Arriving at the stadium several minutes later, Jamal was ecstatic and nervous at the same time. As far as he could tell, Ula and Hops were staying calm, but how? Shouldn't they be slightly worried?
"You ready?" Hops asked to his side.
He nodded at him, as they went to the right, most of the crowd already in the stands. The person keeping watch, noticed them approaching and asked for their names, which they replied. Checking the list, they let them pass through and handed Hops a card, to see a few people inside, including Leon stretching lightly
"How early are we?" Jamal had asked.
"About fifteen more minutes left. Perhaps more people got injured than expected." Ula shrugged.
They moved to the back, and just waited. Waited for what would come. Several more people came as the last minutes came, leading to a count of twenty-two other fighters, including them. Jamal eyed Leon, who was staring right at him, not a sign of teeth anywhere. I guess this means he won't be playing around here.
A loud cheer could be heard from outside, as a person walked inside.
"Listen up! I congratulate each and every one of you that got here. But now, the time has come to see who's the strongest team is here. The rules are simple. If you get removed of the fighting space, you're out. You hit the walls, you're out. If you're knocked out, as long as you are not still in the ring you're out. If any part of your body is touching anything that makes you out, then you're out. I want a clean and exhilarating fight. Good luck out there! Now let's go! Go to your designated spots based on the card with the number that was given to you."
The room got quiet as they filed outside, the crowd screaming when they saw them appear. The fighting space was laid with rocks spread out around the place, and noticeable reinforcements that Hops had told Jamal.
"What number are we?" Ula asked, as they finally were outside.
"Number five." Hops replied.
They walked down past plasters of tape that displayed the numbers, until they stopped in front of their spot. Looking around, Jamal noticed Leon was staring at him, directly across from them.
"I need to tell you guys something. Run as fast as you can." Jamal told them.
"Why? I don't se-, oh." Ula mumbled as she saw Leon ahead.
"Gotcha, good luck Jamal. It's on you." Hops said, already walking towards the other side of their spot, ready to flee the area as soon as possible.
"Let the final fight for the adolescent division begin in 5, 4, 3-" the announcer began to shout.
Jamal stared at Ula, who was trembling slightly with Hops by her side. He didn't think she would be that nervous.
"Hey, it's okay. We'll win. Don't worry about me." he said, pecking her cheek for a second.
She nodded, and stared ahead with Hops. Jamal looked dead ahead, Leon slowly beginning to grin. He too began to smile, flames of his fire slowly beginning to lick around him, going into his "sparking" form.
"2, 1, fight!" the announcer had finished, the crowd on their feet.
Instantly, Jamal's hand grabbed Leon's fist, as he appeared in front of him in an instant. Already in his form, he hopped over a rock, as Leon continued his rush against him. Jamal barely had time to block each of his attacks, leaving a sharp sting to each blow.
"Now, let's see what you got!" Leon exclaimed, as fighting occurred around him.
Jamal didn't say a word, as he fired multiple fireballs at him, just to hold him off slightly. The attacks did nothing to him, and Leon went through them all as if it wasn't anything and punched him right in the gut. The punch blasted Jamal across the space, and if there wasn't a boulder in his way, he would have already been eliminated.
He quickly got out of it, despite already being in a certain amount of pain, as Leon's punch from afar blasted it into pieces, causing two fighters behind it to crash into the wall behind him. Jamal was already panting when darkness quickly surrounded him. He quickly limped out of the area while losing his "sparking" form, and caught Ula rushing towards him.
"Well, you look like you're doing just fine." she said with no surprise.
"Heh, nothing but a scratch, I still got him." he casually said, but clearly in pain.
"And you're bleeding. Come on, we are depending on you!" she said, as they could hear Hops screeching, "I got to go, but you got this."
She left him there, and he quickly got back up. The darkness began to clear and Jamal could see Leon facing the other way. Aiming a hand at him, he quickly created a large fireball and fired it towards him. Leon barely turned around, before getting hit by it, causing him to slide several feet closer to the edge. Leon grimaced slightly from the attack, and rushed towards him.
This time, Jamal was more focused, and began to rapidly dodge his attacks. In frustration, Leon quickly attempted to pummel him with punches, creating a large stream of wind, almost forcing everyone off their feet. But Jamal stood in place, deflecting each one, before dodging another one and kicking him back in a boulder.
Leon walked it off, and shoved the rock out of his way, Jamal stepping to the side, and hearing it crash into the wall behind.
"You think this is a game. I'll show you a game. Times two!" Leon shouted.
Suddenly, a wind began to stir around them, as a light red aura wisped around Leon. Jamal rushed towards him, re-entering his "sparking" form, and began to launch multiple fireballs into the sky. Leon flicked his hand in the air, and they instantly dissipated. In a slight amount of shock, Jamal aimed both hands at him, forming a larger ball of fire, and blasted it towards him.
Leon clapped his hands towards his direction, and the blast he just formed disappeared and pushed Jamal into the sky. Jamal attempted to push himself away with the propulsion of his fire, but Leon appeared above him, and slammed him onto the ground, cracking the ground around him. Instantly, he cried out in pain, blood soaking into his outfit.
Leon walked towards him, and grabbed him by the neck. Jamal clawed at him, trying to use his fire to burn his arms, but he didn't budge or even flinch, even though his skin was beginning to cook.
"All my life, I trained for moments like this. Every year, someone always tries to take my place, and they fail every time! You will suffer the same fate too! It's over!" Leon sputtered.
With that, he let him go, before punching him towards the wall ahead. Jamal eye's were closing as he felt the wind pass by him. So, this is how it ends. I couldn't protect the people I care for, not even my girlfriend, what am I, he questioned, as he waited for the crunch that ended his journey here.
In an instant, he felt a sharp pain to his side, as he crashed into a boulder, knocking him out.
"Don't worry Jamal. I don't like you still, but seems that you need some help." Hops said, with Ula at his side, "Now, Leon, listen closely. Today, Jamal will not finish you, but I will! So face your end now!" he cried out, as he rushed towards him.