Raxyas: Sorry, Bazren... This must be very hard for you.

Raxyas spoke sarcastically. They both prepared to engage in battle, standing at opposite ends of the chamber.

Bazren: What do you mean?

Raxyas: Well, for Karghna's undefeated champion to be bested twice in such a short window of time... You must be devastated.

Bazren furrows her brows.

Bazren: Oh, shut up! You would've been defeated by Xi too if he hadn't expended so much energy fighting me. In fact, you should be thanking me for your victory! Enough boasting... I'll prove to you that you still have a long ways to go.

Bazren begins sprinting towards Raxyas.

Raxyas: Good. I won't be using my gauntlet, don't worry.

Raxyas slowly steps forward, unfazed by Bazren's rapid approach.

Raxyas: You remind me of myself, Bazren. You charge head-first into battle! Though, I've come to learn that you can't win every battle like that...

As Bazren closes in on him, she performs a rotating slide, extending her flail as she does. Raxyas jumps to dodge the attack, and as he does Bazren quickly adapts her stance to a kneeling posture, taking aim at him. It seems she was expecting this.

Bazren: You should talk less...

She fires her flail at Raxyas, who only has time to block it with his gladius. He gets shot into a wall with the force of the impact, kicking up a dust cloud in the process. Bazren is the one slowly approaching, now.

Bazren: When you don't have time to think, what good will your strategies serve you? You can only be so prepared [https://img.wattpad.com/a9b10b67a3be6aa776b00df8748eb9ca9fd707d7/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5f4a394d446b7451435a733966773d3d2d313139393933313531372e313732393438646638346536633364353738313336343336343135352e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

Bazren: When you don't have time to think, what good will your strategies serve you? You can only be so prepared. In the heat of battle, it's your instincts that lead you to victory. Only a fool lets their opponents have time to strategize...

She fires the ball of her flail at the center of the dust cloud, where Raxyas' vessel would have connected with the wall. Shortly after the ball hits the wall, the chain is seen shifting up and down, as if something's weight was placed on top of it. Surely enough, out of the dust cloud comes Raxyas, running across the chain preparing to slash Bazren.

Raxyas: I wholeheartedly agree!

Bazren quickly retracts the chain, in an attempt to trip Raxyas. However, just before she does he strikes the chain with his gladius, creating a flash of light that temporarily blinds Bazren. As she is disoriented, he leaps and prepares to attack with a downward slash. With the flail fully retracted, Bazren wasted no time. Even disoriented, she points the flail downward and completely extends it. The ball hits the floor, and the impact propels her backward, away from Raxyas' swing. He misses, hitting the ground, while Bazren is able to safely regain her senses.

Raxyas: Quick thinker. I guess you wouldn't have remained undefeated for so long if you weren't...

Bazren holds the ball of the flail close to the handle, as she tries to extend the flail. The two opposing forces cause the weapon to shake uncontrollably, just as it did when she prepared to strike the pile of rubble Xi was in.

Bazren: You know what the easiest way to beat your opponent is, Raxyas?

Raxyas stopped moving. He watched Bazren carefully, trying to decipher her next move.

Bazren: ... Oh? Not coming my way?

Raxyas: I haven't seen that trick yet. I think I'll keep my distance... Whatever you're doing, it doesn't seem like you can keep doing it for long.

He was correct. As time went on, the flail shook more and more violently, as if it desperately yearned for release.

Bazren: Suit yourself. As I was saying, to easily beat your opponent what you need is...

She stops talking and quickly points her flail at Raxyas, as she releases the ball.

Bazren: ... To always keep an ace up your sleeve.

The ball shoots faster than Raxyas could keep up, hitting him straight in the chest. The force of the impact knocks him out, and he gets shot straight into the wall behind him.

Bazren: Guess that's 1-0 in my favor.

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Bazren catches her breath, as she waits for Raxyas to regain his senses. When he finally comes to his senses, they return to their starting positions. Raxyas uses his gauntlet to speed up his recovery.

Raxyas uses his gauntlet to speed up his recovery [https://img.wattpad.com/2b88bc9ce447434fde52aad4bd1cdee5715423b5/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f41755548684666785a6d646752773d3d2d313139393933313531372e313732393439343861343564636138343638373234383739343134382e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

Raxyas: Not bad, Bazren... But how powerful are you, when you have no more of those aces up your sleeve?

Bazren: Oh? Why even ask that? Do you suppose you'll make me run out of tricks in this short amount of time?

Raxyas: Hahah... We'll see...

Raxyas shifts his gladius into its whip form. He could masterfully control it in the air, willing the whip to move where he needed it.

Raxyas: ... I got some aces of my own.

He runs towards Bazren, and she runs towards him. When they were about two seconds apart, Raxyas strikes the floor. Bazren closes her eyes for a brief amount of time, to avoid being blinded again. As she re-opens them, Raxyas was now running towards one of the chambers side walls.

Bazren: Running away, now? Think I'll give you time to set any fancy moves up...?

Bazren held the ball of the flail again, charging it up. Raxyas was now closing in on one of the walls. He jumps on, latching onto it. The many blade shards of his whip pierced into the wall around him, providing him with an anchor to easily attach to the wall with. However, more than just hanging on, it seemed like he was building up energy. Like a spring that's being held down.

Raxyas: Sorry, you already have.

Upon hearing this, Bazren immediately lets go of the ball. It flies in Raxyas' direction, but he had already left the wall.

The spring had been released, and as Raxyas rapidly flew through the air, it's whip coiled around him [https://img.wattpad.com/6f59753a012523e7d947ef9ae62012c17a6feb7a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7953666d677166776837634e57773d3d2d313139393933313531372e313732393461323930623230363033663736303235353433373033312e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

The spring had been released, and as Raxyas rapidly flew through the air, its whip coiled around him. By manipulating it, he was able to spin himself like a torpedo. With Bazren's ball deeply embedded in the wall, she was unable to retract it in time to defend herself. Raxyas hits her from above with tremendous power, as the blades of his whip carve into her vessel and send her straight into the ground. As bones and limbs were shredded apart, she was buried deeper and deeper into the floor. The damage on her vessel was too great, and her soul was expelled as a result. When Raxyas' spinning came to a halt, he used his gauntlet to repair the vessel, and eventually, Bazren's soul found its way back inside.

Raxyas: That would be 1-1 now! Correct?

Bazren: Not for long...

They rest a while, before continuing.

Bazren: ... Again!

They continue battling. 1-2, 2-2, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4, 3-5, 4-5, 4-6, 4-7... As the matches went on, Raxyas' expertise proved greater, and his fighting style more advantageous. The burden of using such a heavy weapon, the lack of mobility, was manifesting itself, and he was talking full advantage of it...

Raxyas: Bazren, I think there's no point in continuing... You can move pretty fast at times, but those fast movements are extremely limited. You can use your flail as a launch pad of sorts, but after that, there's not much you can do to move quickly in the air. You'll always struggle against faster opponents if you keep fighting like that.

Bazren seemed frustrated. She was, for the first time ever, realizing the shortcomings of her fighting style. Great power would do her no good if she couldn't mobilize it quickly enough to adapt to her opponents' movement. She stopped to inspect her surroundings. She was not accustomed to battling inside closed spaces, so naturally there were variables she wasn't factoring in. Elements she wasn't taking full advantage of. Then, an idea came to her.

Bazren: My options may be limited, it's true. But, so what? How many opponents out there will I be facing as repeatedly as you? As long as I can keep enough surprises in my pocket, the first encounters can easily be mine. After all, I defeated you in our first match, didn't I?

Raxyas: Well, I suppose, but-

Bazren: And, thanks for the heads up. I got something new I'd like to try. One last battle? Whoever wins can be the de facto victor of this bout. Agreed?

Raxyas did not hesitate. He nods.

Raxyas: Ready?

Bazren: Ready.

Raxyas sprinted towards Bazren, though she acted rather unexpectedly. She launched herself at one of the corners of the room. Then, she propelled herself upwards by extending the flail downwards. While in mid-air, she shoots the flail at the wall behind her, which propells her forward. She did it with so much strength that she got pushed to the far side of the chamber. Before hitting the wall on the other side, she fires her flail again at one of the side walls. Her movement shifts, she was no longer moving in a straight line, but in a slight curve. She hits another wall, and her trajectory curves further. As she moves and hits more walls, she starts doing laps around the chamber. Every lap, she gains speed. Her movements were too fast and precise for Raxyas to have been able to interfere, only getting harder and harder to read as her speed increased. Soon enough, no wall was safe. It was as if Bazren was in every single wall of the chamber, at all times. On top of that, she kept curving her trajectory more and more, isolating Raxyas and trapping him inside a whirlwind of death. She moved faster and faster and, soon, Raxyas barely had any room to move around in. He had to do something before Bazren fully closed the circle in on him... He hits his gladius on the ground, hoping Bazren would be blinded. But it was useless, she did not need to see anymore. Her movement was mechanized, it was like clockwork. She could not be stopped. Raxyas shifts his weapon into its whip form, preparing to shield himself from the upcoming impact by enveloping the whip around him. However, he moves his whip a bit too far from his body, and it gets caught up in Bazren's attack. Raxyas is sucked into the vortex, and as his vessel hits Bazren, it gets shot with incredible force at one of the walls, causing him to become unconscious. Bazren then slows down her movement, until the whirlwind disappears.

Bazren: Well! Guess that's that, then.

Raxyas eventually comes to. Bazren was practicing her launches when he does.

Bazren: Oh, finally awake? Well, guess you-

Raxyas: Yeah, yeah. Seems like you can be pretty mobile, under the right circumstances. You win. Now, enough of this. I think I need some proper rest...

Raxyas limps out of the chamber, with the help of Bazren. They take some time to recover the rest of the way until Halgorth.