The Bloodbath Odyssey; I reincarnated to become the cursed

The Wood Hint Tournament was now drawing nearer, and the final arena battle was only three days away.

The weather in the Great City had been optimistic, and everything was being enjoyed to the fullest, especially the arena battles.

Simma had made a decision. One that might be long and uncertain, or so he thought, but whatever his fate, he knew he would face it, fully devoted.

After the question he had asked Sarah, and her response, he had decided to join the Azren.

At first, he wasn't sure it was a good idea, but after giving it more thought, he realized it wasn't so bad after all.

The truth was, the agony he had gone through had stemmed from his weakness. Now, he had a chance to defend himself instead of flinching in the face of danger.

Also, he had no place to stay in the city. He learned the Citadel would offer him shelter once he participated in the tournament.

"Well... will I?" he wondered.

The tournament had already begun, and joining mid-way wasn't something that had been done before.

Even if it was possible, all the fighters had already been paired.

But something happened, Neville, an introvert and borderline pervert, had quit. A slot was now open. And Sarah, through her closeness to Nurse Stacy, had gotten that information just in time.

Sarah had told him she was going to ask Zolomon for help, and that's all Simma knew for now.

Meanwhile, Simma, who had refreshed himself and changed into new clothes, was still in the infirmary, the only place he could stay. Where else would he go?

He had fully recovered now, and he knew beyond all doubt that he owed them his life.

Moments later, Sarah stormed into the infirmary with hurried steps. She flounced over to the left side where, on a tray beside a huge metal cylindrical tank, were bottles of water.

She didn't say a word until she had satisfied her thirst. Then, with urgency in her tone, she snapped,

"C'mon, let's go!"

"Hey, calm down, Sarah. At least let me wear something that looks decent for an interview," Simma said as Sarah glared at him.

For a moment, it got to her. She sniggered. Simma looked like someone they'd forced into clothes.

The clothes were too big for his thin frame, he hadn't fully recovered from the hunger and torment he suffered in the Haydes.

Trying to stop laughing, Sarah said through her giggles, "Yeah, you should probably change."

Simma knew it would come. He chuckled as Sarah laughed, then muttered,

"Ooh… I hate you, girl."

A little while later, Nurse Stacy helped Simma get better-fitting clothes, and together he and Sarah hurried to Zolomon's chamber to claim the free slot before someone else did.

They hurried past the Codec Training Center beside the infirmary, which was empty, of course. Everyone had gone to watch the battles.

They said little, moving down to a small space with four different paths. They took the right turn and entered a glistening passageway.

The walls on both sides of the passage were made of glass, and what lay beyond them could be seen, though the rooms were empty.

Simma looked around as they walked, but those glass-walled rooms caught his attention.

"Why would they build rooms just to leave them empty?" he asked casually.

Sarah, deep in thought about how to present their plea to Zolomon, turned with a tired expression.

"That room is still a mystery to me, Simma," she replied.

"What do you mean, a mystery?"

"That's where the mind-sync cultivation takes place. And by then, it's in contravene," Sarah answered, making it even harder for Simma to understand.

He didn't realize that just up ahead was the mahogany door to Zolomon's chamber. and that was the reason why she was kind of not responsive.

Still confused, Simma asked again, "What do you mean?"

"Okay, fine," Sarah snapped, sounding slightly exasperated.

"It's a place where people go to meditate for days to try and move up a rank. When it's in contravene, the glass walls become opaque, you can't see through them."

Now simma understood better, he was about to say something only for Sarah to drive back his words into his mouth.

"We're here," she said flatly.

Opening the door, they walked in. Zolomon was standing by the window, his arms crossed behind his back. His posture was still, his back facing them.

Sarah hadn't hope she would be returning to his chambers just within a sort period of time and wasn't expecting to see him while the tournament of the day was still going on.

"Zolomon?" Sarah called out.

He turned slowly and fixed his gaze on them.

"Yes? Is there any problem?" he asked, his eyes squinting slightly. Faint wrinkles creased around them.

"Uhm… I wanted to ask a favour," Sarah began.

"I… I want…"

"You want me to replace Neville's name with your friend here, don't you?" he asked, smiling gleefully.

Sarah stood frozen, horrified. How on earth did he know?

Out of the five White Elders, he was the strangest to her.

"Yes," she replied. Her heart pounded, and for a moment, she forgot all about how strange Zolomon was acting.

"What if he says no?" she worried.

"I will," Zolomon replied.

Sarah couldn't believe her ears. She let out a loud "Yes!" in her heart.

Simma smiled as well, not realizing what a big deal this was. He didn't yet understand that many people would kill for this opportunity.

"I don't know what to say… thanks," Sarah said, grinning.

Zolomon laughed.

Strange. That was the first time she'd seen him laugh. He looked handsome when he did, but she still preferred his mean face.

"Just let your friend know the rules, especially about the Within Beast. It might take a while for someone with no knowledge of our system to master and tame his Azrax of the within beast," Zolomon lectured.

"Right," Sarah nodded.

"Is there anything else you need?" Zolomon asked, still smiling.

Sarah noticed something was off.

He wasn't acting like himself, his usual cold stare, his careful speech, his unsettling presence, his detective kind questions, it was as if he'd dropped them.

"No," she said, then turned to leave. But something held her back. She had to ask.

"Yes, actually. I have something else."

Zolomon gestured for her to speak.

"How did you… how did you know what I came for?" she asked, this time girded with confidence.

Zolomon smiled again, this time, he beamed.

"It's simple. You both came in a hurry. And the only thing important enough to bring you here in a hurry instead of watching the tournament was this, to be the first to ask."

Sarah exhaled. That didn't fully scratch the itch in her mind, but it was enough, for now.

Before she could say anything more, Zolomon slowly faded into thin air.

What they didn't know was that Zolomon was at the tournament stand with the rest of the White Elders, it was mandatory.

What they had seen in the chamber was merely a mimic of himself that he had projected, knowing exactly when and where they would come.

Outside, as they left the chamber, Sarah beamed,

"You see? You're in the tournament!"

She playfully punched Simma on the shoulder.

"Am I, though?" Simma replied, head down.

Sarah couldn't help but notice the doubt in his voice. It confused her.

"What did just say" Sarah asked, a seethe was starting to run through her.

"You know, I'm grateful you're trying to help, but…"

"But what, Simma?" Sarah cut in, her patience thinning.

"… He's right. I don't even know myself. I don't know what this tournament is. How am I going to cope?"

Sarah stared at him. He was right. But he had told her he knew how to fight. So if he could fight, then all he needed was to learn how to summon his Within Beast.

"I know… you should just give it a try," she began, but Simma interrupted.

"You don't get it, do you? I can't win that fight. I couldn't even do a simple job... protecting my best friend. I'm just so useless, okay?"

"And you think saying that will make me feel better?" Sarah snapped.

His words had hit her hard.

She wasn't sure why she felt so concerned, but it made her mad.

"You are not giving up. Not now. Not ever. Not on my watch. As far as I'm concerned, you're stuck with me, and that's that!" she shouted.

Breathing heavily, Simma stared at her, stunned. He didn't speak again.

Sarah too was stunned by her own outburst. She didn't know she had it in her, especially not for someone she barely knew. She felt a little embarrassed.

Simma kind of liked it. She had nerves, and it matched her beauty. It made her even hotter.

"I've got an idea," Sarah added, now calmer. She rubbed her hair in a shy, awkward way. her outburst earlier still lingered.

Simma smiled but said nothing.

He looked at her, curious.

"You do?"

"Yes. A very crazy one… but brilliant, though."