When Swords Turn Black

Omari and Samson talked through the city on their way to the examination grounds. "Sam, have any ideas what will be in the exam?"

"They change the format up every year but something stays, fights, there will be fights."

"Against other candidates?" Omari asked, then saw the look Samson had. "Stupid question… Should I be expecting anything crazy?"

"Nah, most candidates are controllers who don't have what it takes to be a slayer or normies inspired by the Human Monster and think they can be slayers if they work hard enough."

"Hey, that sounds like you."

"But it's not. I would never limit myself by trying to be like a slayer I plan on surpassing. Something you should know, though, is that if a person's surname is Argyris, Ferran, Hydris, Terran, Zephyros or Khronos and you're up against them, fight for your life or forfeit it."

A beam of sweat dropped off Omari's brow. "Why do you say so?"

"Those are the names of Slayer families. The people born in those families aren't like you and me. They were born to slay and might have access to sigils."

"Would they beat you?"

"Me? Nah, I'd win. If I was fighting two of them at once, though, I'd definitely lose."

"Also, I got a rough idea, but what exactly are sigils?"

"What's with all the questions? You nervous?" Omari nodded aggressively, and Samson laughed. "You know, how the summoning sigil summons things?" Omari nodded. "Other sigils work the same." Omari's face went deadpan. "I'm being honest, though. They got their own names and can be activated by calling out its name while touching something or drawing the sigil like they did with the clouds, but that's the gist of it. Anyway, we arrived."

It was a small stadium and about a hundred people were standing outside but one person stood out, almost literally. He was easily the tallest person there, his blond squared head looming above the crowd. Soon as Omari noticed him, he happened to be around, and, with his blue eyes, he saw Omari. He walked towards Omari and once in front of him asked, "Would you happen to be Omari?"

Omari just smiled nervously, "I never really gave my name or got a name from your dad, that is assuming -" "Yes, I'm his son, and my name is Soren Ferran Zephyros."

"Ferran Zephyros?" Samson thought. "Could he be some sort of hybrid?" Samson already didn't like that he had to physically look up to Soren, but if he really was from two families, he might just be the biggest threat in this examination.

"I'm Omari, but you already know that." He chuckled a bit. "And this is my best friend Samson."

Soren put his hand out to Samson with a smile and Samson shook it, smirking as he always did. "So I was told you fought a salamander and saw a rakshasa?"

"A what?"

"The shape-shifting monster," Samson simplified.

"Oh yeah, I saw your dad fighting it. It was so… wow. My fight with the salamander in comparison was a snooze and more of a beating on my side than a fight. I think Sam here could take on the salamander."

"He could? What control does he have?"

"Ummm-" "contestants!" A loud voice from the stadium intercoms interrupted the conversation. "Please make your way into the stadium." And so everyone began to move in.

On their way in, they were handed a form where they filled in their name and personal information. They also, however, had to sign to acknowledge that they were not at any risk of injury or death during the examinations no matter how much damage they might take. However, the slayer organization might not be responsible for any emotional damages that may ensue after the events of the fight. Most people probably signed this without reading it, but Omari and Soren read this and signed because that was what they sign up for. The stadium was built like a modern colosseum, with the fighting stage floored with large stone tiles and divided by chalk into four quarter circle arenas. 

"You know, it's in stadiums like this where they hold the Slayer Showoffs." Soren said as they were sitting down, only to receive a confused look from Omari. "You know what the Student Slayer Showoffs are, right?"

"Come on, Omari!" Samson groaned. "We watch the triple S together every year!"

Omari just scratched his head and smiled. "Oh, that? I would kinda fall asleep every time you make me watch it. I was never really into watching people fight." Samson's head was about to explode, but Soren was trying not to die of laughter. Above the fighting stage though, a man in the slayer outfit stood in the air as if he were froze space. 

He put the microphone in his hand to his mouth and said, "Welcome contestants to this town's Slayer School Examination. As you should know, on this very day, all across the world, a slayer school examination is being held. Each has hundreds of contestants just as there are today, but not everyone can be a slayer. So you will all be paired up today to fight against only one opponent. You should all show your best, because from your performance in that fight alone, we will choose the best five from the hundred of you that are competing to join the country's Slayer School. If ever throughout the exam you would like to give up, just raise your hand and it will be over. With all that said, may the examination commence!" 

Clouds then formed above the stadium in the σ shape and with a light drizzle, eight people disappeared from their seats and appeared in pairs in the arenas. In front of each of contestants appeared a crucifix, one of them grabbed theirs and proceeded to scream out in pain. "Sam, what's happening?" Omari asked.

"Remember when I told you about the people who don't have what it takes? That's them, people with zero affinity to wield a crucifix, so even carrying a clean, white cross is too much for their body to bear." The screaming, however, stopped when the screamer disappeared. Omari first thought the crucifix erased them, but came back to his senses and realized they were summoned away.

Having seen what just happened, somewhere around twenty people, including three people in the arena, raised their hands and were summoned away. Those in the arena now without an opponent had new ones summoned in for them. Soon, people began to pick up the crucifixes and go for each other. They swung wildly at each other, much like Omari did when he first faced the salamander, but something felt off about how they were fighting right now. "Why aren't they using their controls?" Omari asked.

"Most controls are hyper-specific, so unless you brought something with you or have the creation sigil in an open field like this, you're basically powerless. And look!" One of the contestants threw a toothpaste tube from out of his pocket, exploded it, and sent toothpaste into his opponent's eyes before cutting him down. 

He and the opponent he cut down were summoned away and a new pair was summoned in their place. As the competition continued, more people were getting cut down and giving up. Even though Omari knew that no one was going to die or be permanently injured in these fights, it still scared him how easily people would cut each other down for the dream of being a slayer. The fact, most of them probably didn't read the form just made him more uneasy. "Omari, look." Samson pointed at an arena. One of the contestants had not even touched his crucifix but by raising earth spikes from the ground around his opponent's neck, he had won the fight before it even started. "That guy is from the Terran family. see how effortless that was?"

Needless to say, his opponent gave up and the two of them were summoned away. Omari was wondering when his time was going to come when he saw Samson and Soren disappear from his sides. He looked to see who they were up against, only to see that they were faced off against each other. "Crazy isn't it?" Soren grabbed his crucifix. "You probably heard about my dad from Omari, so you know my control. It's only fair if you tell me yours." He pointed his sword at Samson.

Samson just picked up his sword and said, "I don't have one." Entering his battle stance.

Soren began to smile. "You can defeat a salamander? You're either a liar, or this is going to be an interesting fight." The clouds above began to thunder.

"We'll see if you can keep up." Samson said and when Soren blinked, he was gone.