“See you soon.” I say goodbye to Jairo with a firm handshake.
“Contact me someday if you need anything, I’ll be happy to give you a hand.” Jairo says those words before turning around and leaving.
He left me a number I can use to contact him from a mobile device, he also gave me a medal that will help me reach him if I go to a city where his guild has a branch.
Mobile devices very similar to phones and tablets are not fully developed, they don’t work in many places. The medal is a more reliable option to reach him, the guild has ways to communicate between branches, Jairo also seems to be the son or protégé of someone influential in his guild.
“Congratulations.” I hear my friends’ voices sounding like a chorus the moment I open the door. Everyone rushes toward me, they could’ve knocked me to the ground if I didn’t reinforce my body with mana.
“That’s not fun, I liked it more when he fell.” I can hear Shawu muttering at my side.
I release a bit of ice mana toward her, not enough to freeze her, just to lower the temperature of her hands a bit. She quickly lets go of my arm, her gaze locks onto mine, I wink at her and I can clearly see her intention to hit me. Areci and Brendu look at her, she just lowers her head in resignation.
“Thank you all.” I give each of them a quick hug, except Brendu, I hug her for a long time and lift her into the air.
“You managed to sneak into the top four.” Areci comments from the side. She looks relaxed without any issue, but that’s not the case, I can feel slight vibrations in her Imra, she’s a bit nervous and worried.
I can’t blame her, her opponent is Salvaj, he’s not someone easy, it will be a real headache to defeat that wild guy. Areci must be ready to smash her head against a wall if she wants to win, in that match blinking is forbidden.
“You have to do the same. Don’t forget, we must meet in the final.” My words were direct and serious, I’m not even smiling fully like I usually do. I only get a half smile and a nod in return.
We sit down to watch Saule’s match, although his opponent is not at the level of a limit breaker, she shouldn’t be weaker than Jairo. She has earned her own right to reach this point of the tournament.
Saule seems to understand that, from the beginning he stands in an attacking stance with his spear, his body is reinforced as soon as the bell starts the match, I can even see hints of light constructs around him.
The girl uses two medium shields, one on each arm, both attached to her forearms. The difference between these shields and conventional ones is a blade-like tip on each, that blade extends all the way to her hands.
Saule advances as always, without fear of his opponent. He always takes the first step no matter who he’s facing. His spear is stopped by one of the shields, his first thrust is blocked without much trouble.
The girl doesn’t step back from the first hit, she stays in position. The spear moves at a ridiculous speed delivering several thrusts and side cuts, all of them blocked by both shields.
She has defense and strength at the level, her speed and agility are quite good as well. She’s keeping up with Saule without much effort.
The limit breaker increases his speed, his body shines yellow due to his light affinity, his attacks become sharper and more dangerous. Sammer also reinforces her body, the shields seem to expand around her, she is using her water affinity to increase her defenses.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Sammer manages to hold much longer than anyone Saule has faced in this tournament. Her style is completely defensive, she rarely goes on the offensive, only when there are obvious openings. Brendu tells me a bit about her, Sammer’s style is to wear down her opponents and knock them down with heavy blows when their fuel is almost gone.
She held on fantastically for several minutes. She became a wall very difficult to break, she endured cuts, thrusts, light spears and attacks strong enough to defeat any other Sapphire rank. I’m very impressed by her defense.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t hold long enough to turn things around. Saule managed to land a good cut on her abdomen and several on her legs, that weakened her enough to not react in time to the next attacks. In the end she lost when Saule pierced her throat with his spear.
I’m impressed by her fighting style and defense, I feel like she couldn’t fully use her potential in this small environment. Possibly in an open area she could’ve held longer, she is a tank any team would love.
Now comes one of the two most exciting matches of the night. For the first time in this stage two limit breakers will face each other. Prince Charles with his peculiar blood affinity and Brunu with his powerful and multiple affinities.
We all stop eating, focusing on the two figures in the middle of the arena. We can’t be the only ones, everyone present was waiting for this moment. Two people destined to become powerhouses in the future are facing each other.
The bell rings. Neither hesitates, both make fast movements. Charles activates his body enhancement and boosts all his physical capabilities while Brunu builds multiple defenses around himself while preparing offensive spells.
Charles with his twin short axes wastes no time, he advances with everything he has. Several blood constructs appear beside him and are launched to break as many defenses as possible. The prince’s long-range attacks are not weak, they manage to break several barriers along the way.
His axes are also lethal, capable of cutting through barriers like a hot knife through butter.
Brunu is not left behind. The mage has begun flying to create distance between them, several barriers are built as soon as one is destroyed, he is also reinforcing the most important ones near his body.
When he finally gains a safe distance, the spectacle begins. Massive rocks, wind gusts, fire spheres and water spikes float around him, all constructs with a ridiculous amount of mana concentrated, each reinforced with death affinity.
All the abilities fly trying to hunt the prince. Charles is not stupid, he moves side to side dodging everything he can and destroying what he can’t dodge, he even finds openings to keep breaking barriers while trying to close the distance.
The battlefield has turned into complete chaos. Brunu’s abilities are destroying everything around, Charles has been injured multiple times and that only seems to have increased his strength and speed. Blood is enhancing all his abilities.
At this moment he is so fast it’s hard for Brunu to predict his movements. Charles is as fast as a Ruby rank specialized in speed. The fast and incredible constructs cannot catch him, except for those made with darkness, they move as fast as light constructs.
Charles’ axes grow larger, a deep red color like blood. Each strike breaks countless barriers and sends accumulated blood mana in the form of a scythe breaking more and more defenses. This seems to be his final card, this mode must consume a massive amount of mana and energy.
Both do everything possible to defend while attacking each other. Charles has lost a lot of blood during the fight, although his body is enhanced by it, there is a limit, he must be close to reaching it to deploy his final move.
An injured Charles manages to break through all defenses with strength and cunning, he came out severely wounded on his way to Brunu. The incredible mage focused on offense as a last attempt to bring Charles down.
Charles’ first strike breaks all of Brunu’s defenses, the second is enough to rip off one arm, and the next attack is an X-shaped slash across the mage’s chest, a fatal strike, blood pours out massively.
Brunu also goes all in, he stops Charles for a moment thanks to his time magic and with the last bit of mana in his body creates a massive fireball combined with shadows that hits the prince.
Both fall to the ground, their bodies bounce across the arena. The entire stadium holds its breath. Charles slowly gets up, Brunu does the same. The prince drops to his knees, I hear Areci sigh near me, and Brunu collapses to the ground. A light covers the mage’s body, granting victory to the prince, that massive chest wound was decisive.
I’ve fallen in love with both of their styles. Incredibly strong, just watching them makes me want to fight again, I want to face one of them right now. I’m not the only one, Areci’s Imra is going wild, she’s just as excited.
Three of the four semifinalists are decided, only one remains.
Areci vs Salvaj. A match I cannot miss for even a second.