Now, after three bouts between the Rising Heroes and Hands of Karma, the score stood at 2–1 in favor of Hands of Karma. One more loss and the Rising Heroes would be eliminated from the tournament.
Lila prepared herself for the fourth bout.
Ifa announced "Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for the fourth bout of this matchup! From the Rising Heroes, 'Blazing Tide' Lila! And her opponent from Hands of Karma... 'The Golden Beast' Grauven!"
Shai followed "We all know the strength of the Golden Beast. If Lila wants to win against him, she really needs to raise her game. Otherwise, this might just be another victory for Hands of Karma."
Ifa excitedly continued, "Another pair of dual element users facing each other! That means we are about to witness another exciting battle. This tournament truly is a gift."
Shai smiled. "True that. Fire and Water against Fire and Thunder. One side seems balanced, while the other looks purely destructive. So without further ado... let the match begin!"
And the match began. For a brief moment, both fighters remained in their positions. The instant the battle started, the atmosphere changed. Lila could feel immense pressure simply from standing opposite Grauven.
Meanwhile, Grauven wore a wide grin across his face. He looked excited... eager to fight.
Without wasting another second, he launched himself straight at Lila with his claws extended.
Lila immediately jumped away.
The moment Grauven landed, the ground beneath him cracked from the impact.
Once again, he leaped toward Lila.
Once again, she jumped away.
Grauven then made a much higher leap, descending directly toward her.
This time Lila raised her spear, blocking his arm so that his claws could not reach her.
But Grauven simply forced his arm forward.
Lila had no choice but to jump backward.
Grauven continued chasing her everywhere she moved.
It was obvious.
Grauven was completely dominating the battle.
Lila had no answer to his overwhelming physical strength and relentless assaults.
She knew she had to try something.
Otherwise, if things continued like this, she would have no chance of winning.
"Aqua Lance."
Multiple spears of water formed around Lila before raining down toward Grauven.
Grauven simply smiled. Standing exactly where he was, he opened both palms. Flames ignited around them. One after another, he literally caught the water spears with his bare hands. Each spear evaporated the instant it touched his flaming palms.
Grauven laughed. "My turn."
He seemed to be genuinely enjoying the battle.
He drew both axes from his back.
"Ember Crash."
He leaped into the air before slamming both axes into the ground, creating a localized explosion of flames that rushed toward Lila.
In response, Lila used "Tidal Pierce."
A concentrated, water-coated thrust that pierced through the incoming flames.
Yet even that failed to stop the attack completely.
Once again, Lila was forced to move away to avoid the remaining blast.
She tried to calm herself.
But no matter what she did... She was clearly outclassed by Grauven.
"Roaring Tempest."
Grauven began a spinning assault surrounded by arcs of fire and lightning released from both axes.
Lila gave everything she had.
"Phoenix Tide."
Fire and water spiraled together into a massive spear attack.
"Hydro Burst."
A concentrated sphere of water detonated on impact.
"Fireball Barrage."
She unleashed all three techniques simultaneously.
But every one of her attacks was simply destroyed by Grauven's spinning axes.
A few attacks managed to slip through. They burned him. Some pierced him. Yet they left nothing more than small scratches. His rampage never slowed.
Lila continuously moved around the battlefield, making sure she never got caught.
She had to stop him somehow.
Instead of attacking directly, she spread water across the battlefield.
Parts of the ground became slippery.
Others turned into thick mud.
Seeing that, Grauven immediately stopped.
He smiled. "Not bad... but that won't be enough."
"Blazing Halo."
Rings of fire circled around Lila before launching outward.
Grauven calmly moved from side to side, avoiding each ring.
But even while dodging, he was already preparing his next move.
Lila followed with "Eruption Current."
Alternating waves of fire and water surged toward Grauven.
He swung his axes, cutting through the waves.
Lila increased their force.
Grauven then held both axes flat before him like shields. The waves struck the axes and split apart, flowing harmlessly around him.
Suddenly, the attacks stopped.
Lila had already leaped high above him for a surprise attack.
"Twin Tempest."
From above, Lila perfectly synchronized fire and water into a colossal spiraling spear strike, releasing torrents of steam, flames, and crashing water that devastated everything below.
Grauven crossed both axes to defend himself. The overwhelming force pushed him downward. The ground beneath his feet cracked.
Yet... The smile never left his face.
Even while defending, he laughed. "Good to fight someone with guts."
With sheer strength, he forced both axes upward.
Lila's attack was completely overturned.
She landed back on the ground.
Grauven laughed once more.
"My turn."
His face was filled with excitement.
"Skybreaker."
He leaped high into the air before crashing down with both axes engulfed in thunder.
Fear filled Lila's heart. For a brief instant, she froze.
Then, at the very last moment, she barely escaped the attack.
Grauven crashed into the battlefield.
Blinding lightning spread across the arena. As the light faded, he turned toward Lila.
He sprinted straight at her.
Swing after swing came flying toward her.
Lila desperately blocked them using the shaft of her spear.
Then came one powerful strike.
Even while blocking it, she was sent flying backward.
Lila stood up once more.
Grauven simply waited for her to get back on her feet.
"Stormfire Rend."
Alternating axe strikes infused with fire and thunder became faster with every attack.
To keep up, Lila infused both fire and water into her spear.
But Grauven continued overpowering her.
Soon... She simply could not keep up anymore.
She refused to give up.
She wanted to give everything she had.
If she lost... The team would lose.
She had to win. For that... She decided to use her final resort.
She intentionally allowed Grauven's axe to hit her in a way that minimized the damage while using the force of the impact to create distance between them.
"Dragon's Equinox."
Lila perfectly balanced fire and water along her spear before thrusting forward.
A twin dragon, one of flame and one of water, spiraled around each other before crashing toward Grauven in a devastating elemental convergence.
Grauven laughed as Lila closed the distance.
"Savage Fury."
Both of Grauven's axes became vessels of roaring flames and raging lightning.
He unleashed a colossal cross strike that erupted into an enormous explosion of fire and thunder, engulfing the entire battlefield.
A massive elemental explosion swallowed everything.
Smoke and dust spread all the way to the audience.
As it slowly cleared... Grauven was still standing.
His body showed several injuries. But the smile on his face never faded.
On the other side... Lila laid on the ground.
She tried to stand. Her will refused to let her surrender. But her exhausted body could no longer answer. As she struggled to rise... She finally lost consciousness.
And that was it.
The match was over.
Grauven had won.
Hands of Karma had won.
Ifa announced "And your winner of the fourth bout is... Grauven! Which means Hands of Karma have won this matchup against the Rising Heroes!"
Shai nodded. "What a dominant display by Grauven... and what an inspiring fight by Lila."
Ifa smiled. "Yes... it even brought tears to my eyes. She never gave up until the very last second, and I think that counts for something. But with that being said... there is still so much room for her to grow."
Shai continued, "And with that, the Rising Heroes have officially been eliminated from the tournament. They may still choose to fight the final bout or pass on it. We will be waiting for their decision."
Lila was taken to the medical room. Now a decision had to be made. Whether they wanted to fight the final bout despite already being eliminated... Or forfeit the last match, knowing it would no longer affect the outcome.
The Rising Heroes waited for Lila to regain consciousness before making that decision.