Force of Nature

Klaus got up from his seat and walked to the entrance of the arena, alongside Riley.

"Good luck," Rose said to Klaus as he continued into the battlefield.

The two fighters positioned themselves as they stood in silence, awaiting the commencing alarm. Riley smiled at Klaus after raising her right hand signaling a wave. He then slightly nodded after a few seconds, realizing that Riley was expecting a reply. After a few seconds, the alarm went off and the battle began.

"Gaia State," Riley said after the alarm sounded.

Immediately, Riley placed her palms on the ground, spawning roots around her and directing them at Klaus. The roots continued to rush at her opponent, but Klaus almost effortlessly evaded the roots, barely moving his body from the way.

Riley continued to control the roots and Klaus continued to dodge the attacks. Klaus' reflexes appeared beyond impressive after his performance with Siren and his ongoing one in the current fight. Riley's attacks were also very quick and controlled, but they didn't seem to be enough to cause damage.

"This isn't working," Riley thought to herself. "I didn't want to use Ventus State, but I may not have a choice."

The roots continued, but this time, more intensified after she created more roots and sent them directly at Klaus once more. Klaus' evading continued as he proceeded to dodge every attack that she had sent.

The back and forth continued until Klaus eventually stretched his left hand outwards before light proceeded to rotate above his palm. And after a brief moment, he started charging towards Riley, to land a first-grade solar ball on her.

Riley realized this action as she continued to rush her roots at him more ruthlessly. But Klaus dodged and evaded them, jumping around from side to side and continuing his forward action.

Riley knew that there was nothing she could do with her attacks so she placed her hands on the floor once more before creating roots that surrounded her in layers.

This caused Klaus to stop his run as he sighed and stood in one spot before dispersing the ball of light into nothingness.

"Really?" Klaus softly stated.

"What?" Riley said after barely hearing him. "You think I'll just stand and get hit?"

Klaus knew he had to do something about the roots she used to envelope herself so he stretched his left hand once more. The intensity of the light he absorbed, as well as its noticeably larger size, indicated Klaus' use of the second grade as he charged the attack and launched it at Riley in her covered state.

The attack then collided with the roots before causing a massive explosion, destroying the roots instantly and enveloping the entire arena with light. The demigods turned their heads in irritation at the intense light before the light finally subsided.

"This light is so annoying," Mia said in the spectator's area. "Why do we also get blinded just for spectating?"

"Speak for yourself," Link then responded. "I can see just fine."

The demigods turned to Link as they noticed that his head was still directly facing the battlefield.

"How?" Tyler asked in confusion.

"Light regulator," Link responded. "You can't hit me with an attack once and expect me not to find a solution."

Link had been blinded by Klaus' light before during the Capture the Flag game mode of the Cosmic League, and due to that, he decided to modify his helmet to regulate the light so that its intensity would not distort him in battle.

"I guess all that preparation was useless since you ended up losing in the first stage," Quinn cheekily said to Link.

"Oh, shut up," Link replied. "And didn't you lose in the first round as well?"

"Yeah, but at least it was my choice," Quinn continued before the blinding light finally subsided.

As the demigods turned their attention back to the fighters, they noticed that the roots Riley used to cover herself were completely gone and Riley was clashing punches with Klaus.

The fight continued as both fighters swung punches at each other.

"Swinging punches at a girl. How unethical," Riley said to Klaus with a smile as their clashes continued.

"I've unintentionally passed that point, trust me," Klaus responded.

The close combat continued, but Klaus was clearly having the advantage over her. His close combat was very impressive; he landed more blows on his opponents and received no attack. Riley knew that there was no hope for her if this continued and she knew that she had to resort to her second state.

As the fight continued, Riley managed to create some distance from Klaus after creating roots and hurling them at him. She then placed both of her palms together before closing her eyes and attempting to focus.

But before even a second could elapse, Klaus was already beside Riley and launched a punch at her. He was not going to allow Riley to switch states. Klaus' attack caused Riley to disregard her focus as she turned her attention back to Klaus.

"You know, you can be annoying sometimes," Riley said with a forced smile.

"I don't plan to be otherwise," Klaus responded before continuing his barrage of attacks.

Klaus then managed to cause Riley to trip as she fell to the ground. He then stretched his left hand upwards in an attempt to create another Solar Ball. But before he could even begin, a root instantly rushed from the floor behind him and instantly grabbed onto his hand. As this occurred, three more roots continued from the ground as they held on to his right hand and both palms to prevent him from using and solar ball. The roots then lifted Klaus as Riley continued her focus immediately to switch her state.

"Ventus State," Riley said.

Klaus forcefully attempted to rip the roots from his hands, but before he could do so, the strong currents of wind that filled the arena indicated that Riley had already accomplished her goal.

After Klaus managed to rip off the roots that held on to him, he gradually walked at Riley after noticing that she had already switched.

Suddenly, Klaus felt a mighty gush of wind around him before he realized that he was unable to move. His slight confusion turned to realization after he remembered that this was what Riley had used on Ace in the first round.

Riley finally opened her eyes as she revealed her eyes with a windy effect in them. Klaus also noticed her right hand stretched towards him which made sense as to why he was unable to move.

Riley kept her focus on Klaus before she then stretched her left hand outwards. Afterward, a small dagger floated from her side before stopping beside her hand. Klaus was still trying his best to fight the wind, but there was no sliver of hope as it looked like he wasn't even moving at all.

"Do you surrender?" Riley asked as she stared directly at Klaus, awaiting his response.

"What do you think?" Klaus said with not a single sight of change of expression.

"Then you leave me no choice," Riley then said before gripping the dagger that was floating beside her.

Before anyone could realize anything, Riley instantly moved at a tremendous speed as she swung her blade directly through Klaus' neck and appeared a noticeable distance behind him. The speed she had used was so fast that the wind took a while before proceeding after her.

Everything happened so fast and before most of the demigods could react, Klaus already had his knees on the ground.

"Such speed," Link stated at the spectator's area. "It's even faster than before."

It seemed like Riley was trying to finish the battle quickly since Ventus State usually consumed too much of her energy. Her breathing also started getting heavier after she rushed through Klaus, but since it was all over, she felt relieved of the thought. Until she returned her attention to him.

Riley was sure that she had used the blade to strike through Klaus' neck, supposedly beheading her opponent and killing him. But as she turned to Klaus, who was still on his knees, she noticed that his body was still connected to his head.

"I'm almost certain her attack hit," Quinn said in the spectator's area. "What's going on?"

Klaus remained on his knees for a few more seconds. He was facing the opposite way from Riley, so she could not tell what was going on, but the other demigods that spectated watched as Klaus had his head facing up and eyes closed.

Riley did not know what to do, but she was certain that somehow, her attack did not do its job of finishing her opponent. She knew that with the strength she had left, she was unable to use her wind ability to bind Klaus again without losing consciousness so she didn't want to risk it. Riley held on to the blade she had before attempting to rush at Klaus.

But as Riley proceeded forward with haste, Klaus let out a slight sigh before finally opening his eyes, revealing his bright yellow pupils, as he stretched his left palm, creating yet another Solar Ball. He then got up from his kneeling position and turned back immediately, launching a miniature Solar Ball at Riley before she could reach him.

Riley noticed this and knew that it would be a problem due to the blinding light and intense force. She was also aware that this was the flashbang variant of his Solar Ball due to its size so she immediately stopped her rush and placed both her forearms ahead of her face, covering the ball of light from her eyes before its detonation.

But upon doing so, the ball of light instantly vanished while traveling forward before Klaus instantly appeared directly ahead of her with his right fist clenched.

"It's a fake?" Riley questioned as Klaus connected a strike on her stomach.

Riley managed to use her wind force to reduce the speed of Klaus' punch, reducing its damage last second, but the damage was still significant enough to cause her to move back a few distances, almost touching the floor but still retaining her floating state. Klaus then continued at Riley before she collided with him as well with multitudes of clashes.

The two fighters swung attacks at each other, with Riley also utilizing her wind ability to conjure currents of wind at Klaus. Considering that Klaus decided not to use any Solar Ball made it seem, to the other demigods, like he had lost a lot of energy in the battle. But the same could be said about Riley who also appeared to be getting tired over time.

Although she had a slight edge in the battle, Riley knew that she could not keep her state for too long. She knew that she had to end the battle before she would lose her current state.

With this knowledge, Riley used her wind to lift Klaus off the ground after he tried to swing another attack at her. Harnessing the momentum, she then used the force of her wind to slam her opponent back to the ground. And without wasting a moment in closing the distance between them, Riley swiftly positioned herself directly above Klaus, with her body pressed down upon his as she sought to subdue him.

Riley held her blade at Klaus' neck as she placed her left palm at the side of his face and stared down at him. She stared directly into her opponent's eyes as Klaus did the same, with both fighters exhaling heavily out of exhaustion. The momentum of the fight had reduced and both fighters were almost exhausted from using their abilities.

Riley continued to stare into Klaus' bright eyes as she tried to gain the courage to do something since Klaus had made it clear that he was not going to forfeit.

Klaus noticed Riley's stare as he returned his own in slight confusion as to why his opponent was hesitating.

"What are you waiting for?" Klaus asked while staring into Riley's eyes. "Expecting a kiss or something?"

Klaus' expression remained the same throughout the battle, and this moment was no different. Klaus stared at Riley with his usual unconcerned stare, but the stare he received was completely different from what Riley had given a few seconds before.

"W-W-What," Riley said while stammering. "W-Why would you say that."

Riley's face had instantly turned rosy and her eyes instantly drifted forward and back after noticing the position they were in. Her hesitation was even clearer as she continued to mumble, seemingly losing her focus. Klaus looked at her in further confusion as to why she was acting strange, but upon the realization, he noticed that Riley had lost focus and dropped her guard.

Seizing the opportunity in an instant, Klaus freed himself from his subdued state with astonishing speed, and before Riley could notice, he had reversed their positions with him now above her, as he firmly held on to her blade and pointed it at her.

Riley's eyes also seemed to have reverted to her natural appearance and the wind current around the arena had reduced drastically. This meant that she had lost her Ventus State, possibly due to her lack of focus.

"Y-You tricked me," Riley said after getting overpowered by Klaus.

"That wasn't really the plan," Klaus responded.

Klaus looked directly at her, but this time with the advantage. Riley tried her best to struggle out of her bound state, but her exhaustion was too great to use any more force.

"Well," Klaus said to his opponent. "Do you forfeit or not?"

Klaus' straight face made it clear to Riley that he was not going to hesitate if she didn't. She knew that there was no point in continuing the match anymore.

"Fine, fine..." Riley said. "I forfeit."

"Are you certain?" XVII asked.

Riley turned her head to the side as she managed to respond softly.

"Y-Yeah."

"Then the winner is... Klaus Walker."

And as XVII announced this, Klaus was crowned as the victor.

"Damn, he won," Rose mentioned.

"Yeah," Shade replied with a smile. "He's something else."

Klaus rolled off Riley before exhaling heavily while lying down. The fight was very exhausting and both of the fighters seemed to have pushed themselves to their limits. Riley continued to breathe heavily as well before she smiled and turned to Klaus.

"So?" Riley asked. "I was amazing, wasn't I?"

Klaus closed his eyes and continued his breathing as both fighters gradually started to get transported before finally responding to Riley.

"Yes, you were."