The Hayworth fight was over within seconds. Pavil threw multiple wind blades, intending to get them past any rifts Hayworth might open. Hayworth jumped through a rift that was large enough for his body. Pavil spun, thinking he’d be there, only to be slammed to the ground when Hayworth landed on him. The healing after the fight had them both sitting there far longer— Hayworth had sprained his ankle landing on the other man, and Pavil had a broken collarbone. The two seemed to discuss things as the crowd stilled, getting over the shock.
Jenn’s match against Lukas Grimm was not pretty. Lukas did his best to not burn her too badly, but he caught her coming in. He’d guessed the correct direction, so she ended up running face-first into a long stream of flame. Willof called it over when Jenn dropped and rolled to smother the flames. Lukas took a knee beside her, talking as she healed. Gregory was surprised that the healing enchantment also grew her burnt hair back.
Both fights had ended quickly, but the healing helped add some time back between the matches. It was clear that the crowd was getting antsy over the lack of a good fight.
The next match had everyone sitting forward, as it was Jason versus Claudia. They hoped for a better fight, but some already knew it would come down to her catching him with fire. Physical against fire mages were always one-sided, one way or the other— either the physical magic user caught the fire magic user before they got too badly burned, or the fire mage burned them enough to win.
They started with weapons— Jason rushed, but had to get his sword up to catch Claudia’s whip. He laughed as it wrapped around his sword, and he yanked hard. Claudia just smiled and let it go, staggering Jason back a step before a column of fire engulfed him. He dove out of it and rolled. He’d only started getting back to his feet when three fireballs slammed into the ground all around him.
Willof called the fight over, and Jason glared at the former sergeant. His burnt visage was terrible to behold. Jason stalked back to the waiting area as soon as he was healed. He snarled at Parks to win, then stormed away.
The next fight finally gave the fans what they wanted. Kang went up against Stallo, so it was two physical enhancement magic users. They clashed time and again, but in the end, Stallo just had more aether. Kang hadn’t progressed enough on using his in smaller spurts like Jenn had. When it ended, the two men sat on the sands, talking as they healed up.
The next match after was another the crowd had been looking forward to. It was Yukiko against Jessica— the two shadow magic users were finally fighting each other. Unfortunately for them, it was just past midday, as the other fights had gone by quickly, leaving very little shadow in the arena.
Even with the shadows only around the walls of the arena, the crowd was disappointed with the fight, as they saw almost none of it. Both women had their own shadows swallow them. Gregory turned on his aether sight to watch as the two patches of aether leapt and leapt again, each trying to pin the other down.
Jessica surprised Yukiko with a massive surge of shadow, throwing her into the open. The fight became visible as Jessica stalked Yukiko, her daggers held reversed along her forearms. Both women sported minor wounds, but none that looked like it would hinder them.
Jessica shouted something at Yukiko, but it was lost in the roar of the crowd, who were glad to finally see a fight. Yukiko nodded, bringing her wakizashi up in front of her. The next minute was all martial talent as Jessica attacked and Yukiko defended. It was a marvel to watch the two flexible women fight.
The end came when, suddenly, both shadows surged, ensnaring their respective foes. Jessica lost one of her daggers sometime in the fight, which became apparent when she sacrificed her hand to stop from losing her neck. Yukiko cried out and threw both hands up.
Sasha and Willof called the fight over at the same time. Yukiko and Jessica both dropped to the ground, their shadows retreating. Yukiko pulled the dagger out of her shadow and handed it back to Jessica. The announcer came over to talk with them before explaining to the crowd what had happened. Jessica had dropped a dagger intentionally, using Yukiko’s shadow as a hand to jab it up into Yukiko’s femoral artery. That was when Yukiko had declared herself defeated.
Gregory’s lips pursed and he knew that they’d have to get the whole story later. He could see the smile on both women’s faces, though, and that brought one to his. Parks laughed at Yukiko’s loss as he grabbed a maul from the weapons rack, ready for his own fight.
Yukiko gave them a slight shake of her head when she rejoined them, whispering that she’d explain later. Jenn and Gregory squeezed her hands, then gave their attention back to the arena.
Parks’ fight was over quickly. He used his walls to protect him from the earth spikes and create a bridge over the pit Brian tried to catch him in. Brian surrendered right before Parks could reach him. That left Parks furious; his scream of rage filled the arena. Slamming the maul into the ground, he seethed at Brian before stalking back to the waiting area.
The last fight was a mirror match-up to an earlier one— Swift Wind’s wind magi, Binder, was up against Wolf House’s spatial mage, Adriana. Binder was determined to give his best effort, but he had no real hope of winning. He took the encouragement from his clan and Gregory’s group, but it was clear that he was prepared to lose.
It ended with him losing to Adriana, but before he lost, he did manage to gash her left arm badly enough that she had dropped her hand off her spear. It didn’t stop her one-armed thrust through a portal to jab his spine. When the fight ended, Adriana was still bleeding as she got close to Binder, speaking softly to him before stepping back and bowing. Binder was clearly shocked, but he wore a large smile as he bowed formally back to her.
The announcer went on to praise the Buldoun mages for winning the day, the first day they’d done so. Binder walked back to the waiting area, the smile still on his face.
“What did she say?” Hayworth asked when he got back to them.
“She praised me for being able to create three wind blades, which is why the one got her arm. One was aimed at her thighs, and the other at her neck. I knew she’d manage to protect her neck and possibly her thighs… I thought she’d have to drop her spear, but she didn’t.”
“You almost won,” Gregory said.
“‘Almost’ doesn’t really count, but I had better control over my aether,” Binder said. “I might be even more useful for the group matches now.”
“I’m worried about the very last fight,” Kang said. “They have two fire mages, and we don’t have any. Add in their wind mage, and a firestorm is all too likely.”
“Yes… that is a troubling thought,” Hayworth admitted. “We still have three other matches to go through first. Maybe we can find a way around that issue before we get there.”
“They won’t be able to catch all of us at once,” Jenn said. “You and Yuki can get away. Binder can try to fight the wind if they go for a firestorm, which could limit it.”
“If he can, you and I can race around the edges,” Kang grinned.
“We have options, so let’s begin thinking of ways around what they might do,” Hayworth nodded. “I look forward to the next few days. It’s terrible that we lost today. I’d hoped to sweep the entire singles for the empire.”
“My loss sealed our defeat,” Yukiko said. “She was trickier than I expected, but the group fights will help us show the empire’s strength.”
“They will,” Hayworth smiled. “See you for training tomorrow?”
“We’ll be there,” Jenn chuckled. “It’s our encampment area, after all.”
The three stayed there as Hayworth led his clan out, then when Egil and Rafiq left.
“Yuki, what happened?” Jenn asked once they were alone.
“I didn’t use my shadow blades,” Yukiko admitted. “I kept them in reserve. She’s nearly my equal in aether and had decent control over the shadows. Before she ejected me from the shadows, there was a moment when I could’ve pinned her to the wall with shadow blades. I opted not to.”
“That would’ve been bad,” Gregory murmured. “You kept a card back in case we need it for the group fights?”
“Yes. None of our opponents knows that I can do that, including Jason and Parks. I didn’t want to give it away yet.”
“I got unlucky,” Jenn sighed. “Out of all the angles I could’ve come at Lukas, he picked the one I used.”
“Sometimes, combat goes that way,” Gregory said. “You couldn’t get out of the flames in time?”
“If I’d pushed with everything I had, I might have,” Jenn admitted. “But, like Yuki, I’ve been holding back the edge of what I could do. I gave away a lot against Stallo, as it was.”
“Your control of your aether there was obvious,” Yukiko agreed.
“Not like I can hold back what I can do,” Gregory sighed. “Bath, bazaar, and likely dinner with Claudia and her group.”
“She does seem to hunt us down every time,” Yukiko said thoughtfully. “What if we invite them back to our encampment tonight? We can play some games and have a calmer time that way.”
“It’d make it even friendlier,” Jenn nodded. “I like it.”
“Let’s ask the others,” Gregory said.
“Agreed,” Yukiko smiled, then kissed him.
Gregory kissed her back, shocked that she’d done it in a space where they might be seen. Before he could ask when their kiss had ended, Jenn grabbed him, pulling him down for a kiss, too.
“You were the only one of us to win today, dear one,” Yukiko said softly. “Besides, no one was in here with us.”
“Fair enough,” Gregory chuckled. “Let’s go.”
