"N-neither champion appears to be moving, leaving our first match at a draw! What a match to start with!"
Zephyr leaned against the railing, biting what would be his nails, if he had any.
Velocis leaned back in his seat with a whistle. "Gotta say, that was impressive for a last ditch effort. You teach her how to do that?"
Zephyr stayed fixated on Lyra as she was carried off the field.
"...I didn't."
————
————
"Hey, Sachi! Snap out of it!" Dion waved in front of his face to get his attention. "She did her part, we need to do ours next."
Sachi backed away from the railing with wide eyes. "Y-yeah…"
He sat down on the bench next to Ray, staring deep into the dirt beneath him.
Ray tugged on Sachi's sleeve. "Is miss Lyra gonna be okay..?"
Sachi's intense focus was broken and he glanced to see Ray's tear filled eyes.
He bit his lip. "Yeah, she will be."
'She has to be…'
The announcers voice boomed. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, let's start our second round!"
The same circle appeared on the digital screen, except Lyra and Fynn's names were grayed out.
The arrow began to spin once more, and then stop.
[Gideon]
Dion placed his hands on his hips as he watched the man walk out to the center of the field.
"Great, the brooding man with the oversized sword. Should be an easy bout, as long as you have the speed to counter it."
The man wore a cloak covering most of his features, similar to what Sachi presumed to be the captain was wearing. The sword on his back was similar to Dion's in the sense that he hardly looked like he could use it.
He dropped his hood, revealing the features of a younger looking man.
"The hell? Kid barely looks older than sixteen."
The wheel began to spin again. With only two names highlighted on the board, each tick was slower than the last until it finally stopped.
[Dion]
He looked up to the screen. "I don't feel great about this, but it doesn't change what I've got to do."
Dion strut out onto the field, waving to the crowd as he stood opposite of the young man. He looked Dion up and down and spoke.
"So I'm stuck with the idiot elf."
Dion tilted his head at the man.
"Idio- idiot elf!? Who the hell do you think you are, kid!?"
Gideon leaned forward. "Huh!? I'm no kid, I'm probably twice your age! Do you even know that Champions don't age, dumbass!?"
Dion leaned forward as well, they were already butting heads.
"You look like every damn kid I've seen, and you sure as hell act like one too!"
Even the announcer seemed taken about by the childish banter. "C-combatants, please step back as we count down the match!"
Dion stepped back, reaching for the giant sword on his back. "Tch. I'll teach you to respect your elders, brat."
Gideon stepped back, doing the same. "I told you, I'm your elder. Show some respect."
The announcer once again interrupted their bickering. "On my count... 3... 2... 1... Go!"
Both combatants drew their oversized swords in an instant, clashing against each other with a vibrant ring.
'Tch... C'mon!'
Dion swung again, matching Gideon's swing. This time, a loud crack rang through the stadium.
A crack began to form down Dion's sword.
'Damnit... Just a little bit longer!'
Dion jumped over Gideon's blade, preparing a counter attack from above. He furiously swung the Giant's Night Blade down on top of Gideon.
However, Gideon had enough time to react.
He raised his own sword above his head, blocking the blow entirely. A blaring crash sounded and the Giant's Night Blade shattered upon the impact.
Dion landed on the grass and jump back instinctively.
Gideon scoffed. "That's all you had? That was barely a fight!" He pointed his blade at Dion.
'Damn... I didn't want to have to use this already.'
Dion threw his arms across his body, launching them both into small portals he created from his Storage Realm.
"Unfortunately for you, I never intended to win with that thing anyways."
Gideon's eyes widened as Dion pulled two ornate daggers out of his portals. Both blades were a deep black color against their silver handle.
"Going for speed, huh? It's not my favorite, but I promised to put you in your place."
A click could be heard from Gideon, and he giant sword began to dismantle itself. Almost like they were fit together like pieces of a puzzle, the top half of the blade slid off and the one large handle became two small ones. The new weapon Gideon held were daggers much less fancy than Dion's.
Dion readied himself. "A little full of yourself, aren't you?"
Gideon held the daggers in front of him. "Fights are like a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. One type of fighting style will always triumph another. I don't like having that advantage on either side, I'd rather fight as fairly as possible."
Almost faster than Dion could see him, Gideon appeared in front of him.
"So when I crush you, you'll only have your own lack of skill to blame."
Their daggers clashed as Dion tried to create distance. Gideon was relentless, chasing Dion down no matter where he ran.
'Bastard doesn't let up... Running won't work if he keeps this up.'
Dion stops running, coming to a halt almost instantly. Taking advantage of Gideon's surprise from the sudden change, he slices directly where Gideon was behind him.
The cut scratches Gideon's cheek, but he was barely able to avoid the worst of it.
"Finally done running? I'd like to wrap this up."
Dion holds his daggers close to his face. "Yeah, me too."
A strange aura emanates from Dion. Every Champion in the stadium - Besides Sachi - could see the rising power circulating from within.
Gideon stumbles back for a moment. "T-the hell is that!?"
Dion opens his eyes, the deep purple aura around him now harnessed by his daggers. "You don't need to know, and besides..."
Faster than Sachi could even blink, Dion was now on the other side of Gideon, leaving streaks of red behind him.
"You're dead already."