Heaven's Empress ||COMPLETE||

|5| The Beast Within

Happy Birthday Hisoka!

Happy Birthday my love~

Here's an update in honor of my favorite character's birthday <3

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Recapping with a chapter 4 banner

First Person Point of View!

My eyes narrowed when I saw Hisoka in the crowd - did he know the Zoldycks? I didn't think he was rich - or interested in seeing brutal fights. He shivered under my gaze, and I quickly looked away.

He was a strange man - but desperate times call for desperate measures. I finished my look around the room - a required act by the contract to "hype" up the crowd. Absolutely ridiculous; they just want to see the beast get mauled.

And that, they will see - it's also horribly absurd that every time, a small group of idiots bet against me. As if six years of continuous wins doesn't prove anything. I scoffed at the bets chart, yet I couldn't help but flinch as the buzzer sounded again.

It was the buzzer that was haunting me this morning; after all, I wasn't always a winner. There were times when I lost - badly - and the buzzer was the thing that brought out my worst enemy.

Over time, I've trained to let that sound not only bring out the fear in me - to keep me on edge, on my toes - but also to bring forth the worst parts of me. The parts of me that relished blood-shed, the beast of my humanity that didn't fight for the thrill of battle but rather, the enjoyment of the kill.

My head lowered then, as the clink-clink-clink of the chains rattled; Cerberus was approaching. Then, I heard a large crash, followed by deathly silence. I lifted my head, and stared into the blood shot eyes of the large blood-hound; the gate has yet to be lifted, but already my breathing was growing raspy.

My pupils dilated as my heartbeat sped up; adrenaline kicked in as I cracked my neck. The gates fell with the all too familiar thud of metal and I tasted blood. The hound was covered in it- previous enemies? This hound must be strong, if he made it all the way to challenge me. I cackled at the thought - that my latest challengers have all been animals, not humans.

The audience roared, thinking that I was laughing in a primal rage; I was not. I hated this, this performance. I'm not an actor, I'm not meant for show. My eyes narrowed into slits as the foul smell of the hound fully entered my nose.

I was here to desolate.

Cerberus smelled me, and snarled; his breath drafted over, and I wrinkled my nose. Disgusting. I slid my swords out from their sheaths and crossed them over my back. It was a waiting game, and I knew that the first one to charge would lose.

It was easy - animals have no patience; they exist on their primal instincts, and Cerberus was just given the kill order. He charged, and I responded with a battle-cry of my own.

I jumped, and flipped onto Cerberus' nose; with the force of my flip, I slashed the hound's nostrils - reducing his ability to sense me. He roared in pain, and shook his head furiously to get me off. I didn't budge; I stuck one sword into the roof of his mouth and used that to pivot myself to land underneath him.

As I pulled the sword out from his tongue and his lower jaw, Cerberus roared again in pain; He swiped in a blind rage at his snout, but I was already gone. I spun back and slid underneath his belly; I stabbed my swords into his soft underbelly and let my momentum slice it open.

Blood and guts spilled onto me, but I was already too far gone. I heard maniacal laughter - and realized it was me. My white hair was dyed red as I emerged from Cerberus' tail; The blood-hound fell, dead. He never stood a chance. I brandished my swords, and flicked the blood off; it landed on the betting board, the side against me.

The audience erupted into cheers as I walked back to the gate I came from. Illumi greeted me with a cold stare; I could tell that he was disapproving the stench of blood I wore, so I offered him a high-five. He was absolutely disgusted - I could tell because his eyebrows twitched slightly - and threw a towel at me.

I wiped my face, and the intercom buzzed.

"Any valiant souls willing to challenge the Empress may now sign up for a five-minute battle royale. Survivors are rewarded 2 million Jenny each."

I cracked a smile - and immediately regretted it as blood dripped down my mouth. This was what I was waiting for - the other battlefields didn't have the space to accommodate a battle royale, but the pit was massive. With the battle royale, I had no need to hold back and have a handicap against my opponents, I could fight to my heart's desire - which I usually wanted to do after unsatisfying slaughters.

|::|

I emerged from the tunnel again - most of the blood gone from my body save for the splatters that have already dried in my hair. I saw that there was around six or seven people gathered in front of the boundary line; a surprisingly low turn out. But then again, not many people knew of my existence.

I approached them, and titled my head.

"So, what's up?"

The one directly in front of me shifted his weight nervously - I could tell that he was the heir to some gang, and this was a rite of passage for him. Another contestant - a female with a sniper rifle was sneering at me from a little bit further back. I gave her a grin; totally going to demolish her first. Those who hide behind others and sneak are the worse; they think that because they're stealthy that they won't be caught.

But in a cavern like this, there's no where to run - and no distance that I couldn't cover in seconds.

The red flag protruded from the soil, and the six participants - one fled - stood at attention. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath.

The buzzer sounded once more; it wasn't a battle royale - it was an one sided massacre.

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