Aya nodded to Jin's kind words, how long had it been since someone, anyone had given her words of encouragement? Though the white-haired rogue probably thought nothing of it, nothing more than simple formalities and gestures of goodwill. For Aya, it was something much more. Envy, hatred, desperation, and loneliness all tinged, shaded, and enveloped her thoughts on a constant basis, only her stubbornness, and her spite kept her moving forward on a day-to-day basis, but with his words Aya felt something began to illuminate the darkness of that swirled within her mind. Jin's words had given her a spark of confidence, a feeling of hope, something she had often had to falsify in order to keep moving forward in life.

Aya nodded to his words choosing to do just that before she sat off and tackled her opponent with the martial skills that had been engrained in her by her father. They weren't much and if she was being honest she knew that each hit lacked the power and weight to deal serious damage on its own, thus why she choose to hit vital points on her opponent. Areas that she knew could knock even the mightiest of men down if they were hit with enough force carried by the momentum of her speed, and with her being nearly twice as fast as her opponent they were easy marks for her to hit, and even more difficult attacks for the fighter to block. He had underestimated the young girl, he had based his hopes solely on the fact that she had been in the backline, been protected, the fact that she was small and seemed innocent, and he had paid the price for it in defeat.

Aya gave a sly smirk to Jin as she walked back over, "ever the charmer," Aya said in a soft tone, it held no falsehood within it, in fact, it was sincere. Aya was beginning to take a liking to Jin, a platonic attraction to him that was based far more than on his strength now. She thought the man was smart, that he was clever in the way he went about things. Whereas the red head rogue that had left was willing to quickly and easily kill, Jin was different, he hid his strength, even though from what Aya could feel through the mana that radiated off him that he was just as strong if not stronger than the red-haired rogue. Aya admired his strength, but she found herself wondering more and more just how much of it was kept at bay, and just how much she would get to see. The man had clearly not played all his cards, and considering the massive amount of onlookers and witnesses she wasn't surprised. Especially when it came down to them both being rogues and in a rather covert organization no less.

Aya nodded to Jin once more as she spoke, though she could not refute his words with the way the red head rogue was so easily willing to kill and potentially in danger all of them in less than desirable press a point still stood which she decided to speak out loud. "Even so they made for a good bit of spotlight while they were here. It was much easier to glide by in the shadows with them standing in the light." Aya said as she glanced around at the onlooker before speaking once more, "no pun intended." She had meant her words, with someone as flashy as the red-haired rogue had been, not many seemed to pay much attention to him, sans the fact that they were walking hand in hand with a killer with brutal efficiency. Granted, with the two of them gone now perhaps the spotlight could be placed on someone else, but with him simply leaving she was sure that some people would be glancing in their direction, thinking that they were easy targets.

As Aya had made her proposition to those in the waiting area she chuckled a bit at Jin's words, she wasn't worried about the people around her trying to take advantage of her, or forcing her to try and heal them rather than giving coin. Especially because she had not only proven that she was fast and could take down an opponent on her own but for the simple fact that Jin stood behind her. The silver-haired rogue seemed rather laid back even in this sea of opponents, so at ease amidst a room of tension and curiosity, and for many, it had them rightfully intimidated.

"Figured I might as well get some more coin out of those around while I could," she said glancing around at many of those who occupied the space. "I'm not sure if there will be any more opportunities like this in such mass abundance going forward," Aya said, after all, it had been one fight after the next and they had just now finally gotten a rest. If the meager number of challengers was any indication, it was most likely because the tournament was nearing its end. That meant that they only had a few more battles before they could claim whatever prizes lay at the end, she sincerely hoped that it was an abundance of yul.

Aya glanced up simply going about her healing as the five swordsmen approached, speaking their threats and opinions that no one asked for, and for a moment she thought perhaps Jin might retaliate against them, but he simply stood with his hands in his pockets as calm as ever, and as they walked away issued what Aya perceived as a word of warning. She felt sorry for the enemies for they knew not of what they brought upon themselves, and Aya for one was curious to see for herself. She went back to healing as time passed making sure to patch up what injuries she could for those who had given her their coin. After all, business was still at play for now.



Soon after they finished resting and Aya had just about finished up the last of her healing on the willing and paying customers, they thanked the hooded girl, to which she only simply gave a soft bow, letting the occasional pink lock fall into view before. Her horns being hidden kept most people from panicking but as she stood there, she couldn't help but feel increasingly and constantly burdened by them, such as the nature of being cursed she supposed. Aya looked around as many people had seemingly begun to get back into high spirits, having their wounds healed and being back in top fighting condition apparently was enough to get most of them to feel like they actually had a shot. Though Aya knew for a fact that with Jin at her side there was a good chance that they stood a chance of winning. However, she had no idea how strong the last challengers would be and such notions are what truly worried her.

Pushing such feelings of worry aside, for now, Aya and Jin were called outward toward the mountain range, there as she looked around as she could see that this floor was drastically different in comparison to the other floors. It was clear that they were at the highest peaks. The view took her breath away, or perhaps it was the high altitude, either way until she began taking long steady breaths, Aya found it hard to breathe for but mere moments. Various fauna could be seen, the fauna of which reminded her of home in Hino country.

As she continued through the mountain pathways with Jin, Aya found herself coming upon a monastery. As she looked around she could see various monk-like people and other martial groups that had seemingly made it this far, including the five magic swordsmen from earlier. Some of the groups of people were already engaged in fighting, but in this area, as she looked around she saw no buildings or arenas like earlier. It was simply just a large space where each person had room to fight to their hears continent. As she walked through the area alongside Jin, she could feel the eyes of those around them, staring her down, glaring at them with the intent to fight. That's when she came to a stop, as moving forward didn't seem to give any more benefit. Simply watching the fights unfold, she as they had now moved to a large area, where they stood by their lonesome.

In a way, Aya was shining a spotlight on herself and Jin, in order to get people to notice them, so they could hurry up and get the fighting over with. That's when she spoke up about her plans to Jin, "I figure by standing her we could just have people come to us, we won't have to move and can just start fighting right away. I don't feel I can take out many people as effectively as you do. As I'm sure you inferred already my skills are all based on support, but I'm fast and can handle an opponent my own physically." Aya said, now wishing that once again she had brought some kind of weapon with her, and made a mental note to acquire one after this ordeal was over.

Then as she finished speaking 8 men approached them, five of the magic swordsman from earlier and what seemed to be three more they handpicked along the way, probably stragglers that didn't have groups of their own. The magic swordsman spoke up "I feel bad for you two, the others with you abandoned you, and unfortunately for you, this area doesn't have a limit on how many people can challenge you. Get ready to lose," The magic swordsman said drawing his blade and dashing forward intent on slashing at Jin with his sword as his body began to swirl with a blue flame.

Aya leaped backward placing herself behind Jin and began to pray "O' holy deity, woe is the holy maiden, who sheds her tears, and lets them flow. For you weep for those who know no better." Aya said as she took her grasped hands Aya thrust both her palms outward in a hand gesture made by extending the thumb and index fingers, leaving the other fingers closed to create a triangular shape. Mana began to flood the gaps between her fingers, filling the triangle with a pink glassy translucence.

She continued her chanting, "As you gather them in your cupped hands, as I ask you to present them to. O' holy maiden, o' holy deity, I ask that you protect thee." She said spreading her fingers apart, letting the mana expand until it shattered, and formed into dull shards of reflective mirror-like glass. It gathered around Jin and herself in the form of a glittering cloak, that shrouded them both from head to toe as she yelled out the words "Safeguard!" This wasn't simply to stop an attack, no, Aya could sense that her spell would hold up little to the mans now flaming sword swing. No this was simply a distraction, a way of causing the man to be taken off guard, and a way to shroud Jin's and hers physical movements under the guise of the cloak.


Total Words: 1,885
Total Word Count: 10,541

Floor 1 Room, Room 1: Complete
Floor 1, Room 2: Complete
Floor 1, Room 3: Complete
Floor 2, Room 1: Complete
Floor 2, Room 2: Complete
Floor 2, Room 3: Complete
Floor 3, Room 1: 883/2250

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