Focusing on the fight, Riku took in all that he could as he began dissecting any piece of information he could scrap just from the battle alone. Immediately, he could tell that the paladin was winning. He had an obvious advantage in terms of weaponry, skill, and overall battle readiness. His armor allowed him to shrug off anything the woman fighting him could dish out, and the obvious disparity in their skill couldn't be more obvious from the fact that the paladin had just cornered his opponent.
"Yield, Champion of Ragnarok!" the paladin bellowed, his sword glowing a familiar golden hue as he pointed his sword at the woman's scarred neck. "You have no chance in defeating me."
"No, I do not... But I can still prove myself worthy of passing through this Realm," the woman growled, her voice sounding both harsh and melodic at the same time. "I don't need to win. I just need to prove that I can't lose."
Riku crossed his arms as he watched the woman then stand up, her voice taking on more volume than before as she then screamed straight into the paladin's shield. To his surprise, the paladin got thrown off his feat, his body flying right toward the other side of the arena as the female Champion scowled with a righteous fury.
"I refuse to lose this Trial by Combat. I still have so much left to give. So much more to say," the woman growled, her voice growing louder and harsher with each word. "I will destroy those that threw me aside to die back then. My voice will reach their ears, and I don't care if it kills them!"
With another shout, a shockwave of raw sound came careening straight into the paladin's position. To his credit, he quickly raised his shield up in defense, standing his ground even as he visibly shook from the power of the attack.
The crowd cheered around them as the two Champions seemingly fought to the death, their attacks aimed with the intent to kill even as the advantage now shifted to the woman in a dress that was far from appropriate for combat. Riku would've asked around for their names and abilities, but he had Nyx to take advantage for that specific job.
'Nyx?' he asked her, his intentions clear without him even stating them.
/The woman's name is Eleonore, Big Sis Ragnarok's Champion,/ his goddess blandly replied, her tone of voice suggesting that she was currently just as serious as he was at the moment. /She clearly has an inferior copy of her patron goddess's Aspect./
So Ragnarok also had sonic voice as a power then. He could infer that much. /And the paladin?/
/His name is Alastor, Big Brother Themis's Champion,/ she replied. /I don't know what he can do, but the glow on his sword suggests that he can do something with whatever power it was that Big Brother gave him./
Riku frowned at the lack of information given to him. Still, he couldn't expect to be fed every bit of intel he needed to win the game. Nyx herself stated that she couldn't interfere more than what she had already done, which meant that it was up to him to figure things out.
"Is... Is that all you have for me, heathen?!" Alastor taunted, his knees buckling as he stood up against the onslaught of sonic waves coming from his opponent. "The Holy Spirit has given me the power to win game and escape Purgatory... There is no possible avenue for you to win against the servant of God!"
To her credit, Eleonore simply kept screaming at the man, her rather opulent gown billowing against her own power as she stood resolute in her conviction. Her scream was loud, and yet it carried an air of melody to it that made him feel her rage for some reason. Clearly, she had a good control of her voice. Perhaps she was a singer during her time.
"Give up, Champion of Themis!" Eleonore screamed, her words turning into attacks as they all careened straight against the paladin's shield. "You can't keep this up all day!"
Back on Alastor's side, he was clearly struggling to keep standing as he slowly put one foot in front of the other, clearly trying to close the distance between him and his opponent. The glow on his sword was becoming brighter, however, and even Shizu could tell that something significant was about to happen.
"I think he's going to use his Trump," Shizu whispered to Riku.
"How can you tell?" Riku asked.
"It just... feels like it, I guess," she replied, halfway confused herself as she shrugged. "I don't know. It just... yeah..."
The former assassin nodded in agreement. It sure seemed like it, and seeing as the paladin didn't look like he was gaining meaningful ground, it was only a matter of time until he had to try and break the current status quo of his battle, which meant that his opponent had to strike now before it happened.
"Come on!" Eleonore shouted, her attacks intensifying as it almost seemed like she was never going to run out of air. "Surrender!"
That last words of hers came out far stronger than the rest as the ensuing shockwave hit Alastor's shield in just the right way, knocking the paladin back down on the ground just before his sword's brightness could reach its peak. To Riku's mild surprise, the man didn't rise back up, his sword's glow now having fully disappeared as he laid motionless on the floor.
"The winner of this trial is Eleonore, the Champion of Ragnarok," Themis bellowed from where he sat. "You may proceed to the next Realm."
The crowd erupted in cheers as the female Champion sported a relieved yet harsh smile. Clearly, she was still processing that he had just won, and her goddess, Ragnarok, was quick to escort her out of the arena as they both disappeared into a cloud of black feathers. Meanwhile, Alastor disappeared just as quickly in motes of golden light before promptly reappearing in an empty bench on some other part of the audience stands. He was still unconscious, and it was clear that he was far from done with his trial.