As a team, we made our way back to the stands to wait for the next match. Altaria had fueled us again with her magic. We had done a lot of magic in a row, so this recovery was much needed; we only had two more matches to win. Eris announced, "Welcome back to your seats, folks. Our next match is a real treat. The first-place team from last year, Team Dream, and our runner-ups, Team Stormsurge, will go head-to-head in our losers bracket. Nobody expected them to get knocked out so early, but here they are, ready to claw their way back into the tournament."
Team Dream was on the east side, and Team Stormsurge was on the west side of the gym. I voiced my opinion, "It should be obvious, but we need Team Stormsurge to win here not only because we have a better chance against them, but because I want Pylus to win." Lysandra nodded, "I respect that girl; she really is strong. I think she'll be the difference-maker in this one." Quinn nodded, "What worries me is Prince Sorbek; that ice magic is fine-tuned, and his anti-magic armor is something to watch for. He might be in a bad matchup here, though." Lulith chuckled, "No doubt Pylus can absorb his magic and can smash him with her sword to counter. Either way, this should be an interesting match."
Nobody said it, but I think it was understood that Professor Berkley and Princeton would only play a supporting role. Unlike the other teams, their other members played such important roles. Professor Berkley sets up the play, and their other members knock them down. Likewise, Professor Princeton follows up with his team on plays they make, or tries to shield them. They both play a more hands-off role than the other professors like Professor Castweaver. I asked, "Professor Princeton, he is a dual mage, right? Why have I never seen him cast his other magic?" Everyone, but Lysandra, looked at me with surprise. Lulith chimed in, "Oh right, you never did his hellish training, so you wouldn't understand." Quinn nodded, "You'll be in for a surprise if he shows it off here. He won't use it unless he thinks he really needs to use his other magic. It's not exactly an elemental combo he can hold back with."
Eris announced the beginning of the match, "Let last year's rivalry commence! Fighters, get ready, and begin!" Both teams prepared to attack after that signal. Team Dream was in the same formation as last time, with Sorbek in the front. Team Stormsurge changed it up, though, with Mynus and Pylus on either side of Professor Berkley. In the back row were the boy with the blue hair and glasses, along with the silver-haired girl with pigtails. The battle erupted in chaos right away as Prince Sorbek stepped forward.
Looking bored, Prince Sorbek stated commandingly, "Surrender now and save us both the five minutes this will take." Professor Berkley smiled, "Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We've got to let this battle play out properly. Here, let me lighten the mood." He conjured a spell right away, a magnetic charge in his hands. His plump belly roared with laughter, "Lesson one: never get overconfident in battle. God's hands!" Despite being immune to magic, strangely, Prince Sorbek was caught off guard as his armor shot forward. His armor, seemingly with a mind of its own, pulled him forward at an extreme speed. It would appear that even the prince was caught off guard; he tried to stop himself with his sword, but it was too late.
Mynus, like a batter ready for a pitch, had his now steel bat at the ready. I guess he attributed his loss to us to his bat. It made sense since the wooden bat failed to keep Lulith out of the fight for long. He brought his new, more lethal bat forward, ready to strike down Prince Sorbek. Unbelievably, nobody had the immediate power to stop it. Mynus glowed with flames and wind as his bat heated up, ready to knock him out of the park. Mynus gave an uncharacteristic yell, "Flaming Screwball Obliteration!" The bat connected; it was a direct hit as Prince Sorbek went flying. I couldn't believe my eyes; he was headed this way, but surely the barrier would stop him? It was only then that I realized that in a cyclone of wind and fire, the barrier wouldn't hold.
Prince Sorbek smashed into the barrier before I had time to blink; I realized where he was headed too late. Quinn, with quick thinking, transformed, providing me with a shield in the nick of time. It was a shield made of his hand, but instead of rubber, the Prince landed on solid metal created from Quinn. He was practically foaming at the mouth, a bloody mess on the ground; I could not believe my eyes. That was the most devastating attack we had seen unleashed in the entire tournament. Mynus and Pylus were on another level, as the playing field had already been reduced by one, making it a 4v5, like versus Phantasm.
Medical staff rushed to the stands as the event was put on hold for a moment. Eris filled the gaps, shouting, "Please wait a second, folks; this type of display happened last year too. The barrier is very tough, but it is not invincible. The type of firepower we just witnessed was far too much for it." The medical staff carried away an unconscious Prince Sorbek; he was defeated undeniably. I don't know if the professor had planned it, but he had somehow opened the match in the best way possible for his team. Quinn, mouth still open, stated, "He might have anti-magic armor, but the armor is still made of metal... Professor Berkley might be Sorbek's biggest counter. I don't think that Prince Sorbek ever thought his armor made him such a big target for Professor Berkley. Team Stormsurge might be the best team in this entire tournament for dealing with Sorbek."
Eris resumed the battle, "Alright, let's continue; the barrier has been tended to, so unless something like that happens again, we should be alright. Back to the action!" The action resumed where it left off; Professor Berkley was ready with another attack. He yelled out, "Alright, get ready again, Mynus, send them into the stratosphere this time." He yelled out, "Gyro Ball!" A ball of silver energy shot forward towards Professor Princeton, who seemed to be contemplating something. He sighed, "I don't like using this, but with one of our biggest assets falling so quickly, you leave me no choice." He used his cane as a spring as he nimbly dodged the Gyro Ball shot. In mid-air, he seemed to combine two elements together: wind and what looked like electricity. He sighed, "Shatter like glass, Sonic Organelle Rupture!"
A loud boom that was powerful enough to shake the barrier pierced my ears; luckily, the blast was absorbed mostly into the barrier. Purple energy shot out of Professor Princeton's hands; it seemed to shatter the internal bodies of everyone in the arena, including his own allies. But most of the blast was directed at Mynus, who was now on his knees. He was holding his ears as blood could be seen coming out of most of his body. He screamed in agony as the thunderwave Princeton shot out had ruptured his eardrums, making him collapse in pain. I could see why Professor Princeton never used his magic this way; it was brutal to watch even from here. He had a look of sadness in his eyes and a tinge of regret after releasing the move. The medical staff carried Mynus away, and Professor Princeton, frowning, stated, "Truly regretful; I will try not to use anything like that again."
The rest of Team Stormsurge was still reeling from the attack, with an opening forming. Kaiser and Arthur wasted no time. They both looked at each other with similar acknowledgement; now was the time to take out the biggest threat. Professor Berkley still held his ears in pain; his glasses that had framed his face completely cracked apart. Kaiser and Arthur charged forward in unison; they used two of their strongest spells on Professor Berkley. Arthur yelled out, "Red Cardinal!" Kaiser yelled out, "Nessus Storm!" Both of these spells merged wind magic with fire and water, creating a super storm that fired towards Professor Berkley.
The cyclone of superheated water made its way towards Berkley, who was still holding his head in agony. Professor Berkley grunted, "Nylon, Rakoah!" The boy in the back with the blue hair named Rakoah started casting a spell, and so did the girl, Nylon. In unison, they followed up with a powerful spell of their own. Rakoah summoned fire and water to create his own superheated water cyclone, and Nylon followed up with wind and electricity. They both chanted in unison, "Electraquatic Firestorm!" The firestorm collided with the other firestorm; an explosion of energy radiated out as the two storms collided. The cyclone created by the boy Rakoah won, and Arthur and Kaiser were shot backward. This battle was a constant tug of war as the boys lay on the ground, still smoking.
Rakoah, the elf boy, stepped forward again; he raised his hands seemingly to finish both of the boys off. He gave a slight chuckle as his hand heated up, "Anyone could tell that your spell lacked training; creating spells in the heat of battle? Pathetic. Such a display could never reach us. Plus, you both use wind magic; our duo has four different elements. Repent for your stupidity after the tournament is over. Fire Storm." His hands shot out a blaze of fire; the fire flew out towards the boys that were on their backs, prone. His eyes flickered with pleasure as Team Dream's run at the tournament seemed like it would end in a blaze of glory. On instinct, I averted my eyes, not wanting to see the gore in action. Once I did that, however, a voice seemed to ring out, sending a chill down my spine. A voice I recognized as Gwen, like the radiant dawn, bounced off the walls of the gym even through the crowd. The voice was crystal clear and full of hope, "Dusk may fall, but that doesn't mean our tournament journey is over. For with every dusk, a resilient dawn follows suit!"