Mantle of the Gods [LitRPG / Slow Burn / FTB Harem]

Rix wasn't at the ring.

But Astrid was. Not at it exactly, but inside it.

I looked down into the pit and saw the golden woman armed with a bladed arm-shield on each arm. Her shoulder length red hair was braided tightly down each side of her head with another down the middle of her head, then the three were braided all together. Her blue eyes looked like they were on fire as she danced around her opponent.

The other person in the ring was a MInotar. The brown bull-man had a huge hammer that it was swinging. But every time it would get close, Astrid would use the arm-shield to divert it just enough to miss her, then make a tiny cut with her other weapon, before dancing back.

"Can you believe this? Our little Crimson Dancer has Miltoor looking like a fool! Who would have believed that a Tier Zero could survive this long in the Gauntlet! But all it will take is one strike from our Champion's Hammer to end it! Place your bets on the third match of tonight's Tier One Fight to the Death!"

The voice of the monkey-man in a very expensive looking purple and gold suit was the loudest thing in this section. The Raijin announcer was parading around on top of the transparent ceiling above Astrid and the Minotaur she was fighting. It reminded me a lot of the few times that I'd seen the Adventurer Games. The Raijin were the primary announcers for those matches.

"We've got to stop this!" I turned to Gesai. "Can you..?"

I expected her to jump over the railing and smash the glass, but instead, she knelt down and pounded on the section that was right in front of her.

"It's Tier Four." She stood back up. "I can break it, but it's going to take a few minutes."

"We need to find where the contestants get in." Ether was looking around, then pointed at the large ring of counters in the middle section.

Fox women in barely any clothes were taking All from people in line. There was a screen beside the Kitsune with words and numbers that I couldn't make out, but that hadn't been what Ether had been pointing at. There were only seven counters, each one facing one of the pits. Except for number six. Instead of a counter, there were two Grim that were guarding what looked like a large spiral staircase.

"That has to be it!" I looked at Gesai. "We need to get down there so we can stop this fight!"

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The silver woman beside me pulled us back. "We don't have time." She pointed at the entrance where a group of six Grim had just walked in. There were three more coming from the sixth section and two coming from the first one.

Oz jumped over the railing and ran out onto the glass.

"It looks like we have a jumper! You know what that means!" The announcer pointed at Oz and electricity crackled on his hand.

EXPULSION! EXPULSION!

The crowd was chanting and banging on the railing.

Gesai jumped over the rail and intercepted the blast. It sizzled over her and made her red hair poof out.

The crowd got silent for a moment as everyone else tried to figure out what was going on.

Then they started cheering.

Gesai dashed at the announcer and swung at the extravagantly clothed Raijin. The monkey-man was able to dodge her fist and tried to shock her again, but she kept rotating and kicked his fist aside, directing the blast at the ceiling.

Rubble rained down on the two of them as the teacher didn't stop moving.

"He's Tier Four." Ether grabbed me and pulled me over the railing with Fray in hand.

"What are we doing?!" I looked down at the fight below. It actually looked like Astrid was winning. She hadn't been hit yet and the Minotaur was covered in cuts.

"Rix will be able to see us this way and Gesai will have a clearer field to fight." The four of us started moving towards the north west corner. "Anyone without a CB is who we focus on." Ether held out her hand towards the Raijin.

Look At Me!

Against a Tier Four, she didn't have much of a chance of the taunt holding his attention. And she really didn't have a chance at being able to survive a hit from him. Even though she tried to use the skill, I could tell that nothing had happened. But that didn't matter, because she only needed to distract him for a second. And a second was all the opening that Gesai needed for her fist to connect with his body.

The silver woman chained her attacks as one fist caught on fire and the other one froze over. She stood over the unconscious Raijin as the crowd cheered. She wiped her face with the back of her hand as the eleven Authority Officers began climbing over the rail.

One of the Grim stepped forward and pointed at her. "You are to be detained for trespassing and assault. Surrender peacefully, or we will detain you with force." He must have seen the look in her eye, because he added. "I am level fifty one. You cannot win."

I knew she was going to fight. Aryes had been Tier Five and she hadn't backed down from him during our fight in Wurn. I looked down at Astrid and our eyes met. There was something there that almost seemed happy and content. She took a step back and dropped to her knees. Her arms on the ground by her side with her palms up.

The Minotar looked at her and swung his hammer. He wasn't going to reject a free kill.

There was nothing I could do but scream.

"NO!"