With all four of us out of our battles unscathed - or at least, having been relatively unscathed, with Anput taking the worst damage - we all relaxed, grouping together to watch the final matches and learn what we could from the remaining fights.
The relief that we felt knowing that - for now - none of us would get hurt again was soothing, and it just made everything easier as we stood together, despite the fact that a few of the Knights... well, a few of them 'met terrible ends'.
An Orc got his chest caved in from a variant Drake slamming its tail into him, while an Elf woman was bisected cleanly by a Firefang's claws.
The two were left to sit by themselves as they contemplated everything, the fear that was in their eyes eventually dissipating as they overcame the mental trauma.
Speaking of, Roman had returned to his normal self, though he was still quieter than normal as he chatted with Dante, who was going to go last.
Vienna seemed to be relieved about that, her tense shoulders slumping as she managed to finally step away from Roman, listening to her Mother as she was drilled about what she did wrong with her fight, getting hit a few times as Lady Fenryas berated her.
We all had gleaned some things from our fights, finding faults in our styles or things we should try to start doing to prevent disaster, and for me it was bolstering my enchanted arsenal and also the usual - furthering my stats and refining my technique.
You could argue that relying on enchanted items was a poor decision - and I would understand that - but when I could change the tide of a battle simply because I had items enchanted with spells that could now be activated in an instant, well...
Yeah, I was going to be kitted out in an entire suite of enchanted gear made by me and by the System.
I mean, even if the ones made by me break, the power and utility they provide is insane...
Especially if I could get 'lifesaving talismans' figured out?
Something that activates and redirects damage from you to itself, saving you from being injured?
Yeah, those would be insane to have...
As for acquiring more System Made Items, I was slowly accruing Shop Points from my daily quests, filling my wallet and preparing me for a spending spree when this was all over.
I wanted to give each of them something, but I still needed to come up with a way to explain where they came from without going through the whole 'system' thing.
That... could lead to way to many issues that I simply never wanted to deal with, on so many different levels.
Not risking it.
Anyways, the mashing eventually reached a crescendo when Dante stepped out, the Dragonkin man landing on the ground with a thud, his heavy armor displacing some of the black grain sand.
His tower shield and mace shone with red light as he strode into the arena, looking towards the remaining cage.
A feline monster dashed out, its lithe body rippling with powerful muscles as it launched itself at the man.
Raising his shield, he prepared to block it before shifting his body to the side as the feline jumped in mid air again, trying to surprise him.
Its outstretched claws raked against his plate armor, and I saw tiny runes flash as a sheen of red mana covered the plates, adding a layer of defense in top of the heavy armor.
The feline barely managed to dodge the heavy mace, its bladed head scratching the monsters hind leg as it flew through the air, landing a short distance away.
"His armor is enchanted? Wow, that must have cost a pretty platinum..."
I nodded, still leaning against Anput as I said "It looked complex too... most of his gear is enchanted, actually. All of it complex too..."
My mate leaned further against me, asking "Hey, so the Marquess wanted me to start making some gear for the Asmodia Guards... I think I'm going to start-"
I listened to her as we watched Dante hone his skills against the feline, the man perfecting his timing and riling the monster up before bashing its skull in with the mace.
Hearing that Anput was going to begin smithing on a larger scale, I smiled warmly at her as I congratulated her, before asking her to begin smithing on something for me as well - which made her smirk slightly, telling me that her 'gift' was her smithing something personal for me...
What it was, I had no idea, but I was looking forwards to it all the same.
I have no idea on how long we were inside the cavern, but when we returned home to the Palace, we all reported to the kitchen and saluted the Pigkin chef, making her blush as she had the entirety of the Knights praising her and asking for her services.
The Empress and her wives joined us as well, making the kitchen staff work in overdrive as they worked to the utmost of their abilities to impress the Empress.
We all chatted as we waited for the feast, before digging in when it was finally served, our appetites more voracious than before.
Ale flowed freely when Lady Fenryas announced that tomorrow would be a break - at the insistence of the Empress, who 'glared' at her Demon Wolf wife.
The reason seemed simple, as the Empress was seated amongst her children and talking to each of them, though she - and his siblings - were mainly focused on Roman, though Misa and Lisa did get attention as well considering they had both lost limbs inside the arena; they just didn't 'lose' as much as Roman did.
Hearing that we had a day off, it was pretty obvious what most of the Knights were thinking about, the ale and wine making everything more obvious as they whispered to one another quietly, talking about where - and who - they were going to visit.
Nirinia was flirting with Princi, the two already getting heated in the corner as the Djinn caressed the Catkin's thigh, which made the other Knights smirk.
The Marquess was sighing, leaning against her chair as she and Belian both sipped on wine, annoyance in their eyes as they looked around at all their single - or open - companions discuss how they were going to 'blow off some steam', all while their significant others were elsewhere.
With that, the Monster Mash was over - for now - and we were all happy for that, retiring for the night and going to do something to take the edge off from everything that happened...
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