Finally the day had come, Round of 16 was about to begin. Crowd filled the arena, the energy kept increasing more and more. The Rising Heroes prepared themselves in the waiting room. No words of motivation were spoken, they were already focused. As the Round of 16 began, their hearts raced faster. Time passed by slowly, every second testing their patience. Soon the first match of the Round of 16 ended, and then the second one as well. The tension only kept rising as their match came closer.
And then the wait was finally over.
Ifa's voice echoed throughout the entire arena.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, after two wonderful displays in the Round of 16, we now head towards the third match. Introducing the teams that will face each other… Eternal Wings versus The Rising Heroes!"
The crowd erupted loudly.
The Rising Heroes walked towards the battlefield. On the opposite side stood the members of Eternal Wings. The pressure could immediately be felt, but their determination was even stronger.
Lila took a step forward and looked back at everyone.
"The moment has arrived. Let's give our best and win this match."
Sera nodded firmly. Doran cracked his knuckles and said, "Leave it to me."
Adrian smiled calmly.
Meanwhile Drakar's eyes remained fixed on Solreth. The anger inside him had not faded at all. But for now, he had to wait for his turn.
Then Ifa announced loudly,
"In the first bout of this match between Eternal Wings and The Rising Heroes, the fighters are Sera 'The Verdant Bloom' going up against Xelvaris 'The Ghost Dragon'!"
Shai followed soon after.
"Very odd matchup, but something tells me this will be interesting nonetheless. Sera, a nature mage, against a Dragonkind who uses shadow and skeleton elements. And of course, we cannot forget his archery skills."
Ifa slightly shivered dramatically.
"He gives me chills even from this far away. I can't imagine how terrifying it must feel to fight him directly. So Ladies and Gentlemen, are you ready?! Will Sera cause an upset, or will Xelvaris silently pass through this fight as well? Let the match begin!"
As the fight started, silence spread across the battlefield for a moment.
Xelvaris stood completely still. His dark cloak flickered lightly. His face remained hidden beneath the hood. He felt distant… cold… almost unreal.
Sera immediately felt the pressure.
But she was determined. No matter what happened, she wanted to win this fight. She tightened her grip around her wand.
'Root Crusher.'
Thick roots burst from the ground and rushed towards Xelvaris, wrapping around his body tightly. But strangely… Xelvaris did not move at all. He allowed the roots to trap him without resistance.
Sera was confused for a brief moment, but she quickly followed up.
'Verdant Hands.'
Two massive wooden hands rose from the ground and slammed together where Xelvaris was trapped.
BOOM!
A loud crushing sound echoed through the arena.
The crowd reacted immediately.
Sera quickly separated the hands again… but her eyes widened in shock.
The roots had been crushed between the giant hands…
…but Xelvaris was gone.
Then suddenly...
A sharpened bone projectile shot straight towards Sera.
She reacted quickly and raised roots to defend herself just in time.
Xelvaris finally spoke in his deep, quiet voice.
"Not bad."
Sera did not waste any time. She commanded the giant hands to attack him again.
This time Xelvaris finally moved.
His movements looked unnatural. It almost felt like he was glitching from one position to another. He dodged every punch from the wooden hands with strange and silent movements.
Then he raised one hand.
'Marrow Spike Barrage.'
Dozens of sharpened bone spikes flew forward instantly.
Within seconds both wooden hands cracked apart violently.
Sera immediately tried to regenerate them, but Xelvaris had already prepared another attack.
'Marrow Spike Barrage.'
Another rain of bone spikes rushed directly towards Sera.
At the last second she focused all her mana into restoring only one hand and used it as a shield.
CRACK!
The hand blocked most of the attack, but several bone spikes flew dangerously close past her face and shoulders.
Sera froze for a moment.
Fear crept into her heart.
The pressure… the speed… the way Xelvaris moved…
It terrified her.
Her breathing became uneven for a second.
But then she pinched her own arm lightly and took a deep breath.
"I can do this…"
Her eyes regained focus.
Then she raised her wand once more.
'Verdant Guardian: Flower and Thorns.'
The ground shook heavily.
And the fight continued.