Point-of-View: Misen Ragiu

  During: Brawl of Glory Final

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  That was the first time I had won a fight but didn't feel like I'd won……in fact, that had been terrifying. I was currently in the waiting area by myself, watching the second semi-final that was currently in progress. Fuo was putting up a decent fight but her abilities were futile in the face of the immense firepower she was up against.

  It was clear that my opponent in the final would be Ekai. Fuo doesn't stand a chance, in fact, Ekai's quarter-final match against Persia was closer than this fight was……tch, those first-years are strong.

  Damn it, looks like that bastard Kuro had permanently scarred me with that last attack……my right shoulder and the right side of my neck were heavily scarred and a piece of my right earlobe was gone. But more than that, in the moment he fired that last blast, out of his handless stumps……the look in his eyes and his expression genuinely terrified me. It sent a chill down my spine, a truly unsettling feeling.

  Well, I had still managed to win, and it's now only a matter of time before I get to take on Ekai……his abilities were far superior to Kuro at the moment, but I would definitely fight him over that bastard in black……I'm never fighting that freak again, I made a huge mistake provoking him.

  Oh, it looks like Fuo is out of Mana, the fight is over. She lasted longer than I initially expected, but even so, the fight was rather one-sided. There was to be a short break before the final, ideally I would have preferred a bit more time to rest after my last fight, but I should still be able to fight at my best, or at least close to it. Shortly after the fight ended, Ekai returned to the waiting area, his expression as hard to read as ever.

  "Congratulations, not that it wasn't expected. But your winning streak ends here, I will defeat you in the final," I declared with a smirk.

  "Hm……good luck, I look forward to it."

  Tch, how annoying……not even a trace of sarcasm, his bluntly honest way of speaking was infuriating to deal with. I suppose the best way to get to him is to let my actions speak instead of my words. I did not have to wait long, fifteen minutes later, the two of us were called out to the arena.

  "Ready to lose?" I inquired tauntingly, as we both took our places in the arena.

  "You should not be so overconfident, it will make you more embarrassed when……if you lose," He replied stoicly, once again with no trace of sarcasm or condescension……

  had he been about to say 'when you lose'? Despite his lack of aggression or arrogance, he clearly had confidence in his skills and expected to win, hence the correction. Grr, I'd rather he actually retort back at me than give me those deadpan sincere replies, it was seriously infuriating! Tch, I need to calm down, I'm agitating myself and he hasn't even done anything yet, not intentionally at least.

  "Ready……FIGHT!"

  I immediately took my spear into my hands and began charging it as I activated Lightning Boost at x3.5 and shot across to his left. He fired off a large ball of flames at me, I evaded to my left and retaliated with a bolt of lightning, which he countered with another blast of flames, our attacks canceling each other out.

  I need to keep attacking relentlessly and hope I can create an opening……if he opts to use that flaming tornado attack of his, I'm in trouble. And I cannot let this drag out, in his quarter-final fight when the barrier shattered due to his flames, the heat that burst out was stifling……I will not be able to endure such heat for long in an enclosed space, therefore I must finish this before he has fired out too many flames.

  I fired a barrage of lightning bolts from my left hand while my right hand clutched my spear, rapidly charging the Lightning Crystal. It's not enough yet, I must make sure I've charged it enough to finish this with a single strike!

  He raised a wall of flames to block the bolts I fired, before creating two large snaking masses of flames. Tch, I have no choice but to evade while charging my spear. I shot away to get some distance, but one of the snaking flames was right on my tail, the other cutting across to try and trap me in a corner. I'll have to take a risk……

  I halted and backflipped at an angle across the flames so that I wouldn't land right on it, unable to avoid burning my left shoulder slightly. The mass of flames then whipped across at me as the other snaking flames began shooting towards me rapidly. I managed to avoid and evade them, but just barely, my armor getting singed. I need to improve my reaction time or I will not last long, I might lose focus on charging up my spear if I get another serious burn.

  I hesitantly channeled more lightning into my eyes, wincing slightly as my right eye throbbed slightly, the bloody red glow in my pupil dimly, well, glowing. Calm down and do not panic, as long as I maintain the stability of my Lightning Boost stream, my eyes will be just fine. I still need to charge up the spear a bit more……

  I continued evading the two snaking masses of flames, and with my increased perception, I had an extra split second to counter after each evasion, which I used to fire small but rapid bolts of lightning at Ekai, they wouldn't do much damage, but I was throwing him off a bit.

  Yes, the spear is adequately charged! I must end this now! I shot towards him, as he waved his arms to bring both masses of flames shooting in towards me from either side. I released a small fraction of the lightning I'd charged into my spear and swung it around me with a swift spin, dissipating a significant amount of the flames as my lightning canceled it out.

  I had not fully eradicated his attack, but it was enough, now to get close! Damn it, it's getting harder to breathe……

  Two flaming rings appeared across each other around his torso, as more flames began sprouting around his feet. Shit, the flaming tornado. No, I cannot let him use it!

  I raced towards him as fast as I could, running the end of my spear along the ground. I sprang forward as I neared him and swung the spear up at his throat as fast as I could……right as my vision turned into a mix of yellowish-orange and bright blue, an intense flame stifling my breath.

  All the lightning charged in my spear got unleashed upon the tornado right before it grew to full power, but I didn't see what happened, the flash created upon the two attacks clashing was too bright, and the force sent me flying back and crashing onto the wall of the barrier, cracking it severely. Damn it, I think a few of my ribs on the right side of my body were broken, and my right ankle was sprained……

  Did I get him?

  The smoke slowly cleared, to reveal……Ekai still standing. The ground around him was scorched and severely cracked, my spear was lying on the floor in front of him. I had aimed for his neck, but the tornado's rotation changed my trajectory……there was a scorched gash on his right shoulder, he grimaced with pain as he tried moving his right arm. It seemed to hurt him quite a bit, but it wasn't deep enough to teleport him out.

  Damn it, I messed up my best shot, I should have used it sooner, that might have……! Tch, there's no point in what-ifs……I've lost this fight, my Mana is running low, I can't run anymore and……whatever, I cannot win anymore.

  Right on cue, he fired a massive fireball at me. I did not bother moving. The barrier teleported me out before the flames could roast me to a crisp. As I lay slumped on my knees outside the arena, I let out a wistful sigh as Ekai was announced the winner.

  "Hm, you fought well. My shoulder hurts quite a bit," Remarked Ekai, as he walked past me, heading in the direction of the infirmary.

  I suppose I should go there as well, my bones aren't going to heal themselves after all. I limped tentatively towards the inside of the stadium, wincing as a sharp stinging pain went through my foot. After I made it back inside, I painstakingly made my way through the corridor slowly. On the way to the infirmary, I ran into an unpleasantly familiar face……

  "Heh, this is a pretty nice sight. That was cool, you got wrecked bad! Next time we fight, I'll make sure to-," He began, with a happy smirk.

  Tch, this little bastard.

  "Oh, I will never fight you again, brat in black."

  "Hey, you got a problem with my fashion sense? And how boring, I was looking forward to getting the better of you one of these days. Well, whatever, for now I'm just going to enjoy the sight of you in this state," Laughed Kuro, staring at me with a look of satisfaction.

  "Fuck off, you little bastard," I muttered irritably, limping past him with a frown.

  Damn it, this tournament turned out to be a complete disaster for me. What an awful day today was, possibly the worst day of my life……

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  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism! Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.