The stadium had gone quiet in that way only massive noise can go quiet-like every throat still screamed, but my ears tuned only to the battlefield.
Nefira moved one step but the cameras locked on, magnifying her on the massive screens hovering above us, and suddenly the crowd gasped. She didn't just walk. Her bare feet barely pressed the floor as if the air itself held her up. Dayo snapped his spear up. His stance was wide.
Then, their motion blurred.
The cameras had to switch to slow-frames because to the naked eye, they were gone. All they saw was a streak of pale light against a flash of green-gold. The sound came after. It was a sharp clang of metal shaft cutting air where Nefira's body had just been.
"She's dodging with martial arts."
"Nice observation, Phaser. Her legs are carrying wind with every step. That's why she looks weightless."
The host's voice boomed.
"LADY NEFIRA RAMESES, the blind dancer of House Rameses! She bears the Elemental Flux, aligned with Luminous, Zephyr, and Frost. Tonight, under the veil of rain and clouded day, the Frost sleeps, leaving her only Zephyr and Luminous And with the air she sees, for though her eyes are covered, the wind speaks where flesh cannot!"
The crowd roared as they kept stomping their feet.
Dayo lunged. His sleep movement was faster than I expected for his size. The shaft whistled. Nefira ducked, twisted, pivoted on her heel and the spearhead cut only a slice of her loose hair tie.
The audience screamed but Dayo wasn't done. He pressed a forward-stab, a slash, a feint and thrust-his spear moving. Each blow carried an aftershock.
The host's voice cut in again, louder now to match the pace:
"OBASANJO EKUNDAYO is the pride of Lagos! He wields the Alteration Flux of Absorption! Every strike that lands on his guard, every beam of energy hurled at him, he devours, turning the strength of others into his own! And his spear? Oh, don't mistake it for decoration! It holds the opposite charge of his Flux, unleashing every absorbed force in devastating bursts!"
He was right. Nefira ducked another strike, then leapt back with her palms snapping forward. Zephyr materialized into a gush ripping toward Dayo like a miniature hurricane. However, Dayo's spear flashed green. He absorbed it. The wind split and vanished into his body.as his talismans glowed even brighter.
"Damn."
Radellei didn't flinch. "That's why she won't get close."
I realized she was right. Every time Nefira tested him with Air, he ate it whole. She wasn't pushing offense. She was mapping the rhythm of his spear.
And yet, something gnawed at me.
"They're not fighting at full tilt."
Radellei glanced at me. "What makes you think that?"
I pointed at the screens showing slowed replay.
"Look. Every strike Dayo makes, he makes openings. He could close gaps tighter but he doesn't. Nefira hasn't drawn on Luminous at all. She's limiting herself to Zephyr. They're fighting for the crowd but hiding their real cards. If I go in here, everything I reveal gets analyzed by my opponents."
It hit me hard. This wasn't just blood sport. This was data harvesting. Every move and every weakness was broadcast and archived across the continent. Unless you were overwhelmingly strong, showing too much was suicide.
The crowd roared again, pulling me back.
Nefira ducked low as her palms touched the floor. Zephyr burst beneath her, propelling her body upward in a spiral. Dayo lunged with his spear but she twisted in mid-air and landing just outside his reach. Then she snapped her wrist. A sharp gale slammed forward. This time it didn't just push. It curved, swirling behind Dayo's back.
The crowd gasped but Dayo's lips twisted into a grin. His spear pulsed. He spun in a full circle, letting the talismans drink the curved wind and with a roar, released it.
The blast screamed outward in a cone, tearing gouges in the floor. The recoil pushed Nefira back, her body skidding.
The arena thundered with cheers.
"Unbelievable! Nefira made strikes no sighted warrior could dodge! And Dayo is absorbing every gale and hurling it back tenfold! These are champions!"
My hands tightened into fists because as epic as this was, I could see it. Neither of them had even scratched the ceiling of their potential. And if I stepped into that arena, I couldn't afford to scratch mine either.