A part of the Underground.

Maybe it was cliche, but if they had asked William to pick a place, he also would’ve settled for the old, abandoned warehouse an hour away from town. It was big and away from the main road. If you had to run an underground fighting tournament, especially one where supernatural powers were allowed, it wasn’t like you’d be spoilt for choice in locations. Even so, Will would’ve found it humorous if he wasn’t busy keeping his nerves in check.

In the middle of the night, he stood in front of the backdoor. The shaking of his hand in his pockets had nothing to do with the chilly air, heart beating faster and louder than usual. He tried his best to keep his face neutral, but Aoi must have noticed he was acting strange regardless.

“You’re quiet,” she told him, standing next to him. “Why so nervous?”

Will sighed and bit his lip. “Training with you is one thing. Fighting another person… I know it’s not to the ****, but…”

Aoi chuckled, covering her mouth with the back of two fingers. “You’ve fought the host of a higher spirit already, haven’t you? You also raided a camp full of oni and fought me while I was in a mental state where I was trying to kill you. A little competition gets you nervous?”

“I did all that for important reasons. To fulfill promises, to protect people I care about. This… This is pointless.”

“You need the experience, William. You asked me to train you, but fighting me all the time will make you develop bad habits. You need to see what other people do, see their styles and learn how to adapt. This underground fighting ring is the perfect place for that.”

“What if I lose?” he asked.

“Then we lose the money we paid to get you into the ring, nothing more. Even if you get hurt, they have good healers here. You’ll gain experience regardless, and maybe knock down Ishtar a peg or two in the process. She’s always been too full of herself.”

‘Cute. She thinks we can actually lose.’

Aoi smiled. “Tell me, William. Do you get nervous when you eat lunch?”

“Ah?”

“Do you get nervous when you go to the bathroom? When you go for a walk? Do you get nervous when you have sex with your girlfriends?”

Will flinched. “...No.”

“Right? That’s because you know you can do all that, because it’s easy, because it’s normal, because you’ve done it a thousand times already. I’m not asking you to do anything special here. Step into the ring and do what you’ve trained yourself to do consistently. If you can do it in training, you can do it here.”

Will let out a long, exasperated groan and punched his palm hard enough that he felt it along both arms. “Fine, fine! I asked for it, anyway!”

He took it back. This wasn’t pointless. It was a small but necessary step towards his new goals, towards helping Ishtar.

‘Relax, Will. We’re gonna kick ass. And when we win, we’ll get double our money!’

Will didn’t relax. He wanted to stay focused.

He went through the door and into the warehouse with Aoi. A man in a black suit, totally out of place in this old, rundown place, met him inside.

“Greetings,” he said, smiling and bowing politely. “Competitor Mr. William Sawyer, correct?”

“Yes.”

The man then turned to Aoi. “And you are his second, Ms. Aoi Miyamoto?” Aoi nodded. “Please, follow me.”

The inside of the warehouse had been completely overhauled. The backdoor Will and Aoi entered from led to a long, narrow hallway that Will could see ended in another door. To both sides were walls and rows of yet more door.

The man led Will and Aoi to the fourth room to the right. He opened the door and allowed them inside. It was a small dressing room with only a bench lockers, clearly designed for a single person. The other rooms were likely more dressing rooms, then.

“You will be called when it’s your turn,” the man said. “The first fight is about to start. Your fight is the fourth of the night. I wish you good luck, sir.”

After another bow, the man left, closing the door behind him.

“This feels so strange,” Will commented.

“Yes, I’ve never liked it, either.” Aoi crossed her arms under her breasts and shook her head. “The organizers are a bunch of old snobs playing at being elegant. They hit it big with this, arranging fights between people who can use aether, charging a fortune for the seats and taking bets on the matches. I’d rather they stop pretending this is any type of high class event, but it does move stupid amounts of money, so what do I know?”

“You know the organizers?” Will asked.

“I’ve talked to them a few times, always on business. They have an information network that tries to find potential new fighters, but they always end up finding more than that. The information they don’t need, they sell. I don’t have the amount of money they ask for, so instead I fight in their ring. If I win, I get what I want and they get the profits.”

“Shady.”

“Oh yes.” Aoi smiled wryly. “If you want to step deeper into this world, start getting used to it. Now, a final review before your fight.”

Will tensed, but kept his eyes on Aoi’s. She smiled and began. “Remember, you have a limit on how much power you can use. As far as I know, none of the combatants here are spirit hosts, therefore, they’re bound to be weaker than you in raw aether output. We need you to hold back some of your power for two reasons: First, you need to learn to fight, not to rely on Ishtar’s overwhelming strength and brute **** you way to a victory. You already know you two are not the biggest fish out there.”

Will nodded. They’d already seen just how weak they were in comparison to others. Ishtar now had a vivid memory of her mother, Lady Inanna. When she compared herself to the Queen of Lust, Ishtar knew she was a nobody.

“And second,” Aoi continued, “we don’t want the organizers or anyone else to find out you have a higher spirit in you. It should be easy to hide from them so long as you don’t use lust-related magic.” Aoi grinned mischievously. “Other than that, use everything you’ve learned. it won’t hurt to make a name for yourself here. You’ll get called to participate in more fights and against stronger opponents. That means more experience… and yes, more money.”

Will nodded. That was good. He… hadn’t been called to do any photoshoots in a while. He needed the money, sadly.

It took 40 minutes for him to get called. Will took off his T-shirt and stepped out of the dressing room. He walked down the hallway… and into the ring for his first underground match.