Please read the author's notes. (Examples and explanation of moves and appearance+ Monster Sources)
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CHAPTER START---
A complete stalemate. The only true way to describe the state of this battle. As Van and Elfy enter the final room, with a flourish of his hand Orcus begins the process of sealing the corridors behind them, locked in a box Yang shifts his gaze continuously between his 2 opponents. Not knowing he is staring down Van, a level 4, and Elfy a level 2. He acts according to what he knows.
'Girl with a staff, caster. Man with a sword, melee. And Sid is a ca.....'
Halting his thought he glances around the room, Sid is completely gone.
'Invisible mage, that's a problem,' he thinks quickly before taking a moment more to gaze at his opponents. Noticing that Van has his sword drawn, daggers strapped to his side. For reasons beyond his knowledge, the man is staring daggers at Yang, as if trying to kill him with a look.
To his right at an almost even distance stands the young Elf girl. Not unscathed like the man, she has proof of a battle on her. Bruises on her face and supporting her weight on her right leg and her staff.
'Ok, she's hurt and he's looking at me pretty hard. But I need to find Sid' he thinks as he considers his options.
As his thoughts are racing, his opponents are doing the exact same.
'As long as I kill him and get the mark lady Freya will acknowledge me as more than a soldier,' Van thinks. The half Pallum man, desperate for the acknowledgment and affection of the goddess.
'I need to get them to ignore me. I don't have any more potions so if I get them to fight maybe I can get a good shot and knock them out.' Elfy thinks, a subtle change in the peaceful and forever friendly character she entered this labyrinth. Clearly under the influence of the chaos energy making her more determined, more headstrong in her pursuit for the power to stand side by side with her friends.
As they all consider their options, Sid stands as far as he can away from the fight, as he chugs his last mana potion his eyes never leave Van's position, extremely weary of the largest threat in the room. Slowing his breathing, drinking as if the potion was flowing from a straw, the proud level 4 mage minimizes all noise as he stands completely still, ever cautious of the level 4s senses.
As the standoff continues, suddenly the symbol on the ceiling begins to gather energy before sending the final wave of chaos energy throughout the room. As this happens Yang shuts his eyes. The pain of a white-hot nail being hammered into his head flaring up far beyond anything before. As he shuts his eyes, clenches his teeth, and holds his head. "Argh!" he cries out, garnering the attention of not only the other finalists but also the spectators.
Seeing his opportunity for a quick victory, Van makes the first more.
Leaping faster than Elfy can even track. The man rushes Yang with his sword out. The sound of his feet stomping on the floor as he pushes against it acting as the only sign to Yang that he was approaching.
Eyes shut, he focuses mana on his Tremor Sense. Pushing mana into the surrounding floor he barely fights the pain enough to expand his range to Van. As Van arrives before him and slashes out horizontally, with his head still clutched in his hands Yang crouches down. Surprising everyone as he didn't even have to see his opponent. As the blade moved beyond his right shoulder Yang leaps with a boost of flame to the left.
The pain diminishing his focus to the point that he slammed his shoulder into the wall, cracking the stone on impact. He grits his teeth as he rises to his feet once more. Squinting his eyes in reaction to the pain, he sees Van rush him once more.
As mage armor flares to life, the room effectively becomes an oven. The corridors acting as vents are now gone. Yang rushes toward Van. At this point, the half pallum is annoyed and understands this won't be a simple opponent even with a level advantage.
As the two men are locked in combat, Van's hair and clothes can be seen being burnt as they get too close to the mage armor. Matted and compressed as it is, contact can never be fully unavoidable in combat. As sword meets gauntlet once more Yang uses Van's momentum against him. Lowering his center of gravity he shoulder checks the older adventurer while flaring his mage armor.
"Argggh" Van grunts out as the flames make full contact with his chest. Leaping backward with the momentum of the strike he creates distance between them. Barely taking a breath, Van draws a dagger from his belt and brandishes it in his left hand.
"You die here," he calmly says as he points his sword at Yang. The very first words he has ever spoken to the Elementalist.
'What the fuck is wrong with this guy, I don't even know him.' He wonders before the man rushes him once more.
Focusing completely on his opponent Yang meets his charge, pushing more magic into his AMP technique to accelerate himself further than he ever has before. The Elementalist clashes with a level 4 once more.
---Meanwhile with the spectators...
"Why's she just standing there, her new spell is perfect here," Lefiya asked her senior mage, Riveria.
"Her spell is good but if they move too much then it doesn't work, the last thing she wants is a level 4, or worse yet, Yang to look her way in this fight, and the other mage is still in there."
"If she lets them beat each other enough she could just outlast them, she might actually win this," Finn interject, currently biting his thumb in a failed attempt to ease the pain.
"Is it aching?" Loki asks curiously.
"Since the beginning of this tournament, since I knew he was competing, we should look at him carefully in this last fight," receiving a curt nod from his allies the captain focuses once more on the fight.
On the other side of the collesium however, Freya sat on a fine couch with Ottar behind her. Her glare fixed on Van through a divine mirror. Just barely suppressing the angry expression trying to crawl onto her face.
At this moment, Miach and Takemikazuchi are staring in bewilderment with their familia captains as they sit beside Hephaestus and Tsubaki.
"Fighting a level 4, no wonder you threatened anyone that would try to take him," Miach says with a hint of awe in his voice.
"Not just fighting, he's overtaking him, his enemy can't handle the flames and it's wearing him down, your boy is gonna win this fight Hephaestus." Takemikazuchi states as his unblinking eyes are locked onto the divine mirror.
"I expect nothing less from Yang, he is our Elementalist after all, a real prodigy," as she brags to her close friends playfully. Internally her thoughts were the complete opposite,
'This brat, he's actually this much of a freak, how the hell is he fighting level 4s back to back like that? I need to send Tsubaki into the dungeon with him or something, I need to give him a full re-evaluation.'
---The Orcus Labyrinth...
Within the final room, the swordsman and Elementalist brawled all across the room. Elfy backed up, unknowingly approaching further toward Sid who she still hasn't noticed.
As Yang's flames continued to wear down his opponent, Van's movements became more labored. The heat of the flames sapping his energy and causing a myriad of burns to appear on his skin. His arms completely revealed as the leather armor has long become ash. His chest, arms, and face hosting massive black burns, yet he does not relent.
As the flames begin to wear on Van more and more, Yang's mage armor begins to shine brighter and brighter. As it becomes mixed with swirls of deep blue, his punches begin to push Van back. His strikes are becoming faster, faster than a level 3 had any right to be even with AMP. Faster than Van could track. As he desperately tried to parry the fists of Orange, white and blue flames. To his horror, his sword began to shake. His arms have become numb from the force of the strikes.
The floor beneath their feet becoming molten and softer causing him to lose his footing, Yang presses the assault. "ARGHHHH!" he strained to grunt through his gnashed teeth as he pushed the level 4 adventurer back, much to the shock of the spectators outside, and certainly to the absolute horror of his remaining opponents. As Van's wrist is finally strained too far, his grip on his weapon falters and he loses his sword. Now disarmed he can do nothing but experience the heat of the oncoming attack.
A fist of condensed flames moves down toward him. The skin of his arms already burnt away, as the fist moves toward his face he feels the moisture in his eyes finally dry up, no longer protected by his level 4 stats.
"BLAZING ORBS OF FLAME!!"
Suddenly a bright light flashes in the room, standing at the far end of the room Elfy has already completed her chant.
As she fires her attack at the enemies before her, completely unaware of the man standing behind her, 12 spheres of compressed flames, as if they were imitating 12 suns rocket across the room and toward the brawling duo.
As Yang sees this new threat he quickly abandons his attack and attempts to leap away from Van, only to be stopped. Taking this chance Van takes the damage, and with it, the unimaginable pain of having his left hand almost completely turned to ash as he pierces Yang's thigh with his dagger.
The adamantite weapon withstanding the heat and striking true between the plates of the armor as it is buried hilt deep within his thigh.
The sudden wound halting Yang in place. Van quickly reaches forward and grabs Yang by his arm, again taking the pain to his left arm he spins before hurling the young adventurer at Elfy's magic attack.
As he throws Yang through the air, the pain in his head and the pain in his body leave him frozen, just long enough for him to be hit directly by the magic attack.
At the cost of having his entire left arm from almost the shoulder turn to ash and fall away, a smile crosses Van's face.' That's it, now just the little elf and I've won,' he thinks to himself.
As Yang is hit by the first sphere, acting as a marker the other 12 magic strikes alter their course and all lock onto him. A dozen large strikes batter his body through his mage armor. Slamming him into the wall of the room before pushing him further and further into the magically reinforced stone. The room shakes and even Elfy is shocked by the strength of her attack, clearly unaware of the chaos energy pulling all of her desire to the surface, and with emotions comes the strengthened magic.
As the audience watches in horror at what just happened they wait for the dust to settle.
---With the audience...
"Wow, you taught her such an awesome spell," Tiona says in her excited tone, barely stopping herself from jumping in place.
"She already had been working on it for quite some time, I simply helped her execute it," Riveria says, cooly.
"I think you should be ready to heal Yang, hopefully, he gets out before Van actually kills him," Finn orders as he's now biting down harshly on his thumb.
Seeing his demeanor Riveria only nods and watches the divine mirror, waiting just as everyone else for the dust to settle.
Whilst others were gawking at the amazing fight, Freya was giving different orders to her captain.
"If that imbecile doesn't win, make sure he goes into the dungeon with you for some unofficial 'Training' Ottar," she says coldly with a full scowl on her face as she plan Van's fate.
"Mhm," The large man responds as he glares at the fight.
As Hephaestus saw this fight, her jaw clenched as she considered if Yang could survive such a hit.
'He didn't reappear in the arena, if he's knocked out that happens so either he's dead or awake, c'mon kid show us what gives you that carefree attitude, you've gotta have the power to back it up.'
"THIS IS BULLSHIT, THEY SHOULDN'T BE TEAMING UP ON HIM LIKE THAT!" Tsubaki yells in frustration, she garners many nods of sympathy from the crowd at her outburst.
Her mind races as she stares at the screen.
As the dust settles, the spectators are horrified to see that within the wall of the final room is a large 15ft wide crater. At the very center in the deepest part of the crate, buried within the wall, only a human hand can be seen sticking out.
As the flames on his showing hand subside. From within his grave in the wall, through the small cracks, Yang sees his opponents look toward him. He sees Van with one hand looking valiantly in his direction, at the other side of the room Elfy stands horrified at what she'd done. Less than a second later Van rushes the young Elf, these are the last things Yang sees before his vision is overtaken by a blinding light.
END CHAPTER---