As soon as the fight began, Donkor flew forward at Touka. One moment, he was standing, the next, he was already next to Touka. As he swung, his sword was only met with steel. The crowd cheered in excitement. No one was able to stop Donkor until now!
How was Touka able to see his movements? Wait… That was because she was not trying to see his movements. I focused on meditating so that I could understand more.
There was a thin layer of magic surrounding Touka, and it covered an area up to about four feet all around her. She was using pure reaction time to keep up with Donkor! Once she sensed him coming into her domain, she acted based on that. I wondered if Donkor would pick up on this.
They exchanged blow after blow. At first, it seemed like they were on par, but Donkor soon began to slow down. He finally backed off after unleashing a volley of attacks. He was breathing heavily.
"You are remarkable, Donkor-san. You are one of the fastest opponents that I have ever fought!" Touka sounded like she genuinely meant it.
"Thank you, Miss Touka. Unfortunately, I cannot take the title of the fastest," Donkor took a deep breath.
"Why not?" She tilted her head.
"I'm sure there is at least one person faster than me. That, and this was never my main attack.
The crowd gasped when Donkor confessed this. I was also dumbfounded, but then I started to pay attention to what Donkor was doing with his hands. He was releasing and gripping his sword repeatedly… no. He was making hand signs! I read this before in a book. Some countries managed to replace chants with hand signs that released specific seals within the body in order to cast spells. I laughed.
"So that was your plan Donkor!"
Everyone looked at me, confused. Luna was the first to speak up.
"Do you know how he's circulating mana within his body as if he's casting a spell?"
"That's because he is. Donkor is using a technique that can be found in different kingdoms. They replaced chants with hand signs," I nodded my head.
It seemed like Touka picked up on this since she jumped back. She stabbed her katana into the floor and pulled a talisman out from her sleeve. She placed in onto the floor and began to perform a different set of hand signs.
"What's going on folks!? I never seen anyone use those fancy hand movements before!" The announcer was confused.
Murmurs ran through the audience. Everyone was confused as to why they were not chanting. It wasn't long until they realized their intentions.
Donkor casted a high-tier wind spell that caused a controlled tornado to formulate around his sword. Strong winds filled the stadium as he prepared to attack again. I was able to see Donkor's mouth moving, but I couldn't hear anything, let alone make out his words.
Touka finished her own spell just in time for Donkor's attack. She put a barrier around herself and held fast to her sword. Donkor ran to her and attacked her dome. It had a solid impact, but the barrier didn't break. When he finally broke through, it expanded right before it broke, causing Donkor to lose his balance, leaving him wide open.
Touka dashed forward to stab him, but he raised his hand to her face. I see! He was casting a spell! A ball of energy formed, so Touka dodged out of the way. The ball exploded and… it was only a weak water spell. The samurai was surprised, which was the brief opening that he needed.
Donkor swung downwards at Touka. She barely managed to deflect the attack in time, but it left her unbalanced. I was able to sense that her layer of magic was also disrupted. Donkor sped up again and unleashed another volley of attacks.
She was barely able to keep up, and she was being pushed to the edge. The crowd roared as this fierce battle took place. Donkor went to swing, but he briefly lost is footing! He stepped on the tailman that Touka placed earlier! She used this chance to hop over him and grow distance between them. Touka sheathed her sword as she began chanting.
"Touka is about to do it again! She plans to end the match!" The announcer hyped up the crowd.
Everyone cheered, including Sonia. She was practically screaming. I never thought that she would be so interested in this battle, but I was able to understand. If Donkor won this fight, they were guaranteed to enter the academy.
The purple armor formed around Touka again, and she opened her eyes. Seeing this, Donkor focused all of his magic on his legs and moved behind her. This time around, Touka's domain was considerably smaller since she was casting another spell. She didn't move until she felt Donkor's presence right behind her. She instantly turned around and slashed at him.
The force of her attack caused a sudden gush of wind before silence fell. All of our eyes widened as we saw what happened.
She attacked the air. Donkor only sent his sword around her using a large force of wind. She must have thought this was him when she attacked. This time, Donkor was actually behind her, but she couldn't react in time. With one swift hit to the back of her neck, her body fell to the ground.
Silence fell on the coliseum. Everybody was shocked that Donkor managed to trick everybody during his last attack. I stared as Touka's body just lay on the floor. Donkor calmly walked to his sword and sheathed it.
"AAANND WE HAVE A NEW WIIIINEEERRR!! GIVE IT UP FOR DOOOONNNKOOORR!"
The stands erupted. Everybody was standing due to the excitement. People were talking, laughing, gossiping. I took a deep breath of relief as the match came to an end.
"You were worried, weren't you?" Lily teased me.
"I wasn't worried. I was engaged in this battle. Donkor did well," I nodded my head.
"Jeez! You're no fun sometimes. Just admit you were worried about your friend!" Lily pouted.
"I won't," I patted her head.
"We now have the winner for the second tournament! Stay tuned since we have two more tournaments to go!" The announcer shouted. "Tomorrow's tournament will have none other than the hero himself!"
The crowd continued to cheer as excitement filled the air. Donkor didn't seem to care though. He only helped Touka up and left the stage. I could see the relief on his shoulders once the realization that he won settled in. I smiled to myself.
"I hope you're ready for our match, Donkor," I said.
With that being said, this night ended with me having unwelcome guests in the bathhouse… again.
"I won the tournament, and you can't even congratulate me?" Donkor sighed.
"I never thought you would lose, so there's no point," I shrugged.
"Come Smarus! Stop being a buzz kill," Arlo laughed. "And sit closer to us!"
"I will not."
Not once, but twice that we came here at the same time. I sighed as I tried to relax in vain. My peace was once again interrupted by Donkor.
"Smarus, Arlo gave me a brief summary of your adventures from today. How do you actually intend to stop this Yang Li woman?"
The mood suddenly got heavier. I looked at the both of them before I rubbed my neck. It was a pain to explain myself, but I knew it was important.
"I plan to steal all of her abilities," I confessed.
They both stared at me with wide eyes.
"If she is as strong as you make her out to be, will your body be able to handle it? You are already under a lot of…" Donkor began to talk before I interrupted him.
"Do I have much of a choice? If she is on the lose, everything that I worked for will come crumbling down. And if Ace somehow defeats her, he will gain momentum, and everyone dear to me will be in danger," I stared at him.
There was an uncomfortable silence. Donkor already knew about my relationship with Ace, so there wasn't more that he could say.
"Smarus," Arlo spoke up. "How do you know so much about Yang Li if she was a government secret?"
I paused. There was no way I could explain this, except tell them the truth. I was reincarnerated from a world where this was just a video game. Like hell I will! I began to repeat something similar to what I read while playing the DLC.
"There was a rumor going around that some governments were trying to raise weapons of war," I began. "They used people that can go missing without a trace, like orphans and homeless men. Before I was banished, I came across some information, but it seemed… like a conspiracy, at most," Now I was just lying. "I didn't recognize Yang Li's name per se, but I did recognize the contents of the document. That's how I know."
I watched their reactions as I told them this. Donkor nodded his head in understanding whil Arlo didn't seem to fully believe. Come think of it, I did unintentionally say Yang Li's name out loud when I saw her picture. However, Alro decided to believe me.
"Okay! We should come up with a plan to stop her then!" Arlo patted Donkor on the back.
"Yes, let's discuss a course of action," Donkor agreed.
They both looked at me, waiting for me to agree.
"Fine, but I remain as the head of this operation," I smiled.