My Servant System

The blade sliced through her flesh with ease and revealed the bone that housed her negligible organic matter after having torn her arm into two pieces, leaving me to be the victor of this trade of ours.

Yes my left hip was egregiously injured, yes I was going to need an enormous amount of healing magic in order to even just shuffle around again, but it was worth it if I could just get this blade to slip even closer to the side...

And yet the Elf was proving to be extremely resilient when she was backed into a corner like this, the sheer amount of mana cocooning her head halting my blade just as it was about to completely slice through the bone and ensuring I felt every single broken shard of bone in my own body.

The strain and adrenaline were at war with one another as I fought through the pain to try and kill her, and yet all I could manage was this giant cut alongside her skull as well as a portion of her elongated, sharpened ear being sliced off cleanly too.

My blade was stuck thanks to her Earth Mana, the Elf making herself look like a fool as she encased herself in rock and flopped backwards, laying on her back and escaping the dangers of the blade...

She was a fool, but an alive fool was desirable so long as she remained an alive fool; I wanted to lunge forwards and plunge the blade into her heart but instead she kicked her legs towards my left leg and wiped my entire mind blank.

The agony tore out of my lips as I roared in anguish from that, my vision going white and then black as the pain continued to grow alongside the pressure she placed against my limb, but there was nothing more either of us could do now as we just laid there like animals waiting to die.

We weren't there for long as the arena around us collapsed and blanketed itself around us, forcing us away from one another and sending us to our respective sides as the ten seconds came to an anticlimactic close, with me sprawled out on the ground beneath my wives while Jillian cradled her head in her hands beside Ayla.

The conflicting healing magics - one cold and refreshing, the other hot and rejuvenating - that surged into my body surprisingly worked incredibly well together as they targeted separate things, removing the pain as best as they could and beginning the lengthy process of fixing the broken bone.

On the other side Ayla tried to close the wound on her insufferable partner's head only to have to put in all of her energy and effort to do so as the Light Mana lingered in the cut, chewing away at both of their mana and forcing more drastic measures.

It was hopefully as painful as my own injury, and as soon as my vision returned and I could think relatively clearly for at least a handful of seconds consecutively I glared over at Jillian, hating that I couldn't have finished it...

But I was also rather smug since the wound on her face refused to heal easily, leaving a long, ugly scar that marred her otherwise 'attractive' visage, while one of her long ears was now clipped like a farm animals.

The anger in her eyes fueled me with an excessive amount of joy as my glare turned into a very smug, enthused grin, causing her to try and lunge forwards to reignite the duel only to get restrained by her green haired 'maiden' as well as that pink skinned Arch Fiend.

| Now, I do believe the agreement was for a ten second duel and no more fighting here, correct? Honor that agreement. |

The being appeared between us yet again, looking first at Jillian before turning towards me; even without eyes I could tell the being was assessing us both, taking in the wounds and our current states as it pieced together some more information.

| I still believe this to be a waste of time, but it isn't up to me. Now, you both have a choice; ascend to a new world with greater powers, become something new and mighty, or remain down here amongst the chaff. Take a moment to decide. |

It was going to give us some time to think it over, but now that this was where we were at - and because I already knew my answer - I decided that there was no need to wait; besides, I could use this as a trick for the Elf, and with my best shot at this now gone... well...

There was no need to piss off the being in front of me if I didn't need to, and while I still desperately wanted her to die I wasn't going to risk everyone else because of my own anger; we needed to get back home to see our families again, to continue living, to replace this anger with something more... worthy.

"I have my decision already."

Tilting its head, the being stared at me for a second - funny, now that I was free from the confine of the arena I could feel that second tick on by - before appearing in front of me, crouching down and placing itself between Jillian and I.

| They cannot hear nor see your lips, Demoness. Make your decision. Remember... it is final. |

I nodded again and looked over its shoulder, keeping my head in place and locking eyes with Jillian as I grinned, saying "Thank you for the offer, but no thanks. I'll stay down here.", trying to wear as smug of an expression as possible even as I declined.

| Very well. I hope you don't regret this, Demoness. |

Warping away and kneeling in front of Jillian, the being likely asked her the same thing, and unless it was playing us like a fiddle it was leaving my decision out of it; I thought so anyways because Jillian's features twisted in anger for a moment as she glared at the being, but when she looked back at me...

Smiling sweetly at her, I mouthed 'Don't be a bitch, Elf...', watching as her eyes went hot before plunging into an icy coldness that was devoid of any emotion; nodding to the being, she made her decision, and I prayed it was the right one.

| The decisions have been made. You shall ascend now and emerge unto a new world filled with opportunities. Good luck, and I hope to see you again. |

Clapping its hands, the being disappeared, and for a moment I was worried that they had chosen to stay behind - who knows of the being would meddle once more despite promising it wouldn't - and we would have to hunt them down again, but then...

They were gone; whisked away in a blinding light that shot into the sky and into a Gate high in the heavens, the two Elves were gone from this world and sent into the next, while we remained down here.

"So... no hard feelings, right Cali..?

Both of the Elves were gone but the Arch Fiend remained, its three eyes sparkling with a few emotions as it turned towards its ever irritating brethren hoping for leniency... whether it would get it or not was to be seen since Sla'Caligo was just grinning.

That, and I was feeling my head twirling around as the pain caught me again, the adrenaline that had been holding it back no longer flowing through my veins... and just like that I passed out, unable to remain conscious any longer.