Return of the Woodcutter

'What a stubborn guy,' Aito thought, limping his way to freedom, looking back from time to time to look out for a possible danger which, at the moment, took the form of a fast-approaching shiny head. 'Damn it, I should never have listened to Ogoro and killed Sam the first day!' 

Behind him, Sheyla was killing the few henchmen that got too close to them, buying Aito some time to nearly reach 3/4th of the way to the second floor. 

Once they'd reached the Mall, it would only be a matter of time before a moderator came to check the commotion. However, Aito was certain that one of them was already waiting up there. How couldn't they at least send someone with all the fuss down here? He, at the very least, expected one of them to spectate. 

"Come back to face me!" Sam shouted once again, probably trying to taunt him. "You spineless bastard!!" 

'This baldy is shameless…' Aito thought, 'he actually dares say that to me when he is the one backed up by at least two hundred men! Fucking shameless!' 

Dozens of meters in front of him, a brilliant light shone at the end of the staircase indicating he would soon reach his destination. Right in the middle of the entrance to the second floor stood a familiar figure, Ogoro who was leaning against his long sword as best as he could. 

Ogoro seemed to be pointing his index finger at Aito who was wondering what his ally was doing. Then a yellow string shot out of Ogoro's finger, brushed by Aito's shoulder and Sheyla to wrap around a henchman's face, who fell headfirst as Ogoro pulled to destabilize him. 

The henchman hindered his colleagues' path who tripped, stumbled in their haste to catch up to Aito. But that only slowed them down for a second or two. Ogoro tried to reproduce the attack, succeeding one or two times before they understood that covering themselves with the shield was the best means they could employ to keep the treacherous skill at bay. 

'Just five more meters!' Aito thought. 

Behind him, Sam was getting impatient. The staircase was too crowded with his men but after pushing them aside and reaching the head of the line, he was finally able to run at full speed. 

Sheyla saw this. Knowing it'd be difficult to deal with Sam in her current condition and environment she swapped the grip of her sword, took aim, and launched it like a spear, hoping it would buy them at least a second. 

The enraged baldy deflected the improvised projectile with his Zweihander that, in his haste, cut the throat of a henchman who was following him close by. 

"Fuck! Curse you, you damn woman!" Sam shouted. 

Sheyla didn't even bother looking back and sped towards the exit where three figures were waiting for her. Two masculine figures were familiar to her, but one more feminine wasn't. With the brilliant light of the Mall and the relatively moderate darkness of the staircase, Sheyla couldn't make up the stranger's figure. 

As she finally reached the entrance, a firewall appeared behind her, entirely barring access to the black staircase. 

Sheyla turned towards the mystery woman and recognized her awe so flashy features. Red-orange hair, skintight clothes with a revealing corset, luscious red lips, big orange eyes. 

That woman was none other than Sara, a Lv5 pyromancer, an awakened and the second moderator of the Mall. 

She was also known for her fiery lust.

"Aia aia… settle down challenger, no commotions on the second floor," Sara said, speaking to Sam who was eyeing the firewall like a madman despite the hot temperature. 

The moderator created a small breach in her wall and lowered the flames' temperature as to let the bald man speak with more ease. 

"Moderator Sara, I thought you've already been paid to…, I mean how come you're here?" Sam asked, appearing confused. 

"To uphold the law," Sara replied, covering her sweet smile with an orange fan. "What else?" 

"What???!!!" Sam said, shouting his confusion out loud. "But you've accepted our bribe! How dare you go back on your word!" 

The day before capturing Sheyla, Kai had made sure to take into account as many outcomes as he could think of—not every outcome, but close enough. In one of them, the black challenger escaped the trap, which Kai thought was almost near impossible at the time. However, just in case, he prepared a bribe for the administrators so that they wouldn't intervene immediately if the black challenger got away.

Maba, being a man of principle and only interested in experimenting on living beings had refused all kinds of bribes Kai could offer. 

Also, Maba wasn't willing on experimenting on challengers in the Tower because it usually meant killing them, which, if he was caught, could cost him dearly. Although, the moderator agreed not to interfere for some reason. 

It seemed that the telekinesist held a grudge against the black challenger. Why? Who cared? So long as it served Kai's purposes, it mattered little to him. 

As for Sara, it had been much easier. She only demanded to borrow ten robust men to satisfy her fiery needs for the next week. Not a bad deal. The chosen men would only come back entirely drained of their vital fluid, with happy faces too, and maybe a few burns here and there. 

That's why Sam was surprised at the moderator's presence here. 

"I do not know what you are talking about, challenger." Sara declared with an imposing demeanor. The air around here blurred from the heat her body emanated. "But you'd do well to change your tone with me if you do not wish to be roasted where you stand. Am I clear?" 

Sam tightened his grip on his sword. He seemed ready to retort, hesitating only because of the gap in power separating them. 

"We'll remember this," Sam said, turning around to leave. "Let's go guys, nothing will come out of speaking with this whore." 

A bulging vein appeared on Sara's beautiful face when she heard the word "whore."