★79
MATCH 108
The arena fell silent as the two participants stepped in.
"Begin."
The match began and in that instant, Masashi disappeared.
'Wind Step.'
A sudden gust spiralled in his place and he reappeared behind Tokito, silent as a shadow. His heel came down in a perfect strike aimed at Tokito's neck.
Clang! Tokito's blade met the kick, barely reacting in time.
Masashi vanished again three steps left, one up, and suddenly from above. He twisted midair, kunai drawn, wind enhancing the force behind them. Tokito dodged, but a shallow cut appeared on his shoulder.
The transcendent kijin growled and unleashed a wide arc of flame, forcing Masashi back. However, his opponent didn't stay back for long. His foot tapped the ground, Wind Step again. He became a blur, vanishing and reappearing at angles too sharp for the eye to follow.
"Fast."
Tokito muttered, his lips curling into a sharp grin. He planted his foot, and the ground ignited beneath him—a controlled burst of combustion that launched him forward and shattered Masashi's rhythm.
Flames collided with wind. Tokito took a shallow cut across the chest. Masashi suffered a burn along his arm.
Both drew back but the ninja moved again—Wind Step—vanishing in a rush of air. He reappeared in front of Tokito with a feinting strike, then slipped past in the same motion, aiming for Tokito's back as the real attack came in.
'One of them is definitely real. Which—'
Before he could analyse it, a sharp gust of wind slammed into his injured ribs. Tokito coughed up blood as the half-regenerated wound tore open again.
The impact threw him completely off balance, hurling him into the barrier with a dull crack. His weapon slipped from his grasp and skidded across the arena floor.
"A little more."
Mikasa pressed, fingers clenched.
Injured, Masashi didn't slow. His opponent can regenerate, he couldn't. That's one more reason to end this quickly.
Wind Step carried him in rapid bursts, his form flickering from point to point. Tokito pushed himself up, irritation flashing across his face. Masashi smirked mid-run and flicked something to the ground.
Smoke bomb. The arena filled with grey mist. but Tokito had lost his patience.
"Explode!"
A surge of volatile flames erupted outward, shredding the smoke in an instant. Heat rippled through the air. Masashi's Wind Step faltered, his rhythm broken for a fraction of a second and that was enough. Tokito was already moving.
"Flame Fang."
He spun, his katana igniting fully. A crescent of roaring fire tore free from the blade, slicing through the air itself. The wind ripple collapsed, forcing Masashi back into view. He could've reacted but it was too late.
Tokito closed the gap in a blink. His fist drove into Masashi's chest with a concussive thud. Masashi crashed into the ground, coughing violently as the air was ripped from his lungs.
Tokito stood over him, breathing steady, faint flames dancing along the edge of his katana.
"You're fast. I'll give you that."
He extended a hand. The match didn't end but Tokito offered peace because he's won already.
"Yes!"
Eto, who's in the sidelines yelped. Immediately after that, he received a slap from Shinn.
"Concentrate."
He said firmly.
"Tokito wins."
Eto announced, rubbing the back of his head.
(Wow, it appeared twice. Xd.)
The crowd erupted into cheers as both participants left the arena.
"Looks like Mikasa-chan has lost."
Elfaria teased.
"Looks like it."
Mikasa replied, raising both hands in surrender.
"I'll drop the dare at the end of the day. Be prepared."
"I'm prepared already."
"Where's Annie?"
Hinata asked.
Asteri frowned, not surprised. He shifted his focus to Ban, Shinn, Eto's perspective but his culprit, Atlas, was nowhere to be found.
'That guy.'
"She's probably feeling under the weather."
"She was here before the match began. She cannot simply become ill. Elaine will recover her."
Asteri answers.
"Yes. That's for sure. Maybe she's doing something private."
"I guess."
'But still it can't be a coincidence that Atlas is nowhere to be found too. He's onto something. I just can't prove it.'
(Lol, that Dexter meme, xd)
'I need eyes.'
Asteri closed his eyes and connected with the star. It glowed faintly and with Atlas's signature recorded into the system, if he's within this island, he'll be located.
However...
'That bastard. Updating his signature every now and then.'
Naturally, the star stores all signatures present in case of emergency but Atlas's previous signature wasn't present.
'He might be using his death to destroy them and replace a new one. I wonder if he does it daily, weekly or monthly. As of now, Atlas can't be detected. Annie is a mage also. Let's check her previous signature.'
After scanning the island, Annie's signature was absent. If she left, I'll pick up that trace but it was completely gone.
'That's no mere coincidence.'
Asteri thought, opening his eyes.
'Princess, where's Atlas?'
He turned to Elaine.
'What am I, his babysitter? He took off without telling me anything. What's wrong?'
'I was just asking.'
Asteri ended the telepathic communication and opened his golden eyes which were still glowing.
'Time to search thoroughly.'
He began to search each building and cave and tree, leaving not a single stone unturned. With the star's range covering the entire island, the search ended in less than a minute.
Asteri himself was in the coliseum so he conducted a separate search but still, Atlas and Annie were nowhere to be found. Then came an anomalous barrier obstructing him.
'What's that?'
The barrier was located on the second floor, blocking off one of the rooms. Asteri's gaze slammed with full force and the link was separated, no, it was killed by the barrier. His eyes dimmed, reverting to his normal golden colour.
'Two people in a room of an empty palace. I wonder what they are doing.'
Ignorant to it, he ignored.
"Without wasting any time, let's see who emerges victorious and face off with Tokito tomorrow in the semifinals. Participants of 109 approach the ring."
As Shinn announced, Scarlet was already there waiting for his opponent. He stood in his regular position, arms clasped behind him, eyes closed and gaze on the floor.
To be continued...