Chapter 161 - 157: Tournament Finals: The Heat Is On

Chapter 161: Chapter 157: Tournament Finals: The Heat Is On

The roar of the crowd signals that a two-hour standoff has finally finished.

"House Bottomsley has defeated House Pikari," the announcer bellows.

That is the third match today. Milian has, as Kaline predicted, defeated Barillot. The hippogriff, Moonbeam, proved to be the destruction engine that we all feared. Then Rottmas went down in flames at the hands of Yonel.

We chose our match against Hegel early, leaving House Bottomsley with Pikari. Not that they protested much. Ophion and Zuba grin obnoxiously.

We’ll be facing them down later, but for now, with the morning half gone, the matchup between House Riddlehoeven-Lammermoor and House Hegel is the final entertainment.

The announcer calls out, "Einswine and Peridot of House Riddlehoeven-Lammermoor versus Zaleta and Rayk of House Hegel!"

Einswine and Peridot, with regal tall Elandior and diminutive Niall, make their way to the platform. Meanwhile, the two tamers from House Hegel, Benno and Seraphine, ascend the platform on the back of Zaleta, a glittering pegasus, with Rayk, the platinum crocodile, clambering up at a fast clip. Facing each other across the platform, the two houses stand awaiting the deciding match in which one of us will advance.

Lightning provides commentary along with Lobo. [Zaleta is one of the only pegasus contestants in the tournament. Making it to the final eight means that she is exceptionally powerful. Rayk has the same invulnerability as a millipede or crab with his skin.]

[He has to have a weakness somewhere.] Lobo is analytical. [No one has been able to find it, or at least make it stick. I hear that his eyes get dry.]

I growl. [So, he doesn’t cry crocodile tears?]

Lobo woofs at my joke. [He barely cries, period. Arctic cold. He had one serious injury at the beginning of the tournament, but some nice healing work helped out. His tail nearly got severed, but he still finished strong.]

The light bounces off Rayk’s scales, nearly blinding everyone.

[Name: [Rayk]

[Class: [Expert]

[Race: [Platinum Crocodile]

[Level: 9/10 [XP 50/100 STATUS: Full

[HP: 6/6 [MP: 0/0 [Stamina 100/100

[Strength: 86

[Defense: 87

[Magic: 86

[Resistance: 89

[Speed: 91

[Charisma: 85

[Luck: 89

[Skills: [Bite (Attack Skill] [Tail(Attack Skill)] [Swim (Skill)] [Camouflage (Skilll) [Escape Power (Skill) [Super Jump (Skill)][Telepathy(Skill)]

_______________

[Name: [Zaleta]

[Class: [Expert]

[Race: [Pegasus]

[Level: 10/10 [XP 40/100 STATUS: Full

[HP: 6/6 [MP: 0/0 [Stamina 100/100

[Strength: 95

[Defense: 93

[Magic: 91

[Resistance: 92

[Speed: 91

[Charisma: 95

[Luck: 90

[Skills: [Flying (Attack Skill] [Hooves of Fire (Attack Skill)] [Stealth (Skill)] [Nature Power (Skill)[Escape Power (Skill)[Telepathy](Skill)][Procreation (Skill)]

I try to remember Zaleta’s matches. [Hooves of fire?]

Lightning growls. [Not literal fire. It’s phosphorescent and she shoots you with these light beams. It just looks like fire, so they call it "Hooves of Fire."]

I mull that over. [Sounds deadlier than it is. What can Einswine and Peridot do against that?]

Lobo responds instantly. [Peridot gets easily distracted by blinding lights, like Gussie, so Einswine will have to compensate. Master Niall probably has filled her head with the lecture, so we don’t need to.]

Both tamers of the House of Hegel look Teutonic. Petite Seraphine Hegel has charcoal hair and milky skin while her brother, Benno, is a towheaded blue-eyed giant. Elandior and Niall bow respectfully. Bowing, Benno smiles broadly while Seraphine is polite and reserved.

The announcer calls out, "Three....two...one...BEGIN!"

Zaleta floats high in the air and then barrels at breakneck speed toward Einswine. Floating too, Peridot converges, tail shooting out to ensnare Zaleta. With a well-timed barrel roll., Zaleta evades the trap, but Peridot’s tail wraps around Zaleta’s foreleg nonetheless and squeezes.

Meanwhile, Einswine rams into Rayk, full tilt. No small feat to smash into a platinum-scaled crocodile, but Einswine wants to get this done. No more delays. He’s setting the table for the rest of us. For our final victory.

With a shriek and a roar, Rayk recoils. I’m shocked that he didn’t automatically become a set of luggage from that impact.

Einswine doesn’t let up. SMASH. He hits Rayk again and again. No respite. No mercy.

Bucking and rolling, Zaleta flaps all over the arena dragging Peridot. She hasn’t exercised her Hooves of Fire option, so no distractions for our tenacious python.

[Get her, Peridot! Clip her wings!] My growl is hyper-aggressive. [This is no time to be nice.]

We won’t cheat. We won’t be brutal. And if we need to show mercy like Captain Kirk did against the Gorn in the classic Star Trek episode "The Arena," we will. System doesn’t control us. Hopefully, it won’t change the rules like The Hunger Games book and movie.

Peridot ensnares Zaleta fast. A blur of turquoise and sparkly white as the two battle it out. The announcer shouts, "Peridot is putting the squeeze on Zaleta. Wings tight against her body."

Bucking. Squeezing. Wings thrashing beneath the coils. Zaleta neighing. Peridot hissing.

Meanwhile, Einswine squeals bloody murder when Rayk’s jaws clamp down on his ear. The announcer shouts, "Einswine has been hit! Einswine has been hit!"

Elandior’s face is a taut mask of pain. Einswine must be in agony.

[EINSWINE!] Our voices rise, strong.

A tortured grunt answers us. [I am alive.]

His words sound labored. As if all his focus is in those words.

Peridot’s coils slacken.

Lobo is adamant. [NO, PERIDOT. Take her out. THEN help Einswine.]

Niall’s hands dance in a serpentine rhythm. Somehow, he is increasing Peridot’s hold on Zaleta. Meanwhile, Elandior’s energy bathes Einswine.

[Sending you a Healing Potion.] I’m proactive. I still have a spare one in my Arsenal that Lamant brewed. [Stay strong, Einswine.]

Drooping in a woebegone way, Einswine’s ear perks up when the Healing Potion takes effect. [Most kind, Blaze. Thank you.]

Rayk hisses, rows of deadly ivory spears ready to re-injure Einswine. However, our dauntless boar rams Rayk’s mouth directly. Repeatedly.

The announcer calls out, "Unprecedented! Einswine is attempting to de-fang Rayk! Can he do it? Can he blunt those teeth? OOOOH! He did it!"

Rayk scuttles back, shrieking. I can see missing teeth! Einswine did it somehow!

Leaping, Einswine drops onto Rayk’s back, HARD. Shrieking, Rayk collapses, just from the sheer shock. A boar should not be able to completely steamroll a platinum crocodile, but boars are cantankerous and uncontrolled.

Zaleta flashes Peridot with her hooves shining, and Peridot squeezes her eyes shut, then holds on for dear life. Zaleta bucks and tries to flash Peridot, but for once, Peridot refuses to yield. Zaleta gets desperate, and kicks Peridot, who refuses to yield.

Peridot’s voice is triumphant. [GOT HER!]

In the skies, wings cease to beat, and Zaleta becomes quiescent. Peridot uncoils slowly, letting Zaleta down as if the pegasus were rappelling back to the platform.

The announcer gives a play-by-play. "Zaleta has been neutralized! The fight has gone out of her. A magnificent run. An incredible run."

Rayk and Einswine go round and round, but Rayk is no match for Einswine’s determination. The boar attacks constantly until Rayk just can’t withstand it anymore and his teeth ache.

Our entire group knows it is over. Zaleta and Rayk got to the Final Eight, but the competition has taken a toll on them. With dignity and with grace, Zaleta and Rayk have surrendered.

[This was planned.]

Zaleta’s musical voice echoes in my mind, reaching all of our beast family.

We pause, awed. Einswine lowers his head in reverence, while Peridot retracts her coils and sits in an almost tranquil pose.

Zaleta continues. [If we couldn’t win within the first several minutes, we both agreed to surrender. Our tamers agreed. Observe.]

Both Benno and Seraphine have an almost Buddhist peace about them for such intense people. Quietly, they converse with Niall and Elandior. Dignified and mature. Both of them regard Niall with the respect that he deserves.

The announcer calls out, "House Hegel has surrendered!"

Loud and vigorous applause rings out in the arena. Not because of surrender, but because of House Hegel’s decision to exit the tournament on its own terms. We should all be so lucky.

The announcer calls out, as a matter of procedure, "Five...four...three...two...one...House Riddlehoeven-Lammermoor wins!"

Einswine squeals victory, while Peridot springs to the air and wriggles excitedly. Remembering their manners, they bow to Zaleta. Rayk is whisked away through the transport orb so that the Healing Wing can work wonders on his teeth.

With a THUMP and a scraping sound, the platform touches down on the arena floor. Zaleta flaps off with Benno and Seraphine on her back. The crowd’s spontaneous applause sends them on their way, Out of the tournament, but with their dignity intact.

The announcer calls out, "That concludes the first heat of the tournament finals. After a short break, we will resume the tournament! And the first match will be..."

A long pause.

"House Riddlehoeven-Lammermoor versus House Bottomsley!"

Einswine and Peridot rejoin us, but no time for fussing over them. Demos and Gussie puff out their fur and feathers. Now, the real fight begins.