"Okay, we have a thrilling match for all of you viewers today!" the announcer informs the crowd once he steps into the arena.
The audience cheered excitedly, calling out names and making haywire like a bunch of hooligans. Surprisingly, even though the match starts at nine in the morning, the coliseum is already filled with spectators. Most of them are Humans, Elves, and Sylphs. At the top of the arena, Flare could see the Underworld King, Owen, observing from the topmost balcony. At the right-bottom side, she could see the reverend keeping to himself, and on the left of the terrace, three people were watching. Two of them are men, and the other is a woman. For some reason, Flare feels she has seen the woman somewhere.
"First, we have Jane, who managed to zip straight to this session during her debut! Please welcome our golden contender!"
Flare moves up the arena, and from up there, she can see her opponent, already observing her.
"Her opponent will be our fiery, hot pyromancer, Solaris! She currently holds a one-win record!"
Solaris steps onto the ring after her name is called out. Flare is on her guard, observing her opponent for sudden movements.
"Thanks to her quick outburst and fame, I know she is a fire user. In terms of sheer experience and power, I still have a long way to go."
"She looks stronger than Cross. I'll have to use tricks and keep on the move until I see an opening!" Flare thought and got into her stance.
Solaris, who is observing her, is quite startled by her choice.
"…I see…"
"So you didn't get the cold feet, huh? You'd better make sure you won't regret this, no matter what happens, Princess," Solaris warns Flare.
"Eh?" Flare mumbles.
"…What? Of course, any fool would know that your golden aura would represent royalty," Solaris chuckles slightly.
"Well, I guess we are even in that," Flare thought.
At least one of them knew something about the other.
"This is a duel I wanted, so you'd better fight seriously, Flare," Solaris reminds Flare before the fight starts.
"Of course. You'd better fight seriously. I'll turn the tables on you," Flare responds.
While the two of them were chatting, the referee was already on stage, standing between them.
"Now, without further ado…let the match…"
"BEGIN!"
In that instant, Flare immediately jumps to the side, trying to get an opening on Solaris. Not satisfied by the absence of one, Flare continues to jump around, circling Solaris before taking a few steps backward. The pyromancer is still standing there, observing Flare.
"Oi, oi, is that blondie okay?" a spectator whispers, which happens to be heard by Weiss, who is also watching the match.
"She seems kind of weak…"
Weiss remains silent with his arms crossed.
"You must be confident with your legs. You have my respect, Princess," Solaris states before appearing in front of Flare.
Flare just choked, unable to comprehend what happened before her. Without warning, she suddenly felt a sharp pain behind her neck before hearing a loud 'Smack!' sound. Solaris had hit the back of her neck, which inevitably can make her pass out.
"AND IT LOOKS LIKE JANE IS ALREADY DOWN!" a person who acts as a commentator announces from outside the arena.
The crowd cheers in excitement. Some are booing Flare and Solaris due to the lack of excitement in their eyes. However, Flare does not have time to listen to the crowd as she is desperate to gain an edge in the fight after the display of strength from Solaris.
"…But your basic magic skills are still dull," Solaris adds.
"A…ah…ah…" Flare chokes out.
"You did well for a beginner, but I am afraid your journey ends here," Solaris concludes the match.
Flare fell face-first onto the floor without the support of her hands. Her vision was blurry, and she couldn't think straight. She continues making choking sounds, trying to get oxygen to flow into her brain and let her regain sight. Her arms tried to push her back up, but she still couldn't see anything.
"Just stop there. I hit you hard enough to make your brain bounce around."
"Do you understand? You stand no chance against me. Might as well give up now," Solaris declares her win.
Flare couldn't see where she was due to her blurry vision, but she slowly regained her speaking ability.
"…No…No way…" she spouts, refusing to give up.
Immediately, Solaris kicks Flare in the head, blasting the girl away to the arena's edge. Luckily, somehow, Flare managed to block the kick with her shied. Nevertheless, the impact was strong enough to push her away from the center of the arena. Flare could hear something snap when she stopped the attack before feeling a sharp, prickling pain in her left arm. When she tried to move the arm, the pain increased. It was so painful that Flare nearly screamed, but she did not.
"Think about it, will you? If you surrender now, you'll still be in decent shape before your next fight. Though I doubt a broken arm will heal that fast. There's no reason to be this stubborn, brat," Solaris taunts Flare with a deep, intimating voice.
"…My…My arm broke?" Flare murmurs, trying to get a good look at her arm.
Sadly, her vision is still blurry. Thus, she cannot confirm anything visually.
"Just surrender."
"…I cannot surrender-"
Angered by Flare's persistence, Solaris grabs her neck and lifts her high until Flare can stand on her own two feet. However, before Flare can do anything, the pyromancer hits her in the gut. The sharp pain doubles Flare over as she grovels on the floor.
"AGAIN, JANE IS DOWN!"
"Surrender," Solaris repeats herself.
Shaking, Flare desperately tries to push herself back up. Flare placed her right arm and made herself until she could kneel. Slowly, she raises her other leg and pushes herself up by pushing her knee. However, Solaris again hits her in the gut before she can stand up completely. Flare again grovels onto the ground, and Solaris stands beside her, watching her silently.
"…You fool! Just surrender! You still have another chance!" a spectator in the crowd yells at Flare, telling her to give up.
"That man is just an idiot. If he were in her position, even he would not surrender," Weiss thought.
"Still…"
Solaris kicks Flare in the gut, blasting her to the center of the ring. Flare rolls uncontrollably, but she still has not screamed in pain. The impact of her broken arm moving around and getting squeezed multiple times onto the floor triples her pain.
"…Yield this fight, Flare! You're heading towards suicide!" Weiss grits his teeth as he watches the fight.
Solaris continues to punch and beat Flare mercilessly for fifteen continuous minutes. Flare vomited saliva and blood, shouted, and got bruised all over, but she still had not surrendered; even the crowd grew unpleasant to watch the fight continuously and just betted on Solaris winning. Isaac is silently watching from above with an obstinate look on his face.
"I like her spirit, but she is going to die there," Treyton states with a slight tone of sympathy.
"…Says the womanizer that never takes responsibility for his 'urges,'" Angel teases Treyton.
"Still, she is just plain idiotic. She should have given up fifteen minutes ago when she was knocked down the first time," Hawke adds.
"Remind me, why are you here and not up there?" Angel asks Hawke.
"He said he wants to observe this fight alone," Hawke answers.
"…I just hope Elania comes back with good news. It has been two days since Alward left," Treyton spoke.
"Haa…I hate having to wait…" the man sighs with a straight face.
"…Heh, now you sound like some teenage girl with a crush," Angel teases Treyton again, smiling.
"Hmm, he's being very feminine today," Hawke supports Angel's theory.
"Eh? What did you say?" Treyton blushes before flipping out.
The balcony they are in became louder all of a sudden. However, they were not loud enough for the crowd's attention to deviate from the brutal fight. Right now, Flare is lying face-first on the ground, with only her forehead supporting her shaking body.
"I'm sure you are in too much pain to listen but hear me out anyway," Solaris snorts, sitting in front of Flare as the girl just glances at her while holding her broken arm.
"I am a descendant from a clan of pyromancers in Cantor," she began telling her life story.
"From the day I was born, I was forced to endure harsh training to master the art of magic and fire. I got burnt skin, blisters, 3rd-degree burns, and for eighteen years, I have trained my body and technique without rest."
"By the time I was your age, I had already beaten countless fools like you. Fools who would not stop even though they know their lives would be on the line," Solaris boasts.
"Your shield is damaged, and your sword is chipped. It looks to me you did not use it carefully…"
"Solaris is trying to convince our contender to surrender. Huh, she is warming my heart," the commentator announces.
"Tch…" Solaris clicks her tongue.
"Heh, that's nothing to brag about, woman," Weiss thought.
"At this point, you cannot defeat me in combat," Solaris taunts Flare, creating a fireball on her left hand.
"I'm trying to be nice here."
Weiss is still watching the fight, and suddenly, he smiles.
"Admit defeat already—," Solaris pushes the agenda, before suddenly receiving a kick to the face.
Flare had used the time for Solaris to brag about waiting for an opening, and at that exact moment when Weiss smiled, she took the opportunity. Solaris did not block the attack and received a forced kick to the face. Flare groans in pain since her arm flailed when she kicked Solaris, increasing her pain. Solaris blasted backward and knocked the back of her head onto the floor.
"Hah hah hah!" suddenly, someone laughs five seats in front of Weiss.
"That 'POW!' is what you get for boasting around, Big Sis Solaris!" Jojo laughs.
For some reason, Jojo's laugh caused some of the crowd also to laugh, though most of them tried to hold it back to prevent getting burned by Solaris.
"Ow…damn it!" Flare hisses, holding her arm.
She quickly stood back up, and the crowd cheered for her. Even the Underworld King, Owen himself claps his hand in amazement.
"My head and sight's cleared a bit, after the constant pain and long explanation," Flare nags at Solaris.
The crowd cheered for Flare and clapped their hands in amazement.
"…That girl is nothing to be stepped on. True, a hit to the neck can temporarily paralyze you, permanently if hard enough. So, she uses the pain to jumpstart her nerves and to let more adrenaline flow into her body," Jojo thought in his head after watching for some time.
"I thought of that, but I nearly fell into the ones who thought she would kill herself…" he continues thinking.
However, Weiss, who is at the back, thinks otherwise.
"…She is not smart enough to do that. Or…maybe she is; she doesn't know how to apply that in a fight," Weiss wondered.
"If you are not trying to kill me earlier, this fight isn't about who is stronger. It's about who would surrender first," Flare states at the downed Solaris.
Solaris slowly stands up and faces Flare.
"I let you kick me on purpose," she said with a straight face, blood flowing from her nose.
Again, Jojo laughs.
"You just don't understand, don't you? This is not a warning; it is an ultimatum," Solaris declares while wiping off the blood from her nose.
Solaris immediately creates a spinning orb of fire in her hand.
"If that is too hard for you to understand, looks like I will have to scorch your pretty face alive," Solaris warns Flare.
"WOAH, IT LOOKS OUR BELOVED FIERY CONTENDER FINALLY DECIDED TO GET SERIOUS!"
"Once again, surrender."
The entire crowd is looking at Flare, who remains silent. Perhaps she is in awe of the glowing fire orb or terrified. Nobody knows what she is thinking until…
"I won't accept that!" Flare states with a straight face.
When she said that, the whole coliseum just paused. No words are spoken, and no sound pops out, only the breeze of the wind and the smell of sweat and blood. Even Weiss's jaw dropped down, amazed by her self-centredness, and stupidity. Solaris makes a puzzled face, feeling mixed by Flare's response, but clearly, she is awestruck.
"…I don't want to get my face burnt off, but I still would not surrender!" Flare adds with a confident and dignified tone.
Solaris is still awestruck.
"Hey…do you even understand your situation, bitch?!" Solaris nags at Flare.
The audience bursts into laughter. The brutal atmosphere from before suddenly becomes so much lighter. Owen, Treyton, Hawke, and Angel also laughed. Reverend Isaac smiles for at least 30 milliseconds before returning to his straight face.
"…Excuse me…" Owen chuckles from his seat, covering his mouth.
The Underworld King is trying to prevent himself from laughing.
"You don't get to make demands! Are you trying to insult me?!" Solaris continues nagging.
"TAKE THIS!"
Without warning, Solaris hurls the glowing orb at Flare amidst the audience, who are still laughing. The atmosphere returns to normal. However, this time, Flare is ready. She instantly used magic to create a mud wall to block the attack. The fireball directly hits the wall. As Flare stood behind it, she could see the edges crack, but ultimately, they managed to block the attack. Solaris covers her hand in a flame and continuously hurls fireballs at the wall. The pyromancer is trying to flush Flare out, not realizing she is creating a debris cloud.
Suddenly, a pillar made of earth appears from below the floor and hurls Solaris towards the mud wall at high speed. Solaris was unprepared for the attack, and the post hit her directly at her back. After that, she smashes the mud wall and destroys it into pieces. When she crashed through the wall, Solaris created more debris, but she could still see who was in front of her. Flare is already waiting for her there with her chipped sword. Flare is already swinging the blade to deliver a damaging blow to Solaris, but Solaris quickly raises her leg and tries to kick Flare's left lower ribs. However, Flare blocks her kick with her broken arm. Despite tremendous pain, Flare immediately creates electricity in her right hand and blasts Solaris's left shoulder. Solaris directly covers her left side with fire to block the attack, but the energy is so vital that it grazes Solaris's left shoulder.
"…AND JANE FINALLY LAUNCHES A COUNTER ATTACK!!"
Withstanding the pain, Flare held her broken arm, but Solaris did not give her a chance. Solaris quickly spouts flame from her hands, burning everything she points.
"…Hold it together, your pride and soul!" Flare said to herself.
She immediately blasts Flare with another bolt of lightning, but this time, the two energy attacks collide and cancel each other out.
"Cling onto it! Hang it tightly!"
Flare swings the sword again, and Solaris attempts to block it with her hands. Before the blade comes into contact with her hands, Solaris instantly heats her hand, regulates enough energy, and blasts the sword into pieces.
"It's over!" Solaris declares.
"What?"
Flare is still swinging her arm despite only holding a hilt.
"Protect your pride at all costs!" Flare says inside her head and hits Solaris's face with the hilt in her hand.
She punched Solaris so hard that it scarred her face and temporarily dazed the pyromancer. Solaris blindly tries to blast fire from her hands, but Flare slaps her face multiple times. After landing a fury of punches, Flare arches back and hits the top of Solaris's head with the base of the hilt. Solaris vomits blood from her mouth and again tries to hit Flare blindly, but Flare instantly hits her first.
"Don't give her the chance to fight back."
"Don't give her a moment to breathe."
"There won't be another chance…"
Flare said all that to herself as she relentlessly hit Solaris with a barrage of attacks.
"If I don't finish her here, I'll lose!"
Flare immediately charges a lightning bolt in her hand.
"IT ENDS HERE!" Flare states and lunges towards Solaris.
However, at that instant, Solaris manages to regain consciousness and immediately forms a spinning fire orb in her hand, the fire orb she initially created. Quickly, she gets back on her feet and lunges straight at Flare. She also boosted her lunge by shooting fire from the back of her body.
"…Don't kid yourself, brat!" Solaris roars, aiming to blast Flare away with the orb.
However, despite calling Flare a brat, there is not even a slight expression of annoyance on her face. Instead, for some reason, Solaris seemed astounded by Flare.
"I show my respect anew, Princess Flare," she states inside her head.
"…Until the very end, you never lost your will to fight."
"But…"
Flare adds more power to the fire orb in her hand. The flames spin more intensely than before, and the whole ring felt warmer.
"You still won't win."
Both of them raise their arm, aiming at each other. The two dense energies collide with one another and create a powerful explosion. The center of the ring shatters into piles of rubble, and a powerful shockwave just blew everyone surrounding the arena.
"Hey!"
"What the heck?"
Shockwave after shockwave appears and blasts the crowd continuously with powerful sound waves and wind.
"Man…seriously?"
"WHAT HAPPENED?" the commentator shouts for his life as he is blown to the edge of the arena.
Their food was blown away, and one had their wig flown away.
The explosion created thick debris, which prevented anyone from seeing what was happening on stage. Weiss stands up to get a better look while the crowd still covers their faces to protect their eyes from dust.
Slag, who was outside, just dropped his jaw in awe when he felt the continuous shockwaves while at the same time protecting his goods.
"…Just because something is powerful, it doesn't mean it is good, but…"
"This is amazing…" Owen gasps, amazed and bewildered.
"What was that just now…?" Treyton asks, already lying on the floor with his hair spiking upwards.
"What the heck is up with this year's contenders...?" he murmurs as he pushes himself back up.
"…Just how much energy did both of them use during that last attack?" Hawke asks himself, still standing straight despite his two colleagues were already on the floor.
"Jeez, I cannot see a thing," Angel wipes her eyes to get a better view.
"Well, that's natural since you are wearing an eyepatch...-!" Treyton jokes before he gets smacked in the face.
"HEY, WHO WON THE MATCH, HUH?" the commentator asks the referee, who was also blasted out of the ring.
The referee, still rubbing his head, slowly stands up despite his legs still vigorously shaking. He climbs back to the ring and tries to see past the smoke. The dust still lingers around before slowly dissipating after a few seconds. At that time, the referee noticed two things.
On his left side is something emitting light and heat, while on his right is an unconscious person lying face down on the floor. When the dust finally clears, and the referee confirms his sight, he immediately raises his arm.
"…"
"…"
"J-J-Jane Doe is knocked unconscious and unable to fight!"
Solaris is standing there, with fire faintly burning around her body, just looking at Flare with a mixed facial expression despite her eyes being wide open.
The referee points his arm towards the conscious pyromancer.
"Now rest, Princess Flare," Solaris declares.
"Solaris wins the match!"