‘You really aren’t nervous about this are you?’ It was Thalia speaking to him in his head. ‘Elves make for formidable warriors, especially since they are naturally gifted in the use of magic. As much as they claim to be superior to humans or any other race, they have the skills to back up that stereotype.’

  ‘Then it sounds to me like this guy’s ego needs to be knocked down a peg or two. And I’m about to humiliate this asshole in front of everyone.’ Barry replied, he was itching to ruin that blonde's good-looks.

  ‘Haha! I told you that Barry wouldn’t give two gooseberries about what elves were capable of.’ This time it was Claude joining the conversation. ‘Still, I recommend being cautious of their agility. Aside from their impressive affinity in magecraft, they’re capable of getting to your blind spots in a twinkling. I’ll curse you even after death if you lose this match.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, I hear you. You both know how stubborn I can be, the thought of losing doesn’t exist in my mind.’ Barry pulled out a longsword from his inventory rather than his trident, he was planning something before switching it out. ‘It’s what the aftermath of this fight will be like is what I’m curious about. And I intend to get a bit personal…’

  The green light below his feet began to radiate an even brighter glow, as it shook a bit before lifting him up. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and reminding himself why he chose to do this. All the opinions he heard about elves before coming here weren’t good, how they discriminated working together with other races, how they have a superiority complex, complete jerks is what they sounded like to Barry. After meeting Basil, Fae, and Kaiya, he figured it wasn’t entirely true, there were kind-hearted elves with common sense living in this homeland. But there were also ungodly bastards resting here as well. He could understand why Ron, Sherry, and Oswald left their own place of origin if that was the case. Even still, this type of order and disgusting behavior couldn’t have just been shown in this land of elves. He knew that it was probably the same elsewhere in this world, no matter the race, even humans. It didn’t matter who or what a person was, if they were being unfair towards their own people, going so far as to murder them for talking about the weather to another civilization, then that was complete bullshit.

  Barry saw himself as an asshole, a guy that didn’t care about getting involved in other people’s affairs or business; all he really cared about was getting the main quest done with and moving on. He wanted to reclaim his stolen memories from the gods. And sometimes he’d see the True Barry in a memory fragment which would always cause him to do what was considered the right thing. He hated it, it bothered him everytime…but he still felt someway about it in the end. Him challenging Thandor to a fight for Fae’s freedom held a part of his own decision, rather than mainly the True Barry’s presence that had urged him. If he saw himself as an asshole, then he was going to be the biggest asshole to his opponent. Ruthless, unrelenting, cruel, and sadistic. If there was one thing he loved doing, it was beating the living crap out of guys like Thandor without a care. “I’m fucking livid to screw this guy over.”

  The ceiling above him opened up, revealing the illuminating light of the outside world as he arrived back on the surface in a large circular arena filled with patches of grass, shrubs, some trees, and a pond. It was like a natural spot you’d find out in the forest, nothing crazy about the layout at all. And around the arena were an audience of elves cheering on for the fight to start; rows of spectators watching him on seats elevated high to see the action. He had trouble finding his group within the crowd and so he stopped looking.

  He then saw his opponent rise above the ground about 50 or so feet away from him. That was when the audience started cheering for him even louder, Thandor waved his hands in the air at the crowd, taking in all the praise with a wide smile on his face. There didn’t seem to be an ounce of humility in the way he was outwardly expressing himself, making him look incredibly punch-able from Barry’s perspective. ‘Oh those teeth are getting caved in. Definitely.’

  High up on a pillar within the audience was where the council members sat, and amongst these members were Kaiya and the old prune that wanted Barry dead. Two instrumental horns made from some kind of animal were placed alongside the pillars, presumingly what was used to declare the start of their match. Barry and the old prune’s eyes met and Barry smirked, he glanced at Thandor then back at him before flipping him the bird and giving out hand gestures that signified how fucked he was going to be. The old prune looked annoyed by Barry’s threat and turned away, pleasing Barry’s. Kaiya was the only one from the group of members that found Barry’s hand signs hilarious.

  “Mutt!” Thandor called out with distaste. Barry pretended like he didn’t hear him as he started digging into ear to act completely oblivious. “Mutt!” Once again shouted, but still, Barry was committed to his bit and kept ignoring him. “By gods, I know you can hear me, mutt!”

  Barry yawned and raised a hand to his ear. “Damn, am I hearing something? Hey everyone! Am I deaf or do I hear bitching coming from someone!? Someone please point it out to me!” There were a few chuckles from the crowd, but most of them were boo’s directed back to him. “No, no, I’m serious! I can’t find where the noise is coming from, I might be hallucinating actually.”

  Thandor wanted to make a beeline towards him and stab him in the jugular, yet couldn’t because he had to wait for the horns to sound off. “Grrrr, Barry!” He yelled back, hating how he had to resort to using his name.

  That was when Barry finally decided to give him his much needed attention. “Oh! It was you! Sorry, I can be blind to stupidity sometimes. What’s up? You have something to say to me before we get rough and dirty?”

  His opponent’s face color was turning red at every shot Barry was taking at his mentality. “You are going to regret making this decision of yours. I will not-”

  “*croak*” Barry let out a croaking noise, utilizing the gift bestowed upon him from helping the tamafrogs out. “That’s what you sound like, you might want to clear your throat before *croak* you *croak* try talking shit to me. Was it something you did last night or…”

  The audience couldn’t help but burst out laughing at Barry’s taunts towards poor Thandor, even though there were a lot of Thandor supporters, not even they could hold back the humor Barry was giving out. Somewhere within the crowd, Barry’s party was wondering how far Barry was going to go with this act of foolery. Regardless, Thandor looked like he had about reached his patience of holding back, his eyes darted to the group of councils, telling them all they needed to know with his eyes to start the match immediately. The old prune acknowledged his feelings and went ahead, blowing on the sound horn. Thus, beginning their duel.

  Not even two seconds later, Thandor manifested a flock of thorn daggers with his green magic, hurling them at Barry while blitzing towards him, longsword brandished in hand. Barry was slightly caught off guard, his attention somewhat diverted to the crowd but returned in time to avoid the daggers landing; only a few grazed his cheek which was fine. Thandor was able to close the gap, attempting to strike at his torso but was blocked by Barry. “Wow, you look furious. Do you not take insults well?” Barry asked, pretending to give a puzzled look.

  Frustrated by Barry’s comment, Thandor shifted his stance and delivered a triple slash at both his legs, torso, and head in a rapid fashion. Barry answered every attack, deflecting them off his blade, receiving no damage but also acknowledging his opponent’s speed. ‘Yup, quick as fuck. He’s not to be looked down on even in his furious state. If not for my debuff from my contract, I’d have an easier time responding to him.’

  Thandor then backed off, dashing behind a tree and disappearing entirely. Barry sighed and walked in the center of the forest casually. “Ah, it’s one of these tactics, huh? Alright, I’ll play peek-a-boo with you while I stand here I guess.” Barry then nonchalantly leaned on his sword as he channeled his pulse scanner from his eyes. ‘Buddy, your disappearing act isn’t going to work on me because…’

  He then released his pulse scanner as an AOE, washing a blue outline across everything around him until he spotted Thandor who was then highlighted in red. ‘I just know where you are, it’s if I can’t react fast enough to you that I’m wondering about.’ He watched as Thandor kept zipping around, showcasing his astonishing speed.

  After about 15 seconds of watching Thandor dance around like a kid high on sugar, Barry finally witnessed him make a move. In a flash of steel, Thandor made an attack at Barry’s sword arm but only managed to nick a bit of it due to Barry’s block. The elf gritted his teeth as he vanished again, thinking it was just luck. Once more, the elf tried but was intercepted, only inflicting another minor wound. Confusion filled Thandor’s mind, he wasn’t sure how Barry was able to react just enough to prevent major injury. ‘It’s luck! This mutt can’t just know where I am or when I choose to attack. I just need to be faster than ever before by enhancing my agility. I’ll have him crippled and break that foolish facade of his!’

  Mana was imbued into his legs, picking up the tempo of his attacks. Barry quickly noticed this, his interest and resolve to fend off Than-bore’s attacks grew. ‘Look at you, trying to speed-blitz me. That’s alright, I’ll find my opening as well…’ Barry continued to block Thandor’s attack the best he could, an exhilarating thrill rose inside him. To be put in a situation where the stakes were high against an intense opponent, Barry’s love for battle kept him moving in response to every one of Than-bore’s attacks.

  One strike after another, Thandor continued to unleash an endless assault against Barry without a second for him to breathe. In the eyes of the audience, it looked like Barry was being overwhelmed from Thandor’s flurry of slashes, the sight of Barry being nicked with papercuts all over his body. Blood seeped out from his minor wounds but still, Barry did not show a speck of fear or doubt in his ability. A roar of cheers and excitement shouted from the audience, showing the same energy that was being displayed. This was pure entertainment for both the gods and them, all while Barry’s party sat at the edge of their seats.

  Thandor’s determination rose the highest it's ever been from the frustration building up; and he transferred all of it into his one last attempt made to cut through Barry’s annoying defense. ‘I. Am. Thandor. I will make this mutt falter! He will make a mockery of me NO MORE!’ And in a flash of suspense, Thandor breezed past Barry after making a clean attack at Barry’s torso. He knelt down, giving himself a short breather as he checked his blade for confirmation. There was indeed a considerable amount of blood on it and that made him smile like he had already won. ‘I did it! I finally got the mutt! He’s probably in undeniable pain right now! Now you’ll-’

  “HAHA! I DID IT!” He heard the sound of hysterical laughter from Barry. There was complete silence in the arena, not a word or cheer was emitted from the crowd. Thandor looked behind himself, his face confused at what he found funny. His eyes widened as he saw what Barry had in one of his hands, making Thandor quickly feel the back of his hair which caused him to panic internally. Raised high in the air was Thandor’s ponytail that had been snipped off, a malicious grin was formed on Barry’s face. “I did it everyone! I snipped his girly hair! Oh, wow, it feels so silk smooth, that’s a nice texture it has.”

  Bewildered at what Barry had done. Thandor froze in place, his eyes staring at his lost ponytail. Barry flinched a bit at the critical hit he just tanked from his side, now realizing what it cost him in order to get what he wanted. “Ah shit, you definitely got me there…” He then turned to look at Thandor’s idiotic face and grinned. “But you know what, I think damaging a person’s pride is worth more than a simple wound like this. After all, that type of pain is more permanent. Don’t you think?”

  That was the last straw for Thandor, the humiliation he was feeling shattered his composure completely. Now bloodlusted, Thandor stopped caring anymore about preserving his mana or condition at all. Green magic swirled around him, his body becoming outlined with his magical essence and emitting an intense pressure that Barry could feel. “No longer holding back I see, bring it Than-bore.” Barry taunted, ignoring his injury. He then activated his skill, ‘King’s Commanding Presence’, enhancing his physical prowess to balance out the debuff from his current contract.

  A barrage of green energy slashes shot out of Thandor’s palms, causing Barry to start moving while also returning the same gesture in kind. As he weaved past the projectiles, Barry shipped a couple of wind slashes with his sword, to both clear a path and hopefully inflict some damage. Thandor was surprised by this display of fitness and technique, there was no magic coming from Barry, so how he was able to send wind slashes with his physical skill alone was astonishing. ‘Was he holding back the entire time!? This doesn’t make any sense!’

  Thandor then planted his hands onto the ground, channeling his magic into the very dirt and ruptured a hazardous field of thorns in front of Barry to fall in. Barry did not stop his momentum and hopped over it. Thandor smiled wickedly like he had declared checkmate and blasted a green energy beam at him. “Ha! Try dodging this-”

  Barry had utilized his double jump, provided by his unique boots, evading Thandor’s ranged attack. He then wasted no time and delivered a series of wind slashes at him, successfully landing his attacks and cutting up his body. ‘How!? Is it some kind of skill he has!? What else does he have up his sleeve!?’ Thandor was full of questions that needed answering.

  Now that Barry had gotten close to Thandor near the pond, he swapped to his trident and pressed on his charge. Thandor got himself back together and fended off against Barry’s sudden change of weaponry. Barry stayed at a certain distance to effectively use the range of his spear, poking through the elf’s defenses bit by bit, annoying the crap out of Thandor every time he tried to get near him.

  Their fight escalated to the point where Thandor began imbuing magic into his swordsmanship, planning to overpower him with all he got lift in his reserves. It was looking dicey on Barry’s end of things as he analyzed his opponent’s health and mana bar from his skillful eyes. ‘So you’re really going to pour all your fancy mojo into this one last gambit are you? Cool, then I’ll contest it with my trident's own unique ability now that we’re near water.’

  Thandor’s power output started going off so much that the audience closer to the show could feel it. Barry activated his trident’s special ability, ‘Riptide Splitter’, empowering his first few attacks before unleashing its final move. Water from the pond swirled around Barry’s weapon, amazing the crowd what sort of trick or skill Barry was performing. Regardless, the atmosphere around the arena was total suspense, no one knew what the outcome would be now; all they knew was that their fight was soon reaching their end with one clear winner.

  The first strike from one another was met, both weapons clashing but concluding in a draw. Barry and Thandor’s eyes met each other with pure conviction, the flames of determination ignited in each other’s soul. Following the first was the second attack, this time with Barry landing a central point attack that pushed Thandor to stumble back a bit, declaring Barry the victor of that exchange. Barry was slowly releasing the restraints of his rageful emotions, he was waiting for the right moment to unleash it all. Thandor swiftly regained his balance just in time to deflect their third trade, managing to divert Barry’s attack away but still suffering a cut to his cheek. That was when the elf began to feel shivers down his spine, he glanced at Barry’s eyes and saw that there was no sense of his foolish humor anymore. Rather, it was as if he was seeing a glimpse of his true self, the type of character he really was. ‘W-Who is this man…I-I’ve never met anyone like him before! I see not a fool…no…I see a monster!’

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  After Barry’s gave out his first three exchanges, his weapon had reached its pinnacle stage, it was ready to unleash its final move. More water from the pond surged within his trident just as Barry lunged forward towards Thandor. And in a panic, acting like his life was really on the line, Thandor poured everything he had to oppose Barry’s assault. The two sides giving it their all, Barry’s thrust became a large aqua spiralling force of mayhem against Thandor’s giant surge of raw green energy.

  Brushes of wind blasted in the faces of the crowd, adding to the suspense of which side would become the victor. Barry’s group jumped out of their seats, cheering for Barry to win and overcome the asshole in front of him. “COME ON BARRY!” They shouted in unison. Fae was on her knees, clutching her heart, hoping that Barry didn’t die. She didn’t care at all about whether she lived or not, just that Barry survived, that was all that mattered to her. The group saw how nervous she was and comforted the poor elf the best they could.

  Puck looked up at the arena, his heart pounding as he tried to peer through the smoke created by the aftermath. “Puck no see anything…wait…wha- Barry! Look! Look! Barry-”

  The smoke cleared out, unveiling the result of Barry and Thandor’s trade. Barry appeared to be victorious in the end, standing tall and confident for a moment till Thandor quickly knocked his trident out of his hands out of survival instinct. Barry watched it fly out into the pond and sink to the bottom. “H-Haha! Y-Your weaponless!” Thandor mocked, though his voice trembled from fear. He then raised his sword at Barry, as if attempting to stave him back. “Y-You c-can’t beat me! I’m-”

  ‘Now.’ In an instant, Barry dashed forward, ducking under Thandor’s panic swing, and fired an uppercut, landing a clean blow to his chin. Thandor’s teeth rattled, mumbling in pain. Barry could easily recall his trident or pull another weapon from his inventory, but no, he chose not to. “You think I need a weapon to put your sorry ass down?” Barry spoke in a condescending voice, dropping his humorous act.

  Swings and thrusts were made from Thandor’s end, doing all he could to keep Barry back but his efforts did not matter. Due to Barry fracturing his ego, he was able to keep up with his opponent easily and continue to pummel him from his chest to his face. He had asked Thalia and Claude to train him in unarmed combat aside from their usual teachings, what he knew now was enough to get by Thandor’s poor performance. “No more being the funny guy. I'm done with that front.” Barry struck the elf’s chest, giving him a three-piece combo along with a side of head rattling. Thandor tried to go for a thrust to his gut but was grabbed by his hand and dropped it with a twist from Barry. “I promised I’d fuck you up. And I’m delivering it.”

  He then socked Thandor in the face twice, breaking his nose and making him fall back on his ass, blood pouring down his face. “W-Wait, I-I’m sorry! I-I didn’t mean to-” Shutting him up once more, Barry resumed smashing his face in while holding him down. The elf had his arms up to shield his face yet that didn’t matter, Barry would keep breaking through it. The match that had once started with high energy and laughable jokes from Barry, had now dropped to a daunting scene. This was no longer a fight to see who claimed victorious; no, this was complete and utter brutality. A fight that had always been one-sided from the start, a fight that was meant to shatter Thandor’s character as a whole.

  Barry sent out a flurry of blows, letting out all the rage he had been holding inside himself for this very moment. “I’m. Not. The. One. YOU. SHOULD. BE. APOLOGIZING TOO!” Cries of whimpering leaked out of Thandor, he just wanted the whole fight to end. The pain and humiliation was becoming unbearable for him with every punch connecting to his face. “DO YOU THINK FAE WANTED WHAT HAPPENED TO HER! DO YOU THINK YOUR REPUTATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HER LIFE! HOW MUCH PAIN SHE HAD TO ENDURE ONLY TO COME BACK ALIVE AND BE PUT TO DEATH! OVER SOME RIDICULOUS RULE OF NEVER SPEAKING TO HUMANS!? I’M NOT THE ONE WHO NEEDS AN APOLOGY! BUT YOU KNOW WHO DOES! SO SAY IT!”

  “I’M SORRY FAE!” Thandor squealed out in a loud blood gurgling tone. A couple of his teeth were missing from getting his shit rocked, his breathing had become irregular due to the blood seeping into his lungs. “I’M SORRY I PULLED YOUR HAIR! I’M SORRY FOR SHAMING YOU AND CALLING YOU A WRETCH! I’M SORRY FOR WANTING TO DRAG YOU TO CERTAIN DEATH! PLEASE FORGIVE THIS HOLLOW SOUL OF MINE! PLEASE! PLEASE!”

  An unsettling mood stirred inside of the audience, Barry felt the gaze of everyone around. Everyone wondered where this outsider hailed from, who he was, why he came here, and whether he was a monster or not. Bloodied and injured as Barry looked to be, he showed no remorse to his opponent and sensed the rage flowing out of him. Overall, he didn’t care what anyone viewed him as. He then looked up at the pillar of councils, his eyes locking onto the old prune. Dread consumed the elder elf entirely upon looking back at Barry's cold hearted scowl. ‘W-What d-do you want? Y-You won! S-So why are y-you looking at me! W-Why- Wait…why do you look like a…’

  Suddenly Barry noticed Kaiya point at her own ears then at his, he wondered what she was insinuating and then it clicked in his mind what it might be. He recalled his trident from the pond, which startled Thandor like Barry was planning to end him. Barry rolled his eyes and left him curled up in a ball to cry like a baby while he walked over to the pond. One glance at the pond was all it took for him to realize what Kaiya was telling him. ‘My disguise…fucking damn it.’

  Murmurs from the audience went around now that Barry’s true identity as a human was revealed. People were questioning if humans had always shown such savagery like Barry that made him appear as if he was a monster. But then there were others who supported Barry’s reason for lashing out at Thandor, saying that he got what he deserved and that there were others like him that needed their attitude fixed too. Two sides conflicting against one another, but regardless, the majority of the council members had to do something about Barry now since no human was to be allowed inside their territory. The gods seemed to be satisfied by the result of the match, thus ending the event quest. Barry being declared the winner.

  Somewhere in the crowd was Abe, two ghostly bottles of alcohol in hand as he chugged one down his spectre form. “Hahaha! That’s my friend Barry guys! I’m his cab driver, if any of y’all want his autograph, you gotta come ask me first. I charge a hefty fee, I tell y’all.” He then looked up to see a peculiar raven perched on a branch a few feet above his head. “What do you think about my friend birdie? An’t he *hiccup* a riot?”

  The raven did not answer his question which was strange. Abe was a ranger, he had a natural affinity towards all animals and was able to sense their aura and current mood. Yet this one did not express any sort of emotion at all; in fact, he couldn’t get a read on it. “Not the talkative kind are you? Hmmm…” He continued to gaze at the bird, studying it thoroughly with all his heart. And he wasn’t sure this time, it might have been the intoxication he was feeling but…he believed he saw a faint black miasma forming around the bird…possibly something malicious. “...oh well, must be the drunk feeling in me. Ah critters! Are those the guards!?”

  Suddenly a platoon of elven guards arrived in the arena, all brandishing their weapons at Barry, wary of what he might do next. He wondered if the day could get any worse and stowed his weapon back in his inventory, raising his hands high and letting out a heavy sigh. “Such bullshit. Alright guys, I give. Just take me away.”

  But before the guards could grab a hold of Barry, a familiar voice called out to them in elven tongue. It was Basil, and following him was his corps of assassins and rangers. The guards were unsure what was going on, one of them tried speaking to Basil but was ignored. Barry looked at Basil with curiosity who then spoke to him. “Come victor, let us go have a feast.”

  Shocked but relieved, Barry gave one cheeky look at the old prune before rushing to Basil’s side like he was being treated as a VIP guest surrounded by his own personal security. They walked through a tunnel and out of the arena. “Well shit, I kinda figured it still wouldn’t be over after going through with my fight. I’m glad you came to get me.”

  “Don’t celebrate just yet, I’ve only bought you some time. Eventually I’ll have to bring you in for questioning now that your true identity has been revealed to everyone.” Basil informed, Barry sighed again and Basil grinned. “But don’t fret, you’ve put on quite a show. You’ve really got the audience riled up after mocking Thandor and getting them to speak their minds about the mistreatment inside our home. Don’t worry about being punished, you have more supporters than you realize now than before.”

  Barry raised a brow, curious what he was thinking, but for now he was promised a feast and was honestly getting kind of hungry. “Cool, I’ll take your word then. So about that favorite joint you were talking about before?” This made Basil chuckle a bit, thinking that Barry would want to get cleaned up and have his wounds dressed first but forgot who he was talking to.

  When they exited the arena, they found Barry’s group outside waiting for them, excluding Abe who was still drunk somewhere in the audience. Barry looked at them, his face still being as calm as ever despite the danger he put himself through. “What did I tell you guys, I-”

  Immediately he was dog piled on by his party, they smothered him to the ground, almost suffocating him. “G-Guys! P-Please. Get. Off.” He choked out, he didn’t know why but his heart was feeling awkward, he couldn’t describe it other than that it was a…weird…warm feeling.

  His group got off of him, all of them glad to see him step out of the arena alive. “You really knocked more than sense into the dense head of his.” Anna joked. “That jerk is probably traumatized of you for life, you really gave him quite a scare.”

  “Yeah! And when you cut his hair off, he looked like he had just lost every bit of dignity he had.” Luna hollered, reminiscing the madness that followed after. “It was all so funny, I wish there was a way to record all of it so I can watch it again.”

  “Barry!” It was Ron who spoke. “You have no idea how many times I tried looking away. I know I said you’d be fine but wow, when I saw you getting speed-blitzed, I thought it was all over. Your resilience goes beyond a troll’s, nothing seems to phase you.”

  “You were great out there, Barry. I was worried when things were looking ugly for you but…” Kat took a deep breath, calming her nerves before continuing. “You persevered through it all like you said you would, you’ve proven once again that you’re stronger than we already knew. Now Fae is free to do what she pleases.”

  Puck jumped with joy as he dove in for another hug. “Puck happy you beat up stupid guy and live! Now we can go do lots of fun stuff now! Come on, Puck hungry and can eat a whole cow!” His comment lightened the whole mood, bringing smiles across everyone’s face.

  Barry stood from the ground, the awkward sense inside him not going away but still lingering. He looked at everyone that had been worried about him, his eyes then fell on Fae who had been standing in the back the whole time, seeming timid to approach Barry. He approached her, thinking that she was probably still blaming herself for making him look bloody from his injuries. He stood before her, his calm gaze even causing her to look down in fear. “Fae. I’m back but you don’t look too happy? Are you still blaming yourself?”

  She didn’t say anything other than a few muttering words, clearly scared and nervous to say what she wanted. Barry scratched his head and decided not to ask her again. He patted her head calmly, easing the anxiety inside her. “You’re free now. Don’t worry about how I look, I’m fine.” He then walked past her. “So let’s go-”

  Everyone then witnessed Fae break through her internal struggle, hugging Barry deeply from behind as she sobbed. “Thank you, Barry. Thank you so…so much.” The scene was so emotional, so moving that brought tears to those watching them. Barry’s weird feeling inside began to feel even weirder…but…maybe…in a good way? “I wasn’t wishing for myself to live the whole time you were fighting. But I was wishing you would live. You fought for my freedom, denied my death, and now I’m still here crying when I should be thrilled. Barry I…I…”

  “Let it all out, Fae. You never deserved what you went through…and it’s a good thing you are now realizing it. You have nothing to be ashamed or sorry about.” Barry encouraged, Fae poured her emotions out for a bit, calming down somewhat afterwards. He then grabbed one of her hands, gently prying himself out of her hold and turned to look at her face. “Hey, you hungry?” She looked up, nodding while wiping her tears. “Me too, what do you say we pig out while Basil foots the bill. Sound good?” A small laugh pushed out of her as she nodded again. “Awesome. Hey Basil! Take us to that joint already, I’m fucking starving!”

  The assassin chuckled at his call out, stepping towards them slowly along with his corps. “Hehe, sure thing. But do try to keep up, I won’t be holding back just because of your condition.” Basil then stormed off, his men following him from behind.

  Barry swept Fae off her feet, planting her on his back. Fae’s heart fluttered as her face blushed from his sudden action. “Hang on tight.” He told her before chasing after Basil. She did as told by the command of his voice, burying her embarrassed face into his back. The rest of his party followed in pursuit, everyone so full of energy.

  ‘I don’t know why I’m suddenly feeling this way. It’s very confusing to me, so foreign.’ Barry was speculating what this sensation was inside himself. It was a mystery to him at the moment till he figured out what it was. ‘But although it’s a weird feeling…I don’t…think it’s a bad thing…is it?’ He decided to brush the thought aside and just go with the flow, at least for today.

  And until Barry was summoned to the council room for questioning, he and everyone else spent the rest of the day filling their bellies, doing spontaneous activities like swimming and even golfing, surprisingly. The girls went cloth shopping for Fae since all she was wearing were poor-low quality rags and so they dressed her up. Fae felt loved for the first time in a long while, it all still seemed like a dream to her. Basil made sure to give them the tour he promised while ensuring they had fun altogether. Without Barry’s disguise, he received a lot of strange looks from the other elves around him, but Basil was always there to mediate if there was an issue, respectfully of course. The whole crew had grand time, making their experience in the elves home one they would never forget.

  And after a couple of hours of making some memories, Basil approached Barry who acknowledged his presence, looked him in the eyes, and saw the meaning behind Basil’s firm expression. No words needed to be said, Barry understood that it was time for him to go and nodded without complaint. He was currently building a mud castle with Puck and got up from the ground, wiping himself off. “Alright, it’s time for me to go in and see what happens.”

  His group had wished they were given another hour or even 30 more minutes but reluctantly accepted the fact that it was time to leave as well. Everyone abandoned what they were doing and followed Basil as he led them back to the building of councils. Basil informed Barry not to worry about the consequences of his decisions because his mother was confident that an execution wasn’t going to happen to him. Though, there was talk of something else for Barry to do for them. Barry was curious what that might be, regardless, at least he didn’t have to think about getting executed.

  The aftermath of Barry’s match against Thandor had definitely left a range of different tastes in everyone's mouth. But the only taste that never changed in Abe’s mouth was the alcohol that he kept chugging consistently. Basil’s associates had really hooked him up with a lot of exquisite liquor to sate his ghostly satisfaction. “Wooooooo, yeah! That was *hiccup* quite a show!” Abe had been waddling around the streets like a bum. It was already weird that a human was revealed to be inside the elves' home, but seeing a spectre get drunk was even stranger to the people around him. “Aaagh, I feel like I might *hiccup* vomit like a unicorn…”

  His sloshed gaze drifted around his environment as he stumbled about, bumping into different obstacles and elves, apologizing as he wandered. Suddenly, his non-existent stomach felt like it was about to burst and that was when he made a break towards the nearest trash bin, unleashing the trouble that had been brewing inside. He leaned on the barrel, vomiting ectoplasm for a good few minutes, causing a scene for all the bystanders walking by. “Ooooooooh, that feels so good. Oh Mother Gwendalia, I apologize for acting so irresponsible when it comes to liquor. I just had to experience it once more, please forgive me.”

  A small brown-white feathered birdy landed on his shoulder unexpectedly and lightly pecked his cheek, seemingly planting a kiss. Abe glanced at the birdy then at the sky, forming a smile. “You’re too kind, my lady. Thank you for accepting this washed up follower of yours, I promise to keep doing what’s right.” He was slowly starting to feel sober once again.

  Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Barry and the others on the far end of a street walking somewhere. “Aye, it’s them! Ah, that’s right, Barry must be in trouble because his *hiccup* disguise is gone. Welp, I guess it’s time to tag along with them again.”

  A flock of other birdies flew by and perched on a light pole, communing as they normally do. The birdy on Abe’s shoulder left him to join its flock. Abe beamed a smile and was about to go join up with his flock too, but then he saw the same raven he once did inside the coliseum. It perched on the same pole, its gaze looking onwards, ignoring the other birds. “Hey…you’re the same raven I tried talking to! What’s up, how’s your day going so far?”

  The raven ignored him just like it did before, never giving Abe the attention he sought. Abe pouted, thinking that maybe this raven was probably just shy. But as soon as Abe tried coaxing it, the other birds near it were chirping at the raven in a casual manner from what Abe understood. Still, the ominous raven ignored them as well, yet that wouldn’t be the only thing odd about it. Because suddenly Abe sensed the other birds emotions dramatically change into total fear, resulting in them getting the hell away from the raven like their life depended on it. ‘What the? Why are they so frightened of this raven? What could be-’

  And just as he saw before in the arena, he perceived a malicious black miasma exuding from the raven, albeit just a bit of it. He thought it was the alcohol messing with him still, but no, he was sure this time that his eyes were not lying to him. “H-Hey…birdy…what’s up with the bad energy you're leaking out? You scared off my new friends. Why-”

  Abe stopped talking, as the raven now gave him the attention he wanted. It slowly turned to look at Abe, instilling an eerie feeling inside him that he hadn’t felt in years. The raven appeared to be studying everything that was him for a good bit before flapping away from the area. Beads of ectoplasm sweat formed and dripped from Abe’s face, he couldn’t believe what he had just seen. “W-What…What kind of raven was that?”