in the center of the arena, the air seemed heavier
the lines on the ground trembled slightly along with small stones that bounced with the vibration
Blackfire and Bara stare at each other for seconds
The stands are silent, Judha is anxious while Clark just watches without much expression
the instructor raises his hand
"BEGIN!!"
The two run towards each other at high speed and a huge shock explosion happens in the arena. no one sees anything because of the dust formed for seconds.
And when the dust settles, there they are.
Blackfire and Bara hit each other with each blow echoing through the arena
"INCREDIBLE! BOTH OF THEM ARE HITTING EACH OTHER EQUALLY, IT EVEN LOOKS LIKE A MIRROR" says someone in the stands surprised
"THAT'S IT!! COME ON BLACKFIRE YOU CAN DO IT!!" shouts Judha supporting her friend
Bara lands a cross on Blackfire's chin who falls a few meters to the side. And before Bara could land another blow, she throws herself back and gets up with a kip up hitting both feet on Bara's face, the strike leaves Bara with a low guard, and as soon as she lowers her head, Blackfire lands a punch straight into her stomach.
"This is too much... The princess of Tamaran is fighting for real..." says the Instructor
a woman at the judges' table watches the fight closely
Bara is groaning in pain after the hit, but she blocks a kick coming from Blackfire and grabs her by the shin. Bara starts spinning Blackfire, who, vulnerable, tries to break free.
Blackfire is thrown meters away from Bara, and falls hard onto the ground
"Ahh... damn it..." groans Blackfire in pain
before she could get up, a sphere of energy comes fast through the air in her direction, alert, she fires another energy sphere to collide and explode the other.
in the middle of the explosion, Bara appears in front of Blackfire and hits her with a kick to the arm.
"Damn you..." Blackfire mutters
"What was it? did I hurt you?" replies Bara coldly
Everyone in the stands is screaming because of the intense fight between the two, and while Bara slowly walks toward Blackfire, she quickly gets up and rushes toward her opponent.
she lands two blows to Bara's face, making her nose bleed
"STOP!" interrupts the instructor "Bara, are you okay? can you continue?" he asks
"Ahh... y-yes... I'm fine, I can continue..." replies Bara while holding her nose
"Another violent blow like that and you lose Bara" explains the instructor
"It's fine, I'm fine" says Bara while seeing Blackfire smiling with a malicious look on her face
the instructor raises his hand and says "get ready... begin!"
the two advance at the same time, the impact echoes dry through the arena. fist against fist
Blackfire spins her body and tries a side kick, Bara blocks with her arm and responds with a straight punch, Blackfire barely dodges
the air shifts against her face, the two continue, fast, without pause exchanging blows
"Will this fight end in a draw?" asks Judha tired leaning on the stand railing
"No, I think Blackfire will win" says Clark
Judha looks at Clark, and sees him smiling. Judha not understanding, just goes back to watching the fight and says quietly "ah... I hope so..."
A strong explosion happens in the arena, it was Blackfire's punch that sent Bara into the sky. Blackfire adjusts herself to propel and catch her in the air, she jumps... and falls to the ground...
Bara adjusts herself in the air, and looks down at the arena, she sees Blackfire trying to propel herself to fly but failing.
"What is it? are you stuck to the ground or are you afraid?" shouts Bara
"This is unfair, I can't fly without momentum" shouts Blackfire back
Everyone in the stands falls into surprise
"Ah?... what do you mean you can't fly..." says Bara completely surprised
"It's not my fault if I can't fly" says Blackfire furious
"Well, since you can't, then I'll attack you from here!" says Bara while charging energy in her hands and firing towards the arena
Blackfire throws herself to the sides and runs to dodge the blasts
"Ah Blackfire... come on..." sighs Judha, squeezing her hands against the railing, eyes glued to the arena.
The blasts keep coming from above, tearing through the air and exploding against the ground, raising dust and fragments. Blackfire runs, slides, rolls, her body already heavy, her breathing starting to fail.
"Are you just going to run?" shouts Bara from above, her voice echoing
Blackfire stops for a second, enough for a blast to graze her shoulder, pulling a groan of pain
She clenches her fist "...whatever..." and then runs
she seems to calculate, one... two... three blasts dodged and then on the fourth, she stomps hard on the ground, using the impact of an explosion as momentum
her body rises
Bara widens her eyes for a moment, Blackfire appears in front of her in the air. Blackfire grabs Bara's arm and pulls with everything, spinning her body in the air. The two start falling together
The impact on the ground is brutal, the arena shakes, the dust rises again, heavier this time
For a few seconds... no one sees anything
When the dust starts to settle, the two are there, on the ground, one next to the other. Breathing heavily
The silence returns Blackfire tries to get up first but fails and falls to her knees
Bara laughs quietly, even without strength
"You... are... annoying..." she murmurs, also trying to get up
The two manage to stand up, their legs tremble. Their arms feel heavy
They move forward, without speed, without technique, just willpower
A punch from Bara passes grazing
Blackfire responds with a weak blow to the shoulder
Bara pushes
Blackfire pushes back
The two practically leaning on each other while trying to keep fighting
"Is this... still a fight...?" someone whispers in the stands
Clark remains silent
But his gaze does not move at all
Bara gathers what little strength she has left and tries one last move, a slow and heavy straight punch
Blackfire slightly turns her face and the punch passes grazing
And in that same movement
Blackfire pulls all the remaining energy still inside her
Clenches her fist
And lands a dry punch
Straight to Bara's chin
The sound echoes through the arena
Bara completely loses strength in her body
Her eyes go out and she falls
Blackfire still stands for a millisecond before also collapsing
Absolute silence
The instructor widens his eyes
"...v-victory for Blackfire..." he says very quietly in complete shock at what he just saw
"WOOHOO THAT'S IT BLACKFIRE!!" shouts Judha alone... with the whole arena quiet...
and while Judha's celebrating voice was the only thing heard in the place
The instructor quickly raises his hand and shouts "END OF THE FIGHT!!"
he runs to Bara who is completely unconscious and right after runs to Blackfire
Blackfire is smiling while breathing heavily and tired, the instructor raises her hand and shouts "THE WINNER... IS BLACKFIRE!!"
The stands explode with screams and applause
Judha practically jumps with happiness while Clark was frozen from the fight
"SHE DID IT!! says Judha while jumping
Clark has his eyes wide open while thinking if Blackfire was alive
meanwhile, the judges present in the arena are surprised by Blackfire's dedication and strength, a light brown skinned woman with white hair stares at Blackfire lying on the arena floor without strength, and thinks "that is the future queen of Tamaran?... it was clear she gave everything she had"
the judges look at each other and comment "today was spectacular, we started the training very well"
"so Nymera, do you already have a favorite?" asks one of the judges
that woman, who was observing Blackfire is Nymera, a fighter of the Elite Class of Tamaran, she looks at the sky and replies
"Who knows..."