That night, I could not sleep. I was thinking of the battle coming up. I had to win. Due to so many participants, there was not going to be another chance given to me. Warriors who lose will be out of the tournament.
As I wasn't getting any sleep, I decided to go out to roam around. I strapped Magnum to my waist and slowly escaped the room. My father was too deep in sleep to notice me. I went out, walking in the lonely street. I walked up to some extent. Knowing there was no one around; I grabbed Magnum and tried to pull off some new moves. I practiced for some time then went back to my room and dozed off.
The next day, I opened my eyes to see a pillow hit me hard on my face. My father was standing beside me. "Get up! You have a match today!" My father shouted. I came back to my senses and got up.
By 10:30 am, I got ready and we drove off to Foster stadium. We soon noticed the same crowd standing. I got into the participants' hall. Oliver was far, giving me thumbs up for my match. (At least it looked like he was keeping his thumbs up.)
The event had started streaming. The T.V. showed the host cheering up the crowd for some awesome battles to come. "It's about time we get the first battle going." The host declared. I took a deep breath. I saw the same lady manager. She called me and my opponent. I hadn't seen him since yesterday. He seemed excited to crush me.
From the back stage, I could hear my name being called out. I was made to stand in front of the sliding door. I was in the blue corner so I guessed my opponent had got a red sliding door. The doors opened and I saw the crowd cheering for me.
Guess what? I didn't pass out or fall while walking. Progress! Though my legs were shaking, I successfully reached the stadium. I stood on my side and saw my foe on the other. "I am Norman Davis and I would be happy to crush you with my sword, Sting!" The man announced. He showed off his sword.
That speech really was harsh for a negative person like me. "I am Blaze Hunt and I am going to somehow beat you with my battle-axe, Magnum!" I stated.
Norman laughed but didn't argue. "Are both of you ready?" The referee asked. "Ready when you are." I replied trying to sound less scared than I already was. Saying so, I cursed myself for such poor poetic curses. "I was born ready!" Norman said.
"Let the battle begin" The referee announced. I saw the fearsome Norman running towards me with his sword. I got ready with Magnum, though I was scared somewhere inside.
I tried to strike but Norman was faster. He got out of my way and slashed his sword through my stomach. My left side had been badly injured but I could somehow still stand and fight. I watched Norman get ready for his second attack. I had to do something and fast. I looked at Magnum with an expression of, some help buddy?
Almost immediately, on his own, Magnum slashed Norman's face so hard, it was bleeding.
This was not the first time Magnum had helped me in a situation like this. Both the times, the moral was the same – Believe your partner.
I looked at Magnum with gratitude. I understood that I needed to believe in him. I was the one backing his skills. I didn't want to be that one. I decided to lend my strength as well. That was the only way for me to win this battle.
All these thoughts had given Norman some time to recover. He looked at me with rage and rushed towards me. But this time, I wasn't scared. With full confidence, I clashed with him. The clash was metal to metal. I had to put more force but Norman was too strong. He threw me and I almost fell to the ground but fortunately held my feet.
I quickly took position and struck back. Norman had had enough of me. He jumped (which was a very big leap!) and hit me but Magnum was right in front of me to defend. Norman's attack's had become fiercer and I was having a hard time. He attacked me every second and all I could do was defend.
Fed up of defending, I closed my eyes. I could again hear Magnum's voice. "Pretend to attack the leg then jump and go for his head." Magnum suggested. I nodded and opened my eyes. Magnum had found his weak spot. Norman was a very slow thinker. He was all about fight.
As suggested, I pretended to strike on Norman's legs. He got alert and dropped his sword to defend. In a flash, I jumped just as high as Norman did. I could feel myself glowing in a golden aura and so was Magnum. I slashed Norman's head and that was it.
He directly fell down and died. His head had been cut into two which looked gross to me now after the battle. The glow went away. Norman soon resurrected to his place. "Norman Davis is unable to continue. The winner of this match is Blaze Hunt!" The referee announced. I looked around to see people cheering my name. A smiled crawled up my face and I went back to the hall.
I noticed that people were cheering for me for a longer time which proved that I had fought nice. But I knew who the real star was – Magnum.
I met Oliver who greeted me with a hug. That was weird. I never liked hugging people. But after a big win, I was too happy to care. "That was awesome buddy!" Oliver pulled out. He looked at the T.V. and pointed, "You would not have noticed but look how you attacked his head."
I watched the replay being shown and noticed that I was glowing a lot more than usual. I had hit directly on his head and his head literally broke partly. Except for that last part, I enjoyed hitting him. It was a clean strike.
"Your bonds were synced, you and Magnum. I need that kind of bond with Tortunem as well. We need to keep strengthening our bond throughout this journey." Oliver said. I knew he was right.