Shiku pulls his hood over his head as he and Isohi stand in the center of the massive arena, their gazes locked in silent challenge. The roar of the crowd thunders through the stadium, shaking the very air with excitement.
Shiku grins, glancing at the hundreds of Èlan warriors surrounding the stage. "This is incredible! I wonder what his magic is like". He stretches his arms, his body thrumming with anticipation.
The announcer, microphone in hand, beams as he stands between them. His voice booms across the arena, amplifying the electrifying energy of the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the moment we've all been waiting for has finally arrived! Tonight, we witness the clash of two young warriors, each brimming with potential, eager to prove their strength!"
The atmosphere is electric as excitement hangs in the air, and the crowd is on the edge of their seats. Will tonight mark the beginning of a future legend being forged right before our eyes? Only time will tell, but the thrill of possibility is palpable.
Shiku cracks his knuckles, and a wide grin stretches across his face.
Flames erupt from his fist, and his fiery aura engulfs his body heating the air around him. Isohi's skin glows a blue tint, and his long black hair blows in the wind as he stands proud, and he rolls his shoulders, smiling wide confidently.
A blue, rocky aura surrounds Isohi as he coats his body in thick copper, giving him the appearance of a slim Buddha statue. Shiku's fire reflecting off it, the audience erupts, their cheers echo like rolling thunder.
As they stare at each other momentarily, the tension between them was palpable—this was not just any fight. This was their moment to prove themselves.
Shiku carelessly rushes in, striking first.
His fist slams against Isohi's copper-coated arms the impact rings loudly throughout the arena as Isohi blocks smirking, standing tall, proud of his defense he punches Shiku in the face forcing him back a few feet. Shiku closes the distance, throwing another punch.
But once again, his flames do nothing against Isohi's copper armor. Frustrated, he keeps attacking, with each blow landing with a loud clang. Slowly, Isohi begins to slide back, inching toward the edge of the stage.
"His power and speed are off the charts. I'll have to end this soon or I'll lose." Isohi thinks. "Without my copper magic armor, I would've lost already."
"Wow, your Èlan Spirit is amazing," Shiku exclaims.
Isohi scoffs. Clicking his teeth. "Cocky bastard." He decides it's time to change tactics.
Staying on the defensive end of the fight Isohi dodges by sidestepping out of the way and trying to counter by punching Shiku.
But his armor slows him down significantly allowing Shiku to pivot and shift his body, using his fire to propel him.
"Gotcha." Shiku thinks
He catches up to him, continuing his relentless fiery barrage not giving Isohi any chance to attack. Isohi begins punching back both of them landing powerful blows back and forth.
Breathing heavily Shiku begins punching and kicking repeatedly at an intense speed overwhelming Isohi.
"Man, his defense is ridiculously strong." Shiku thinks, beginning to lose his breath due to his constant onslaught.
Until Isohi's coating begins to crack from the weight of Shiku's attacks.
He shifts his eyes to the cracks in the copper coating on the side of his body and grits his teeth, realizing he must act quickly hoping Shiku doesn't notice it Isohi musters the remaining strength in his legs, gathering energy deep within.
"This isn't good my armor is cracking. I don't think I should use this yet but…" Isohi reflects to himself. Shifting more Élan energy to that part of his body.
Shiku's onslaught begins to slow down.
But before Isohi can react to the small opening, Shiku's knee slams into his ribs with a sharp crack, knocking the air from his lungs and making him drop to a knee.
The crowd roars in amazement as Shiku grins, feeling the momentum shift to his side. Shiku leaps over Isohi, aiming a kick at his back. But it had no effect.
At the last second before the impact. Isohi claspes his hands together in almost a prayer stance. An almost baby-looking copper statue slowly surrounds him.
Buddha's statue!" Isohi bellows.
"In my baby Buddha form, I'll slowly start regaining my mana but I can't move so if he finds a way to break it. It's over." he thinks.
Fixing the cracks in his armor he begins to stiffen and harden until he becomes statue-like Continuing to stand there motionless, Isohi became a formidable sight, a bronze monument of unwavering will.
"What is this?" Shiku wonders.
Shiku steps back, puzzled by Isohi's transformation. Sensing both curiosity and dread mingling in the air, he hesitated.
Shiku punches the statue with all his strength, but nothing works. He pauses, then starts striking different areas, searching for a weak point.
After a few minutes of attacking the statue from every angle, he finally finds the weak point in the back of Isohi's head.
Shiku raises the temperature of his flame making feel as hot as a burning oven, he jumps up making his flame bigger striking with all his might.
Until he breaks his armor coating and sends him flying off the stage, into a wall leaving him unconscious and defeated.
Silence.
Then—
The announcer grabs Shiku's wrist, raising his arm. "Winner: Shiku Kitoyoshi!"
The crowd erupts in cheers. Chants of his name rang out throughout the audience.
The sound of applause fills the arena as Shiku took a deep breath, standing tall before the crowd. Despite the energetic atmosphere, a wave of fatigue washes over him, and he experiences blurry flashes in his vision. "That was awesome," he mutters to himself, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Yet, despite the exhilaration of the moment, he couldn't shake off the feeling that the statue he had battled was tougher than he had anticipated.
He felt a sense of relief, however, knowing that he had faced the challenge head-on. have won, yet anxiety lingered in the back of his mind, reminding him that this match was merely the beginning of his journey.
"Wow! Can you believe it, folks? What an incredible feat of speed and strength from Shiku Kitoyoshi!" the announcer exclaims, his voice booming through the excitement.
Shiku, feeling a surge of adrenaline, turns to face the audience, a grin stretching across his face. "That was awesome, but that statue form thing was tougher than I thought," he admits, reflecting on the challenge he had just faced.
Bubbling with joy, he happily walks off the stage, jumping with excitement, fully embracing the sweet taste of victory while still catching his breath.
Spotting Nobori and Kasumi in the stands, he waves at them. Nobori nods in approval, his face beaming with pride, Kasumi enthusiastically flashing two thumbs up.
Shiku grins, making his way to the backstage area, he throws his hood back up and high-fives Houki, who is already prepared and waiting for his own match to begin.
"Did you see that, Houki? I was pretty amazing out there," Shiku exclaims with a gleam in his eyes.
Houki chuckles, shaking his head. "I'll make my fight look easier than that."
Shiku smirks before yawning, a playful challenge in his voice. "Good luck with that; I'm pretty strong."
Exhaustion finally catches up with him, and he collapses onto Houki's shoulder, his adrenaline wearing off at last.
Two more matches passed by with a female earth mage and a male poison augmenter advancing.
A boy with short white hair and a single thick bang in between his eyebrows, steps onto the stage confidently, arms crossed, tapping his foot impatiently, looks around at the chattering crowd, waiting for his match to start.
His opponent—a timid boy with spiky wild orange hair walks onto the stage next.
His knees tremble slightly as he faced the confident opponent. Beads of sweat form on his brow, nervously looking around slowly before he looks back at the boy as he glares back at him annoyingly. The referee signals for them to start. The timid boy swallows hard and takes a deep breath as he summons his courage.
He gets into a fighting stance, his hands shaking with fear.
The boy releases his intense white aura the pressure of his aura weighs heavy over the other boy sending a chill down his spine. He releases a dusty yellow arua covering the area and moving around him in the dust like a thin fog.
"This is your last chance to give up. Or you might die." Shosai taunts Yamao with a smirk.
Yamao grits his teeth.
The crowd gasps at the display, drawn to the contrast of colors clashing in the air. The announcer walks to the middle of the stage, a big smile draped on his face.
"With the first half of the first round of this year's amazing Tournament of Glory coming to a close! In this final battle between Shosai Tono vs Yomao Mawari let's see who will be one step closer to glory."
"This is your last chance to give up. Or you might die." Shosai exclaims, smirking menacingly.
"D-did he say I might die," Yamao says. Stepping back in fear of Shosai's presence.
Yamao takes a deep breath and as soon as the match begins. He shoots dust clouds directly at Shosai's face attempting to blind him.
Shosai jumps to the side and sharpens the bones in his right hand making his hand as sharp as a steel blade.
Shosai dashes at Yamao cutting through his dust clouds, laughing maniacally with hatred in his eyes he slashes at him.
Yamao using his dust to propel himself out of the way, jumps to the side dodging the attack, and shoots a bigger dust cloud at Shosai.
"I can't let this maniac get too close. I think he's seriously trying to kill me." Yamao thinks continuing to avoid the slashes by Shosai.
He easily cuts through the dust, and as the dust splits and disperses behind him Shosai angrily charges in slicing Yamao in the chest leaving an open wound and knocking him to the floor.
Shosai looms over Yamao, his lips curling into a sinister grin. He raises his hand—and with a sickening sound, sharpens the bones in his fingers.
Yamao's eyes widen in horror. He barely has time to react before Shosai slashes him once. Then again. And again.
The audience gasps. Blood splatters across the stage. Yamao collapses, his breathing ragged. Some members of the audience gasp in shock, looking on in horror as the fight starts becoming a bloody mess.
The announcer ends the fight but Shosai continues stabbing away, laughing menacingly until a referee appears next to him and instantly then grabs his arm forcing him to stop.
He roughly pulls his arm away from the referee clicks his teeth and walks away looking back at the severely injured Yamao laughing at him.
"What a weakling. He doesn't even deserve to be called an Èlan warrior." Shosai thinks continuing to walk away.
Shiku watches, fists clenched, as Yamao is carried away, covered in blood. His stomach churns with anger. Suddenly, he felt a shove. His heart was pounding as Shosai walks past him, his cold gaze meeting Shiku's. The tension between them was undeniable.
"Um… folks looks like we have a winner." The announcer says with sorrow. "With that brutal ending, I think we all need a break in the action. After a short break, we'll continue Sura's Tournament Of Glory shortly."
"Move out of my way before you end up like him," Shosai says Bumping Shiku out of his way.
"I'm sure I'm gonna have to fight that jerk later." Shiku thinks.
Yamao is carefully carried away to be healed by the medical team. Now fully healed he lies on a bed in the medical room his whole torso is wrapped in bandages, and the second half begins to start. A very few minutes later, the beginning of the first match starts between a girl with a long flowing black ponytail and a boy with a buzzcut walking to the middle of the stage.
A serious look on both their face as they stare at each other, the audience is quiet, still in shock from the last battle but also anticipating the upcoming battle.
The atmosphere is electric as the announcer's voice resonates through the arena, urging everyone to get ready for the next thrilling match. "Let's get this show on the roll," he declares with enthusiasm. Following the brutal battle that had just unfolded, there was a palpable anticipation in the air, with fans eager to see if this upcoming fight could match the excitement of the last.
As he introduces the competitors, the spotlight falls on Reina Hironaga and Tsutan Dezuma, setting the stage for yet another exhilarating showdown.
Tsutan steps forward, eyes focused, as Reina takes her stance opposite him.
He zips to Reina at lightning speed throwing her off guard for a quick second as she tries to throw a couple of ice balls one by one in his direction but missing as Tsutan continues zipping dipping and dodging the ice balls around the stage.
"He's fast," Reina thinks.
Getting closer Tsutan throws a lightning punch at close range but in a split second, she conjures a medium-sized ice wall using it to block his attack. He then zips behind her and lands a punch to her face before she can react, sending her stumbling backward.
"Got you! This fight is far from over." Tsutan taunts.
"I won't let you defeat me that easily," Reina says wiping blood from her cheek.
Reina jumps back gaining distance from him and hurls more consecutive ice balls using them as a distraction running behind one of them she launches a sphere of ice in the air keeping directly above his head. As he dodges the incoming ice balls, she leaps into action, landing a powerful punch to Taitan's stomach, making him spit up.
He then grabs her arm surprising her, sending an intense shock wave through her body. Making her jolt back in pain feeling slower than usual she checks herself. Tsutan laughs while running toward her moving faster than her eyes could keep up with.
"You're too slow," Tsutan says.
Tsutan claps his hands together as he charges an electric current between them.
He zips behind her and then grabs her neck sending an electrical current through her body and paralyzing her instantly. Reina struggles but can't break free.
He throws her in the air before landing a powerful kick to the stomach forcing her to the ground hard. She lay on the stage floor coughing and breathing heavily, reaching her hand out.
Reina looks up at the sky seemingly defeated as Tsutan reaches his hand out wanting to help her up. He looks down at Reina noticing her pointing up she smiles slightly.
Tsutan was fast, but he hadn't looked up. The big ice sphere she had created earlier was still hovering—ready to drop. Noticing the big ice sphere created by Reina floating above his head it falls smashing into his face and knocking him out cold.
He collapses next to her on the stage floor, ice shards glistening around them.
"Didn't see that one coming, did you?" Reina taunts, trying to get up but is too exhausted and in too much pain.
❧