The smoke left after the explosion was completely covering the area. After waiting about half a minute, Varian nodded to one of the First Division members next to him, Aries. Aries summoned a massive spear, nearly the size of two people. Grabbing it by its end, he made a downward arc. The force of the slash cut through the smoke, splitting it so that what was underneath could be viewed.

There stood Toren and Sorn, both battered and bruised. Their clothes were in shreds and their exhaustion was apparent. Sorn stood facing the sky, all signs of his wisps gone. Toren was panting, using a needle to prop himself up as they stood mere meters from one another.

Toren looked up towards Sorn.

Toren: “Looks like you win this one outsider.”

The needle disappeared and he fell face first onto the ice below. Sorn was struggling just to stay conscious, and eventually fell backwards himself after a few seconds.

When he came to, Aria was standing above his collapsed body, giving him a slight grin.

Aria: “Wow, well done. I didn’t know you had that in you.”

He forced his body to sit up, looking down at the arena. The smoke had all but cleared, and Varian was talking in the middle with some other First Division members. They all nodded and bowed to Varian before disappearing from holes made into the bottom that dissapeared with the Division members. Sorn came to a realization.

Sorn: “I won?”

Aria: “Are you an idiot?”

Sorn: “Oh.”

He felt a large sensation of relief. He had fought against the odds and won. He was also joining Oden in the final stage. For the first time, he genuinely believed he could win this competition. He looked around, but Toren was nowhere to be seen. The other Dancing Blades, Jaden and Neville, were whispering furiously to each other, clearly looking in Sorn’s direction. Sorn let himself lay back down. He was beyond exhausted, but the feeling of accomplishment caused him to be elated.

Varian, still alone, announced the next fight.

* [5th] - Aria of the Dancing Blade vs [16th] - Jaden of the Dancing Blade.

Aria flipped over the edge, evidently excited. She was screaming right before she slid down the edge of the arena.

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Aria: “Finally, I get to give this little shit a proper lesson!”

Sorn watched as both competitors approached the middle. They both exchanged a few words, with Aria getting more irritated with every passing word. Eventually, she threw a dagger of ice at Jaden. Jaden had summoned his needle and was in Dancing Blade-like form. He swatted away the dagger with ease, but Aria already began to run towards him rapidly.

Sorn was in awe. He had never seen anyone this fast before. To his credit however, Jaden somewhat kept up as he stood in place. He swatted projectiles and blocked close range slashes for about a minute. However, he missed some blocks and dodges, causing many minor injuries.

Aria was clearly having fun with him, like a predator playing with its food. There were multiple occasions where Aria could have finished the fight, but she lightened the blows purposefully, her speed never decreasing. Eventually, Jaden was pushed far past his limit and his form broke. Aria took that opportunity to drive her foot into his [redacted], and he fell onto the icy floor.

Aria made her way back to Sorn happily.

Aria: “That was fun!”

Sorn was terrified of this crazy girl.

Sorn: “Yeah I bet it was.”

The next fight was announced.

* [4th] - Raven of the Spears vs [17th] - Serene of the Marauders.

Serene was faced with a scary looking girl. Serene was far bigger than her opponent, but Raven’s dark expression, loose clothes, and wisps of hair made her equally imposing. However, Serene had a chivalrous aura about her. She oozed confidence as she slid down the ice, summoning a large ax and resting it on her shoulder.

Sorn: “She’s amazing.”

Aria was drawing in the ice below with a dagger, but looked up at Sorn’s comment.

Aria: “Who, Serene?”

Sorn nodded, and Aria went back to drawing.

Aria: “Maybe, but she might as well give up.”

Sorn: “Huh?”

Aria: “Raven is the girl chosen by the Spears to be at least future head of the First Division. Even I would hesitate fighting her.”

Looking back down at the arena, Sorn noticed that Serene never broke face. There wasn’t a hint of fear in her eyes.

It didn’t take long for the battle to start. Serene immediately brought down her large ax. Raven jumped out of the way, materializing a thin spear from her three fingers. The spear raced towards Serene’s head, and she barely managed to duck under it.

By the time Serene’s head was back jump, Raven was already behind her, once again pointing three fingers straight at her back. As the projectile launched, another ax of ice materialized in between the two fighters, blocking the small spear.

Serene turned around, grabbing the new ax. With an ax in each of her hands, she swept downwards in a fluid motion, aiming to decapitate her opponent. It was as though both competitors had thrown the ‘no killing rule’ completely out the window.

Aria noticed this as well.

Aria: “It seems they’re fighting for the honor of their clans.”

Sorn found this confusing. Serene was next in line to the Marauders, but it wasn’t the case for Raven. Even though Oden was a loyal Marauder, Sorn couldn’t see him representing them.

Sorn: “But why would that girl represent the Spears?”

Aria: “Kaen is the rightful heir to the Spears, but there is a rumor that Raven will take his place instead.”

Sorn looked over at Kaen, who had previously been sitting next to Toren but was now alone. He hadn’t arrived after Sorn, and he couldn't be third since that was Crystal’s position. That meant he had to be in the top two. Could a ‘failure’ truly be capable of that?

His attention was brought back towards the arena by a loud noise. A small spear had been embedded into Seren’s eye socket. She was on the floor, her axes broken next to her. As they dissolved into the air, Raven kicked Serene while she was on the ground, knocking her out.

Sorn found himself annoyed over such a lowly act done to a respectable person. Moreover, he was horrified by the gruesome scene he had just witnessed. He didn’t know Serene well, but he respected her quite a bit. It seemed Aria didn’t share the same sentiment.

Aria: “Told you so.”

As the two fighters left the arena, the next fighters were announced. Crystal was up against the Marauder Zacen. As it played out, this was by Sorn’s calculations, the shortest fight yet.

Zacen had sprinted towards Crystal, but it only took a single well-timed kick to knock him out. Crystal gave a dramatic bow before returning to her area. Sorn made eye contact with her and she gave him a big thumbs up. Sorn returned it, only to look slightly right at Oden glaring furiously at Raven. His concentration was broken by the next fight's announcement.

Varian: Next will be the second placer versus the nineteenth. Please come down, Scorpion and Keilan.”

End.