Harem Tournament of Champions

Zui held her breath as she watched the duel unfold, her feet drum on the floor as she was placed on the edge. This wasn't just about wanting Solara to win, it was more about getting a female companion by her side–one she could freely converse with at any given time.

'Come on, rise from the ashes as your race does!'

She got to her feet the moment she could get a clearer vision of Solara and her face fell in an instant.

'No...' She screamed in her thoughts.

There was a gasp from the others at the sight.

Blood stains had colored the wall on which she had hit with her back. They could only imagine what such an impact could have done.

On the floor was a seemingly unconscious Solara.

Lilt on the other hand had a big smirk on her lips as she approached, ready to give the final strike.

"Aim at her head, that's her weak point!" Vanas muttered to Lilt, knowing she was bound to hear with her augmented hearing.

Hisha caught on to the words but pretended not to be aware, it was best to keep his emotions in check and see how Solara could work her way around it.

'Get up!' He pleaded in desperation.

Lilt bared her fangs, protracted her claws, and charged at Solara, aiming for her head.

To everyone's surprise, they watched Lilt get suspended in motion and her skin reddening.

Hisha leaned forward to have a better look at the strange situation.

[Solara has activated her blaze ability to a dangerous degree]

Solara slowly got to her feet, punching the floor with her knuckles. The moment she locked eyes with Lilt, her hazel eyes glowed with untold fury.

"I am not the one who will get burned," she had her palm facing Lilt with full concentration, exerting her hold on her.

The stinging pain trailing from her back then to her side from the scratch was so overwhelming that she let out a bitter laugh at the first time she had sustained such injury just for being distracted.

All it needed was a few minutes before it heals, but till then she was determined to return the favor tenfold on Lilt.

Zui's lips raised in untold happiness, this was a change in the playing field and Lilt stood no chance now that she had made Solara mad.

Lilt screeched in pain to the burning sensation that was eating deep into her skin. "Let me go, you freak of nature! Your race deserved what they got!"

For a fleeting second, Solara was stunned by the words, she had been reminded about the troubles her race had felt in the hands of the other creatures.

They were deemed too dangerous to be allowed to live and were exterminated.

Lord Hisha had been able to put an end to the war but it was already too late as he had not been informed by the tribal chiefs of the situation.

When he got to her city, all had perished except her–because of her will to survive as she fought vigorously till her last strength.

A stray tear trailed down her cheek as she could vividly picture all that she had seen before she was selected into Hisha's harem.

Her eyes burned in a murderous rage and so did the intensity of her hold on Lilt.

"Your race has a strong disdain for fire, am I right?" Solara questioned with a twisted smirk.

Lilt struggled to get free but was feeling her skin sag slowly. 'No... No...'

Clenching her fists, Solara targeted the main head signatures on Lilt. "How about experiencing the excruciating pain from multiple specific areas only on your emotions?"

Lilt couldn't understand what she meant as her main focus was still on the burning pain within her.

'Experiencing slight discomfort in your chest and a little in the head would indicate fear!' She made a mental note.

Lilt's eyes were forcefully compelled to put on a glow. "Aaahhh!!!"

Her body shook as she felt a throbbing pain in her chest and head.

'As expected!' Solara thought with a smirk, before easing her hold on Lilt.

Hisha furrowed his brows not understanding what was going on with Solara, she was intentionally dragging on the fight, it almost looked like she was enjoying it.

[Solara was known to consider those who had tried to oppress her as predators, do you know what she does to these kinds of people?]

A loading ellipse continued to beep as HTC awaited Hisha's response.

'Kill them? You know I wasn't present in her life until only recently.' Hisha defended.

When he heard HTC cackle in amusement, he could only guess that he wasn't on the right path.

[She would torture her predators before going in for the kill. This was what she had done to the rest that had attacked and killed her family and race]

'She's the only survivor of her race.' Hisha's eyes widened as he narrowed his eyes at Solara.

He could fully understand why Lilt's words had struck at her like a knife to the heart. It wasn't just striking but opening up healing wounds by that sentence.

HTC analyzed the situation carefully before it came up with its verdict.

[She is as good as dead!]

'What?!' Hisha got to his feet. Even if Solara had gone ballistic, he wasn't going to allow her to kill a fellow harem. They weren't wearing armor, to begin with.

Wae looked at Hisha with concern as he nudged Vanas and the others whispered to each other as they wondered what their master was planning on doing.

Kritz turned around, wondering what his lord was planning on doing.

Hisha stood without saying a word, it looked like this was quite normal for them, so he sat down in suppressed rage.

Vanas on the other hand looked at his lord with a bit of admiration, he knew he had no interaction with Lilt yet he had wanted to stand up for her in her helpless situation.

Turning his face back to the arena, he closed his eyes as he accepted the repercussions of Lilt's action. 'Your sacrifice would not be forgotten.'

There were still some other vampires who had been chosen to be part of the harem and Lilt was just one of them.

Solara had caught on to the action of Hisha from the corner of her eye before he sat back down.

As she stared at the anguish on Lilt's face, for a second she did feel like the monster her people were described to be and felt a tingle of guilt to be acting this way to a fellow harem member and she had to make a compromise, one she had never envisioned on doing.

*****

A/N

My heartfelt appreciation to those who vote with power stones on my book constantly or happened to devote them currently.

Do use your comments, summoning pens, gifts, votes, and golden tickets to request faster/more updates(I'd respond immediately when we hit the target)

As per the body heat signature, a chart that would be used as a future reference would be posted on my Discord channel (I had merely used the heat signature–fear chart)

¶ Any idea on the compromise Solara wants to carry out?