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A buzzer sounds from the sky, signaling the end of checkpoint first.

Denarrow- 'Shit, I was thinking too much. That didn't even feel like ten minutes.'

Malala- "Finally…"

She lowers her mental guard and lowers herself to ground level. On the street floor, she uses her other Paradise Fruit ability to heal herself. Cold water forms in front of her and covers her wounds. The water turns into ice, numbing the pain. Ace rests, hides, and plans his next move in an empty apartment complex right next to Malala.

Geo- "As checkpoint second begins in just a couple minutes, what do you expect from here on out, Theo?"

Theo- "I expect an elaborate plan. Whatever he did before to get Malala's attention in the wrong direction, he might probably imitate again."

Geo- "But I don’t think Malala is not that clumsy to fall for the same trick again."

Theo- "True, but if we knew what the trick was, he might be able to pull it off again. Resulting in something similar to what happened the first time. If we went deeper into the instant replay, I think there might have been something that we didn't catch that was Untitled’s doing."

Geo- "We do know for sure that the Auron Goose is hurt and Untitled is still hiding but he's so close to her."

Theo- "The thing about that is The Untitled could hide and avoid confrontation if he wanted to for the rest of the fight. He would win through the health bar and I know viewers won't like that if he does."

On the battlefield, Malala floats on her Musu disc like she did in the last round. She stops moving to rethink her plan.

Malala- 'He's purposely following me with the intent to attack. He's keeping his distance or he's simply hiding. Most likely the latter. I'm so high up that my eyes will most likely roll over him if I actually saw him. The reason why he hasn't attacked multiple times already is that he's probably waiting for a situational advantage. Like what though? Maybe the environment. Yes, he's probably waiting for a good place to ambush. But unlike in previous rounds, the battlefield is limited.'

The final round has newly implemented special rules, most likely in response to Ace's ascent into it. Before, the perimeter of the ring was defined by the proximity of two Gladiators and the limited distance that could be stretched between them. Therefore, theoretically, there was an unlimited generation of the environment. In addition to this perimeter rule, there are specific limits of the fighting ring, forcing Ace to stand his ground if he ever became trapped on the perimeter instead of escaping outward.

Malala- 'There are only a few points in the city he is planning to use as an ambush. His plan comes down to me wandering around looking for him until I eventually spring his trap. That can all be avoided if I just stop moving and searching altogether. But he has the upper hand if the fight is determined by scoring healthbars. He could do the same with me if he wanted to. I'm forced at this point to find him. But even if I destroy every building in this place, I'm sure he'll still find a way to hide underneath the rubble. He seems frighteningly good at hiding. Whatever the case, even if I have one arm left, I'll need to find him.'

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[29:29 Remaining]

[Checkpoint 2nd]

Ace continues to follow the flying Malala while hiding himself. Many people watching the match start to get angry as there has barely been any action. Thus they believe he is going to take the 'cheap' way out by hiding. Across the world, people are calling for his disqualification so they can easily get their money back.

A minority of viewers are calling out Malala because of her inability to find The Untitled. The irritation grows only bigger as they see him hiding while she floats around, totally ignorant of his position. All-knowing but helpless to the situation. The anger only intensifies as the checkpoint second comes to an end, a checkpoint without a single interaction between the two Gladiators. Further confirming in everyone's minds that he's going to simply wait it out.

The third checkpoint starts out somewhat the same way as it did before. It's a game of bear and hunter where nothing is happening. Until Malala flies in front of the tallest structure in the whole city. It's so tall that she is flying around eighty stories high and is at the halfway point of the building.

[05:03 Remaining]

[Checkpoint 3rd]

Denarrow- "Plan B."

The Untitled jumps off the building’s roof, falling just between Malala and the high-rise. In a flash, he throws at least twenty throwing knives aiming toward her. With a fast reaction, Malala puts up a cube-shaped barrier around her blocking all of the thrown knives. With her vision blocked, she opens a hole in one of the Musu walls of her cubic defense, seeing nothing but the high-rise.

Denarrow- "Oi."

Malala- 'Huh?'

She turns around with eyes wide open, seeing Ace inside her cubic defense. He jumps after her as if he's about to tackle her. She jumps back, opening a Musu wall, and falls out of the Musu cube in the sky. As she falls back, she sees Ace slowly fading away into nothing like a hologram.

Malala- 'Is this another one of those mind tricks…?'

Right before she hits the road, she is saved by her quick thinking by creating a Musu floor right beneath her. Her body aches in pain, feeling the impact of the Musu floor, though it's more promising than if she had hit the concrete. Just some feet above the street in confusion, Ace strikes at her again, running after her from afar. She reacts quickly again, throwing all the Musu she can at him, indirectly destroying the high-rise behind him. It initially looks unclear if he is being hit or not. But at a closer look, he doesn't have a single scratch dodging everything that comes hurling at him. Malala, not exactly knowing what his state is, then already assumes he’s still alive. In a frustrated attempt, she generates a Musu sword so long it covers the distance of two city blocks. She then cuts horizontally through the superstructure looking to end Ace for sure. The building starts to collapse.

Malala recognizes that she had cut the foundation of the tallest building in the city. It's ready to collapse and projecting to take the whole city center with it. Right before she is about to ascend with the Musu floor underneath her, a throwing knife flies and hits her already wounded arm. She screams in excruciating pain. Her concentration breaks, causing the Musu beneath her to disappear. The building finally collapses, spreading smoke and debris all over the place. A mushroom of smoke, usually the type that would come after a pocket nuke, envelopes most of the city center.

With the smoke around making it hard to breathe, she again uses her secondary Paradise ability, to make a mask out of water and ice. She then covers her body in ice, albeit it's thin. If a metal beam had hit her, it would've been over. Luckily she only gets scratches once the building finishes its full collapse. The winds are calming down and the smoke begins to disperse. She can't see nor use her powers in the thick smoke. She sheds all the ice off of her and gets back on two feet.

She sees a human shadow running within the smoke. She tries to back up but is instantly frozen in fear. She tries to use Musu to protect herself, but her power is unable to answer the command. The shadow becomes darker, eventually revealing Ace who is sprinting towards her. Still, in place, she can't do a single thing to defend herself. Ace brings up his left leg swinging it up and out. His foot comes right next to her face as she braces for the kick.

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