The stadium was a sea of noise cheers crashing like thunder, almost all for Alto. Banners waved, voices chanted his name. The hero candidate had the crowd in his palm.
Yuuki and Nano were already down
Tina's opening blitz too fast, too brutal.
Yuuki groaned in the sand, armor cracked.
Nano lay unconscious, staff buried in a dune.
Only Alto stood, sword drawn, aura swirling red-black as Predator roared inside him.
Twenty meters away, Tina rolled her shoulders, tail swishing slow, a thin line of blood on her arm from Alto's first graze.
She wiped it away, fangs bared in a wild grin.
"Come on, hero boy. Your friends are napping. Show me what you've got just you and me."
Alto's eyes narrowed. No words.
Full release.
Super Strength flooded his muscles.
Super Speed blurred his form.
Berserk turned his eyes crimson.
Pyrokinesis ignited his sword in roaring flames.
Telekinesis whipped sand into a vortex around him.
He charged.
Tina laughed manic, excited and rushed to meet him.
Fist against flaming blade.
The clash shook the ground shockwave exploding outward, sand flying in rings.
Tina pressed faster, stronger, raw power forcing Alto back.
Her claw-aura fists hammered relentlessly.
Alto parried with telekinesis pushes, countered with flaming bursts.
Sparks. Flames. Aura cracks.
A slash grazed Tina's side blood drawn.
She hissed, grin widening.
"Good! More!"
She blitzed harder, barrage driving him across the arena.
The crowd's cheers split half for the hero, half roaring for the cat-girl's dominance.
Alto gritted his teeth.
Deeper.
Predator absorbed every impact growing.
Speed matched hers.
Strength closed the gap.
Telekinesis yanked her foot off-balance for a fraction.
Flaming thrust she blocked, but the explosion sent her skidding.
Tina coughed, blood on her lip.
Alto pressed.
Combo chained: super speed blitz, pyrokinesis explosion, telekinesis slam.
Tina dodged, blocked but fatigue crept in from full aura burn.
One opening.
Alto took it.
Telekinesis pinned her arm for a heartbeat.
Sword flashed.
Stopped at her throat drawing a thin red line.
Tina froze, breathing ragged, eyes wide… then laughed breathlessly.
Tina dropped to one knee on the ground, chest heaving, looking up at Alto who was gasping from all the fatigue. His flames withered, skills shutting down one by one, body swaying from exhaustion one blow away from losing.
In the intensity of the fight, they had both forgotten Tina's team member.
Alto was spent, barely standing.
Anuver walked calmly to Tina.
Tina looked up, bloodied but grinning weakly.
"Sora… finish that guy already. It'll be our win… hahaha!"
Alto's eyes widened in shock, breath catching as he realized he had nothing left.
Anuver, holding his sword loosely, came face-to-face with Alto.
Up close, seeing Alto's face sweat-drenched, eyes fierce but exhausted Anuver thought, This guy is really incredible. He used all his skills in one combination. Hah… he must have trained hard.
But I don't think he can recover today for the incident, though.
Anuver placed his sword gently on Alto's shoulder.
"So… will you fight, Hero Alto Kaze?"
Alto's sword trembled at Tina's throat, his arm shaking from the sheer exhaustion. His flames had withered to nothing, aura flickering weakly as his skills shut down one by one.
Sweat poured down his face, his chest heaving with desperate gasps. He swayed on his feet, vision blurring one solid blow away from collapse.
Shit… shit… shit… Alto thought, panic rising in his chest as he finally registered the forgotten teammate approaching.
I used everything all my hard work just to beat that cat-girl. Now this guy… he's still standing without a scratch.
Even if I somehow win this… I can't fight the 9th General like this. I'm spent. I should just accept def....
The word "defeat" never left his lips.
Anuver's foot connected with Alto's side in a casual, almost lazy kick the weakest Anuver had ever thrown.
Alto's eyes widened in shock.
Then he flew.
His body launched sideways like a ragdoll, sword spinning from his grip as he crashed into the arena barrier twenty feet away. Dust exploded on impact. He slumped to the sand, unconscious before he even slid down the wall.
The stadium went dead silent for a heartbeat.
Then erupted a chaotic mix of gasps, cheers, and boos.
Anuver lowered his foot slowly, expression unchanged calm, face .
That was the weakest kick I've ever thrown, he thought, glancing at his leg. If I remember from the memories… yeah, even weaker than training swings from eons ago.
The crowd's reaction turned ugly fast.
"That guy's a coward! Hitting at the last second!"
"What a cheap shot!"
"He didn't even fight properly just waited like a vulture!"
"If I was him, I'd have fought fair!"
Boos rained down, mixed with scattered cheers for Tina's effort.
Anuver ignored them completely, as if the thousands of voices were nothing more than distant wind.
Is this the new body? Or the old me? he wondered idly. Either way… they don't matter.
He turned to Tina, who was pushing herself up from the ground, bloodied but grinning wide.
"Now, Miss Tina," he said casually, offering a hand to help her up. "Let's go. We won."
Tina took his hand, pulling herself to her feet with a breathless laugh, tail swishing weakly but proudly. She ignored the boos entirely, fangs flashing in a triumphant grin.
The referee stood frozen for a moment, eyes wide, before raising the flag hastily.
"The wi winner is… Team Tina and Sora!"
The cheers for the underdogs finally overpowered the boos wild, surprised, excited.
Tina punched Anuver's arm lightly.
"Hah… you sneaky bastard."
Anuver just smiled.