"The next battle will be between Roy and Ganondorf. Report to the telepads immediately."
The two combatants were already making their way through the crowd of warriors before the announcement was even made. It wasn't that they were already used to the way things were; it was just that both burned with anticipation for a good fight.
Ganondorf towered over his potential opponents as he shoved them aside to make a path to the telepads. Every few seconds he would let off a cocky snicker and throw his flowing black cape to his back. He hadn't had a good fight since he was last sealed away by the young Link, who was among the crowd. He knew that if he could slay his next few opponents, he would finally get his chance to exact his revenge on the young swordsman in a realm with no help from sages or anything of the like. The upcoming match looked like more of a warm-up match than anything to him, as it was against another young swordsman. Ganondorf stepped up onto the telepad and closed his eyes, waiting for transport.
Roy was just as pumped for the next battle as his menacing opponent. Even though he had no vendettas to settle in the later rounds of the tournament, he still looked forward to upcoming matches to hone his skills as a swordsman and prove to his disturbed kidnapper he was a plenty worthy warrior. As he politely made his way through the crowd toward the telepads, he felt a hand grip his arm. Looking over, he noticed that it was the swordsman wearing a green tunic that had defeated the bounty hunter earlier in the tournament.
"Hey," the swordsman began, "I just wanted to warn you that head on sword attacks probably won't work on this guy. I've fought him plenty of times before; he knows how to stop a blade. Just... be original."
Roy cracked a slight smile, nodded and made his way to the telepads that would transport him to his battle location.
Compared to the locations that had been fought at earlier in the tournament, Emerald Hill was rather dull. While it had plenty of beauty in the form of grass swaying in the wind and minor hills here and there, there were no features that could really be used to the advantage of either warrior. This would be a battle of raw skill.
The countdown flashed and ended, and both of the warriors remained where they were teleported. After a few moments of sizing each other up, Roy took the initiative to make the first move. He leaned close to the ground before him, drew his sword, and began a mad dash for his muscular foe. An instant before he reached his target he slashed his blade forward, in the hope of making a clean slice across the torso. But he had no such luck.
Ganondorf raised his arm and blocked its path, causing only minor damage to his forearm. Using his other arm, he quickly threw his fist into the swordsman's face, causing the young man to stumble backward a few steps and lose his composure. Taking advantage of the opening, Ganondorf wrapped his warms around his opponent, squeezed tightly, and began sending an electric current throughout his foe's body. After smiling in satisfaction at the swordsman's painful cry, he kicked off the young man, smashing him into the ground.
Ten seconds had yet to pass, and already Roy was barely able to stand. This was not a good sign. But summoning all the strength he could, he rose to his feet as his foe landed gracefully about twenty feet away. He thought about another all out blade attack, but remembered the advice the other swordsman had given him before the fight, and decided against it. Instead he waited for his opponent to charge him before making a move.
Ganondorf was running wildly at his opponent, cocky after his previous onslaught. When he was about to reach Roy, he summoned the magical energy around him and began a sliding kick forward. Roy noticed the sudden position change, and leaped forward, managing to let his enemy slide completely past him. Roy landed and was able to turn around as Ganondorf regained his composure and stood back up, and used the opportunity to strike. He pulled his sword back as far as he could over his shoulder, and thrust it forward with all his force. The blade connected with Ganondorf's back, slicing it open and causing the massive warrior to be tossed forward like a rag doll.
Ganondorf landed hard on the ground before him, but he immediately regained composure and began rising to his feet. However, he was not quick enough because before he was able to fully turn around Roy was already landing a series of sword slashes, slices, and stabs on his foe. The onslaught progressed until Roy was rapidly stabbing at Ganondorf's legs, creating a new wound with each thrust. In response, even though it caused him great pain, Ganondorf managed to kick his leg upward with enough force to catch Roy under the jaw, immediately ending the bombardment.
As a follow up to his previous attack, Ganondorf used some more of his magical energy to throw an enchanted punch at Roy as he was flying upwards in the air. The punch caused the swordsman to fly backward once more, eating dirt as he slid across the grassy surface. Ganondorf threw his now torn up cape to his side and let out a soft cackle at his small success.
Roy stood as quickly as he could, spitting out dirt on the rise. He did not expect such a powerful counterattack to his bombardment. The experienced swordsman from back at the stadium was quite correct, any head on sword attacks ended up ineffective and harmful to oneself against this foe. Roy knew he would need to use a more defensive strategy if he hoped to come out of this alive.
Ganondorf remained in his position hoping that his adversary would make the next move, but had no such luck. So instead of patiently waiting, he ran forward once more fist drawn back. Roy was sure that this was an upper body attack, and prepared himself as such. However, Ganondorf was cleverer than he let on. Instead of releasing the punch Roy expected, he once again charged his magical energy into a sliding kick, this time catching the swordsman off guard. The magical energy propelled Ganondorf forward and was immediately transferred into the young Roy in a blast of energy that caused him to once again go soaring through the air only to meet with solid ground when he landed.
Ganondorf let out another cackle, much louder this time, and prepared to finish this duel. He began to slowly walk toward his opponent, channeling immense amounts of magical energy into his right fist as he moved. He knew in his mind that when this punch connected, his weakened foe would have no chance of survival.
Roy on the other hand had no such confidence. He was barely able to stand after that last surprise attack, and when he finally managed to he swayed from side to side and almost dropped his blade. He could easily see Ganondorf moving toward him with a glowing fist and smirk across his dark face, but was too weak to take any evasive action.
Ganondorf moved into punching range and brought his fist backward, gathering more energy in the process. The weakened Roy saw the glow around his foe's fist get more intense, but did nothing to stop it. A moment later Ganondorf let out a yell and threw his fist straight at Roy's chest. But in a surprisingly hasty reaction, Roy brought his blade up to the level of his torso, holding it at a downward angle as the charged fist connected with it. But instead of just driving the blade into Roy's body as one would have expected, the fist abruptly stopped its forward motion and all of the magical energy surrounding it was transferred into the sword. Ganondorf was caught completely off guard by this and all he could do was let his eyes bulge as Roy swung his now charged sword around and slash it across the wizard's torso. The magical energy that had been in Ganondorf's fist just moments before was now exploding immediately before him in a blast with intensity he had never before felt. There was nothing he could do as the blast launched him at an impossible speed off into the horizon.
Roy watched his foe disappear, and fell to his knees as a telepad appeared under him to bring him back to the stadium he started out in. As he caught his breath he looked up at the audience now before him, who all had amazed looks on their faces. Nobody expected the swordsman to conquer the infamous wizard in the first place, yet alone with such a novel attack. Link was especially impressed as he ran right up to the beaten up swordsman to pat him on the back.
As Link helped Roy come down from the stage after refusing treatment by "shoddy figures," a wire frame approached the microphone, presumable to announce the next match. But instead, he delivered a rather surprising message. "Well now, wasn't that an exciting first half of the round? That's what all of you who haven't fought yet have to look forward to! And to those of you who have won your matches already, congratulations. Now, in order to prevent any mishaps from occurring, we have provided transportation for you back to the hotels you originally were situated at. You will be able to enjoy the evening there and get some rest before you must return bright and early tomorrow morning. As for the rest of you, it is time to watch Dr. Mario and Zelda have at each other!"