159 Surprise (1/2)
Earnest unholstered two pistols, quick drawing them with skill. He fired off the entire clip towards Iasis. Iasis clasped a fist at the same time. Water from the air snapped together, forming ice. This plate of ice caught the bullets, cracks snapping through the plate.
The wall of ice crumbled. Iasis turned around, gesturing with his hands. Blue, origin mana built in his fingertips. He faced the shards of ice, launching them towards Earnest. Iasis created new shards formed as fast as the old ones fired out.
The pistol expert reloaded his pistols, dodging the shards with subtle flicks of motion. Once loaded, he fired the guns at shards he couldn't avoid. As the shardstorm thinned, Earnest let out several shots at Iasis. These bullets weaved through a sea of ice shards, straight at Iasis's vitals.
Althea murmured, ”Wow...He's so good.”
I nodded, ”Yeah. He is.”
Iasis molded his ice shards, deflecting bullets and launching ice at Earnest. This flurry of activity continued, shells launching off in every direction. They fizzled against an energy barrier around the arena, keeping spectators safe.
As the standstill reached its peak, Earnest pointed one of his pistols upward. He shot into a panel of ice while firing a gun in a random direction. At least I thought it was random. The first shot bounced off the glass panel. It then snapped against the other bullet.
The rapid series of deflections launched a bullet from an odd angle at Iasis. The bullet pierced Iasis's shoulder. From it, Iasis lifted out his blood with magic. He clenched his fist, the blood disintegrating. Red mana rippled up through Iasis, making his physical might amplify.
He dashed towards Earnest, covering himself in an armor of ice. Earnest sped away, kiting the mage. Earnest fired the pistols, reloading without missing a beat. Iasis dashed towards him while dodging the projectiles by zigzagging.
Earnest tossed out two proximity mines from his belt while firing the pistols. The Steel Legion member maneuvered himself, keeping the mines between him and Iasis. Iasis took three more shots, bleeding from his legs and chest. He molded the blood into yet more mana, encouraging him further.
Iasis ran into the mines. They detonated, but the kinetic energy of the explosions siphoned into the hands of Iasis. Took off guard, Earnest threw a grenade at Iasis. It exploded, spraying superheated green plasma in every direction.
Iasis deflected the wave of goop by reaching out one of his hands. The condensed explosion in his palm released. The plasma shot back at Earnest. The master gunman turned around, his power armor flaring to life. A jetpack launched him away, the resulting fiery explosion spraying the plasma in every direction.
With the sound of singing stone in every direction, Iasis and Earnest flew. They fired ice and lead at each other, elaborate aerial stunts keeping them safe.
I raised an eyebrow, ”Why doesn't the mage just surround the guy with ice?”
Althea shrugged, ”I dunno. Maybe he's hiding his more advanced tactics?”
I nodded, ”Ok, I could see that.”
Both sides fumbled, each of them struggling to gain the upper hand. The mage's mana dwindled just like the gunman's ammo and fuel. For the first time in the fight, the gunmen zoomed over the water. As his jetpack left a cloud of steam, the mage clapped his hands.
Thousands of ice needles shot into Earnest's body from all directions. He crashed into the water. As he did, the announcer lifted a hand to Iasis,
”And Iasis Klon is victorious!”
Two members of the legion floated towards Earnest with jetpacks and power armor. They picked him up, pulling him to a nearby medical station. Ahealing mage cast magic while a doctor injected him with adrenaline and stims.
The whole crowd clapped their hands, including Althea and I. I turned towards her, nodding my head with begrudging respect, ”This turned out way better than I expected. Who'd of guessed?”
Althea raised her eyebrows, ”They were both cappers, so the rest of the tournament might not be as exciting.”
I sighed, ”I'm just praying the rest of the matches are like that. That shit was epic.”
She giggled, ”We'd take them easily.”
I shrugged, ”Doesn't matter. That was still badass.”
She pursed her lips, ”I'm a better shot than that guy.”
I scoffed, ”Uh huh, sure.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, ”What, you don't believe me?”
I shook my head, ”I know you're a worse shot. Here's the thing though. Your bolt would've pierced the ice and killed the mage. You don't need to be a better shot.”
She raised her eyebrows in reluctance, ”I mean, I guess so.”
I nudged with an elbow, ”Besides, you wouldn't have run from the mage once he tried coming at you. You'd rip him apart.”
She smiled, ”Thanks.”
I looked at the next competitors entering the arena, ”Just being honest.”
The two competitors paled in comparison to the last ones. Neither exceeded level 2,000. They both relied on tech, using machine exoskeletons to fight it out with each other. They were clumsy compared with Earnest and Iasis.
Don't get me wrong, they'd have been worthy contenders normally. Following up the first fight was a tall task though. After they both kicked each other's asses, the announcer lifted his hands up to announce the next combatants,
”This year we have a fresh face here in Icosah. On the one side, a mysterious man who cleared over twenty quests in two weeks. The mysterious and memorable Daniel Hillside!”
I looked around, surprised they called my name out already. Althea grabbed my shoulder, ”Hey, good luck.”
I gave her a thumbs up. I jumped up, letting myself land onto the arena with some gravity magic for assistance. The crowd oohed and aahed at the display of finesse. They expected me to be a fighter for my size, so seeing magic must have surprised them.
On the opposite side of the arena, a wiry alien walked up. It was a member of the Enigmatta. Hidden inside a pressurized suit, the girl prepared several spells for combat. The announcer pointed at her,
”And here is Elsa Tiary. She's a regular combatant at the yearly tournament. Though she's never won, she's been a finalist several times. Don't count her out folks.”
The enigmatta all raised their hands, air bubbles lifting in their oxygen tanks. Elsa raised her thin arms, waving at them. After the hoopla, the announcer looked at us both,
”Are both combatants ready?”
We nodded. The announcer raised his arms, ”Then let the fight begin!”
I pressed down one of my hands. A wave of gravity sent Elsa to her knees. I lifted a leg before kicking out. My foot hit a telekinetic panel. A telekinetic panel generated in front of Elsa, smashing her face.
Though weakened, I kicked with plenty of force to shatter her dome helmet.She spun through the air, her suit's water and some sharp teeth launching in every direction. She slapped against the water surrounding the arena, belly flopping hard. She was out cold.
Everything turned quiet. I didn't go all out on her with the kick, so Elsa was fine. I looked around, making sure everything was ok. The announcer stammered,
”Uhm, wow, that was fast. The, ahem, winner is Daniel!”
I raised a hand,but no one cheered except Althea. She howled loud enough for everybody though. Althea looked around at everyone right after she screamed. Embarrassed as hell, she looked down, blushing like crazy.
I waited a few more seconds. Nobody came to help out Elsa, so I jogged up. I lifted a hand. I floated Elsa with a clump of water. I set her down in the open medbay. She landed on a bed with a woosh as the water spread out. Like professionals, the cleric and doctor shook off their surprise and went to work.
I turned around, jumping out of the arena. I fell towards Althea, the crowd dispersing and giving me space. A few sparse claps littered the area, and the announcer pointed an open hand to me,
”Look at that sportsmanship. Let's hope the rest of the fights follow that spirit. Onto the next bout!”
The tournament fired back up, two more competitors walking up. I sighed, looking down at Althea, ”Didn't mean to make a scene. Fuck.”
Althea looked down, blocking her vision, ”Don't talk to me for a minute, ok?”