The days moved like the wind and it was already the D-day.
After 2 days of anticipation and a lot of hyping on the parts of the citizens of Obedin City, and a lot of training on the parts of the participating students, the first day for the semifinal battles finally came.
All of Obedin City and beyond gathered as one to spectate the ending stages of the graduation tournament as it was broadcasted throughout the city.
The commentator came alive as he introduced the 2 contestants.
"Here we are again for the semifinals of the graduation tournament".
"Today is going to be a special day for us as we welcome 2 of the favorites ranked at the very top of the graduating students to the battle arena for their epic clash".
"Give it up as we welcome John Naga and Turan Elliot to the battle arena".
The cheers from the spectators were earth-shaking as the 2 elevators approached the battle arena.
The spectators were notably divided into 2 factions, with the majority supporting Turan while a sizeable number of them supported John.
The excitement and emotions in the air at this moment made the pressure of the semifinals increase, everything was at stake in the semifinals.
Clang!
Once the elevators touched down on the arena, John and Turan finally came out as their eyes clashed immediately. 2 distinct mystic energies seemed to briefly collide in the air in a short tug-of-war struggle.
Throughout the past 2 days, they already studied each other in such details that they were able to make inferences from the slightest of reactions.
They just glared at each other while ignoring the noise being made by the spectators until the bell finally rang.
Gong!
Once the bell rang, Turan avoided eye contact with his opponent but like usual, John was as accurate as a neurosurgeon as he made his move just a few milliseconds after the bell rang.
In that short moment, he managed to channel his mystic energy to activate his mystic ability and the dangerous ripples soon came into effect.
Originally, Turan held his sword with both hands as he entered his sword stance but the next moment, his hands that held his sword dropped lifelessly as his eyes turned into a spooky grey color.
Like usual, John's mystic ability remained omnipotent, even the mighty Turan was pulled into an illusion in his head.
"…You were destined to lose from the beginning".
"…My mystic ability is omnipotent!"
Once Turan saw the battle arena changing, he instantly knew that he already succumbed to the mystic ability of his opponent.
Unlike Cassandra, he wasn't alarmed nor did he panic, he was as calm as a dove as he concentrated inside his head while ignoring the ramblings of his opponent to mess with his mental state.
Unlike Cassandra, his master already communicated with him and revealed the best and perfect way to counter this mystic ability which was why he was calm.
Once John dragged his opponent into the illusion world, he did not take things casually like when he fought against Cassandra.
Though Turan's mental resilience was a lot weaker than he expected, John did not leave anything to chance as he pulled his 2 knives out before breaking into a mad sprint towards his opponent.
While John sprinted towards him, still stuck in the illusion world, Turan concentrated so much until he finally made contact with his mystic energy again.
Once he made the contact, Turan smiled.
"Advanced Lightning Skill: Lightning Bolt!"
Inside the illusion world, the sky revealed a massive crack as storms seemed to gather there. The turbulence grew so strong till the skies were torn asunder to enable the descent of the mighty lightning bolt.
Boom!
Once the lightning bolt descended, the illusion world cracked and shattered.
Turan opened his eyes the next moment only to see the gleaming sharp edge of a knife rapidly closing towards his head.
Clang!
In the nick of time, Turan slashed upwards with his Triple Kill Sword and parried the attack and without wasting time, he activated the 2nd mystic effect of his mystic sword which was called the Shockwave burst.
John tried to capitalize on his advantage and continue his barrage of close-combat stabs, but the shockwave burst pushed him back the next moment.
John was affected by the attack as he coughed blood.
With this moment of reprieve, Turan was now in his domain as he held his Triple Kill Sword tighter before lunging forward to go on the offensive.
"Mystic Soul Skill: Mind Burst!"
Whoosh!
The next moment, a barely visible ripple spread from John as the center as Turan was hit without being able to dodge.
Turan staggered as his head felt like it was just hit by a massive hammer, this attack dealt damage to him as blood seeped from his nose.
The Whispers of the Soul mystic ability of the Naga family could not only use illusion attacks. They were masters of the soul; they had a myriad catalog of soul skills that could affect and deal damage to the mind apart from illusions.
As the new generation prodigy of the Naga family, John had access to all the skills that he needed and already formed his repertoire of them.
"Mystic Soul Skill: Your Greatest Fears!"
"Dagger Skill: Spinning Dagger Slash!"
John throughout all his battles till now was never forced to use more than dragging into an illusion, but now, for the first time, he finally went all out.
Once John activated the 2nd mystic soul skill, Turan's face contorted like he was in a great amount of agony. Veins popped in his eyes as he tried to forget his greatest fears only to face the defiance of John's evil skill.
This skill brought out his greatest fears, his greatest traumas, highlighting them before him in a way that he could not ignore.
"Ahhhhh!!!" Turan roared in frustration.
Whoosh!
By now, John already arrived beside him with his knives as he spun like a whirlwind while unleashing a barrage of knife attacks in the process.
Once Turan was slashed 3 times with blood flowing in waves out of his abdomen, the pain stimulated him into alertness.
Turan instinctively activated the defensive mystic effect of his mystic sword while he jumped backward as his eyes now had an extra look of malice in them.
Turan just saw John as an opponent before, but now he saw him as an enemy. This enemy succeeded in triggering him to an unreal state.
"Die!!!" Turan roared as he rushed back towards John.
Like his opponent, Turan no longer held back, he went all out!
"Lightning Skill: Lightning Charge!"
"Lightning Skill: Spilling Chaos!"
"Sword Skill: Repeated Spinning Slash!"
Whoosh!
Turan started spinning like a bull on steroids as his Triple Kill Sword slashed towards his opponent with lightning accompanying it.
The lightning charge skill enveloped his body with lightning, giving him additional damage advantage while increasing his charging speed while the spilling chaos filled the air with chaotic lightning streams that bombarded John.
Pairing these 2 lightning skills with his repeated spinning slash, Turan went for his opponent's head straight as John struggled to defend.
Once Turan went all out, his main attributes and battle style easily became known. He was so much different from Rex.
Unlike Rex who was a clinical swordsman who gave a lot of details to finesse and accuracy, Turan gave more emphasis to power which gave every one of his attacks such an overbearing attribute that destroyed everything.
John attacked Turan with more mind attacks but anger became the anchor that Turan relied on to withstand the lethal effects of these mind attacks.
He was so angry that though he suffered a lot from the attacks, he never gave up as his determination to eliminate his opponent instead kept on going.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Turan and John went back and forth for 5 straight minutes without any rest in-between as they inflicted each other with a lot of injuries.
After the 6th minute, Turan felt his energy depreciating, this was when he knew that he needed to take drastic action.
Turan finally decided to reveal his remaining hidden trump cards.
"Advanced Sword Skill: Triple Slashes of Death!"
"Advanced Lightning Skill: Lightning Chain!"
Once Turan activated 2 advanced skills at once, his presence changed instantly. His Triple Kill Sword glowed a bright blue as he took a step forward before unleashing 3 extremely swift sword slashes.
The first slash was aimed above John's head, the second was aimed to his left, while the last was aimed to his right, then John was trapped.
Instantly, John felt like he was being held by invisible shackles that dragged him down. This subtle use of sword domain by Turan caught John off-guard.
Just like Rex, Turan already partially unlocked his sword domain.
Once John was trapped, then the powerful advanced lightning skill finally descended. Thick chains of lightning descended on the defenseless John as they battered and thrashed the hell out of him.
John was almost fried to the bones before the watching intermediate mystic warrior intervened, John was electrocuted into a coma.
Once the intermediate mystic warrior intervened, the battle ended and silence reigned everywhere both in the spectator stands.
The graduation tournament just produced another classic.
Turan was the last man standing. He held his Triple Kill Sword tighter as he looked at his opponent. "I am the best".
The next moment, Turan coughed blood and fainted. The mental attacks from his opponent were no joke, Turan was terribly injured.