Will of chaos

Everything that needed to be said has already been said; everyone returned to their place. There were safe places to sit on the sides of the arena.

In the clouds above the arena sat the System and Igor side by side. The System showed nothing, but Igor was waiting for everyone to take their places before three screens appeared in front of me. One of these screens showed the center of the arena, the second showed two empty boxes with an X in the middle, and the third showed the System and Igor above the clouds, with him immediately beginning to speak.

“[I believe everyone already understands, but I’ll say it anyway.]” (Igor)

“[These three screens are for viewing the presenter, in this case, me.]” (Igor)

“[They also serve to see the battle when it starts, and the last one is a random draw of the participants who were already registered by the System when you arrived here.]” (Igor)

“[With the explanations given and the rules now known to everyone, I now begin the first confrontation!]” (Igor)

“[Let the draw begin!]” (Igor)

“Everyone be prepared and remember, come back alive!” (me)

Everyone nodded, except for one person who knew very well who it could be, so I turned to her with a serious look.

“If you die in your match, I will have Astro take your place in the group match.” (Me)

“…” (Urak)

I knew it was an effective threat. Astro is the only thing on her mind, the bastion of all her love and guilt that keeps her sanity intact, but this threat was a clear warning because I need her power.

In this battle, Guerra knows all my cards, or at least thinks she knows them all, so I had to carefully choose the participants, and I only chose her instead of Astro due to the difference in combat experience.

Ding!

I see the boxes spinning and spinning endlessly, the box on the right spins upwards and the one on the left spins downwards, all the figures drawn are question marks, but as soon as they stopped a notification sound played and made a thought intrusively pop into my mind.

“(Why haven’t I seen anything more about the system?)” (Me)

“(I haven’t heard anything about it even when Xerxes was born, what’s going on?)” (Me)

Ding!

“[ Lolth X Aszarmin ]”

“I have no idea who that is…” (me)

Sigh

I put aside my thoughts about the system when the question marks on the boxes break, revealing the image of two Elves on the screen. One was Lolth, who can no longer be considered an Elf even though she looks very much like one, and the other was a white Elf with a square face, cold red eyes, and equally red hair.

“[Now let’s go to the random arena selection!]” (Igor)

“[Begin!]” (Igor)

Ding!

“[ Natural Forest ]”

When I thought the combat was about to begin, suddenly a third box with a question mark appeared on the screen, already spinning and then stopping at a question mark that breaks, revealing an image of a forest with a mountain in the background.

“[I’m starting the first match!]” (Igor)

“[On one side we have the only Avatar of Rebirth, Lolth!]” (Igor)

“[On the other side we have the Avatar of War, Aszarmin!]” (Igor)

“[The battle begins!!!]” (Igor)

At that moment the entire arena changed as Igor spoke. What was once a giant stone slab was suddenly overtaken by distortions of reality power like I’d never seen before. Suddenly the ground filled with grass, the arena seemed to grow larger inside, and trees appeared out of nowhere, with even mountains in the background.

While I was astonished by such use of the power of reality, Lolth suddenly disappeared from our side and the screen showing the arena revealed two people in the middle of that lush green forest covering their bodies just as Igor stopped speaking, initiating the combat.

“So that’s how it is…” (me)

“(So there are other Avatars besides Ayden in this universe… it’s something I’ve considered, I hope this is the only one.)” (me)

———————-

Pov Lolth:

I didn’t even realize when it happened. One moment I was with Zenos and the others, but the next I was in the middle of a forest a mere 20 meters from someone wearing armor and a hood.

“[The battle begins!!!]” (Igor)

When the battle began, the enemy in front of me advanced and it was as if he instantly appeared in front of me. He came straight for me with his fist aimed at my stomach.

My body acted before I could, my instincts surged because of the danger. My dragon claws emerged from my right hand as I gripped his fist, putting strength into my feet to avoid being pushed by his force, which reverberated throughout my body.

Without wasting time, he shifted his position, rotating his body horizontally and delivering a kick to my head, which I blocked with my other arm. My dragon tail emerged from my back, aiming to pierce his head, at which point he finally lunged back, saying something.

“As expected of the one who reigned atop the mountain of corpses in the battle of calamities, known as the Tree of Massacre.” (Aszarmin)

“…” (me)

That was the derogatory name those Demons gave me when I was still fighting, unaware of the truth, manipulated in the sick games of the Calamity Entities.

“That cursed name represents the worst of me, a time when I used a precious friend as a weapon of slaughter, a time when I bathed in the blood of billions and couldn’t even properly protect a single life of my people.

“I don’t know how you know that nickname, but don’t call me that again!” (me)

“If you’re trying to destabilize me by bringing up this past, then your naiveté surprises me.” (me)

“I couldn’t sully this battle with something like that.” (Aszarmin)

“I’m just happy to finally see you again. In the past, I waged war to accept you as one of us; your strength and determination amidst those endless battles were magnificent.” (Aszarmin)

“Unfortunately, others got to you first, confused your mind, and when I found you again, I only saw a lazy Dragon!” (Aszarmin)

His rage was apparent when his aura, filled with cold fury, surged towards me. His aura dripped with blood and an endless will to fight; it was as if, closing my eyes, I could believe I was on a blood-stained battlefield.

“(Lena, who is he?)” (me)

“(His name is Aszarmin, one of the Avatars of War, called the Infinite Army, an Elf who broke his heritage of harmony with nature by taking the path of confronting nature.)” (Lena)

“(He strengthened his body in endless battles, withstood icy abysses and swam in the hottest magma just to prove himself stronger than nature, a madman who sought to be stronger than nature itself in the way that War finds interesting.)” (Lena)

“(Be careful, he’s not just talking to you.)” (Lena)

“(I expected this…)” (me)

His Aura wasn’t pressuring me, I could feel it spreading and the reaction in the surrounding flora, I could see the vitality of everything around wither, but I was also doing something similar, spreading my Aura across the land, connecting me with the entire forest.

“Stop talking and fight!” (me)

“< Invocation of the Origin of Rebirth: Staff of World Rebirth >” (me)

I feel my old friend rise from her place and answer my call, my power rises as the space gently opens while the Staff rises before me, its form like naturally intertwined branches with its head being the crown of a tree with leaves of pure ethereal energy.

Holding the Staff in my hands, I advance against my enemy who tears his cloak from his body revealing armor made from the carved bark of a World Tree, it was possible to see the raw natural power imbued in his gleaming wooden armor.

He pulls from his back what looked like a spear, its shaft was made of wood and the edge of its blade at the tip looked like a large leaf stained red, it was possible to see a red seed rooted in the middle of the Blade.

“(Repulsive…)” (Staff)

“(That’s a seed of Massacre, it seems he’s trying to do the same thing you did in the past with your staff.)” (Lena)

“(A living tree transformed into a weapon of massacre, and by the Aura it’s close to reaching me.)” (Lena)

“Show me you’ve returned to being that Elf who stood tall amidst the carnage of war!!” (Aszarmin)

“You dare use that damned technique against me!!!” (me)

“< Lena’s Scythe: Reaper of the Unworthy >” (me)

“< Art of Cataclysm: Bloody Storm Piercer >” (Aszarmin)

The leaves of my staff merge, taking the form of a scythe of energy, releasing a tense vital energy as I advance against the enemy, his weapon bringing back a past I’m ashamed to have lived.

And as I advanced against him, his spear seemed to pulse, the blade distorting as a red crystal doubled in size, crackling with bloody energy.

Our two blades collided, releasing a wave of energy that swept for miles around us, his Aura becoming sharper as he pressed his spear to pierce my staff.