Break free from the illusion and meet Sumin Hitonemuri

The first thing you noticed when your mind cleared was the roaring, mean-spirited laughter of the audience. The second thing you noticed? Your proximity to the audience. Rather than sitting comfortably in the God Box above the arena, or finding yourself in the priestess' room where you had intended to meet Keiko, you were smack dab in the center of the arena, between the two competitors. You were turned towards your own side and it seemed you'd been headed towards Keiko... if you touched her, you'd have forfeited the whole match! To you, it felt like you'd had a long conversation with Sopor, watched a Kami Kurabe bout, and gone backstage to meet Keiko... but in reality, you'd had a short conversation with her, made your way through the audience towards the ring, and then tried to grab your own priestess, propelled by some sort of mind control!

Oh. Yeah. Now it makes sense.

"Sooorry~" Sopor laughed from up in the God Box, giving you a fake apologetic smile while clasping both hands together in a repentant gesture. "When I see a fresh face like yours, I can't help but tease you a little!"

Tease you?! She'd nearly hypnotized you into throwing the match! You asked how in the world that could be legal.

"Hm hm, well, I am the Suggestive Goddess and a popular Ray-V hypnotist. You must have known what you were in for," she chuckled, unrepentant.

"Heeeey! That was a laugh and a half, but I'm gonna ask you to get out of the arena now, or you really are gonna be disqualified, Katappashikara!" Mila Minute warned you, now raising her hand to start chopping a countdown. Before she could get started, you eagerly turned to leave... only to run face to face into your competitor. You were surprised you hadn't felt her breathing on you... she was so close, she was practically breathing down your neck. But then, to say that would imply she was breathing... and her frame was so eerily still, she didn't even seem to be.

The priestess was short, pale, and white with a bit of a goth girl vibe: tousled black hair, combed mostly away from her forehead while falling in messy strands elsewhere, cropped short in the back as if by rough scissors, so that strands fell differently, some reaching to about the tops of her shoulder blades, while others barely got past the nape. Her eyes were huge and heavily lined in eyeliner, with semi-thick black eyebrows curved into a confused looking expression. You saw that while her eyes at first looked pure red, there was a sort of madness in them... literally, as the inner irises appeared to have broken into thin spirals, making their way outward from the center. Her lips were large and pouty with dark lipstick, but stuck in a dumb frown. She'd probably be pretty, if she was capable of expressing herself any further than that plastered face she wore.

Besides that, her armor was relatively minimal, including a black helmet with Sopor's motif, the half-closed, red eye, displayed on the forehead. The breastplate was similar, with rounded shoulders, each containing the emblem. Her leotard underneath was red and slashed with black marks, not in a tiger stripe pattern, but rather, a very deep V pattern... it made you stare, not just because of the high cut of the legs, but also because you felt there was some hypnotic, hidden pattern there that was hard to resist looking at. Desperately, you shook your head and tried to forget about it. Sopor's name was also printed across the chest of the breastplate, as well as down the shins of the knee-high boots. The girl's body was short, but well filled out, with great breasts for her body size and a slightly jiggly white ass, rivaling Sopor's own, if a little softer. Of course, the least nice thing about her was the knife she carried, a wicked instrument with a serrated blade, large enough to nearly be called a machete instead. It looked more appropriate for killing someone than stripping an opponent's raiment...

At any rate, her proximity was disturbing, not just because of that weapon, but also, because if you'd backed up two more steps, you would have hit her! That would have disqualified you too, if the judges were feeling particularly nitpicky. This was clearly not going to be a fair bout like you hoped it would be...

"I can sense what you're thinking, but I didn't lie to you. The priestess' contest really is just a blade-to-blade bout. I was just playing around with my powers a bit before we got started," Sopor explained to you. How reassuring...

"Get off the damn staaage!" Mila complained, having finished her countdown by now and moved on to storming the arena, with the intent of throwing you out if she had to. Remembering where you were, you quickly jetted up to the God Box. The silent priestess of the opponent just watched you with wide, nearly unblinking eyes... Creepy...!

Grunting, you warned Sopor not to do that again.

"Hm hm hm... Don't worry. I'm not one for repeat tricks," she giggled. "And I'm not legally allowed to use my power on your priestess. I'm only allowed to channel it into my own priestess!"

Again... some reassurance.