As the two Vice Captains went off into two separate exits of the Warriors' Keep, I saw Ryo give a quick nod to Zeke before he completely disappeared into the hallway. Zeke merely shrugged as he threw his hands in his pockets and went off. A man after my own heart.
When I observed their attire, Goro had been wearing his Guild's infamous white and silver cloak with his hood down, revealing his gray, bald head. The hood appeared to have sparkling fur on the edges, and the entire robe seemed to glitter with each heavy step he took.
Zeke had his standard Crimson Dragon's poncho on with flame-like cutouts at the bottom of it, and his hood up, which seemed to be jagged on the trims, meant to resemble a dragon's teeth—while the hood itself was meant to look like a dragon's head when worn. I had often forgotten that's what they looked like with their hood on and armor underneath.
The two Vice Captains entered the ring from opposite sides, facing each other, as that same dice appeared in the middle of the arena.
"And now, time for the roll! We had an industrial area for the first round! What will be these fighters' environment this time?" the announcer said, the dice rolling now…
As the dice came to a stop, its face appeared on the projection screens for all to see.
"And there you have it, folks! Face six – an island area 'the Beach'!"
Right then, the arena began to morph into the selected stage. Both participants had serious looks on their faces. Unlike my match, they seemed completely and utterly focused. No taunting, no bragging, and no speaking whatsoever.
And though Zeke had his hood on, I could only guess he was as stoic as Goro's in this moment.
The arena finished changing, and just like that, almost all of it seemed to be filled with water. The middle of the ring was a sandy beach island with a few trees.
From the section where Belle and the Black Wolves were sitting, I saw Star, in the background of the screen I was watching. She reached into the water attempting to grab a sip, and Brand attempting to pull her back up into her seat. Havoc was laughing his ass off and spilling some of his snacks on Ophelia, causing a quarrel between them. Belle giggled to herself next to Alice, Alice was trying to shut everyone up, and Code just a little above in that same section, pretending he didn't know any of them.
The other people in the audience around gave them judgmental eyes as they witnessed the clown show. Nash caught sight of them in the background of the screen as well and snorted a loud, obnoxious laugh. Jo, on the other hand, was next to me, resting her eyes, flopping her head onto my shoulder so casually, attempting to fall asleep.
At the same time, then, I felt eyes on me from across the keep. The eyes of someone not too fond of me. There, across the room, was Lance in his golden-clad armor, glaring at me with no shame after having witnessed my last match.
What are you looking at, Golden Boy? I thought to myself as I matched his glower.
Though there was a battle above us that was just starting, I could feel there was one of the mind here in the keep between him and me. I had a feeling… with my fucking luck… he and I were gonna face off in this Tournament eventually.
"With the arena environment set, it's now time to start the second round of the Valley Tournament!"
The crowd cheered, and the announcer let them rile up before beginning his reintroductions of the two mages.
"In the first corner, we have a mountain of a man. A man who has been a Knight of the Valley as long as most of our current Captains. One of which was Captain Friera, the former Captain of the Snow Lily Knights… I'd like to dedicate a moment of silence in honor of one of the Valley's greatest leaders…"
After that, silence had echoed all over the colosseum, the audience, and the Warriors' Keep alike. Everyone's eyes were closed, praying for a moment. And the giant man, Goro knelt and clasped his hands as the other Snow Lilies in the crowd followed suit.
On the other side, Belle had done the same, and the people witnessed her when she knelt, raising their hands to her as if remembering she was someone to be respected rather than gossiped about. I had almost forgotten that Captain Friera was her late teacher back when she started in the Valley. It was natural for her to pay her respects in the same way Goro and the other Snow Lilies did.
The silence ran for about thirty seconds before the announcer spoke once more, "Thank you, Valley citizens, for your prayers. We know the Keeper has taken them and sent them as letters to her in the heavens. Since her lead, 1st Vice Captain Sylva has assumed her position, currently as an Acting Captain in her place, along with the assistance of this very man you see before you. Standing at a staggering height of seven-foot-five, he was known as the Valley's Wall throughout the jurisdiction. And has been one of its protectors for a very long time. He is also known as 'the Valley's Boulder' in other Kingdoms because of his striking resemblance to that of a rock… one look at his skin would tell you just that!" Goro stood up from his kneel at this time, his eyes being the last to lift. "He is the 2nd Vice Captain of the Snow Lily Knights, please help me welcome, Goro!"
The cheers ran, echoing throughout the Valley. After that prayer to his late captain, he had the full support of the Kingdom. The Snow Lilies—under the radar when needed, vastly accepted when in the limelight.
"In the other corner, we have a knight from one of your favorite Guilds. A mage who has shot up the ranks and has been a tenured member of the Crimson Dragon Knights in its early days. Some may refer to him as the estranged warrior, and some may refer to him even as the 'Sickly Knight'; he is the most prone to the effects of the changing seasons. He is second to Ryoku and third to Ark of the Crimson Dragons; he is a Vice Captain of the second-highest-ranked Guild in the Kingdom… Folks, please help me welcome the 2nd Vice Captain of the Crimson Dargon Knights, Zeke!"
The crowd went wild for him as well. Perhaps a carryover from their previous emotions, but well deserved nonetheless. As the crowd cheered for him, Zeke didn't move an inch. Hands still in his pockets and hood, that resembled a dragon still over his head, shrouding most of his face.
The sunny weather was complementary to the warm sands on the island that both Goro and Zeke stood upon. The water around them was calm, with small waves gently caressing the shores of the small island, filled with palm trees, swaying in the soft breeze. To them, it seemed quiet as they focused intensely on each other. But when one turned back to the surroundings, the crowd's cheers in the distance were clear and reverberating. And that's when the announcer commenced their battle, "Here we go, folks! The battle of two 2nd Vice Captains, and the second round of the Valley Tournament… Let the battle begin!"
As the announcer signaled the beginning of their fight, Goro unbuttoned his large cloak and let it drape off of him. The giant glittering blanket fluttered off, revealing his insanely cut physique.
Under that glittery white and silver cloak, the Snow Lilies had a similar uniform. The color was the complete opposite of the cloak they wore, and the style of clothing was anything but "snow". The style was similar to the Black Wolves—the color black.
Goro wore a black, skintight sleeveless mock-neck, which generously displayed his massive gray arms; the gnarly scars on them resembled tattoos from far away. His pants were black and glossy, baggy but fitted at the same time, finished off with black combat boots.
Nash and I sat up to the edge of our seats at the sight of his pristine body. We both admired his dynamic physique. Whoa… we had both seemed to say to ourselves.
Head, clean-shaven, chiseled jaw, and eyes that glowed a cool blue—similar almost to Code's but softer—beaming with well-deserved confidence. If I were in the ring with him, he would be an opponent I would take seriously.
Then, from the Keep with us, a girl's voice shot through—so loud it seemed—that even Goro in the ring heard it. "Show him what you're made of, you walking vehicle! Show the Crimson Dragons what the Snow Lilies are made of!" her voice echoed, somehow reaching all the way to Goro's ears and he cringed when it did.
After the show of intensity across his face, the look now was a look I knew all too well. Not only did his eyes seem to match Code's, but his expression did as well at this time.
I almost snorted at his reaction. The girl who had shouted was none other than Rin, the Snow Lilies 1st Exec. She was a blonde girl, fairly attractive and shapely, from what it seemed, even with that white and silver cloak she wore. She had yelled at the top of her lungs, facing the screen.
When she glanced in our direction, she caught me staring at her and let out a soft squeal, turning red at the mere sight of me; she threw her hands over her face to hide, futilely, as it was.
Nash laughed at her reaction and found her staring back at us, hands to her face, through the windows of her fingers. When Nash locked eyes with her, he wiggled his finger in the air in admonition and a furrowed brow, telling her I was off limits while simultaneously telling her that he was available at the same time.
"T-T-The Black Wolves boys… just look at them, so bad… and hot…" she said out loud to herself, thinking no one heard her. But her Ace Member, Nolyn, had been around her the whole time.
"Going boy crazy again, huh? Figures… Vice Captain Goro told me to look out for you while he wasn't around to keep you in check…" he said as if it was his duty. He was young and didn't seem to have any striking features; he was a brunette with violet eyes. But as he moved around, a soft clacking sound emitted from his ears—more specifically from his white hanafuda earrings on both his lobes… under his white and silver cloak as well—it was quick—but I noticed a katana on his hip for a sliver of a second there.
"Nolyn! How did you know what I was thinking!? Did you develop a new magic ability just now!?" Rin said frantically.
Nolyn met her reply with a bland expression and said, "Rin… that's impossible… and you said it out loud…"
"I WHAT!?"
The rest of what she said after became inaudible under Nash's laughter. Between him trying to laugh and talk at the same time and Jo's excessive tugging on my pants as she slept on my lap, all I wanted to do now was continue watching the match… this one, in particular, was one I wanted to witness… Between a Vice Captain who was the same level as Belle back in the day and currently held that title and a Vice Captain who was only second next Ryo in rank, I wanted to see just how strong these two were to have earned their titles. Based on their rank and reputation, they were probably categorized as higher S Class mages.
Back up in the ring, the battle between Goro and Zeke had finally begun.
Goro's voice was deep and fitting, just as he looked, "I believe this will be the first time you and I have ever crossed paths, Zeke… I've heard of your endeavors, but I've yet to see you in action. I hope you will not disappoint. From one 2nd Vice Captain to another."
Zeke said nothing and did nothing. He remained as he was—standing there with his hands in his pockets. It didn't even seem like he was breathing the more I stared at him from the screen.
Goro raised a brow at his lack of response.
"You know… it is rude not to exchange candor with a fellow Valley Knight. Especially when you will be dueling… I know you are young, but you must have manners, no?" Goro added, being as polite as he could.
Still, Zeke stood. No response. And still no movement…
Goro simply studied him before speaking once more, "I see… it is a shame then,"—his muscles bolstered—"that I must instill respect into you on top of winning today."
As he finished his sentence, he dashed so quickly right in front of Zeke. He was insanely fast for someone of his stature. Everyone watched in awe as they witnessed his speed. There as he stood, he towered over Zeke—a large shadow with glowing cold blue eyes, and then a gust of wind followed shortly behind, fluttering Zeke's poncho.
He raised a fist in the air and shot it down. But as the fist fell onto Zeke, the sound of sand shifting moved around his black boots. From the sand, a glop of it shot up and blocked the impending fist just over his head, blowing the hood off of Zeke's head, finally, revealing his face now.
As Goro stood with the wall of sloshed sand connecting to his fist, he studied Zeke's condition…
"So… that's what it was." He said to himself in a low tone.
Zeke still said nothing, and then at closer inspection…
The announcer spoke at the sight of his revealed face, "That was a close one, folks! But is Vice Captain Zeke—" the crowd gasped, and some muttered in confusion. From underneath the hood, it revealed his long blond hair. The top part was short, but toward the back, it trailed down past his poncho, and his eyes… "—sleeping!?" the announcer finished.
Goro then tried to pull his fist out of the sand wall, but it was stuck. And then his feet sank into the sandy ground; the palm trees that surrounded them seemed to close in all the while.
When one of them got close enough, it grabbed Zeke with its roots. His body was almost lifeless as it perched him onto a concocted throne made from its husk.
After the tree had grabbed him and darted back, the other trees continued to close in, wrapping Goro now into a bind. He gave it no such chance as he simply flexed, and a pulse emitted from all around him, blowing away, not only the trees but the sand he sank under, opening up into a crater as he seemed to float there.
He dashed like a teleport back to where he had started the match; his face, cold and unfazed. "I hope you'll be able to do better than that, Zeke… so far, I am unimpressed," he said.
From where Zeke sat atop the cushions of the palm tree, the sand and roots began to move again right in front of him. This time, water joined in the fusion as well from the sand's absorption. It fused until it formed a figure that stood, similar in frame and height to Goro himself, but with Zeke's face—a humanoid concoction by his magic.
"That hurts to hear… Goro…" the humanoid of sand, pseudo-bark, roots, and water said.
"Did that humanoid thing speak just now? The fucking thing spoke!" Star shouted from the sidelines as others in the audience muttered the same thing.
Goro looked at it and knew immediately, "So, that's where you went, Zeke."
Zeke chuckled from his humanoid form ethereally, "You guessed it. I didn't mean to be rude earlier; I was just transferring my consciousness into every molecule in this arena. I almost got the whole thing, but you dashed to me just a bit too early… I see you don't waste time talking, Goro—only enough for pleasantries."
"No harm, no foul. But I have to commend you—was that a silent spellcast?"
"Indeed, it was. I don't like bragging about it, though… talking about it makes my sinuses worse… but I guess there's no avoiding it, is there?"
"Silent spell casts—aka silent incantations are impressive. I see now why you have your title… However,"—Goro's blue eyes blazed a powerful aura from within it—"now I wish to see if you are worthy of that title. Come." Goro said, raising a hand and gesturing to Zeke's humanoid form while his real body was still asleep atop a palm tree.
"I can do silent-whatever too! That's not impressive at all! Let me get in the ring! I'll show you!" Star shouted once again, this time standing over Belle's seat as she kindly tried to calm her down with Brand and Alice helping keep her at bay. Havoc and Ophelia merely laughed at her all the while.
Snickers and side comments picked up after she said that, to which Star now shifted her attention to them, "What, you don't believe me!? Wanna see, peasant!?" she shouted to them as she protruded spiked bones from her arms, startling the crowd around her.
"Would you sit back down, you imbecile!" Code snapped.
"Make me!" Star yelled back.
"If you don't sit back down and shut up, I will tell Greed not to give you his stash of Choco Bars he bought you the other day!"
She gasped and gaped her mouth at what Code said, inhaling massive amounts of air obnoxiously. And just as quickly as a wolfdog who knew to sit and wait for its treat, she in turn did the same, immediately retracting her spiked bones and sitting back down like a child. The expression on her face was that of glee as she propped her hands on her lap and swung her legs back and forth in her seat.
"Keeper… what a child." Code said under his breath.
"Yeah, now all you need to do is give her the promised Choco Bars… you do have them right—or rather, Greed has 'em?" Havoc obliviously asked.
"Shut up…" Code said without looking, knowing that was a bluff…
"Fuck dude… you're screwed…" Havoc commented.
"Thanks. I needed the commentary."
Ophelia's contagious laugh entered in between them as they focused back on the match.
At this time, Zeke's form began to gather more of the elements, stacking them onto himself. The combined elements of water, sand, and husk grew to a size much larger than Goro now.
So, this is Molecule magic? I only studied the base of his ability, but I didn't expect him to use it to this scale so early in the battle… Seems he is serious about this fight after all, regardless of his despondent nature, Goro thought to himself as a large arm swung at him from a distance.
It slammed onto the island, the sand and water mixing, turning to slosh.
They engaged in a series of close-combat. Goro flew through the air with the sheer output of his aura alone, dodging the strikes all the while. Zeke then threw out both of his massive arms and shot out a Gatling of mixed shards at him in the sky. He dodged each one, and the missed shards hit the inner barrier, rippling from each hit. The crowd went wild as they witnessed the spectacle.
After blocking a few of Zeke's direct physical elemental hits, Goro held an approving smile across his face. There… This much should do, he thought as he threw his arms in front of him in a cross motion.
From all around him, the sand, water, and roots of the trees Zeke controlled emerged from the ground and closed in on Goro. He, in turn, threw his arms down, and that same peculiar aura pulsed from him, much like the one from earlier in the battle.
His purple aura emitted, shattering the elements into tiny particles all around him, but Zeke didn't halt his advance. With each strike, the same result occurred: each molecule he controlled burst into particles before even reaching Goro's body.
What did he just do? Zeke thought as Goro looked like he glowed with purple aura all around him.
"Surprised? Tell me, did you do your homework on your opponents?" Goro asked with a deep and intimidating voice.
"Briefly… Not enough, apparently." Zeke responded.
"In this Tournament, there's no telling who you will fight against and what the environment of the arena will be. It's all randomized for the first round. The more you know about your opponents, the higher the chances of preparing yourself against them even though you may not know what lies ahead on the field. You could be at a complete disadvantage if the environment plays to their favor—much like our situation here now… You couldn't have asked for a better arena for yourself. However, even those with the biggest advantage can get blindsided if they are not careful. Just look at the results of the last battle between the Black Wolves, Greed, and the Purple Panthers, Wilren… even with the environment in his favor, Wilren still lost—and within less than a minute of the battle starting. That is why this is not just a battle to see who is the strongest; it is also a battle of wits."
"And here I thought you were a man of a few words… What are you getting at, Goro?"
Goro closed his eyes for but a brief moment, and then opened them again softly—his captivating blue eyes glowed bright as the sun cast a silhouette of him in Zeke's view from below. "Means if you were simply trying to overwhelm me with power, I'm sorry to say… But you've already lost." He said, and Zeke said nothing in turn.
"You can only control molecules that have connected to yourself, am I right? That means, if they have separated and have broken off, they are no longer in your power to manipulate." He went on as his purple aura bolstered as if it was charging something big. "The more I am hit, the stronger I become. It is the nature of my aura without the need for incantation. It is the result of training for those of us who were not blessed to use silent incantations at birth." His muscles began to flex, and his aura intensified, "This is a technique I learned from my former crewmate, Belle, when she had once been the 1st Vice Captain of the Snow Lilies under Captain Friera. My magic ability is Invigoration. The more power is dumped onto me, the more powerful I become. However, it only does so once it reaches the threshold just above the power that has been dealt. Meaning… anything of lesser power than my current state that comes near me, from here on out, is simply dissolved."
From Zeke's sleeping body within the humanoid form, even his closed eye twitched when he realized…
Goro bolted like a flash of lightning, blowing past Zeke's giant, escalated scale, shattering it into pieces. The controlled elements all around him disintegrated, and other pieces fell as if the strings from its puppeteer had been severed.
Goro hovered just in front of Zeke's real body now, still perched, unbothered upon the cushions of the palm tree he sat. Then, with one raised fist, he shot it directly to Zeke's unconscious center. His fist roared down, but just then—he woke up.
Zeke now found himself seconds away from receiving a devastating blow. But he threw his hands together into a hand sign without chanting—saying only in his head,
Molecule Magic: Chemical Reject!
Saving himself just barely, a shield of aura blocked, or rather pushed back, Goro's fist—stopping it just before impact.
Their auras pushed against each other aggressively, looking like their strength was evenly matched, but just then, Goro said only for Zeke to hear, "Nice stop. But is it good enough!? Invigoration Magic:" He chanted. "Counter Boost!"
Right then, as if his purple aura had become like jets around his forearm, it pushed his fist down in aid and completely overwhelmed Zeke's Chemical Reject, shattering the air forcefield like it was glass. His fist plowed down onto Zeke's gut, and smashed his palm tree throne—shooting him down into the sand below in a diagonal course.
The island's sand rushed out from the impact and fluttered in the air throughout the arena. Goro floated down and landed elegantly, doing nothing further at this time. Waiting only to see if Zeke was really down or perhaps had other tricks up his sleeve. He was very cautious. A respectable man, not underestimating his foe even though he was very much the stronger of the two.
As the sandy air settled, there, in the cratered part of the island, was Zeke, appearing to be completely knocked out. Which signaled the announcer.
"And there you have it, folks! Your winner of the second round! Goro of the Snow Lily Knights!" he shouted.
The crowd roared as the second round's battle had come to an end.
Slowly, Goro walked over to where Zeke was and stood before him in the cratered sand he lay in. "You fought well, Vice Captain Zeke," he said respectfully before his opponent, extending out a hand as if he wasn't unconscious.
"Man… I thought I could get away with sleeping here for a while… that was a good punch… You win, Vice Captain Goro." Zeke replied, surprisingly, despite having taken a direct hit as powerful as that.
"I take back what I said. You are an impressive Vice Captain. Not many could have still been conscious after that attack. The battle could have still gone on had you not pretended to be knocked out…"
"Nah, I concede. And you don't have to be so modest. I'm only still conscious because you were holding back. All I did was adjust the molecules at the impact of my landing to soften the blow, but had your punch been any stronger than it was, I would not be speaking to you right now…" Zeke paused before continuing, "Anyway, I can't move right now, Goro… could I ask for a favor… pretty please?" managing a sneeze at the end.
Goro snickered softly, then nodded politely in response, proceeding to help him up.
"Would you look at that, folks! A respectable man indeed, chivalry is not dead! After all, we are all the Valley Kingdom at the end of the day. A round of applause for our Knights for this spectacular round!" the announcer said as the arena morphed back to normal and the two mages exited the ring.
***
At this time, Goro and Zeke made their way back to the Keep, and some healing mages came to tend to Zeke's wounds in a section of the room.
Ryo, naturally, went over to his 2nd Vice Captain and catered to him as well. Encouraging him, even though he had lost. I watched Goro all the while, as he casually went to his corner of the room and hung around his other two subordinates, Rin and Nolyn, who were overjoyed at his won match.
I got up from the couch I was sitting on and laid Jo's head sideways from where I sat. She was still asleep and Nash had gone to mingle. I barely realized he had already gotten Rin's comm number before Goro and Zeke made it back here…
As I went to grab a drink, passing a certain area of the Keep, I saw something in the corner of my eye from one of the open entrances that led to the hallways. It was quick as it passed, and all I could make out was that it was a shadow.
The Keep itself had sixteen entrances, with no doors that closed or confined us. It was an open space, but aside from the participants and the mages that tended to us here, I saw nothing out of the ordinary until that… And like a bad scary movie, I chose to investigate it.
As I turned the corner out of the Keep, I saw the shadow again from a distance in the hallway, turning a corner the moment I laid my eyes on it.
What was that?
I followed silently with each step. Picking up speed without a sound, I made it to the intersection where it turned. Then, from behind…
"Psst… Where you going, yo?"
A familiar voice, just over my shoulder. I didn't even sense him there… His footsteps, even quieter than mine…
"Rex, what the fuck? You following me, bro?"