20:45 P.M.

The daily tournament recap lasts from seven to nine in the evening. You would think that this is plenty of time to come to a decision. And you would be wrong.

“I'm still completely against it!”, Fisti thundered, slamming her hands on the table multiple times for emphasis. “How often do I have to say it? This is just a trick to weaken Mari! And using a devil is clearly illegal!”

“Gods, you are a dumb bitch.” Cassandra groaned loudly. “We got through all this five times already, but let me state it again for the mentally handicapped. Summoning a devil is NOT illegal. Any objects or organic matter a combatant summons after entering the arena are fair game!”

“But that's crazy! This should totally banned!” Fisti banged the table some more. It must be made of very sturdy wood.

“Feel free to shout and throw a tantrum as much as you want. Won't change the facts. Besides, if this is a trap or not doesn't fucking matter. We have to take the risk. Mari can’t fight the witch and her devil at the same time!”

Aiju meanwhile yawned and stretched herself lazily on the bed. “Mari, tell noisy girls to stop screaming.” Can’t say I blame Aiju for her disinterest. I barely managed to get a word in edgewise between the two angry girls.

At this point the conversation was just going in circles and with the deathline starting to approach tensions grew higher and higher.

“Who's side are ya even on!”

“My fucking own! Excuse me if I offer you a realistic outlook for once in life!”

“That's enough!” I screamed loud enough for even Aiju to whimper. “I need you all to calm down. Take a deep breath.” I took one myself. “I'm sorry for shouting. And I'm sorry Fisti, but I do agree with Cassandra on this one. I can’t fight them both.”

The martial artists tried to object, but I shut her down. “Believe me, I absolutely share your concerns. But this is a situation without any other options.”

“At least someone’s sane here”, the huntress huffed and poured herself another glass of some alcoholic beverage. Her third for the night.

“No, there is one”, Fisti stated calmly. “One very obvious solution.”

“Oh, this is going to be good”, Cassandra plopped herself down on the massage chair and took a sip. “Lets hear your obvious solution then, Miss Cuffs.”

“We kill the devil.”

There was a chill in the air.

“You mean...actually murdering her. Outside of the arena?” I gulped. “Are you serious?”

Given the look in her eyes, she absolutely was. “There are four of us and one of her. If we surprise attack her, we can do it.”

Cassandra laughed loudly at that. “That is remarkably bloodthirsty for you. I never thought you had **** in you.”

“It's a devil”, Fisti countered. “They steal men’s souls and make them their slaves. Excuse me If I don't feel bad about exterminating them. Some do that for a living.”

“Yeah, people with holy weapons”, the huntress rubbed her temple. “What? Your planning to ask golden boy for assistance?”

I glanced at the clock. “We probably don’t have time for that. Even if we manage to find him.”

Fisti was not perturbed. “So what? We don’t need him. The four of us are plenty. We are three skilled warriors and one slaver. We can take her.”

Cassandra clearly thought otherwise. “Ok, fine. Let’s assume we magically defeat a fucking time stopping devil. Guess what? It doesn’t even fucking matter. A devils contract is absolute and doesn't care if the devil who signed it is alive or not. Another devil would simply take Femto's place.”

Oh, given that it’s a contract I suppose that makes sense.

Fisti grumbled for a bit. “Ah, hold on! All Mari needs to do is get the witch to surrender and alter the contract! That doesn’t change the plan at all!”

“And how exactly would we change that contract with one of the signers fucking dead?”, Cassandra challenged.

“I’m sure they have some uh...customer support for that! They want the witches soul! Not Mari’s! They agree!”

“This is idiotic.” Cassandra rolled her eyes in annoyance, either not having a better rebuttal or no longer caring. “This won’t work.”

“Not with that attitude! Maybe stop guzzling down that stuff, ya drunk boozehound!”

“I’m not fucking that devil while sober”, came the response as Cassandra casually downed the shot.

And we are back talking in circles again.

Killing a devil. I didn’t even consider that option until now. Even if she’s a devil, murdering someone like that. It feels utterly reprehensible.

But this devil is trying to steal my soul. Wouldn’t that in this case be self defense? Besides, this vile bitch brought up my sister. If she’s responsible for what happened to Ceri a thousand deaths wouldn’t be enough! No, hold on. I need to think about this calmly. I can’t let my rage affect my judgment. I took a deep breath.

“Aiju agrees with Fist girl. No more mates needed.”

“Oh come on, the fucking cat doesn’t even know what’s going on!”, Cassandra huffed exasperated. “Mari, put a stop to this shit already!”

Time was about to run out, and both options could have devastating consequences. If I make the wrong call here, I will doom us all.

This will be a tremendously difficult decision.