Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 35
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Satan and Midnight were the first to shoot up from their seats on the spectators table, looking like they just achieved their biggest aims.
While their eyes stayed on the ring, the crowd roared louder.
“Skylar!!!!”
Team Enigma stayed silent like someone stole their voices. The scene in front of them was equivalent to a well-directed horror movie.
Skylar stood over El Crow’s motionless body. The peel wound on his back bled to the ring floor.
The announcer went on a knee beside his body, counting the seconds. “One!”
Then the crowd took over.
“Two!!”
As the reading went on, Arturo was still on his run towards Marisa, but just before he’d get to her, the spotlight went off, swallowing her.
It was like she disappeared.
Arturo came to a abrupt stop, panting , sweating and wondering where she went with her two grotesque stewards.
“Three!!!”
The last count came, and Arturo turned to face the ring.
El Crow was still down. The winner has been decided.
Team Dread topped the night. The mixed crowd joined their jubilations.
The rich bettors behind their shadowed curtains looked genuinely entertained too. They raised toasts.
Jethro drank the wine at the bottom of his cup, laughing lethally.
“This is peak!”
Bellatrix wanted to cry beside him, but that’d be disastrous. If her father saw a drop of her tears, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill people in here.
She stayed quiet. Though, she was dying inside.
Their curtains was still elevated on the metal bars. There’s no way she’d climb down. She’d have flown to the ring to check on El Crow.
Jethro laughed again.
“Why are you laughing?!” She yelled at him. “That’s my boyfriend on the floor! Bleeding and unconscious!”
“This is his job, Bella.” Arturo looked at her, his laughter seizing for a heartbeat. “This is the life of a fighter. Either he gets beaten, or he beats someone. If you’re gonna really be his wife, then get heartless.”
Bellatrix looked at her father like he had two horns and a tail. She always knew her father was satanic, but the least he could do this moment was console her for her boyfriend’s loss.
Jethro laughed again.
By now, the streets organizers were already getting ready to bestow the championship belt to Skylar.
The medics entered the ring for El Crow. Arturo entered with them.
“El!” Arturo lifted his head. “El!”
He saw the trail of blood that rolled out of El Crow’s nostrils.
“Oh shit….act fast!!” He yelled.
The medics set the stretcher, and El Crow was placed on it. That was when Skylar gave him a glance.
She had been so engrossed with winning and defeating him that she hadn’t payed much attention.
You don’t pay attention the your opponent’s wellbeing in the ring.
That’s why she didn’t even think about it when he suddenly froze and stopped fighting back in the ring earlier. She couldn’t care less.
Their deal was to be fair, and she wasn’t the one who caused whatever happened to him, so it wasn’t her problem to mend.
But now that the fight was over, she had time to check the arsehole.
As the stretcher took him out of the ring, he looked dead.
What could have went wrong with that cocaineboy?
Her eyes went to the rejoicing crowd. Surprisingly, Marisa was gone.
Why?
Her thoughts gathered, and her pulse reminded her fast.
El Crow stopped fighting back the moment Marisa appeared.
Why?
“And the first tournament championship belt goes to??!!!” The announcer’s voice yelled into the voice address system, calling her attention back to the ring.
She has been shrouded by her overjoyed Team members.
“Skylar Vox!!!” The crowd roared.
She couldn’t even smile as the belt was bestowed on her.
What she needs right now is a good mouth between her legs to relieve her stress, a warm bath to ease her bones and flesh, and a long sleep to free her head.
Oh! She needs to meet Marisa too cos she promised to tell her the identity of the person who knows her origin if she won this match. And she did.
“Congratulations, Skylar Vox.” Rosita stretched an hand.
Skylar wanted to ignore it, but she changed her mind last minute and took the hand shortly.
“You still remain the best Dread Fighter. I respect you,” Rosita said. “You did well, bringing us honour.”
“Why the fuck are you praising her when it’s her job to bring us honour in the first place!” Roselle snarled.
“If you’re jealous, then do better and sharpen your skills cos what you did with Lovato yesterday in the ring? It was absolute nonsense!” Rosita spat.
Roselle raised her palm, aiming for a eye-turning slap, but that was when Satan and Midnight came closer.
Roselle’s hand went down.
“You’re lucky you didn’t bring me shame. I’d have made you eat in the same plate as dogs and beggars,” Satan purred heartlessly.
Skylar closed the space between them, chin raised arrogantly “Now that I won, are you gonna make me eat on the same plate as kings and queens instead?” She sneered.
“You flatter yourself.” Midnight scoffed. “No matter what you do, you’ll never be qualified to eat with royals. You’ll forever remain a fighter who has to toil for every need.”
Roselle burst into laughter.
“Marisa bet even higher than Jethro on this match, and I guess it’s because of her fondness for you…” Satan held Skylar by her right arm. “Keep impressing her, and keep making her be on our side. It’ll earn your keep.”
With that, she left with Midnight.
The team began dispersing, and as they left the ring, Skylar went to her bike too at the underground park.
As she mounted tiredly, her phone made a silent ding. Pulling it out, she saw a text from Bellatrix.
She didn’t save her line.
No line was saved on her phone. Not even Satan’s or Midnight’s.
And she’ll never save anyone’s number in this place.
This ain’t her world. Till she finds her family, she won’t use her thumb to save any damn number.
But she recognizes every number by the last three digits.
She read Bellatrix’s text quickly.
• Congratulations, girl. Sorry I couldn’t come congratulate you in person. You know you did El so bad, and I had to go see him.
Skylar pocketed her phone like she didn’t read anything.
She drove out of the park with only one place in mind.
Marisa’s Manor.
Immediately she drove off, Roselle emerged with Roy.
She was obviously boiling.
Her pace verified that as Roy was struggling to keep up.
“Roselle!” He snarled when he couldn’t run after her anymore.
He pulled her back, and her palm connected with his face instantly.
The slap she wanted to give Rosita earlier, she transferred it to him.
“Roselle!” His gasp was loud.
“Now I feel slightly better.” She took a deep breath. “But I’m still boiling! That bitch beat my soulmate! She beat him like that!!” She yelled. “Not only that, but my twin sister was intentionally glazing and praising her in front of me? What the fuck!!”
“Roselle…” Roy tried to get a hold of her, but she wouldn’t let him.
“And then there’s you!” She pointed at him. “Deal with Bellatrix for me, you refused to do that! And then there’s Inferno! That bastard ruler of Aftermoor said I and El Crow would be deeply soul-bond, but the bond had only flared three times!…
“For three good weeks now, it hadn’t flared at all! Soul Bonds should be everyday!! We should feel the bond everyday! El Crow should fuck me everyday! Every night!..
“He should have grown addicted to my body right now! My virginity is waiting for him but why is the soul-bond not flaring again?! Now he’s unconscious!!”
As she ranted, Roy just stood still, watching her wordlessly while flipping his lighter open and close.
Roselle leaned on her car, panting breathlessly after she was done.
He pulled her from the car and held her face possessively.
“Bellatrix dies tommorow,” he promised. “I’ll make it meticulous—kill two birds with just one stone.”
Roselle’s jaws twitched.
—
[Private Clinic]
El Crow was brought in twenty minutes ago. Thanks to the clinic’s extensive care, he was immediately taken in and attended to.
He now lay in bed in a private ward. Though, he still remained unconscious, but at least the bleeding of his back and nose already stopped.
Outside the ward, Arturo and Castle sparaded the corridor.
The rest of the team returned to the team house already.
Arturo’s hands were in his hair, roaming frustratingly, skull overflowing with thoughts.
“You ok, Boss?” Castle asked.
“Did you seriously just ask me that?” Arturo faced him with a swivel. “Seriously? El fell like that in the ring! Now he’s unconscious, wounded, trauma-trapped, and you’re here asking this?!!”
“Boss!” Castle cautioned worriedly. “I’m worried too, I’m just trying to—”
“No don’t try to do anything.” Arturo shook his head. “I saw Marisa in the underground. She was in the underground with a spotlight on her! Someone definitely turned on that spotlight for her! And the dress she was wearing….it was that dress…”
“What dress?” Castle frowned.
“I wasn’t home the night she tried to kill El as a kid, but he told me everything, down to the description of what she was wearing. That was the same dress she wore that night. She was even holding a bloodstained scissors…” Arturo sniffled.
“She really cut El Crow and tried to kill him?” Castle’s eyes widened.
“Yes. I was barely around when he was a baby because I was always busy setting up my secret business, but I know El a lot. He was a cheerful kid. Why would he cut himself?”
Castle’s eyes remained wide.
It was still wide when Bellatrix came into the corridor with her guards gallant behind her like heroes.
“Bella?” Arturo sighed.
“Where’s he?” She asked breathlessly.
Arturo pointed at the ward, and Bellatrix rushed inside.
“Marisa is not human,” Castle muttered, still in shock.
“And I thought he said he gained healing ability from Aftermoor?” Arturo wondered. “Then why is his wounds not healing? The facial and bodily ones he got during the fight, especially the big one on his back. None has healed at all.”
“What’s going on?” Castle wondered too, staring at the ward door.
—
[Marisa’s Manor]
Close to midnight when Marisa arrived back at the manor, a known car was waiting in front of the building, and whoever was inside was obviously waiting for her.
Marisa climbed out of her car and directed her stewards to drive it to the manor garage which they immediately did.
Once they drove the car out of sight, the person inside the waiting car stepped out too.
Jethro, with his lackluster smile.
“Buzzkiller. You sure know how to ruin someone’s mood.” Marisa sighed. “I just had the best night ever, but you had to show your face to ruin my relishing moment.”
“Best night?” Jethro laughed, pocketing his palms as he strode to her. “I noticed your son lost himself in the ring the moment you showed up in the underground. What’s the lore behind that? Are you also into voodoos now? A side quest?”
“Why are you here, Jethro Ortega?” Marisa queried, ignoring his question. “What do you want?”
“Marisa Cesar.” Jethro’s smile disappeared as he stopped on front of her. “Why not make a deal with me? I’ll get married to your Tall Doll, give her the honor and glory she deserves, but no kids. I won’t impregnate her.”
“And you expect me to believe that?” Marisa raised both brows. “How dumb do you think I am?”
“Now don’t act as if I don’t know why you choose to marry Arturo back then…” Jethro leaned close. “All your suitors were sickly rich, including me, but you choose to marry Arturo because his wealth was mysterious.”
Marisa looked him in the eye.
“Yeah, he owns one of the biggest fighting team in this city, but only a fool would think Arturo’s sick wealth comes from just his fighting team alone. Arturo owns a secret business he’s hiding desperately, and you wanted to find that out, so you married him, but didn’t you fail? You did.” Jethro grinned mockingly.
“Till you annulled your marriage and divorced him, you couldn’t find out his secret source of wealth. Now, only Arturo and his son El Crow knows about the business cos they probably run it together,” He continued.
“Why are you telling me this boring story?” Marisa’s voice turned dangerously monotoned.
“El Crow is getting married to my daughter soon, and I’ll somehow wrench the secret business of him and his father out of him. I’ll share the secret with you if you cooperate and support the marriage of Skylar.”
Marisa’s face remained blank for a fraction of second, then she smiled evilly, her brown lips stretching.
“You’re a sneaky snake, Jethro.”
“I wouldn’t survive this long in the business world if I’m not a venomous serpent, Marisa.” He chuckled.
Marisa stepped close, raising her finger to tap his jaw, once.
Like a warning.
“No kids,” She muttered. “If you try to impregnate her and I hear of it, I’ll ring the secret of your child trafficking to the states council.”
“No pregnancy. No kids. I just want a wife to fuck constantly, Marisa.” Jethro turned maddeningly serious.
“I’ll talk her into it first. Await my feedback,” She said.
Jethro said no more.
He climbed back into his car and drove away smoothly.
Marisa entered her manor, and the first thing she did was strip herself and have a really warm shower.
In the shower, she thought of the look on El Crow’s face when he saw her in the underground.
She couldn’t help but laugh like a possessed witch in the shower. That was by far her best view.
Nothing beats seeing him in pain. Nothing seniors seeing him defeated.
She cooled down and stepped out, throwing on her nightie and a sleep robe over it, but getting to her bedroom, she saw the unexpected.
Skylar sat on the edge of her bed, looking poignantly creepy.
“Skylar? The hell? When did you even get here?” Marisa paused.
“Just now.” Skylar stood. “I entered when you were in the shower.”
“You’re a sneaky one, aren’t you?” Marisa let a sly smile take over.
“Nice bedroom design.” Skylar looked around. “Suits you a lot.”
“Thank you, Tall Doll.” Marisa tied her robe ropes together.
“Now, can I get the name of my origin knower?” Skylar demanded.
Marisa looked up, neck moving like a mechanical reaction till her eyes met Skylar’s across the room.
“Why the impatience?”
“You of all people should know why I’m impatient, Ma.” Skylar came closer with harsh breaths. “I gave my all in that ring to make sure I won, and now I want the price.”
“You think it was only your strength that made you win?” Marisa quipped before she could stop herself.
“What do you mean?” Skylar’s face squeezed with confusion.
Marisa eased the tension with a sweet smile. “Nevermind. That was a slip of tongue. But can we talk over coffee?”
“On what?” Skylar took a breath.
“Let’s talk. Over. Coffee.” Marisa said authoritatively.
“I didn’t come here to drink coffee!” Skylar slammed temperamentally.
But then she took a breath again, shutting her eyes and opening them slowly. “Ma, I’m very on edge tonight. All I need is the name.”
“Even if I tell you the name, don’t you think you need another powerful person like me to tackle Satan with you?” Marisa craftily stated.
Skylar frowned.
“What do you think about Jethro Ortega?” Marisa proposed. “Get married to him, and I promise there’ll be no kids better you both. He’ll just empower your fighting career, and I’ll work with him to drag Satan.”
“Fuck….” Skylar rubbed her temples in slow circles. “Ma, tell me you didn’t just say that to me.”
“It’s for the greater good, Skylar!” Marisa came closer, tone and expressions spiralling.
“Think about it! Men are meant to be used! You need Jethro’s money. I made researches and heard no one has ever made you cum sexually. Trust me, he’ll do that for you! He’ll handle you madly. Use this man and let’s drain him togeth—”
“Marisa!!!!” Skylar yelled, grabbing her shoulders suddenly with insanely coloured popping eyes.
“I’ve been with Satan since I was a crying baby! I was trained to be the ace of her team! Sharpened to always win for Dread or I get punished! I’m nothing but blood bank to her twin daughters! I’m nothing!…
” I crave my real family, my roots! My people!! And you’re talking about getting married to a man old enough to father me? You promised to give me the name of my origin knower if I defeated your son, and I did, but now you’re saying something else?”
“You defeated El Crow cos I came to that underground!!” Marisa yelled. “You’re my Tall Doll! Dolls listen to their Master! They obey!!!”
“You came to the underground with a bloody scissors, and now you’re saying your presence made me win?” Skylar nodded, eyes flaming. “I noticed your son lost momentum the moment you appeared. Does that mean your presence messed with him? Meaning you really cut him?”
“That’s not true!!!!” Marisa yelled, trying to hold Skylar again.
Skylar flaunted herself back, dashing out of the bedroom.
“Skylar!” Marisa rushed after her, but Skylar slammed the door.
When the stewards saw her descending the staircase, they were utterly shocked cos no one knew when she even entered.
Skylar slammed the front door shut when she exited too.
Her body was shaking with rage and helplessness and something else she couldn’t put a name on.
As she walked to her bike, she looked like she just crawled out of a hellhole.
She mounted her bike and instantly felt pains allover her face.
She touched the face.
Shockingly, the wounds she got from El Crow in the ring were still there.
They didn’t heal.
—
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