Although the festivities went through the night, a lot of people still woke up early in the next day to work. Looking very sleepy and tired. But they went to work since they only had to do so until the afternoon since the whole capital was going to stop for the tournament. While Aion was having his breakfast, he wondered how things were going in the borders…
"They advertised this whole thing in all the kingdom, so it won't surprise me if our crazy neighbors know all about it," Aion thought. "This would be the golden chance to invade…"
After breakfast, Aion went to the garden and found his brothers talking with his father. As usual, Lexus looked calm as ever, but Aion could tell that despite that thick layer that was his poker face, he looked a bit guilty for teaching something like Inner Force to someone that wasn't only his kids. Still, the others were questioning him about that.
"You all have done a good job winning in the first round…" Lexus said. "That being said, I need to apologize for hiding from you all about the fact that I taught Vangel some swordsmanship and Inner Force. This is no excuse, but I figured out that I should help him a few years ago due to his wild and reckless nature. I had a feeling that he would put his life at risk, way beyond the point that the guards could prevent him from losing it."
"I fear that will be even more reckless because of that…" Henri said and then sighed.
"There is that possibility…" Lexus said. "That is why someone needs to break his nose before he gets carried away. He is talented and a bit hard-working. Still, he needs to understand that everyone has a role in this world, and his role isn't to fight."
As expected of Lexus, that was a dangerous and high-handed thing to say. Most people couldn't say such things one after the other… still, he had a point. The prince was too reckless, and the king won't live forever, so he needed to grow up, or his actions will turn the whole kingdom into a realm of chaos.
Once again, Aion spent the morning chilling before heading to the Colosseum at noon. The rounds will get shorter and shorter, but it was clear that the last round would be on the last day while some others would happen on the same day. Probably not that day or the day after, but soon enough.
In any case, Aion had planned to watch the matches from a high place, but the atmosphere got annoying when he looked for a place in the seats of the audience that he could use. He couldn't care less about other people's prejudice, but he feared that he would snap and then kick someone in the face if he had to endure that for too long.
In any case, while the numbers of matches that day was smaller, those who had won were more skilled, so some matches lasted for a while longer. In the end, Georges and Elio won, but they were going to fight each other next. As if that wasn't enough, Philip and Lexus won, and they were going to fight as well… the next day will be rough for the Kresnik family…
Usually, Henri would laugh at that when his brothers showed up, but he was silently watching things in the corner of the room. He sure was focused on the next match… Although he said those things yesterday, he sure didn't want to lose.
Eventually, the referee called his name and Jagger. Henri showed a nervous smile while passing nearby before he picked up his shield and a sword. Jagger chose the tame gauntlets as the previous day. Aion nodded at his brother and even showed him a brofist to show him that he would be avenged, but Henri assumed that it was just his silly way of encouragement.
After they left the waiting room, Aion approached the arena as much as possible to watch the fight and to do something if he had to. He didn't want to believe that Jagger would try to kill his elder brother for some reason, but the guy never passed to Aion any good vibes, so it was hard to be sure.
Henri assumed his stance and then prepared to fight. Jagger did the same, and he looked like he wanted to finish things on the first hit, just like before. However, when the referee gave the sign for the start of the battle, they charged at the same time and collided in the middle of the arena. The impact made all the dust and sand around them fly away, and the noise also silenced the audience.
Aion saw some steam leaving Henri's body, and he could tell that his brother used Inner Force… thanks to that, he recovered from the impact first and then swung his sword toward the chest of the enemy, but Jagger blocked it with his other glove. As if he had predicted that, Henri turned around insanely fast and hit Jagger's neck with a roundhouse kick… or so he had planned, Jagger reacted in time to block the attack with his arm, but he showed a slightly annoyed expression.
"Henri is stronger while Inner Force is active, but…" Aion furrowed his eyebrows.
Henri charged at Jagger and attacked his right side with his shield. Once again, he used his arms to block the attack. Still, this time he didn't have the chance to block another kick that Henri thrust toward his belly like a spear. Vangel bent his body forward and was pushed some meters backward, but he didn't fall.
"I added some kicks while we practiced years ago… it seems that he trained those a lot over the years," Aion thought. "I wonder if the others did the same…"
In any case, Jagger was also pretty good at taking damage, but Aion wasn't so sure about Henri. He probably got hit in a few spars over the years, but not anything that almost knocked him down… so the spar will get complicated if things drag out for too long.