D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Nothing particularly amusing happened during the next two bouts. Kat wasn't really paying attention… but now she was starting to wonder where all the people were coming from. This was the 3rd free-for-all of the day, and each arena had their own. The central arena was running FOUR of them at a time. That meant there had been twenty-four free-for-all matches already and at least one-hundred people were entered into each one so far. That was a lot of people, and Kat really wasn't sure where they were all coming from.

Based on the schedule, there was at least one more round of free-for-alls to go. They'd be getting 32 competitors from the free-for-all round, and then another 32 that were given a pass straight to the duel section. Kat hadn't really reached a concrete conclusion as to what was running through her mind before, but at the very least Lily was awake now. Sadly, she didn't really have much to suggest that would help shed light on the situation.

Luckily, before Sue started raiding the fridges just for something to pass the time with, a knock sounded from the door to their box. Kat and Sue shared a confused glance at each other. "You're not expecting anyone right?" asked Kat.

"Nope. You're not expecting anyone either… right?" returned Sue.

"Nope. Do we open it?" said Kat.

"I… guess so?" said Sue with a shrug.

Nodding, Kat got up and opened the door to reveal Bing, who was decked out in combat leathers as opposed to the more traditional robes that most martial artists here wore. "Hey Sue, Sue's friend Kat, oh and Lily! Can't forget the little kitten! It's good to see you three. I've been looking around for you guys to come chat, so I'm really glad I find you. I've been looking for like an hour!"

"Um… Bing…" said Sue hesitantly, "We haven't exactly moved around… and didn't you assign us this room? I just sort of assumed so when we were directed here. How… how did you struggle to find us so much?"

Bing's eyes turned hollow as she looked at Sue with much pain and suffering, "My sense of direction really is that bad. I cannot fix it. Normally I have a guide, but I was actually meant to be in the competitors area by now. I gave up on that an hour back and started looking for you instead,"

"Oh… oh no?" said Sue trying to keep the pity and confusion out of her voice.

Bing brightened up quickly though, even as Kat asked her a question, "What exactly does it mean that you're here instead of over there?"

"Eh… technically? Technically it means I forfeit my match because I'm not present and ready to fight at the designated time… but in practice this is my sect's tournament and they already know how bad I am at directions. They should've had someone to direct me around. I can follow other people just fine," Bing said, ignorant of the fact that they DID have someone assigned to lead her around. They just didn't announce themselves properly, and once they were out of sight Bing never saw them again.

"… So whenever my fight actually comes up," Bing continued, "They'll probably come get me. I think I still have a tracking formation on me? Normally they're used to prevent kidnappings but they're super unreliable and easily blocked. Doesn't really matter to me, because it's well known I have like a whole bunch on me that work in different ways to make it a real pain in the ass to block, and nobody thinks my parents are overly paranoid because I've gotten lost following a straight corridor a few times.

"Quite a few people think it's actually a curse, but if it is, it's much too powerful for any of the healers to detect. I always come up clean! Well… there was that one time I was cursed to speak in rhyme but that's a separate matter really and hardly counts,"

"That sounds like a story!" said Sue with a bit of forced cheer. She didn't want to get drawn into Bing's pace again, still somewhat afraid of what she might reveal… but it just sounded so interesting, and Bing was fun to talk to.

"Eh, it's less interesting then you might think," Bing said with a dismissive wave, "A friend of mine happens to be a curse-maker. They have incredibly strong 'curse' affinity. It's quite rare too. Now, normally in a sect like ours it'd make them an outcast, if they were even allowed to remain here at all. Curses are sort of the opposite of what the sect likes to be about…

"But she was my playmate growing up. She's still my best friend to this day. When they tried to kick her out… oh the tantrum I threw. It was legendary. Anyway, that's not the story you wanted to hear about. See, my best friend, her name is Lian, was trying to come up with a curse to force people to shout their technique names, and explain them. She thought that some people would be dumb enough not to notice the curse, and that it'd let her find out how a bunch of interesting and rare techniques worked…

"Obviously I offered to be her guinea pig and the whole rhyming thing was the result. We really aren't sure how it ended up that way, but turns out it's actually pretty useful. It forces people to keep talking, makes them speak in rhyme, and they don't get any help with the rhymes either. They're forced to put mental energy into figuring out rhymes constantly. There is a bit of a weakness because you can just repeat yourself, but most people don't figure that out," explained Bing.

"Should you really be telling us that?" asked Sue, mostly just out of politeness.

Bing just waved away the concern though, "Eh, it doesn't really matter. Lian isn't even in Bodeir's bracket, so unless they make it all the way to the finals it won't matter. Plus, it's not a big secret because the servants gossiped a tonne about it before we could decide if it was worth keeping quiet. Oh, and if Lian actually does make it to the finals, which I doubt, then a rhyming curse really isn't what's going to win it for her,"

"Shouldn't you have some confidence in your friend?" asked Kat.

Bing just shrugged, "I mean… maybe? If she actually cared about the tournament I suppose… she was just one of the people we got to enter the free-for-alls to bully the weaklings a bit. Lian doesn't care about winning… basically at all. As my best friend, and as a rather rare affinity, she gets first pick of basically anything she needs here in the sect so winning is more danger then it's worth in her mind. Not that I think she'd be able to win anyway. She only just recently made it to Rank 2,"

"Once again. Should you really be telling us that?" asked Sue

"Don't worry, don't worry," said Bing patting Sue on the head. "This is all stuff you could find out if you asked, plus she's my friend and I know she wouldn't mind sharing this sort of thing with people. She's very proud of her work… even if she is very quiet. I have to spread the word of her awesome curses for her! Now, my question. Kat, what do Lily's horns mean? I get that she's adorable, but I've never seen a feline quite like that,"

*Hmm…* Still, Kat answered easily. It wasn't important information after all, "It means that my Lily," *Yes MINE.* "…is a Memphis. They're a special type of demonic feline that can deal with demonic energy much better then other animals."

"Why is that important?" asked Bing with a tilt of her head.

"Ah well… a lot of demons live in places filled with demonic energy. They're essentially empty dimensions because the demonic energy would cause any other sentient a tonne of problems so we colonise them, essentially. A lot of weaker animals just don't have the constitution to deal with a bit of demonic energy over a long period of time. Memphis however, don't have that issue. And if you initial a bond, a bit like a familiar bond, then they'll never have problems with it" explained Kat.

Lily was of course mentally blushing at Kat's declaration. Sure they were dating, so she already knew that… but it was just nice to hear even if it was mentally where nobody else could here. Perhaps better? Lily struggled to suppress her purring at the thought but Kat noticed and started to scratch around her ears. Both destroying her hold on the purr, and giving an excuse for it.

"Naw, well that's pretty neat, and Lily is pretty cute. I wonder if I should get a spirit beast partner?" mused Bing.