Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

The two fighters that had fallen to the ground slowly started dissipating. But it was different from how the respawn with the power of the Dungeon god would have worked. Their bodies, as well as the blood on the floor, started turning into crimson flakes, blown about by a storm.

In the air above the arena, the flakes turned into streams that started to unite and reassemble. It was clear that the original ritual had failed, but the sacrifice of the two summoners still led to a result.

Forming from the recycled bodies of the summoners, a demon took shape. Hovering above the arena it started with a wide crimson chest, that slowly grew arms, an abdomen, and huge black wings.

The audience had already caught onto the fact that something was definitely going wrong. it was not hard for the adventurers and players in the crowd to recognize a demon summoning when they saw it. In reaction to the growing commotion, Umi turned to the audience.

“Please stay calm everyone. Nothing will happen to you, everything is under control,” she told them calmly, although the presence taking shape had also her heart quiver a little. She was far from weak herself, but the aura of this demon was disturbing. Would things really be okay?

“Are you kidding me!? That's a demon!”

“Oh god, it's a demon”

“This isn't a normal summoning! I'm sure that's an avatar. A demon is creating an avatar and you say everything is under control?”

“if it's an avatar it had to be close to the legendary rank! That avatar is a national threat!”

Like her, many in the audience had doubt in their heart. Their clamoring and shouts even fed her own doubts. The demon had now taken shape and her heart sank when it looked at her. She couldn't even see its level with appraisal! A demon like that... she wouldn't stand a chance.

With it taken full shape, and suppressive aura swept over the arena. Darkness and fear tried to invade their hearts. At this point, all she could do was believe that what she said was true.

“Please calm down, Minas Mar has prepared measures for all kinds of-”

Situations. She was about to repeat what she was told to say if anything untoward happened, but before she could finish, the ground surrounding the arena at the center of the stadium broke open like water. A massive snake, as thick and as wide as the center of the stadium surfaced, shooting straight in the air.

The giant maw, like two ships cashing their decks against each other, closed around the demon that had taken shape in the sky. After snatching the fearsome demon from the air like a treat, the giant serpent submerged straight back into the ground. The most wonder-some part was that the arena square was left completely intact as if the beast had simply phased through it.

True silence. The whole arena was left in shock. They had seen Python before, but at that time the giant snake was maybe half that size! And it had just snatched that “national threat” out of the air like some small prey.

Everyone was silent, however, Umi proved to be the professional she was hired as. Although her face was also covered in cold sweat, she turned to the audience with a bright smile.

“A big applause for Python, the Guardian of Little Gamma!” she exclaimed joyfully.

As if her words had broken a spell, many people on the stand fell back on their seats with a sigh of relief. Of course, there were many in the audience who had stayed calm despite the sudden thrill of the situation, but many were drenched in cold sweat and had held their breath until Umi broke the silence.

When the realization of what had just happened finally kicked him, the stadium was filled with poltern and cheers. Some were genuinely happy and impressed, others cheered to cover that they were shaken by the hidden strength of this strange new world. Revealing Python in this way was a power move. Deterrence to the outside, advertisement to the people under their protection.

In the booth of Minas, some were frowning.

“Wasn't that thing a little stronger than expected?” Jonah asked. they had stopped the original plan which would have resulted in the sacrifice of the whole stadium to summon an Avatar of Bragmomal. Despite that, the avatar that was summoned ranged above lv.140. Its level was still rising until Python crushed it.

Seth was quite satisfied with how things went, but he had to admit that he didn't expect that the formation would take this turn, killing the two participants as sacrifices and using their entire being to create a demonic avatar.

“You are right, it was a little unexpected for the demon to grow, despite the lack of sacrifices. But that's why we directly left it to Python,” the blacksmith admitted the oversight, but it wasn't like they underestimated their opponent. From the start, they shot a squirrel with a rocket launcher. Just because the squirrel turned out to be a puma, didn't mean it could survive the rocket launcher. If anything, it made the rocket launcher look more impressive.

“But what do we do about the voting now? Do we drop it?” Fin asked sadly, coming from a completely different direction.

“What do you mean Fin?” Seth asked a little confused about what she was talking about.

“I mean, aren't we missing someone now?” the fairy asked. Now, he understood what she meant. Since both participants were completely and absolutely dead, they were suddenly missing a participant for the next round on the next rounds, however-

“It won't really change anything. Originally we would have had 11 people after this one, which would be five fights and one bye. One missing only means that things add up now and there won't be a bye. It just means the audience will be able to vote three people back in, instead of two.” Seth explained it to the fairy.

The blacksmith knew that their way of holding a tournament was slightly unorthodox, but Seth thought it was more fun this way when losers had the chance to come back. After all, sometimes someone just met their nemesis and didn't get the chance to shine. Allowing the audience to have a hand in giving someone a second chance felt like the right thing to do.

“I know we just made one, but maybe a little break would be good now?” Mary asked in the round.

“Good idea, I'm sure the people could use one to calm down,” Seth agreed.

They informed Umi of the decision and she announced a 10-minute break for the audience to calm their nerves and the participants to get ready for the next match. In this period, Luf returned to the booth of Minas Mar.

“How did it go?” Leana asked. Luf had left earlier to have a conversation with April Vine, the plan-based chosen from Delta. After seeing her actual prowess in the arena, they decided to approach her once again when she was at her lowest. The special faer gave a short recount of her conversation with April.

“ Lady Vine agreed to have a meeting in the evening after the fights have ended. After our conversation, she seems a little more open to joining hands with Minas Mar,” she ended her summary with a friendly smile.

Luf had been known for her wisdom when she was still alive and it showed. She had deftly approached April in her time of need and skillfully convinced her that Minas Mar could give her what she was slacking.

“Well done,” Leana praised her. Seth nodded, agreeing with the praise of the princess. it was always good to gain more allies. Of course, everything depended on the outcome of the meeting, but considering that the player from Delta had refused to converse with them so far, getting to this point was a great achievement.

But before they met April Vine, there were four fights left before the day ended.