After 30 minutes had passed and the contestants had recovered to nearly their full fighting potential, they took to the stage. The tension in the air was palpable as the remaining contestants gathered around the announcer for the drawing of lots, determining their fate in the semi-finals.
One by one, they approached the ornate box from before, reaching in and pulling out a simple tile, either red or blue.
As the first person approached, it was #16 the water fan warrior that stepped forward, her hand disappearing into the bowl. In an unbelievable amount of luck, a collective gasp echoed through the arena as she revealed the golden tile.
"Wow! Talk about luck!" Lassim remarked to Hallen as they watched from their seats.
Hallen nodded in agreement.
Hallen said, "Indeed. I think I should bet on her for the finals as well if she’s this lucky. Straight to the grand finals without expending any more energy will give her a nice advantage, especially since she can watch her opponents to develop a strategy."
Meanwhile, #3 and #42, pulled matching red tiles and exchanged determined glances, mentally psyching themselves up for their upcoming duel. They went to the other empty arena in preparation.
On the other hand, #187 and #69, with matching blue tiles, shared a nod of understanding before heading to their respective arenas.
With all four contestants in place and #16 seated nearby, the announcer’s voice rang out once more, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve been waiting for—the semi-finals! Let the duels—BEGIN!"
The crowd erupted into cheers and applause as the duels commenced, each pair of competitors facing off in their designated arenas.
Lassim’s focus immediately went to the clash between #3 and #42 that erupted with a burst of elemental energy.
#42, previously seen showcasing his lightning speed and precise strikes with his lightning infused needles that caused paralysis in the earlier battle royale, darted forward while aiming his needles directly at #3.
Planning to immediately overwhelm #3, his needles zipped through the air with cracks of thunder.
#3, with his whip crackling with fiery energy, deftly parried each of #42’s strikes. Each crack of the whip flowed into the next, eventually creating a ring of flames that danced around him.
The audience gasped and admired as the flames illuminated the arena in a fiery spectacle.
"What a nice control over his fire element, and his skills with a whip are insane! None of the needles are getting through, and they’re so tiny!" Lassim remarked, his eyes glued to the intense exchange.
Hallen nodded in agreement, his attention focused on the battle unfolding below. "It looks like he’s also using the flames to limit #42’s movements."
Undeterred by the fiery obstacles, #42 tapped into his lightning elemental energy, charging his body in a unique spectacle that made his hair stand on end. Enhancing his speed by nearly two times, he weaved around the ring of flames with lightning-fast agility.
His movements were a blur to Lassim’s eyes as #42 sought to breech through and find an opening in #3’s defense.
#3, seemingly in full control of the situation, shifted tactics. Using his whip, he allowed a small gap in the ring of the flames which created an opening too juicy for #42 to resist.
With his lightning-enhanced movements, he darted inside the ring of flames while #3 aimed directly at him with each lash of his whip.
Each strike was calculated, aiming to test #42’s reflexes and causing him to dance in a smaller and smaller area. He had less and less room to move around.
"Wow! A brilliant strategy but fairly simple. I wonder if #42 has noticed yet?," Lassim commented, impressed by #3’s calculated approach.
Suddenly, in a decisive moment, #3 saw an opportunity.
With a swift flick of his whip, he caught #42’s leg, tripping him to fall on his back to the ground; stunning him momentarily.
The crowd erupted into cheers as they watched. Lassim leaned forward, his eyes shining with excitement. "He got him!"
With #42 momentarily incapacitated, #3 seized the advantage. "[Flame Ray]!" he shouted as he summoned and commanded his fire elemental companion to do the only attack he’d shown so far.
’I wonder if that’s the only joint attack he can do with his elemental?’ Lassim pondered to himself.
A concentrated beam of intense heat engulfed #42, searing him alive and burning his clothes as he struggled to move out of the way from the searing flames.
Then, he disappeared in a flash of light.
The audience watching this arena buzzed with excitement as #3 emerged victorious, his strategic prowess and mastery over fire helping him secure an easy and calculated victory.
"An impressive victory for #3!" the announcer exclaimed, the crowd roaring with applause as #3 stood triumphant amidst the crackling flames.
Meanwhile, the duel on the other stage had been in mostly a stalemate as a slightly bizarre situation had unfolded—#62’s elemental spirit had seemingly not wanted to participate?
At the start of the duel, #187, the agile day elemental chakram wielder, launched into action with a flurry of attacks.
Her chakram spun and buzzed through the air with dazzling speed, creating a whirlwind of sharp glints that #69 struggled to evade.
She crouched down, barely dodging the chakras flying above her head.
Struggling to find some particular page in the book, she eventually found it and brandished her glowing tome, holding it directly over her head.
A bizarre and strange set of runes flashed on the page as she channeled her mana into the book. The letters rose from the page into the air and caused a many tentacled creature with a big head to materialize in the air.
It’s general size and tentacles looked like a scaled down version of the creature from the previous round. It was still large, nearly three meters tall mind you, but roughly 5 times smaller than the enormous tentacles behemoth that resided in the rift from before.
She then muttered something no one could hear in an attempt to command her elemental spirit, the tentacle monster, to counter #187’s assault.
However, to her dismay, the creature seemed uninterested and slightly annoyed by the whole situation, only half-heartedly defending her without engaging in the fight against #187.
As #69 grappled with trying to command her uncooperative elemental spirit, #187 saw the opening and pressed her advantage.
She maneuvered with precision, exploiting every gap in the lazy elemental spirit’s defense of its master.
Each attempt brought her chakram closer to victory, as it was wearing down #69’s lack of stamina.
Even with her spirit present, it’s lack of resolve and care let the chakram weave past it and slice into her legs. She tried her best to stay on her two feet and keep close to the creature so it’s large body would prevent more openings.
The audience watched, slightly baffled, as the battle unfolded. At this point, the battle on the other platform had concluded and all attention was on these two duelists.
It had really started turning into a one sided affair with #69’s frustration building.
Her attempts to command her elemental spirit grew more desperate as the creature lazily defended her, repeatedly ignoring her orders to attack.
In a moment of apparent disdain, the tentacle monster decided it was time to go home and opened a rift by self that it climbed into. With a slight glancing of it’s saucer-like eyes at it’s master, it then closed the rift by itself with two tentacles, as if declaring its disinterest in the fight.
Realizing the futility of continuing and having bloody soaked legs, #69 surrendered, tears streaming down her face as she left the stage, defeated and emotional.
The crowd murmured mixed with sympathetic words and some applause as #187 emerged victorious.
Her opponent’s issues with commanding and having a decent relationship with her elemental spirit were most likely the only reason she could advance to the Grand Finals.
The announcer’s voice echoed through the arena, "Ah, well… Let’s just say that was a well-fought battle by both competitors! Let’s give a round of applause to #187 for her victory and #69 for her valiant effort!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, after an exhilarating round of semi-finals, we have our finalists for the grand finale! But before we dive into the ultimate battle, let me explain how this final showdown will unfold."
The crowd hushed, eager to listen in.
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"Our finalists, #3, #187, and the fortune favored #16, will face off in a 1v1v1 battle. This unique conclusion will be a return to the thrilling format previously seen in our tournaments! We know you like betting with crazier odds than 50/50, so it’s returned for your enjoyment! The rules are simple: the last warrior standing claims ultimate victory and the coveted title of champion!
There are no second or third place prizes, so warriors… Give it your all!"
Cheers erupted from the audience, the anticipation and energy palpable in the air.
"But that’s not all!" the announcer continued, her voice carrying the excitement of the moment. "The winner of this epic clash today will receive not only the prestigious title of ’Champion’ but also a grand prize of 10,000 high-grade ESS, and a portion of the total winnings placed on them by our enthusiastic spectators! Thank you all for once again contributing to our coffers!"
The crowd roared with enthusiasm.