An odd clanging sound reverberated around the arena. Like the striking of a hammer on an anvil. It took Kat a moment to realise that it was actually Gareth clapping with his gauntlets on. "A fine show indeed"
Nixilei had her analytical face same as ever but Green seemed to be clapping as well, though whether she was simply quiet or overwhelmed by Gareth's clapping was unclear. Kress however had a twisted expression of his face. He looked like he was about to wind up for another attack when Gareth said "It was a good showing, even though you were going easy on Kat it was a spectacle to behold"
Kress' expression got much darker and this statement but Gareth's glare only intensified and Kress could only look away from that gaze in shame. "Nice job Kat, that ice attack at the end was pretty strong, I'm surprised" said Green
"Was it really?" asked Kat
"Yeah, the fact it froze stuff even after the barrier went up is amazing" said Green.
"Actually Green, I believe it to be more of a secondary property of Kat's flame, if it can still be called that considering it freezes things. Demonic fire tends to linger in places. It isn't the same as a normal fireball, so I'm not sure if it is as impressive as the destruction would imply" said Nixilei
"Yeah, well it's bloody cold, which one of you clowns is going to fight her next?" asked Kress as he walked out of the ice field.
The rest of the group shared a look between them that seemed to indicate none of them wanted to fight Kat at all. "I thought we agreed that only one of us needed to fight Kat. You jumped at the opportunity, and you have the best match up against her anyway" said Gareth.
Kress growled a bit at that but quickly quieted down as he seemed to recall that indeed they had agreed beforehand to have only one person test her capabilities. This was to ensure they didn't overly annoy whatever demon they summoned and to keep most of their skills hidden just in case.
Gareth sensing that Kress' mood wasn't improving without something to help it along clapped his hands again "Well, with that wrapped up everyone should prepare for dinner. Kat is there anything I will need to let the staff no about your meals? I'm not sure if demons have any fancy requirements for meals"
*Hey system, I think I asked before, but do I have anything I need to eat?*
User Kat does not have any specific dietary requirements. This is due to User Kat's succubus heritage that uses Demonic Energy to burn whatever food is placed within the body. User Kat may not require food at all any more but testing would be required.
*Huh, is it just succubi that don't need to eat?*
A large portion of demons have this ability, though some like succubus have advanced it further than others. More detailed information requires a higher rank.
"Not at all. I'm not very picky, and I can eat pretty much anything. I suppose I could ask you to hold off on the holy crosses, but I could make do" said Kat
"What makes a cross holy?" asked Green in confusion.
*Oh, right, I guess that isn't a thing here.* "Don't worry about it much Green" said Kat walking over to pat her head. Green instinctively tried to duck away from Kat's hand but she was faster and managed to pat the girl anyway. After a moment Green relaxed.
Gareth coughed lightly into his gauntlet to get everyone's attention and started to head outside. After the others exited the training area he shut the door behind them and lead them back through the path. "Sorry about this, we did have a door at the back of the estate for easier access to the training area but it turned out to be in a critical area for warding sigils so it had to be removed and once they went up it was a bit too much hassle and expense to put in a new door somewhere"
"I did warn your family at the time that the estate was being constructed that the door had the potential to cause issue except none of you took it under advisement. I honestly wonder how your family managed to convince Green's to hand her over" said Nixilei
Gareth blushed slightly at this but made no further comment. He wasn't sure why Nixilei's suggestion had been overlooked at the time but he wasn't going to stand up for whatever poor fool thought they knew better than her.
As the group approached the front doors they swung open to reveal a grand waiting room with two servants standing either side of the door. The pair was a young and old man that shared a few similar facial characteristics. The same square jaw, brown eyes and over abundance of facial hair. Where the old man's was grey the young man had black and was cut short unlike his aging counterpart.
"Greetings young master, dinner has been prepared for you already, please allow me to take you and the guests to the dining room" said the old man
*Wait, what? Why bother asking if I can't eat things if the foods already prepared?* Thought Kat, but eventually she just shrugged off the strangeness.
"Of course Maxwell, please take the others there first I just need to remove my armour" said Gareth
"I would be happy to assist you young master" said the younger man.
And with that the group split in two with Gareth leading the butler down the right hand hall and the older butler leading the rest of the group down the left. The hallway was a sparsely but well decorated hall. The grey walls had alcoves carved every few metres with various sculptures of animals in each which Kat examined as they continued towards the dining hall.
Each sculpture seemed to have a lot of care put into them, and yet the styles were also wildly inconsistent, as if done by several different sculptors. This was made even more apparent once Kat realised that they were not of different creatures, but different sculptors interpretation of the same strange creature. It looked like a mix between a dog and a stag, with sharp teeth and canine ears, but with the hooves and tail of a deer, though even those details seemed not entirely consistent with each iteration of the sculpture.
"Ah, young Miss, I see you are admiring the Masters' collection. These were part of a competition the lord ran a few years prior to find the best sculpting talent in the region. These are all from the top sculptors of the competition though the winner's piece isn't displayed here but at the main house" said Maxwell.
Kat nodded at the explanation which fit her prior assumption. Shortly after this Maxwell pushed open the door to reveal a well lit room with an extravagant table built to seat at least thirty guests. The room had no windows but the chandelier in the centre lit the room very well by itself. If that wasn't enough though the walls seemed to be lined with the same crystal that lit the underground demon summoning business. The table was laid with a beautifully embroidered cloth that continued until halfway up the table before changing into a plain white sheet for the section that housed the food Kat presumed was for them.
The table consisted of a shocking amount of vegetables and fruits. That isn't to say that there was no meat available at the table, but it was in the minority, and took up only a small portion of what was laid out before them. Arranged before them was a number of salads with different compositions all containing various ingredients organised into appealing shapes and patterns, there was even one made exclusively of different coloured apples.
As Kat was admiring the various salads available to them Kress seemed to teleport to one of the chairs next to the few pieces of meat available to them and started eating with a happy expression. Kat's jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw that the man was actually capable of looking happy for a change.
Recovering from her stunned state Kat was looking for a seat for herself when she noticed that Green had also appeared in one of the spare chairs. Though unlike Kress who had an expression of bliss Green seemed rather indifferent to the spread before her, she hadn't even grabbed at any of the food.
Sighing Kat followed behind Nixilei and took a seat next to her. This Green, Nixilei and Kat on one side of the table with Kress on the other. Nixilei simply grabbed an entire bowl of salad from nearby and started eating without so much as a twitch in expression.
It was at this moment the doors opened to reveal Gareth. The man now sported a very formal looking outfit. It seemed he was wearing robes, though they were not the large flowing garments typically associated with the word. Instead it was as closely cut as possible for the upper half and loose at the bottom. Kat thought it looked a bit like a dress actually, but she wasn't going to be the one to point it out. The 'robe' had some minor embroidery around the midsection and the edges of the sleaves as well as the collar, just some gold thread to contrast with the black of the garment.
"Well, I guess I should have expected you to start without me, let the meal begin I suppose" said Gareth.