Last Life

Book 4: Chapter 25

THE SHADOW CREATURE being brought to the arena came as a surprise to everyone. I could practically feel in my bones the wave of awe, fear, and excitement that rolled over the audience.

The giant black bear’s roar flooded the stands with a buzz of elation. The viewers were eagerly taken in by the drama in a way only people who had never seen such a spectacle before could be.

Was this a joke!? A Shadow creature used to scare them into bed as children. And there it was, just a step away from the stands!

Primordial excitement overcame everyone: from big to small, from local to newly arrived visitor from faraway lands.

Women’s eyes went wide in fear, and they pressed up against their men. The men then shouted out tough phrases, cheering on the fighters they’d bet all their savings on.

Old men squinted and peered into the arena, evaluating the rivals and shaking their heads, trading self-important opinions about each contender’s survival chances. For the record, there was no one discussing anyone beating the shadow creature. The five of us had seemingly already been written off.

Children climbed up to the highest point of the stands, looking like little birds about to take off in excitement and glee. They looked delightedly at everything, chirping feverishly like a flock of sparrows that had just been thrown a big handful of high-quality millet.

The gray clouds crept aside, letting the rays of the morning sun fall on the snow. The very sky over the arena seemed to come to life, reflecting a general sense of anticipation.

I slid a gaze over the top of the stands where the konungs and their inner circles were seated. The large figure of Bjørn Sharptooth, laying back deceptively relaxed in his massive throne, looked like a marble statue from afar. He paid no mind to what was going on around him. He didn’t seem to care how his enemies and those close to him looked at him.

The look in the konung of Vintervald’s eyes was directed at the arena and the monster raging in the cage. I saw cold determination in his eyes and… superiority.

I had had plenty of time to observe the man and today, at this precise moment, everything I had theorized manifested itself.

Konung Sharptooth had enacted a play all his own. All the talk about an arrangement between him and Carl III to have Prince Louis wed Princess Astrid were left in the past.

I couldn’t say what Bjørn Sharptooth was hoping to achieve just then, but I could be certain of one thing — he now had other plans for Astrid’s future husband. And they had no room for any of the men now in the arena. Because in his opinion, none of us five stood the slightest chance against the creature now trying to tear its way through the thick steel bars of the clearly enchanted cage.

As a matter of fact, the rule forbidding magic armor and weaponry to strykers, and barring shapeshifters from taking combat form, I would bet my hand had been devised specifically to further reduce all of our chances of victory.

But who could really say what the konung was thinking? Could it be that my guesses were all just the fruit of my imagination?

In one way or another, I could be one hundred percent certain of one thing — neither Astrid, nor Helga, nor Konung Harold himself, based on their sullen and astonished faces, had even the slightest suspicion of what Sharptooth was about to throw out today.

I saw the way Astrid glared at her father. There was a very ill look flickering in her eyes. She was clearly intending to fight for her beloved to the bitter end.

However, I had never seen Prince Louis looking so happy before. Actually, no. That was a lie. He looked just as pleased when he heard about his father the king’s injury. It was just that, then, the prince was trying to keep a lid on it, albeit with limited success. But today… When he saw the shadow creature, his sweet, always bored faces blossomed into a broad smile, revealing his true nature. Blanca de Gondy must have gotten under his skin because, despite the threat to his life, Louis was pleased with the current situation.

But the deadly pallor and fated look on the Baron de Levy, who was seated behind the prince, told me that he already considered me as good as dead. The look on the Vestonians’ faces next to the prince meanwhile, were approximately the same. Honestly though, I figured that most of them didn’t so much feel pity for me or the fate of the green party in case of my death — they were sad to lose out on money they’d already placed on bets.

Helga’s reaction, I have to admit, surprised me. The icy lady mask slipped for a moment, and I saw beneath it sincere fear and disbelief.

“Monsieur!” I heard Sigurd say, tense.

I stopped staring at the stands and turned. My bodyguard was standing just outside the wooden spikes, pushing the guild fighters around us aside with his shoulders. Lilac mana streamed over his armor, and in his eyes, I could see a readiness to carry out whatever order I gave him.

A bit farther away, my other people’s gloomy faces loomed. I laughed to myself. I’d never seen Jacques so agitated. Good thing Bertrand stayed back in the tavern. He was a strong old man, but I thought it best not to worry him too much. Despite the months of diligently reinforcing his energy system, no one could be totally secured against a random heart attack. My valet was just painfully impressionable when the matter at hand related to me and my well-being.

I met eyes with the avant. Hm… I was curious to see how Sigurd would do in battle against the shadow bear. But alas, then I would not get to see Princess Astrid’s treasure. After I saw the monster from the Svartvald, I wanted even more to gain access to the konung’s daughter’s coffers.

If the konung’s strykers were able to take this specimen from the Shadow all the way here, I could only imagine the kinds of artifacts in his daughter’s treasure chambers.

Meanwhile, I could now guess who had been on that expedition. The Blades of Dusk, of course. That was why there was such strict secrecy around the mission, and why it had succeeded.

“No,” I shook my head, stopping Sigurd.

My bodyguard squinted. We met eyes. I didn’t know what he’d seen, but a few moments later, he took a step back and again pushing through the mercenaries, went back to his place.

All well and good.

Paying no more attention to the stands, I concentrated on the giant beast already rampaging inside the huge cage.

How much shadow metal had it taken for the artifactors to build this contraption? Each bar was as thick as my wrist!

Switching to true vision, I looked at the surface of the shadow metal and saw witching runes etched into it glimmering with a magic light. Essentially, this cage was a giant magic amulet. I had seen something similar on the frontier — the cage they kept the ghost in.

The amulet’s reservoir was a large brut inserted into a special slot in one of the steel walls of the cage.

Next to the reservoir, awaiting a command from the konung, stood a gifted man. He was ready to pull the brut out at any moment and leave the arena.

Once I figured out the cage’s mechanism, I glanced at the monster. Beneath its thick coal-black fur I saw rippling mounds of muscle. Powerful paws with razor-sharp claws scraped the bars of the cage passionately, giving off a discordant squeal. Thick, viscous saliva dripped from its broad maw’s sharp curved fangs to the floor of the cage. The lilac animal eyes smoldered with rage.

The black bear’s energy structure glowed a saturated dark lilac color interwoven with channels of crimson. The many lines lead to an enormous two-color reservoir.

The bruts were large. The lilac one was bigger. It was the size of my fist. The second, slightly smaller one was crimson.

While I studied the bear, out of the corner of my eye I made sure to watch my rivals, who weren’t wasting any time.

I had heard Pierce Butler telling the others to band together and kill the creature all together, then to continue the fight, but Ivar and Agmund his partner refused. Based on their predatory grins, the shapeshifters were not planning to stick to the tournament rules when it came to their animal forms. The strykers meanwhile were less fortunate. They had less chance of winning without their magic armor or weaponry. Once their bruts were empty, they would be easy picking for the creature. Not to mention the other challengers.

In the end, my rivals split off into two groups of two. Two shapeshifters and two strykers. And neither group extended an invitation to me. Nobody was even looking in my direction. And that only played into my hand.

Finally, the signal rang out. The mage “disarmed” the cage and ran to the exit. The runes on the bars flickered and went out.

The shadow bear sensed that his magic prison had lost its power and gave a loud, triumphant roar. The audience in the stands replied with a similar bellow.

While Pierce Butler and Minna the Flame took positions, the shapeshifters cast aside their essentially useless weapons and got ready to take combat form. I meanwhile downed a few flagons of modified potion and tried not to attract attention, then ran along the edge of the arena in a long circle. I wanted the shadow monster and my rivals to first tear each other to shreds. Then I could join the fray.

While I ran, I could just barely hear the mercenaries guarding the perimeter commenting on my actions. Some called me a cowardly rabbit, and others had guessed my true nature without suspecting it.

“Gee, what a sly fox!” one of the fighters murmured. “Look at his opening move!”

“He’s got the right idea,” came a quick answer. “While the bear tears the shapeshifters and strykers to bits, he can sit it out over there.”

“But what’s the point?” another mercenary snorted. “He still won’t stand a chance. The creature will tear down the strong opponents first, then come after him. Taking on a Black Horror of the Svartvald is no small feat even for a team of strykers in full armor.”

Someone from the group shouted out cheerfully:

“Looks like our konung doesn’t want to lose his daughter! He doesn’t like any of the suitors! And so he threw them a party!”

“Run, run, Your Worship!” someone shouted at me. “But you’ll never run away from the creature!”

“Hey now, everybody cram it!” the commander barked. “I want you paying attention! This monster is about to eat these losers up. Then we’re going to have to get it back in the cage!”

“If there’s anything left of the cage,” came a rasping voice to the right. “Look how angry the creature is.”

The man was right. The bear had caught the scent of freedom and was now whipping his head around, fangs digging into the bars. I heard steel clanking and scraping.

The bars bent easily, but the cage withstood the initial onslaught. Honestly though, in the end, the shadow creature got what it wanted. A powerful burst from its hefty body and the upper part of the cage popped off with a loud squeal.

Just then, Pierce Butler and Minna the Flame ran toward the escaping creature. They must have decided this was their best chance to attack.

When they reached the cage, Minna swung her battle axe full force at the bear’s head, managing to slip it into the gap the bear had made.

At first, I thought it was over for the creature. The blow landed right in the monster’s right eye. The steel head of the axe sunk in almost halfway, seeming to get stuck dead in the bear’s skull.

A gasp of delight flew over the stands all at once.

But a moment later, a furious roar from the injured monster blanketed the arena. The pain had given the bear strength and it burst forward, seemingly saving its own life in the process.

Pierce Butler, trailing slightly behind Minna, tried to sink his hand-and-a-halfer into the monster’s other eye in a sharp burst, but the blade didn’t quite connect, just scratching the thick black fur.

If the stryker hit where he was aiming, the monster would have been done for. But clearly the ancient gods of this harsh country had other ideas.

As a matter of fact, Pierce Butler not only missed, he left himself vulnerable to a swipe from the bear’s paw, which immediately flew in through the big gap in the cage.

The huge, clawed paw cut open the stryker’s armor like a tin can. Pierce Butler’s lifeless body flew aside like a ragdoll. A pool of blood started spreading beneath him immediately.

I gulped unwittingly. The creature hadn’t even escaped its cage yet, but it had already killed one contender.

Minna, despite her build, was savvier than her dead ally. Having lost her axe, which was still stuck dead in the monster’s skull, she made a long somersault to one side and grabbed a short sword off her back.

Panting, she froze for a moment. I saw her furiously pumping mana into her energy system, preparing to land another blow.

The bear meanwhile broke the cage roof off with a few powerful bursts which, due to the bars poking out in different directions, started to resemble the skull of a deep-sea fish I’d once seen a picture of in my past life online.

When the bear’s head was sticking out of the steel sheet, the handle of the axe stuck in its skull got caught on a bar. The monster wailed in pain.

And right then, Minna the Flame decided to strike. With a sharp swing, her body transformed into a blurry outline.

Minna was clearly aiming for the monster’s throat, but it was able to react and dodge her blade like some insolent little fly. The sword swung through thin air, while Minna found herself locked in the bear’s embrace. A moment later, the monster bit her head off before tearing her body in two. My nose was struck with the sharp scent of blood and disemboweled guts.

From the stands, I heard shouts and women shrieking, drawing the attention of the monster that had just escaped its magical enclosure. I meanwhile, still running a circle around the arena, was right behind the creature.

I was heading for the cage. While I watched the strykers fight the creature, an idea came to mind. The plan was middling, but worth a try. Who could have known the konung would throw us such a curve ball? Ghm… Or rather, a big, huge magic bear.

Meanwhile, if Bjørn Sharptooth thought these games were going to get him anywhere, he was very deeply mistaken. I didn’t know about the rest, but I would not be forgiving him for this. I would be returning him the favor, be it in a month, a year, or ten years. And it would come when he was least expecting it. And I didn’t care that he was a konung and guarded by the best soldiers and guild mercenaries. He never should have tangled with Dodger. And he would pay the price…

But before repaying Astrid’s father, I would have to survive.

I froze for a moment and got ready to blast. I didn’t have to wait long. Ivar the Raven and Agmund Gray finally turned, and I heard a simultaneous wolf howl. They were immediately answered by a thundering bear roar.

No one seemed to notice that they were breaking tournament rules. What difference did it make? These two were goners anyway. Let them give it their all. It would also make the fight more fun to watch. I was sure Bjørn Sharptooth was thinking exactly that as he sat on his throne watching things unfold in the arena with satisfaction.

Meanwhile, the shadow bear and two big, huge wolves turned into a single furiously growling ball of fur. Scraps of fur and blood went flying everywhere.

To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect from the pair getting into close combat with a shadow creature, and I didn’t want to. Mainly, I just wanted them to last a little while so I could have time to prepare.

While the shapeshifters and bear tore each other to bits, I ducked down and went racing toward the cage. When I got next to it and glanced inside, my nose was struck by the vile aroma of bear feces and urine mixed with nauseating notes of half rotten flesh. The cage floor was littered with a few animal skeletons, among which I could distinctly make out some human remains. The konung must have fed some of his foes to his pet shadow creature.

I winced, spat on the ground, and walked up to the bars. Then, a moment later, a smile appeared on my face. I was not wrong — this was shadow metal. And its conductivity was even better than the metal that of the cage the Wild Duke put me into before feeding me to an Ebb.

Carefully, not wanting to draw any attention, I pumped a bit of my energy into one of the bars.

Excellent! It was working exactly how I wanted. The metal interacted with my aura no problem. Now, it was just the small matter of selecting the right position. I figured the two bars that had bent outward so obligingly would make a fine place to enact my scheme.

Getting inside the cage, I walked over to the bars I had selected, touched them, and started dumping in mana. From an outside perspective, it looked like I was trying to hide from the creature as it finished off the still living shapeshifters. Ivar the Raven was still holding on, but it would not be for long. He was not up to the shadow bear’s league. It could tackle a whole pack of shapeshifters like him no problem.

I looked for the other ulfhednar. Agmund Gray’s stomach was split open, and his ribcage cracked down the middle, his body just lying there giving no signs of life.

Then, a few short moments later, the arena was pierced by a desperate cry of pain. The bear had finally made it to the shapeshifter’s throat and its jaws clamped down, putting an end to Konung Harold’s heir’s life.

The huge black ulfhednar’s body hung from the bear’s maw. The monster shook its head sharply side to side and the wolf’s head separated from its body with a crack.

That was all. I was left one on one against the Horror of the Svartvald, which sensed me right away and turned sharply with a loud roar before racing my way. It must have sensed the energy my reservoir was generating at a rapid pace. Shadow beasts had that skill.

I saw the creature approach like a slow-motion video. Steam billowed from its black maw, and bloody saliva dripped out onto the snow. Minna’s axe had knocked out one eyeball in the end. In its place was a bloody gaping hole.

I slid the corner of my eye over the stands. There was something strange going on over there. I saw Konung Harold hopping up out of his seat. His face was so pale. Drawing his sword, he shouted something at his people and pointed to Bjørn Sharptooth, whose warriors also drew their blades.

What happened next there I did not see. My whole view was blocked by the giant body of the black bear which, not slowing down, jumped straight at me.

I saw the bars I’d pumped full of energy slide into the creature’s broad chest like a hot knife through butter. Before the cage flipped from the strong impact and darkness smothered me, I saw one of the long bars pierce the bear’s heart, bursting it to pieces.