The commentator Ghalee called the next match. Prince Deniz Bizaya appeared on the pitch with his opponent Ikenga O Bayajidda.

From their stance, these two contestants looked very different from the others. They stood like the warriors of the First Dawn whose feet grew on the battlefield. Their faces carried no hatred or contempt for each other, which indicated that each of them acknowledged the other's strength, but you could see in their eyes that they were strong, like those sitting at the very peak.

The main reason Ikenga had come to Seerish two months before the tournament was the invitation he received from Deniz Bizáya. He was invited to come and exercise with the prince before the tournament even began.

For thirteen days they fought in the elephant forest, which eventually led to a tie, and no one was able to win.

In the end, each of them carried one lesson home: that if they wanted to be the number one in the tournament then they had to increase their strength to exceed their rival, otherwise, it would be another draw when they inevitably met in the final round. The reward would have to be shared then, which was something that none of them agreed with.

So each of them spent the rest of the days training. And now they clashed even before the last round.

"I think there's no need to waste time in this fight," Deniz Bizaya said. "You and I know each other well enough to know our capabilities. Fighting at this stage won't be good for us. We can get tired or hurt each other and there may not necessarily be a lot of time between this round and the next. Let's do something and let the audience judge."

He paused and closed his eyes for about five seconds. When he opened them his irises were gone and replaced by a picture of a single hammer-shape nail. On his forehead was a mark that looked just like the nail in his eyes, albeit bigger. The nail on his forehead shone brightly, and as if in response, the ring shook for several seconds. And when it stopped, everyone found themselves in a daze at what they saw behind Bizaya.

It was a huge red nail, bright and polished. It stood still as if it had been there since the beginning of the world as if it would never fall even if the world fell. It was so big that even if you lifted your head you wouldn't be able to see its end, only the polished head sunk in the clouds. Its pointed end pierced the ring behind Bizaya. It looked corporeal no matter how you looked at it. But the Denizens knew it wasn't. It was a manifestation of pol and bloodline Bending that was unique to them.

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There was some commotion in the audience. If you had never seen one, you were in for a big surprise. And if you had seen one before, you would find that this nail was much bigger than most.

Amid the commotion, the nail split in two. As everyone wondered why it was divided into two, each half further divided into two nails, where each one was further divided. In a blink, one nail became eight. It stopped dividing but each nail grew bigger to become the same size as the first one.

Anyone who had ever visited the Denizens and their underground empire knew of these nails. The Denizens called them 'Máirakána', but everyone else called them Bending nails.

Bizaya smiled broadly and continued, "I will put all my pol in my nails and I will imprison you with them, just like the old times. I want you to break out of the prison in sixty seconds. If you do that, then I, Deniz Bizáya, have lost the tournament and will allow you to proceed on to the final. But if you fail to do so, then I won."

Although he didn't say it out loud, he was loud enough for the commentator to hear, who repeated it to the audience.

Ikenga didn't answer immediately. He silently stared at his opponent.

Seeing that he was hesitating to answer Bizaya, the audience wondered if he was afraid. A few remembered his name and they even wondered if he was the same Ikenga.

In the VIP room, as soon as the red Mairakana appeared, Asifu whispered to King Deniz. "This boy may even be better than your majesty in bloodline Bending. I can't wait to see him grow up."

He sounded like he was teasing the King, but his eyes spoke of deep truth. The King gave him a mild smile and looked away.

But anyone who had never experienced Mairakana would never understand what was going on there.

Ikenga sighed. Recently, Bizaya had managed to put him in the same prison. He barely made it out alive after hours of trying. But the man wanted to do the same to him again. Did his opponent want to win so badly that he was willing to play foul?

Ikenga had sworn by the creator of the first Bayajidda, which was his biggest oath, that he would take the first position in the jinzidal. It would be the first step in a grand plan to take revenge for what happened to his country and his family. So he couldn't lose to bizaya, and accepting the challenge seemed like a sure way to lose.

However, he didn't want to tarnish his image in front of all the people there. It would be bad for his future army. He looked at the mocking smile on Bizaya's face and heard what the audience said, and how Ghalee was getting more and more excited about it all, and he just shrugged and agreed.

The audience calmed down a bit as everyone waited eagerly to see what would happen in the next sixty seconds between Ikenga and prince Bizaya.

"How would Ikenga lose?" Deniz Kalhari asked Asifu. He was so sure that their prince would win.

The other man shrugged. It was too early for him to bet.