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Mid Evening - Mid Winter : Eikasía | Eastern Bahamut

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- Krystallo Ragnarok ~

"Hooooh..." Letting out a nervous, but controlled breath, a chill passed down my spine with a shake before I slowly opened my eyes to see the sandy arena just beyond the closed, dark iron gate. -It's finally time...-

*Clank* *Clank* *Clank* Hearing the heavy metallic steps of the knight coming to open the door, I quickly looked over my wing to see a tall, armor-donning dragon coming toward me with a smile.

"Are you ready, young miss?" He sounded just as excited as the announcer outside.

"Since you are the underdog in this fight, they will be sending you out second.

Just as with your other fights, sit tight until I open the gate, then head on out and have a good time, alright? "

"Okay." I was quick to nod. -If that's the case though, I should have an extra minute or so...- Promptly turning back to the gate, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the vast mix of excitement and anxiety brewing in my mind in hopes of settling it.

But my mind never eased, and my focus never steadied. "Hooh..." -There's no need to be nervous... I just need to focus...-

*Tsssss* Using ice magic in my breath gland to distract my mind from the stressful events at hand, steam began blowing out of my nostrils with every breath, but ever so slowly, my shaky paws steadied.

It was an old technique Mother had taught me to keep my head level. "Hooooh..." -I got this...-

My time for preparations rather quickly came to an end though. After hearing the announcer rile up the crowd for some time, he began the introductions and called us out.

"Now, please welcome to the stage, the division's leading champion, Alyssa Epómeno!" Hearing the announcer call her name, I slowly opened my eyes to find the slender, white-scaled girl walking up on stage with her eyes set on me.

She was confident, but also looked excited, as if knowing this rematch wasn't going to be the same as before.

"And now, for her opponent, we have the lower bracket champion, the flower that blooms with blood! Let's give it up for Miss Anthisi, the Berserker Flower!"

*Cl-Cl-Cl-Clang* Watching as the gate lifted and my path to the stage was lit, I finally got up and walked out into the crisp evening air.

But unlike what I expected, as I walked out, rather than the roaring crowd getting louder.. their cheers became muffled and distant, and by the time I had gotten on stage, had vanished completely.

For that instant, I wasn't in the arena, but rather in a vast empty space where it was just me, the stage, and Alyssa.

Watching her begin walking to the center of the stage to exchange greetings, I was quick to follow her lead, turning and tapping wings before turning again to tap tails.

It was time for me to prove myself, but as I made it back to my side of the arena and spread my stance, it was clear that I wasn't the only one.

As Alyssa lowered her head, nearly to the ground, her excited smile started fading with a bit of nervousness creeping into her eyes.

But I was already prepared for her to fight harder than she had ever fought. *Puff* Letting out another huff of steam, my snout lowered, and claws dug into the stage.

Before finally, without any warning, light zipped across the stage.

*WOOSH* Instantly lunging forward, my pupils sharpened, watching as Alyssa raised her wings to move, only for the area around her to be lit up by the glow of countless runes.

-Ice already, huh...- *CRUNCH* Slamming my paws into the center of the arena, I stopped on a dime before flapping my wings as hard as I could.

*WOOSH-CrAcKLE* In an instant, the entire arena behind her, leading all the way into the stands, was covered in a thick layer of ice while the air was filled with the glimmer of snow.

I wasn't going to let the same trick happen twice.

And she now knew that.

Watching her pupils thin with vigilance, she lowered her body before opening her mouth just enough to expose the glow of magic.

-That's a feint...- *WOOSH* Lunging forward, I finally closed the distance between us before she darted to the side, trying to catch my neck with a razor-sharp block of ice on her tail in a moment of distraction.

But for whatever reason, at that moment, everything felt as if it were moving slower than normal.

*Fwip* Narrowly dodging it, rings of lighting magic ripped around my legs before my paw shot forward like a railgun, grabbing her tail, and pinning it to the ground with enough force to shatter her malleable scales. *CRRRUNCH*

But she was far too slick to keep a grip on.

*Fwip-tap-tap-tap* Slipping out from under my paw, she lightly bounced around the edge of the arena, never taking her eyes off mine, before a sudden blast of light erupted from the tip of my tail.

*FLASH* Expecting me to use that split second of blindness to rush in, she conjured another flash of ice magic, creating a thick, rounded barrier around herself, trapping herself on the edge of the arena.

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However, while she made it so thick it would be hard to smash through, even with railgun magic, she failed to realize just how flawed it was. *WOOSH* Flaring my wings and planting my hind paws right in front of it, I dug my claws into its side and cupped my wings around it.

Without realizing it, she had created a massive lens and placed herself at its center.

*FLASH-brRRRMMMM* Releasing the strongest blast of light I could muster from the underside of my wings and mouth, it looked as if the sun had descended upon the stage, before a series of deafening cracks rang out.

Even though her barrier was something truly remarkable, under such an energetic blast of light, it was bound to melt.. and once that happened, the towering wall she created turned into a bomb...

One with her at its center.

*CrAcKLE-BOOOOM* Bursting her wall with enough force to concuss her, I wasted no time using railgun magic on my legs to glue them to the ground before going to clamp my jaws on her neck and jump onto her.

It was my win, having been concussed and blinded to such an extreme extent, she didn't have a chance to retaliate.

But that was when my jaws snapped shut on nothing but air, my paws slammed into the ground, and just as my eyes shot open, I felt the clamp of jaws on my leg, and the slam of her shoulder into my side.

It was the exact takedown she used in our first fight, making use of the slick stage and her advantageous leverage to twist my body and rip my legs out from under me.

But this time, I was ready. *CRRRACK* Shooting my wing out in a flash, the tip of it slammed through the surface of the stage before I used railgun magic to smash through the slippery ice beneath my paws. *CRRRUNCH*

In an instant, the entire stage shattered, and as the glistening mix of snow and steam settled, I stared holes into Alyssa with a bloodthirsty gaze, making it clear I was one move away from slamming her face into the ground.

Until finally... "I.. surrender..." To terrified to move, she mumbled through her teeth.

But it was more than enough for the announcer to hear. "A-And with that, the winner of the first round is Miss Anthisi!"

But his words just made my eyes shoot open. -'First.. round'..?-

Having tuned out the announcer at the start of the match in order to focus, I failed to hear that the finals were a best-of-three.

-B..but I should still be alright...- As Hera said, it was an uphill battle for her, being a mage forced onto such a small stage without the ability to fly, but I couldn't let myself get cocky.

Brother's warning simply had embedded itself too deep in my mind for that to happen.

However, as I let Alyssa off and started trying to find my initial state of focus again, nervous the second fight wouldn't be so one-sided now that I had shown most of my tricks, Alyssa simply sat down and looked up at the announcer. "I concede!"

Hearing a blanket of silence wrap around the arena, I froze in my tracks. -W..whut...-

"W..WHAAT!" Even the announcer was taken aback. "M-Miss Epómeno, are you sure?!"

Swooping down next to her as she gently pressed a claw into a few of her teeth, finding a few that were loose, she bluntly nodded.

"T-Then this division's winner is The Flower!

" Quickly darting over to me, far faster than I could follow with my eyes, the elder raised my wing.

"Congratulations to this young Miss! Now, if you would like, you can reveal your identity in front of everyone, or you can privately leave us a method of contact so those who wish to extend opportunities to you can.

" Leaning in, he whispered. "We can also filter those who wish to contact you however you wish. "

But he spoke so fast it made me flustered. "U-Uh..." Anxiously looking out into the stands as if to find an escape, I tried to find Brother or Hera, to no avail. "I-I uh... I-"

"If anyone wishes to reach her, please come to the Epómeno family estate!" Cutting me off, Alyssa spoke somewhat pridefully. "We will be able to relay the message to her." Turning to me, she smiled.

-W..what in the world...- Giving her a weird look in response, I didn't bother hiding my confusion. -She.. doesn't even know who I am...- But, her announcement did give me a chance, so I played along. "R-Right... Please contact them, they will be able to reach me..."

"Haha, then it's settled!" Making his voice boom again, the towering announcer turned back to the crowd and gave them some closing messages before the other divisions would begin their fights.

But while we were dismissed, and told to walk off stage, rather than going out her gate, Alyssa followed me. -W..what the hell is she scheming...-

It wasn't until we got well within the side of the arena that she finally burst forward with excitement. "Look, I'm sorry for being weird but you are Krystallo Ragnarok, aren't you?!"

Jolting back, I gave her an awkward look. "Uh..."

"Please introduce me to your brother!"

-Uhm...- "Did you surrender.. just for this..?" Feeling my stomach churn with anxiety thinking my one opportunity to prove myself was cut short for something so petty, I felt sick.

But she was quick to shake her head. "Are you kidding?

If we fought again it would have been even more one sided.

.. I'm sure you noticed that I had no chance of beating you with magic, and after trying to flip you again.

. well.. let's just say I was made aware of the gap between us.

.." Opening her mouth, she gently lifted her paw to show me several loose and chipped teeth, with one completely falling out in the process.

"Ugh.. in any case, I need to speak with your brother about something pretty urgently! "

Not sure what to think or do, I let her ramble.

Little did I know, that would be a mistake. "My mother wants to arrange a marriage between me and your brother."

I instantly jolted.

"I know my display on stage wasn't exactly flattering.. but I want to meet him just in case! Maybe we can start as friends and hang out until I can win him over! I didn't see anyone else that stood out in the competition though, so is he not a fighter?"

Seeing her look of determination, I felt sick. The thought of her being with my brother was.. more than a little repulsive.. but regardless of that, I was rather confident I had nothing to worry about.

At least that was until we made our way outside and found him waiting for us.

At that point, I thought seeing him would be enough to deter her.. but it seemed to do the opposite. Simply laying eyes on him made her eyes gleam like stars.

-Oh no...-

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