The waiting tiers for contestants were located a lot higher than the rest, likely so that they’d have a clearer view of the fights.
Aren stepped forward until his hands rested lightly against the railing. Beside him, Yuna crossed her arms and scanned the arena display projected above them.
"Lightning versus Earth," she muttered, more to herself than to him.
Across the stadium, John was already doing stretches, twisting his body and shoulders. He hadn’t even looked at his opponent once the entire ti.
Yuna exhaled sharply.
"This is bad."
"Right," Aren agreed. "We’re at an elental disadvantage."
"John has to win this fight quickly," she said in a low voice. "If the fight gets dragged out, he’s going to lose."
The barrier do snapped shut around the platform with a low hum.
As soon as it did, John didn’t hesitate a second. Lightning compressed in his palm, shrieking as it condensed tighter and tighter before he thrust his arm forward.
"Thunder Lance!"
A spear of blinding blue tore across the platform, splitting the air with a violent crack.
The crowd roared at the flashy attack, but across from him, the Earth representative barely moved to dodge his attack.
He stomped his foot. Stone surged upward, spears of earth erupting beneath John in response. John twisted mid-step, lightning bursting under his feet before he used another Art.
"Flash Step."
His body blurred, leaving a faint afterimage as he vaulted clear of the erupting stone, landing on the tip of said spears in a show of dominance.
"Too slow! Earth boy!"
John sent another Thunder Lance at the Earth student, which struck head-on.
The arena erupted in light. But when it cleared, a massive projection lood behind the student.
A hulking mud-caked beast with a thick snout. Its massive fra looked half-subrged in phantom sludge, as though it stood in a riverbank that only it could see.
"Muddy Hippopotamus Bloodline..." Yuna muttered.
Mud rolled up around the Earth student’s limbs, reinforcing his body like dried clay. Steam hissed faintly where lightning had struck, but the damage was shallow at best.
John’s grin widened instead of fading.
"Oh? So you’re tanky?"
Lightning flared violently around him.
The air split again as another projection erupted behind his back. A sleek cat erged, ford entirely from crackling voltage. Two sharp eyes burned in electric blue as it crouched down low.
The stadium gasped as one.
"Volt Cheetah! He has a Feline-type!"
John dropped into a runner’s stance before looking up at his ’prey’.
"Let’s see if you can keep up."
He vanished in a streak of lightning, reappearing at the Hippo user’s flank with a kick wrapped in lightning. The impact cracked loudly, even through the barrier.
Before the mud could fully respond, he was gone again. John ca from all directions.
Left. Right. Behind. Above.
Every movent was accompanied by a sharp thunderclap as he blurred from one angle to another, fists and kicks crashing down in rapid succession.
The crowd roared louder with each strike.
From above, it looked overwhelming. John was everywhere at once, as most could only see a purple streaking line across the battlefield.
But Aren’s eyes narrowed.
Each ti John struck, the mud seed to absorb most of the force. The Hippopotamus projection lowered its massive head, and thick layers of mud folded inward around its host’s body, dispersing the lightning completely.
The damage was minimal, maybe even negligent. And worst of all? John was slowing down.
John’s jaw tightened as red ran up his face.
"Stop hiding and fight back!" he shouted, frustration bleeding into his voice.
The student didn’t respond. He simply held his ground, waiting for the next attack to co.
John’s grin was gone now.
"Fine," he muttered. "Let’s see how long you can hide."
The Volt Cheetah behind him lowered its body, electricity crawling along its spine in gathering waves. The air around the platform began to distort.
Aren’s eyes sharpened instantly.
He knew that posture...John was going to use his strongest Art.
"Don’t," he muttered under his breath.
But it was too late. John threw both arms outward before screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Stormwheel!"
The Volt Cheetah exploded into motion.
It spun around him at blinding speed, its body becoming a circular ring of lightning that whirled faster and faster until it was nothing but a blur. Electricity sprayed outward in every direction, ricocheting across the platform in uncontrolled bursts.
The entire arena turned into a storm.
Bolts lashed against stone pillars and crawled along the barrier do. The ground cracked and shattered under the relentless barrage, with chunks of rocks launching up only to be vaporized midair.
The crowd lost their minds.
But from Aren’s perspective, it was John who’d lost his mind.
"He’s emptying himself too quickly..."
John wasn’t trying to poke and prod anymore. This was his one gamble, to overwhelm the Muddy Hippopotamus with raw firepower.
In a sense, he was stat-checking the other student, to see who’d run out of ether first.
Yuna leaned forward against the railing, eyes wide.
"Is this guy stupid?!" she yelled out. "Who compares endurance with an Earth major!"
Aren flinched at the sudden change in personality from the ’princess’, but decided not to comnt on it.
Below them, the Earth representative planted both feet firmly.
"Swamp Creation."
Mud surged outward in thick tidal waves, churning violently under the lightning storm. Each bolt that struck sank into the earth imdiately, its energy having nowhere to go but down.
Aren could easily feel it from above. John’s Ether signature flickered slightly, the telltale sign of a bottoming pool.
Aren exhaled slowly.
"He’s trying to win the reserve war."
Yuna didn’t take her eyes off the platform.
"And he’s freakin’ losing!"
The lightning blur sputtered once before flaring again in a last desperate surge. Thunder cracked violently through the do as John forced even more power through his body.
For a mont, it looked like he might actually break through.
The Earth representative finally moved, stepping forward before placing both hands downward.
"Grave of the River King."
The mud that surrounded him now surged upward, rising around John before he could fully disengage his Art. Aren’s eyes widened as the mud swallowed John completely.
Muted thunder crackles could still be heard from inside, until suddenly...the arena went silent.
Yuna’s fingers tightened against the railing.
The mud shell cracked open down the middle before disappearing. And from inside—
John fell out with it. He hit the platform hard, rolling once before coming to a stop on his side. Faint wisps of smoke rose from his uniform.
But now, he was completely unconscious...and the referee’s voice echoed clearly throughout the do.
"Earth Departnt — Victory."
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