It Starts!

I look inside the room and am surprised by what I see. There are several rows of tables, all draped with white cloth. The tables nearly fill the room. On the tables are silver trays covered with a silver lid. There's a small device in a corner near the tables. It looks like a smaller version of the teleportation device I used after beating the Lich King. A person wearing an apron and a chef's hat appears from it. They place another tray down before returning. There are small dots of various colors floating down from the roof. They look similar to raindrops but move incredibly slowly. I can see twelve balls of light floating in the air, lighting up the room.

"This looks amazing!" Luna says while running inside.

"It really is, I'm impressed Asami." Verona says before following Luna in.

"So Asami, what exactly is the plan here? Just wait for everyone to show up and have a good time?" I ask since she never gave me a schedule for this.

"Pretty much, yeah. Once everyone's here we'll start eating. That's why I scheduled it for eleven. After that though, we'll head to the arena." Asami replies.

"The arena? What for?" I ask confused causing her to smile.

"To fight of course. It's a good way for Guilds to get to know one another. Besides, I'm sure the other Guild Masters will like it. I figured we'd start the fights off with a tournament. I gathered a list of all those who wanted to enter. Then I decided on the matches. For the record, you are fighting. So are Luna, Innu, Lakey, and Bergeth." Asami replies causing me to sigh. Someone slaps my back from behind before speaking.

"What's wrong? Are you not looking forward to our match?" I hear Bergeth say. I turn and see him in a white kimono.

"I'm more worried about you injuring anyone." I reply causing him to laugh.

"Don't worry about that Master. I made sure you and Bergeth would be the first match. IfBergeth wins, he's already said he'll drop out. He just wants to have a match with you." Asami says reassuringly. I remember back to our first match after I revived him. How it only took one punch for him to knock me down. Then how that one hit nearly knocked me out.

"Hey Eric, are you prepared?" Ayashi asks me. I turn to face her and see her hair is black. She's using a gold-colored hairclip to change its color. Her eyes are brown and she's wearing a fancy-looking black dress.

"As prepared as I can be." I reply causing her to laugh.

"I do have to admit though, I was surprised when I saw this." Ayashi says while looking around. "I didn't think Alchemy could do something like this." She continues while grabbing one of the colored raindrops. "You have a talented Alchemist in your Guild."

"Correct!" Flare says, nearly shouting. She startles Ayashi, causing her to flinch. Flare's wearing a dark red dress, similar to Innus. Hers is a few shades lighter to match her hair. "Sorry Aya. Didn't mean to... Scare?" Flare says, unsure if that's the right word.

"Yeah, you did give me a scare. But it's fine Flare. I normally use a skill to sense the mana from others. It's become second nature, so I always know whos around me. But since you and Lilac are Dolls Ramia made, I can't sense your mana." Ayashi explains causing Flare to nod.

"There you are, why'd you run off Flare?" I hear Lilac ask. I turn and see her wearing a white dress that reaches down to her ankles.

"Oh right! Forgot, Eric come! We need strength!" Flare says while pulling on my arm.

"Flare, he's busy now. Don't try and get him to do our work."

"It's fine Lilac. I have a free minute. What do you need my strength for?" I ask, assuming that's why Flare mentioned that.

"Here, let's walk while we talk." Lilac says while stepping forward. I nod and follow her after telling Ayashi I'll talk to her later. "Ramia asked us to place these large potion bottles in the machine behind the drapes covering the walls. It sucks the potion out of it and is what's making it rain like this. But the slots are a perfect fit, too perfect. As we're learning, we don't have much physical strength. Flare was the only one who could put them in, but this last one has her beat." Lilac says before we reach the wall. There's something jutting out around my waist, pushing the curtain out. So Flare has more strength than Lilac. I wonder if it's because of the Demon Blood. I think before she pulls the curtain back. I see a large potion bottle, about four feet tall. It's full of a dark yellow, nearly gold-colored liquid. Right behind the bottle is a large machine that reaches the roof. Upon inspecting it, I see that it leads to a small net-like device. This device is sprawled over the roof and is what's causing the rain. There's a slot in the machine for the bottle. I crouch down and push the bottle forward. I have to lift it up to get it in. I manage to get it in after a bit of finagling. Once it's in, there's an audible clicking sound. Immediately after, a needle-like device extends into the bottle.

"Thank you!" Flare says happily.

"Yes, thanks. I wasn't sure how we'd get this in." Lilac says.

"You're welcome. Don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it." I say before turning around. I see Ramia standing behind me. She's wearing a light blue dress and a matching pair of glasses.