Final Showdown II

There were still a few minutes before the match would officially begin, but the people were starting to get restless. Since the two contestants were already in the arena, many of them were demanding to start the fight already. Their loud voices deafened the staff, and tournament officials were barely able to keep their excitement under control.

Before the fight could start, the staff had to confirm Kies' identity. They sent several people down to inquire about it, asking him for his entry ticket and other ways to prove that it wasn't someone else impersonating him. If Kies had known that something as bothersome as this would happen then he wouldn't have hidden his face the first time.

A bit annoyed, Kies flicked his wrist and summoned his black sword in front of the staff, scaring them and making them stumble back. "Is this enough?" he asked the staff rhetorically in an impatient tone. The staff looked at each other nervously before unanimously agreeing that Kies was indeed who he said he was.

After some final preparations, the staff finally announced that they were ready with everything. "We're ready to go," a referee walked up to them and said. "It's your call on when you want to begin."

"I'm ready."

"So am I."

Both Kies and Rui gave them the clear for the match to start and the referee walked away. The crowd quieted down a bit, but that didn't mean their excitement was gone. If anything, they were even more anxious now. On one side, there was Rui, without argument one of the best fighters in the entirety of Otane. As for why she was participating in this tournament, no one knew, but they weren't complaining. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see her fight.

On the other side was Kies. No one knew who he was or where he came from, but he stirred up the hornet's nest this year around when he challenged the whole arena and won, nevertheless. Something like this was unheard of in the history of all the tournaments throughout the years. People doubted his capabilities at first, calling him a cheat, and while he did get away with using magic in the first round when he wasn't supposed to, his strength was undoubtedly real.

If it were anyone else standing in his place right now to face Rui, they would be trembling in their boots and getting ready to surrender the moment the match started. There weren't many people who were on par with the Iceblade, but Kies had confidence in his skills. Although this is his first time facing an opponent as tough as her, he didn't feel like he was going to lose. No, he will make sure that he won't lose.

Rui swung her blade a few times in front of her to warm her muscles. "I like the look in your eyes," she said, seeing the wild look in his gray eyes. There was an empty but fierce look in Kies' eyes. It was hard to tell what he was feeling or thinking by looking at him.

"I can say the same for you..." Kies also said. Just like him, Rui also had a serious look in her eyes. But it was the opposite of Kies. While his eyes were restless like the winds, Rui's was cold and uncaring and were just as intimidating as his, just in another way.

Rui's smirks and smiles were gone. Her face was stone cold, showing no emotion. Kies' also had an expressionless face. Both knew that the other wasn't going to take this fight lightly. This was going to be an all-out fight between the two of them with neither side holding back. Warrior's honor.

"Get ready!" the referee shouted. A bright dome enveloped the arena, separating the two fighters from everyone else.

"What is this, a magic barrier?" Kies asked, surprised that there was someone who was able to construct a barrier this size.

"Yes. They have several light mages in their group. They're only brought out when they know that a fight is going to be intense. They need some way to make sure that the audience and the staff don't get hurt," Rui explained.

"I see."

"Now that this thing is up, we won't have to hold back."

"So, do we start right now?" Kies asked. He didn't want to attack his opponent when she wasn't ready.

"Yes. I'll let you have the first move."

"Gladly then."

Kies test swung his sword a few times to get a feel for it now that he was in this form before pointing it at Rui and giving her the heads-up that he was coming. "Here I go!"

Kies rushed at Rui with his sword pointed at her chest. Rui saw where Kies was aiming and got ready to parry the attack but Kies turned his blade away at the last second, feinting the attack and clicking the button on the hilt of his sword, making it turn into its double-sided form. Kies spun his blade in a circle above his head, but to his surprise, Rui responded perfectly to his feint and deflected the attack, pushing him away.

But Kies wasn't done yet. He changed his sword back into its normal form and charged at her again. He slashed viciously at her, swapping forms to make his follow-up faster and harder to predict.

But despite Kies' efforts, his barrage of swift strikes didn't even so much graze her. In fact, the opposite was happening. Even though Rui was defending, for some reason, he was losing ground as opposed to gaining ground. Rui would take a step forward every time she countered one of his attacks. Kies tried to go at her from the side but she reacted to it by just turning her body towards him.

To rub salt in his wounds, Rui wasn't directing all of her attention to dealing with his attacks. She had the energy and time to talk while fighting him. "I'll tell you this now, but there is only one other person who could match my sword skills. This may be my first time witnessing your technique, and I have to admit, it's terrifying," she complimented. It was frightening how Kies could execute his attacks one after another without showing an opening, but that itself was a flaw.

"In exchange for not letting your opponent have a chance to fight back, you're sacrificing your footwork..." she explained to him. One of the biggest disadvantages of Kies' fighting style was that there was too much movement. While none of his attacks are wasted, he has to move around a lot to make up for the speed. This left a lot of room for Rui to move forward between each attack interval.

"I know." Kies knew this quite well, but he didn't care much about this flaw because there were scarcely any opponents that could match his speed. Against Rui, his swordsmanship wasn't doing much but he still wanted to see if there was any way for him to improve on it. After all, it wasn't all that common to find someone whose abilities allowed them to keep up with him.

Kies twisted and turned his body, becoming like a whirlwind. He increased his speed without the aid of the wind, pushing the limits of his body. He attacked from all angles, aiming to wear Rui out.

"Oh... You're faster now..." However, Rui was still able to keep up with his speed and she found a small opening in his attacks and took it. She swung her sword upwards while one of Kies' feet was off the ground, almost cutting his chin. Kies jumped back and distanced himself from his opponent.

"Phew... So was that warm up?" Rui asked, seemingly taunting Kies. She wasn't out of breath from taking all of that.

"Well, you didn't get your title and position for no reason..." Kies mumbled. It was clear that her skills were one of the best in all of the kingdom. "But as you say... That's enough playing around. Let's give the crowd a show," he said. It was time to turn the difficulty up a notch. Glancing back at the crowd, Kies saw that there were a few people yawning and booing, obviously unsatisfied with the current fight.

"Do your best to keep up," Kies gave her a word of advice. A breeze entered the arena and blew across Rui's face, shooting her hair up wildly. "I should've just gone all out in the first place..." There was really no point in testing Rui's abilities when the outcome was obvious. His sword skills couldn't be compared to hers.

Rui saw that Kies was getting serious and also got ready for a real fight. She chose not to use her magic yet as she wanted to see what Kies was capable of first, or so that was her plan, but she instantly discovered that it was a bad idea and used her magic as well.

Kies disappeared from her sight and a moment later, something slammed into her blade with overwhelming force and almost broke her balance. "Fast-" Rui staggered backward.

*Swoosh!* Rui heard the sound of something slicing through the air and ducked. The sword passed by her face, cutting the ends of her hair. "No more holding back then..."

Kies felt the temperature drop near Rui and he backed off. The arena grew cold. Ice started to form around Rui, spreading out across the arena until the entire floor was covered in a layer of ice. Kies felt his winds slow down too which was strange. Was her magic so powerful that it was also affecting his magic? Either way, it was dangerous. Kies needed to be careful from now on. This was going to be the most difficult fight he will have in a while.

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