Gods of Arena

*King turned his back, with his hands folded behind him, and stood still. Ana stared at him. She could almost swear she saw his expression change. Her smile faded quickly, as her heart pounded. He was probably going crazy again. The mad King was probably going to do something to her again.... Like he always did or tried to do.

She stepped back a little. "I didn't ask you to leave", he said, startling her so much that she almost fell backwards.

"I- I wasn't going to leave", she stuttered.

"I know that. You dare not", he said and faced her. "... but I didn't ask you to move either... or to speak... or to blink"

Her eyes twitched, as she saw the wry smile on his face again. It was a mischievous one... probably the same mischievous smile he wore on his face when he climbed over her the first time. "I'm- I'm sorry"

"You're doing it again", King said and took one step closer. She looked down, staring at the tiled ground and hoping the moment would pass away quickly. It never passed away quickly... and she never got used to it. "So what were you thinking when you walked in and went through my files?"

"Uh?", she exclaimed, almost looking up at his face. She did it... she just never thought he would know. "i- uh" "You didn't do it?"

"I'm sorry", she muttered. Her heart rate just tripled. He was never supposed to find out. She was perfect with it.

"Of course, that is the only way you already know about the fight I had planned", King said. "You probably walked to the back to warn him... probably because you fell in love with him like the Gamblers and everyone else"

"I swear I had no motive when I walked there", she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I was just taking a-"

"It doesn't matter though.... 'cause it's always based on my judgement", he said and turned back. She exhaled, almost loudly. "But I'll take your suggestion anyway.... You wonder where Dea is, don't you?"

He turned again and faced her. She inhaled again and moved her face back to the ground. "N- no", she stuttered and twitched.

He stepped closer to her and she could feel his breath on her skin. "I just had to show you how dispensable all of you are", he said in terrifyingly sensual whispers. "But I won't do that to you"

He held her by the waist and placed his second hand on her thigh. He looked straight into her eyes and she twitched. He smiled evilly, as he saw her eyes laced with tears. "Please", she muttered.

"You know why I won't do that?", he asked, still in the sensual tone. "Because you are useful in so many ways"

He moved his hand up her skirt, suddenly, grabbing her butt cheek. She gasped. The door opened and a woman stepped in. King stepped away from Ana immediately. Ana looked at Queen. She definitely had an idea of what was going on. There was no way she was knowing about it for the first time.

King faked a smile. "You can go now, Ana", he said and walked back to his seat.*

"Ana?", Fred called her back from her subliminal journey. "What are you thinking about?"

"I- uh... I had some sort of clash with King", she replied and took her seat.

"I knew you would", Fred said bluntly. "What were you doing back there? It was clearly led by the footpath you left behind"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know"noveldrama

"It's alright", he cut in and sat in front of her. "So what did King say to you? Or what did he do?"

She looked into his eyes. That was enough communication between them. It wasn't the first time. "He did it again", she burst into tears.

His eyes widened for a second. He leaned back on his chair and rubbed his eyes. There was literally nothing he could do about. He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry, Ana... I'm so sorry this is happening and I can't do anything about it"

She pushed herself away from his chest and wiped her tears off her face. "It's alright", she said, as she stood up, walking towards the door.

"Ana", he called her back and stood up. "What were you doing at the back entrance?"

"I was just taking a stroll", she said. "I was thinking of something so I just walked back there. There was no motive"

"I'm asking you because Dea once caught a player in the back entrance", Fred said. "The player was talking to a Larger Figure"

"That is prohibited", she replied, blankly. "But she does it too so she shouldn't take it up, should she?"

"I am happy you know it's prohibited... but she could take it up if she wanted to", Fred stood up and stepped closer. "She didn't see you but I did, Ana"

She was going to say something else to lift his suspicion but she swallowed. He wasn't suspecting her. He obviously knew it was her.

"I'm pretty sure she would have figured out", he continued. "... and she would probably report you to King... but King called her, that day, and I haven't seen her since then. Be careful, Ana"

"I was going to ask about Dea. I haven't seen-"

"This is not about Dea, Ana. You know King and his sporadic errands. She can be gone for months.... Just find a way to keep her from getting to you when she gets back", Fred said. "And whatever you are doing with that player, Dave or whatever his name is, you should stop. Alright?!"

"Alright. I will"

"You should probably her secret if you have to. You haven't told King about it, have you?", Fred asked, staring at her. That would be a bad idea. If King didn't make a judgment in time, Dea would definitely find a way to get back at Ana. He stepped closer to her. Her unusual silent stiffness said a lot. "I warned you not to tell King about it. Do you know the grav-?"

"I didn't tell him!", Ana said. "I haven't told anyone about it, alright?"

"Alright, Ana... We can keep it that way till we have to do otherwise"

****

"What do you think she'll do when we meet again?", Crane asked.

Kang had his head buried in his plate. An unusual hunger had woken him up in the morning. "Eh?", he muttered, as he raised his head. "I don't know... but I think she'll like you."

"She didn't say anything else about me"

"She only talked about some special ability you got", Kang said. "If you get better in time, I'm sure she'll like you"

Jae glanced at the both of them, frequently. His eyes met with Crane's, a few times. "Jae's always staring at you. Why?"

"That's a question for him", Kang said, with a mouthful of food.

A soldier stepped out of the passage. Kang had been expecting that. Ana hadn't shown up to pick anyone for her masters in days. She stepped into the hall, followed by another soldier. Crane's face brightened, as their eyes met. "Good day, everyone", Ana said, walking around in the middle of the tables. "This is meant to be an announcement but I chose to be here myself. I'm not here to pick anyone so you can adjust your faces. There will be a special fight on the arena and the spin will happen in the morning. You should prepare"

She winked at Crane, as she turned her back, heading towards the passage. "Hi, Ana", Crane muttered, smiling at her. "Hi, Crane"

****

* ".... You wanted an amazing fight? You got one!......"

Dan stood in the middle of the field, with a device covering his face. He was one of the fighters but he wasn't allowed to know who his opponent was. He had almost guessed the fight would be like Kang's fight against the Night Hound but Ana already told him his opponent was as ignorant as he was. He was definitely pitted against a fighter. He could hear his own unsteady breath. He was nervous but he wasn't scared.

The device jumped off his face and he was staring at the bleachers, where the Gamblers were seated. He turned his back and found himself staring at Jae. They smiled at each other. Each was confident.... Or one of them was overconfident. Jae flung a rock at him but Dan wrapped wires around the rock, making it hang in midair, then he flung it back. Jae caught the rock and made it explode into tiny stones all over Dan's face. Immediately Dan raised his arm to protect his face, Jae flung another rock, throwing Dan on his back.

Dan flipped backwards and flung a wire at Jae's leg. "I'll make this fast"

Jae enlarged his leg, breaking the wire. He enlarged his arms and jumped forward to smash Dan into the ground. Dan flipped back, avoiding the hit. Jae swung an arm at him but Dan flipped over it, shooting another wire at his wrist. He tugged powerfully at the wire and broke of a huge rock out of Jae's hand.

With the wire wrapped around Jae's rock, Dan swung it and hit Jae in the face. Jae drifted back, getting up quickly. The rock hit his head again. He growled and caught the next swing. He tightened his grip on the rock and crushed it. As he ran towards Dan, Dan pushed his chest forward, shooting multiple wires out of his body.

The wires swung at Jae's limbs, wrapping around every part. A wire wrapped around Jae's left arm, another wrapped around the right. A wire wrapped around Jae's right leg, another wrapped around the left. Jae struggled with the strong wires, which incapacitated him. Another wire wrapped around his neck.

"Ha-ha”, Dan laughed, maniacally, as Jae tried increasing his body size. "I told you I'd get you, didn't i?"

Jae was already in the largest size he could become. There was no way he would burst out of the wires, except..... except he shrunk suddenly, then the wires would be too wide to hold him. The wires tightened on Jae and raised him off the ground. "Goodbye, Jae", Dan said and tugged at the wires, pulling Jae apart.

The stones dropped down on the ground and the Gamblers stood up, immediately, screaming and hailing. Dan exhaled and turned back, facing the Gamblers and screaming back.

Jae's stones rolled back together and formed his body again. He dived at Dan, swiftly, with his enlarged stone fist, and slammed his two arms on his head, blowing it in a mash of blood and brains. *

He sprung up from his bed, breathing heavily. "Fuck!", he muttered, as he held his head. Romeo was fast asleep on the other bed.

The lights were dimmed; a sign that it was almost daybreak. He could almost feel Jae's fists clapping on his head again and again. He stood up and walked out of the room. A quick glance at the right, his eyes met with Jae, who was about to enter his room. They stared at each other, a lot longer than intended, then Dan proceeded into the bathroom to throw up.