Chapter 290: Strength Against Strength

Even after Clarissa and her opponent returned to their respective gates, the crowd wasn’t quite done cheering.

It was, so far, the fastest match we’d seen in the arena. A flawless victory in under half a minute was bound to attract plenty of attention, especially from the scouters.

“Wow, uhh… Clarissa really went all out, huh?” Lionne blurted out, followed by an awkward chuckle.

“Considering how calm she was?” Villius added. “Maybe not.”

“Why do you two look so glum?” I asked as Carine.

They turned to me, their eyes slightly widened.

“Clarissa won. Is that not something worth celebrating?”

That, and I wanted to celebrate the fact that I had a fun potential opponent waiting for me in the future.

Watching her fight had only made me more curious.

When faced with situations where your opponent would go all out against you, one tended to improve after such an ordeal. Case in point: me.

Having won nearly all of her preliminary matches, I was sure that Clarissa was going to be a fun opponent to fight against, but after learning that she lost her final preliminary match? That intrigued me.

Who was it that defeated her?

How did they beat her?

And had she grown because of it?

All those questions could, realistically, just be asked directly to her. But I had a feeling I would learn more about Clarissa the moment we clashed blades in the arena…

Assuming I win my match as Carine, that is.

…

The day's matches were nearing their end, and considering I still hadn't been called to the gate for preparation, I was almost certain I was being saved for last.

This academy sure knows how to build up hype.

And that included my own hype.

If I was going to be the final hurrah for the first day of the tournament, then surely I was going to be facing someone powerful.

I remembered his name, but as I mentioned before, I intentionally didn't scope him out and ordered Lionne not to do it behind my back either. I wanted to learn things on the fly, just like I did with Marina.

Would he prove to be a challenge?

A fun puzzle?

Either way, I was looking forward to it.

Soon after, the announcer took his stand once more and shouted into the artifact.

“Ladies and gentlemen! We appreciate your patience, as we are ready to start our next match!”

The crowd roared once more as the announcer gestured toward the eastern gate.

“From the eastern gate, we have Kyro of Class Bison!”

Oh, Kyro!

I leaned forward slightly, adjusting my fan as I took a close look at him.

“Wow,” Lionne said, leaning forward as well. “Kyro looks excited. Are you sure he’s ready for combat, though? Especially against... her.”

“I’m sure he is; just look at him,” Villius added with a small chuckle. “I guess having an entire arena to himself probably helped.”

He looked better than ever down in the sands. So much so you wouldn’t even think he was danced on by a horse a couple of days ago.

He wore what seemed to be a leather gauntlet.

Besides offering some protection, I assumed it was also meant to make determining hits against his bare hands a little easier. Perhaps the academy had some special rules for unarmed fighters.

“From the western gate, we have Attila of Class A!”

"There she is," Villius said.

Attila entered the arena wearing light gear and carrying a standard wooden sword. She wore a confident smile as she approached her position, her eyes locking firmly onto Kyro.

Villius stared down at the arena for a moment before a grin slowly spread across his face.

“Well, this is going to be an interesting match.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Still, I found myself conflicted.

Much like when Villius fought Ravilenna, I couldn't bring myself to pick a side. Both Kyro and Attila were my friends, and I wanted both of them to do well.

But if there was one thing I could root for…

It was a good fight.

And judging by the looks on their faces, I had a feeling I was about to get exactly that.

—

I already knew both of their fighting styles fairly well.

Kyro relied heavily on his raw strength, using his powerful muscles to overwhelm opponents to the point that they would hesitate to counter him. If Feyt was here, I was sure I would be hearing mostly his muscles from the stands.

Attila wasn't much different either.

She was smaller and lighter than him, but she made up for it by putting an absurd amount of force behind every swing. Not as much as Kyro had; her muscles wouldn’t scream at me or anything, but I had seen and experienced enough of her fighting that I was sure she wasn’t going to use fancy tricks.

In short, they were both straightforward fighters.

They wanted to hit hard, and they wanted to see which one of them could withstand it.

This should be fun.

"Three... Two... One... Begin!!"

The moment the announcer's voice rang out, both of them charged.

Kyro came forward first, throwing a powerful straight punch toward Attila's chest.

Attila stepped to the side and swung her wooden sword downward, forcing Kyro to pull his arm back and raise his gauntlet to guard.

The wooden sword crashed against his arm. Kyro grunted but didn't retreat.

Instead, he stepped forward and swung his other fist, putting enough strength into it that his feet kicked up a cloud of sand beneath him.

Attila brought her sword across her body to block.

The impact created a loud crack that echoed through the walls of the arena and sent Attila back several steps.

But Attila was grinning, her eyes glaring up at Kyro. And, without catching her breath, she rushed forward once more.

Her sword swung wide.

Kyro ducked underneath it and immediately pushed his momentum forward to drive his shoulder straight into her chest.

Attila stumbled backward, but she barely managed to keep her footing.

She let out a loud scoff with another wide grin as she reset her stance.

Kyro responded in kind by offering a smirk of his own while rolling his shoulders.

These two seem to be having fun.

Their weapons clashed again and again, with neither willing to back down. Kyro relied on his powerful punches and heavy blocks, while Attila kept swinging her sword with enough force to make a loud crack whenever it was blocked.

Eventually, Attila caught Kyro off guard with a sudden swing to his chest.

"An amazing strike!!! The winner of the first round is Attila of Class A!"

The crowd roared loudly as Attila took a couple of steps back, and Kyro rubbed his chest.

By the amount of force she put into that strike, that was sure going to leave some marks.

“Wow,” Lionne muttered beside me. “That looked like it hurt.”

“Kyro seems fine,” Villius said, watching him carefully. “Though I wouldn't want to take a hit like that.”

“Not bad,” he seemed to say to Attila before returning to his spot.

Attila simply raised her sword with a proud grin.

Soon after, the second round started.

This time, Kyro didn't charge forward immediately. He waited, watching Attila carefully as she approached with her sword raised, charging fast.

Attila suddenly lunged forward with a heavy swing. Kyro stepped aside, letting the wooden blade pass by him before quickly reaching for her wrist. Attila pulled back and swung with her other side, forcing Kyro to block with his gauntlet.

The impact made even someone as large as him stumble, but instead of backing away, Kyro shot his hand forward and grabbed the wooden sword itself.

Attila tried to pull it free, but Kyro held on tightly with a smug grin. For a moment, the two struggled against each other, each trying to overpower the other.

Then Kyro suddenly pulled.

Attila stumbled forward from the sudden force, and Kyro twisted his body, using her momentum to wrench the sword out of her hands.

“A disarmament! Who could've guessed! The winner of the second round is Kyro of Class Bison!”

The crowd roared again, with some people in the back, possibly the bettors, yelling at Attila about what she was doing.

Well, to be honest, she probably didn’t expect him to grab her weapon by the blade like that.

“Whoa!” Lionne exclaimed. “I didn’t know you could actually do that!”

“Looks like even Kyro managed to learn some tricks.” Villius chuckled.

Attila stared at her empty hands for a moment before bursting out laughing. She bumped a fist to Kyro’s shoulder with a wide smile.

“Nice trick! Don’t sulk when I use it against you, alright?!”

I paused for a moment. How would she even disarm… an arm?

She’s not trying to… snap his arms, right?

I shook my head, pushing that horrifying thought out of my mind.

Thanks, Marina, for putting that image in my mind.

Both fighters returned to their starting positions.

Neither looked tired.

If anything, they looked even more excited than before.

Soon, the third round started.

Kyro threw the first punch, forcing Attila to raise her sword to block. She immediately swung back, but Kyro twisted away from the blade and answered with another heavy jab.

Attila barely managed to avoid it and immediately tried to counterattack.

The two continued exchanging blows, each attack carrying enough force to make the other stumble whenever it connected. Neither seemed interested in slowing down, and neither gave the other enough time or space to recover.

Attila swung hard toward Kyro's side.

Kyro leaned away, letting the blade narrowly miss him.

But Attila was counting on that. This time, instead of going for a follow-up, she focused her sight on his arm, which was aimed straight for her chest.

She quickly reacted and dodged it.

The moment Kyro's strike missed its mark, Attila stepped forward and grabbed his arm.

Kyro's eyes widened.

Before he could pull himself free, Attila twisted her body and used his own momentum against him.

Wait.

Is she actually trying to snap his—?!

Then, to our shock and awe, Kyro's feet suddenly left the ground.

“Eat this!!!”

With a heavy grunt, Attila lifted the much larger Kyro clean off the sand. With one heavy motion, she slammed him down onto the sand, with the impact creating a boom that echoed all the way through the spectator stands.

A cloud of dust kicked up where Kyro landed.

Attila straightened up, followed by a wipe of her sweat.

The arena fell silent for half a second.

Then the entire crowd exploded.

I stared down at the arena, my jaw genuinely hanging open, however slight it was.

"And that's the match! The winner is Attila of Class A!"

As the crowd went wild, I let out a very shaky sigh of relief.

Though that sudden throw was unexpected, at the very least, I was glad that no arms were snapped today.