Chapter 23

"Good luck, Darnell," Tom said in a sneaky tone."I don't need luck. Luck doesn't exist. Only talent and effort lead to success," Darnell replied, activating his eyes.

He sounded a bit negative, but at the same time, what he said made sense. Still, for me, luck does exist!"You're playing the politician now? Come fight instead of talking through that little goatee of yours!" Tom said, activating his eyes as well.

From what I could tell, Tom controlled wind, because the flags began fluttering rapidly, and small rocks started to float."Come on, little guy, I'm waiting!" Tom taunted, gesturing for Darnell to come closer."You're pretty insolent for a loser," Darnell replied, walking toward him."What's the matter? Can't even use your power?" Tom shouted, launching the floating rocks at insane speed."Of course I can—but you're not worth it," Darnell said, staring him down with contempt.

Just as the rocks were about to hit him, they started to melt.I didn't really understand… Did he have some kind of protective power?

Darnell kept calmly walking toward Tom, who was at the other end of the arena."Out of projectiles to throw at me?" Darnell asked with a chuckle.

Tom's face looked frightened, and his whole body began to tremble."Don't think that was my only trick!" Tom said.

He started waving his hands at the ground and began floating above the arena."Well, I didn't expect you to be able to join the birds in the sky," Darnell replied, sounding a bit surprised.

Tom then began gathering all the projectiles he could see from the stands.He managed to collect about fifty."Better get ready, shorty. I doubt you can dodge all of these."

He started launching them one by one, at different speeds and from different angles."Don't worry, I'm not planning to dodge them," Darnell replied from the ground."Then what are you planning to do?" Tom asked, confused."Burn them," he said with a big smile.

He pointed his finger at the still-distant projectiles flying toward him and began forming a massive fireball."Whoa!" I yelled. I wanted to fight him, but I also didn't want to get roasted."Told you—Darnell isn't like the others. You can already tell by how absurdly calm he is," said Seth."How do you know him?" I asked, quite puzzled."I don't know him personally, but last year I fought a spirit with him. Believe me—I didn't even have time to react before he had already turned it to ash," Seth said with a slight grin."He's really powerful," I said, impressed."And not just that. He's extremely fast and has such mastery over his psychic power that he could rival a fresh Class S, from my experience," Seth added, looking thoughtful."If he's that strong, then why isn't he finishing this fight?" I asked."I don't know, honestly. But I think it's because he's still having fun playing with his prey…"

"How did you do that?! It wasn't even heading in that direction!" Tom yelled, stunned."You don't need to know. What matters is I know how I did it," Darnell replied, lowering the single finger he had used.

"Alright, I'm giving you ten seconds to attack me. I won't burn or counter any of your moves. You can even hit me head-on if you want," Darnell said."Fine, whenever you're ready!" Tom shouted, diving down toward Darnell."Ten."

Tom tried to strike Darnell in the head with full force.Darnell easily dodged the attack."Nine.""Hey! You're not supposed to dodge!" Tom shouted, still trying to land a hit."I never said that. I said I wouldn't burn or counter any of your attacks," Darnell replied, dodging with unsettling ease."Five.""Damn it! I've got no choice!" Tom cried, backing off."Four."

Tom used the wind to push himself faster and tried to land one final blow."Three… two…""I'm almost there!" Tom shouted, pointing his foot toward Darnell mid-charge."One… zero."

Darnell caught Tom's foot just two centimeters from his face, and smoke started rising from his hands."ARRRRRGH!" Tom screamed in pain."All you have to do is surrender, and I'll stop," Darnell said with a smug smile."NEVER!" Tom shouted.

Darnell's smile disappeared, and I heard Tom let out a huge cry of distress.Then, Darnell threw Tom to the ground—but without harming him.

"If you can get back on your feet, I'll forfeit," Darnell said confidently."Then get ready—"But Tom's body no longer responded.

"My body… I can't move it!" Tom cried weakly."That's normal. Your body feels too heavy. Your brain thinks you're burning, so you can't move. It's called a psychological effect," Darnell said with a big smile.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WHAT A FIGHT! BOTH TOM'S AND DARNELL'S POWERS WERE IMPRESSIVE, BUT DARNELL WINS THIS MATCH HANDS DOWN! MAKE SOME NOISE FOR DAAAAARNELL!" shouted the commentator.

The crowd began to cheer and clap loudly."It was a good match. Don't worry—the effect only lasts a minute or two," Darnell said as he walked away.

"WE'LL BE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT MATCH SHORTLY! TAKE A BREAK, GO TO THE RESTROOM, GRAB SOME FOOD, OR TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBOR! WE'LL SEE YOU IN FIFTEEN MINUTES!" the commentator added.

"Did you understand just how strong he is?" Seth asked me."Oh, definitely—but that won't stop me from trying!" I replied confidently.