Chapter 31: Freak Encounter 9
Without a moment to spare for mourning, Lances train of thought was interrupted by Scorpios voice, announcing his victory and his advancement into the next stage.
“AND NOW THE MOST AWAITED EVENT BY YOU ALL, THE SUPERSTAR MATCH!” Despite his flustered voice, most in the audience received his voice with a positive feedback, being a great improvement to that of the Landlord.
“You…YOU WILL TELL ME NOW WHERE THE LANDLORD IS!” Lance yelled angrily at Scorpio, but his voice got drowned out by the hundreds of cheers that erupted once Freakshow made his appearance on the arena.
Hearing the excited cries of the public, the Landlord who was below the arena in an extensive underground facility featuring a vast area meant for summoning, knew that it was time to begin his plan.
“Just you wait my little sheep. Your efforts will now come to fruition.” The Landlord said with a strange glint in his eyes, as if he was possessed by something.
As both Lance and Freakshow stood in the center of the arena, four men completely covered in dark hoods, appeared surrounding them from each side of the arena.
“Those four men, are the executioners, whose sole duty was to kill any participant stupid enough to try and escape.” Seeing Lances confused face, Freakshow explained their appearance.
“Are they strong?” Lance asked, clenching his fist and tensing his muscles for an eventual conflict with them.
“Stop right there! If you decide to run, I will become your enemy as well. Just focus on the fight and what you want will eventually come into your grasp.” Lance understood the logic behind Freakshows words, but what he couldn’t believe was how a 7 or 8 year old boy could think in such a calm and calculated manner.
Again the public went crazy, as the Landlords summoning circle appeared on the ground of the arena, allowing the promised monstrosity to emerge.
While things began to get wild inside the arena, somewhere far from the city, a lone bounty hunter was riding his horse with haste, while studying a small poster and a handbook.
“The Landlord of Sphagnales, his real name is Murlock Spring and is considered the greatest summoner of all times, there is nothing in the world that he cannot summon, but even though he is great, he lacks the ability to tame the creatures he summons if he doesn’t form a blood contract with them, something only a novice would need to do.” The bounty hunter said to himself.
“Still, that informant was really suspicious, the dark aura he had around him, the mask he wore on his face, the cold sensation that crept up my spine as he handed me these items and told me where I needed to go, brrr.” The bounty hunter muttered to himself while trying to warm up his body from a coldness that still lingered after his encounter with the Count.
Regardless of what he felt, one thing seemed to spur the bounty hunter on his mad dash towards Sphagnales, and that was his gut feeling, which told him that the Count was telling the truth.
As the huge circle took half of the arena’s space, Lance and Freakshow took a few steps behind, while huge amounts of magic and souls of men slain on the grounds of the arena, that still lingered, began to gather in the middle of the magic circle.
The magic continued to build up, until all of a sudden a serpent head swallowed it in one gulp, while another 7 followed it, as the creature continued to rise from the circle.
Just before, the beast fully materialized inside the arena, Freakshow approached Lance and gave him a small advice.
“Don’t get in my way.” Again, a phrase one would not expect to hear from a small child, but Lance was already getting used to this attitude and replied in kind.
“Huh? You just read my mind!” Lance said while smiling haughtily
Giving each other a small “encouragement”, they entered their fighting stance, as the beast now fully emerged and let out a scornful roar as it prepared to attack.
While the two prepared to fight the Hydra, other machinations were being put into action by the Landlord, with his goal of taking the reward from Lance’s bounty.
