Standing directly in front of Vanessa, the woman can't help but scan Auren from top to bottom; her eyes, while determined to still win, also reveal surprise at the sight.
Unable to remain completely serious, she quietly whispers, with a hint of smugness, "I'm still a little bit taller than you."
"I don't think that will make a difference," Auren replies.
"..."
"Everyone!" the moderator yells. "The Champion Auren has entered the Arena! Excuse me for not recognizing him... it seems that, judging by his looks alone, he has grown tremendously. According to my information, he just turned 16... I guess he really was a kid when he first entered Heaven's Arena and even when he won the title two years ago. Uhm, Champion Auren, are you accepting the challenge? You have the right to fight Floor Master Vanessa tomorrow."
"We can do it right now," Auren replies calmly. "This will be over soon."
As soon as Auren mutters these words, the crowd goes silent, though a few Vanessa haters roar in anticipation.
"Beat her up, Auren!"
"Punch her face!"
"I see a few of your former fans, whose advances you rejected, are rooting against you, Floor Master Vanessa," the moderator jokes, smiling at her. "Well, referee, you heard the Champion! The fight can begin. Any comment, Floor Master Vanessa? You seem particularly interested in fighting the Champion. Is there some sort of connection perhaps?"
"Yeah... I will beat up this little brother of mine. I need to do it in a setting like this to show my determination!" Vanessa declares. "Auren, I challenge you! I dare you to try and hold back; you'll regret it if you don't give it your all."
The audience roars, though some are clearly questioning their connection.
"Little brother?! You are related to the Champion?!" the moderator asks in a clearly excited voice.
"She is my student, a role she seemingly has forgotten," Auren corrects her. "As for me going all out... let's see if you can make me. Show me what you got."
Auren then strips off his gauntlets and his bracers, throwing them to Vanessa, who catches them, looking surprised.
"Let's make this an even fight then," Auren announces. "We both got two, don't complain afterwards."
"He... he... I'm gonna make you regret that!" Vanessa chuckles, instantly ripping off her own knuckles and wearing both the bracers and the gauntlets, which, as soon as they come into contact with her Aura, slowly begin to adjust to her size. Completely black, they create a stark contrast to her red armor, giving her a certain demonic appearance.
Focusing her Aura on the two Regalia, they shine with a mysterious glow as their surface reveals the hidden sharp edges, making any direct contact with them extremely dangerous for anyone fighting her up close.
"Champion Auren... Floor Master Vanessa, please back off to your respective starting positions. Create some distance," the referee orders, while the moderator yells and rushes back up to her podium.
"It's finally happening! The fight we've been waiting for!" She roars. "You don't want to miss this. Pay close attention."
His forearms and fists now bare, also not wearing any type of combat armor created by Neffi, as he outgrew his old ones and destroyed them during his long training, Auren smiles in satisfaction.
This is a fine handicap. With her fighting style, the gauntlets and bracers are the best choice for her.
Explaining the rules under the loud cheering and booing of the crowd, the referee finally starts the fight.
"Get ready... fight!" the referee yells, immediately fleeing to the very edge of the ring, looking cautiously at Vanessa, his eyes filled with caution.
Vanessa, now completely serious, releases a few ranged jabs using Emission. Auren simply tilts his head to the side and turns his body, easily dodging the fast-approaching, fiery punches.
She follows up with a straight Meteor Fist; she calls Meteor straight, which slowly builds up over three seconds before appearing way behind Vanessa and flying directly at Auren with incredible force. Not bothered, he simply takes three steps to the right to avoid it, only for it to change direction at the last second, aiming for his new position.
Manipulation, so she even managed that... though I see a lot of room for improvement. That's just a little curve, after all.
Auren simply jumps over it, his fast reactions and nimbleness enough to dodge it without getting hit.
Feeling the attack pass under him and crash into the wall behind him, hearing part of it crumble, he notices the audience getting excited, except for the people sitting near the point of impact, who flee in sheer panic.
"I regret taking these cheap seats! I must have been mad to take the risk."
"I'm going home, she is gonna wreck the entire stadium again!"
A few audience members complain loudly and yell complaints as they rush up the stairs.
An important step for her future Nen path, she is not only focusing on Emission and Enhancement, which she is leaning toward, but also embracing Manipulation. Nothing I can't handle, though.
"I'll show you everything... everything I've accomplished!" Vanessa declares as she jumps to the very back of the Arena.
She gathers all of her Aura and displays a Ren that's tremendously strong, almost on par with what Auren was capable of a few years ago.
I could simply rush to her and engage her in melee battle, but I don't need to. Still, what is she thinking? Is she thinking at all?
Auren sighs.
What I won't do to avoid hurting my students. I'll tell her later... the list of my complaints is growing longer and longer.
Three seconds later, enough time for Auren to potentially have reached her not just once, but at least a few times, Vanessa finally releases a wave of punches.
"RAAAAAAARGH!!" She yells, as her Aura spikes even further, increasing to levels that are honestly shocking, even to Auren, who knew about her potential in raw Aura for a long time.
"That's Vanessa's special move... Cataclysm! Everyone in the front seats, please move away for your own safety," the moderator warns, partly worried, partly excited. "I just hope... one doesn't fall down near my own seat again." She adds, sounding just a tad worried.
The front seats immediately empty as a wave of large meteors appears in the sky, picking up more and more speed, being enveloped by strong flames, mimicking real meteors crashing down from the sky.
Auren remains still, and only when the meteors are directly above him does he move, his figure beginning to blur.
A wave of terrifying explosions envelops the stage, as meteor after meteor crashes into the Arena, completely covering the ring and the nearby floor, even some front rows. The entire stadium is engulfed not only in fire and smoke, but also in shockwaves, causing the stones of the Arena to shatter and the metal underneath the floor to screech and bend.
Around twenty seconds pass, and the dust slowly clears. Auren is calmly standing on one of the few spots on the ring that hasn't been fully destroyed yet.
Around him, there are holes in the ground, revealing the floor underneath, the Arena looking like it has been turned into a combat zone, as everything around him is utterly destroyed.
"Unbelievable!" The moderator desperately yells. "Auren has survived the cataclysm! I wish I could say the same for our poor stage... but hey, the fight is still going on!"
Shocked at seeing Auren completely unharmed, Vanessa charges up one more Meteor.
This time, the meteor is even larger than before.
As it crashes down onto Auren, she surprises him yet again by jumping toward her own Hatsu, stretching out her hand. He sees the Meteor make contact with her fist, which is still covered in Auren's Black Regalia.
What is she doing?
Instead of creating an explosion or tearing off her arm, the meteor gets absorbed into it, and her fist is covered by a tremendous amount of Aura, not weaker than that of the meteor she absorbed, which appears to be unstable, though as flames and Aura slowly leak from it, making her incredibly dangerous, almost like she's containing a living bomb.
"Meteor Boost!" she yells as she descends, aiming directly for Auren.
It's an impressive ability... that punch of hers... it's an incredibly dangerous and deadly attack. If she had someone who could help her set it up, perhaps Eren or Neffi, who can bind opponents, or maybe Goreinu, who could allow her to land a surprise attack, she could probably take out almost anyone with it.
Alone, however... I could simply sidestep... but that would frustrate the poor girl... she would make up excuses later, I can't have that. I need to utterly beat her.
So how about this?
Auren unleashes his full Aura within a split second, making Vanessa's eyes twitch unconsciously as she descends onto him.
Gathering an unbelievable amount of Aura between his two hands, cupping them to the side, all of his Aura is compressed between them, growing more intense by the second. Auren waits for Vanessa to approach him before stretching out his hands toward her, opening them up, and unleashing a huge Aura beam at her.
"Haa!" He instinctively yells, not able to hold back, actually risking his life under Vanessa's terrifying attack by making the decision to take it on directly.
She stretches out her Aura-covered hand and punches against it, creating a loud boom as their attacks clash against each other.
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