★75
THIRD POV
MATCH 104
The two participants approached the stage. Daiki, a female elf with blonde hair dressed in a short sleeve blue suit.
Tokito, on the other hand, was a being beyond the boundaries of his own kind. Wearing a white suit without gloves, his hair pulled back in a ponytail, and two white horns growing out of his sides.
Daiki stood poised, her form calm like still water. Water flowed around her wrists, gliding and shifting as if alive. Across from her, Tokito gripped a sleek katana wreathed in low, simmering flame.
"Let's see what you can do, Tokito. Start."
Eto trigger the match. High hopes for his student.
Daiki moved first, sending a spray of high-pressure water needles straight for Tokito's eyes. He blocked with a quick flare of fire across his blade, evaporating the front wave, but that was just the bait.
From behind him, a water clone lunged. Too late to parry, it struck him. A thin tendril of water slipped into the cut on his wrist, riding his own blood like a current. Daiki's hand snapped in a sharp twist, and Tokito froze mid-motion.
Blood bubbled from his mouth. The crowd gasped in surprise. Tokito, who is renowned for ending his matches in less than a minute, is about to be defeated in less than ten seconds.
"What's that?"
"She's interacting with his blood through her water magic."
"That's not possible."
"Indeed. For a water mage, this is unheard of."
'Wh—what's this? I can feel it flowing through my arm.'
"You're done."
Tokito's eyes twitched in rage, as Daiki whispered.
In one brutal motion, he severed his own arm, the infected one, with a single blazing cut. Blood hissed against the fire on his blade.
Before Daiki could even flinch, Tokito vanished. A slash of searing heat tore through her clones in an instant, approaching her.
She raised a wall of water to defend but was too slow and ineffective. The flaming arc was unstoppable. The barrier evaporated, and steam erupted and she's next.
The force launched her off her feet, sending her crashing into the arena wall. She did not rise because she was about to die from the arc that nearly split her in two, but miss intentionally. Tokito stood in the centre of the arena, one arm gone, blade still burning in the other.
"Next time, make it fatal."
He said, his voice steady. His wound healed as he made his way out of the arena. Eto jumped triumphantly before being snapped in the back of the head by Shinn.
"A— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner."
He announced, rubbing the back of his head. The crowd cheered, and the medics took Daiki, who had been healed.
Atlas approached the centre of the arena, amplifying his voice before announcing.
"Now, don't be in a hurry to leave. We had to make little adjustments due to the participants of MATCH 102 forfeiting their match. Therefore, MATCH 105 will be held immediately, so we'll be able to conclude the round of sixteen. So please, without wasting any time, the said participants should step up."
He announced, and Scarlet King was already in the arena, waiting for his opponent. He stood up right, his hands clasped behind him. Atlas left the arena, and Toshiro, the ice mage, approached him. He wore a short-sleeve violet suit with gloves.
Scarlet, on the other hand, was the first person who's permitted to use his regular outfit. Why? One of the reasons was that he ended his match in less than thirty seconds, so he complained about changing from time to time.
(It wasn't a sound excuse, so they just let him be.)
To be continued...