Mōri Matches: Day 3

After the bodies of the unfortunates from last match had been cleared away, those last four remaining fighters in the semifinals took to the arena without delay. Musashibō Benkei was to represent the Hashinara Clan, aided at least nominally by Shōta or whomever now possessed his body. Pitted against them were the Presbyters of Sancta Sedes, Ketzi'ah and Steffi Schwangau.   Shōta in particular seemed to have caught the little succubus' attention. Not because of his lanky, awkward frame or dull expression, but more because the soul inside didn't match his outward appearance whatsoever. While most humans weren't able or hadn't bothered to check on the lad, to a creature which feasted on souls this discrepancy was fully apparent.

Those ephemeral white flowers dancing upon the floor of the arena had already been stained red by the violence of the previous match. Treading upon the illusory field now came Hachisuka Masakatsu of the Hashinara and Randi Carter from Celephaïs in the Dreamlands for the second independent match of the day. Randi had proven herself an able combatant with a few Dreamer-specific tricks up her sleeve. Masakatsu, however, was a veteran of many battles with a number of kills already under her belt and the advantage of a ranged weapon. The winner of this particular match would be difficult to judge. Kikkawa no Myōkyū, standing in for her ill wife, marked the beginning of the round.

When the two fighters from the previous match either staggered off or were carried back to the stands, a new pair descended to the flowered sands to replace them. Gotō Mototsugu, ghostly victim of Honda Tadakatsu and a Spear Pillar in her own right, was to face against Tsutsui Junkei of the Oda Clan. Mototsugu was a seasoned warrior, and a wraith to boot. However, Junkei had performed exceptionally well in the preliminaries. This had potential to be a close fight, although the crowd's cheers seemed to favor the former over the latter.

The last match to grace the flower-littered sands of the arena had been "refreshingly simple," but things were about to take a dark turn. Knight Commander Maxim, leader of The Wolfpack mercenary organization took to the field to face his opponent, Marilène Leclair of Sancta Sedes. Maxim was known to many as a powerful warrior who had defied death itself. Marilène, in contrast, was a green Deacon of the church with little combat experience to her name. She had survived the ordeal at the Palace of the Firebird, however. Perhaps she did stand some chance.

The last match of the morning was set to begin as Momo and Amago Haruhisa both descended onto the field. The former was a member of the Hares of Inaba, bodyguard to Yakami-hime, and apparently quite an accomplished martial artist. By her own admission, she wasn't really certain why she was participating. Due to the fact that she'd been granted a bye in the bracket, this would be the first time the audience had seen Momo fight since her brief showing in the preliminaries.   Her opponent came with a much more storied reputation following her into the ring. Amago Haruhisa was Vassal-Daimyō of the Amago Clan and Bugyō of Bingo Province under the Mōri. The Amago family had not gone as peacefully into subjugation as many of the Mōri Clan's conquests, and it was no secret that Haruhisa chafed under the other's rule. What's more, she marked the union of Ibaraki-dōnyo and Shuten-dōji as the daughter of two Onigami. This accounted for Haruhisa's monstrous stature despite her relative youth and promised great power in her future as she developed, a prophecy certainly not lost on Mōri Motonari.