**Present. Valley Tournament**
I had remembered that day. That was also the day we recruited her to the Black Wolves. That crystal tree in Isberra. That was her doing. Though I didn't know she had managed to do that on her own, without Nyx.
When Nyx concluded the memory, I snickered and closed my eyes, nudging him as I casually pulled a toothpick out from my pocket and threw it in my mouth. "Well, in that case, you can go ahead and sit yourself out for the rest of the Tournament if you want, Nyx."
"Hey! I'm not THAT useless! Again, I haven't awakened my power yet… but I can still help Jo sense things. Like before we came back, I noticed two figures in the distance—it was Rex and Snow!"
"Oh yeah, they told me about that… they said she almost killed them. Guess we have you to thank for that."
"You fucking!—"
Right then, an ice wave raged in our direction. I grabbed Nyx and threw him behind me, where the ice had blasted past us even into the hallway some distance within.
From behind me, a strip of ground, untouched by the ice, trailed long into the dark. And I stood there unscathed all the while.
"Sorry, wasn't sure if you could have withstood that… I acted out of instinct." I said, turning away from Nyx and watching the battle.
"You really think I'm that weak! I would have been fine! I've been with Jo for three fucking years! Ugh, I should have never told you that story…"
I had almost forgotten that the hallways were not protected by barriers like the audience were… if she keeps getting colder, this might even reach the Warriors' Keep… I bet they didn't anticipate this. I thought.
Back in the ring, Jo had somehow flown over Polaris, drifting in the air like she had performed some flip. When she had aligned right above him, she threw her arm as if tossing something, and multiple beams of ice curved in every direction onto Polaris.
He dodged the beams, hopping from yard to yard as the attack covered a wide range, seeking and following him wherever he went. Then, from one of the ice beams, Jo had emerged as if she had Full-Bodied herself through it, appearing in Polaris' blind spot just as he was about to land from his previous backwards leap.
She had become one with the ice and met Polaris' incoming back with a flexed hand that looked as if it held a blizzard within it. There was nowhere for him to run.
The sound and impact of a crashing glacier echoed in all our ears, tossing Polaris away as he skipped off the ground and crashed onto Daz's inner barrier—rippling and even glitching upon impact.
The audience was so invested in the match as they felt even their seats shake from each impact of the two contenders.
I could hardly see Belle and the others from where Nyx and I were because of the frozen and snowcapped walls. Bets changed. Crowds argued. All during this wild battle.
This was probably the most intense battle in this entire Tournament so far. But it was dangerously turning into one they might stop as well for the safety of the audience. Just as long as there was no malice and it didn't get any more extreme than this.
Jo's back was nearest to us now as she awaited Polaris to get back up from that strike; she knew she hadn't won just yet. It was also hard to fathom that she had yet to chant a single incantation this entire match… these were all 'small' spells for her, so one could only imagine what a bigger spell would look like.
As expected, Polaris rose from where he had fallen after hitting the barrier; he was truly a man deserving of his previous Captain title. But his attire was no longer as pristine as it had been at the start of the match. Dirtied and even bloodied from the mouth, he caught Jo's eyes with his deep violet ones.
His beret had fallen off, his clothing tattered, and his blond hair that was once slicked underneath had fallen to the side, unlike Jo, who had hardly a scratch on her. She stood with legs apart, a hand to her thigh, propping herself up, and the other drooped down to the front of her.
"This cannot be where it ends… not the first match!" Polaris said. His tone had changed, almost sounding frantic. "I will not lose here!" he yelled as he clasped his hands in a hand sign.
His aura surged like blazing heat. It was so hot that it melted the ice on the walls and shook the barrier, and I could feel it from where Nyx and I were, even on the opposite end of the arena.
Jo turned her head to see us from behind—almost asking if she could do it.
I thought for but a second and then said, inaudible to her, but she read my lips, Just be careful. I said, talking about her.
If she could win this without them stopping the match, she would proceed to the next round. If I wanted anyone to advance, it was her and Nash. They deserved it, and they both looked the best in the spotlight for the Black Wolves.
She nodded and, without even turning back around to look at Polaris, her aura burst, eyes still fixated on me. A rush of cold air blasted onto us once more, and again, I was unscathed. I couldn't say the same about the barrier, though.
When I looked, it had shaken. Just like when Polaris unleashed his aura. It must have been a warning trigger Daz had put in place, telling him the match was getting too dangerous and that he needed to stop it. I looked back to my 1st Ace and shouted, "Hurry up and win, Jo!"
Like the words were all she wanted to hear, she closed her eyes like it was bliss to her ears. Facing Polaris now, her eyes still closed, she put her hands together softly and formed her first—and last—hand sign of the battle.
When she did this, the immense aura she was already emitting groaned—screamed even, rivaling Polaris'.
The inner barrier shuttered, and Daz became cautious. His other mages stationed atop a few pillars all around the colosseum were ready to follow his command.
The two auras clashed, and it was so severe that the auras might as well have been physical entities. Two titans pushing against each other—one becoming infinitely hotter and the other infinitely colder. The Plains were basically disintegrated now as they stood atop a mix of burnt and frozen earth.
Right then, her cold and his heat invaded each other's space around them. A tempest of hot and freezing air shot over to me and Nyx. I covered him, protecting him from the raging winds—he didn't object this time.
Jo, now, was in an orb of her own aura, and Polaris the same but within his. One ice blue and the other a blazing red.
It was only then that they both chanted their incantations simultaneously.
"Pressurewave Magic: Rising Hell!"
"Grand Ice Magic: Arctic Sleep."
Her hair and clothes fluttered ragingly within her aura. Calm, quiet, and deadly focus shrouded her face as she slowly, and elegantly, undid her hand sign. She faced her palms in front of herself, opening her eyes at last like a gentle wisp, exposing her radiant—beautiful emeralds from behind. And that's when Daz stood up and tossed his hand wide to the side for his stationed mages to see.
The inner barrier shattered, and so did the outer layer barrier almost instantaneously as the entire arena erupted in a tempest of fire and ice. The sound was so loud it didn't even complete within my ears, as only a long ring was heard immediately after.
Both barriers collapsed in a rain of glass-like mana. Almost immediately, when it had happened, the stationed mages atop the pillars had already formed another barrier on top of the outer one that had shattered. But to their surprise, that new barrier had also cracked in different sections. Had it not been for Daz's first barrier taking the brunt of the damage, that third barrier they cast would have still been eradicated.
Daz's mages had reinforced the outer barrier, and some of the audience in the front had evacuated just before the blast occurred. There in the first and second rows of the bleachers, only snow and frost occupied the seating areas.
Gasps and chatters rang throughout the colosseum. Even the announcer was at a loss for words—but only because Daz had told him not to say anything just yet. His seat, as well, was also vacant.
From where the Black Wolves were, every single one of them had stunned looks at the damage done. Even Code couldn't help the dumbfounded expression on his face. From Brand's side, he seemed to have screenshotted his reaction with his mask and even printed it out on the spot, to which Havoc instantly grabbed to review.
"Damn resolution sucks."
"T-That's because I was moving when I took the picture!"
"Useless cyborg." Star commented.
To which, Brand shook his fist and ground his teeth to her—if he had any to grind.
Star then shot up and shouted, "I'm sure it was Jojo who was the winner!" She paused, "Right?"
Ophelia shook her head and shrugged. Telling her to sit back down for now.
"We can only wait until the smoke clears," Code said.
The smoke around the arena was dense, and aside from it, the only things occupying the arena now were half-frozen and half-melted ice.
Within the smoke, a quick woosh of a hand was all it took to reveal the area where Polaris had once been standing. He lay on the ground face down… knocked out, darkened from what seemed like burns all over his body, he looked unrecognizable as Daz signaled a few mages from the outside to help and take him to the Warrior's Keep.
Then he said to them, "This is quite significant damage… However, this was mostly by his doing. Only mages whose original magic is of the flame category can withstand heat of that caliber. He's in critical condition. He must be treated immediately. As for Jo…"
He looked back to where he remembered her last standing and headed in that direction.
When he arrived, he whipped his arm once again, and the smoke in front of him dissipated, revealing me kneeling, Nyx floating by me, and Jo passed out—asleep—in my arms.
"It's a good thing you were around when you were," Daz said to me.
"Aye," was all I said.
"Unfortunately, due to not just one, but two barriers shattering…"
My eyes darted to him. He knew I wasn't going to like what he was about to say.
"Originally, I was going to review who had been knocked out first prior to the barrier breaking—determining if it was a valid win… but due to the condition of her opponent and herself…"
He didn't even have to complete his sentence. I had just known that Jo advancing to the next round at this point would have been a long shot. And even if she had, the way she was now—both arms tucked into her chest and curled into a semi-ball in my arms—she wasn't going to awaken for a while.
"I understand," I said calmly.
"I am sorry it had to turn out this way." A compassionate final say before the smoke was whipped away by a few of his mages' Gale magic.
When the smoke had wisped away, the audience observed the arena. They even chatted to themselves, forgetting what the environment for this round was to begin with. For all they saw was a field of hardened magma.
When they saw Polaris exit on a stretcher carried by four healer mages, their chatter and gossip sounded. He had an oxygen mask on and the rest of his body was covered by a blanket, last they saw.
Daz didn't waver his eyes from me as the smoke cleared. His next words were for the audience as he said, "The conclusion for the sixth match of the Valley Tournament has ended… in a tie."
When he said that, I was surprised. I whipped my head back to face him, and he went on, "The aftereffects of their battle had occurred only seconds before the barriers broke. Standard policy per rule 2 of the Tournament states that if magic was used that had to be interfered with any of the two barriers—in this case, the breaking of those barriers… they would be automatically disqualified from the Tournament. Had they both still been standing, that would have been the declared result. Therefore, the match has ended in a tie. Unfortunately…" the crowd murmured as he spoke, "because both contenders are unconscious… no one will be advancing in the next round."
I saw Belle look at me from the audience with weary eyes. I simply nodded at her to let her know it was okay, and she nodded back with relief.
At this time, the announcer took over for Daz, "Due to the damage on the field, we will be taking a short ten-minute intermission to get everything fixed up for our next contenders. Thank you for your patience, Valley citizens, as we get this year's Valley Tournament underway!"
As I got up, Daz spoke only to me again, "We both know she won that round by the way. She is an excellent mage."
I glanced at him approvingly and said, "She always gets like this after she uses a lot of energy. I appreciate you calling it a tie, but I would have understood if you chose to disqualify her."
"I didn't want there to be a bad taste in the people's mouths about her. For some reason, ties are easier for people to digest than disqualification. They will be talking about how awesome she was now that they all got to see what an Ace of the Black Wolves is made of. I want all my select mages to look good to the people," he said with a wry smile.
"Ah, so you're not just an Idiot King, you're also a Crooked King as well. Should have known you did it for reputation."
He chuckled at that, and before I could ask about the other guy, Polaris, Daz had disappeared, returning to his seat at the podium, high above the section of the crowd in a blink.
***
When Jo, Nyx, and I made it back to the Warriors' Keep, there was a commotion going on that I was not expecting. I almost half expected people to come up and talk about Jo's match, but something else was amiss…
Nash had been leaning against a wall when I had entered with Jo.
"That girl is a freakin' beast." He said.
"You already knew that."
"It got pretty cold in here as well. I was afraid she'd make me use one of my Lives." He joked.
I smirked and changed the topic, "So what's going on over there?"
When we looked, a handful of the participants were gathered at the center, discussing something other than Jo's match. I placed her on the couch to sleep as Nyx joined back with her and headed over to see what was going on.
Ryo had been the first shoulder I brushed up against, "You all having a competition on who has the lamest Guild fit? What's going on here?" I joked, though, it might have been bad timing for it…
Ryo gave me a pity laugh and scratched his head, then said, "I wish it were that light…"
Before I asked him what he meant, I looked around the room, and noticed that there seemed to be fewer people in here…
From the ones I observed here and now, aside from Nash, Jo, and myself, it was: Ryo, Rex, Snow, Zeno, Goro, Zeke (out of commission), Polaris (out of commission), all the Golden Rose Knights—Viper, Love, and Lance, Rok, and Cecillia, and even some of the healer mages. But the rest… were nowhere to be found.
"We're not sure how it happened, but—" He said as I focused back to him and he concluded,
"Some of the contestants have gone missing."