Drole gently carried the silent Gloxinia in his arms, his friends surrounding him. Some crowd members were also checking as well. "Oh my goodness...Is he okay?" Elizabeth asked, her grip tight on the pocket's fabric. Melascula's fingers lightly pressed against the fairy's neck, there was a pulse! "He's alive. Just knocked out." Melascula said. Everyone sighed in relief. Zeldris took a glance up at his brother. Estarossa was slightly showing contrition in his eyes. He knew Gloxinia would lose but he expected him to go down quickly. For the first time, the fairy's stubbornness had impressed him. "Not too bad, "Primrose". Not too bad..."
Zeldris then stepped up to his friend. "You really push yourself too hard sometimes. Just rest for now, buddy." Zeldris whispered to him comfortingly, lightly patting Gloxinia's shoulder. Melascula took a quick glance around the area, it seems everyone's attention was going back to the arena as the Referee escorted Cain off the arena. She moved up to Zeldris. "...Captain, should I take him to go get healed up?" Melascula lightly whispered into Zeldris's ear. He then pondered, checking back on Gloxinia again. If Melascula takes Gloxinia to go use Droplet of Life, it might come across as suspicious if he were to just come back uninjured but the fairy isn't looking too good.
The referee then stepped out of the hut, treading back into the arena. "Alright, the match will have the fighters with B!" He shouted. The crowd's festival spirit suddenly erupted again with cheers. Zeldris sighed. "Just my luck." He muttered. He turned to Melascula and then to Drole. "Wait until "Primrose" shows any signs of waking up. If he thinks he needs to heal, then one of you go with him." Zeldris instructed, being responded with nods by the two. "Show him what for, "Zeldoris"." Estarossa exclaimed, some other complimenting the cheer with their own. Zeldris's eyebrows raised in surprise. He hadn't expected to gather fans so quickly. He almost turned into Melascula for a second with a blush but stopped himself as he took a deep breath. After all, maybe this fight could be incredibly useful with training.
Taizoo had his own admirers in his side of the arena, smiling pridefully as he waited for his opponent to approach. Zeldris moseyed over, Taizoo not taking his eyes off him a second. Zeldris did the same.
"In the left corner, at nine foot ten and four hundred and forty pounds, Taizoo!" The referee called, holding his arm out to the left. Taizoo raised his arms high, taking in the moment as some crowd members clapped. The referee then went to the right; "In the right corner, directly at five feet and one hundred and ten pounds, Zeldoris!". Zeldris heard everyone behind him.
"Crush him, brother!" Estarossa called out.
"This is gonna be great!" Drole said lightly, getting giddy again.
"Good luck, Sir "Zeldoris"." Elizabeth murmered, smiling but a little worried with care.
Zeldris gave a little thumbs up to his brother and friends behind before turning back to Taizoo. "Okay, a relatively big size." Zeldris analyzed his opponent silently. Earlier, he saw how he fought in the elimination round, he fights mainly with brute force. Giving enough energy to knock his opponents down but keeping enough to spare for later. A decent physical fighter.
"Let's get this over with, kid." Taizoo stated as he then got closer to Zeldris, then throwing a punch towards his opponent's face. Zeldris lightly moved to the right to dodge, not showing a sign of intimidation. His legs didn't move after, only his arms as he grabbed Taizoo with his left. He held on tight, pulling the man forward with a hefty force. Taizoo's startled expression turned to pain as Zeldris punched him. Taizoo was sent back tumbling on the ground, most of the crowd gasping.
The bulky man spat blood from his mouth. "Okay...you're not too bad after all." Taizoo grumbled, standing back up. He charged towards Zeldris, launching a barrage of punches. He was determined to get "Zeldoris" out as soon as possible. Zeldris reacted with a mix of swift dodges and blocks, reading Taizoo's movements easily.
Everyone in the audience watched closely. "What's he doing? He could take that guy out easily." Estarossa asked. Melascula looked closely at Zeldris's movements, he was calm and collected with each passing move of his body. "Oh, I see! He's practicing his reaction and counter speed!" She observed. Estarossa squinted down at Zeldris' feet, they moved so gracefully. She was right. "Ah, okay!" Estarossa said, stroking his chin. Elizabeth's hands squeezed on Melascula's pocket cloth, smiling widely in amazement. "He's so amazing!" She murmured, her eyes gleaming.
Taizoo launched an uppercut. Zeldris decided to try something a little different. He bear hugged the man's arm, holding on tight as he was lifted up. "What the...?!" Taizoo shouted. Zeldris moved his forward, finding ground as he stood directly on his arm. Taizoo, for a second, froze before Zeldris striked him in the cheek. He once again flew backwards and tumbled while Zeldris backflips onto his feet.
The crowd cheered for "Zeldoris" as he waited for Taizoo as he got back up again. This time, his eyes were showing his growing confusion and panic. "You really aren't just some kid, aren't you?" Taizoo asked.
"No. I'm just incredibly short." Zeldris replied, rolling his eyes. Taizoo couldn't help him but to laugh, but Zeldris didn't sense any malice from it. "Well then, sorry for underestimating you." Taizoo stated. Through the two punches alone, Taizoo had developed a little respect for his foe.
Zeldris lightly smiled. "Not too bad yourself." He replied. Taizoo spat out blood from his mouth before taking a deep breath. "I'm not done so don't think you've won just yet." He proclaimed, pointing towards Zeldris with similar confidence but a little wiser of his opponent's strength. Something that Zeldris would want nothing less of.
Taizoo dashed forward, this time Zeldris joining as the two clashed. Their hands grabbed onto each other as they pushed against one another. "If I can't knock you out, I'll just have to push you out!" Taizoo exclaimed, pushing with all his might to move Zeldris. Despite his efforts, Zeldris wasn't moving an inch!
"No way!" A man cried out, amazed at the sight.
"He's so strong!" A woman added, fascinated.
The crowd all started to cheer, rooting for "Zeldoris".
"Sorry to end your winning streak, Taizoo." Zeldris said, starting to push back. Taizoo's feet started to slide back. "Come on, come on..." He muttered, using all his strength to stop moving but Zeldris was just too strong for him. Taizoo looked back. If Zeldris got any further, it would be over!
In a last ditch effort, his hands fought out of Zeldris's grasp. His knee rose at top speed to go for his opponent's chest. Zeldris, however, was more than ready for any kind of attack. He hopped up, his left foot using Taizoo's knee as leverage. With full force, he uppercuts Taizoo in the jaw and sends him flying out of the arena. Out he flew off the rock entirely. Zeldris lands square on his feet as the crowd roars. "Taizoo is out! Zeldoris wins!"
"Zeldoris! Zeldoris!" Many cheered.
Zeldris took a deep breath, feeling a little proud of himself. He straightened his clothing and stepped off the arena. "You're incredible, Captain!" Drole exclaimed, almost squeezing Gloxinia in his arms with excitement. "Mhm!" Melascula added. Estarossa said nothing, only giving his brother a noogie. "Thanks, guys. Although, it really wasn't all that impressive." Zeldris replied, giving coy gestures. "Hah. Whatever, brother."
"Anyways, that leaves you and "Dolor", brother." Zeldris stated. "Oh yeah, you're right! What do you think Howzer's capable of, "Rosetta"?" Drole asked. Estarossa gave a quick glance over to Howzer, who wasn't far from the group. Howzer as well looked over and the two gave a friendly nod. "I guess I'll be finding out soon enough. Anyways, howz "Primrose" doing?" Estarossa asked, smirking as he knew what he just did. The group lightly groaned, that is except for Drole who didn't catch it. "Oh, he's doing fine. No sign of waking up. Probably just exhausted." He answered.
"Alright! The next match will have fighters with the letter D!" They then heard the referee call out. Drole gasped. "Oh, that's me!" He exclaimed, practically estatic. He then remembered that his friend was in his arms. "Hey, Captain? Take care of Gl- I mean, "Primrose" for me!" He then asked, holding Gloxinia forward like a sleeping baby. "Uh, sure. Just put him on my back." Zeldris murmured. "Alright, thanks!" Drole said, lightly placing Gloxinia onto Zeldris's back. With Gloxinia being slightly bigger than his captain, he kinda looked silly being the one to bear the piggy back. Drole then dashed to the stage...only to trip onto his face again.
Some of the crowd, mainly the drunk viewers, burst out laughing. The Commandments just sighed. "He's still getting to used to being our size, huh?" Estarossa thought to himself. Elizabeth though felt frantic. "Ah, he fell again!" She squealed worryingly. To her and some others' surprise, he quickly hopped and just dusted himself like nothing. "H-huh?" Elizabeth murmured.
"What's the confusion for, Elizabeth? You were with him when he fell earlier, right? He got up just fine there." Estarossa asked. "Oh, that's what happened? He was holding me in his bottom hands inside his cloak so I couldn't see much. I thought someone had knocked him down." Elizabeth explained.
"It's unlikely something like that would happen so easily, no need to worry about a thing." Zeldris softly consoled, acknowledging Elizabeth's concern. . He leaned lightly over to whisper to her. "Out of all of us, Drole is one of the strongest." He added. "Oh, I see..."
Drole stood in the middle of the arena in awe. He truly couldn't be more happier.
His opponent, Bertram, however couldn't be more terrified. He never expected for people like the Giant to appear. His fear only worsened when Drole turned to him. "Hey!" Drole called out, then walking over to him. Drole's calm, amiable steps was like cold, threatening stomps to him. "Your name was Bertram, wasn't it? Let's give each other a good pounding, okay?" Drole proposed, holding out his hand for a handshake. Bertram's terror turned to confusion. "Uh, what..." He faltered. The giant was clueless on the bizarre phrasing he used. "Hm?"
The Commandments watched closely until Zeldris felt a little twitch on his back. He looked over to his shoulder to see Gloxinia's eyes slowly opening. "Oh hey, "Primrose"!" He said jovially. Everyone's heads turned towards him. "Wha...What happened?"
"Old man Cain knocked you silly." Estarossa stated. "Seriously?!" Gloxinia exclaimed, raising his head up more. "Yeah..." Melascula replied gently, not wanting to rub salt in the wound too much. "Ugh..." Gloxinia groaned, laying his head back on Zeldris's shoulder again. "Don't let it bother you too much, buddy. Can you stand?" Zeldris asked. Gloxinia lightly sighed, drearily laying his head back down. "Would it be alright if I just sleep for like five more minutes?" Gloxinia asked in response. Zeldris's eyebrow rose. "You don't want to see "Dolor" fight?"
"I mean, we all know he's gonna win, ri-"
Bam! Drole had struck Bertram, sending him flying...towards Zeldris' direction! Gloxinia's eyes shot open in pure panic. "Ah!" He yelped, hopping off Zeldris's back as the Commandment of Piety simply ducked. Bertram tumbled until he nearly reached the edge of the rock. "Bertram is out in one punch! Dolor wins!"
"Man, he really needs to work on his aim." Estarossa observed, nearly snickering when he saw Gloxinia's face. "Not aim, it's trajectory!" The fairy corrected, his adrenaline completely back as he hopped up with a near red, angered face. "Same thing." Estarossa replied, shrugging. "No, it's not..." The fairy muttered under his breath, grumbling at the pain of his injuries. Zeldris and Melascula held out their hands to help him up. Gloxinia wanted to continue releasing his frustration but he was just too warn out. He sighed as he grabbed their hands. "Upsy Daisy..." Melascula murmered as they helped Gloxinia up. "Thanks..."
Drole walked off the arena. "Hey, "Primrose"! You're awake!" He exclaimed, walking back towards the group. "Did you guys see me out there?" He added. "Kinda got a little distracted but we did see you send that guy flying." Zeldris answered. "Flying right at us..." Gloxinia muttered prickly to himself. "Oh...Well, what all happened was that he just threw a bunch of quick jabs. They didn't really hurt and then he just kinda left himself open, so I just punched him." Drole explained in a poised manner. Even if Bertram stood no chance, Drole still planned every move he took in the fight.
"Simple but effective. Well done." Zeldris stated, smiling with approval. "Oh, I haven't even started, Captain! Next round's gonna be great!"
"Speaking of next..." Melascula said, looking up at Estarossa. Estarossa's mood lit up with realization. "Oh yeah! Guess me and Howzer are last up!" Estarossa cheered.
Down below the Vaizel rock, Taizoo laid silent against the grass he landed on. Defeat had almost hit as hard as Zeldris did. He sighed lightly.
"You there." He heard near him.
A man near his size and physique along with a much shorter woman with horses stood over him. "Are you alright?" The man asked.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Was fighting in the Vaizel Fighting Festival up there and got sent flying." Taizoo replied, pointing up the rock. "I see..."
"To think I was beaten by someone who barely reaches my kneecaps."
That caught the woman's full attention. "...How big was he?" She asked. "Huh?" Taizoo asked, surprised at her sudden question; "Uh...I think the referee said 5 feet directly.". "Black hair with green eyes?" She then asked. "Yeah. You know him?"
"Would his name happen to be Zeldris?"