"Good job, I thought you relied on your craziness again. Glad to see you're still controlling yourself." Yun Zhe stood up and brushed it off as if it was nothing. It was evident on his bloody helmet and armor that he was on the verge of losing though.
A smile swept across Link's face as he landed on the ground. Since there were plenty of chances when Yun Zhe just dodged him instead of attacking him, he decided to give him some time to get himself together before he attacked for the second time. Right now, he was the one at an advantage, and Yun Zhe was the one at a disadvantage.
It was surprising to think that just a couple of moments ago, it was Yun Zhe who was winning. Right now though, he was more bloodied up than Link.
Still, that wasn't enough to make Yun Zhe panic since he was still in control. He may be losing, but he didn't let that get the better of him. After all, in a match, especially in something like an Official Beast Tournament, there are a lot of things that could happen and he could turn the tide of the battle in his favor if Link had a single misstep. That's why Yun Zhe still hasn't given up yet.
Fwip!
For the second time, Yun Zhe heard the sound of a whip, and Link once again disappeared in front of him. Compared to his first attack, Link was even faster. He barely had the time to react to his attack when he reappeared.
From a third-person perspective, one would easily notice that Link wasn't really moving fast. However, if one were to say that to Yun Zhe, he would scoff at how ridiculous the comment was. He could barely see Link whenever he disappears, and it's not like he was using portals either. There was only one explanation for his movement and that is— because he was faster than sight.
Little did he know, Link was actually playing tricks on him. Thanks to the Crimson Dagger's illusionary ability, he could make it seem like he was disappearing in front of Yun Zhe when in truth, he never hid at all. He also moved normally, but to Yun Zhe, it didn't look like that at all.
The moment Link reappeared in front of him, Yun Zhe stepped back and guarded himself against the attack. He gritted his teeth. Even when Link disappeared and reappeared, he was able to keep up with him. He was getting used to his 'speed'.
Even Link was impressed that Yun Zhe actually blocked his attack. He grinned. "Crimson Dagger, extend!"
Without warning, the Crimson Dagger which was successfully blocked by Yun Zhe started getting larger, pressing down on him as he tried to bear its weight. When it finally reached twice its size, Yun Zhe leaned to the side and redirected the Crimson Dagger to his other side, barely pushing it out of the way but he still managed to do so.
At the same time, Yun Zhe's self-heal finally worked, and the wounds he suffered due to Link's powerful attack slowly closed up. There was little he could do with the damage he suffered internally, but then again, he didn't bother healing too much since that would just drain his energy a little faster.
As for Link, he felt like he was going beyond his limit as well. He wasn't used to integrating with his representative Crimson Dagger for an extended period of time, and now he was feeling the exhaustion catching up to him. He didn't want Yun Zhe to notice that he was getting tired though, so he held his breath, trying to even it out while suppressing his panting.
"You out of breath already? I was just getting started." Link called out as Yun Zhe lit up for a couple of moments and his wounds seemed to have disappeared.
"Same here, don't you dare tap out right now. We still haven't gotten to the main course of the battle." Yun Zhe called out, clenching his fists as he wrapped it around the hilt of his greatsword and the handle of his shield.
"Says the one who's currently more drained than I am." Link retorted as he forced a smile on his face.
...
Meanwhile, by the audience seats.
Satoshi couldn't help but grin from ear to ear after seeing how intense Link and Yun Zhe were fighting. "I'm surprised that Link still hasn't gone berserk even after all that. Usually, when he was driven into a corner, he would rely on his berserker superpower to plow his way through victory. I guess he's learning how to control it as time goes on." He muttered to himself as he popped a mouthful of popcorn in his mouth.
The semi-finals are bound to happen in a few hours' time. Nevertheless, he didn't feel that pressured at all. Sure there was a chance that another candidate would catch him off-guard and defeat him, but right now he didn't dwell on it too much. Right now, he was more invested in the present, watching Link and Yun Zhe's fight as it unfolded in front of him.
After an exchange of blows, the two of them stopped fighting and started talking amongst themselves. Satoshi was fairly certain that the two of them were nearing their limits, and it was only a matter of time before one or the other runs out of energy. The quarterfinals were bound to end soon.
"Who do you think would win, Satoshi?" Ash Grey asked out of nowhere, nudging him with an elbow as his lips curved upwards.
"Personally, I think that Yun Zhe guy would win. But the more I watch this fight... the more I think that Link is slowly catching up to him. If he doesn't act soon, Link might sweep the rug off his feet and claim his victory." Jean Grey commented out of nowhere, joining in on the conversation.
"Hands down, Yun Zhe would win. There's no doubt about it." Satoshi declared as if he could see right through the future. He didn't waver when he blurted it out, causing the father and son to believe that Satoshi was telling the truth.
Kitamura Ayano, who had already seen a few seconds into the future, stared at Satoshi with slight panic written on her face. She couldn't believe that Satoshi could predict what could happen in the future even without her foresight superpower.
"How did you know that, Satoshi? I'm surprised." Ayano muttered, leaning towards Satoshi so no one else would be able to hear their conversation.
"I didn't," Satoshi responded as a matter of factly. "It's just that, Yun Zhe promised to meet me in the finals. There's no way he'll break that promise, not if he could help it. Besides, Link still hasn't understood the full potential of his superpower. He's still holding himself back, and that's the reason why he won't win this time around."
And Satoshi was on point. Right now, Link still had great difficulty using one hundred percent of his abilities as a berserker. He didn't want to risk losing control, and that fear caused him to hold back. In retrospect, it was his own fault for not practicing control a little sooner. It seems like he got too used to relying on his berserk mode and winning all the time, that's why he never once considered reining it in— adding to that, he also didn't think too much about utilizing his berserk mode to its full potential since he believed that he was using it the right way whereas he had been using his skill wrongly after all this time.
Another exchange of blows happened on the grand stage. This time, Yun Zhe came on top. One look, and Satoshi could tell that Yun Zhe was going to win the match sooner or later. Both of them were at their limits, the only difference was, Yun Zhe was more in control compared to Link.
Upon seeing the confident expression on Yun Zhe's face, Satoshi stood up and stretched himself. He planned to make a quick trip to the bathroom before he ordered more food. It was already lunchtime, after all, and he needed all the energy he could get before his semi-finals match.
"Where are you going?" Kitamura Ayano (Eye-Goddess) asked when Satoshi stood up. For some odd reason, she had a skeptical look on her face.
pαпdα Й?νê1,сòМ "The restroom... ?" Satoshi trailed off. He wondered why the Eye-Goddess was keen on knowing where he was headed. "Oh, and I'm going to grab food. Do you want me to get you anything?" Satoshi asked.
Ayano's expression shifted from being skeptical to looking rather concerned. Before Satoshi could say anything, she also stood up and followed right behind Satoshi. "I'm coming with you."
"You're going with me? To the restroom?" Satoshi joked. He knew what Ayano implied when she said she was coming with him— they were going to get some food.
"Yes, to the restroom. Now lead the way, Satoshi." She continued.
"Eh?!" Satoshi exclaimed.
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