The audience held their breath, captivated by the spectacle unfolding before them. The clash of Lassim’s attacks against her shield made many of them nod their heads in approval, though many were confused by the small defense she was mounting in response.
Many in the crowd thought she was going easy on the Spirit Growth stage and approved of her actions of kindness.
Yet, only the other water elemental spirit warriors had peculiar looks on their faces as they recognized what was happening on the stage below.
Showcasing her enhanced physical prowess, Marissa countered.
Kicking off the arena, she propelled herself into the air. She somersaulted gracefully, evading the shards with a dancer’s grace.
As she landed, she used her mana reserves to turn her fans into torrents of water, swirling around her in a protective casing. The shards of ice collided with the watery barrier.
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Marissa’s control over the water element from her own reserves stabilized, but she still couldn’t make contact with the mana in the air.
Marissa finally unleashed her own counterattack!
The water around her surged forward, forming a tidal wave that crashed towards Lassim with force far stronger than anything he had faced before.
Lassim, caught off guard by the sheer speed of the tidal wave coming towards him, braced himself.
Sensing the danger for his master, The dragon’s soul commanded it’s wings to detach and form a sheet of ice several meters thick in front of Lassim.
The tidal wave crashed against his defenses, shattering the barrier and sending Lassim skidding backward across the arena’s surface.
The audience erupted into cheers and applause, amazed by Marissa turning things up a notch, but still "going easy" on Lassim.
The expressions of the water spirit warriors grew even more stranger and twisted into uncomfortable smiles.
Others went slack jawed with their mouths open as they sat forward in their seats in horror at what they were witnessing.
A Spirit Growth level 1 warrior was able to have better control over the surrounding mana than someone nearly an entire stage higher than him. This young man’s water elemental spirit was so incredibly powerful from birth.
Not only that, he had another spirit that had just been bouncing up and down from one leg to the other the whole time! That lightning bird just watched the battle like it was some sort of play, fully enthralled and amused at Marissa’s attack, like it was just a joke to it.
The audience members able to realize this were regretting their earlier bets and wished to change immediately, calling over attendants to try and help them place new bets in the system.
As Lassim’s feet skid across the arena’s marble floor, he shifted his stance and came to a stop.
"Whew, that was close. Thanks Aegrasian!" Lassim called out towards his battle art’s ice dragon soul that shielded him.
"[Mouhh khan ahk tsugarah]," the dragon’s low rumble of a voice stretched out and became audible to the crowd.
Lassim didn’t know what he said, but he got a feeling through the mental attachment from the inner statue that it meant something like, "Prince, I’ll keep you safe." Though, he was slightly confused and wondered if he misunderstood.
Pushing that aside, he gripped his halberd as he weighed his options.
’If I get close to her, she will just completely kill me with how much stronger and faster she is. Long range it is I guess—Zaphy! It’s your turn now! Let’s see if she’s faster than lightning.’
’Ready! Ready!’ Zaphy shot up into the cloud above in the blink of an eye, faster than Lassim’s eye’s could track, as she zipped into it.
Above, the cloud roiled with electricity, arcs of lightning flickering and the roll of thunder boomed.
Lassim and Zaphy synchronized their movements, assisting and aiding each other’s direction of the cloud’s well of lightning mana.
Then, a series of simple lightning bolts shot forth, each aimed at Marissa.
At the same time, Marinelle exerted her control over the water mana in the surroundings.
Mimicking Marissa’s own tactics, she controlled tendrils of water that extended from beneath her undulating fins.
The water tendrils sneakily weaved across the marble flooring, each incredibly thin and almost imperceptible. She sought to entangle and trip her opponent, matching what Marissa did to #3 in the Grand Final.
Marissa was caught off guard by the coordinated assault of lightning strikes, struggling to maintain her composure.
"How do you have two elements!? This is ridiculous!!" She shouted. The crowd slowly began coming to a certain realization…
As she jumped out of the way, almost forgoing any semblance of grace or dance movement, the lightning bolts cracked dangerously close.
Each bolt aimed with a neat precision that slightly began to herd her slightly closer to Lassim, nearly searing her back as if pushing her forward.
Angered, but getting a hint, she shouted, "Alright! I’ll just come to you then!" Before she bull rushed towards Lassim’s position, not caring what sort of trap there might be.
’I’ll just kill him before he can do whatever he has planned!’ She thought to herself as her enhanced physique propelled her forward at a blisteringly fast speed.
Yet, she didn’t realize the watery tendrils had been set up perfectly in unison with Lassim and Zaphy.
The tendrils closed in on her predicted position and the trap lashed out once she got in range.
Despite her higher cultivation, Marissa found herself caught at the ankles.
With a misstep, her entrapped foot landed in a puddle created by Marinelle’s manipulation.
In that split second, several lightning bolts converged on the same spot where she was standing, striking the puddle of water and surging through Marissa’s body.
"[Lightning Lash]!" Lassim called out as he used his single target ability that uses lightning to ensnare a target for a period of time.
The sheer force of the lightning paralyzed her, wrapping her body up tightly like a chain from her shoulders down to her legs, but she remained conscious while her muscles spasmed uncontrollably.
Gritting her teeth, she fought against the onslaught, but her efforts were futile against the overwhelming power of the lightning element that affected her nervous system.
Sensing the opportunity, Lassim lunged forward. His halberd descended in a deadly arc, combining a [Slam] upwards launching him into the air, followed by a swift [Slash] towards Marissa below him.
The blade’s edge shimmered with violet lightning, along its electrified edge, adding a trail of lightning that followed the strike.
Marissa, paralyzed and unable to evade, could only watch with clenched fists and her gums bleeding from how hard she was gritting her teeth as the halberd tore into her flesh from shoulder towards her midsection.
Yet, before the blade could reach her heart, a flash of light enveloped her, and she vanished from the battlefield leaving Lassim’s bloody halberd to slam hard against the marble floor of the arena, shattering it where Marissa previously stood.
The crowd went from pure silence to an eruption of surprised gasps and cheers, stunned by the sheer power and diversity of techniques displayed in the final moments of the battle by Lassim. No one expected a Spirit Growth warrior at level 1 to beat a level 7 opponent!
Lifting his halberd from the shattered marble, Lassim rested it against his shoulder, his expression a mix of relief, triumph, and contemplation.
He was able to overwhelm Marissa fairly easily in his mind, but he realized that his ability to jump levels was a bit ridiculous.
Reflecting on the battle, he acknowledged the risks he took by closing in on her. If she had even a slight bit of resistance or stronger physique against the lightning, he would probably have not had any other way to defeat her.
Sure, his blade could cut her flesh easily, but would someone faster, stronger, and more experienced allow that to happen? No, it was only due to her being slightly weaker to the lightning element as a water elemental spirit warrior that he was able to take advantage and paralyze her.
He was lucky that he had trained under Headmaster Ferrum and took his advice to learn the [Lightning Lash] technique they created together, but he realized that he really and truly needed some battle art or technique for long range or mid range attacking.
He added it to the list of things to focus on in the coming months. First, build a stronger and better battle instinct. Second, find a way to safely attack at a distance with something more powerful than just controlling lightning mana in the form of lightning bolts.
Also, despite the victory, he couldn’t shake off a sense of unease that he had revealed more than he should have.
The announcer hopped onto the stage and approached Lassim with a congratulatory smile, extending a hand in appreciation. "Congratulations on your stunning victory! Would you like to say a few words to your fans? I think we can all agree that it was a remarkable and unexpected finish!"
Lassim paused for a moment, considering the offer.
However, sensing the growing excitement and curiosity of the crowd, he declined with a shaking of his head.
The clamor of voices wanting to know more about him grew louder, but Lassim decided it was best to retreat for now.
"Very well Mr. Storm Bringer! Congratulations once again on the upset victory and beating this month’s champion! Here are your winnings, and our arena’s Battle Master has included a special champion’s badge for you as well. Should you wish to return to our arena in the future, or visit any of our related establishments in the future, please present the champion’s badge for an easier registration.
One more time, let’s give a round of applause to STORM BRINGER—!" Cried out the announcer.
Lassim gathered his winnings and made his way over to Hallen before signaling with a node to head out of the arena. The rowdy enthusiasm of the crowd was growing in curiosity and a bit overwhelming.
He felt a tinge of regret for showing off so much of his abilities. He wanted to give some of the winnings he’d earned to his opponent, Marissa, as he really did it for the fun and not really the actual earnings he’d received. Yet, the tension and the glares as those in the audience in the arena were too much. He knew he’d probably made a mistake and hadn’t headed Hallen’s words.
He made a mental note to try and find a way to see her again in the future or send some of what he’d earned to her someday.
As they quickly left the arena and headed back to the hotel, Hallen congratulated Lassim on his victory, a proud smile on his face, "What a wonderful job out there Young Master! You did splendid! That’s my first time witnessing your abilities and I must say, I fully understand why the Patriarch and Matriarch want you so well taken care of. You really are something special!"
Lassim, still processing the events of the battle and the reactions of the crowd, nodded in gratitude at the praise. It was a thrilling victory, but he had a slight unnerving feeling that he was being watched with an intense glare; even now.
Trying to shake it off he added, "Thanks Hallen. I think it’s best it’s we wrap things up here and head on to our next destination as soon as we can."
"Very well Young Master! If you’re sure you don’t want to stay another night, we’ll gather our things at the hotel and see if we can head out before the evening sets in." Hallen replied and pulled out a unique looking disc shaped device from his magic pouch. He tapped it a few times before storing it away again.
"I’ve informed the crew about the change in plans. Let’s make our way back and meet up with everyone."
With that, they swiftly made their way back to the Golden Goblet Inn.