By the third quarter, Gray was seeing that his new strategy was working out well, though Squad 23 were a point behind. And once they got behind, catching up felt impossible, especially since they were going up against Blythe’s squad, which was one of the top teams.

  Gray knew they had to win. Otherwise, they’d find themselves back in the basement hole.

  The other squads were there, forced to stay standing so they couldn’t sleep, while they watched the match. Of course, Freek and his orcs taunted them while the fae glared at Gray and his team. Well, they all did except Pinch, who didn’t give any of them a second glance.

  The Fire Flyers took the lead early on because one of the problems that had plagued Gray’s team was that the squads they were facing would block Gray’s runners from returning to their base field after scoring. The opposing team couldn’t tackle them, or fight them, but they could get in the way or trip them. Then their runners would overwhelm Squad 23’s defenders on their base field and get to the kill strip faster.

  To combat this, Gray kept a bit of mana back and then fueled his legs for the return run after they dropped the ball. A few times, they were able to get the ball back, but rather than getting tangle up trying to fight the entire team—two against seven were terrible odds—they would race back and prepare their defenses. This was especially important when the demons were unleashed.

  For that match, they had something new—wrath ponies, demonic black horses covered in flickering yellow flames. The heat coming off them felt good after being so cold for so long. The fire was only part of the problem—the horses had massive hooves and strange spikes emerging from their flesh. If the flames and spikes didn’t get you, the hooves would.

  “No!” Settie had roared from somewhere in the stands. “That is not acceptable!”

  Gray was surprised at how big the things were, but they were also rather slow and stupid. And with a quick swing of his sword, he was able to cut out their legs from under them.

  Still, while they were fighting the wrath ponies, Blythe and her squad were moving the ball down the field.

  Midj threw a mana hand in front of Blythe, but she shifted into her dragon form to slither around. It did stop the rest of her runners—Flaraminda, the new dog man, and the tall, thin man with the scarred face. It wasn’t all that strange why there were so many scarred faces at First Field—it was a place for the desperate, and the desperate generally were driven there by the scars.

  Rynn vented her core, which shattered the demon in front of her. It exploded into a mess of bone and skin, which immediately started to steam away as the mana left its flesh.

  Gray hacked through the front leg of the pony it was fight, which sent it to the ground.

  He flung out a hand refilled Rynn, which allowed her race forward and throw a mana blast. It nocked the ball out from Blythe’s hands, but the dog man scooped it up. The tall man blocked Ames, which allowed the dog man to score.

  Now Squad 23 was two points behind.

  Ames scooped up the ball, sprinted forward and handed it off to Rynn, who then joined Gray for a run into enemy territory. Two points felt like it might be a hundred. Gray knew it was his exhausted mind playing with him.

  Blythe, in the base field, tried to make it work. “Only five recruits, Grayson Fade. You only have recruits. You can’t win this. You’re going to lose. You’re going in the hole without food, water, or light. And poor Tomika Ka will shatter.”

  Rynns stayed silent but growled like a cornered animal. It was a bit worrisome.

  Gray laughed. It felt good to have someone say what he was thinking. It made it sound ridiculous. Blythe didn’t know what was going to happen. And they’d won one match with only five recruits. They could win more.

  Rynn had the ball, and Gray could see that the two brothers on Blythe’s team weren’t exactly happy to try and get the ball from her. Because they knew she could explode at any minute. And that would hurt.

  Blythe grunted, shifted into her dragon form, and got in the way, but not before Rynn tossed Gray the ball. Instead of heading toward the goal, he sped around to Rynn, who vented her core, knocking Blythe back into her human form. She didn’t just take down the dragon girl but half of her team. The way was clear except for the two brother and their sister in the kill strip.

  He pitched the ball to her and then blocked for her as she flung mana blast after mana blast, taking down the brothers.

  Rynn bashed into the sister and tossed the ball to Gray who ran it into the end zone.

  Now they were only one point behind.

  And Gray had a plan for the fourth quarter.

  The wrath ponies were fast, big, powerful, but they were also more skittish than the other demons and dumber. If there was one thing Gray did well with in the world, it was taking advantage of the massive amount of stupidity in the world. It was how he could swindle people in the marketplace with his cup game. Manipulating the bloodthirsty demons was going to be a lot easier.

  He nodded at Rynn. “We’re not doing another run. We’re going to play defense. If you get the ball, we’ll pret4end to make a run, but we won’t.”

  Rynn frowned. “Mr. No, you do know that we have to win this game. And to win the game, we have to have the most points.’

  “You’re so very smart, Mrs. Yes. But I have a plan.”

  “I’m glad someone does,” the elf girl said.

  For the rest of the third quarter, they kept Blythe’s squad at bay, even when Blythe got frustrated and breathed fire across the field. Midj, though, threw down a mana hand to block it.

  And Gray fed her more mana. He kept the cores of everyone in his squad full, and when he started to run out, he let his anger fill his core back up. The crowd wanting to see blood. His exhaustion. His hate. And the envy—Blythe had everything given to her on a silver platter, and still, it wasn’t good enough. Both his anger and envy kept his mana full.

  These fuckers had no idea what they were dealing with.

  The Fire Flyers had started to use more of their own natural speed because they had to ration their mana. That was going to be a real problem for them.

  It was funny to see Blythe and her squad scratching their head as Rynn, Tomi, and Gray play catch with each other, pitching the ball across the field, but not making a run into enemy territory. Blythe and her team would surge forward to get the ball, but soon, Squad 23 would have it again.

  Until the horn sounded for the fourth quarter to begin.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Right on time, the wrath ponies came surging out of the end zone.

  Midj was there, slamming down mana hands, forcing the ponies to run between her hands and the stadium wall. The crowd retreated from the heat and animals stink of the demons as they thundered forward.

  To sweeten the pot, Tomi and Gray ran out in front, acting as bate. Tomi was giant, and Gray had a full mana core. It was clear—those demons knew who the sweetest treats were on the field.

  Ames had the ball, and she fed it to Midj, who took it and started running. Her hands had corralled the horses in a line, and all of them were running for Tomi and Gray. When they saw Midj and the incoming Fire Flyers racing across the grass, they might’ve gone for them, if not for Rynn, who was running along side Midj.

  The first demonic horse to break formation she shattered into a million pieces by emptying her core. The e3xplosion and blood and steam meat made the wrath ponies think twice.

  It was only a matter of time before Midj was tackled by the fast dog man on the other team.

  But before the goblin girl went down, she pitched the ball to Rynn, who then tossed it to Gray.

  He held the ball as he crossed the midfield line with Tomi as a blocker.

  But his real weapon were the demons behind him.

  “Cut to the right, Tomi!” Gray thundered.

  She didn’t throw out a sarcastic quip, but ran diagonally across the field. Blythe, the dog man, and the tall man were speeding toward them to get the ball.

  The two brothers on the Fire Flyers squad ended up directly in front of the demon horses.

  They were there for a second…and then they were gone, lost under the hooves of the demons. One of the men managed to cut down the first horse but not the second, the third, or the fourth. The crowd roared in shock, in delight, in a bloodthirsty display of savagery.

  The sister of the two men screamed, and Gray felt his heart go cold. He embraced that numb feeling. He wasn’t there to make friends. He was there to win.

  The sister ran to the edge of the kill strip, and she would’ve crossed, if Flaraminda hadn’t tackled her to keep her from being thrown out. Gray and Tomi crossed the goal line untouched.

  They let the ball fall and then ran over to the far side of the field and started to jog back to their base field.

  The wrath ponies stood over the two, snorting, sniffing, digging into their flesh of the men with their unexpectedly sharp fangs. But even from a distance, Gray could see them snorting up the mana in their wide, black nostrils.

  The rest of the Fire Flyers charged over to kill ponies, trying to get to the shredded bodies of the two brothers. They were far too late.

  Tomi glanced over at the carnage, but Gray caught her arm. “Don’t look. It doesn’t matter. We tied the score, and with two of their recruits dead, it’s going to be five-on-five. That’s a game we can win.”

  “But we killed them,” Tomi whispered.

  “No, we fucking didn’t. Crewel killed them. First Field killed them. Soulshred Week killed them. I didn’t choose wrath ponies, but if you give me a weapon, I’m going to use it.”

  The ponies were dead, and Flaraminda was guarding the kill strip, while the sister wailed out her grief.

  Fieldkeepers came charging out to drag the bodies off the field. For some reason, Quinnly Quillswrath was with them.

  The clock continued to tick down.

  Blythe and her squad stood by the wailing woman, on her knees.

  She pointed at them. “You’re dead. Both of you. You’re dead.”

  Gray ran in front of Tomi. “If you want to blame someone, blame me. It was my plan. Let’s keep playing so you can get your revenge.”

  Blythe went white. “You’re a monster!”

  “Yes, I fucking am,” Gray said.

  By that time, Flaraminda had grabbed the ball. “Gray, you should come back and get the ball. We know it wasn’t your fault. Come and get the ball.”

  He turned, and he saw her mana core was radiating a beautiful golden light. She was casting some kind of magic, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. She seemed to different, somehow…and so pretty.

  Gray took two steps toward her when Tomi grabbed him, lifted him up, and went running back down the field.

  “I should get the ball,” he protested. “And is it me, or is Flaraminda so pretty? Or is her name Flare?”

  Tomi set her down on their field. “Don’t go falling for the wrong girl, Grayson Fade. You have to be a monster. She’s using lust magic, or whatever. Which is cold…after those two brother died.”

  The timer continued to tick down.

  Midj was shaking her head. “That was awesome. They were killed, for sure. For sure. Mother’s oven, them horses got at her core. And their heads, all caved in. I shouldn’t have looked.”

  Rynn was silent, as was Ames, but the Quelling elf had a grim smile. She had a right to smile. They were tied up, and they’d evened the number of players.

  And yet…

  Flare and Blythe were making a run, and they crossed the midfield line. Flare had the ball, and Blythe had her sword, glowing red—it was now as sharp as a razor.

  Gray didn’t pause.

  He was going to use her rage and grief against her. And if she tried to kill him, it would be the end of her career at First Field.

  Rynn was right next to him. “I’m faster and better. You go after the ball. I’ll take care of Blythe.”

  “It’s a good plan, but Flare has some kind of lust magic. I don’t trust myself.”

  Rynn laughed. “What’s one more woman in your life, Mr. No?” She made the joke, but he could see how pale she was. He knew that the death of those two recruits had sickened her.

  He felt sick too, but he ignored it. It wasn’t his game. He was just going to win it.

  Tomi sped past them and tackled Blythe, who immediately shifted into a dragon, and she went to bite Tomi, but she didn’t have the ball. It was a clear violation of the rules, but it seemed Blythe really did want revenge.

  Tomi got her own sword up and used it to brace her arm as the dragon bit down. Tomi grunted with her left arm inside the beast’s mouth. She used her right arm to claw at the dragon’s face.

  Blythe began to shake the giant cat girl like a dog with a rat.

  Gray charged his bloodless blade until the blade glowed red. If he had to kill Blythe to rescue Tomi, he would.

  Meanwhile, Rynn showed her focus. She used her bloodless blade—glowing gold—to trip Flaraminda. When she went down, Rynn picked up the ball and immediately sped toward the midfield line.

  Midj had dropped back to guard the kill strip, which meant Ames was free. She leapt onto Blythe, shocking the dragon, which made her drop Tomi, who fell to the ground.

  Crewel’s voice roared from above. “Blythe Donnaruma, you are out of the game!”

  Blythe shifted human, hate on her face. “You fuckers. You evil fuckers. You murderers.”

  Tomi got to her feet, bleeding dripping from her arm. “Takes one to know one. Ames, would you heal me so I can fight this dragon bitch more.”

  Ames literally giggled and started healing.

  Tomi nodded at Gray. “Go. Your elf girl is going to need your help.”

  Gray channeled mana into both Tomi and Ames, emptying his core enough so he could then charge the meridians in his legs. He then went tearing across the field, joining up with Rynn while Flare chased after them.

  The sister just let them pass, Gray blocked the dog man, and Rynn made it into the kill strip where the tall man waited. But Rynn vented her core and then flung herself, totally spent, into the end zone.

  Gray ran over, gave her mana, and they started back across the field.

  They led for the first time in days and days of matches. And they would keep the lead because the Fire Flyers could only send one runner against them. Without blocking, and with their massive mana reserves thanks to Gray, the other team couldn’t score.

  They would win the day by that one point when the timer buzzed.

  Settie met them at the side. “You won. It’s all that matters. The wrath ponies were a mistake, and it’s one that Crewel should answer for that, but he won’t. Normally, the horses are relatively easy to take down, but obviously, a tightly packed stampede is a different matter.”

  It was a little after two in the morning, and Gray hoped that maybe since they’d won, they would get a chance to return to the third barracks. That wasn’t the case. But they wouldn’t end up back in the basement, which was all that mattered.

  Crewel had the Fieldkeepers escort the squads out of the stadium, including Blythe’s squads, and they were ran to the river—every single one of them.

  No one was talking about the deaths, but Gray knew, they were all thinking about it. He had to wonder if Blythe’s team would be forced to compete with only five recruits. If so, they wouldn’t survive against the fae, since Freek’s orcs had won that day, and to everyone’s surprise, the fae lost. Freek’s team was in the number one seed while Gray’s team was in last place.

  Crewel clapped his hands. “Now, we run. Get to it.”

  Gray and his squad started down the path, going last because he didn’t want anyone messing with them. They had run out of friends. Gray figured they would do at least three miles, if not six, but he was wrong.

  Crewel had them run up to the pink palace, around to the back, where there were eight crypts. Torches flickered in the cold night, but the light made the dark steps look even darker. All eight of the sponsors were there, waiting for their squads. Why, Gray didn’t know, but he didn’t like any of it.

  Tomi immediately back pedaled…she couldn’t help herself. They were going to have to go back down, underground, but this time, this place, it was even worse than the basement hole where they’d been stuck before.

  Crewel stood in front of them, taking in all of their exhausted faces. “You have all done well this week, but tonight, as you have seen, death can come for us all. Tonight, you will have six hours to ponder death down in the crypts. Each of you will be sealed in your own tomb, alone.”

  Tomi began to whimper.

  And Gray had feeling she wasn’t going to stop.