Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 208: Masked Man vs Jezza

With hype growing yet again, the announcer took advantage of the excitement to hype up the next round. It may have only been a match between a low seed and a sponsorless competitor but their similar skill levels added to the intrigue. In the end, there was no upset as the eighteenth seed clinched her victory.

A similar scenario happened next, where the twentieth seed fought hard against a no-name entrant, barely coming out on top. So far, everyone had proven to be at least mid-adepts, apart from Oli who had left everyone puzzled, as if he had been holding back.

But the next duel was cause enough for the announcer to speak out and fully introduce the combatants to the crowd. On one side, the seventh seed, a young man sponsored by the Forell Family but not a part of the family bloodline. On the other side, the tenth seed, a man in his mid-twenties wearing the Whizek colors, despite not bearing their name. It was the duel of two promising young cultivators who had sought out a means to grow beyond their own resources.

However, the battle was surprisingly short. The seventh seed had barely moved by the time the tenth seed had ambushed him from behind with a small cyclone. In a pincering attack with the cyclone from behind and the tenth seed at the front, the seventh seed failed to keep himself from being blown off of the platform. It was a crude tactic, but all that mattered in the end was the result.

Most of the audience clapped, feeling disappointed to have it end so plainly.

“Amazing, ladies and gentleman! Such a straightforward tactic has saved our tenth seed energy for the coming rounds and proves his tenacity,” declared the announcer, looking to ease the strange tension. “Moving on to the tenth match, we’ve got our beautiful seventeenth seed and our masked twenty-eighth seed. No one knows who will come out on top, but there’s only one way to find out!”

Jezza sighed, lightly clapping her hands against her cheeks to psych herself up. She calmly sauntered up the steps and smiled for the crowd to see. The cheers helped steel her nerves, prepping to take things more seriously after witnessing Worrik’s failure and Oli’s upset.

.....

Her competitor was already waiting for her on the stage, politely bowing to her in greeting.

“Don’t think I’ll go easy on you,” stated Jezza, sticking to her guns the best she could.

Yet the masked man only nodded and drew his simple shortsword, one of the few that Keldon had supplied as backup weapons for the contestants. His silence spoke volumes as he never hesitated or flinched in the face of the crowds or their expectations for his loss, nor for facing a woman.

“Are you both ready?” Getting a nod from each competitor, the ref shouted, “BEGIN!”

Immediately, Jezza took out a staff with a large crystal embedded at the top. Jezza had already cast her first spell within that split second, raising herself onto an icy pillar while draping the stage in mist.

“Too bad you only have a sword!” Sharing banter, Jezza readied her next spells and kept her eyes peeled on the masked man’s movements. That was when Jezza paused her thinking for a moment to redesign her battle plan.

To her surprise and disliking, water was dancing over the man’s sword. At the same time, the mist was already starting to dissipate with the man at the center.

“Then try this!”

Slamming her charged-up staff on the pillar beneath her feet, the frosty energy scattered through the air. The lingering mist froze instantly, along with anyone or anything still inside it, including the masked man.

“Ha! I–”

CRACK!

Without pause, the masked man broke out of the thin ice. It had already been weakened after the mist had begun dissipating. But it was still evidence of the man having genuine training and not just slap-dash cultivation, like some no-name competitors.

“Marvelous!” shouted the ref, still holding the cone to his mouth as the frost was nothing for an elder like him.

“Just stop, already!” Jezza waved her staff through the air, gathering the remaining frost around the stage and forming it into dozens of sharp icicles. Those icy spears ripped through the air with deadly accuracy and only a single target. “Surrender!”

Again, the masked man said nothing and instead spoke with his sword. His poorly-cut, patchy hair moved strangely in the cold breeze as his sword’s blade was extended via the water turning to ice. But that wasn’t all. All experienced cultivators within the arena were amazed to see the frosty blade begin to spiral and swirl around like a jagged saw with freezing teeth.

There was no hesitation of extra effort expended as the man slashed through the incoming icicles. There were rendered useless, like a sword’s hilt with no blade.

“How can–”

Before Jezza could activate her next spell, the masked man was back on the move. He charged through the ice fragments across the stage with no fear of slipping or misstepping. It was as if the man was in his natural environment.

Jezza managed to get off another spell but was unable to keep the man from slashing through her raised pillar. As the pillar was shattered, the ice fragments were turned to water and rushed to engulf the masked man. The momentary success was enough to let Jezza regain her breath, but only for a moment.

That masked man was unhindered by the helmet of water encompassing his head and the other water was frozen and compacted into a second sword for the man’s off-hand.

“That–”

The water around the man’s head suddenly fell to his feet. And to Jezza’s shock, it was propelled to boost the man’s next charge, allowing him to close the gap just in time with both swords in position to claim victory.

“I surrender!”

The shout filled the area and was enough to finally stall the man’s assault. Both blades reached a halt a breath’s distance from Jezza’s body, leaving her shaking in fear.