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Yuuri struggled to stand up, blood dripping down his busted lip. His competitor stood above him laughing at his small trembling body. The bets had all been against him. Yuuri knew it. Yet he still believed that he might stand a chance.
But it was a lost hope.
At the age of thirteen, Yuuri was much younger and smaller than his fellow competitors. But the Lee family’s underground fighting rings were merciless to anyone who dared challenge them, and kids were no different. If no one won, no one got paid and losing meant significantly less money than the winner. The underground fighting rings seemed rather crude and horrible, but, at their core, they were important. The poor got money for fighting and the rich got entertainment for watching. It was a win-win situation, but someone still had to lose.
“Give up yet?” The big alpha snarled.
Yuuri could barely see through his swollen eye, but he caught a glimpse of fire magic swirling in the alpha’s hands. He was barely still conscious, and he had no idea if the magic making everyone around him think he was a beta would stay active if he passed out. Who knows what they would do to him if they found out he was an omega. Yuuri nodded his head, hanging it low in defeat.
The crowd around them erupted into cheers, probably at the perspective of getting their winnings from the betting pool. If anyone had actually bet on Yuuri, they were regretting that decision now. Yuuri dragged himself to his feet and watched the big alpha bang on his chest and howl at the crowd, casting fire into the air. The people were eating it up and began to throw coins at him. The whole arena was set up in an abandoned library where spectators could stand in the balconies to watch. The fighters dueled it out on the main floor and had a room in the back where they could stay for a bit. Defeated, Yuuri shrugged himself away into the fighter’s room. Instantly, a nice beta lady lead him over to a water bucket and helped him clean the blood off of his face.
“I don’t know any healing magic,” She commented while helping him, “but this should help.”
Soon, she had to go out and do her own fight. Yuuri thanked her for her help and went to a corner to try out the small amount of healing magic he knew, but he wasn’t sure how much it would help. As he began to cast spells on his bleeding face, the small light of the room suddenly became darker. Yuuri looked up to see the big alpha who beat him standing over and staring at him. Yelping, Yuuri put his hands over his face.
“I-I’m sorry, sir! Please leave me alone!”
The big alpha moved his hand towards Yuuri, and he thought he was done for. He covered his head with his arms, bracing himself for the pain to come. But the pain never came. Peaking his eye out from between his hands revealed a hand being held out to him.
“C’mon,” the big alpha spoke, “Get up.”
Yuuri took his hand and he helped him to his feet. The big alpha took him over to a chair and began to cast magic to heal the wounds he had just caused. Yuuri looked at him questioningly but didn’t talk for fear of angering him.
“It’s all just a show, you know,” he spoke.
“W-what?”
“This. The fighting. It’s just a show. The more you entertain, the more they pay.”
“It doesn’t feel much like a show,” Yuuri said as he rubbed his healing face.
The big alpha only laughed, “Nah. Listen, kid, if I were you I’d go back to my parents. I get that you want to be strong on your own, but you should wait until you are a bit older.”
Yuuri looked down at the ground, “My parents are dead.”
“... Then I s’pose you don’t get much of a choice.” He bent down on one knee to become eye level with Yuuri, “Listen, here’s what you gotta do. Train. Train every day. You put up a good fight out there, better than I was ‘specting you to do, but it won’t be enough if you wanna win. You gotta learn how to cast healing magic quickly, use charms, the whole lot. Even learn how to use cookin’ magic if you think it’ll help. If you ain’t as strong as the others, you gotta get creative. It’s a show, and you gotta dazzle ‘em. Show confidence and you’ve already won half the battle. Alright, kid?”
Yuuri nodded his head furiously, eyes still staring at the large alpha as he stood up.
“Oh, and one more thing,” He said as he began to walk away, “Go to a smaller town for now. Someday, you’ll get good enough to fight up ‘ere, but take it down a few notches.”
With that, the large alpha left the fighters’ room. Yuuri sat there, not quite processing what had just happened. He knew one thing for sure, he still had a long way to go.
_________
Yuuri worked hard in his training every day, but, after that night with the fighter, he worked even harder. He learned how to make every spell he cast look as extravagant and intimidating as possible, knowing that, even if he lost the battle, he would still win the hearts of the audience. Every time he went into a new town he looked around for any book he could get his hands on. Spell books, magic history books, and even the mage-knight code of honor were all stashed in his personal collection. He read, trained, and traveled constantly, hoping to make himself a better life.
Once, as he prepared himself for a fight in a small farming town, a fighter ran in frantically.
“The Lee family is in attendance to tonight’s show!” He whispered with an alarmed look on his face.
The other fighters began to murmur to each other. Some began to get excited, while others just packed up their things and left. The energy in the room suddenly changed, and everyone knew the stakes had changed. The Lee family normally only showed up to the larger rings, and the fighters that impressed them could have their lives changed in an instant by the family’s wealth. The fighters that failed to bring the kind of entertainment they strived for could find themselves shunned from the rings.
Yuuri tried not to think about it. This was his last night in this town and he just needed enough money for a ferry to the next one. He didn’t have time to worry about the fighting ring’s leader watching over his fight. Surely all he wanted was a show, and Yuuri knew how to deliver.
The fight took a bit longer to get into swing because of the other contestants leaving, but Yuuri soon found himself face-to-face with an alpha woman. Yuuri saw her fight before, and he was pretty sure that he would lose this round, but he still could win the audiences’ coins. He turned to them and blew wind up from the ground below him. It furiously moved his hair and cloak, and then went into the stands and lightly fanned the audience, giving them a rush of cold in the hot arena. He winked at a woman in the stands and turned away from the audience as if he was no longer trying to get their attention, but that was far from the truth. He warmed up by getting into a stretching position and summoning light magic. It danced around his arms as he moved into different positions. He could feel the eyes on him. The alpha woman who he was about to fight scoffed. All of the eyes who had been expecting her to win suddenly had turned to Yuuri. The bets may be in his favor.
As Yuuri stretched, he caught a glimpse of an intimidating man sitting on a large chair in the audience. He had to be the underground fighting ring leader. Next to him sat a woman and a child, who seemed too distracted by their own thoughts to pay any attention to the contestants. But Sir Lee, he stared directly at Yuuri, making a wave of coldness rush over him. He shivered but got ready to fight.
The referee shouted to calm the bustling arena, and soon it was dead silent.
“Three… Two… One… Begin!”
The alpha woman was quick to strike, as Yuuri had predicted, and began to summon fire. Yuuri, on the other hand, decided to summon a light shield. At the age of fifteen, he knew his shield wouldn’t last too long, but it was still impressive that someone so young could summon one. The audience would eat it up.
The fight continued for quite awhile and mostly consisted of Yuuri finding ways to enthrall the crowd. The alpha woman was growing frustrated, but Yuuri knew he couldn’t beat her if he actually tried. He might as well make it look like it was a close fight.
At some point, the alpha woman knocked Yuuri off his feet and used that time to summon a light sword. In the split second before Yuuri teleported away from her blow, he glanced up and happened to see Sir Lee’s unamused face looking back at him. All of a sudden, he felt different. He wasn’t sure what washed over him, but, suddenly, he had the urgent need to win the battle, audience approval or not.
He summoned a fire attack bigger and brighter than any he had summoned before, using his new found passion to light the flame. The alpha woman’s sword stood no chance against it, so she dodged. She was a bit too late and burnt her arm in the process. Yuuri had learned earlier in the fight that she had no knowledge of healing magic, so now she had a weak spot. He ripped up the ground from underneath him using earth magic, a task he had never been able to accomplish before, and threw it at her, making sure to aim for the arm. She summoned a light shield, but it didn’t last long against the fury. Soon, she gave the sign that she gave up, and the whole room went silent. That silence was soon followed by the roar of the crowd. Coins were tossed in his direction, and Yuuri won his first fight against a notable competitor. What had washed over him? He looked up to where Sir Lee had once sat, but his chair was empty.
________________
The ferry to the next town was leaving soon, and Yuuri was rushing to pack his things from his forest camp. With all of the money from the night before, Yuuri was able to buy a ton of things he needed. A new cloak, a cooking magic book, and even a few charms were now stashed in his bag. As he turned to leave, he noticed a figure standing behind him and jumped back in fright. As soon as he regained his bearings and summoned a light sword, he realized that the intruder was Sir Lee.
“U-uh, hello?” Yuuri stuttered out.
The old stone-faced man looked Yuuri up and down before giving a response, “Yuuri, correct?”
“Y-yes.”
He began to walk in circles around Yuuri as if he were examining cattle. Yuuri stayed on guard, though he knew that the old man could beat him with one hand. His hands shook, but he tried to look brave.
“Hmm, you’re fairly small, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Sir.”
The old man simply shrugged, “You’ll still grow. You have potential, Boy, you just need to stop doubting yourself.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“When you looked up at me during that battle I used a command spell on you to believe in your own abilities. And look what happened. It worked. You will become a great fighter in the rings, I can tell.”
Yuuri was astonished. Command spells were strictly against the rules of the rings. Did the leader have to follow those rules too?
“Why would you care about me?”
“You have something special to you. I’m not sure what it is, but I hope that I can someday figure it out. I’m sorry that someone so young must face my arenas, but I’m glad to see you finding yourself.”
With that, the old man walked away, leaving Yuuri even more confused than before.
___________________
Three years had passed since Yuuri had talked face-to-face with the ringleader, but he hadn’t heard much of him since. In fact, the only things he ever heard about the Lee family was Sir Lee’s strict training in the upbringing of his son, Seung-Gil. He may have only been fifteen, but he was already being prepared to take over the fighting rings. Many speculated that Sir Lee was close to his death bed, so Yuuri knew he had to act fast.
Yuuri grew stronger and stronger every day, and now he had quite a bit of money stored away and won almost every fight he entered. Those three years were a lot of time for him to think, and Yuuri finally decided what he was going to do. He was making the journey to the capital, where the Lee family typically made their appearances. If luck was on his side, Sir Lee could see his last fight before he settled down around the area and started working a legal, honest job. He wanted to show him just how far he had come, and have his last match go down as one of the best ever. Only the best fighters even stood a chance at the capital, so Yuuri knew the fight would be good.
He walked slowly along the path, taking in the view of the world around him. Recently, bandits had been growing in the area, and he didn’t want to make it look as if he had anything important with him. He didn’t think that any bandits would attack him since he had learned to make himself smell like an alpha, but one could never be too careful.
Vicchan, Yuuri’s small familiar, trotted happily beside him. While most fighters didn’t keep familiars with them, Yuuri found Vicchan’s company to be comforting. He wasn’t well trained, but Yuuri intended to work with him once he settled down. The duo made their way along the path until they came to a very small town where a sign read “Detrot.” Upon entering the town, Yuuri could instantly tell that something was wrong. No people were visible in the streets, no sound came from the buildings, and destruction plagued the structures. If it hadn’t been for a burned-down house that was still smoking, Yuuri would have assumed that it was abandoned. Suddenly, he heard feet moving around the corner followed by the distinct smell of alpha. He grabbed Vicchan and ducked into a broken-down house, preferring to watch what he had gotten himself into. A horde of bandits made their way around the corner, obviously mad and striding as if they owned the place. As Yuuri tried to get a better view of what was happening, a small voice interrupted him.
“P-please… Sir Alpha. Please don’t hurt us.”
Yuuri turned to see a young beta boy huddling next to an elderly lady on the floor. The boy was shaking and the elderly woman seemed too sick to notice anything wrong.
“My grandmother is sick anyway and we don’t have anything to give you. I’ll do anything you ask, but please don’t hurt her.”
Yuuri was confused, “Why would I hurt you?” He glanced around him at the elderly lady. “Do you know any healing magic?”
After hesitating for a moment, the boy shook his head.
Yuuri held out his hand to the lady, “May I?”
The beta boy looked extremely scared and confused. Yuuri tried his hardest to seem endearing, but this child clearly had a fear of alphas. While this behavior was an unfortunate common trait in omegas, but it was rare on a beta.
“I just want to do an examination. Please, I mean you no harm.”
The boy eventually backed away from his grandmother, giving Yuuri the room to approach her slowly. He cast an examination spell over her sleeping form and examined the runes and light that the spell gave off.
“W-what are you doing?”
“I’m trying to see what I can do.”
The spell only lasted a few moments before Yuuri knew the unfortunate truth.
“Sometimes… the natural forces of the world are stronger than any magical spell. While I can certainly take away some of the pain and fatigue, I can’t stop the inevitable.”
The boy looked down at the ground, “C-could you make her feel better? For now?”
Yuuri smiled sadly, “I will do what I can.”
As Yuuri worked, he got a better view of the boy who seemed to be about fourteen years old. He had long hair that seemed to have not been cared for in awhile.
“What is your name?”
“Leo.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Leo. I am Yuuri.”
“Hello.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s wrong with this town? Do many others live here?”
Leo nodded his head, “Yes, many people live here but are too scared to leave their homes. Alphas and bandits have taken it over, stolen all of our money… So many have died.”
Yuuri finished off his spell and lifted his head to look the boy in the eyes, “That’s awful.”
The boy nodded his head, “I’m sorry, I thought you were one of them.”
Yuuri hung his head. This fear was something he knew too well. He knew that he had to stay disguised for his own safety, but the reactions that alphas get were never good.
“It’s alright. I wouldn’t trust myself if I were you. It is good for you to be cautious, especially around alphas.”
Leo’s eyes grew wide, but he didn’t comment further on the subject. “Will she be okay?”
Yuuri turned to her solemnly, “She… won’t live in pain.”
Leo nodded, seeming to understand that even that was enough.
Yuuri stood up with a determined look and began to leave the house. Vicchan seemed to sense his mood and stood readily behind him.
“Where are you going?”
“Outside.”
“You’ll be killed.”
Yuuri smiled, “I think I’ll manage.”
He stepped out onto the street and glanced towards the only sound of life he heard. A woman was running away from a group of the bandits. She cradled an item close to her chest.
“Stop runnin!” a bandit yelled from the gaggle of attackers. The woman kept running as if her life depended on it.
“Stop!” a more powerful voice echoed. Instantly, it could be recognized as an alpha’s command spell. It was fairly strong, though, despite Yuuri’s weaker resistance to the spell as an omega, he didn’t sway. The woman, however, could not overcome the alpha’s request. She slowly stopped in her tracks and was surrounded by her attackers. Yuuri joined the crowd easily. The large alpha who Yuuri assumed was the one who used the command spell approached her.
“What are you doing out here, omega?”
“I-I just needed some food. Please, let me go-”
The alpha grabbed her by the arm and held her up towards his face.
“Needed it so bad you would steal from us?”
She nodded slowly, flinching away from his stare. The alpha threw her to the ground.
“Guess we’ll have to collect payment then.”
“Please, I have no money.”
The alpha pretended to look surprised, “No money? Don’t worry, Dear, you can find other ways to pay.”
The group began to close in on her, and Yuuri summoned fire.
“Stop,” He said, suddenly conscious of the fact that he couldn’t cast a command spell like a real alpha.
“Who are you?” The leader asked, disgusted.
“That’s not important, leave her alone.”
The alpha looked amused. He summoned a light sword.
“You think you can play the hero, huh? Listen, I understand. You think that you can be “good.” Here, I’ll even go easy on you. Take a turn with her, and you’ll understand how alphas are meant to rule.”
Yuuri was disgusted. He quickly threw his fire at the alpha and, as he was distracted, pulled chunks of ground from below him and hurled them in his direction. They hit him dead-on, and he fell to the ground. The other alphas and bandits looked at him in disbelief.
“Leave!” Yuuri snarled, “And warn the others that, should they try to stay, they’ll meet a similar fate.”
The group quickly dispersed, none of which having the magical ability of their fallen ally. Yuuri looked around, suddenly noticing the burning gaze of the town’s citizens. Their scared hallowed faces each held a look of disbelief and desperation. He knew then and there, no matter what it took, that he had to stay and help them rebuild.