I whooped and cheered as Shiro beat the living crap out of Falco! The fight went so fast that most people in the stadium didn’t even know it had ended when Shiro set his opponent on fire and incinerated him. Aww, man! That was a good fight! As the next fight began and Shiro ascended the stairs, I turned to Yuki and said, “Go get him!” pointing to Shiro.
Yuki yipped, jumped down from her perch on my shoulder, and raced down the stadium stairs to him. Shiro picked her up a moment later, cradling her in his arms as he ascended the stairs. Once he reached the end of our row, Yuki jumped from his arms and raced back to me. I picked her up and put her on my lap.
“Good fight, Shiro!” I exclaimed happily.
“Very good fight,” Cami agreed.
“Yeah,” Scarlet agreed under her breath.
“SHUT IT, YOU TWO!!” Shiro yelled, a slight blush on his cheeks as he sat beside Scarlet and Jax.
“What could you have done better?” Haze asked from beside me.
Shiro groaned, “I could’ve ended the fight sooner and stopped messing around after the first hit. He was weaker than me, and I could’ve finished him in one or two hits.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because his belt was gold. I thought he might have some skill if he had a divine core for his fourth core.”
Haze nodded, “Good observations. Next time aim for under thirty seconds.”
“Heard,” Shiro grumbled, crossing his arms.
The crowd roared as the fight that went on below came to a swift end, and Haze waited for everyone to fall silent again. “As for you, Zeana,” Haze said, turning to me once the crowd quieted again.
“Yes, master?” I asked hesitantly.
“I have a goal for you for this match,” Haze began, a smug smile on her lips.
“What is it?”
“Your goal is to win the fight in under one minute thirty seconds. Can you do that?”
“I can do it under five!”
“No.”
“Fine, I’ll do my best,” I sighed.
“Good,” Haze said, returning her attention to the fight.
After a dozen more fights, I finally got up and went to the waiting room to prepare for my fight. As soon as I entered the waiting room, I manipulated my DNA to alter my body. I grew out my nine tails and small bits of chitin under my clothes like personal armor. After doing some stretches to ensure I didn’t lose any of my mobility, I sat and waited for my name to be called.
I didn’t have to wait long, as the man who always comes to tell us they’re ready for the fight to begin came and got me. I took a deep breath and walked out of the waiting room and into the arena. “OUR FIRST FIGHTER IS QUICKLY BECOMING A CROWD SENSATION AS SHE’S CLIMBED THE RANKS! GIVE IT UP FOR ZEANA SI’ENN!!” Felix announced as I walked.
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Giving the crowd a quick smile and wave, I returned my focus to the battle about to take place as I stopped in the center of the arena. “AND OUR SECOND FIGHTER, A BRAWLER WITH SPELLS UP HER SLEEVES! GIVE IT UP FOR YANG XIAO LONG!!” Felix announced as Yang walked into the arena. Her long flaxen hair flowed behind her as she walked.
Once she spotted me, she grimaced and quickened her pace to stand before me in the center of the arena. “Soooo,” she said nervously, scratching her head, “I don’t suppose you’ll forget about the last fight?”
“You mean the fight where you tried beating me to death for being a monster?”
“TEN!”
“Yeah … that.”
“NINE!”
“Not a chance,” I said, a little malice in my voice.
“EIGHT!”
“Yeah, I figured that,” Yang sighed.
“SEVEN!”
“Look, I’m sorry for being that way toward you before.”
“SIX!”
“Can you forgive me?”
“FIVE!”
“Maybe,” I admitted with a shrug.
“FOUR!”
“But for now—”
“THREE!”
“I need to kick your ass in under a minute, thirty.”
“TWO!”
Yang dropped into a fighting stance, bringing her fists up, “Well, good luck with that.”
“ONE!”
“Thanks,” I said as I crouched down and readied myself.
“FIGHT!”
We shot toward each other with a burst of speed and collided in mid-air as both our fists landed a punch on each other’s cheeks. Quickly separating from the force of our punches, I rolled across the ground and landed on my feet as Yang did the same. I took a deep breath and spoke softly, “Dragon of storms, make them fear your power. Manifest!”
“What?” Yang asked, cocking her head, but her question was soon answered as my Storm-dragon armor manifested with nine dragon heads for my tails. She gaped at the transformation and cursed before charging forward again. Fire exploded under her feet as she ran forward, closing the distance between us. While I blinked out of existence, leaving a trail of purple lighting behind me.
Yang’s eyes widened a split second later as I appeared before her and made several jabs at her abdomen within a second. Each hit stopped abruptly centimeters from her body, and I sped away. Yang tried to follow my path, but I was moving too fast. I reappeared behind her and landed a dozen more strikes to her back, which were also stopped.
“You know that won’t work on me!” Yang yelled as she whirled around to punch at air.
“Yeah, I know,” I said from beside her, “But I also know there’s a limit.” Then I twisted and struck her with my nine dragon head tails before speeding off again.
Yang grimaced and stumbled back from the attack, and I swooped in to land five more strong punches to her back. Yang went still as I sped off again, and I circled her three times as I waited for her to do something. But she didn’t move a muscle. I shrugged and shot toward her again.
“Now,” Yang said, and she twisted her body to throw a wide haymaker at me. I brought my arm up to block, and her punch landed like a freight train, stopping my momentum and sending me rolling across the ground.
‘How much longer do I have?’ I asked Fengbao once the world stopped spinning, and I got to my feet.
“Ten seconds,” came the prompt response.
‘Let’s make them count,’ I said as I shot forward again, closing the distance between Yang and I. She took a step back and raised her arms to protect her face as I riddled her with hundreds of punches. Then with a twist of my hips, I struck her one last time with my nine dragon heads. Yang roared with pain as she was thrown back several meters, and I began cycling my Ice-claymore chakra. Forging a long katana made of ice, I charged forward, not giving Yang any room to breathe. And as I brought my sword down, an explosion of force shot out from Yang, sending me flying back from the concussive blast.
The world was spinning around me, and I tried to get to my feet but couldn’t get my balance. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Yang stumble to her feet and slowly walk over to me, holding her hand to her side. Shaking my head, I cycled my Healing chakra briefly and cleared my head just as she got within two meters of me.
I quickly switched to my Ice-claymore chakra again, pushed myself to my feet, and raised my sword. Yang darted forward with a snarl and kicked at my legs. I spun my sword and cleaved through her leg, making her scream in pain and topple over, landing on her face.
“Yang,” I said, raising my sword for the final blow.
“Yeah?” she panted.
“Good fight,” I said and drove my sword through her chest, making her dissolve into a plum of golden dust. I looked up at the clock and read three minutes, twenty-nine seconds remaining. I shrugged, “Close enough.” Then fell back toward my tails out of exhaustion. And caught my breath while ignoring the cheers from the crowd.