Arganthes: The Capital Of Dungeons 33 Chapter 17: S.E.T. Round 4: Unexpected Reunion

After the small interruption, the matches got resumed with no difficulties whatsoever.

This time around Geo had to start the entire round.

Lost in thought he walked towards the stage,

Was he worried? Nervous maybe?

Who could blame him? Maybe the pressure of the finals got the better of him?

Probably not, right? I mean, it's Geo who we are talking about here.

Still lost in thought he automatically started stretching his arms and legs, before the beginning of the match.

"Hmm... what if I have to fight someone who doesn't pose a challenge? Then the whole purpose of coming here would be for naught!! I will not stand for this blasphemy I tell you! I refused the give in to doubt!!"

Geo slapped both his cheeks and took on a battle stance. Immediately taunting at his opponent who did not seem pleased about his gestures.

His prideful opponent couldn't take his random and half-a.s.sed att.i.tude, his hands raised itching to go.

I noticed this was the good old Geo I met in the forests, his behavior from before was probably part of his plan to throw his opponent off guard.

Rea.s.sured I locked my eyes on the arena,

Waiting in antic.i.p.ation while the gong signaled the beginning of the match.

Geo turned away from his opponent taunting him with his hand. His opponent did not have a complete armor set, but just enough to protect the vital parts of his legs and right shoulder.

"Oh Mera, Come and get me, big fella. We don't have all day you know..."

Geo's hand waved towards himself in a way that signaled his opponent to come closer.

Enraged by Geo's disrespect, his opponent got blinded, making the way he thinks into an enemy.

The thing that practically helped Geo do this without having to exert to much force,

was his opponent their ego.

Geo made sure to dodge moving backward.

This worked in the opponent his favor,

because there were more ways than one to win.

These different ways prevented the movement from the outside. When the punches let up Geo almost tripped at the edge of the stage.

Thinking at least a few steps ahead Geo devised the perfect plan to win with minimal effort.

Taunting his opponent to move in just a bit more by letting him think Geo's guard was lowered.

Punches thrown past his ears, Geo dodged and dodged when finally a wide and strong attack threw him off guard. There he was, trying to hang on...

His opponent laughed.

"Hahaha, fool! Did you not think before you acted? Victory is at hand, soon getting what I want wouldn't be a fantasy anymore."

Geo smiled.

"Wrong!! It is I who will have the last laugh!! For you see one is most defenseless when finis.h.i.+ng the fight with one final move. That time has finally come!

So now, I Geo will move out of the way and show you what I mean."

Geo took one step to the right, doing the unexpected his opponent did not see this coming. Unable to stop his rush towards the edge... his opponent jumped off himself ending the fight in Geo's win.

The last match of group A was about to start when an unbelievable prideful and radiant woman took the stage. The crowd began whispering in themselves.

"Who is she? I have never seen such beauty. Do you think she would be interested in a drink after the tournament? She looks as if she's from a n.o.ble heritage. Wouldn't she be way out of my league?"

Some guys behind me started gossiping about her origin. Leading to them calling her names.

"Isn't she lady ironheart? The one who got disowned because the went against the word of the king?"

"Yes! Wasn't her name Gina? Gina Ironheart!! Now I remember. She must have joined the tournament to regain some of her pride."

All around me I could hear people talk about her...

She was quite popular among the townspeople.

Deciding not to bother myself with gossip I ignored all the negative remarks that were made and turned my gaze to the stage.

Another woman took the stage who felt above the rest.

"What?! You dare to show your face around here!!

Not being part of the ironhearts... you should be ashamed!"

It was visible that the remarks took their toll on her. Annoyed by her opponent and the booing of the crowd she slapped her cheeks to remain focused.

At that moment the gong rang.

Making sure not to rush in to quickly she raised her guard.her opponent came at her with ferocious killing intent. Annoyed that even tho she got disowned and banished from the kingdom, she was still more popular than her.

Helena is the G.o.ddess of prosperity, sportsmans.h.i.+p and mischief felt what chaos was brewing. This was exactly why she founded the Tournament of Beginnings. Allowing their opponents to make a clean start and bury all the grudges in the Arena.

There was nothing so pure that she went out of her way to secure this yearly event. She watched with excitement, curious how all this would end. Making up the roster of the finals only became more interesting.

Gina tried to dodge as much as she could,

But when her opponents' speed had proven to be a challenge she had no other choice to raise her to guard more firm. Pinned in location her opponent circled her with incredible speed.

Gina knew that a chance would present itself if only she kept looking for an opening.

When finally her opponent threw a wide punch allowing Gins to get away and regroup.

While Gina tried to regroup, she did not succeed in throwing off her opponent. Persistent like glue she didn't get any breathing room.

Enduring through the barrage.

Gina was able to read through them.

Getting enough of the one-sided attacks Gina dodged and countered her opponents attack,

a kick straight to the chin had sent her flying when she finally collapsed on the floor.

Resulting in a win for Gina.

The final selection roster of Group A was secured.

Finis.h.i.+ng round 4, it was now time for group B to do the same.

Alessia unable to contain her urge for battle,

Eagerly jumped on stage. A droopy young man stood face to face with her. Having a long slender body, medium-length black hair covering his face only added to his depressing aura.

Fur hides covered his body, giving Alessia a hint that this young man could pose a challenge. He wasn't getting into the final selection rounds without effort.

The young man cowered in fair covering his ears and appeared to be mumbling something.

When the gong rang, his personality turned around instantly. As if he had snapped.

"Shut up you f.u.c.kers!!! Can't you see it annoys the s.h.i.+t out of me?!"

The young man screamed at the top of his lungs clawing his hands upwards as his arms went down.

Something was different, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Hehehe, Is it you?! Are you the reason why it's so chaotic in here? HEH?!"

The young man rushed on his hands and feet towards Alessia. Shocked by the turn of events her body froze in place. Unable to reach the young man got closer...

And closer... when finally he jumped towards Alessia.

"Watch out!! Duck!!"

I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I closed my eyes, unable to bear what would transpire on the stage. But when I finally dared to watch again it appeared that Alessia was still on the stage, unharmed and well.

I don't know why I screamed at her... but something inside me reacted towards the dreadful creature the young man had become.

The young man stood there motionless in the center of the stage. Arms dangling like heavyweights next to him. The young man's head facing the ceiling of the arena.

"Why... why? Why is it that I am never able to enjoy some peace?"

The young man slowly dragged his body around revealing his scarred face to me and this side of the audience. The young man appeared to be crying,

Unable to bear his frustration he turned straight to me as a cold and freezing air captivated me.

Locked in place he dragged his body closer...

And closer when finally he dropped down and looked me straight in the eyes.

"W-was I-it you? It-the one w-who interfered with the fight?"

Unable to look away I was overcome by fear so primal sweat instantly broke down, turning me into a dripping stone.

The man turned landed on his hands and feet.

Without breaking eyes contact he turned his head...

Left... then right... he was seizing me up.

Just like an animal would.

It looked like he wanted to start a conversation with me when suddenly, he turned around and killing intent filled the entire room. Alessia charged in to take her chance at victory. But the young man jumped,

Dodging her blow.

Angered the man rushed towards her attacking her in a blind rage. Was I wrong? Should I have stayed quiet? What did he want from me?

And most of all... why didn't he have killing intent towards me like all the others?

The crowd was booing, but he couldn't care less at this point. The only thing that went through his head. Was to eliminate the source of the problem.

Las.h.i.+ng out to Alessia, having only one thought in mind. She dodged as much as she could.

Knowing that being hit could mean the end of the match. She had to devise a plan, a plan where she could win while using the strength of the opponent against their own.

I looked to the stage, while the tension became almost unbearable Alessia taunted the once young man, who had turned in a wild animal.

The moment he closed in she let herself slide to the ground, grabbing his torso and instantly throwing him out without much trouble.

Alessia had won the match. Relieved and overjoyed she left the stage... I can only imagine how much of a toll it took on her, fighting someone as insane like that. Still... something seemed off... if you can't handle crowds why join the tournament in the first place? Not to mention that he came rather far too.

It seems they are progressing steadily seeing as how the next contestants are already ready to go.

A small wide dwarf with bright red hair and a long braided beard took the stage, calling himself Brutus Von Drought. His eyes blue and calm like the sea stroke a mature air around him. His opponent was a human monk who bowed down in respect for his opponent.

As the gong rang the monk and Brutus both just stood there... none of them took the initiative,

Until the monk lost his patience.

Rus.h.i.+ng towards Brutus the monk tried to sweep him off his feet, but Brutus stood his ground like a motionless mountain.

Ths monk struck again, and again...

Yet Brutus didn't seem to be fazed in any way.

After a couple of attempts, Brutus opened his eyes,

As the monk was incoming with a flying kick Brutus grabbed him out of the air. He turned his opponent around and round and round.

When finally he let go of his legs.

Hurling him towards the edge of the stage.

The monk propelled his entire body, making it into a tiny ball as he curled up completely.

Then finally when the monk reached the edge he sprung out instantly stopping the momentum his opponent created to throw him out.

He bowed down proceeding to taunt his opponent,

But Brutus wasn't faced at all.

Instead, he broke out in laughter slapping his belly.

"Hahahaha, hohoho. You, young man...

Are better than Brutus had expected. To reward you Brutus will not hold back anymore out of respect towards you, my opponent."

Brutus slapped his ma.s.sive hands together, starting with small yet increasingly faster steps towards his opponent he rushed sideways holding his right arm against his body for the impact that was yet to come.

His opponent knew he had to dodge, but couldn't in the short time which he had to react. Instead, he decided to bow down and accept his faith as Brutus crashed into him. The sheer shockwave sends him flying out of the stage.

The crowd was amazed by this destructive force,

Roaring in excitement they locked their eyes on his opponent, who elegantly twirled around, allowing him to land on the ground.

Brutus advanced to the final round of Group B.

"Would group C please take center stage? Thank you."

The announced made quick work of the a.s.sembly of groups, allowing the finished groups as much rest as possible.

"Contestants C04 and C13 please take the stage."

A young man and girl took the stage.

The man was not too long or short, but he didn't seem all to wide like the others. He had short black hair and gave off a feeling which I could only describe as an intelligent and professional one. All while he was fiddling with his gloves.

Like when Gina was fighting the crowd began gossiping again as all found his gloves rather peculiar.

"Isn't he the one from Alchemeria, The Tower of Alchemist?"

"You could be right, wasn't his name Leonardo?"

Behind me, a few others were talking his full name.

"Egnition? Oh! Now I remember, he is the man who even without magic was able to create small explosions which turn out to be useful in either combat or crafting of stone and specious minerals!

He is famous around Mineral!!"

"Leonard Egnition? Hmm... now I am curious about this fight!"

My heart raged in excitement as the lady took the stage. A short purple curly haired vixen with black leather clothing posed for the entire crowd as they got wild.

She winked at Leonardo and blew him a kiss,

This made him feel uneasy as the woman was quite a looker.

Shortly after the gong rang, starting the match

Leonardo turned a k.n.o.b on the bottom of his gloves.

Allowing them to radiate heat and light up a little.

Something that looked like a roster made of metal alloy. Covered the back of his gloves. Something that looked like rubber tubes went inside. They connected to a compartment on his back. Still, I couldn't make out what was inside the canisters.

His opponent slowly started walking towards him.

He wanted to keep his distance and tried to do so while holding his hands in front of him. This showed us that there was a metal core component on the inside of his hands too.

"Please... please stay back, I-I don't want to hurt you."

Not caring about Leonardo's warnings the daring young woman crept closer ever so slightly.

"D-don't blame Leonardo for what happened next,

I gave you a fair warning."

Leonardo pointed his open hand towards his opponent and grabbed his wrist with the other.

During this time, something in the compartment on his back began glowing and turning around Its axis.

Steam seeped out slowly heating his glove and opening the compartment in his palm.

His opponent didn't care much about it, closing in even more. Almost reaching her opponent she then jumped towards Leonardo.

But it was too late, heat collected in the open compartment of the glove, shooting out in a concentrated fireball, which hurled towards his opponent.

His opponent did whatever she could to dodge the fireball in midair, failing miserably... the ball became smaller on impact. When almost immediately after resulting in an explosion of great proportions.

The sheer force hurled both of them away, almost throwing both out of the ring. Luckily Leonardo could grab on to a loose tile which had helped him to win the match.

Raiden watched the match unfold, this made his heart pump in excitement knowing he had to face Leonardo next if he could win the next match.

Quickly going on stage he found himself facing off against a hooded figure...

One who wasn't respectful at all as he or she had a wide grin on their face.

"Hehehe! Did you see that? Man! That was spectacular... I bet the lord would love to gain weapons of that caliber in his ranks."

It p.i.s.sed Raiden off that his opponent didn't pay much attention to him... as his opponent only seems to have eyes for the insane display of Leonardo.

Well... who could blame anyone for that matter...

It was literal insanity that transpired during that match.

The gong rang but Raiden's opponent just stood there laughing. Annoyed he rushed towards his opponent as he tried to get the upper hand.

A left punch, followed by a left kick and an uppercut proof that this was not an ordinary opponent...

Why? His opponent dodged them with minimal effort,

Answering with a seemingly light push.

Resulting in Raiden almost flying out of the ring.

His opponent began laughing even harder.

"Hah! Isss that all you've got?! Boring... and you are supposed to be a summoned one? Well... time to finish this... we have found our potential candidate!"

Raidens opponent then squatted down,

Followed by rising and hitting Raiden with a ma.s.sive uppercut.

"Sssee... that'ss how you're sssupposed to hit sssomeone!!"

His opponent quickly followed up with a heavy hit downward slamming Raiden into the ground.

Unable to move he lay there motionless...

The referee counted down, while Raiden tried to stand up with all his might... But it was too late...

He had lost...

Frustrated by his loss and lack of tactical inside he took a leave and sat down in the rest area.

Broken, he knew he had to keep working for one simple fact, to never feel so humiliated again...

Now that Group C had finished their fights it was time for Group D, Yami, and Ethan, as they fight for a chance to advance towards the finals.

Yami took her to leave towards the stage,

waiting for her opponent to arrive.

A few minutes had pa.s.sed keeping Yami on edge when finally her opponent to entrance on the stage.

She was shocked... shocked to see her dear brother take the stage against her.

"Bleiz!! No... the n-no way... is that you?!"

Yami rushed towards her brother whom she last saw when she had left her village in search of food.

"Yes, sis... it's me, it has been so long..."

Before Yami could close in to hug her brother the referee stopped them.

"No physical contact allowed before the gong has rung... this will lead to immediate expulsion!"

Right after the referee signaled the beginning of the match.

"We will talk after sis, know that I won't hold back!!"

Bleiz leaped forward taking advantage of his confused sister, grabbing her in midair,

turning her around and instantly throwing her to the ground without mercy.

"I'm sorry sis, but I have to win this... they promised me to save our village if I would."

"Who are they? And I will get you for that, no more letting my guard down."

Yami stood up, instantly leaping towards her brother.

But her brother dodged her as if he knew what she was about to do, again and again, her brother dodged with minimal effort.

The wide and exaggerated movements had left Yami exhausted.

*huff* *huff*

"I can't give up now... not while I am having the match of my life against my brother! He wouldn't have wanted it any other way!"

Yami roared out unleas.h.i.+ng a ma.s.sive aura of darkness. Covering the entire stage her brother was unable to see. In this pitch-black darkness, she finally had the upper hand. Or so she thought.

You see, wolfs have excellent hearing and sense of smell which becomes even stronger when their vision is rendered useless.

This proved to be right when her brother dodged almost every incoming attack. As her final tactic had failed she fell, gasping for air.

Unable to stand up she lost her match as a final scream of frustration left her mouth.

Bleiz won the match, moving on to Ethan his match.

Ethan took the stage with his cold-blooded expression his opponent was raring to go seeing hoe the last few matches had pumped him up completely.

The man wanted to rush towards Ethan at the start of the match, but couldn't. Quickly being immobilized by Ethan his frost kicks.

Frozen in place Ethan quickly won the matchmaking room for Group E.

Now that Ethan and Yami their matches had finished it was finally my turn. Before going to the stage I had to say that I was worried about Yami, it seemed she had a hard time, seeing her brother after a while and being beaten without any mercy whatsoever.

I had to do with her... but seeing as how fast all the matches progressed I did not have time to think about that right now.

Right now, I had to focus on the match ahead since it was my turn to go on stage.

Om the other side of the stage, there stood a scaled young lizardman. It's forest green scales contrasted with the yellow soft skin on his chin, belly, underarms, and legs. On the other hand, looking at its scales it seemed like his tail had better armor than the rest.

We bowed down to each other allowing the gong to start the match.

When immediately after the young lizard man stood there alarmed. It's tail shot up and he jumped back.

I a.s.sessed the situation by closing in a little, yet the young man kept his distance. When keeping his distance. Finding out this wasn't the best thing to si he swung his tail like a flail. Unable to react to the speed I held up my guard. The impact was immense!

The sheer force flying me to the other side of the stage, barely keeping me in the ring. I had to watch out for his tail.

This was no time for doubt, rus.h.i.+ng towards my opponent and clinging onto him was the best path of action I could take. This would prevent him from using its tail, not wanting to hit himself, right?

As I closed in, he tried hitting me with his tail again, but this time... I was prepared. Jumping into the air allowed me to dodge his ma.s.sive tail.

Then it hit me, in the air I'm unable to dodge...

The Lizardman smirked instantly changing his trajectory and slamming me into the ground once again.

When the ground hit me, I desperately clung to its tail.

But couldn't... was this the end? Was this how far I could go? No... I refuse to go down without even putting up much of a fight...

The Lizardman kept slamming me with his tail,

when I flung my body to the left with the little energy I had left.

Desperately I tried to stand up, refusing to stay down.

The young Lizardman didn't want to fight anymore.

But had to win as both of us were tasting that victory.

Struggling to get up, the Lizardman rushed towards me wanting to end it once and for all.

When I finally found the strength to stand I took all my reserves trying to move. Starting straight at my opponent without backing down.

This made the young man flinch. Unsure of what to do. Fear overcame the young man making him back down. I wasn't about to lose this chance even if it took all my strength to close in.

The lizardman desperately tried to grab me,

Losing my strength I fell to the ground,

Now as both of us were closing in on each other I couldn't let this chance go... in my flight down I tried grabbing the Lizardman his tail. Using my weight to add to the power. Seeing as we both were exhausted it was obvious that we both had to give everything we had in this mast attack.

In the nick of the moment, I dodged the lizardman's arms and pulled him with me resulting in the both of us falling... succeeding in what I had planned now I needed to make him fall first. I turned with all my strength letting go of his tail at the last moment as I desperately clung to the edge of the stage.

The young Lizardman didn't have any strength left to react as he fell off the stage.

"The winner is Michael Shadowfang!!"

The moment I heard those words all strength in my body left me and I fell off the stage. I... had... won...

The moment I woke up it appeared they had moved me to the medical ward. Yami sat next to me, making me think back to the moment when we had first met.

"H-hey... are you okay, Yami?"

Surprised Yami her ears shot up, she jumped on the bed, hugging me tightly. She must have been really worried about me.

"Michael!! Michaeeel!! I was so worried!"

*sob* *sob*

"I-I did win, right? And I watched your fight too, that must have been tough, having to fight your brother like that."

I petted Yami her head gently while hugging her tightly.

"I'm glad you're okay, but we have to move on.

I too... I have found my limitations and have to work to better them. Now we know our strengths and weaknesses which will help us in future events."

I tried sitting upright, doing so made me realize I had not recovered fully. Yami did what she could for us to return to the arena momentarily.

Luckily for me, the second match of my group was still going strong. One of the contestants was called Rach.e.l.la Brightstone.

It looked like the match had reached a stalemate,

Her opponent tried to confront her, yet throwing punch after punch she hit nothing but air...

Rach.e.l.la was too quick, easily dodging whatever her opponent could throw at her. Getting the upper hand Rach.e.l.la lured her opponent closer to her, to the edge. When finally she made her opponent trip and lose balance during her last attack.

Quickly she grabbed her opponent by her arm,

Using the momentum she lifted her opponent above her head, throwing her over the shoulder and into the crowd.

"That's how you finish a match in style!!"

She raised her fist in the air showing how proud she was of her victory. The medics quickly arrived on stage even asking me why I was out of bed after what had happened.

"With a bit of rest, everything should be fine...

Please... let me see the matches, this is what I came for."

Against better judgment, the medics prepared a seat for me to rest and witness the rest of the matches allowing me to stay in the audience.

Group E had finished their matches allowing the referee to move on to Group F.

The crowd began booing, signaling the arrival of Gideon, the weird kid... what was he talking about, telling me we were not alone?

Arriving with his hood on Gideon laughed at the despicable booing of the crowd.

"Hehe, just wait till you see what I have in store for the finals!"

A big and tough opponent took the stage in front of him, the crowd went wild seeing that he was one of the favorites to win this tournament.

Both ready for combat and glaring at one another.

Everyone waited in antic.i.p.ation for the match to start when finally after 30 painfully long seconds the gong rang.

Gideon rushed towards the tough-looking opponent instantly reaching for his thought...

Gideon swiftly locked his hand on his neck,

slowly his grip became more powerful as he laughed in disbelieve.

"This... This is your favored one to win?! Don't make me laugh... he couldn't even compare to half of the contestants present here today. This disgrace of "human potential" isn't even worth my time...

I hoped for a better match..."

Disappointed Gideon made his grip firmer.

Looking closer, was he holding that though opponent up with one arm? Fascinated by this I just couldn't look away.

Gideon smiled... a smile covering cheek to cheek,

Revealed harsh and yellow teeth. The sheer sight made people in the crowd grovel in fear.

"So... you made it back I see? Curious about the powers from inside? Here... let me show you."

Gideon pushed his nails inside the flesh of his opponent's neck making his opponent scream in agony. Burying his fingers even further something looked even more horrifying than what he was inflicting.

His hand... something black flowed over his arm and into his hand. Black mucus-covered his entire arm, slowly seeping into the wounds of his opponent.

Eyes slowly turning inside, the pain... the pain was so unbearable his opponents' eyes turned inside...

Unable to grasp for air, air bubbles became forming inside his mouth all while drooling and p.i.s.sing himself.

But it didn't stop there... the black mucus was now spreading slowly inside of his opponent turning his eyes black as the night.

Quickly Gideon loosened his grip. His opponent instantly fell to the ground like a rag doll.

Medics rushed on stage to check for vital signs,

Guards readied themselves preparing for the worst.

"Relax will you... he's not dead! How else am I able to advance in this tournament?"

The medics checked for vital signs concluding his opponent was still alive. Apologizing for their harsh reaction they immediately announced him the winner.

Draven seeing what had happened became all the more nervous, terror seeped in slowly clouding his judgment. Even if he still had a match to go before facing off against Gideon. Fear was already beginning to eat away at him.

To make matters worse he found out when he went up to the stage that his opponent was also a hooded figure.

This one had sharp claws, he was also covered in scales. The hood had a weird shape as if something was pointing backward in two directions.

His face must have also been covered in scales. Raiden couldn't see, still... he was sure of it.

The gong rang starting their fight.

The hooded fighter opened his hands and rushed towards Raiden. Frozen by fear Raiden could not move.

Finally reaching punching distance Raiden's legs gave in making him fall to the ground. As luck would have it making him dodge his opponent attack.

Caught off guard by this his opponent instantly turned around and tried to attack again. Or so Raiden thought. His opponent raised what Raiden feared the most a huge tail covered in scales.

His opponent struck Raiden hard with it sending him flying. The impact snapped him out of his fear allowing him to think clearly. But what was there to do in midair? Tried as he might Raiden struggled to turn in the air changing his course as he fell to the ground with great force.

"Can I win this... can I win against one of the things I fear most?"

Not yet fallen of stage Raiden tried to pull himself together, during which he was questioning his bravery.

"You have to overcome your fears...

you are not the person you once was...

This... is a new life...

don't ever give up on yourself again!"

Raiden stood up with the little strength he had left.

"Interesssting... will you put up a fight?

I will win for our glorious master!"

The hooded opponent took off his hood revealing his humanoid face. Scales covered it partially revealing his yellow lizardlike eyes and sharp fangs.

"I have not come so far to succ.u.mb to my fears,

Today is the day I overcome them and get stronger because of it!"

Raiden raised his guard knowing his opponent would favor to fight in close range. Seeing how his opponent used his tail to get an advantage he had to look out for that too.

But this time he wasn't going to wait for his opponent to attack... he took the initiative.

Closing in his opponent did exactly what he did last time coming in hard with both arms.

When Raiden dodged he quickly turned around wanting to strike him with his tail. Afraid Raiden backed away a little. Having to face his fears wasn't an easy task, but he had thought of a plan.

The trail closed in with incredible speed. When finally his opponent lowered his guard. Raiden had waited for this moment, the moment where he could grab the tail of his opponent with all his might.

He had done it, he grabbed his tail!

But now what? His opponent vigorously slammed left and right taking Raiden with him. Holding on with what little strength Raiden had left he failed to think about what he had to do next...

Could he pull it off to turn his opponents weight against him? Seeing how the momentum was against him that wasn't possible... then... there was one last thing he could do. When it finally popped up ahead.

"Pin him to the ground!"

Summoning all the strength within his body Raiden pulled his opponent onto the ground hoping to lock him in place. When the unthinkable happened.

His opponent's tail came clean off.

Stumbling without a way to balance himself flailing around like a fish on dry land his opponent was unable to stand up.

Quickly Raiden pinned him down, holding his arms and legs in a lock. The referee began counting down.

"1...

2...

3...

4...

5..."

Suddenly his opponent's tail grew back.

His opponent kept flailing trying to get free even slamming his tail to Raidens back, but it wasn't enough.

"6..."

Raiden held him so tightly his opponent was unable to do anything against him. Not giving up the struggle until the end.

"7...

8...

9...

10...! And the winner by count down is Raiden!!!"

Relieve came over him, realizing the importance of it all. He had done it... he had concurred his fears!

The crowd went wild when suddenly his opponent slapped his tail around his neck.

"If I can't win, then I will at lea.s.sst take you with me.

For his Slitheringnesss!"

At that moment all the air got squeezed out of his lungs, gasping for air he tried to stay conscious,

But couldn't... collapsing to the ground.

Guards jumped up on stage containing whatever transpired, medics rushed on stage to do what they could quickly brought Raiden to the medical ward.

"Despicable... how could they?

At least have some respect for your opponent!!"

Group F had finished their round on a rather abrupt note leaving a sour taste for group G.

The gloomy feeling didn't stay long.

By the time the contestants of group G arrived almost everyone had forgotten about the match with Raiden.

Akano more ready than ever slammed his fist together in antic.i.p.ation of his next match.

Leaving small flames in his wake.

The contestants for the next round left the stage leaving him with his opponent.

Everyone looked in antic.i.p.ation.

When the gong finally rang it what felt like an eternity,

Akano instantly jumped towards his opponent,

Grabbing his head and piledriving him into the ground, quickly dragging him to the edge of the stage.

Crying out his opponent gave up,

ending the match in record time.

"Puny human... go back to the gutter where you belong."

Disappointed he left the stage, b.u.mping into the next one to fight. A young man with black hair covering his face. Bandages and seemingly black clothes which allowed him to move freely.

Upon the arrival of the waiting room, he noticed that the place where they had b.u.mped into each other was aching and even burning up a little.

This ignited a fire from within. Finally finding a strong opponent Akano looked in antic.i.p.ation trying to see what his style was.

But the young man had already won before Akano could turn around. This made him pumped for the final match before the finals.

Moving on to the last group, Group H.

Group H came of stage introducing Johnny Frost.

A natural Ice elemental user, the worst part was that he wasn't allowed to use his elemental manipulation until the finals.

Going on stage he greeted Aqua, giving him no mind she left the stage allowing the first match to start.

Johnny's opponent looked pumped slamming his hands against his head. The gong rang allowing both to advance in battle.

But something felt off... his opponent was unable to move. Johnny closed in slamming him to the ground.

His opponent quickly stood up. Being out for revenge he stormed towards him. Closing in the struck towards Johnny's face. Johnny dodged and seemed to strike the ground near his opponent with his feet.

His opponent slipped, unable to stop he glided of stage instantly allowing Johnny to win the match without much effort. He looked at Aqua and winked at her Taunting her for the coming match.

Aqua took the stage and stood face to face with another woman. Knowing they both got this far she wasn't about to lower her guard.

Taking this seriously to the very end.

When the gong rang both stood still,

sizing each other up. Unable to find an opening they circled each other.

Seconds had pa.s.sed when her opponent finally took the initiative, quickly closing in Aqua antic.i.p.ated her high kick sliding down and turning to give her lower kick the strength it needed to take down her opponent.

Quickly backing away she kept her guard up.

You might never know what her opponent was planning. Allowing her opponent to stand up again, this time Aqua took the initiative grabbing her opponent from behind and throwing her over her shoulder. Her opponent tried to minimize the damage using her hands to get away and land safely.

The crowd went wild, seeing these evenly match ladies fight for the last remaining spot of the selection rounds.

Lowering her body she dodged the high turning kick of her opponent and slammed upward with an uppercut while turning her entire body.

Increasing the momentum had proven to be a wise decision seeing how it sent her opponent flying.

Unable to reach her opponent slammed into the ground with full force. Refusing to go down her opponent quickly stood up again, although her legs began to wobble.

Stumbling towards her, her opponent refused to go down. A pa.s.sion burned inside her... she must have had a really important reason not to give up.

Wanting to answer to her opponents' honest feelings Aqua wanted to close in and finish it with a crossing of fists. But before she could close in her opponent had collapsed unable to continue.

Frustrated her opponent lay there crying on the floor, unable to move a muscle... Aqua being the kind of girl that she was helped her up, both of them walked off stage ending the 4th round of the S.E.T. in favor of Cordelia Aqua.

Finis.h.i.+ng the match, Helena signaled the referee that the 5th round should resume right away.