At the medical center, Dunen laid on the bed unconscious while the Grei stood beside the Keigra medics.
"Is she going to be ok?" Grei asked.
"I'm afraid not." A female medic answered, "This disease she has... Luideinia... Is this the first time she has been affected by it?
"No, its not." Grei replied, "She had it when she was six but our healers got rid of it. I just never imagined that it will come back."
"Well it did and it came back more aggressive than before." The female medic said, "As you know, luideinia is a powerful illness that affects the hosts ability to walk but an aggressive luideinia not only cripples the host but it could cause the spine to decay and kill the host.
Your sister is just lucky that we were able to operate on her and save her life before the symptoms could go to that level. However, despite your sister being saved, she is not medically cleared to train or fight for a week, so in other words..."
"She'll have to forfeit the tournament." Grei said.
"I'm so sorry." The female medic said.
"It's okay. It really is." Grei said as he turns his back to walk away.
"Wait!" A female voice said.
Grei turns back and sees the person to a conscious Dunen who was in pains as she struggles to sit on her bed.
"I can still fight." Dunen weakly said.
"Dunen, you can't." Grei said, "I'm sure you heard what the Keigra healer said."
"But this is my chance! This is my only chance to prove myself!" Dunen said as tears were flowing from her eyes, "To prove that i Dunen of the Graundar tribe and the younger sister of Grei is not a failure! My chance to prove that the sacrifice you made for me was not in vain!"
"Get your rest, Dunen." Grei said as he turns his back to walk away, "I'll alert the match coordinators of your condition."
As Grei left the room, Dunen laid back her head on the bed and began to sob with her arm slightly above her head. Meanwhile as Grei was walking alone, he drives his fist into a metallic wall beside him out of frustration as he grits his teeth and his irises glowed brighter.
Back at the arena, the audience stared in shock as Gorn was on his knees with both of his hands on the ground while blood was flowing out of his mouth and nose.
"Wh-what is this?!" Trengal said, "Sting delivered a powerful counter to Gorn's technique and it made Gorn bleed!"
"What the..." Raen said, "How was he able to destroy Gorn's great forest and still harm Gorn at the same time?"
A flashback occurs as Gorn cups his hands together and smiles.
"Luminescent tree: Great forest!"
In an instant, many golden glowing trees sprang out of the ground and filled the arena.
"It's useless." Gorn said, "Every non physical attack you make, the trees will deflect the attack right back at you."
"I don't know about that." Sting said, "Gaaruda technique: Overshadow."
All of a sudden, a dark barrier flashed, covering the entire arena and causing all of Gorn's trees to be split in half; Gorn quickly began to react to numerous attacks as multiple dark balls were fluctuating all over his body. As soon as the attacks had weared off, Gorn drops to his knees with both hands on the ground while blood was flowing out of his mouth and nose.
After recalling that moment, Raen balled her shaky hands.
"Just how strong is this guy?!" Raen asked within herself.
Back at the arena, Sting walks towards Gorn with his right arm rubbing the back of his neck.
"Are you down already?" Sting asked, "Come on, i was already getting excited."
"Then get more excited!" Gorn said as he slams his hands on the ground, "Luminescent tree: Heavy fist!"
A gigantic golden glowing wooden fist immediately sprung out of the ground and dashed towards Sting to hit him but a dark gigantic fist suddenly appeared out of nowhere and easily broke through the heavy fist and hit Gorn, sending him flying backwards in the process.
Another gigantic dark fist sprung out of the ground and hits Gorn which sent him high into the air; Multiple gigantic dark fists began to hit Gorn from different directions and another gigantic dark fist attacks Gorn from above which sent him crashing down to the ground, creating a large crater and a massive smoke screen.
A shadow figure began to walk towards Gorn which appeared to be Sting whose scleras happened to be black along with his irises glowing brighter. As Sting was approaching Gorn, the audience began to murmur among themselves.
"I don't believe it."
"I know Sting is strong but Gorn is losing?"
"How can this be?"
"The Peerless dawn is being demolished by Sting."
"What the hell are we witnessing, folks?!" Trengal asked, "Sting has completely gained the upper hand and is dominating this fight! Will Gorn be able to turn the tables and still match Sting?!"
"Sorry, i know you are strong but can you please put more effort into this fight?" Sting asked while scratching the back of his head, "I really need to feel this match."
Gorn immediately stretched out one of his hands towards Sting to launch an attack but Sting quickly threw a swirling dark sphere at Gorn which created a powerful dark swirl in the arena.
"GORN!!" Raen shouted in fear.
"What the f**k did he just hit him with?" Rish asked within himself with a widened eyes while having his arms crossed.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Trengal asked, "Is Gorn still okay?!"
As the swirling had passed, the golden glowing vines that were coiled around each other dispersed, revealing a bloodied Gorn. Gorn drops to his knees and began to breathe heavily which made the concerned expression on Raen's face grow.
"D-damnit ..." Gorn said.
As Sting was staring down at Gorn, golden vines quickly sprung out of the ground and rushed towards Sting but Sting appears in front of Gorn which left him stunned a bit.
"Reapers hand." Sting said as he engulfs his hand with a dark aura and balls it up.
Sting instantly lands a thunderous punch on Gorn's cheek that covered him with Sting's dark aura, massively leveled the ground behind Gorn and created a strong dark wave that sent him soaring back in a twisting motion towards the far ends of the wall. As Gorn was laid pasted on the cracked wall, the audience began to murmur among themselves.
"That guy is nuts."
"He used that his false telekinesis to punch him in the face?"
"Is that Tenplar boy still conscious?"
"It would be a miracle if he is."
Gorn suddenly drops from the wall and falls on his knees while using his hands to support himself; Gorn spat out blood which had some of his teeth in it and left some of the audience stunned.
"I don't believe it..." Idjra said with widened eyes, "Gorn of all people is being beaten to this level?"
"I know. This is quite shocking." Yulin said.
As Gorn was staring at some of his teeth that were on the ground, his attention was suddenly drawn by the sound of a single person clapping which appeared to be Sting.
"I'm surprised you took this punch and still stood." Sting said while smiling, "You really are strong, however, if you are going to fight me while holding back then i suggest you drop it, or else you will lose."
"You're asking me to stop holding back?" Gorn asked with a raised eyebrow, "Are you trying to prepare your own coffin?"
"Bring it on!" Sting said while grinning with a beckoning finger.
"Fine. As you wish." Gorn said while smiling with his eyes closed.
Gorn stands on his feet and slightly cups his hands while charging a golden ball of light in between.
"Luminescent tree: Pollen grain nova." Gorn said as he sends a golden glowing oval towards Sting with one hand.
"Reapers hand." Sting said as he stretched forth his aura engulfed hand.
As the glowing oval was engulfed with Sting's dark aura, Sting tightens his grip and crushed it.
"Big mistake..." Gorn said.
Four more glowing ovals suddenly appears beside Sting which caught him off guard. Gorn quickly snaps his finger and the four ovals immediately exploded, spawning a massive golden light in the arena. However, the explosion was instantly sucked in like a vacuum which appeared to be Sting's doing as his arm was raised in air while having his entire body covered with dark aura, leaving Gorn stunned.
"That was ok." Sting said with his eyes closed while stretching his neck a bit.
The crowd (except Ezgord and Vaniva) were instantly shocked with Sting's display.
"Ehh?!!" Raen said with a shocked wtf face.
"What the...?!" Trengal said, "I thought they were evenly matched but Sting is showing that he is on a level of his own!!!"
"You've got to be joking." Rish said.
"He just got rid of one of Gorn's strongest moves like it was nothing!" Yulin said with a wide-eyed expression, "I wasn't buying the facade he was displaying but i never thought he'd be this strong!"
"Such power...." Izaiya said within himself with his arms crossed, " The pollen grain nova: A technique that Gorn uses to create a glowing pollen grain and spawn a devastating explosion that can easily get rid of a ridiculous number of armies; If anything should happen to the first oval without it exploding, it will end up spawning four more, creating a more devastating attack.
Gredus's fate was sealed the moment he tried to swallow the first but Sting got rid of it all like it was nothing. Are you telling me that if him and Gredus should fight, Sting will wipe him out faster than Gorn?"
"Uh, Vaniva, what the hell was that move?" Karlac asked.
"Gaaruda technique: Grand force." Vaniva said, "It's a technique i created that involves manipulating your Gaaruda energy to move in both a swirling motion and an accelerating force that sucks in everything around it like a black hole. However, this technique is quite difficult to control and cannot be used casually because of the level of stress it brings on the user.
Gorn is just lucky he wasn't sucked in with his attack."
"To create something like this... She is truly one of strongest Ripars." The Tenplar man said within himself while staring at Vaniva, "I wonder how i would fare against her if the both of us should fight..."
Meanwhile, down at the arena, Sting and Gorn were still staring at each other.
"That's not all you've got, right?" Sting asked with his head slightly bent.
"Of course not." Gorn replied, "I've got a ton of tricks left to show you."
"This guy... I knew he was strong but i didn't think he'd be this strong." Gorn said within himself, "If i am to beat him then i must stop pulling my punches."
"Behold... One of my most powerful moves...!" Gorn said as golden glowing petals were rotating round him and Sting, "Luminescent tree: Holy domain!"
Sting suddenly finds himself in a golden palace, leaving the audience amazed. Sting tries to move but finds himself unable to do so.
"Wait a minute... My body... Why can't i move it?" Sting asked within himself, "What's going on?"
"If you are wondering why you are unable to move, it's because nothing of darkness can move within my domain." Gorn said.
Multiple enormous yellow flowers surrounded Sting and began to charge a golden beam at him.
"I didn't want to use this technique but you really pushed me." Gorn said as he stretched forth his arm, "Don't worry, I'll make sure the attack-"
Gorn suddenly halts as Sting began to laugh.
"You make me laugh..." Sting said while smiling with his eyes closed.
"You make me laugh, Gorn!" Sting said with an echoing darkened tone and a wild grin as his scleras turned black and his irises glowed brighter.
Sting's dark aura began to rapidly contaminate Gorn's holy domain and the domain suddenly dispersed, creating a powerful gust of wind and leaving the audience in shock.
"What the...?!" Raen said.
"Wha-!"
Gorn was suddenly interrupted as he found himself engulfed with dark aura and was smashed to the ground, creating a massive crater on it.
"Let's end this." Sting said as he levitates high in the air while having his body engulfed with dark aura.
"Gaaruda technique: Anuak." Sting said while smiling as a shimmering dark sphere appears on his right.
"Gaaruda technique: Onyk." Sting said while still smiling as a twinkling dark sphere appears on his left.
"Sulish!" Sting said as he fused the two spheres together to create a powerful orb that turned the sky purple while causing multiple rocks in the arena to rise, leaving the audience horrified.
"Oi, Sting..." Vaniva said, "Don't you think you are going overboard with this?"
Meanwhile at the Chiefs center, Chief Ezgord slightly raised his head while staring down at the arena with a dark smirk and his irises glowing brighter.
"Crush him."
Gorn managed to stand on his feet while breathing heavily and facing the ground.
"Am i this weak...?" Gorn asked within himself.
Gorn's eyes moves towards the audience center and spots a worried Raen which made him recall when his younger self while sitting in a house with a long red haired Tenplar man and a brown haired Tenplar woman.
"So, i heard that you've been ignoring Raen, son?" The Tenplar man asked, "Why?"
"It's not that I've been ignoring her, I'm just focused on getting stronger, that's all, father." Gorn replied.
"Gorn, that's no way to treat the one that you are betrothed to." The brown haired Tenplar woman said, "We understand that you want to live up to what Chief Tenya said but still, for people who are going to marry each other when they are of age, this behavior is totally unacceptable."
"Nah, there is no big deal there." Gorn said, "Raen can simply find other people to spend more time with her."
A flashback occurs as younger Gorn and Raen were walking on the road while discussing with each other.
"Gorn, since you are so focused on getting stronger then perhaps i can help you by sparring with you." Raen said, "That way you might get to improve even more."
"Nah. I need stronger opponents. You just won't do." Gorn said while smiling with his arms at the back of his head.
Another flashback occurs as current 15 year old Gorn and Raen arrived with other students at the Tall order pilgrim academy.
"This is it, Gorn." Raen said while smiling, "This is the chance for us to become a Pilgrim as our parents want and we will do together."
"If you can keep up with me, that is." Gorn said while smiling as he walks away from Raen.
After recalling that moment, Gorn faced the ground while clenching his fist.
"What have i been doing?" Gorn asked within himself, "In my pursuit for power, i've been treating Raen like trash and in the end, this is the result. I'm such a fool."
As Gorn began to smile while facing the ground, Raen became shocked with his actions.
"Why isn't he fighting back?' Raen asked within herself, "He still has a few moves left to use such as his Droplet star, his Sunflowers, his Ultra boost, his Greater Ray and his Heavenly judgement. He could even use his 12th defense of heaven to block this attack but why isn't he doing anything?"
As Sting was about to send the attack towards Gorn, Sting noticed Gorn's behavior and instantly perceived the message behind it which made him to cancel his attack, reverting the sky back to normal.
"You are one hell of a guy..." Sting said with a warm smile while closing his eyes.
"Anyway, so i started blasting." Sting said as he opened his eyes with a relaxed demeanor while still smiling warmly.
Sting quickly fired a powerful dark blast from his palm down at Gorn which created a massive dark streak ascending from the ground to the sky, producing a gust of wind.
As the dark streak had vanished, all that was left in the arena was Gorn's hand sticking out of the ground while his index finger was twitching.