-4-

Edited by Slightly Dazed Bystander

"The fight between Leader Jai and Hua Xiāngwèi ends in Jai's favor. Unfortunately for Hua, she will be sent to the nearest hospital." Pliny announces as Jai exits the arena. Her voice is subtle to match the deafening silence throughout the audience. Most of the spectators glare fearfully at the wyvern.

The fighters watch as another contestant is carried away by the battlesphere workers.

"Another contestant in critical condition…"

"At this rate one of us is going to get killed by that man."

"Thankfully the preliminaries are almost over, one more fight to go."

Zhao is sitting next to Milla, carefully observing the the hound as he recalls Kujo's death. He debates whether he should reveal the details of Kujo's death or not. Only Jai knew of his presence, but he advised him to disclose what he knows. Is this one of his mind games? I don't know what to do. Why would Jai be so indifferent about this? He knows if they found out about what he did, he would be disqualified, is he threatening me, Milla or her friends? Damn, he could just be playing mind games with me!

Milla has been silent after defeating Kujo, appearing distraught. It wasn't until she notices Zhao's frustrated and fearful expression that she began to speak. "Are you alright Zhao?" Milla asked. Her voice was rough. She sounded like she was in mild pain.

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern," Zhao insists, "You should rest."

"I'm fine too." Milla snaps.

Zhao sighs and walks towards the exit. "My turn!" The wolf enthusiastically announces with a grin on his face.

Milla responds with a smile of her own, "Good luck."

"It's been a long day but it's time for our final fight! Zao Shi vs. She Xing!" Pliny announces.

"Hey! It's Zhao Shi, not Zao Shi!" Zhao protests. "Why do everyone mispronounce my name even after I tell them my actual name?!"

Pliny blinks at the wolf in confusion. She briefly turns her head towards the mildly annoyed mayor before focusing her attention towards the amused audience. "Oh… um… sorry? Ok Zao… er… Zhao Shi vs. She Xing!" She corrects herself as the audience cheers. Not my fault that your parents couldn't find a better name for you.

"Let's start the climax of the preliminary rounds!"

Zhao draws his twin broadswords as She Xing charges directly at him. Xing's movement along with his clothing creates the illusion that he's swiftly hovering towards Zhao. This intrigues the audience and fighters alike. She Xing throws a punch at the young wolf. Zhao blocks the attack with both blades, but the force of Xing's punch breaks his defenses and knocks him back a few feet. He leaves a large opening for his opponent to strike. He aims another punch. He hits the wolf's stomach.

The next punch is weaker, but it is still enough to make Zhao spit out blood. He is driven back a few more feet. Though staggered, he manages to remain standing. What's up with this guy's punch. There's something unnatural about that attack.

Zhao carefully observes his opponent, who appears to be taunting him. The cloak the man is wearing covers his entire body, and the conical hat he wears covers most of his face. All Zhao can see of the man's face is that it is green and has sharp teeth, furthermore his opponent's movements and how quickly he retracted his punch into his cloak are suspicious. Zhao thinks long and hard but can't come to a believable conclusion. As a result, he sits down, crossing his legs, and continues to think in frustration.

"Hey."

Xing doesn't respond, but Zhao has his attention.

"Who the hell are you?" Zhao asks.

Xing remains quiet.

"I've been trying to figure out how your punch is so strong, but I can't think of anything."

Everyone glares at the wolf in confusion. Especially Pliny who appears mildly annoyed. What is wrong with this kid…

Zhao sighs, "I've never been that good with observa-"

She Xing immediately strikes, but Zhao successfully avoids the attack. He dashes to his opponent's side. This time, he notices something strange about She's limb. You've got to be kidding me…

The force of the attack causes a large cloud of dust to appear, giving Zhao the opportunity to attack. Unfortunately She Xing predicts the attack. By the time Zhao attempts to strike She Xing is already outside the dust cloud, providing the man another opportunity to devastate the wolf. Zhao had ran right into a trap and in an instant She Xing strikes him on his back.

The audience watches Zhao tumble out of the dust cloud which finally clears. The wolf rubs his back in an attempt to lessen the pain. So I was right…

She Xing charges directly at Zhao, who anticipates the vile attack this time and dodges despite the poor condition of his body. Zhao's opponent turns around the instant he dodges and repeats the same attack. This time, Zhao is ready. He sheaths his twin blades which catches She Xing off guard. Taking advantage of his opponent's overconfidence, Zhao draws his sword as hard as he possibly can the moment She Xing is close enough therefore performing a powerful attack. She Xing is forced to switch into the defensive in a short moment. The sheaths that Zhao use were made from an abrasive material which is commonly used to sharpen blades, normally when a swordsman sheaths his blade the resistance lowers its momentum which is why it's customary for a swordsman to always be prepared, a philosophy even paladins follow. In Zhao's case his sheaths were specifically designed to reduce resistance whilst there's still enough friction to sharpen his swords.

The attack from Zhao cuts through Xing's cloak to reveal a snake-like body with metallic limbs, "Argh! It appears my cover is blown..." he hisses. He removes his conical hat. A pair of menacing pink eyes stare out at Zhao. It was Serpentine, the green viper!

"Nice to see you again, though it seems you didn't follow my advice." Zhao retorts.

The crowd gasps in shock. People begin to argue with one another. The fighters are surprised to see a criminal such as Serpentine appear in the AAMAC. Milla watches, worrying over Zhao's safety.

"Serpentine, what business do you have here?" Dail demands. The king leans against the balcony with an outraged expression.

"Oh, why if it isn't my old colleague!" Serpentine sarcastically greets, "That's none of your business. Even then, I don't honestly know why I'm here either."

"Doesn't matter, you're not welcomed. You should be disqualified!"

"Shyahahahaha What makes you think you have authority over me? Prince!"

"Dail is correct, you shouldn't be here." The Royal Magister angrily confirms, projecting his voice across the arena, "However, considering the significance of this event, we're willing to give you a chance to escape this city instead, otherwise we will have no choice but to detain you."

"Actually…" Tuanjie interrupts, "Let the snake fight."

"What?!" Dail and Zao immediately object.

"Trust me, we may as well give these people a good fight at least. They've waited this long, and technically Serpentine followed the appropriate procedure. If he steps out of line, we can always detain him when the time comes." Tuanjie explains, "Besides, I already know who's the winner."

Dail and Zao glare at the Royal Magister, clearly wishing for him to conform to his previous judgement. Yazmine interrupts. "I say let him fight. I have faith in Jie's student and my empire's warriors."

"Then it's decided. Serpentine will be permitted to continue his fight with Zhao Shi." The Royal Magister announces.

"O-ok… so I guess you two can continue…" Pliny repeats for the audience. The audience found themselves in total chaos, questioning the Royal Magister's decision to allow Serpentine to continue his fight without punishment, the same man who served under Arktivus Brevon and later Aquila Kawaguchi, the same man who had killed hundreds of avalicians, destroyed villages and robbed kingdoms alike.

"It seems your world leaders have forsaken you!" Serpentine taunts, "Why don't you stand still right there!" Immediately, Serpentine fires a barrage of bullets flying directly at Zhao. The wolf quick dashes towards one of the stone pillars for cover but Serpentine quickly switches to his guided rockets which destroy the pillar behind Zhao. Another large cloud of dust appears as the stone tower seemingly collapses on top of the young wolf. "Just to be sure you stay down like a good dog." Serpentine exclaims, firing another rocket towards the dustcloud. The attack had surely killed Zhao. The serpent laughs maniacally in victory, "Too easy!"

While Serpentine continues to gloat, Zhao appears behind him and performs a sneak attack. "Why don't you make sure you're opponent is down first before you gloat like a dumbass!" The wolf scolds as he strikes the back of Serpentine's armor, damaging the jet pack which enables Serpentine to move swiftly.

Serpentine distances himself away from the wolf and responds with an exasperated expression. The viper charges directly at Zhao and throws a punch. Unlike last time Zhao fought Serpentine, the viper's mechanical arms are now made with a stronger metal, and his fists in particular are enhanced. How Serpentine is able to increase the overall strength of his melee is unknown to most. Zhao prepares to counterattack, however Serpentine opens his grip and grabs the wolf's face. He then throws the youth to the side, sending Zhao sliding across the stone floor. Serpentine shows no mercy. He prepares another attack, while throwing a punch directly at the stunned canine. Zhao barely avoids the punch, but his opponent uses his tail to attack the wolf a second time. Serpentine's tail feels like a whip as it collides with Zhao's face, knocking him to the floor once again.

Zhao quickly gets up before Serpentine can attack again. He continues to dodge every one of Serpentine's melee attacks. Frustrated, Serpentine performs his signature bullet rain attack. Zhao prepares for the worst as he observes the serpent charging a large purple orb, instead Serpentine aims directly above himself and fires the large projectile. The young wolf takes this as an opportunity to strike. Noticing the projectile's increasing size, Zhao rushes faster to attack Serpentine as he fires a barrage of energy bullets at the massive orb. However when Zhao finally reaches serpentine...

INITIATING BULLET RAIN MODE…

A purple shield protects the serpent from Zhao's attacks. The wolf glares at the snake in confusion as Serpentine fires several bullets at the large orb hovering above the arena.

Serpentine exchanges a dark grin at the unfortunate canine on the opposite side of his shield. "I would run as far as your four legs can carry you, shyahahaha."

The large orb implodes and scatters several projectiles across the arena, some of them landing amongst the spectators. The audience break into mass hysteria as Zhao desperately searches for cover. He sees the stone pillar that had collapsed previously, remembering how the pillar had landed against another one, preventing him from getting crushed. He slides underneath the ruinous structure as cover, but witnesses the audience's panic as they're stuck by the raining bullets. He grows outraged by the world leaders' lack of action. These people are being hurt and they're doing nothing! What kind of leaders are these?!

Serpentine mocks the wolf for his retreat, ignoring the cries for help in the background. Enraged, Zhao charges out of his cover and dashes at the serpent. The wolf tries to dodge and deflect the many bullets falling on top of him as he gets increasingly closer to serpentine; however some hits him on the way back. Zhao reaches the same island as Serpentine when the bullet rain ends. The viper aims but suddenly finds Zhao too close to him. How did he-

Zhao repeats his previous technique. He dashes past Serpentine, damaging his armor. Some of the melee attacks also leave scratches on the viper's tail and face. However, the wolf was aiming for the snake's arms, which barely had any scratches.

"Nice try. You think after what happened two years ago. THAT I WAS GOING TO LET MY ARMS GO THAT EASILY?!" Serpentine hisses.

Zhao snaps his tongue in frustration. I have one option left. Jie told me to use this technique only in emergencies. I think he said that it's because it was never intended for outsiders… something like that. He must have really trusted me to give me access to it.

Serpentine opens fire at Zhao, but the wolf quickly senses the attack and dodges.

He said that it's a form of energy manipulation, and that it depends on my element. I remember when Jie told me that I was METAL and that they specialize on reinforcing their weapons. I didn't believe him obviously.

Serpentine attempts to strike the wolf, but fails again. Zhao appears to be in a state of focus. He feels for the earring on his right ear. People have noticed but never asked about it.

He gave me this earring and told me it will help me, that it was an energy crystal. Honestly I don't get this energy manipulation stuff, though seeing Milla and later her friends have sparked my interests. Don't worry Milla… I'm not going to die like this...

That instant, Zhao sheaths his dual swords again. He takes a deep breath, hands still gripped to the handle of his swords. Serpentine, who's still infuriated with how long it's taking to defeat his opponent, fires a barrage of bullets at the distracted wolf. Zhao hears the bullets rush at his and dodges them all. His eyes are still closed, but he's noticeably standing much better than before. Serpentine loses his patience and charges at the wolf one last time. Zhao opens his eyes. He draws his swords in an instant and directly attacks Serpentine, dashing past him. This time the wolf's attack was too fast for Serpentine to react to, and in that very instant Serpentine finds himself without his mechanical arms. The viper grows pale in disbelief. Zhao had cut clean through Serpentine's metallic arms, literally disarming him.

"H-h-how did you?!" Serpentine chokes.

The audience stands in awe of how quickly Zhao had rendered Serpentine useless after the injuries he had sustained previously. Zhao grins. He points at his earring, "Funny how a little thing can make a big difference." The earring itself is faintly glowing white, "It's called Reinforcement, that's all I'm going to say." Zhao vaguely explains, his expression grows serious.

"Curse you! Curse both you and that girl! Damn this planet!" Serpentine roars, "THIS. IS. NOT. OVER!"

Suddenly, two Super Turretus appear and fire at the wolf. This serves as a distraction for Serpentine to escape the arena. After the serpent is out from sight the Super Turretus departs from the arena.

"The winner is Zhao Shi!"

The audience cheers Zhao's name.

"Zhao stay right there, can the remaining contestants come down here please?"

Meanwhile at the balcony…

"I told you so." Tuanjie gloats.

"Told you so?! This was disastrous!" Dail barks, "People got hurt! Serpentine got away. You call that a success?"

"Serpentine isn't much of a threat for now with his arms dismantled. Patience young one, nothing is resolved in an instant."

"I suppose so." The Royal Magister responds, "However we're all well aware how tenacious Serpentine is. He'll surely return."

"I can confirm, that bastard of a snake never knows when to give up." Dail adds, before scornfully leaving the balcony, "You can all do what you want, I can not be part of my people's downfall."

"Introducing our remaining thirteen fighters!"

All thirteen fighters stand in a line. Most of the remaining contestants were fairly young, and after everything that had happened these fighters felt a strong sense of relief.

"Starting with the factions with the most remaining fighters left! First we have our rising stars Team Basset, consisting of Milla Basset, Norah Li and Chan Fokkusu!"

The crowd cheers as loud as they can. Milla and Norah remain serious, but Chan waves his hands to the cheering audience, finishing with a courtesy bow.

"We also have another team with three contestants left! The Dōng mén Dojo featuring another rising star Zhao Shi as well as twins Rubī and Safaia Hagane!"

Zhao is exhausted from his fight against Serpentine but he still smiles in victory and reassures Milla with a thumbs up. The twins are happy for the wolf's victory and exchange smiles. They are much older than Zhao and are considered amongst the more secretive of the dojo disciples, both being rodents of some description.

"Next we have the Red Scarves! Leader Jai of course is here with us and we also have Hanna Skarlett!"

Jai smirks as the red polar bear calls out his name. Things have gotten interesting, I wonder what you will try to do next. You've wasted your prominent fighters on me. Either way, I can only hope those two know what to do next.

The audience suddenly goes into a cold silence. Hanna doesn't pay them any mind.

"Next we have the Shuigang Representatives! The son of Shuigang's greatest admiral Zhen Sheshou! As well as a member of the Jiàntóu clan, also our youngest fighter here, Artemis Jiàntóu!"

Artemis thinks to herself. How disappointing, I wanted to fight that guy with the sniper rifle…

Zhen just glares at Jai.

"With those factions remaining we have three individuals left! Migi Gādo of the Yěmāo, Akira Seido of the Shàobīng and Kaz Torikku of Shang Mu!"

Out of the remaining three, Akira appears to be the most frustrated, since she's gotten this far merely by default.

"With our remaining contestants announced, I'm going to pass the mic to the Royal Magister!"

The Royal Magister walks forward towards the edge of the balcony. "Congratulations fighters for making it this far. You've all shown great perseverance, strength and honor these past two days and so we will begin the second half of the Annual Avalician Martial Arts Tournament." He announces. The Royal Magister pays close attention. He focuses on Jai specifically.

The wyvern responds with a deviant smirk, as though he was trying to annoy the Magister. Go on old fool. I'm curious to see what you have planned for me. You've always been so predictable.

"The world leaders and myself have thought about what could be the next event. We have a new generation of powerful, wise but also obscure warriors; as a result we've agreed to make the second half of the tournament a battle royale."

The audience cheers greatly as the Royal Magister reveals the contents of the second half of the tournament. Most of the fighters are excited, but some question the notion. Milla and her friends especially aren't fond of the idea. Jai on the other hand attempts to hide his laughter.

"The second half however will start in a few days instead of tomorrow so that our fighters can recuperate and prepare. Details will be given when the tournament resumes later this week. You're all dismissed."

Everyone slowly leaves the battlesphere back to their homes or hotels as the remaining fighters heads towards the Battlesphere's living quarters to rest.

Jai was the last one to leave the arena. He retains a smirk of amusement, My poor old Magister. You're playing right into my hands. You've just given my allies the perfect distraction and given me room to perform some further experiments.