The hostess paid close attention to the fights and made the decision to ask the defeated combatants for another option to stay in the tournament. Annabell and Eros were walking together before the human evolution requested her faithful companion to bring lunch, "Eros, can you buy one of those delicious pretzels?"

"Yes, lady Luna." The white qizard replied before he headed to one of the foodstands. Natalie approached the brunette Annabell waited for Eros to return with the food.

"Hello," the hostess greeted, Annabell was surprised to see the host herself talking to her.

"Hi." Annabell smiled.

"I came to ask if you wanted another chance to stay in the tournament?" The hostess inquired, giving a genuine smile.

"Do you really mean that?" Annabell asked her, hoping thag it wasn't a sick joke.

"Absolutely. I want to make sure that the participants have a great time at the Gladatorium."

"What do I have to do?"

"It's simple. You can participate at a fighting match with the other defeated contestants. If you win, you have another chance to fight in the arena." The hostess explained.

"Is that all?" Annabell asked.

"Basically, you have the option to accept or decline the offer." Natalie reminded her.

"I accept!" Eros heard Annabell's voice when he brought the food, including the pretzels.

"Did I miss anything?" Eros inquired.

"I offered her another chance to participate, you can come watch her fight tonight." Natalie responded then looked at the human evolution, "All she has to do is sign up."

The grey haired wizard saw the lady smile. "Eat first, you will need your strength to fight tonight." Eros handed Annabell her lunch.

"I will be in my office if you need me." Natalie informed them before she walked away. Eros saw Annabell beam.

"I can't believe it, Eros! I have a fighting chance to stay." Annabell put a hand on his arm.
"If you say so, m'lady." Eros said before she watched the hostess walk on the hall before a couple of strangers crossed before she disappeared. "Let's go take a seat before the food turns cold." He suggested as Annabell followed him.

Eros wasn't much a fighter, but he lived long enough to know that fighting tournaments don't give defeated fighters a second chance to fight for the grand prize. The offer sounds too good to be true.

A bearded man with a janitor uniform walked past the reception to find a closet that stored cleaning products. He took out a disinfectant spray, a glass cleaner, a spray cleaner, rubber gloves a mop, a squeegee, a bucket, floor cleaner, and bleach, then pulled out a janitor cart to start his shift after a long vacation. When a blonde receptionist came out of the receptionist, he was happy to see him.

"Hey, Jecamiah! Long time no see." Geoffrey greeted the bearded janitor. Jecamiah, an average looking man with auburn hair with a slightly round shape, an intuitive man that spoke his mind. Recently, he received a calling in life, with a pocket sized bible in his front pocket to keep God close to his heart.

"I had to take a leave. Tell me, how are the others?" Jecamiah asked, despite knowing that they were still up to their own devices.

"Y'know, the usual. Patricia is still patroling around the stadium during her breaks. Akane and Jane are talking about beauty products and other stuff. Buid and Goung just started working here. Sam is still slacking off, and Vilma found a new target for her hit list." Geoffrey replied casually.

"Vilma is wasting her time with her vendetta." Jecamiah commented as he pushed the janitor cart.

"I've already told her that, and she told me to buzz off and to not cross her." Geoffrey stated.

"If she keeps going down that road it will be the death of her." Jecamiah replied while he headed to the men's restroom while Geoffrey followed him.

"Don't remind me, I actually met a creep that looks the Grim Reaper with a cheap cosplay. I overheard him and Vilma make plans to harm one of the contestants and let a Reptilian win the tournament." Geoffrey mentioned.

"A reptilian!? Has she lost her mind!?" Jecamiah bellowed, dropping the mop.

"You know Vilma." Geoffrey crossed his arms.

"I'm referring to Nat! She is in charge of the stadium, and she's allowing demonic creatures enter the Gladatorium as if this place was a night club." Jecamiah bent over to grap the mop handle, irate.

Geoffrey watched Jecamiah burn out his anger in cleaning the bathroom, including the stalls, mirrors and sinks.

The hostess found Chris conversing with his younger brother. "The one time I wanted you to win, and this is what happens. This is what I get for opening my big mouth." Tony snapped at him while the older Venusian was nonchalant.
"You should know by now that I don't hurt a lady." Chris replied.
"What about Emily?" Tony asked him, Chris gave him a cold glare. The blonde Venusian had known Emily since she was a child, she considered him her best friend, she also had a lot of potential as a cook. Unfortunately, she made a wrong decision when she resorted to selling drugs on the streets. When she flatly denied her involvement in the drug trafficking cases, he had no other choice but to shoot her. He couldn't look at her in the eye when she shot her skull.
"That is none of your business." Chris responded coldly.
"You're right, it isn't." He shrugged. "But when you told me that you shot someone for calling you Mr. Blue..." Chris pulled out a gun from thin air and pointed it at him at the jugular. "Really bro? At a public place?"
"Don't test me." It wasn't a threat, it was a direct order. Chris then made the weapon disappear.

The host stepped in to talk to Chris. "I was impressed with your performance at the arena. You sure had me fooled." She commented.

Chris gave an analytical glance at the woman before him, an average female with an average height, thick eyebrows, shoulder length black hair, pale complexion. She wore a dark grey suit and black boots, if it wasn't for her voice, he would've been thrown off at her androgynous appearance, mistaking her for a man. The stubly chin and neck didn't help her case either.

"I came to ask you if you would like to stay in the tournament for another round? That is, if you want another chance to return to the arena." She asked him.

"That's very generous of you, but I would have to decline on your offer." Chris responded.

"As you wish." Natalie responded before she gave a participation ribbon and certificate. "Here is your parting gift." She gave him the certificate of participation of the Gladatorium with the signatures of the host and stadium director before he made it disappear into thin air, along with the ribbon. "Have a nice day." Natalie gave a smile to both Chris and Tony before she walked away.

"What else is new?" The bearded janitor inquired angrily.

"Well, there's aliens, dinosaurs, deities, gods, hybrids, angels, martial artists, wizards, and the aforementioned reptilian." Geoffrey responded as if it were a common occurence.

"This is why this world has got to go. Not only is this place normalizing witchcraft, it's a hotspot for demons." Jecamiah pushed the janitor cart down the hall.

"One of my coworkers is an elf so..." Geoffrey drawled, twiddling his fingers.

"An elf is a nightmarish creature, Geoff." Jecamiah reminded him.

"I can hear you." Alma came out of the reception and dropped in on their conversation. "And for your information, I'll turn nightmarish when I don't get my drink." Alma paused for a brief second to hold her beverage, then added, "I can report you for discrimination."

"I almost forgot that this generation has developed tickling ears." Jecamiah recalled as he gestured at his ears and traced an imaginary point at the helix of the ear.

"Very funny." Alma sneered, her earrings dangled at the motion while the janitor pushed the cart, walking past her.

Herring and Hwa Hae Ji were eating together at the infirmary at the time. Joon Wen was laying on the bed watching them eat.
"Now what am I gonna do? I lost my chance to win the prize money for Joon's treatment."

"How long as he been sick?" Herring asked her.

"Five years now." Haeji replied before Mochi leaned in to lick the applesauce.

"Do you know what caused it?" Herring prodded further.

"Not really, I remember Joon started with flu-like symptoms before his skin got cold and clammy, then he lost muscle mass, his hair got thin and brittle. The treatments that could stop the progression of his illness got expensive, I had to steal hundreds, thousands of won to pay for a month's worth of treatment. We lived out in the streets for a while before he caught the illness. I've asked other wizards to help find the cause of his illness, but they didn't have any answers. I've slowly lost hope in finding a treatment, so I've sought to steal whatever I could find." Haeji explained, then sighed, "I just want to find a cure for his illness."

"If there was another way for me to help you and your brother, I would." Herring stated, which read to the host's ears.

"How are they treating you?" A feminine voice asked the sick patient.

"The food is good, I can't complain. Though this strange watch is kinda itchy." Joon Wen Ji replied. The hostess looked at the EMCuff.

"Perhaps some calamine lotion would help." Natalie looked through the cabinets looking for the vials and labels. Who would put an EMCuff on a sick patient? I'll have to check through the security cameras. She thought before she found the calamine lotion and applied it around Joon's wrist.

"Thanks. The itch had been killing me for a while now. Do you know where the bathroom is?" He asked before he shifted into a sitting position.

"There's one in the next room to your right." The host responded just as he stood up weakly, then walked up hastely to the bathroom door. Once he sat down, he grumbled something about “shouldn't have eaten that sundae.”

"If either of you want to participate in the Redemption Round for another chance to win the grand prize--"

"I accept the challenge." Herring interjected.

"Splendid! How about you, Ms. Ji?" Natalie asked before the young New Korean gave a scrutinizing glare at the hostess.

"Why would I want to join in another match when I got stabbed in the stomach!? I gave my all in that match and you want me to lose another one!?" Haeji reprimanded at the hostess while she gave an indifferent glance in return.

"I am not responsible for the decisions the judges make. I'm only in charge of organizing the matches." She responded before Haeji gritted her teeth.

"Well I don't want your dumb match." After Haeji said those words, they heard a loud thud coming from the bathroom.

"Joon!" Haeji shouted, the blonde combatant got out of the bed with gauzes and bandages covering her cuts. She saw that Herring and Nour rushed in to help lift the patient off the floor. They had to put him back on the bed before the nurse checked on him.

"This doesn't make any sense? He was just fine a while ago." Nour stated. Nat had a sneaking suspition of who might be the one behind this, so she headed out of the infirmary. There was nothing she could do for him, just in that moment, Mirror and Phixa's match just ended.

I will deal with her later...

Piros was disappointed to see that the phoenix hybrid had lost the match, and to add that it was a shapeshifting mirror who had managed to pull off an allure that made her reflection seem domineering, yet appealing.

The ruddy hue-man looked at the awning near the arena where the crestfallen phoenix hybrid trudged while her talons made little scratch marks on the ground to the carpet. He hadn't noticed that Ratu had ran past him.

Alexandra flew back to where the other competitors were, once she saw Phixa crestfallen, the angel walked up to the hybrid phoenix.
"I saw the match. You were great out there." Alexandra said.
"You're just saying that to make me feel better. I bet you couldn't see the difference between him and I."
"I saw the difference by the look in your eye." Alexandra looked at Phixa in the eyes. Phixa let out a breath before she slumoed her shoulders.
"I justed wanted a chance to win one tournament to prove that I can be strong like a full-blooded phoenix." Phixa said before the hostess came into the fray.

"You're in luck, I happen to be offering an opportunity for defeated combatants another chance to stay in the tournament." The hybrid looked at the hostess, a flawed mortal with a natural complexion, small sun spots on the bridge of her nose and partially crooked teeth. Phixa walked a couple of paces in front of the hostess.

"Of all the tournaments I participated, I never heard such an offer." Phixa gave a scrutinizing glance at the host.

"Until now. This is the first time I'm implementing an additional match and I was hoping you would be one of the first contenders to participate. This could encourage new aspiring combatants to compete in the future. With your expertise, you can give insight on what could make this tournament different from the previous tournaments you've partaken in." Natalie said before she prodded for any more information.

Phixa and the hostess saw the nurses take Ratu away to the infirmary while the boy was unconscious.

"Well that was fast." Phixa blurted out.

"We don't usually allow children to participate unless the parent or legal guardian sign for the minor to compete." Natalie explained.

Piros saw Phixa talking to a woman in a grey suit. He couldn't help stare at the phoenix hybrid, from her coppery skin to her feathery waist.

"When I was in Paradise, the Phoenixes would fight over the fire or in very high places. The stadium where the phoenixes fight every year remained flawless, symmetrical. A full-blooded phoenix could fight for a whole day without signs of exhaustion, with my human half, I have a lot of difficulty keeping up with them." Phixa responded.

"Perhaps a full-blooded phoenix can endure extremely high temperatures and intense flames much more than a human, or a phoenix hybrid would, but have you considered using abilities that a full-blooded phoenix couldn't possess?" The hostess suggested.

"What do you mean?" Phixa cocked an eyebrow.

"What it's a phoenix's weakness?" Nat popped the question. "What are the weaknesses that a hybrid like you can use as an advantage?"

Phixa laughed at the question, the idea of a hybrid defeating a purebred phoenix was absurd. Then again, she had been belittling her abilities for so long. As an afterthought she remembered that a phoenix was at its weakest during the dark, the cold, low temperatures. She had been focused on trying to emulate a phoenix that she had overlooked her human side. What made flawed humans so interesting that made a flawless phoenix like her mother fall for a human?

"The dark." Phixa replied.

"This is your chance to fight out of your comfort zone. Who knows? Maybe you'll discover something new about yourself." The hostess shrugged. "The Redemption Round will start tonight at 8. Be prepared."

Phixa saw her walk away, unaware that Piros was watching her. Herring was about to tell Piros that Haeji finally got out of the infirmary when he spotted him staring at one of the winged women. Herring Ja sneaked up from behind him, startling him.

"Who are you staring at?" The young fisherman asked him while he saw Piros blush. He looked away as he stammered.
"N-n-no one." He lied.
"Which one is it?" Herring prodded while Piros looked away.
"I w-was just looking." He stepped away but Herring was adamant in getting answer.
"Ooooh, you got hooked on someone aren't you? Who's the lucky lady?"

"Whydayawannaknow?" I shouldn't have asked that, Herring gave a devious grin, the corners of his mouth creased with malice.

I knew it, I've known Piros since we were little kids. He would talk really fast when he tried to hide something from me. "So you do like someone! Which one is it?" Herring asked him.

"No!" Piros shouted before he walked away and Herring took the opportunity to jump on him and held on like a child taking a piggy back ride. The young fisherman interlocked his ankles around Piros's torso.

"Tell me who the girl is! Tell me tell me tell me." Herring said out loud.

"STOP! YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME!!!" Piros berated him, which caught the attention of the winged women.

"PIROS FOUND A LITTLE LOVE BIRD AND HE'S CUCKOO IN LOVE WITH THAT GIRL!" Herring sang at the top of his lungs.

"Are they fighting?" Alexandra asked her.
"I have no idea." The phoenix hybrid admitted. Piros face turned red, both in anger and embarrassment. So he buried his face in his hands.

"Is the blonde girl, is it?" Herring asked him.
Alexandra nudged Phixa on the shoulder and gestured her to follow her.

"NO! GET OFF!" Piros yelled, shaking him off.

"It's the phoenix girl!" Herring shouted, looking at her.

"SHUT UP!" The ruddy human pried Herring's ankles, then threw him off before he saw her radiant eyes and coppery face.

"Ow!" After he landed on the ground, he got back up to see Piros and Phixa face to face, and he's blushing.

Is it weird that he looks like a red tomato? He has pink skin while Phixa looks like one of the sunkissed gods that the Flavens and Titians gush about. Herring thought.

"Uh...hi." Piros managed to say.