Cumulonimbus clouds stood tall against the vast mountains at the end of the bridge behind Tate. Any chances of cloud coverage blocking out the sun appeared to be dashed to the side later. The clouds were too far away behind the mountain rises, and yet standing before him was arguably the worst person to fight in this tournament with the sun. Heidi Graham is known for her passive singularity to emit harsh heat during the day, immune to any amount of heat placed upon her.

Troubling, but nothing to alter his plans for. Tate placed his right hand against the marble stone of the bridge, a glimmer of orange wrapped around his body — His singularity activated! Marble sprung up, ripping apart from the bridge and casting itself around his gloved hand. Legs moving forward and hand still against the floor. More and more marble started to rupture and uplift from their spot before forming into a marble spear and tossed directly towards Heidi.

Grabbing hold of another piece of marble, he placed it against his other hand, placing his other hand over it as electricity sparked. His left hand became infused with a marble blade. Tate’s singularity was Alchemy and a relatively high dosage of it. Against foes such as this, it was the perfect weapon to counter all three fighters. To be graced with such a singularity truly meant he was to stand high above the others, just like the captain!

Heidi hopped over the marble spear as it narrowly brushed past her thighs. Situated underneath the bridge gate, behind her was yet another long and extended path leading to another island. She was locked dead in the middle with Tate. Landing on all of her fours, Heidi gently tapped the ground, attempting to heat it up but to no avail. Marble go figure, squinting her eyes, it seemed she required relying on old habits.

The gate itself housed various pipes and wires running along with its outer and inner frame. These pipes are pumped into the ocean below, water flowing from the pipelines and out the other end seemingly going back into the water. The purpose for such a design often baffled fighters, stages within the machine often weird, another world entirely from time to time, or just the amalgamation of famous places mixed together.

Another marble spear brushed past Heidi, each throw becoming more accurate as Tate approached closer. Looking back at where the spear landed, two spears now lay stuck into the bridge. Glancing back towards Tate, he was now in range of Heidi for close combat, his left-handed blade moving in to stab Heidi. A swift swipe of Heidi’s hand, knocking the blade downward, only for her to take quick jabs into his chest!

The force of which surprised him, backing away, clenching his chest. “What was that just now?” He thought to himself. Sheer amounts of heat had just been tapped into his chest. His lungs were burning, but that quick movement. Where had he seen it before? Taking a good look at Heidi, he noticed her actions, specifically her leg work, started to take a few hops, almost as if she was imitating a specific boxer.

Did Starlight spread their skills among each other? Or was this just a simple display of luck? To be hit and countered so easily! Such a disgrace would be a mockery to his title! Either way, Tate felt an ominous foreboding around Heidi, as if she was embracing their captain's fighting style even if it was crude.

A rumble echoed throughout the sky, the crackling of lightning in the far distance — Dark clouds loomed far off to the west, with the direction of the wind changing from heading southward to east. Tate took a moment to catch his breath and ease the pain. Clearly, his opponent wasn’t going to attack when at a disadvantage like this. Still, this odd change in the wind could only mean another was approaching. That or the other two had begun fighting. He needed to settle this quick before they got here.

“Ha…Urgh. Screw this!” Tate slammed his gloved fist into the ground; electricity sparked from his fist as the marble floor uplifted towards Heidi. Her stance changed yet again, an enormous amount of heat sinking into her feet. Tate could only see bits and pieces of crumbled marble flying past him. Heidi dropkicked the incoming marble shattering it from the intense heat.

This is odd, how odd… Tate started to ramble his thoughts. To think the weakest opponent would already be displaying another assortment of skills yet again, utilizing a passive singularity in a manner that catered to offense. That style change, where have I seen that one? Yes, that fat one…Their vanguard, right? Utilizing sheer strength to breakthrough attacks. I see… I see.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Tate shifted up his glasses, examining Heidi as the sun started to be blocked out by the storm clouds rolling in. Now was the time! Bless the divines for granting him this opportunity, her weakness being no sunlight! Looks like I win, Starlight!

Tate rushed forward — Water rushed through the pipelines, bubbling within. One of the pipes burst open due to the heat, hitting Tate scalding him on the side.

“Argh! Cheap tricks won’t wo-” His eyes locked onto Heidi only to see two flaming shoes coming in hot! Another dropkick as Tate tumbled out of the gate. Wind speeds starting to pick up, a bad omen, too bad his mind was only alerting him to the searing pain on his face. His precious glasses nearly broke from that kick! That damned girl! Pressing one’s filthy boots against the gracious being planted upon this earth by the divines!

Tates anger arose, his look becoming more senile by the second. Until he brushed himself off and turned to look west, the storm clouds were here. But, the rain had yet to drop, his eyes loomed to the top of the gate, there he saw the other trouble maker. Elsie, the bunny girl from California.

“You’re really having trouble with her, huh? Even though the suns blocked.” Elsie dropped down from the gate, landing perfectly behind Tate a few meters away. Heidi noticed the girl's ears; it reminded her of Cheveyo. A potential spirit user?

Elsie started to perform hops, a dosage of green energy formed beneath her feet. Droplets of rain began to fall upon the bridge. Tate took no chances and used his alchemy to uplift the marble again and produce an umbrella.

He turned to face Elsie, who seemed ready to kick his ass, only to hear the sound of footsteps behind him. Tate moved out of the way, avoiding Heidi’s incoming attack, using the least of his effort to kick her towards Elsie.

Elsie wasn’t one to aid an opponent; thus, she kicked Heidi to the side of the bridge.

“So sorry! But I don’t do team-ups! Worst even now, I'm getting wet.” Elsie looked upwards, watching as the rain started to pour. Due to the sudden change in the weather, all present fighters could see their own aura causing the rain to burn up upon hitting their body. Heidi, in particular, produced a ton of steam. Elsie’s green aura shielding her body, Tates orange, and Heidi’s red. An advanced technique, easy to use, but consumes the body's energy.

Swiping her feet upwards, Elsie then swung it down, sending a shockwave straight in Tates direction leading up with her rushing at him. Her priorities shifted; she could eliminate starlight later before the storm cleared up. Georgia must be knocked out entirely here and now to secure the championship victory!

Tate placed his gloved hand onto the ground, uplifting the marble to form a protective stone pillar taking the brunt of the shockwave. Elsie hopped over the pillar, sending down a dropkick intercepted by Tate’s umbrella. Carefully backing up, Tate clearly tried to avoid the droplets of rain from hitting him. After landing, Elsie kept up her attack, spin kicking Tate his hand to intercept the attack, flinging her leg to the side. Placing her hands against the wet floor, Elsie bent her knees and leaped forward into a powerful kick that hit Tate in the chest, forcing him into the dry shade of the gate.

“Phew~! …Odd.” Elsie collapsed to the ground to try and catch her breath. The rain continued to pour and pour. She was giving out of energy quicker than expected. What was occurring? Was this Tate’s doing? No, his power didn’t seem to affect others apart from himself. Still, the more the rain dripped across her face, a dreary sensation overtook her, then she let out a yawn.

She was attempting to get up. All she could grasp was her upper body, her legs were growing numb, and now she had a drowsy feeling overtake her. Her eyes loomed over to Starlight, who happened to be knocked out completely lying on the ground.

“Ha…Huh?” Elsie struggled to keep her eyes open. Each attempt at moving caused her body to tire out more and more with each droplet of rain.

Tate pushed up his glasses, watching Elsie drift off into a slumber. His eyes finally looked past the two sleeping fighters to see Osvaldo kneeled down looking at Heidi.

“Man, almost had it in the bag. Good to know you’re still keen, Tate. Well, then…” Valdo decided to sit Heidi up against the edge of the bridge to the point she wasn't flooded by puddles of water. His attention finally set onto a more challenging foe than the rest.

“Sheesh, this matchup.” Rubbing the back of his head, Osvaldo decided to take things seriously; it seemed his singularity was working like a charm. But, against someone that knows his ability, he might have to get creative.

Osvaldo glanced towards Heidi one last time, then turned back to Tate. There was no need to knock the two sleepers overboard. As long as all three fighters were incapacitated, victory was assured.