Chapter 470: Tiz Saves Her Life, Kaiba Advances
"Oh~ I regret to inform you that Tiz, the general of the Demon Team, has chosen to withdraw from the subsequent matches. Although it's a bit regrettable, the organizers have chosen to respect her decision."
The sunglasses-wearing male host, who had comfortably settled into a support role after Cheng Tian was temporarily roped in to provide specialized commentary on the abilities of the arena's contestants, announced the new development.
Unexpected, yet within reason.
Firstly, the three members of the Demon Team had almost no rapport with each other, completely unlike the three big-nosed individuals who shared a common origin; they were more like acquaintances who teamed up.
If there were still people to team up with, then she would have fought. Tiz could have tried to push further. But with Dimitri "dead" and Kazama Jin unconscious, even if she did eventually defeat the heavily depleted President Kaiba and successfully advance to the top eight teams, it would mean she would have to face all subsequent teams alone.
Tiz wasn't that arrogant, nor was her desire for performance strong enough. Furthermore… the guardians residing behind Tiz, existing as deep green and pure white wings, revealed their true forms when Obelisk the Tormentor unleashed his Fist of Fate—Death God Necro and Water Spirit Undine.
In a sense, Tiz, like President Kaiba and Cheng Tian with his loaded template, was in a Stand-user-like state, with battles primarily handled by highly compatible and integrated summoned entities.
However, unlike the other two, Tiz's guardians were beings with self-awareness. The two of them could even bypass Tiz's own will to force her to do things she didn't want to do.
Of course, their initial intention was certainly for Tiz's good, but their values and worldview differed greatly from humans… though Tiz wasn't exactly human herself.
Just like this surrender was the result of a discussion between the three. Tiz herself had no subjective initiative, and the two guardians, to ensure the safety of their host and avoid the same fate as the other two teammates, simply gave up.
According to the original tournament rhythm, today's fourth and final match was supposed to be between the Fatal Fury Team and the Howard Special Team. For many, this was a highly anticipated match.
It not only involved the grudge match between the Wolf and Geese Howard, but also featured two individuals who were tragically gender-bent during the qualifiers, which was far more exciting than simply watching women fight.
But due to the Hell Band's additional actions, the originally scheduled fifth match was moved up. At the same time, the immense destructive power continuously displayed by the Invincible Strongest Team, consisting of only Kaiba, made both the audience and the fighters show rare expressions of being overwhelmed.
You see, even watching a match consumes stamina.
That strike from a god was indeed overwhelmingly impactful, lingering in everyone's minds. In such a situation, unless the next team displayed an even greater shock to overshadow the image of that punch, the audience would hardly be able to muster much enthusiasm, regardless of the outcome.
Oh, and one more thing.
The big screen's display cut to both the Fatal Fury Team and the Howard Team. The two captains each occupied half of the screen, their ashen faces clearly projected.
Leaving aside the other team members for now, at least these two captains had temporarily lost the drive and spirit to continue the competition.
Watching the hope of returning to their male forms shatter and dissipate right before their eyes, the blow to the two of them was greater than imagined.
More crucially, they weren't even qualified to say anything to Seto Kaiba, as they were the ones who initially broke the rules and attacked Dimitri. The President merely fulfilled their wishes; it was simply a case of things not going as planned.
It seemed both the audience and the contestants needed a night's rest to recover.
"After consideration by the organizers, today's matches conclude here. Spectators, please exit in an orderly fashion. Those wishing to purchase souvenirs can proceed to the inner sales area according to the instructions."
As the organizers had predicted, very few of the audience, whose primary emotional drive was bloodlust, raised objections to this decision. They indeed needed to digest and absorb everything they had witnessed today.
Furthermore, many more detailed aspects needed to be repeatedly watched and studied through official replays.
Cheng, carrying a hardbound Japanese edition of "The Golden Lotus" that the organizers had found from who-knows-where, and a dispirited flying chariot seat as souvenirs, returned to his increasingly growing team.
Yes, Fina was still there, and she was still immersed in the shocking punch of Obelisk the Tormentor.
Although Cheng Tian could only summon the Goddess for help once in each main storyline dungeon, her existence time was unlimited. Theoretically, Cheng Tian could even summon the Goddess for help right at the start of a game.
In "Armored Warriors," the Goddess was summoned at the final boss battle, and she didn't stay long afterward. Fina had a rushed, swallowing whole-like feeling about her experiences after being summoned.
This time, Fina wanted to take a good look at what kind of world and dungeon Cheng Tian was in.
And what she saw was incredible; the word "thrilling" perfectly described her current mood.
Although the Demon Lord Dam could have easily achieved the same or even more exaggerated feats back then, combined with the atmosphere of this arena and the immersive feeling of witnessing it firsthand, there was a sense of shock that transcended the destructive power itself.
At this moment, Fina truly re-recognized the source of the "coliseum's" charm.
Fina, who had no intention of hiding her wings, took the lead in waving to the returning Cheng Tian. At the same time, she also noticed that although the surrounding audience repeatedly cast their gaze upon her wings, their eyes completely lacked the sense of awe they had in the Ys world, much like facing a group of players in a game.
This free atmosphere was also what Fina liked… but why did these people look at Cheng Tian with such hostility?
Almost everyone had a look that said, "If I couldn't beat you, I would have already beaten you until you couldn't take care of yourself."
"Is this that vampire muscle man? Is this all that's left of him? What a contrast."
Looking at the little guy standing on Cheng Tian's shoulder, Eileen, who had also received a side quest notification, showed a subtle expression on her face and even reached out to touch the chariot seat, only to be flicked away by one of its wings.
"Don't get handsy! I am a noble demon realm prince!"
The flying chariot seat declared righteously, and then heard a voice.
"Little Blue, bite it, don't swallow."
The blue winged dragon with a crocodile snout immediately held Dimitri in its mouth.