The sands of the arena danced in an array of patterns in the wind. The audience watched as two fighters exited the waiting area and walked to the opposite ends of the stadium. One strode with a cocky grin; his armor meant to give an aura of power and wealth.
Gold Bands ran along its edges, with the black steel that carried with it radiating importance. He stood across his challenger, a grin across his face. In his hands was a long silver spear with a large red orb in its tip.
He spun the spear in an attempt to flex his skill to the audience that watched from above. He twirled and spun the spear at high speeds, causing a cloud of sand to get picked up at his feet. He suddenly brought it down, cutting straight through the thick cloud of sand.
Bringing it up, the sharp edges of the spear cut through the air as the man pointed to his opponent.
The audience roared in excitement, the small act causing the crowds of the arena to bubble in anticipation. The man raised his arms, making the audience get louder and louder in excitement.
On the opposing of the arena stood another man. He appeared to be a teenager, golden eyes with black hair that flew in the wind. He wore a short-sleeved black leather tunic that the audience doubted would give any protection and long brown pants that reached just till his ankles. He held a simple shortsword that was seventeen inches in length in one hand. He had a less cocky look on his face; he was incredibly nervous in reality.
Tokita stood, calming himself down as he looked onward onto his opponent, Nolan.
As much as Tokita disliked Nolan; he knew that there was a strong possibility that Nolan was superior to him in every aspect. As such, he knew he had to come up with an actual plan of taking him down. It was a different type of fight for Tokita; in most cases, he'd win battles by going in guns blazing and watching as his opponent fell.
That wasn't an option here, though, and he knew that. He took a deep breath in, calming himself down as he could feel the heat of the sun beating into him.
Sweat dripped down the sides of his head, down to the blade of his sword that he held in his grip.
He focussed his attention, making sure to read the situation to the best of his ability like Delvam had instructed him to.
"Adapt and Overcome..." Tokita said quietly to himself as he placed his other hand on the hilt of his sword, lifting it till it was facing upward in the direction of Nolan.
Nolan continued getting an ego boost from the audience before they all quieted down from the announcer stepping onto the stage above the arena where the King sat. He coughed, clearing his voice before speaking.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the third round of the Knight Initiation is about to commence!" He screamed, the rave of the audience returning in full. They shouted, excited that a criminal hadn't fought this round like the previous rounds. Their roars emanated throughout the entire city, the vibrations from their screams reaching through the kingdom.
"Do you feel that Tokita!? That excitement that energy coursing through the entire arena!?" Nolan exclaimed, raising his arms into the sky. He slammed his spear back into the ground and pointed at Tokita.
Tokita was quiet. He knew not to let his emotions get the better of him.
"What's even better is the fact that nobody in this arena is rooting for you since none of them want some D Rank Nobody as a Knight!" Nolan exclaimed while laughing maniacally. The audience's roars drowned out the sounds of his laughter. He continued his parade of insults and laughter, and only Tokita could hear them. He could feel his anger slowly continue to build and build until he calmed himself once more.
"How long are you going to babble like an ape?" Tokita asked calmly as he placed the tip of his blade onto the ground. Their eyes locked for the first time since they had entered the arena.
Nolan was appalled; how dare lower-class filth speak to him like that? He thought. He ripped the spear out from the ground in anger and pointed it at Tokita as the audience quieted down.
The speaker cleared his voice before shouting, "Let the battle, Commence!"
Unlike the previous two fights, these two didn't wait until the other moved first. They both simultaneously charged at each other at their max speeds.
Nolan spun his spear, flipping it to its rear and slamming the blunt end of it against Tokita's sword. The moment their weapons made contact, Tokita could tell the difference in the quality of their weapons. Tokita's sword was given to him by the guards for the specific purpose of the Initiation. From its design, he could tell it wasn't made to last very long.
Nolan, noticing the weakness of Tokita's sword, smiled smugly as he flipped the spear and began rapidly slashing at Tokita. He swung fast, quickly cutting into the air in Tokita's direction at speeds that surpassed the monster that killed Charles.
Tokita parried, or at least tried to; Nolan's strikes ended up being too large in number and began to seep through Tokita's defense. The length of the spear ended up cutting into Tokita's side, making him grunt in pain. Tokita continued on, continuing to block Nolan's spear strikes until Nolan suddenly stopped, stabbing the spear into the ground and using it as a pseudo pole vault, vaulting into the air and kicking Tokita straight in the chest, causing him to get knocked back several feet.
The audience cheered once again from that act, Nolan glowing in the ego boost.
Tokita was crouched near the ground, holding his chest. The clothing he had received from Charles didn't do much in terms of defense. He could feel the blood rising in his throat, be he held it down as he grunted and stood back up, sword in front of him.
Nolan looked back down at him, gripping the spear and tearing it out from the ground. "I'd thought I'd put enough force into that to crush your ribcage; looks like I'll really have to hurt you!" Nolan screamed as he sprinted at Tokita while laughing maniacally once again.
Tokita charged, swinging his sword twice in quick succession, both times being blocked by Nolan. Nolan spun his spear, flipping it till the tip was closer to his right hand. He gripped the spear and began thrusting it at high speeds.
In half a second, Nolan had thrust his spear four times, each time getting parried by Tokita. Nolan clicked his tongue, going even faster, thrusting eight times in a quarter of a second, with Tokita blocking each and every time.
Tokita looked on with a smug look on his face before Nolan spun the spear around and bashed Tokita in the side of the head with the blunt end of his spear.
Tokita started seeing stars, his vision blacking out as he barely caught himself hitting the floor. He looked up at Nolan with blood pouring down the sides of his head. At this point, only one thought was pushing him forward at this point, and what was that?
The chance of Akane watching the fight.
Tokita lunged forward, slamming his blade downward as Nolan blocked with the center of his spear, holding both ends in his hand.
"Did you think something as pathetic as that would-"
Nolan was cut off by Tokita, who delivered a powerful sidekick into his chest and sent him backward. Due to Nolan's quality armor, the kick itself practically did no actual physical damage, but it did do something.
In the back of Nolan's mind, was the thought that Tokita had managed to hit him. An ordinary peasant had managed to touch him.
Nolan gripped his spear, throwing it at full speed in Tokita's direction. It cut straight through the air, with it landing just in front of Tokita's feet.
Tokita looked down at it for just a split second, before he looked up and saw Nolan rushing at him, punching him straight in the jaw. Tokita dropped to the ground, dazed beyond belief, unable to feel his legs.
Nolan kicked Tokita in the stomach, making him cough out blood.
Nolan continued his assault, stomping Tokita's stomach. Soon Nolan grew exhausted and moved to grab his spear once he believed Tokita had lost the fight.
As Nolan moved to grab his spear, Tokita got up, eyes bloodshot as blood poured from his mouth. He brought his sword to his side, thrusting it forward straight into Nolan's chest. Nolan's armor stopped the sword, but that didn't stop Tokita's determination. He continued to push until the blade slipped and cut into Nolan's side.
Nolan grunted, attempting to punch Tokita away, but Tokita got even closer, and smashed his skull directly into Nolan's.
They both recoiled, falling to the ground. Tokita groaned, struggling to get up. The impact of Nolan stomping him out was still present in his body. He rolled over, looking up and seeing Nolan absolutely pissed. Blood poured down his skull, dripping into the sand below.
Nolan grits his teeth, standing up and shouting at Tokita.
"H-How dare you, y-you fucking ingrate!" He screamed as he clutched his head.
Tokita charged at him, spitting blood into his eyes. He threw his arm back, below slamming a savage haymaker into Nolan's jaw.
Nolan caught himself before he fell, punching Tokita square across the face. Tokita took the blow, punching twice now. Nolan blocked with his armor-patted arms before Tokita gripped his head and bashed his knee against Nolan's skull.
Nolan had blood spilling out of his nose and mouth at this point, along with the feeling of his teeth coming loose.
Nolan screamed, crashing his fist into Tokita's face, causing even more blood to spill onto the sand. He balled his other hand, throwing a punch that narrowly avoided Tokita's face. He threw a cross, which Nolan blocked with his other hand. Nolan brought his foot up, slamming his metal boot into Tokita's chest, knocking the wind out of him while simultaneously sending him several feet away.
Tokita continued to cough up blood, his head getting dizzy from the blood loss. He scrambled around, grabbing his sword and swinging diagonally at Nolan. Nolan dodged, rolling to the side and grabbing his spear.
The two once again engaged in weapon combat, both of them swinging at high speeds, causing sparks to fly around the entire arena. They screamed, practically going evenly matched.
The audience watched in a mix of horror and amusement as the fight continued. In just a short amount of time, the both of them were covered in blood, screaming their hearts out.
The King raised an eyebrow in amusement. He pondered a question in his head before speaking it aloud. "The report stated that Chronbridge had B rank Potential while Oziro had D- rank Potential, why is Chronbridge having any difficultly?" The King asked in mild questioning. The Other Knight Captains that sat upon the watching area spoke to each other in quiet whispers. None of them knew how to answer that question. Even if Nolan hadn't unlocked his catalyst yet, him struggling against someone with such a low rank shouldn't have even been a possibility.
Back in the arena, sparks continued to get blasted around the stadium, mixing with the blood and sweat that coursed off the two fighters. Nolan stepped forward, spinning his spear till it bashed Tokita in the side, Tokita grunted, tanking it as he did a forward kick, knocking Nolan away from him.
Nolan coughed and wheezed, eyes glazed over. "This...This shouldn't be happening! You're some common trash; I shouldn't need to get serious against you!" Nolan screamed out.
Tokita wanted to make an arrogant remark back, but he was conserving all the energy he had left.
Nolan's hands glowed as he touched the sand beneath him, the white light shining brightly. "Float Away!" He exclaimed as the sand began to float into the air, a bit anticlimactic, still enough to impair Tokita's vision partially.
Nolan charged forward, screaming, before Tokita cut through the dust cloud, directly into Nolan's chest plate, splitting it in half.
Tokita cussed, the edge of his blade beginning to get brittle.
"Y-You fucking peasant! You ruined my armor!" Nolan screamed. He shouted obscenities at Tokita as he grabbed a handful of dust, white energy coating it once again. "F-Float!" Nolan screamed, chucking the handful of sand that floated in front of Tokita's face.
Tokita repeated his previous attack, slicing through the dust cloud and kicking Nolan straight in the chest.
Nolan crashed to the ground, getting up with the help of his spear.
"Y-You bastard, I-I'll-"
"You're extremely miserable; you know that?" Tokita stated with an expressionless face. He pointed his sword down at Nolan, rage building up in Nolan's mind. "Is that your Catalyst? The ability to make things float?" Tokita stated, chuckling to himself.
Tokita wanted to laugh out loud, but he knew not to get cocky; ignoring the fact laughing hurt a little too much. He brought the sword up like an executioner about to deliver their finishing blow.
That was until an explosion caused his ears to ring.
Tokita couldn't tell what happened; two seconds was all it took for him to get sent crashing into the walls of the arena. The gasp of the crowd was loud, but he couldn't even hear it. The smell of smoke and fire filled his nostrils as he could feel them flaring. The hits he took earlier felt like nothing now, a burning feeling moving across his skin.
In front of him, a large ball of smoke and fire slowly dissipated; as Nolan stood, with the orb in his spear glowing bright red.
A grin grew upon Nolan's face before it was turned into a distasteful look of hatred.
"Damn you...making me use this!" Nolan shouted as Tokita still attempted to gather himself.
Tokita attempted to steady his breathing, getting on one knee as he looked forward at Nolan with one eye. He looked down at his body, and his eye widened.
The clothing on the left side of his shirt was disintegrated entirely, with his left arm scarred and burned.
He grimaced; as the pain suddenly hit him. He was pumped full of adrenaline, but it wasn't enough to keep his pain receptors down.
The King looked down from his seat; and sighed. "I had hoped my mind was playing a trick on me when I had first laid eyes on Chronbridge." The King stated.
"What do you mean, My King?" One of the Knights that guarded him asked.
"That spear that Chronbridge is wielding; it's the same spear his father used. It's a B rank Celestial Weapon." The King let out a deep sigh, his disappointment growing.
"W-What!? But Chronbridge wasn't listed as using a Celestial Weapon!" The Knight exclaimed in confusion.
"His Father, Veran Chronbridge, was always a snake. He must've bribed the Sisters to say that Chronbridge had a B Rank Catalyst; when in reality he had a B Rank Celestial Weapon." The King stated blankly, scratching at his beard.
"But Nolan already has his Catalyst unlocked; why Bribe the Sisters to lie and say it's a B Rank?" The Knight questioned.
"You saw Chronbridge's Catalyst; it just makes objects float. Do you really think that's B worthy?" The King answered, returning his attention to the fight.
Tokita forced himself off the ground and leaned against the arena walls to stabilize himself. He gripped his sword with all the strength he had in his right arm, turning to Nolan.
"What the hell did you just hit me with?" Tokita asked, blood completely covering his left eye. He let out heavy breaths of air, each breath feeling like he was inhaling razors.
"You won't live to find out, commoner," Nolan shouted, rushing at Tokita.
Nolan thrusted his spear forward before Tokita rolled his shoulders back and blocked with his sword. Tokita brought his foot back before slamming it into Nolan's shin.
Nolan screamed behind his teeth, grunting as he punched Tokita straight in the face before planting the flat end of the spear into the ground, using it as a pole once again to knee Tokita directly in the chin.
Tokita's brain danced around in his skull, like a pinball machine. His consciousness felt like it was being thrown around a room.
Nolan ripped the spear from the blood-soaked sand, bringing it back like he was preparing to thrust it once more.
The orb inside the spear glowed; before Nolan thrusted the spear forward directly at Tokita.
Tokita brought his sword up to his chest to block it, with the tip of the spear clashing with the flat end of Tokita's blade.
Their clash wouldn't last long, however, as the orb reached its full brightness, before releasing another powerful explosion; directly in their faces.
Tokita could feel the wind being forced out of his lungs as his sword snapped in two. He got launched again, crashing through a pillar of the arena and slamming into the ground several times before stopping.
He was on his back, looking up towards the sky as the sun slowly fell.
It reminded him of back home when he'd skip school and just lay on the rooftops with Akane, enjoying the bliss.
He sucked in a deep breath of air, rolling onto his stomach and pushing himself off the ground.
Nolan cut through the smoke, his eyes red from blood continuously dripping down into them. It looked like Tokita's punches actually did some damage.
"Still kicking? Look's like you peasants have some survivor's luck!" Nolan shouted, leaping into the air in an attempt to stab Tokita.
Tokita stepped to the side, kicking Nolan in his chest.
Nolan brought the spear around, stabbing it forward.
Tokita in an attempt to redirect it ended up blocking it with his hand. By having the spear stab through it.
Tokita shouted in pain, biting his lip as he pushed till he was close. He brought his head forward and slammed his skull into Nolan, causing him to stagger.
Tokita continued, bringing up the half-sword and stabbing it into Nolan's shoulder. Nolan cursed out, bringing the spear up as the orb inside of it glowed once again. He stabbed the spear into the ground as an explosion erupted from inside the earth itself.
It blasted the two of them back, covering them both in the burning sand.
Despite this being the most prolonged and most bloodied battle of the day, the audience loved it. It was a source of entertainment that they only got once a year.
Tokita groaned, feeling the sand burning into his skin. It wasn't actually on fire, but the explosion had made it feel like billions of specks of red hot metal.
Nolan shouted, dashing forward at Tokita. With one hand, he used his catalyst to cause the burning specks of sand to float in his grasp, before throwing them at Tokita.
Unlike last time, this sand could actually be weaponized. It burnt into Tokita's skin, with him grunting in pain.
Nolan slashed with his spear, as Tokita leaned back to avoid it. He crawled away, flipping onto his feet.
Nolan had stabbed through his left hand earlier, and his entire left arm had been burnt black at this point; Tokita knew that arm wouldn't be useable for the rest of the fight.
Nolan rushed forward, releasing a continuous barrage of smaller explosions as Tokita could only dodge. Nolan's entire fighting style changed into a more barbaric form. He continued to swing his spear aimlessly, releasing explosions as he did so.
Tokita saw his sword on the ground, so he rolled across the ground and grabbed it. He turned back to Nolan, avoiding another wave of red-hot sand floating in his direction.
"Let's try something new!" Nolan shouted, charging up another explosion in his spear. This time, instead of just letting it explode, he launched a red ball of pure energy toward Tokita.
"If that hits me, I'm dead!" Tokita thought to himself as he narrowly avoided it. It crashed into the sand, creating a mini-mushroom cloud in the arena.
The audience coughed from the smoke, wheezing while pushing it away.
Tokita could feel his body growing weak, he knew he needed to finish it soon.
Without saying anything, Nolan thought the same thing.
They both sprinted at each other, Nolan thrusting his spear forward as Tokita blocked and grinded the spear's edge along with his sword, sparks flying everywhere. He roared, bringing the half-sword up and stabbing it into Nolan's arm.
Nolan screamed, charging another explosion in his spear. He brought it down, hitting the sand as another explosion blasted right in their faces once again.
That didn't stop Tokita's assault though.
He pushed forward, through the smoke cloud. Blood poured from every corner of his body that hadn't been cauterized. The sword he was using had been blasted away from the explosion, so all he had left were his fists.
Nolan attempted to charge another explosion, but Tokita punched him right across the face, causing Nolan to crash to the ground.
Tokita vaulted on top of him, screaming as he continued to wail at his face.
"W-Wait...sto-" Nolan attempted to speak but was punched across the face. He screamed in pain as Tokita relentlessly bombarded his face with strikes.
With his right, he'd punch; causing blood to splatter against the sand.
With his left, he'd punch; causing one of Nolan's teeth to hit the sand.
He'd continue, never stopping.
His wounds tore open, blood pouring through several holes in his body. His skin had been charred black, but that didn't stop him.
He had decided from the moment he entered that he would win.
So, mercy was no longer an option.
He screamed, punching him again,
and again,
and again,
and again,
until the whites of his knuckles were visible from the tearing of his muscle and skin. He finally stopped, no longer feeling any movement in his arms.
But that was more than enough.
In Tokita's world, it had only been a minute of time.
To the outside world, Tokita had beat Nolan for a continuous ten minutes; never stopping.
Tokita looked up, not to the King or the audience; to the sky.
And he screamed. In pain. In victory. In everything.
The roars of the audience were loud, but he didn't care. He slowly fell backward, his adrenaline finally running out. He hit the sand with a hard thud, but he'd already been out by then.
The audience raved as an annoyed Akane left the shadows of the stands.