Chapter 148 - The Sweat Of A Clash
After Luke and Nathalia returned to the core of the Municipal Arena, the young Strogueher girl was summoned to fight against Kiririn Sallow.
This one was a man of unusual appearance. Unlike the other participants, Kiririn was wearing a handsome suit, a thick cape, and a hat, in which were some eye-catching feathers. Although they didn't look like an ideal outfit for a Tournament, they didn't look like ordinary items either.
In addition, Kiririn had a Panspermia Weapon of at least rare level, which had a blood-red blade, and its grip was black and gray.
This time, Nathalia's fight was not easy at all, because her opponent also had an aggressive fighting style, which often surpassed her own. Kiririn had very strong movement and distance attack skills, which allowed him to cadence situations well.
To try to win, Nathalia used all her immense set of skills. She only managed to turn the tables when she used <Bjrnens brystplate> to surprise her opponent and surrendered him by aiming her spear at the man's face.
When Ayumi Yamazaki saw her daughter win another fight, she stood up and clapped her like a proud mother, along with the crowds of fans which the young Elf had managed. Nico Sallow was not angry to see her nephews lose; after all, they had already come quite far in the competition.
"With Nathalia Strogueher's victory, we can finally see the board of competitors." spoke Mikaela Åkerman, and then next to her appeared four spheres with names on them. "In the semifinals we have the 'Half-Wolf', Nebezial, Serena Daren and Nathalia Strogueher. These four sought to show to the world, their abilities and they succeeded, but now we must decide which of you deserves the title of Champion of the Tournament of Legends!"
After the Sensory Magician's quick speech, the audience erupted in euphoria, and then two spheres vanished into thin air, and only two remained.
"Nebezial versus Nathalia will be the first semifinal match. Since Nathalia has just come out of a battle, we will have a fifteen-minute break. See you in a bit!"
When Luke looked at Nathalia, she didn't have the same lost look on her face as earlier in the being taken. Now she was steady, yet also aware of the danger.
Shiro's warning had an impact on both of them, because they both knew that Nebezial's abilities were on a level above all the other competitors. If this man could even cause injuries that cannot be healed immediately by an advanced healing potion, it could mean that his blows were on a cellular level.
"Do you think you'll be okay?" Luke asked her, placing his hand on her shoulder.
She touched his hand with her hand and gave it a slight caress. "Don't worry, I'll do my best to win, and you should also focus on your opponent. We didn't get to watch her matches."
Serena Daren was in the middle of the competitors' seats, just as she was at the beginning of the Playoffs when she tried to pull up a conversation with Luke. She was a beautiful woman, with black hair, big eyes, and a plump mouth, not to mention her skin which had a beautiful pinkish hue.
Serena was wearing a dark lilac dress, which had many steel details. The neckline of her dress emphasized her perky breasts. Unlike many competitors, she was not wearing armor, at least not full armor.
Apart from her outward appearance, neither Luke nor Nathalia had time to get to know her in the right way. At first glance, she seemed nice to them.
When Serena realized she was being stared at, she nodded to both of them and smiled a little. The woman's reassurance made the half-wolf even more alert, because every time he came back from his fights, he noticed that she was watching him.
As soon as the return of the battle was announced, Nathalia and Nebezial were teleported to the battlefield. Immediately, Serena approached the half-beast.
"Hello, again." She spoke as she walked up to him. Her metal heels rattled with her steps.
"Hi."
"I was impressed that you let your girlfriend go fight against the—"
"Wait a minute, did you just said 'girlfriend'?" Luke asked, stopping to pay attention to Mikaela's announcement.
"Nathalia is your girlfriend, isn't she?" questioned Serena, also confused, and when Luke just denied it with his head, she squinted her eyes. "Oh! I'm sorry about that... It was because you seemed so affectionate towards each other, that I got confused."
The half-beast denied with his head. "It's okay... no problem."
For Luke, there was nothing strange about being affectionate with a friend; after all, he had always treated Meredith that way during his childhood, even if he was so shy when the subject was women.
It was because you seemed so affectionate towards each other that I got confused."
The half-beast denied with his head. "It's okay...no problem."
For Luke, there was nothing strange about being affectionate with a friend; after all, he had always treated Meredith that way during his childhood, even if he was so shy when it came to women.
Even after getting confused, Serena didn't distance herself and stayed watching Nathalia and Nebezial's battle alongside the half-beast.
Although Nathalia had a tactic to try to beat the tremendous Nebezial, it all went down the drain when, in just a few moments of fighting, he took an aggressive stance. He was still fighting only with his hands, so he had to be careful with Nathalia's spear, because every defense from the Elf could result in a wound for him.
Pressed at speed she wasn't familiar to her, Nathalia couldn't even attack, and to activate her weapon's speed boost, she needed to do it.
When Nebezial struck with his right palm, he would soon strike with his left palm, and the first strike became a punch, which hit hard.
At one point, while spinning her spear, Nathalia used the <Malevolent Hook> ability to pull her opponent to her left and managed to pierce him. Still, Nebezial didn't even seem to feel the ability's effect and continued attacking without stopping.
At this stage of the championship, half of the stadium was rooting for the young Strogueher girl. The other half was rooting for Nebezial, because they wanted to see a possible final between the 'Half-Wolf' and the old champion.
In the VIP area, things were also not so different from the rest of the audience. Many were commenting about Nathalia's evolution during the Tournament, not only physically, but also strategically.
The vast majority of the Strogueher were shocked that she was managing to withstand the pressure of Nebezial, who had a frighteningly oppressive strength even though he was not an adventurer.
Ayumi Yamazaki had her fingers crossed, and her mouth pressed against them while huffing. Now he no longer needed the binoculars because even dozens of meters away, it would be impossible not to distinguish the white-haired girl and a blue-haired man.
On the battlefield, Nathalia had realized some time ago that she was running out of paths to follow. Every Nebezial blow that hit her gave her the sensation that her arms were going to explode, and she felt that at any moment her legs would collapse.
When Nathalia saw a fist coming towards her face and realized that her spear would not be able to block it in time, she thought about using <Bjrnens brystplate>, but then the voice in her head warned her:
[This skill has a Cooldown of 3000 seconds... There are still 1980 seconds left].
She had already used this skill as a trump card to defeat Kiririn, yet she forgot about the Cooldown time.
Nebezial's right fist was about to hit the girl, and when he saw that she would not be able to dodge it, he relaxed his arm muscles precisely to purposely decrease the force of the blow.
The second the blow hit the side of the Elf's face, she flew back several feet and fell unconscious.
"Nathalia Strogueher is disqualified by knockout! And the first to go to the Grand Final is Nebezial!!!" Mikaela Åkerman announced, causing the man's crowd to explode in excitement.