The rounds went by.
One fight ended, another began.
Names were called. Victors were announced. Cheers erupted, then faded, only to rise again moments later.
Hina watched.
Or at least, she tried to.
Her eyes followed the fighters on the arena floor, but her mind refused to stay there. It drifted, circling around a single thought she couldn't shake no matter how hard she tried.
Asim.
Her fingers curled lightly against the armrest. The more she thought about it, the tighter her chest felt. She had been overthinking it — she knew she had — but she couldn't stop.
Why now?
Why enter a tournament he never cared for?
Why this one?
Nothing about it felt right.
"And leading to the finals of the tournament, the next round will begin shortly."
The announcer's voice echoed through the massive coliseum, bouncing off stone walls and high arches.
The crowd grew quiet.
Too quiet.
In the sudden stillness, Hina became painfully aware of her own heartbeat.
Thump.
Thump.
It echoed in her ears, heavy and slow, as if her body itself was bracing for something.
She turned her head toward Mera.
Mera hadn't moved.
Her posture was relaxed, yet her gaze was fixed sharply on the arena floor below. No playful energy. Just stillness, the kind that felt coiled, restrained.
It scared Hina more than the noise ever could.
She looked away and scanned the stadium.
That's when she saw Aiko.
Her expression was openly displeased, brows drawn together, lips pressed into a thin line. One hand gripped the armrest tightly — so tight her knuckles looked pale, almost white.
Hina swallowed.
The tension in the air was thick now, clinging to her skin.
She leaned back, closing her eyes for just a moment, trying to collect herself—
"As the finals begin, welcome our fighters!"
The coliseum exploded.
Cheers crashed into one another, voices overlapping in a deafening wave. The stone beneath Hina's feet vibrated as if the entire structure was alive.
"Welcome Leon the Great Fernandes, and… Asim!"
Hina rubbed her face slowly, exhaling through her nose.
It's really happening.
The fight everyone had been waiting for.
The two fighters stepped onto the arena floor, bathed in blinding light as the crowd roared their approval.
Asim walked out first.
Unhurried. Calm.
His gaze was fixed forward, unwavering, locked onto the man standing across from him.
Leon.
Leon wore the same cocky smirk Hina remembered all too well — the kind that made her stomach turn. His dirty-blond hair was neatly trimmed, his black coat swaying slightly as he walked. His posture was proud, confident, almost arrogant.
He looked like someone who believed this fight was already decided.
"Didn't know you'd be participating, Asim," Leon said, his voice loud enough to carry.
Asim didn't respond.
He stretched his shoulders slowly, casually, as if Leon were nothing more than background noise.
Leon's smirk twitched, but didn't fade.
"Well, it's not like I care," Leon continued.
"I thank you for the win, Asim. Knew I could count on you."
He rolled his neck, eyes never leaving Asim's face, searching for something — irritation, anger, anything.
Nothing came.
Asim's expression remained unchanged.
Until—
He looked directly at Leon.
And smiled.
It wasn't the kind of smile Leon had seen before.
It didn't reach his eyes.
"Have you ever tasted blood, Leon?"
The words were slow, deliberate.
Measured.
Leon froze.
His smirk faltered, just barely.
"What…?" Leon asked, his voice hitching despite himself.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Asim laughed.
It was loud. Sharp. Almost delighted.
Leon stared at him, confusion creeping in where confidence once stood.
Asim took his stance.
No weapon.
No blade.
Just his fists.
The round began.
Asim moved first.
His fist shot forward.
Leon barely raised his sword in time — the impact rattled through the metal, forcing him back several steps. His boots scraped harshly against the stone.
His eyes widened.
Before he could react—
Another punch.
It slammed into his face, snapping his head back as his body was thrown across the arena.
The crowd roared.
Leon staggered to his feet, staring at Asim in disbelief. His earlier arrogance was gone, replaced with something raw and shaken.
"You got lucky," Leon said, forcing a grin that didn't reach his eyes.
He swung his sword.
A wall of void erupted in front of Asim, swallowing the strike whole. It dissolved instantly—
And Asim was already there.
Another punch landed.
"What's wrong, Leon?" Asim said calmly.
"Thought you were stronger."
The words crawled under Leon's skin.
Anger ignited.
He attacked again, this time without restraint. His strikes became wild, aggressive, summoning warped, void-like figures that crashed downward toward Asim again and again.
But Asim slipped through them.
Effortless.
Laughing.
"C'mon," Asim mocked.
"Land a hit at least."
Each laugh felt like a blade.
Leon's pride cracked.
Then shattered.
The man he once looked down on now stood untouchable, overwhelming, dominant, like a king towering over a kneeling subject.
The crowd screamed.
Ivan was on his feet, shouting.
Mera sat motionless, eyes fixed, her usual cheer nowhere to be found.
Hina felt her chest tighten.
Leon kept attacking. Each strike forms void-like people that have swords that swing forward, then dissolve.
But his movements slowed. His breathing grew heavy. Out of countless strikes, only a handful even grazed Asim.
Asim sighed.
"I expected more from a talker like you," he said.
"The great Fernandes, no?"
Leon roared and charged.
Asim moved.
Walls of void rose and collapsed, re-forming and melting away. Asim emerged through one, his fist slamming into Leon's body again.
Hina's gaze flicked upward.
Aiko.
Her face was twisted with fury now, her grip on the armrest so tight Hina was certain it would break.
Below, Asim continued.
"How does the blood taste, Leon?"
Leon was done.
Blood dripped from his face. His sword slipped from numb fingers and clattered uselessly to the ground.
Asim struck again.
And again.
The cheers began to die.
This wasn't a fight anymore.
Leon stumbled backward and collapsed.
Asim raised his arm to land another strike.
"ENOUGH."
The command thundered through the coliseum.
Hina flinched.
Aiko stood.
Anger radiated from her, heavy and absolute.
Silence swallowed the stadium.
Asim looked down at Leon.
Then he raised his arm.
"I surrender."
The words echoed unnaturally loud.
Asim turned and walked away, his footsteps the only sound left in the arena.
Medics rushed in, black robes fluttering as they carried Leon away.
Hina stared.
Her mind struggled to catch up.
What…?
She looked up at Aiko.
Aiko's glare burned into the arena floor.
"The winner of the match… is Leon the Great Fernandes."
The announcer's voice sounded hollow.
Wrong.
Leon had won.
But what he lost was far greater.