Two lone Guides remained on their platforms, one with his hands over his knees as the very picture of exuberance as he marveled at the sights he had just witnessed. He decided to take Wanxi seriously, as the series of hand patterns she did seemed to be very potent. Or rather, what the movements she did evoked had the trace of danger that threatened to blast his sturdy physique apart made him more than a little wary.
But he couldn't hide the exhilaration he felt as his eyes lit up, the yellow topaz orbs letting out streams of light that dyed his black eyelashes a similar color. And if that wasn't enough of an indicator of his mood, the dijon yellow strands of his hair were waving towards Wanxi as if beckoning for her to come over.
To Wanxi, the disturbing smile he was sporting with pride was quite inviting as she stepped along with her advancing platform, waving at him the whole time. The doll that had returned to the robe had appeared once more, this time seating itself onto her left shoulder while pointing its buttoned stare straight at Bie.
Bie stood up and smoothed out his pockmarked clothes, deciding that he'd have to changes his outfit soon. The arenas clacked against each other before becoming a conjoined floor, the tiled terrain finally returning to its original form. He bounced on his heels as he looked at Wanxi with interest, noticing that her lips were beginning to part, and she held her hands up as a sign of peace.
"You did it, huh? Tell me, where did you come from? Do you have some like...hermit teacher that gave you their heritage or something?" She flashed a winning smile while her hands swayed in place, denoting her excitement and maintaining the ceasefire she had moved for.
"Something like that. How'd you do the whole lightning thing?" Bie scratched his cheek as he asked the question that had settled on his tongue when he was watching the fray. Wanxi stuck her tongue out before shaking her head, her eyes widening at his reply.
"You don't know how to access your Component? Or, do you not have one?" She waggled her tongue as she giggled to herself, before her eyes abruptly became full moons. A sly smile slid over her countenance, and if one paid too much attention, they would probably imagine a glowing lightbulb standing over her head.
"I'll teach you if you teach me! Deal?"
"Nope." Bie unfurled his arms and planted his feet onto the open air as he sailed towards her, his bob fluttering upwards as the two separate colors of his hair strands mixed. Wanxi brought her hands down to her chest before forming a triangle in a hurry as a loud smack resounded.
"Barrier!" A shield formed out of her purplish Ink flickered into existence right in front of her, forming just in time. Bie had just now increased his weight, thrusting his foot down towards her like a heavy hammer.
The two had collided, Bie still hanging in the air as small dents formed in the shield as the two figures held their positions. Although it seemed like Bie had the advantage, right now, the battle laid directly in Wanxi's hands. To be more specific, her winning condition was riding atop her shoulders.
The doll drifted upwards as Wanxi spat a cloudy stream on it, carrying the rag-like frame as it skirted around Bie's own frame. Streams of the cloud deviated into little gloves that covered its nubs with two sharp spikes. Perdi brought the spikes directly into Bie's spine, while Wanxi roused the Ink in her body as she considered which spell to cast next.
But the two had gotten ahead of themselves, as Bie's right hand lunged for the piercing doll and grasped it firmly while it retracted back to his waiting arm. Bie used the shield as a foothold while the energy from the Smile of the Mountain reappeared, the illusory smile starting to fade as the resentment energy was being used up.
At this moment, Bie's body was filled to the brim with Ink and even began overflowing as his well shot out veritable geysers of black liquid, and his fingers danced along the air as Wanxi's own robes turned on her, wrapping her up into a mummy. He then held his knees up to his forehead and somersaulted over her, landing on the ground before pivoting his heel to run at her struggling form.
He dragged the doll along the ground as the thread of it resisted the pull of his other hand. It fought valiantly against the effects of Stitching as it struggled to maintain control of its own fabric, while Bie kicked the mummified Wanxi into the air.
"MMM! MMm! MRAM MMLEND!" A stream of energy entered the doll that crackled with electricity as it redoubled its efforts to fight against Bie. But his grip showed no signs of loosening, even if his right hand started to blacken from suffering through the crackling lightning shooting into his palm. The pain he did feel caused him to stop his efforts to hit Wanxi, merely letting her body naturally fall down.
BAM! She rolled along the ground as her robes unfurled, revealing another set of robes. She sat up and held her head as she felt like her world was spinning, before spitting out a stream of water on the ground. When she finally came to, Bie's face filled her line of sight as he gave her a mischievous smile, eyes formed into crescent moons.
"How'd you get here? Can you tell me?" He brought his face even closer to hers, mere centimeters away like what she had done before. He then handed the lip Perdi back to her as her expression started to become indignant.
"That's unfair! I didn't have enough energy to cast anything else because you lunged at me while I was speaking..." She hugged Perdi to her chest while pouting, and the doll glared at the boy in apprehension. Bie stared at her for a while, before getting the fact that she really did have no intention to continue their duel.
"Waaaa!"
"Hey, that was pretty impressive for a childe!"
The crowd of Guides in the stands broke their enraptured silence and let out multiple cheers and comments as the fight had come to an end. The woman approached the two with a gold, silver, and bronze medal of each aforementioned color in her arms.
"This one's for you and you, and I guess the bronze one is for Gyuho. I'll have to ask you two to stay here while I get him..." The green woman walked off as pink buds blossomed in her hair, while the two remaining Guides exchanged expressions before standing beside another.
Bie had warmed up to her considerably after their fight, her impression becoming much better on him. That was why he didn't back away and simply watched the girl close her eyes as her ears spread out, the Ink in the air slowly clustering around the two.
Although he didn't intend to absorb it, some of the coarse energy diverted from her pull and entered his body, replenishing him as well. Before he could even think to apologize, the woman returned with Gyuho, the Vendetta Jackie, who then decided to stand to his left side.