The match between David and Yorgos didn't last too long.
The larger man took on bestial aspects as he underwent minor transformations and fought with a frenzied, unpredictable style. He was an augmentor that cultivated to mimic the strengths of beasts and monsters, and his fighting reflected that.
David however, faced frenzy with cold determination and drew lines with his sword that looked and felt unstoppable to onlookers. David was a swordsman who focused less on intricate exchanges and more so on those incredibly sharp and swift slices, forming lines of certain death between him and his opponent.
Of course, he did not act to kill in a competition, but the longer the fight went on the bloodier Yorgos became as red gashes marked his chest and arms.
The only thing Lucian could fault David on was his arrogance. The man put one hand behind his back after the first few exchanges and made a conscious effort to move as little as possible in his defense, as if deliberately trying to taunt his foe.
It worked out to his favor as Yorgos became angry and flustered, but Lucian could tell that was not David's aim. It was true arrogance, not a calculated facade that he may have applauded.
After dodging the swipe of a pointed claw, the battle came to an end with that sharp single-edged blade pressed against Yorgos' throat, drawing no blood.
Archduke Ballas was frowning and mumbling to himself, evidently not pleased with his son's cocky attitude.
Once again there was an intermission, this time for an hour to allow the finalists time to recover. During that time, Takis strolled throughout the contestant area to greet and congratulate everyone on how they placed, and exchange sympathetic words with those that did not go far.
He was a good speaker, though Lucian knew the man could sometimes stumble over his own words if he lacked time to consider what he wanted to say. Though this never happened in a briefing or a giving of orders.
As he followed, Lucian too exchanged a few words with the contestants, especially those of the Floating River sect, or the few who's friends had been injured by Faidon Glaider.
He received thanks and replied with practiced smiles, but couldn't shake the feeling of tension in his muscles. He wanted a fight.
"Takis, when do we leave for the Maelstrom?" He asked as they left one batch of contestants behind.
The prince smiled as he looked back at his shadow, obviously infected with the mood of the tournament.
"After the finals? We set out in three days, and should arrive after a week."
'That long…'
"Why don't you go stretch your legs for a while, I doubt there will be much danger here. Just keep your platinum badge handy."
His eyebrows rose a bit and Lucian paused for a second before responding. "Thanks, I think I will. Let me know if anything interesting happens."
His platinum badge would allow Takis to communicate at a range with him, and order him back in case something did happen.
Leaving the arena in large strides, Lucian went for a walk, looking for some place to let loose a little and practice his forms.
'Buildings, roads, people, citizens. It's so cramped here, surely there's somewhere right?'
Afraid the whole hour of intermission would end as he simply walked the streets in search of a clearing, he dipped into an alley and leaped onto a roof. Shooting across rooftops with the lightness skill, he made very little noise as he traveled.
'Buildings, people, casualties, panic. Bloody hell, do I need to leave the city?'
Soaring across the rooftops did help relieve some of his pent up energy though, perhaps that would be enough for now. Or he could return to the inner city that housed the mansions of nobility. There were plenty of open spaces there, but that involved even more hassle with suspicious guards.
In the end, he resigned himself to simply cultivating and exhausting his body's ability to absorb lifeforce, rather than exerting himself physically. It wasn't very satisfying, but it helped to calm his mind and body for now.
As light distorted and the life of the sun was pulled into his body at an incredible rate, Lucian sighed.
'At least I got something out of this tournament.'
Trueblood thrummed and produced a wave of lifeforce that condensed into white light surging throughout his body. It only persisted long enough for one circuit throughout his body, just a fraction of a second, before it vanished, but it's after effects were incredible.
Not just in strength and speed, but some of that power was transferred to his soul through the two spiritual anchors in his mind and heart, enhancing his senses and helping clear his mind.
After experimenting with how long he could maintain that internal light, he focused on his cultivation and by the time an hour had passed, a new drop of trueblood had been produced.
He could no longer count the drops of trueblood in his body, and he could create new ones in less than an hour. With that incredible amount of 3rd stage power, he was sure that he could do battle with elders more advanced in the 4th stage than he.
'My advantage in martial skill will only provide an edge against those my age, but my cultivation already surpasses those. If I want to match those experienced elders, I need more than just my ten years of fundamentals. Boundless Condensation and a whole body of Trueblood will take me far if I can achieve it.'
The platinum badge thrummed slightly with no audible message and Lucian knew it was time to return. Rising to his feet, he suddenly stopped.
'Was someone watching me?'
It wasn't the feeling of eyes turning to him, but rather a gaze turning away, no longer watching, that caught his notice.
Noone was visible on the roofs, and no one on the streets below could see him atop this wide building.
Lucian frowned, but didn't think too much of it. He was striding the rooftops of the capital city of Demia, he supposed it would be strange if he truly went unnoticed.
'But how are they remaining unseen by me?'
The badge thrummed again and he reluctantly gave up scouring the surroundings with his eyes and started back towards the colosseum.
The large building was abuzz with activity and by the time he found his way back to the royal seating area the final round of combat had just begun.
David ballas didn't maintain his proud demeanor this time, dashing about the arena with shifting postures and striking at every chance while Nil, the shorter man, kept distance, using the "Throwing Force" technique Takis had mentioned.
Waves of colourless force created explosions and shockwaves where they landed but David showed incredible instantaneous speed in his dodging of the distorted blasts.
The crowd cheered and roared with every strike and David closed the distance only to have his sword blocked by that telekinetic force as another palm exploded with energy before making contact, launching the young noble back.
Again and again David pursued Nil, and every time his sword failed to meet flesh. Despite that, David did not suffer any great injuries, and his speed did not decrease as he continued to dodge the ranged assault.
Again his sword almost reached Nil, and again he was knocked back before making contact, but this time as he flew backwards from the impact, David swung his silvery sword in the air, drawing a clean, sharp line as he always did.
Only this time, the line remained after the sword had passed, seeming to materialise as a silver slash that shot straight for Nil who had not completely recovered his posture from the last assault.
Shocked exclamations rang out and Archduke ballas smiled contentedly.
A red that Lucian was intimately familiar with filled the air for a moment as Nil fell back rapidly, a large and gruesome gash running across his chest.
David shot forward again trying to capitalise on the situation, but after a single clash, he backed off having realised that Nil was acting more hurt than he was, setting bait for a trap.
The large clean cut on Nil's chest was healing.
'He is a vitality meta' Lucian realised with wide eyes.
In his experience Vitality was a rarer attribute. It was his first one, and Tess now had it as well as a few others in the estate, but not many. Neither Tyr, Delia, or Theo had a vitality attribute.
Realising his trap had failed, Nil set open palms on the arena grounds and the earth began to shake. The Mountain Mover sect had one core art with two paths of techniques. The first, that incredible telekinetic power; the second, was the mastery of earth manipulation.
The incredibly durable stage fractured and broke within half a second, rising into the sky and spinning as if caught in a small tornado. Some larger fragments of stone broke apart into smaller, jagged stones and dust clouds that obscured the vision, while some others remained as large stones and boulders rotating with deadly speed.
Caught in the center of all that mess, David flourished his blade in rapid succession, cutting apart larger stones that would bash him, while trying to escape the obscuring clouds of dust.
Nil would have none of it though, and with a single outstretched hand, he closed a fist, tightening the grouping of broken earth in the air and increasing the speed of it's rotations until finally there was never a moment in which David was not being beaten by stones and rubble.
Sword flashes cut through the sky as David tried cutting out of the inescapable prison, hoping his ranged strikes would cut Nil, but they never did. It seemed even his extrasensory abilities could not see through the qi infused dust clouds.
Finally, the spinning rubble closed so much that David was entombed in it, more and more stone stacking into a hard sphere around his body and crushing inwards as it spun at incredible speeds, lifting far off the ground with David trapped within.
Doubtlessly, David had no idea what direction was up anymore and was finding thought difficult as dust, dirt, and pebbles forced their way into his mouth, burying him alive in a suspended sphere of rubble.
No more flashes of the sword rang out, and a sweating, panting Nil, produced long tapered spikes of earth, pointed towards the spinning ball of rubble. They shot forth at great speeds and the short man nearly stumbled with buckling legs.
Some in the audience held their breath while others shouted in shock and outrage, but at the final moment in which the long spears of earth would skewer the sphere of rubble, and the captive David within, they stopped dead in their tracks.
Silence reigned for a moment, excluding sighs of relief, as the sphere of rubble began to slow down it's rapid rotations, and Nil turned to the referee with drooping eyes.
"A-ah, This match is over! Victory and the title of Champion of the High Clash goes to Nil of the Mountain Movers!"
Cheers and applause exploded forth as the sphere of rubble collapsed, revealing a dirtied, sick and confused David within, still completely lacking his balance with dizziness.
Archduke Ballas sighed, one part in relief and the other disappointment.
"Well, you did say he needed a loss." Takis said ruefully.
"I did say that didn't I?" The archduke chuckled with a shake of his head.
The cheers and applause rang out for a few seconds more before King Magnus rose and the crowds grew silent.
Next would be ceremony and words from the king, followed by yet another banquet. Then, in a week and a half, The Maelstrom.
Lucian's eyes lit as much in anticipation of that as in interest with this Nil of the Mountain Movers and his incredible abilities.