The arena barely had ti to stabilize before the next match flashed onto the grand screen:
[Match 7: Rina Lunin "Death Goddess" (S Class – Death Energy Control) vs. Darlington Junior (A-Class – Energy Blasts)]
The mont Rina’s na appeared, the crowd began buzzing louder than ever. Many knew of her, but few had seen her fight since she had no presence outside of a few classified missions.
"Next up, the radiant nightmare herself... Rina Lunin, the Death Goddess!" Lysandra announced with more excitent than usual, as this was her newly adopted little sis.
Rina stood lazily from her seat, twirling her sunglasses once before sliding them back into her pocket. She adjusted the tight leather jacket she wore over her crimson-lined black combat outfit and began sauntering down the platinum stairs at a casual pace, chewing a piece of gum the entire way.
"Why’s it feel like a devil’s walking down the aisle?" Roland joked.
Sophia adjusted her gloves thoughtfully. "Because she is."
From across the field, Darlington Junior tensed up, his blue battle gear glowing with surging plasma energy. He bounced on his heels, nervous energy rolling off him in waves as he conjured orbs of condensed plasma in both palms.
"Contestant Rina Lunin, esper na Death Goddess. Rating: S . Esper type: Death Energy Control." Lysandra intoned.
She then glanced over to the other fellow. "And her opponent, Darlington Junior. A-Class. Ability: Energy Blasts."
"BEGIN!" Lysandra chanted as she slashed her hand downward.
Darlington didn’t waste ti as he roared and launched a barrage of plasma orbs toward Rina which moved with high velocity, each carrying enough kinetic force to vaporize a human body on contact.
Rina didn’t move but instead exhaled softly... and then the air dimd around her.
The orbs shriveled midair, their brilliant blue turning sickly purple before fragnting into nothingness, as if the life had been drained from them.
Sophia leaned over to Kaizer with narrowed eyes. "She’s infusing decay fields into her aura. This isn’t an attack... it’s a predatory zone now."
Darlington’s eyes widened in panic as he launched a second volley even faster, but this ti the death energy crawled along the arena floor like a black mist. It swallowed his blasts before they even reached her.
anwhile, Rina was still standing casually, she blew a bubble with her gum, which popped with a soft snap.
Darlington tried one last desperate gambit, a full-body charge which concentrated all his energy into his fists for a close-range detonation.
Rina tilted her head lazily, smiled... and simply raised her hand.
The black mist thickened like a tidal wave and swept forward.
The crowd gasped as Darlington was imdiately engulfed in death energy, his forward montum slowing to a crawl, his body buckling midair as the energy siphoned his stamina and vitality directly.
He dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, panting and wide-eyed in terror.
Rina finally strolled forward, popping another gum bubble.
"You done?" She asked sweetly.
Darlington, with a groan, whispered: "I... surrender..."
DING!
"Winner: Rina Lunin, the Death Goddess!" Lysandra called out, shaking her head in amusent.
The crowd exploded. Not just because she won, but because of how casual it was and how inevitable it had seed from the start.
Rina turned away without a glance at Darlington, spinning on her heel as she sauntered off the field, winking at Kaizer in the stands.
"She’s in a good mood today." Kaizer remarked dryly.
Roland whistled low. "Remind never to prank her again."
Lucian muttered. "Irresistible decay. Dangerous."
Sophia offered a tiny smile. "Effortless control of death... and not even trying hard yet."
Without even giving the crowd a chance to cool down, the screen flashed again:
[Match 8: Sophia Rochester "Void Walker" (A-Class – Voidspace Manipulation) vs. Ryan Ueda (A-Class – Radiant Fla)]
The energy around the stadium sharpened again, but this ti it felt cold and precise, like standing in a vacuum.
Lysandra’s voice resonated with sharp excitent. "And now... the strategic maestro of the battlefield... Sophia Rochester, the Void Walker!"
Sophia rose from her seat with asured calm as her sleek combat suit shimred with faint ripples of violet and black, like starlight trapped under glass. Her slicked back auburn hair fluttered as small void ripples coiled around her steps.
On the opposite side, Ryan Ueda, known for his Radiant Fla ability, spun a conjured staff of molten energy around himself with martial grace.
Sophia regarded him once with a bored glance, her dark black eyes cold as ever.
"Contestant Sophia Rochester, esper alias Void Walker. Rating: A-Class. Ability: Voidspace Manipulation." Lysandra listed with a nod to Sophia.
Then she glanced at the other fellow casually. "And her opponent: Ryan Ueda. A-Class. Ability: Radiant Fla."
"BEGIN!"
Ryan imdiately burst forward, his body wreathed in radiant solar flas, intending to overwhelm Sophia before she could deploy her usual spatial tricks.
Sophia sighed softly as with a wave of her hand, the space around her fractured.
Ryan’s assault didn’t slow... at first. His fla-wrapped form hurled itself into a direct line at Sophia, thrusting his staff forward to pierce through her and secure victory!
... but mid-strike, he disappeared.
The crowd gasped.
Ryan reappeared a full twenty ters away, his staff embedded into an empty slab of the arena floor while he looked around in utter confusion.
Sophia gently adjusted her gloves. "You’re not fighting . You’re fighting the battlefield."
Kaizer smiled slightly. "She’s deployed short-range void displacent zones all around her. No direct path exists to her anymore."
Sophia walked forward casually, every step asured.
Ryan roared and unleashed a barrage of radiant fla spears, dozens at once, lighting the entire arena in a solar storm.
But every single spear bent unnaturally midflight - twisting around her like cots orbiting a black hole - before vanishing into small tears in space.
Sophia raised her hand once more.
Space warped... and Ryan’s body tilted unnaturally, the gravitational pull forcing him to stagger.
The next mont, an invisible force gripped his entire body and slamd him flat onto the ground with such intensity the ground cracked.
Ryan groaned, unable to move while Sophia walked over and knelt calmly by him.
"Your flas are bright, but you were never fighting on solid ground." She said quietly.
Ryan could only grunt in response.
DING!
"Winner: Sophia Rochester, Void Walker!" Lysandra declared.
The crowd clapped, but this ti it was more cautious admiration than roaring excitent. Strategic warfare wasn’t always as flashy, but seeing soone control space itself left a much deeper mark.
Sophia stood, brushed invisible dust off her knee, and walked away with the sa calm pace as when she arrived.
As she passed Kaizer’s seat, she glanced sideways and for just a mont, a rare smirk touched her lips.
Kaizer returned a small nod of approval.
"Hmph, pretentious!" Rina snorted with jealousy, causing Sophia smile to bloom wider.
The rest of the matches continued.
[Match 9: Rael Vaska vs. Zia Moon]
Rael Vaska, the wielder of the Icebind Spear, took imdiate control by summoning glacial spears that moved like hunting wolves.
Zia Moon tried to counter with dazzling crystal constructs, creating shields and barriers, but Rael’s attacks were relentless.
His cold field slowed her reactions more and more until he froze her in place with a chained barrage of ice needles.
Zia surrendered quickly before full immobilization.
Winner: Rael Vaska!
[Match 10: Caleb Ward vs. Kiko Zen]
Caleb Ward, the user of the Null Shield, thodically shut down Kiko Zen’s Magnet Stream ability.
Every ti Kiko tried to manipulate the tallic shards around him, Caleb’s anti-energy fields severed his control.
Realizing his magnetic attacks were being neutralized before activation, Kiko gambled on a direct assault but was effortlessly repelled by Caleb’s defensive aura.
After repeated failures, Kiko tapped out.
Winner: Caleb Ward!
[Match 11: Lyla Trevine vs. Orion Mays]
In a battle between tracking and stealth, Lyla Trevine used her Lunar Marking ability to tag Orion with silver brands that exposed his mist-based evasions.
Orion Mays fought cleverly, using thick mist screens to dart and strike, but Lyla’s marks hod in through every layer of concealnt.
After a back-and-forth chase, Orion was finally cornered and forced to yield when his tricks ran out.
Winner: Lyla Trevine!
[Match 12: Karos D’Venn vs. Alia Spence]
Karos D’Venn opened the match with sweeping arcs of his Whip of Echoes, sending sonic lashes that distorted Alia Spence’s emotion-based abilities before she could weave them.
Alia tried to destabilize Karos emotionally to weaken his focus, but Karos was too disciplined.
Using ricochet strikes, he disard her emotionally and physically, forcing her to surrender once her psychic feedback loop snapped.
Winner: Karos D’Venn!
[Match 13: Rhys Calderon vs. Zendar Xo]
Rhys Calderon, utilizing his Bladestorm Blink ability, overwheld Zendar Xo’s Core Rot defense with sheer speed.
Zendar attempted to sap Rhys’ energy by corrupting the ground he stood on, but Rhys was never stationary long enough.
After a flurry of afterimage slashes, Rhys landed a decisive blink-strike to the chest that knocked Zendar unconscious before he could recover.
Winner: Rhys Calderon!
[Match 14: Elise Ferros vs. Mikael Ross]
Elise Ferros dominated the field early with her Gravity Hands ability, using unseen pressure fields to restrict Mikael Ross’s chain-based attacks.
Mikael tried to fling multiple chain pulses to entangle Elise, but his movents beca sluggish under the oppressive force.
After Mikael’s final chain was yanked to the ground by a focused gravitational tug, he had no choice but to surrender.
Winner: Elise Ferros!
[Match 15: Naira Hoshigaki vs. Felix Ward]
Naira Hoshigaki’s Dream Walker ability turned the field surreal almost imdiately, plunging Felix Ward into a shifting nightmare reality.
Though Felix’s Mist Fla Fusion gave him powerful offense, his attacks beca misdirected in the illusions.
Disoriented and exhausted from fighting mirages, Felix was finally captured in a dream-bind and conceded the match to escape a full spiritual collapse.
Winner: Naira Hoshigaki!
[Match 16: Zev Lu vs. Alren Savik]
Zev Lu and his Bladed Rain unleashed a storm of weaponized droplets, turning the battlefield into a killing zone.
Alren Savik tried to Phase Walk through attacks, shifting his body out of sync with the material plane, but Zev flooded the arena so densely with blade constructs that even phasing could not provide a clear path.
One slip from Alren and a precise strike ended the match.
Winner: Zev Lu!
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