Chapter 61: Immortal-Cup Part 2: Lucky me.
Cheesos (God of Tactics and Luck) - Ra’unt (God of Cooking):
The announcer says "Well that was a battle that was quick and very iconic. Now then, next up is every tactician’s patron god Cheesos versus every cook’s patron god Ra’unt.
Honestly, I don’t know what criteria they had for choosing the ones that will take place in this tournament, but hey, let’s not let that pull us down and see how this kind of battle shall go."
In walks a purple haired woman with purple eyes and a monocle on her left eye. She has a decorative coat on her shoulders and tight leather pants. She is Cheesos.
On the other side, comes a muscular looking four armed man in a high class cook’s clothing. He has the classic chef hat on him that could fit a rat inside or some other mysteries. That was Ra’unt.
Ra’unt had blond hair and amber eyes. He exuded an aroma that made people all over the arena want to eat whatever he could make.
Cheesos says to Ra’unt "Looks like we have an interesting match on our hands. Don’t you agree, old friend?"
Ra’unt says "Of course. I will use all my kitchenware that I can summon to cut you into a fine meal."
Cheesos says "Cannibalism much?"
Ra’unt responds, "Cooking is cooking."
Cheesos retorts "I’d say that you and Perkele would get along, but then again..."
Ra’unt says strongly "Don’t you EVER lump me with that savage. He may delight in the meals he takes, but he by now means deserves to sit at my table."
Cheesos backs down a bit and says "Wow. Calm yourself, will you? I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to."
Ra’unt scoffs "Hmph."
The two contestants are soon sent to a pocket dimension resembling castle hall. Before Cheesos takes in the view, Ra’unt has already thrown a bunch of sharp kitchen utensils.
Cheesos just barely managed to react in time to dodge them and she shouts "Warn me next time, will you!"
Ra’unt laughs "Hah! Like I’d tell my prey before I’ll launch the attack!"
Ra’unt keeps throwing all kinds of sharp kitchen ware towards Cheesos like they were going out of fashion. This is because Ra’unt can summon as many kitchen related objects whenever he feels like it.
As Ra’unt’s throwing attacks don’t work, he takes a sashimi knife and begins to chase Cheesos with it.
Cheesos at the same time is just trying to not get stabbed by her colleague.
As the chase goes on, Cheesos finds an opportunity and guides Ra’unt through the pile of his kitchen ware, which in turn, makes Ra’unt slip and fall.
Luckily, Ra’unt didn’t get stabbed by his own kitchen ware, but before he could rise up to keep on chasing Cheesos, Cheesos had other ideas and pointed a knife she had picked up earlier in the chaos at Ra’unt’s throat.
Cheesos asks "Do you concede?" To which Ra’unt tries to look for an opening, but amazingly, he can’t find one on someone who barely has fought by themselves.
Ra’unt concedes and Cheesos is the winner of the match.
.
Tonto (God of Dwarves, Handicraft and Mining) - Fates (Gods of Law):
The announcer says "Well wasn’t that an exciting match! But without further ado, next up is the god of dwarves Tonto and gods of law fates. Who will win? Let’s find out!"
On one side strode a dwarf who seemed the very image of his kind, yet greater—towering as a giant among dwarves. In his hand he bore a smith’s hammer, heavy with the memory of countless creations, and upon him gleamed armor forged for both craft and war. Thus came Tonto, god of dwarves and handicraft, ever ready for battle.
From the unseen threads of destiny, three figures emerge—the Fates, gods of cosmic law. Their true forms remain invisible, revealed only by the white robes that flow around them, veiling where eyes should be. Each bears eight long, spidery hands, forever weaving, measuring, and severing the unseen strands of existence. Their necks stretch unnaturally long, bending and twisting with impossible grace, so that no choice or secret escapes their silent watch.
As the four enter the arena, Tonto says to Fates "Why did it have to be you three in the first match of mine? In the first place, I think it is unfair for you three to be able to fight together as a team while I will have to fight three on one."
Past of the fates whispers "You seemingly overestimate our physical prowess."
Present of the fates whispers "Ai. We mostly work on the shadows. Not out in the open."
Future of the fates whispers "Yeah. If you hit us with that hammer, one of us is going down pretty neatly."
Present of the fates whispers "Are you encouraging us or encouraging him, Future?"
Past of the fates whispers "Don’t worry about it, Present. Let’s work together as we always have."
Present of the fates whispers "Ai. Let’s go with that then."
Tonto says "I don’t know what that was about, but sure."
The four are soon sent to a foggy place with shallow water, to which Tonto immediately whines about "Great. Just great. With ghostly Fates as my opponent, of course it had to be a spooky atmosphere."
Present tries to slice Tonto with her weapon, but Tonto’s armour manages to withstand the attack.
Immediately, Tonto tried to attack the Present, but she disappeared into the fog like a ghost.
As soon as Tonto lost sight of Present, Future attacked Tonto from behind and Tonto tried to counterattack, but Future disappeared like Present.
Everything went silent for a moment, until Future tried to attack again, but this time, Tonto managed to block the attack with his hammer and smack Future on her invisible face. This seemingly defeated Future, but it was not over yet.
Trying to find where the other two were, Tonto lost sight of Future’s corpse and immediately went alert if he already wasn’t.
Then Future and Present attacked together and while Future’s hit managed to cut Tonto’s arm badly, Tonto managed to hit both Future and Present without delay.
But Tonto didn’t get to take a breather as Past attacked on Tonto’s back right on the same spot the other two fates attacked him the first time. And while it wasn’t a fatally deep attack, it severed Tonto in a way that he ended up in a darkness far more menacing than the fog he was previously in.
Tonto looked for a way out, tightly holding onto his hammer, but then the Fates caught up to him and encircled Tonto’s neck with their scythe-like claw fingers.
Fates sang in unison "Thus is the fate of Tonto" and all three pulled their claws inward, decapitating Tonto in the process.
Fates were the winner of the match, and as the contestants returned to the arena, Tonto couldn’t help but comment "Well, you haven’t really changed that much after all this time. Your tactic to slice the same spot once per person to win is the same as back then."
Future of the fates whispered "It is... as it shall be."
Tonto shrugs and says "Whatever you all say."
Thus ended the match.
.
Grey (God of Paintings) - Ferqu (God of Change):
The announcer says "Well that was... something. I barely saw anything in that thick fog that, for some reason, we didn’t have a plan to make it easier for the audience to see better, but that is just me.
Next up is the god of painting himself, Grey. He’ll be facing a troublesome god of change, Ferqu. I wonder how long he will keep his name this time."
From one side stepped a man draped in flamboyance, every gesture flowing like a brushstroke. A frilly hat crowned his head, its extravagant feather shifting with the hues of every color imaginable. His black hair framed eyes alive with pigments, as if whole paintings stirred within them. At his side rested a briefcase, within it the brushes with which he could shape reality itself. Thus came Grey, god of painting, a figure as delicate as his art and as bold as his colors.
From the other side, comes a slime-like entity that changes colours from purple to red, from red to green, from green to yellow, from yellow to magenta and from magenta to purple again. Each change in colour happens at different times at different parts of the body. Some faster, some slower. This is Ferqu, and with the three fifteen stones scattered around his body, he is present.
Grey says to Ferqu "And we meet again, my dear companion in art. Though our scope of reach may differ, both enjoy the change in the canvas we choose to paint our stories. And once the painting is done, you’ll add another layer to it, completely different from the last one. Yes, that is our dynamic, won’t you agree?"
Ferqu answers with voice mixing between man’s and woman’s voice "Yes. It is indeed how our dynamic usually works. And it is thus what makes this opportunity all the more exciting."
Grey says "Ai. Let’s commence, now, shall we?"
Both contestants are sent to a barren landscape with no colour at all. Grey is immediately taken aback by this and says "Let’s add some colour now, shall we?"
And with brushes that he took from his briefcase, the colour of the landscape changed to a vibrant one. Ferqu couldn’t help but clap at Grey’s work and said "Let me add something too."
And with Ferqu slithering all around the arena, the mountains turned to lakes, the flower fields that Grey painted turned to vibrant forests, the ocean on the background turned to a bustling city and the sky turned in part green with islands floating in the sky.
Grey claps his hands also and says "Magnifique! As expected from my other half!"
Ferqu comes back and says "Now that the scenery is set, let’s get this collaboration started."
Grey says "Yes. Let’s."
With a few waves from his brushes, Grey manages to summon knights and cavalry that charged towards Ferqu.
Ferqu in turn just moved through the barrage of enemies and turned them into sculptures of sheer terror.
Grey couldn’t help but clap, but after he clapped, he continued to send barrages of enemies towards Ferqu. Ferqu would just move through them and change them into sculptures made from different materials each time.
But every once in a while, Grey’s barrages manage to damage a few of Ferqu’s stones, making Ferqu closer and closer to collapse.
Eventually though, Ferqu had changed the layout of the battleground to a very hostile one that none of Grey’s paintings could survive through.
Now that most of Grey’s attacks became momentarily halted, Ferqu went through Grey’s creations that were turned to sculptures and changed them into dinosaur-like creatures that could survive the hostile environment.
Eventually, Grey was overwhelmed by Ferqu’s attack, and Ferqu ended up winning the match
Once the two went back to the arena, both shook hands and Grey said "It seems like you are the winner this time. Let’s do things like usual after the banquet ends."
Ferqu responds "Of course. I wouldn’t expect less from my other half."
.
Lemm (God of Elves and Spirits) - Taboo (Hex God):
The announcer says "Well wasn’t that a sight to behold! So many colours. So many shapes and sizes. The art...
But let’s move on. Next up is the graceful god of elves and spirits Lemm who is up against the hex god Taboo.
This must be fate, since both share a deep connection to nature. One more good than the other though.
Let’s hope that good will prevail over evil this time as well."
Lemm entered with the grace of a forest’s breath, tall and radiant. They bore no fixed gender, for they would only take one should love bind them to another—yet so far, they cherished no one more than themselves. Their form was slender yet commanding, their golden hair falling flawlessly, never touched by tangle, wind, or time. Their long, pointed ears marked them as elf, though their presence whispered of divinity. Their attire revealed enough to tempt, yet concealed enough to preserve mystery.
On the other side emerged a spriggan-like being. A woman made of wood. Expressionless. Each step she walked, you could hear the bending of wood. Cracking even. Her name was Taboo and she was no god, yet she also was so. A failed demigod some might say.
As she spoke "Greetings, former patron god of mine", Taboo’s wooden face moved with slight cracks forming each passing movement. Like she was in a constant state of pain.
Lemm said "You, who were once one of my people... How it saddens me that you ended like this. The god of defilement knows no bounds."
Taboo responds "Don’t talk ill of father. He shows his love through other means."
Lemm shakes her head in denial "No... He only enjoys watching people suffer. You... Reamina... How I wish I could bring you back to the beauty you once shone."
Taboo says "I go by no such name any longer. Though I call you my former patron god, that doesn’t mean we have any connection any longer."
Lemm sighs and says "What you say, I deny. But I can no longer reach you. Let’s get this farce over and done with."
Taboo says "Yes. Farce it truly is."
The two are then sent to a pocket dimension that looks like the forest of Lostwood.
Lemm says "So it has to be like this. How unfortunate."
Taboo had disappeared as soon as both of them came to the pocket dimension and Lemm started to look for her.
As she tried to look for Taboo, Lemm’s eyes started to hurt each time she came across some weird wooden structures. Some carved from wood and some formed with a bunch of sticks.
The ground also had some weird markings on them, which started to weigh heavily each passing moment Lemm came across with them with her wide area search. Alas, she could not find any traces of Taboo anywhere.
Eventually, branches began to sprout from Lemm’s eyes in an excruciating way and Lemm knew that she was already cursed.
Lemm didn’t falter as the sprouts began to grow and grow each time she came across one of Taboo’s creations.
The sprouts grew bigger and bigger, draining Lemm of her aether. Eventually growing so big that Lemm didn’t have the strength to stand and fell to the ground.
Once the sprouting branches touched the soil, they connected to it like any plant would and Lemm began to feel more and more pain.
In live time, the audience could see Lemm turn from a beautiful elf to a shriveled corpse like fruit that hangs from a tree grown in a unique way. It was Taboos win.
Once the two contestants returned to the arena, Taboo immediately began to leave. Lemm managed to say to her "If you ever need help, you know what to do right?"
Taboo didn’t respond even in the slightest of ways and just left the arena as is.
Once out of sight, Perkele slammed the back of Taboo’s head and said "Look what you’ve done. You’ve made others worry for you again. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Taboo responds with a meek "I’m sorry father. I’ll do better next time."
Perkele says "You’ve better. You’ve continued, each passing day, to cause me discomfort from your mere existence. Why don’t you just kill yourself already?"
Taboo says "Wait a moment and I’ll die."
Taboo jumps to the abyss where she would meet her end, but eventually she finds herself right where she jumped to the abyss with Perkele right behind her.
Perkele says "So you failed to die as usual. Honestly, the one thing I made you for is for you to die and you can’t even do that? What an utter disappointment."
Taboo bows in apology "I’m sorry for my repeated failures father. Next time, I’ll be sure to..."
Perkele punched Taboo so hard she broke instantly.
Then soon after Taboo found herself back up again with Perkele berating her "How many times have I told you not to call me that. You disgusting failure."
Perkele leaves and Taboo takes a hold of her chest where a heart should be. Fein comes and says to her "You don’t have to keep taking on his abuse, Taboo."
Taboo says "No. Father is right. I’m a failure. Ever since he made me, I’ve failed to do what he designed me to do. To die utterly and completely. Yet..."
Fein says "I know this is comical coming from me, but father... he’s..."
Taboo says "He loves me in his own way. He just is easily frustrated because I failed his expectations. When I manage to die some day, I’m sure that he’ll be overjoyed and proud of me."
Fein stays silent and Taboo says "Don’t have such a look on your face. I know I’m right. I just have to manage to do it right once and I’ll earn the love that father has given me."
Fein stood in silence and just placed his hand on Taboo’s shoulder for a moment. Then he left without saying a word more.