Both fighters launched forward without hesitation, vanishing from their starting points in twin bursts of speed.
Mae's body surged with energy as she enhanced herself, her feet hitting the ground like drumbeats, accelerating unnaturally fast. Across the square, Lexy's legs warped mid-sprint—fur sprouting, joints snapping into new angles—until the lean, muscular limbs of a cheetah carried her across the arena in bounding strides.
"Whoa! They're not holding back!" Quincy shouted, hands to her mouth as she hovered overhead. "Both fighters showing off what they're capable of right from the start!"
Gasps and murmurs rose from the crowd, especially as Lexy's inhuman transformation fully registered.
In one of the VIP stands, Samwell leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "So the assassin's a changeling," he muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Matthew blinked. "A changeling? I didn't think they were real."
"Neither did I. But there's no magic trace in that transformation—none at all," Samwell replied, voice low with interest as he continued to study Lexy with renewed curiosity.
In another VIP stand, Tianteng spoke quietly, almost to herself. "A changeling. I never thought I'd see one again."
"You've met one before?" the Emperor of Aeruna asked, glancing toward her.
"No, my Emperor," she replied calmly. "I have only seen one… never had the pleasure of speaking with them."
Elsewhere among the VIPs, Prince Mark cast a sidelong glance at Zara. "I doubt this is pleasant for you to watch after last night."
Zara's eyes widened briefly—but only for a second. "If you're talking about the assassin," she said, voice smooth and unwavering, "do not worry, Mark. I'm completely fine." A thin smile followed. *He's showing care…*
Back in the arena, deep within the city-like construct, the two fighters met in the center of a stone square.
Their clash was instant.
Mae's hands blurred as she unsheathed twin daggers—sleek, narrow, deadly—blades nearly identical to the kind her sister once wielded. She slashed in a tight X-shaped arc aimed straight for Lexy's chest.
Lexy didn't dodge. She took the hit.
The daggers cut deep, carving a crimson X across her torso. Blood splattered the stone underfoot. But before it even hit the ground, her body was already stitching itself back together. Skin rippled, muscle sealed—fully healed in seconds.
With a low pivot, she spun around, her legs shifting again—cheetah replaced by the heavier, thicker limbs of a tiger. The new mass gave power to her next strike—a savage swipe aimed at Mae's throat.
Mae's smile didn't waver.
She leaned back fluidly, letting the claw pass inches from her skin, then launched into a flurry of flips and twists—backflipping across the square with dancer-like grace until she landed a safe distance away.
Lexy placed her transformed foot down with a faint thump, watching her opponent with amused eyes.
"We both went for the kill, didn't we?" she called.
Mae laughed lightly, twirling one dagger in her fingers. "Of course I did. It's not like you'd actually die from it." She tilted her head. "But you know you'd be disqualified if you did kill me, right?"
Lexy shrugged, grin returning. "I'll worry about that later."
Then she surged forward again.
With a powerful flex of her tiger limbs, Lexy launched herself through the air—her body shifting mid-flight, both arms thickening and warping into the heavy, furred limbs of a bear. Her trajectory brought her down like a living meteor, claws aimed to crush Mae into the cobbled stone.
But Mae was already moving.
She dropped low, slipping beneath the falling shadow of her opponent just before impact. Lexy crashed down—stone cracking beneath her bear-claws—as Mae spun clean behind her. With a blur of motion, she drove her heel into Lexy's spine.
A sickening snap rang out.
Lexy's body jerked forward from the force, rolling violently across the square before crashing into the stone front of one of the arena's false shops. Debris scattered from the impact, a cloud of dust blooming in her wake.
Mae stood tall, grinning, one hand casually patting the thigh of the leg she'd used to strike. "You can turn into every critter in the forest if you want," she called, eyes sharp. "But I'm a forest elf, sweetheart. I'm stronger than all of them. Stronger than you."
Quincy threw her arms up in theatrical glee. "A match of pure, unfiltered violence! The first real one of this year's tournament!"
Some parts of the crowd recoiled, wincing at the brutality of it all. They knew the fights could get this vicious—saw it—but was something still not something they could get used to. Others, however, roared in approval, as if this exact kind of savagery was what they hoped for the moment it was revealed what the fighters were
"I hope she doesn't get too overconfident…" Zee whispered from the stands, her brows furrowed, fists tense in her lap.
Down in the fighters' waiting room, Xain stood with his arms crossed, eyes on the arena. "She fights a lot like Zee," he muttered.
"They are twins," Roland replied with a shrug. "Feels natural."
"Well, not exactly like the other elf," Even added, his arms folded, one brow raised. "There's something different… something sharper. A viciousness the other one doesn't have."
Xain nodded. "I know what you mean…"
Back in the square, Lexy rose to her feet, dusting debris from her peacock-like outfit, pouting as her wounds already healed.
"That really hurt, you know?" she said, flexing her shoulders with an exaggerated wince.
Mae only shrugged. "Of course it did. That was the point."
Without warning, she flung one of her daggers—blade spinning like a flash of silver light.
Lexy raised her arm mid-step, transforming it just in time—the bear's limb vanishing into thick, armored skin, her arm swelling with the rough hide of a rhino. The dagger embedded with a thunk, lodged deep but barely drawing blood.
Mae was already in motion.
She closed the distance in a blink, sliding low, driving her other dagger forward—but Lexy retaliated, swiping her still-bear-formed arm in a wide arc. Mae stopped it cold, jamming her blade into the palm, pinning it mid-swing.
In one seamless motion, she tore her other dagger free from the rhino arm and began stabbing.
Fast. Repeated. Precise.
Just violence.
Lexy's body tried to keep up, each wound closing almost as fast as it opened, but Mae didn't let up. She could see it—right there in Lexy's eyes.
Annoyance. Pain.
Mae's grin widened.
She was winning. And she was winning easily.
She raised her blade again, poised to drive it toward Lexy's face—only for the Assassin to lash out with a tiger-leg swipe aimed for Mae's gut.
Mae flipped back, graceful and fluid, narrowly dodging it like before, boots skimming the ground as she landed at a safe distance.
Lexy slowly straightened, breathing steady, expression thoughtful.
"You know," she began, brushing a lock of hair out of her face, "I've been thinking about what you said. About you being stronger because you're a forest elf."
Her form began shifting again—but not into a beast.
Not this time.
The fur receded. Muscle rebalanced. Her frame reshaped into a slim, elegant figure. Long black hair spilled down to her waist. Emerald eyes sparkled with a sense of curiosity. And peeking from beneath her hair—pointed elven ears.
Lexy had become Zee.
A perfect, uncanny copy.
A teasing smirk touched her lips as she tilted her head. "So I thought… why not try playing as one~?"
She stepped forward, letting the change settle, voice coy and laced with challenge.
"Let's fight elven physicality… with elven physicality, shall we~?"