The Great Demon System

The many places on display in this virtual space were bustling with people as far as the eye could see, yet most populated of all was still by far the grand amusement park.

The tournament was reaching a conclusion, and that was more than seen by looking at the excited faces roaming through the well-paved streets.

However, there was one girl who stood out from the rest. There was worry and a hint of uncertainty in her eyes as she ran rapidly through the streets. Unlike where most people were, she always found herself in odd corners and vastly underpopulated areas— It was like she had lost something important to her, and to some, it was almost as though they were watching a small child frantically looking for their mother.

And in a dark corner with a single beam of light shining in, she was suddenly enveloped by a large shadow coming from behind. As soon as that happened, her heart skipped a beat. The shadow was all in the form of a human and she immediately tensed up and turned her head.

"There you are Hikari! I've finally found you! You just ran off on me without saying anything! You didn't even answer any of my texts! What's gotten into you?"

"Elizabeth?"

"Yeah, it's me. Something wrong? Forgot about me already?"

"Have… Have you seen Regrit? I've tried to reach out but I can't find him…"

"Regrit?" She raised an eyebrow. "Now, why would you care what some idiot like him is up to?"

"Well… Ummm… I'm just worried… Have you seen him anywhere? I have a lot to say but… He just ran off without saying a word..."

"'Ran off without saying a word,' huh? sounds familiar…" She remarked before continuing. "But no, I haven't…" She sighed. "But I wouldn't worry about a guy like him. After what he did in the arena it's no wonder he wants time to himself. He's probably not in the best place mentally, even more so than usual."

"Y-yes… I-I know… " Hikari lowered her head. "But… It's just the way he acted… I—"

"You really care a lot about Regrit don't you?" Elizabeth abruptly interrupted.

"Uh— Well… I suppose I do…"

"I see…" She sighed heavily before her expression turned into giggles. "Luckily for you, I can help you with that!"

"R-really!" Hikari's silver eyes glowed like moonlight. "But, I thought you didn't know where he was!"

"Well, yes, you're not wrong. But, I do know where he's going to be very soon…"

"Where?"

"In the Arena of course! How didn't you know this? His match is coming up in a few minutes!"

"Ah— Already!" Hikari's eyes grew wider.

"Didn't you get any notifications on your watch or anything?"

"N-no… I never noticed… I did check my watch every now and then but all I focused on was messages from Regrit so I never noticed anything else…"

"I see. Well, you already missed one match. Moby's semifinal match against Sol Rinwell has been already over and done with for a while now."

"Wait really!? I guess I must have lost track of time then. Did he win?" She leaned in closer and asked.

"Well, of course, he did! Pretty easily too. It was almost too easy actually… too easy for him to beat such a formidable semi-finalist, especially of the Rinwell household."

"That's good to know…" Hikari breathed a sigh of relief, only for distress to once again take over her senses. "W-wait… If Moby faced Sol then that means…"

"Yep! Regrit is going up against Adam Walker himself!"

"..."

"Come on, he'll be fine!" Elizabeth patted her on the back.

"Y-yes… I hope so…"

That was when suddenly, voices from the light outside were heard, and although it was all uniform, it was clear what the topic was.

"Shit, we're gonna be late by the looks of things! We should get going, Artorias is probably already there waiting for us!" Elizabeth turned around and moved towards the distant light, Hikari following close after her.

"Hmm? What's with that look on your face?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm just—"

"Do you not have faith in him or something?" She teased.

"Hmph!* "Yeah! You're right! I should have more faith! What am I even doing!" Hikari shook herself off and smacked her pale face several times to the point of turning red. It was so abrupt that even Elizabeth was taken aback at such a display that she would have never expected from Hikari.

"Well, anyways. Glad to see you better. You seem to have a lot more faith than me that's for sure! Anyways, you haven't answered me properly. Why exactly do you care so much about Regrit anyways? You looked pretty intense. You just worried or is there maybe something more..." Elizabeth nudged the confused Hikari as they walked with a smug expression.

"Something more?" She questioned, pondering in her head before her cheeks turned rose in realization. "No! It's nothing like that! I'm just worried since he's my friend! If it was anyone else I would have done the same!"

"Hahaha! No need to get so flustered! I was just teasing! But most importantly, I'm kinda surprised you managed to even pick up on what I meant! You're not so innocent anymore are you?"

"Please stop Elizabeth… You're embarrassing me…"

♦️ ♦️ ♦️

Unsurprisingly, the grand Arena was packed. Upon their arrival, they were immediately hit by a tsunami of people for as far as the eye could see and an even bigger wave of very vocal voices.

The Arena they stood upon now was far larger than any other from the past matches, yet every seat seemed to have been taken, and Hikari seemed to be gawking far more than her friend considering she had not been there for the previous semi-final match.

It was almost too much for her to take in. Her sights wandered aimlessly throughout the space, moving in a circle until her eyes met the now even grander canopy of judges silently peering down towards the stage. And then, that was when she followed their almost laser gazes towards its focus, the eye of the Arena, the white-tiled battlegrounds below.

"Regrit!!" She uttered, yet her voice was drowned out by the many others around her. In fact, she did not know if she had said that out loud or if it was a thought within her mind.

Indeed, they appeared to have arrived to be quite late. Regrit and Adam were already stood upon the stage with the announcer not too far away. Yet, luckily for her, it seemed like the match had yet to begin.

She stood motionless, many emotions emanating through her shaking eyes as she tried her best to read his expression. Sweat began to pour from her temples, and her hands unconsciously clenched seeing what she saw.

"Hikari…"

"Hikari…"

"HIKARI!!"

"Y-yes!" She looked around frantically only to be met with Elizabeth's face.

"Oh, good to see you're still with us! Anyways, we should probably get to our seats!"

"Our seats?"

"Yeah, over there!" She pointed, and as Hikari followed her finger, she did indeed see empty seats where only one man sat near.

It was Artorias, he had most likely reserved it for them as he waited calmly as usual. Or was it even calmness he was exuding? It seemed so on the outside, yet Hikari could not help but sense something else… Even if it were only for an instant...