Shadow Slave

As soon as the commentator mentioned Mongrel, the feed changed to the image of a menacing figure in black armor calmly walking through the forest, the blade of the infamous odachi resting on its shoulder. The lightless pits of the demonic mask's eyes stared directly into the camera, as if there was nothing but darkness beneath it.

As soon as Mongrel appeared on the screens, the chat exploded.

"YES! It's Mongrel!"

"Hail to the Lord!"

"Huh? Who is Mongrel?"

"...You mean hail to the LADY?"

Dimi laughed.

"Ah, yes. This guy. Well, Mongrel is a really impressive fighter, but the results may not be as predictable as everyone thinks. Every year, the same thing happens — at the later stages of the tournament, two distinct groups clash. One is the Dreamscape elites, and the other is newcomers attracted by the rewards. Historically, the newcomers tend to do better."

He sighed and shook his head.

"Plus, we don't really know a lot about Mongrel. Sure, he has a very impressive track record, but most of his wins were achieved against random opponents. Who knows what will happen when he faces the best of the best? If I were to bet, my money is still on Queen Bee. If anyone has a chance against the newcomers, it should be her."

Syclus nodded a few times, expressing his enthusiastic agreement.

"Sure! But, still, returning to Mongrel. Everyone is dying to know who he really is under that scary mask. And if anyone knows anything about you, Dimi, they'll know that you must have your guesses…"

The older man smiled, his eyes suddenly gleaming with excitement.

"Funny you should ask! Actually, I do have a theory…"

***

Corvus was

"Challenger Fry was eliminated."

"Challenger Erax was eliminated."

which were already turning into a flood of white sparks. These three Awakened attacked him as

remain alive for more than several seconds was already an excellent

shook the

his blade, since the blood was bound to turn into sparks of light and disappear, too. But that

Awakened were dangerous enemies, since each of them possessed a unique Aspect. They were cunning, resourceful, and unpredictable. That was why he had to act swiftly, making the fight appear much

augment himself. He had decided against it a long time ago, since being able to crush his opponents with brute force was

Autumn Leaf — the Memory he used to change the color of his hair. Since it had no other purpose, the augmentation did not

hair must have

jogged forward. He was in a rush to eliminate

problem with the battle royale format of the qualifying rounds — as soon as true powerhouses revealed themselves, weaker participants

a dozen fighters launching a

like him, someone who had spent hundreds of days

going to be much more intense

something sharp shot at him with

him and embedded itself into the

shoulder and glanced at the

'Curses! A sniper!'

arrow fell from the sky,

his teeth and continued

***

mightly muscles strained, and when he released the string, a thunderous sound rolled down the slopes of a tall hill

two commentators were not paying him

that Mongrel is not, in fact, one of the Forgotten Shore survivors, but actually the son of

the skirmishes in the ancient forest, which were starting to happen more

be in big trouble! Despite Mongrel's savage victory over the three other challengers, now he seems to be in the crosshairs of one of the newcomers you