Li-jun was panicking slightly.
What he used in Kuroha was his Singularity which is Illusionary Bind. By making eye contact with his opponent, he can put them within an illusion.
It does seem like an unfair ability but there are a few problems.
He can only use it on a person once and then they cannot be caught in the illusion ever again. If his opponent has a larger mana reserve than him, they will not get hypnotised.
People who have been caught in Illusionary Bind have never broken out. Never. The only way to break out is if they lose consciousness or die.
However, Kuroha was different.
How?
Li-jun did not know the exact answer.
"What is she..."
Another drawback of Illusionary Bind.
Li-jun could not channel mana into anything else other than his Singularity when using it. If he channelled too much mana into Illusionary Bind then his opponent would die of mana corruption, something that could not happen within this match.
Within the illusion, Kuroha was fighting an immortal Li-jun. She was not giving up. She continued to 'kill' him over and over.
There was another risk of Illusionary Bind that Li-jun had just found out. Illusionary Bind was limited to a certain time limit.
The boy did not want to find out how long, so he walked over to the idle Kuroha and punched her over and over.
[Shouldn't we stop this? There's no way that Kuroha can still get out of whatever illusion she's in.]
['If Kuroha does not get out of it in a minute, we shall end the match and I shall take responsibility.']
Sakai said, almost certain that Kuroha would escape the illusion.
The audience watched in awe as Kuroha was being beaten by Li-jun.
When Li-jun primed his fist, he aimed it at her face. The left side of Kuroha's face was swollen and both her nose and mouth were bleeding. Her right eye was also swollen, dripping with blood.
Suddenly, the motionless body of Kuroha moved to the side and struck Li-jun in the face. His face contorted in pain as he swung his leg and hit her abdomen.
Blow for blow.
They exchanged hits. Soon or later, Kuroha gained the upper hand and did a roundhouse kick, only to be blocked by Li-jun.
Her cat ears and tails had retracted.
With the damage she had sustained, Kuroha had a slight disadvantage. Li-jun did not have anything else up his sleeve.
"What? Not talking much, huh?"
Kuroha taunted, panting.
"Shut the fuck up."
Li-jun rubbed the side of his arm and wiped his nose. He posed with his scimitar before rushing toward Kuroha.
She stood idle. Simply watching the movements of Li-jun. He flowed from side to side before piercing at Kuroha's stomach.
The boy did not care if she sustained a fatal wound. He wanted to win. He regretted not putting more mana into Illusionary Bind.
With a swift chop, the scimitar broke. Kuroha had coated her hand in mana and sliced at it.
(H-how...)
Li-jun thought, blocking her next strike.
Even mana-coated hands could not break a scimitar. It all depended on the potency of the mana. If the mana was toxically potent, like that of an Emperor, breaking a weapon with her bare hands was not a mere fantasy. It meant that Kuroha would become powerful in the future. Perhaps even on par with those called Mortal Sins or Emperors.
Though the boy knew this, he fought on with her. The girl had gotten a few clean blows on him. Their seemingly fast hand-to-hand combat had slowed down gradually due to their injuries.
At this point, they were in a similar state.
They both knew spells but they knew that quick casting would not suffice with the small distance they had between each other. Attempting to quick cast would be like saying that they want to get hit.
And so, they continued their blow-to-blow battle. With one punch that Kuroha landed, Li-jun returned it with a kick. With one punch that Li-jun landed, Kuroha returned it with another punch. They were matched.
If Kuroha's cat form had lasted, Li-jun would be at a disadvantage but all the damage she sustained retracted her form. Even if it did not retract, the time limit of her form was coming close.
Their hit-for-hit exchange soon looked like two drunks fighting each other. Both their faces were bleeding severely and their legs were shaking from the number of body shots each of them took.
[They're both on the edge! From the looks of it, this will be the final blow!]
['A truly inspiring match this has become.']
The audience sincerely watched with interest in the match. It was awkwardly eye-catching.
They both readied their fists before running at each other. They gave battle cries as they approached each other.
"GYAHHHHHHH!"
"HAAAAAAAAH!"
Suddenly, Kuroha tripped slightly and Li-jun missed his punch. Kuroha used all of her strength to stop herself from falling and thrust her fist into his gut. Li-jun reached his threshold of pain and fainted, falling to the ground.
Kuroha stood above his body, motionless.
[That luck! I guess luck is also a weapon on the battlefield! Well, anyway, the winner of this match is--]
['Hold it.']
Sakai ordered, looking at Kuroha from the monitor.
[What is it now?]
['The match ends in a tie.']
[Huh? What do you--]
Then, Ravi looked at Kuroha from the monitor as well. She was motionless. The girl did not move. Blood seeped from her injuries and her facial expression seemed almost hollow and empty. With that punch, she used her more damaged hand, making her also reach her threshold of pain.
It was lucky for Li-jun.
Kuroha had fainted on her feet.
['The match ends in a tie! It ends in a draw, overall!']
The audience began speaking up. They did not know what would happen next. Of course, this event was held so that the first-years would be able to spar against other students from different schools but there needed to be a winner.
Suddenly, the holographic screen switched.
It showed the principal, Weissmann Mori with a microphone in his hand.
["Hello, everyone. I am the principal of Altheria Academy's Japan Branch, Weissmann Mori."]
The audience went silent as he introduced himself.
["I'm sure you're all just as surprised as I am, that there was a tie, I mean."]
He smiled.
Sakai glared at his hologram.
["So, in agreement with the principal of Altheria Academy's Chinese Branch, Aiguo Lee, we have decided on a final match. If this match ends in a tie, we shall leave it as that."]
"A final match?"
This spread through the audience like wildfire.
["Shoya Sasaki Vs Qin Zhang. We shall see the results for ourselves. Shoya and Qin, get yourselves to the changing room, both Aiguo and I are excited to see the results."]
Weissmann's tone changed slightly and turned sadistic toward the end.
When the two images of Shoya and Qin appeared, people around Shoya turned to look at him. The boy in question glared at the hologram of Weissmann, which returned onto the holographic screen.
(That bastard really...)
His match would decide it all.
Shoya Sasaki versus Qin Zhang.
Who would win?
Well, people would know in due time.