The Spider Queen

(Unknown Location)

"Ladies and gentlemen! Freaks of all nature! Welcome to tonight's big show!" a loud voice entered Sophie's ears and caused the hybrid girl to frown.

She opened her eyes and found herself standing inside what could only be described as a gigantic tent.

The walls of the tent were red and white. There were rows upon rows of seats placed along the edges of the tent that formed a ring.

Sitting on the seats were thousands of identical looking clowns who stared at Sophie with expressions of barely disguised glee.

One of the clowns floated in the air above the arena and a card danced between his fingertips.

He giggled madly and his laughter was hoarse and guttural. There was something inhuman about the voice that left his throat…

"Please welcome… today's new challenger! The magnificent! The spectacular! The one and only…" the clown grandly announced.

"Sophie Peterlor!"

Loud cheers erupted throughout the arena as the thousands of clowns banged their hands together to create a deafening applause.

The temperature inside the tent was well above forty degrees Celsius and Sophie could feel beads of sweat begin to run down the sides of her cheeks.

She didn't know how the interior of the tent was so well lit since there did not appear to be a light source anywhere.

The crowd's enthusiasm was not dampened by Sophie's dumbfounded appearance and if anything… they somehow got even crazier.

"OH MY GOD! I LOVE YOU SOPHIE!"

"WOOO! YEAH BABY! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ALL WEEK!"

"I LEFT MY WIFE AND KIDS TO BE HERE!"

Sophie dodged as a bouquet of red roses was hurled in her direction by a particularly happy fan who shrieked loudly as the flowers landed near her feet.

The hybrid girl didn't know what was happening since the atmosphere inside this strange new place was quite chaotic.

"Don't let up your guard…" Sophie muttered quietly to herself as she reached into her storage bag and pulled out several needles.

She cautiously kept an eye on the crowd who were now beginning to push and shove against one another while always keeping in mind the floating clown above her head.

The floating clown cleared his throat twice and then as if a magic spell had been cast, the arena became completely silent.

"Now… now… we've all had our fun… but it's time to get a bit serious," the clown spoke solemnly as he placed one hand over his chest.

"Before this show begins… I would like to talk a little bit about today's sponsor Universal Life Psychedelics Inc."

"The only company in the Earth Federation that uses all natural artificial products to get you buzzed up beyond belief."

"Four lucky winners in the crowd will receive a free sample and if you use code 'Freakshow' at checkout… you can save up to fifteen percent off your first purchase."

Sophie nervously backed away from the clown who continued advertising the sponsorship.

She had never heard of a company called Universal Life Psychedelics Inc. but her danger sense immediately activated when the clown talked about the free samples.

The floating clown waved his hands and four yellow pills appeared out of thin air.

He snapped his fingers, and the pills flew towards the open mouths of four clowns scattered across the arena.

"Damn it! I wanted a taste… she always gets picked…"

"Give me! I'LL DO ANYTHING FOR A SAMPLE!"

"HEHEHE! IT'S PARTY TIME BOIS!"

Loud whispers entered Sophie's ears as the crowd expressed their dissatisfaction with the limited quantity of drugs.

"Now while we wait for the effects to kick in… why don't we have a warm- up act?" the floating clown giggled as he turned his attention to Sophie.

He clapped his hands twice and a large open pit formed in the center of the arena. A skeletal monstrosity clawed its way upwards from the pit.

This creature was entirely made out of bones with no muscles or flesh on its naked body.

It appeared to be humanoid and yet its bones were rainbow coloured.

The abomination wore a purple party hat and a pair of baggy oversized pants that hung loosely on its bony pelvis.

"What the fuck?" Sophie's involuntarily cursed as her eyes widened in surprise.

"WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE! THERE ARE CHILDREN HERE!" the floating clown hollered in rage as he pointed at the hybrid girl.

Sophie's felt a strong wave of force crash against her body, and she was sent flying across the arena.

She slammed to the ground with a pain thump. The force contained in the floating clown's simple gesture was not something that she could easily handle.

He had to be in the void stage at least…

No… this exam was definitely too hard… why in god's name was she facing a void stage cultivator when she was only in the qi tide stage?!

This was like sending a toddler to fight a fully grown man.

Sophie opened her mouth to protest when she hurriedly pushed off from the ground using her bladed appendages just as a bone-like projectile passed mere inches away from her face.

Swish!

A thin line of blood dripped from Sophie's cheek as the projectile had been covered in a qi technique that sliced her flesh even though it did not strike her directly.

"And Mr. Chuckles had struck the first blow!" the floating clown yelled happily as he snapped his fingers.

A holographic screen was projected into the air that displayed the current odds of the fight.

It was three to one with the odds stacks in the bone-like monstrosity's favour.

Sophie growled darkly as her golden eyes shifted to a crimson hue. The odds instantly changed to one to one as the floating clown watched her new form with interest.

"A vessel… hmm… that old man… really made my trip worthwhile…" the clown whispered quietly as his eyes sparkled with mischief.

Cloud Treading Dragon!

Sophie's figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. She reappeared next to the monster and swung her fist at its neck.

The creature did not react as Sophie's palm knocked its skull several feet away from its body.

The hybrid girl grinned savagely but her smile was cut short as spikes were shot out of the monster's severed neck.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Sophie hurriedly moved away but could not completely avoid the rain of needle- like projections that seemed to be endless.

She cocked back her fist and punched out using as much force as she could muster.

The shockwave from her attack knocked away most of the needles and only a few landed on the lower part of her arms and legs.

The skeletal head rose up into the air and flew over to the body where it quickly became reattached as if nothing had happened.

"The second blow goes to Sophie Peterlor! Ladies and gentlemen… we have quite the match on display today!" the floating clown enthusiastically cried out.

Suddenly his voice was cut short as he snapped his fingers, and the monster was sucked back into the pit.

A strange expression flashed across the clown's face and Sophie's wasn't sure if it was horror or excitement.

Perhaps it was a mix of both…

The clown raised up a hand to his right ear and pretended to be talking to someone on an invisible phone.

"Wait… what was that? The drugs are finally kicking in?" the clown asked in a hushed voice that was still loud enough to be heard around the arena.

"Well… then… how about we skip the warm-up…"

"And move on to the main event!"