The crowd buzzed with anticipation as the next match was announced. Grande Silvus, leaning back with an amused smirk, took the opportunity to taunt Alaric Krios.
"Perhaps the next heir of the Krios clan requires some... special attention. Losing to the elven prince who isn't even contracted to a high spirit? Quite disappointing."
Alaric groaned in annoyance, his face darkening, but chose to remain silent, settling back into his seat. Before the tension could escalate, Ririna's mother Zeema Roberts interjected with a lighthearted tone,
"Both my dear Lily and little Henry have grown so much since I last saw them. Don't you agree, Brother?" looking at Dravis.
Dravis Dragonborne, as stoic as ever, merely gave a curt
"hmm," bringing the conversation to an abrupt halt. The room fell silent, with all eyes turning to the stage as Lily and Henry Dragonborne stepped forward.
Lily unsheathed a sleek black sword, its serpent insignia glinting in the sunlight, and assumed a relaxed one-handed stance, her free hand resting behind her back. Across from her, Henry drew his greatsword, a massive, rusted blade nearly as large as Lily herself.
Henry's tone was serious as he addressed his sister.
"Don't hold back like you always do, Lily. I'll give it everything I've trained for."
Lily, finding his serious demeanor endearing, chuckled softly.
"Aye aye, little brother. Let's see what you've got."
The match began with a flash of movement. Henry vanished from his position and reappeared behind Lily, swinging his greatsword in a mighty arc. Lily leaped into the air, using the flat of his blade as a springboard to propel herself upward before delivering a swift kick to his chest. Henry staggered back but used his sword as an anchor to dig into the ground, halting his momentum.
The siblings' raw physical prowess, bolstered by the blessings of the Dragon God, their ancestors received, was evident in their clashes. The sheer force of their strikes sent shockwaves across the arena.
Their rapid exchanges of blows showcased a level of swordsmanship only comprehensible to those at the Grandmaster Realm or higher.
One such Swordsman observed from the crowd, his expression softening into a smile as he noted Lily's refined techniques, which she had changed after he advised on certain things. Content with her progress, he closed his eyes and returned to his meditation, already certain of the outcome.
Tiring of Henry's relentless heavy strikes, Lily channeled dark energy into her blade, counterattacking with precision. Anticipating this, Henry activated his gravity aura, saturating the battlefield with a crushing weight. Lily dropped to one knee under the immense pressure, struggling to move.
Seizing the moment, Henry infused his greatsword with gravity-attuned energy, making the massive weapon feather-light in his hands, the opposite effect of the element. His attacks became blindingly fast, but just as his blade was about to strike, Lily smirked and reached for her second sword.
This blade, adorned with a tiger insignia, gleamed as she unleashed her light energy, coating herself in its radiant glow. With newfound speed, she evaded Henry's attack, her movements blurring out of sight.
"Not bad, little brother," she teased, reappearing behind him and unleashing a flurry of strikes. Henry, unable to match her speed of light, endured the onslaught until Lily finally paused.
"Give up, Henry," she said gently.
"I don't want to hurt you any more than this."
But Henry refused to yield. He knew his sister was stronger...than anyone and he admired her the most, but he also had a resolve he made to himself, to never hold back his sister and become as much powerful as he could, to stand beside her, fight alongside her.
Rising to his feet, his eyes burned with determination as fierce energy began to emanate from him. The crowd gasped as he activated a secret Dragonborne technique: Dragon Berserk.
Lily's playful demeanor vanished as she yelled,
"Stop this at once, Henry!"
But Henry, lost in the berserker state, didn't listen. Crimson energy engulfed him as he chanted an ancient incantation, his aura becoming wild and oppressive. Dravis and Zeema sighed in unison, recognizing the folly of his actions.
Dragon Berserk was a double-edged sword, amplifying combat abilities at the cost of mental energy and draining the user's primal core completely. The aftereffects were severe, yet Henry pressed on, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Lily.
"You never take me seriously," he growled before launching a rapid barrage of attacks.
Lily, her expression now solemn, took a familiar stance. Drawing power from both her swords, she channeled dark and light energies in perfect harmony, preparing to unleash the
"Dragonborne Style: Twin Dragons."
Henry, undeterred, prepared his final attack,
"Desolate World", a devastating technique that drained the life and color from the surrounding area. The pressure was so immense that the arena floor began to crack.
The two techniques collided, Twin dragons of light and darkness surged forward, consuming Henry's desolate attack. The resulting explosion sent shockwaves through the arena.
When the dust settled, Henry lay unconscious, his energy completely spent. Lily, though bruised and cut, stood victorious and had a satisfied smile, went near Henry as she stroked his head saying,
"You did well."
She looked toward Ray in the stands, her expression softening into a cheeky smile as she gave him a thumbs-up. Ray, who had been watching with half-closed eyes, allowed himself a faint smile in return.
Henry was carried off to the infirmary, with Dravis rising from his seat to personally check on his son.
The tournament continued as the stage was repaired. Some matches were dull, while others had their moments of excitement, though none compared to the battles of the prodigies.
In one of the subsequent matches, Katherine faced off against a mage, easily defeating her opponent with minimal effort.
Finally, it was Ray's turn. Rising from his seat, he walked toward the stage, the crowd murmuring in anticipation of what was to come.
But...to their anticipation, the match ended as soon as it started, as Ray took out his opponent without using any sword, or energy whatsoever.
He went up the stage after they signaled to start, he stepped forward one hand in his pocket, and went in front of the guy, he was frozen on the spot out of fear, Ray just stuck him using his palm into his neck, as the opponent passed out Ray was declared the winner and the arena had no sound...nothing at all, even in a room filled with Saints and Archmages.
Ray before going to his seat looked at Alaric who was looking at him, Ray had a calm look but Alaric who looked at him, felt fear for the first time since he faced Eldric a year ago.
The matches went by, and as another round of matches finished, finally the quarter-finals was announced, where there were some interesting faceoffs.