Silent Acacia versus Rectify

None of the players knew about the difficulties behind the scenes. They were fully convinced by the tournament, knowing no other topic.

In an arena floating above a long mountain range covered in dark fumes. The audience stands were made from black rock carrying strange murals, looking like insidious altars.

"I say it again. Our luck with arenas is really terrible!", exclaimed Cyclone. She looked around, constantly feeling like a ghost might suddenly pop out from behind her.

"My friend, just immerse yourself into the audience. I am certain you will forget about your surroundings.", advised Radiant Shield.

"Shield is right. There are probably about two million people here. They make enough noise to frighten away all kinds of demons and ghosts.", said Watchful Eye calmly.

Cyclone slowly nodded with a sigh:

"Two million... and that may not be everything. Adding the other arenas there should be more than ten million watching now..."

"I hope Acacia will be alright.", whispered Balm worriedly.

Cyclone and Balm glanced to the side where Silent Acacia was sticking close to Quickstep, whispering something. The young man's hands were balled into fists to stop them from shaking.

He still looked nervous, but he was slowly improving. Just as the friends wanted to wish him good luck, Silent Acacia already disappeared, entering the arena floor.

The caster in the air was announcing the match.

"... welcome our next contestants. On one side the swift beast hunter Sileeent Acaciaaaa! And on the other incarnation of flames OD.Rectifyyyy!"

Suddenly Quickstep jumped up in her seat, staring at the arena floor with blazing eyes, startling her friends.

"Quickstep? What's going on?"

"Is it an old acquaintance of yours?", asked Silver Blade curiously.

"Yes... and quite the hated one.", admitted Quickstep with gritted teeth.

"What did he do?"

"When Silent Acacia joined TCTT he directly replaced Rectify, pushing him back to the second team. Rectify has always hated Acacia for that. When the first problems arose, he was one of the most vocal idiots, constantly criticizing Acacia, even in public."

"Hmpf. Loser! Attacking others instead of looking to improve. Never liked that guy.", said Cyclone crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Quickstep nodded in approval:

"That's also what I told him. What is most ironic is that after Silent Acacia and I left, Rectify didn't regain his old position and it was instead filled with new juniors."

"Serves him right."

"Looks like he's just not good enough."

"Acacia got this!"

The friends revealed gloating faces, cheering Silent Acacia on as they watched the battle down below.

Silent Acacia and Rectify were staring at each other, creating an almost palpable tension.

"Yo, if this isn't little Acacia. What, are you actually brave enough to fight me?"

Rectify had the body of a muscular demon with red skin, standing at more than two meters tall, looking down on Silent Acacia with a playful smile.

Sneering, Silent Acacia balled his fists as he shot back:

"Why would I be afraid of you? You were never my match!"

"Audacious words for a little coward!"

"Says the second-rate 'pro' who would rather hang out online all day instead of working hard to improve."

The audience couldn't hear what the combatants were saying but even so they could feel the tension. Many of those present knew about Silent Acacia's history. Fans of both sides began to engage in a heated battle as well.

"It's Acacia that fraud!"

"Yeah, I thought he was a prodigy but turned out it was all just marketing!"

"Rectify should've never lost his position. He did so much for TCTT!"

"Hey, you idiots over there, use your brains! TCTT is a corporate grinding machine for talents. I don't get how you can be fans of such a team..."

"Mimimi, which team doesn't need some companies to sponsor them? It's the result which counts!"

"TCTT is full of liars! They withheld pay from Quickstep and Silent Acacia. Who would want to play in such an environment?!"

"Tsk, believing such nonsense. TCTT made a clear statement. Maybe try reading, dumbass."

"What did you just call me?!"

The atmosphere in the arena got more and more heated. It didn't take long for the first fans to get physical. Fights began to spark everywhere.

Suddenly hundreds of lights flashed, and the troublemakers were banned from the arena. The audience calmed down and only stared each other down with hateful gazes. But the next fight was sure to erupt any second.

Silent Acacia and Rectify noticed the flashes among the audience and their hostility only increased.

Just then the arena suddenly changed. The combatants found themselves on the flattened top of a mountain. Only a little bit of the flanks was visible before they vanished in a thick fog, which also hid the audience stands.

Three seconds ticked down and the fight finally started.

Silent Acacia had already thought about it and immediately called out Zorn. The white alligator let out an intimidating roar, stretching her body which had surpassed the length of a car.

Instantly Silent Acacia activated his ultimate skill [Mark of Death]. As a red mark appeared above Rectify's head the demon was already confronted with an arrow and a water sphere coming for his body.

Rectify sneered arrogantly:

"Child's play!"

With a thought flames erupted all over his body. The heat on top of the mountain increased abruptly. Rectify shot into the air, slowed down, and fell back like a human-shaped meteor aiming for Silent Acacia.

The hunter naturally wouldn't stay in place. He hastily dashed away, directing Zorn to do so as well.

Boom!

A massive explosion caused the floor to tremble and the fog to stir. Flames rapidly spread along the ground. Silent Acacia couldn't escape their range fast enough. Fortunately, the wide-ranged skill had the drawback of dealing less damage towards the edges.

[-799!]

[-568!]

Silent Acacia frowned. Only as the damage hit him and Zorn did he realize that the skill's range wasn't infinite. With a valiant jump he might have made it out of the area.

Some doubts crept into his mind, trying to undermine his confidence. Silent Acacia gritted his teeth, burying those thoughts deeply. He turned around, focused on Rectify and instantly attacked again.

The demon turned his body causing sparks to loosen from his skin and the flames to slowly die down. His movement was nearly perfect, and he dodged both Silent Acacia and Zorn.

[Stance -24]

"Heh, you're not my match!"

Rectify talked arrogantly but what answered him were two more projectiles. Gritting his teeth he dodged again.

"Do you think you are the only one with ranged attacks?!"

Eyes blazing with anger Rectify pulled back his fist to the limit. A crisp sound of something braking rang out. Rectify's fist punched out like a cannonball. A massive fist made of flames formed in the air, shooting directly at Silent Acacia.

In the air the flaming fist collided with another arrow, burning it to a crisp.

Acacia was shocked and hastily jumped to the side. His skin reddened from the heat, but he luckily escaped the skill.

However, Acacia had no time to be relieved. He noticed Rectify chasing after the fist, closing the distance between them.

Now!

With a thought Silent Acacia ordered Zorn to use one of her new skills which he found for her after they came out of the third dungeon.

Rectify was completely unprepared, his eyes only on Silent Acacia, as a fountain of water suddenly erupted below his feet.

"AH!"

The demon was startled as the powerful jet threw him straight into the air. Silent Acacia used the chance to gain some more distance.

After a few steps he turned around, held his breath, and aimed his bow at the place where Rectify would land.

The demon was flying through the air again, yet this time it was involuntarily. He couldn't control the direction and landed painfully on the solid rock.

Instantly a solid amount of HP was taken away. Zorn's skill was quite impressive, dealing magical and water damage at first and physical damage when the target crashed into the floor.

[-2547!]

[-552!]

[-21!]

Silent Acacia waited with narrowed eyes and released a perfectly timed arrow. It was imbued with the skill [Ensnaring Arrow]. Rectify had no chance to dodge and was immediately immobilized.

[-3733!!!]

Silent Acacia grinned as he landed a critical hit. Enhanced by the effect of his set equipment his critical hits dealt 210% damage, which was quite terrifying for any enemy.

He wasn't done yet, however. Silent Acacia knew he had to take the chance as long as Rectify was immobilized. He instantly followed up with a [Flurry].

"Little coward! Do you take me for a practice target?!"

Rectify shouted angrily. Gritting his teeth he used another skill. Flames erupted from his body, engulfing him in a blazing, dark-red armor.

Silent Acacia frowned. When his arrows reached his opponent, they noticeably lost some power.

[-667!]

[-667!]

Rectify was horrified, however. Despite using his skills, he still lost a lot of HP. Out of his originally about 14.000HP now only less than 6.000 remained. The demon struggled on the floor and finally managed to get out of his bindings.