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　　"The main tournament is now over, but don't go anywhere! I'll be taking over as announcer for this leg of the event, the exhibition matches!" Announced Rion enthusiastically. 

  　　I must say, I am quite excited for this, I have not had a proper fight in a fair amount of time, so I am looking forward to taking on a powerful opponent in a serious battle after some time. Yes, I have participated in casual sparring and training matches in order to keep from getting rusty, but that is different. 

  　　True, while this fight may not have any real stakes, it is still very much a proper battle, along with a rather sizeable audience to witness it. Watching the fights in the main competition made my blood boil with excitement, I am raring for some action. 

  　　"Good luck to you, Dragon King," Greeted my opponent with a smile, as we took our places in the arena. 

  　　She is not carrying a weapon……so, she fights barehanded, does she? This should be a rather thrilling battle…… 

  　　"Thank you, and good luck to you as well, Earth Sage……I look forward to battling you," I responded with a smirk.

  　　"The feeling is mutual." 

  　　"Alright, looks like both competitors are ready to get started! The first exhibition match is Draco of Abyss versus Siterra of Idyll! Let's get right into it, aaand……BEGIN!" Exclaimed Rion loudly, signaling the start of the fight. 

  　　I swiftly flew up and blasted out a wave of flames from my mouth as several earth spikes rose up towards me rapidly, before the Earth Sage raised a wall of earth in front of herself to block my flames. 

  　　I then rapidly swooped down towards her, drawing back my arm as I closed in on her wall of earth, slamming my fist onto it as I reached it, smashing through it and zipping down towards her. 

  　　She narrowly evaded as I drove my fist towards her head, my punch clipping the side of her head lightly and slightly singeing her skin as I was emanating intense heat from my scales, before I quickly flew across as a column of earth came bursting up towards me, grazing my hip as I got back up into the air. 

  　　Suddenly, she rapidly followed up after me as she raised a column of earth right below her feet, ascending towards me. She formed a barrier as I blasted out flames at her, before teleporting above me with a sharp, spinning projectile of earth between her hands. 

  　　As she fired it at me, I quickly whipped my tail across and deflected it away, but the speed of its rotation tore off a few of the scales on my tail painfully. 

  　　With a rapid flap of my wings, I shot towards her and swung the back of my fist at her throat, she swiftly raised her arms defensively to block it. The back of my hand slammed onto her crossed arms with immense force and a sizzle as the heat I emanated burnt her skin, before she got sent rapidly flying towards the floor of the ring. 

  　　Right before she crashed down, that section of the ring turned to sand, breaking her fall and dispersing the force of the impact. 

  　　And then, a powerful shockwave erupted from her as she stood back up, her hair stiffening and growing wilder as it rose up……that must be her Earth Sage Mode. 

  　　Suddenly, several earth spikes rapidly burst forth and rose up towards me, I swiftly flew across the air, ducking and weaving to evade her spikes, from which further spikes extended out from their lengths. 

  　　She was creating a forest of earth spikes, as each spikes branched out as I evaded them, and slowly but surely, I was running out of room to dodge……it looks like I cannot take on an Elemental Sage at full power in my current state. 

  　　I suppose I have no choice……I have no yet fully mastered this technique and cannot maintain it for long, but at this rate, it is only a matter of time before I am defeated. 

  　　Now, then……concentrate, focus and intensify my energy inside my body, sharpen it, increase its density……

  　　I then halted in midair, earth spikes closing in on me from every direction, as my body began to glow, the air around my shimmering in a violent heat gaze……and then, I unleashed it, an immense burst of heat, the earth spikes around me melting and splashing onto me harmlessly. 

  　　For an brief instant, the heat around me stagnated, before roaring out and forming an intense, blazing layer of fire around me, a flaming armor that engulfed my entire body, making me appear as if I was made of pure flames with no physical body. 

  　　I am unveiling this form in a fight for the first time, time to find out just how effective it is……my Inferno Mode. 

  　　I let myself drop down, before rapidly swooping down with a flap of my wings, several earth spikes shooting up towards me as I closed the gap between the Earth Sage and I in an instant. 

  　　The spikes melted before they could strike me, the Earth Sage leaping back as I closed in and unleashed a powerful burst of flames from my fist as I drove it towards her. 

  　　She narrowly evaded and rapidly burst out a column of earth from directly below me. It struck my midsection but melted almost immediately, most of the impact dissipated as it lost its shape. 

  　　The Earth Sage swiftly manipulated the floor beneath her feet and rapidly slid away across it, firing out narrow, rapid earth projectiles at me as she gained some distance. 

  　　It is of no use, Earth Magic is a poor match up against my Inferno Mode……and she is already showing signs of having difficulty breathing. In a battle of attrition, my advantage will only grow. 

  　　The spikes melted as they closed in on me, before I shot towards her rapidly, ignoring her projectiles as I chased after her, blasting out intense fireballs in her directions, which she just barely blocked with hastily formed walls of earth. 

  　　As I began to close in on her, she swiftly raised a dome of earth around me, trapping me inside……for a brief moment, as I melted free from it in an instant, before flying up as several narrow, dense earth spikes burst up towards me. 

  　　She increased the density so that it would take an additional fraction of a second to melt. Very well, in that case, I shall turn up the heat……the shimmering mirage around me then intensified as I concentrated the flames around me, the heat spiking drastically. 

  　　I zipped up towards the top of the barrier and blasted down roaring waves of flames at the ground, boxing her in to one spot before rapidly swooping down towards her, as sweat poured down her face. 

  　　My flames wavered slightly as she then raised several earth walls between us, before I refocused and cut through her walls without even slowing down. 

  　　As I shot through, I found myself mere meters away from her as I burst through the last of her walls, closing in on her as I swirled and intensified the flames around my fist……when suddenly, right as I drove my fiery fist towards her, my Inferno Mode dissipated, as I reached the limit of how long I could maintain it, my concentration breaking. 

  　　My fist slammed onto the side of her face, scorching her skin and sending her stumbling back……before several earth spikes burst out around me from every direction and rapidly converged in on me, too quickly for me to evade. 

  　　In the next instant, I found myself outside the barrier, which then faded, an intense wave of heat bursting out all throughout the stadium, gasps echoing out from the audience as they felt it. 

  　　The Earth Sage was on her knees, drawing in deep breaths with a slightly light-headed look in her eyes, sweat dripping down her face onto the floor, her clothes matted to her skin, as was her hair. 

  　　She winced slightly as she got back on her feet, touching her burns tentatively as she let out stifled hisses of pain. 

  　　"Whew, and that brings a fiery end to the first exhibition match, talk about a heated battle, am I right? Haha!" Grinned Rion, as the heat began to fade, the air slowly cooling down, "The winner of the first exhibition match is……Siterra of Idyll!" 

  　　It is rather frustrating that I lost in such a manner, but this loss will only serve to encourage me……I feel even more motivated now than I did before, I shall master my new technique by the next tournament, and when that time finally comes, I will win next time…… 

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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!

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