The assault of shredding wind blew them away and they fell hard. Sora glanced at their unconscious bodies and grinned. His twister burst had been a success.
He turned to Rose and bit his lip. The boss was gripping her arm with a concrete arm. Rose was struggling to break free. The boss said tensely, “I’ve got your girlfriend here. So unless you want her pretty little neck crushed by me, I suggest you cooperate.”
While Sora was wondering what could be done in such a situation, Rose realized that she was right next to the utensils shop. She reached out for a pan, turned and smashed it between the man’s legs.
The onlookers gasped. The man let her go with a bloodcurdling cry and dropped to the floor, crouching. Rose said, “Guess you can’t change all your parts to concrete, can you. That’s what you get for laying your hands on me.”
She turned to see that the other men, who had come forward to help her, were eyeing the pan in her hand and backing away. One man from the crowd stuttered, “N…No mercy…”
Rose was surprised by their reaction. She then turned to the man on the floor, who was still whimpering. “Does it hurt… that much?”
“Rose, let’s go.”
“Sora, he… well…”
“Later. Come on… let’s go.”
Sora first took the pan out of her hands and gave it to the shopkeeper, who said, “I don’t need it now.” Sora just dropped it on the floor and held Rose’s hand and ran away. They ran for quite a while. Sora stopped in front of a café and sat on one of their chairs, wiping his sweat. Rose, who was panting, dropped on the other chair and said, “Sora…I didn’t… Does it really hurt that much?”
Sora looked at her and shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”
“I didn’t mean to hit him so hard.”
“It was self-defense. I understand. But next time… please… hold back a little.”
Rose croaked, “Y…Yeah… sure…”
Sora leaned back on his chair and started laughing. They ordered a drink from the café and spoke for some time till it started getting dark. Sora offered to take her home, but Rose shook her head, saying that she’d be all right. As she ran out of sight, Rose could still remember the feel of Sora’s hand on hers.
“~ Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for coming for the second day of the Holy Dragon Tournament! I, Rufus Crumbs, will be your host for the day as I provide my commentary for all the fights. Sitting beside me is the famous Aryan S rank contractor, Danush Krishnan, who has been invited to give his expert analysis on the fights. Now, Danush, what do you think about this year’s lot of young contractors? ~”
“~ Well, Rufus, I watched the preliminary round and noticed that quite a few contractors fought without using their contracts at all. All I can say is that they must be hiding their true strength in order to surprise their opponents. We can’t judge the contestants’ true strength without seeing them use their contracts, but I think that there are some very strong contractors in this years’ tournament ~”
“~ You heard him folks. Be ready to be amazed by the next generation of contractors. And with Danush, a winner of this tournament as well, sitting beside me, I am personally very excited! This round’s matches are one-on-one battles with a time limit of five minutes. Now, the first match will begin in around ten minutes. Hold on to your seats, folks! You will experience fights that will make you pull your hair off your head. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen too many of these that I’m bald already! ~”
Sora was standing in the tunnel along with the other contestants. He was stretching his arms and legs when–
“We meet again, I see.”
Kenny Malcolm stood behind him, surrounded by his vassals again. He appeared to be a bit annoyed on seeing him. Sora smirked. “Hello, Malcolm. You seem displeased to see me. Were you hoping that I wouldn’t show up?”
Malcolm scowled, “You better watch your tongue, commoner. I can’t see why a noble such as me should fight beggars like you in front of the princess.”
“No one is forcing you to fight. You can give up if it’s too much of a hassle for you.”
The vassals beside Malcolm looked at each other in amazement. They had never heard anyone speak so disrespectfully to a noble in all their years of service. Malcolm was taken aback as well. But he bent close to Sora and whispered, “Listen, commoner. You have no idea what will happen if you lay your hands on a noble. You will regret it. I advise you, out of my good will, that you give up instead.”
Sora stared at him. “Whoa, just because your initial plan of injuring me failed, you’d take such a drastic step like this! Oh yeah,” Sora grinned at Malcolm’s shocked expression. “I followed those guys yesterday evening and saw them entering the palace through the back entrance. I knew nobles could stay in the palace if they wish. And my next opponent just happened to be a noble. Guess my hunch was right.”
Malcolm was furious. “Y… You think you can threaten me with this baseless accusation? How would I know if some rock head contractor came and attacked you?”
“Funny… I never mentioned that the guys who attacked me were contractors or that one guy’s power was concrete.”
Malcolm glared at him. But then he smirked and said, “You’re right. It was I. But so what? No one will believe you anyway. They would have to choose between a commoner’s word and a noble’s. Who do you think the tournament officials would believe?”
To Malcolm’s surprise, Sora smiled. “And why should I tell anybody? I’ve got nothing to gain from doing so. I was just confirming whether it was you or someone else. That’s all.”
Sora went back to doing his stretches, leaving Malcolm speechless.
The official inside the tunnel called out their names and told them to get ready. Sora walked forward confidently while Malcolm seemed to waver with every step. They walked out of the tunnel.
There was an explosive and deafening cheer from the spectators in the stands. Sora was staring around in amazement as he went to the centre of the arena. He suddenly felt a little nervous.
“~ The participants for the first match in the round of 64 have just walked in! They are Sora and Kenny Malcolm! Sora got the fastest victory time in the preliminaries this year and is from a rejuvenated Lucifer’s Fall team from the south continent, who seem to have brought out a squad of a completely different calibre to the one they sent last year. His opponent is the mighty Kenny Malcolm, a noble from Terra Raptors, the west continent guild. The heir to the Malcolm family is famous for his great strength in the west continent at such a young age. Many have said that he is a favourite to win this year’s tournament. What do you say, Danush? ~”
Sora glanced up. He could not believe how biased that introduction was. He wondered what the famed Aryan contractor would say. Danush Krishnan did not answer immediately. His slightly curly hair was visible even though he was seated in the commentary box located in one of the highest seats in the coliseum. He stared at Sora for a few seconds before saying, “I’d say this fight would have a quick finish. We are yet to see Sora’s contract and Malcolm is good in a head to head fight. So we really can’t say. ~”
“~ You heard the man, ladies and gentlemen. Let’s watch and see if he is right! ~”
Malcolm seemed to have perked up a little. He grinned and said, “Rufus Crumbs is right. I can defeat you with my own strength.” The bell rang, signalling the start of the fight.
Malcolm raised his hand and said, “I would like to see you face off against my contract, the great–”
He never got to finish. Well, no one could if they get a knee on their face. Sora landed and turned to give a roundhouse kick straight to his temple.
Malcolm flew a few meters and landed on the floor. The crowd gasped and stared. Malcolm was unconscious. A few of his teeth were on the floor in front of Sora.
Sora looked at the judge and asked for his decision. The judge uncertainly raised his flag towards Sora, who nodded and started walking towards the tunnel.
Rufus Crumbs spoke first. �
�~ My word! What a completely unexpected fight that was. It didn’t even last five seconds! Sora has shocked everybody with his speed once again. He has proven that he is not someone to be taken lightly! Danush, you were right! ~”
Sora didn’t wait to hear anymore. He casually walked into the tunnel again ignoring the stares. Sean and Katie gave him a high-five and Vikram muttered; “Show off,” as he walked past him. Sora headed straight for the restaurant.
The rest of the matches went on without many surprises. Katie and Sean progressed with ease. There was a lunch break after the A block matches were done. Zack and Jake met up with them in the restaurant. It was then time for the B block matches to begin.
In Zack’s fight, he was up against some bloke from the North continent. He was a very aggressive fighter and rushed at Zack just as the bell rung. But Zack dodged perfectly and elbowed his opponent in the gut. Again, Sora noticed the strange sharpness in his movement.
Jake’s fight was a complete mismatch. The central continent muscle head he was facing never realized that he was being tripped because of Jake’s power. Jake finally showed his new technique. He approached his paralyzed opponent and placed a finger on his head. Instantly, his foe was knocked out.
“That move is pretty much like a chop to the neck. I cancel out the signals the brain receives for a second and that is enough to make someone unconscious. I’ve decided to call it psychic knockout,” Jake explained to the others after he was back in the stands. Other than the name, they had to agree that the move was pretty cool.
The fights came to an end Rufus Crumbs spoke out through the mike.
“~ Well, folks, that’s it for the second day. Let’s see the matches for the third day of the tournament, the round of 32! ~”
The screen flashed with the chart again. Sora noticed that he was to have the first match of the day again, and it was so for all his matches for the rest of the tournament.
His opponent was some girl called Sakura Hitoshi from the east continent guild, Morning Star. Sora had seen her fight, which had been right after his, from the restaurant’s TV. She was a weapon class contractor, who used old traditional fans to generate concentrated energy waves in the form of slashes. The contract was called the yin yang fans.
He glanced through the opponents the others were facing. Just when he thought that they were in for easy victories, he recognized Zack’s opponent. It was Leander Craig, the last year’s champion, and the same guy Zack had lost to in the first round then.
But Zack couldn’t have been more pleased about the match-up. He smiled and said, “I’ve been waiting for this one. It is payback time.
Sora took no chances during his fight the next day. He started off with his Wind Fangs and finished his opponent with just two wind smashes. Danush Krishnan shared Rufus Crumbs’ amazement on seeing Sora’s contract. But Sora left the ring immediately. He was very anxious to see Zack’s fight and wanted it to come soon.
The other Lucifer’s Fall contractors seemed to feel the same way.
Katie and Sean won within a minute while fighting without holding back. But to their dismay, despite the tournament having lesser fights than the day earlier, the B block fights would begin only after lunch.
Zack was incredibly cool while having his lunch. Jake didn’t seem to be too worried about it either. But the others couldn’t understand. Leander Craig was the strongest contractor of their age. Sora had seen the recording of his fights in the earlier tournament and knew that he’d be a tough nut to crack. Zack had to have a good game plan for this fight if he wanted to win.
The long awaited fight was upon them. Zack walked into the arena first. His looks and his attitude had gotten himself quite a few fans. Rufus Crumbs introduced them saying, “~ Zack Titania, heir to the famed Titania family and a core member of the Lucifer’s Fall guild in the south continent, is well known by now. He was knocked out in the round of 64 in last year’s tournament, but is back stronger than ever. But his opponent for the afternoon is none other than the man who won the whole thing last year, folks! Yes, it is the one, the only, Leander Craig of the west continent guild, Terra Raptors! ~”
The crowd went ballistic. All around, they were chanting, “Craig! Craig! Craig!”
Out through the tunnel walked the reigning champion of the Holy Dragon Tournament. He was tall and muscular and his long blonde hair fell to his shoulders.
“~ Leander Craig, people! The famed user of the Hydro Cannon was unscathed and untouchable last year. And he has proven his worth in his earlier fights as well. Zack has his work cut out for him! Don’t you agree, Danush? ~”
“~ Well, Rufus, Titania is at a disadvantage. Not only because he has lost to Craig before, but also due to the fact that the contracts they use are contradicting ones. Titania’s fire based Phoenix Fire Sword has an elemental disadvantage to Craig’s water based Hydro Cannon. But I wouldn’t hand the fight to Craig just yet. Zack does not seem too worried about the fight, by the looks of it. ~”
“~ That was Danush Krishnan, folks. He has agreed that Craig has the upper hand but says that Zack Titania’s victory is not ruled out. Let’s find out! ~”
The bell rang.
Neither of the contractors moved. Craig raised his eyebrows and said, “You’ve surprised me, Zack. I thought you would rush at me with all you’ve got. Guess I was wrong.”
Zack cracked his knuckles and said, “I’m not going to move till you bring out your Hydro Cannon. I want this fight to be fair and square.”
Craig was amused. “You seem anxious to lose, Zack. But the crowd does want a good show. Hope you don’t disappoint them.”
Craig stretched out his hand and a bright light enveloped him. As the light dispersed, he had a strange blue cannon attached to his right arm.
Zack smirked and brought out the Phoenix Fire Sword in its final stage. Craig was surprised. “I see you learnt a new trick in the time we haven’t seen each other. What will that blue sword do?”
Zack smiled and said, “It’ll burn you to a crisp.”
With a swing of his sword, Zack sent a sea of blue flames at Craig. But Craig, who was charging, shot a wall of water. He even launched a burst of water at Zack, whose flames were of no use against it.
Sora was on his feet, watching tensely as the fight seemed to slide more and more towards the champion. Zack had to close the gap between him and Craig if he needed a chance to successfully attack. All his ranged attacks were easily blocked.
But surprisingly, it was Zack who drew the first blood. An array of fireballs, which Craig slipped past, struck him from behind. He had not realized that the blue flames had homing capabilities.
But Craig was not the type to fall for the same trick twice. He was on his feet fast enough, grinning. “Nice one. But too bad it won’t work on me again.”
And he was right. None of Zack’s attacks penetrated Craig’s water wall and the jets of water were beginning to reach their mark. Zack was hit hard when his wall of flame broke down again.
Yet, Zack didn’t stop doing so. He continued using his blue flames to counter Craig’s water strikes.
“Why doesn’t Zack try something different?” Sora asked. “He should be trying to get closer to Craig.”
Sean peered at Zack and then grinned. “Relax, Sora. I think Zack’s got this fight. Don’t sweat it, if that’s possible now.”
Sora realized he was sweating a lot. He wasn’t the only one. Everyone was wiping off sweat from the forehead. One man took off his glasses and wiped the steam on the lenses.
Steam?
Things seemed to slowly fall into place. Sora grinned and said, “That Zack, he’s got one reckless plan.”
Katie was confused. “What do you guys mean? This is all part of Zack’s plan?”
Sean and Sora nodded. Sean said, “Katie, elementary chemistry. What happens if you heat water a lot?”
Katie shrugged and said, “Steam is produced, of course. What does that… wait… is that what Zack is planning to do?
”
Sean grinned. “Using all those flame based attacks heated up the ground. When it came into contact with all that water, it started producing steam. Zack has been slowly raising the temperature of his flames so that Craig does not notice. All this is so that he could get close to Craig without being noticed.”
And Zack’s plan had begun showing results. Steam started rising slowly from the ground and visibility became less. But Zack, with his X vision, could guide himself through the steam and before Craig noticed, was right in front of them.
Craig had no time to gain ground between them. So he was forced to attack. His Hydro Cannon formed a water blade from its tip and he aimed a fast jab at Zack, almost impossible to dodge.
But Zack’s movement shocked every contractor present in the coliseum.
He spun his waist and legs evading the jab with the smallest of margins. Literally, the gap between the water blade and Zack’s skin was a few mere millimetres. But Zack did it perfectly, and in point blank range, he slashed his burning blade across Leander Craig’s chest.
Blood sprouted from the cut as Craig landed on the floor. But he was not down for the count yet. He tried to jump back, but Zack was too fast. Zack mercilessly used his hell’s inferno on Craig, who screamed as his body went up in flames.
Zack dispelled the flames when Craig stopped moving. His body was badly burnt, but the water attribute of his contract had saved his life.
The judge, who had run out of the ring at that time, peeked out of the tunnel and found Craig on the ground. He pointed his flag at Zack, who walked out of the arena, looking pleased.
Rufus Crumbs had no words to describe what he had seen. He unstuck his tongue and stuttered, “~ W…We have witnessed an upset like no other, ladies and gentlemen. A merciless and inexplicable attack from Zack Titania has left the reigning champion burnt on the floor. Unbelievable. ~”
Even as the medical staff rushed to the arena with a stretcher, the spectators didn’t breathe a word. Zack entered the tunnel after he was told that Craig’s life was not under any immediate threat.
Contractor: The Legendary Contract of Vento Page 31
