Aurin stood in the tunnel at the edge of the arena, waiting to be called. The tournament official beside him had his hand to his ear to cancel out the chatter of the crowd, who were eagerly standing by, while listening to his instructions. He turned to Aurin and held up a single finger.
“One minute and you’re good to go,” said the official. “Feeling the pressure, Aurin?”
“After making it to the nationals last time and saving the town?” asked Aurin jokingly. “Just a little, I can’t lie.”
The official laughed. “You’ll be fine, mate. I’ve seen you in action more than enough times to know you’ll breeze through this.”
“That makes me feel worse!”
“Don’t think ab—” began the official before putting his finger to his earpiece. “Out you go, bud. Time to shine.”
Aurin took a deep breath and walked out onto the field to the cheers of the crowd and the announcer booming over the speakers, his voice echoing throughout the entire stadium.
“He needs no introduction after everything we’ve seen from him over the last few years. Give it up for the Saviour of Hazelton, Aurin!”
Aurin’s face turned red as he waved to the crowd. He didn’t mind having all eyes on him; he relished it, in fact. To be called the Saviour of Hazelton to publicly and unironically, however, made him uncomfortable. He had spoken many times with his friends about the efforts of everyone involved in stopping the Zodiac Squad and putting an end to Zeera’s rampage, so it did not feel right to be the one taking the entirety of the credit solely because he was the one with the Roche Berry.
“And his opponent,” said the announcer, “is an up-and-coming star. He’s said to be one of the best the Hazelton Underground Dojo has to offer…it’s Atticus!”
Atticus waved to the crowd as he emerged. He was a tall and well-build young man, perhaps a year or two older than Aurin, with blonde hair that was swept back and a dusting of stubble on his chin. His face bore a look of sheer determination. Atticus was ready to fight and eager to prove himself, especially against an opponent like Aurin.
The two met at the centre of the field and shook hands. “I hope it’s a good fight,” said Aurin.
“I assure you, Mr Saviour, that it will be,” said Atticus with a smug grin. “No parlour tricks this time.”
Aurin and Atticus walked back to the edge of the field, turning to face each other. Aurin’s nervousness was now replaced with a desire to see that smug punk be crushed, and he would be the one to deliver the beatdown. His team was ready and the crowd were about to see quite the show.
“The tamers have both taken their positions, and are ready to fight,” called the announcer. “Ready folks? Three, two, one…and fight!”
Aurin raised his tamer glove, where a steely-grey gem glowed brightly. He threw the ball of light forward, summoning Chopchop to the field. A red light shone at the far side of the field and Atticus’s Volcarrow emerged and immediately charged forward while Chopchop swung his bladed arms and assumed a defensive stance, waiting for his opponent to draw close.
Volcarrow was burning brightly as it flew towards Chopchop, but before it came within arm’s reach, it pulled upwards and hovered in the air, spitting a rain of fire at the armoured insect, who pulled his blades together and blocked the fiery barrage.
“We’ve prepared for this,” said Aurin. “Metal wave attack!”
As the last of the fire struck his blades, Chopchop held his arms out and swung one forcefully towards his opponent. A wave of metal-elemental energy rippled through the air, colliding with Volcarrow as it tried to fly away. It wobbled in mid-air and Chopchop followed with another sweeping strike that sent the flame bird plummeting to the ground.
Volcarrow was not finished yet, but neither was Chopchop. The purple ant ran across the grass and leapt high, bringing both of his blades overhead. With a mighty sweep, he brought his arms down in a vertical arc, cleaving deep into Volcarrow’s flame-covered body. With a pained squawk, the fire-elemental fell unconscious, its time in the battle ending much more quickly than its tamer would have liked.
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“Agh!” grunted Atticus loudly before muttering something under his breath. He threw his arm forward and summoned his next Minakai to the field; a Debigger.
The ravenous carnivorous plant stared menacingly at Chopchop, ready to devour him whole, but it would take him in pieces if he had to. Debigger scurried across the grass as roots erupted from underneath the ground, trying to tangle up Chopchop, but he swung his arms and cut them all down to size, keeping himself free and mobile.
“Look out!” called Aurin upon seeing Debigger’s snapping arms come flying through the air as the plant stretched further than Aurin had thought possible.
Chopchop looked up and shield himself just in time to block one of the attacks, but the second bit into his exposed upper arm and clamped hard. He clicked in pain as he tried to pull his arm free, but the Debigger seized its chance and snapped itself onto Chopchop’s other arm.
“You’re not so tough,” laughed Atticus from across the battlefield as Debigger tugged and pulled Chopchop across the grass. It opened the top of its head, ready to throw the armoured insect inside and enjoy a tasty meal.
“And you’re too arrogant for your own good,” said Aurin with a sly smile. “Did you honestly think closing the gap was a smart move? You’re an amateur.”
As Debigger lifted Chopchop into the air, the mustered his strength and swung, slicing both of Debigger’s arms off, leaving Atticus frozen open-mouthed while the plant squealed and screeched from the pain.
“My goodness, folks!” called the announcer. “That was a brutal retaliation from Aurin. Good thing Debigger’s arms will grow back after a while…probably, right?”
Chopchop landed on the grass and with another heavy cleave, slammed the flat of his blade into Debigger like a baseball bat and flinging Atticus’s Minakai across the battlefield, where it crashed in a heap and rolled along. When it stopped rolling, it had stopped moving and was unable to continue the battle.
“Trump card time,” muttered Atticus, casting out an orangey-brown light from his tamer glove. “Haniwizard, you’re up.”
A curious Minakai appeared on the battlefield before its tamer. It had a proportionally long body, considering its relatively small size, and was made of terracotta. It had two thin arms and legs, bent in awkward angles, while a pointed, brimmed hat was atop its head; in fact, the hat may have been a part of its head. Its large, ovular eyes and mouth were fixed wide, making the little creature appear in a constant state of shock.
“Now you don’t see that every day,” said the announcer. “Haniwizard is one of the rarest Minakai in Bretonian towers. Let’s see if its power matches its rarity, folks.”
“Be relentless!” called Atticus.
Haniwizard did an awkward dance while balancing on one of its short legs. It conjured dozens of large stones in front of itself and with a spin of its body, the stones all flew through the air, aiming straight for Chopchop.
Aurin’s Minakai swung its arms rapidly, cutting through each of the stones with ease, but as the barrage thinned, Haniwizard conjured dozens more. It threw them too, much faster than before and Chopchop swung more wildly to keep up, letting a couple of the stones beat him through the gaps in his defence.
“Keep going!” called Atticus, his grin stretched across his whole face. “Full power!”
Haniwizard summoned even larger rocks and threw them faster than ever before. After the first five or six, Chopchop was unable to keep up. He was hit by the hefty stones, which knocked him backwards and pinned him down as the rest piled on top of him. He tried to throw them aside, but they were too heavy to move and he fell limp as the last of the stones fell upon the pile.
“That was a powerful assault from Atticus, but Aurin has two Minakai remaining,” remarked the announcer. “Can Atticus keep up the pace?”
“No,” said Aurin quietly, “he can’t. Shamtile!”
In a flash of light, Shamtile appeared on the field and scurried past the large pile of stones, making straight for Haniwizard. Unwilling to change tactics and thinking he could overpower Shamtile, Atticus ordered his Minakai to use the same technique he had used on Chopchop.
Shamtile stopped as the rocks flew towards him, waving his arms and forcing them to stop in mid-air. Atticus’s expression changed from smugness to anger, while his Haniwizard spun round and round, trying to make the stationary rocks move once more, but Shamtile would not budge.
“Finish this,” Aurin ordered and Shamtile nodded.
With a warbling screech, Shamtile threw his arms forward and sent all of Haniwizard’s rocks back towards their summoner. Desperate to block them, Haniwizard threw more rocks as a shield, but Shamtile followed up with a conjuration of his own.
The masked lizard brought forth a large earthy spear and shot it through the air so fast that anyone in the crowd blinking missed it. Haniwizard was struck, sending the magical Minakai into the stadium wall, hitting it with a thunderous crash as the spear broke to pieces. Its body was cracked and its shocked expression was wider than ever as it fell onto the grass and flopped over in defeat.
“And there you have it, folks!” called the announcer as the crowd went wild. “Aurin is proving once again that he is every bit the tamer we know him to be.”
Aurin walked towards the centre of the battlefield and Shamtile hopped onto his shoulder as he met Atticus in the middle where they shook hands once again.
“That…yeah,” said Atticus, unable to muster anything more coherent.
Aurin laughed. “Your Haniwizard is powerful,” he said, “but you need to be more adaptable.”
“Back to training,” said Atticus with a nod. “Next time though, I’m coming for you again.”
With that, the two tamers separated and headed back inside. The tournament official gave Aurin a thumbs up and a smile on the way past. This was the tamer’s third tournament in Hazelton and Aurin was playing to win. He was going all the way to the top and nobody would stand in his way.