Transcendence - Chapter 99

***Sphere of Sous***

***Lidith***

When I came back to myself, I was covered in blood. The arena was a mess with moaning judges all around. A few were still clinging to me, trying to restrain me.

That’s it. Now they know! I thought I would be able to control it. But I am actually pretty weak without changing into my second form. Even though I am back to normal and cleaned up, all three of them are staring warily at me.

And now here I am. A bloody mess. I take a cute pose and smile. “~Tehe!~ How was that? I am strong aren’t I? We’ll surely win the team matches.” I give them a thumbs up!

Jazira shakes her head. “We need a plan!”

Celestial nods. “A good one!”

Ascathon points at me. “How about throwing her at the opponents while we hide behind a strong barrier? Then we wait until they are defeated or Lidith runs out of steam. Afterwards we mop up the rest.”

Jazira looks doubtful. “I am not sure that I can make a barrier strong enough to keep her off! And what if the enemy manages to turn her attention towards us and hides somewhere?”

Celestial nods again. “She is too much of a wild card! We can’t count on her attacking the opponent first. She tore even the judges to pieces!”

Ascathon scratches his cheek. “Then how about defending her to our last breath while she hurls those arcane missiles around. If she turns her rage mode on after we are dead, then there is no problem.”

A syringe with big long needle appears in Celestial’s hand. “I have a better plan.”

She takes a step forward and I take a step back. I have a dreadful feeling when I look at her. “What are you planning to do to your teacher?”

“~Hold her.~”

“~I need a sample.~”

***

Red hair? Cat eyes? Long, bushy tail? Cat ears? I am holding my long tail while looking at myself in the mirror. “What have you done to me? I can’t show myself to my worshippers like this!”

Celestial makes a dismissive gesture while watching the fight down in the arena. “Don’t fret over it. Isn’t this half awakened state better than running amok?”

I touch one of my ears while holding my tail with the other hand. It tends to swing around without control as soon as I let go. It’s like it has a will of it’s own. “Why do you even have a medicine like this? And my awakening is my strong point!”

Celestial huffs. “Our personal guard consists of werewolves. Of course I would do some research in that direction. If you had told me about your state, I would have been able to solve the problem without such a half-assed method.”

Ascathon shakes his head and sips on his juice. “Better no awakening and losing, than being annihilated by your own comrade and losing.”

I pull at my own tail with mixed feelings. “As long as it’s reversible?” It hurts! It’s real!

A thin thread dangles into my field of view and I fight the urge to catch it. I turn towards Jazira who was dangling it from behind me and glare at her.

Jazira is smiling creepily and drool comes from the corner of her mouth. “She is so cute! I want to cuddle her. Can’t you make this appearance permanent?”

Celestial shrugs. “It’s permanent if she doesn’t get the antidote.”

Jazira’s creepy smile broadens. She grabs my tail and starts rubbing it against her cheek. “And can you make her a little smaller? She would be perfect if she was even smaller!”

“~Nyargh!~” I try to recover my tail, but Jazira holds it with an iron grip. “Let go! That’s not how you are supposed to … ~Haaahhngh!~” A strange feeling bolts through my body.

Jazira grabs my left ear and a prickling runs down my spine! “~Haaah!~” I fall to my knees while my entire body shakes. Finally I manage to pull my tail free and press it to my chest while curling up around it.

Celestial kneels down beside me. “Hmm. A strange side effect? I didn’t expect her new appendages to be that sensitive?”

The feeling finally fades away, but I keep lying there with tears in my eyes. “I feel violated! I was violated! In front of my pupils! By my pupils! My pride!”

Even Ascathon looks at me with a dangerous expression! “That was inspiring!” A dangerous fire is in his eyes.

I get to my knees and crawl away from them. “I am going to the restroom!!”

Jazira steps towards the door which leads to our private restroom. “I’ll help you to take care of it!”

There is no time for consideration. I leap forward and grab her ankle, tripping her. Then I run for the door and lock it behind me.

Fists bang on the other side of the door. “I just wanted to help a little. Building up some skinship you know!?”

I turn the lock another time. Just to be sure. “No thanks! Get a guy!”

***

We are down in the arena. This time it is all four of us. We decided for me and Celestial to play the roles of frontline bruisers while Ascathon and Jazira to stay back and assist us. They insisted on this strategy in order to test if I would still fall into a mad frenzy.

Celestial nods towards the judges. “I know that the question comes a little late, but how many fights do we have to win as a group?”

I uneasily rub my hands together. “The one on one duels were the easy part. They are just something like warm-up matches. From now on we get points for each kill and if we do good enough, we can advance to the finals at the end of the day. The finals tomorrow use a knockout system. So if me make it there, we need to have the last man or woman standing at the end of the battle.”

“… UUUUOOO! Look at that! What happened to the ferocious Lidith the Red!? Was she tamed? I already intended to name their team -The four Pillars of Death-! But now I am not so sure any more! Did they decide that it was better to turn Lidith into their mascot?…”

I drop to my knees with tears in my eyes. “That’s it! My reputation is finished! The most important thing you have as a god is gone!”

Ascathon pats my head with flushed cheeks. “There, there. You just have to kill them in a gruesome manner and they’ll see that you are still the Red. How about ripping off their arms and ramming them down their throats? They’ll suffocate while they try to scream.”

Celetial grabs his ear and pulls him away. “Now you are crossing the line!”

.