A weird silence lingered for a few seconds. Finally, even C reminded the two contestants to start the battle.
"Ok, let's go. Good luck!"
"Good luck!"
Cyclone and Holyver both took deep breaths as they held up their weapons. Suddenly Holyver was enveloped in a powerful force and rushed at Cyclone in the blink of an eye, the tip of her weapon aiming for the enemy's neck.
Wide-eyed, Cyclone instantly waved her wand. Her friends in the audience were pleased when they realised that Cyclone didn't aim for the spot where Holyver was still standing just a moment ago and instead targeted a spot right in front of her own face.
A lightning bolt shot from the sky. Holyver was caught in the performance of her skill, too late to dodge. The lightning crashed into her head, its power running through her body.
[-3419!]
[-1209!]
The powerful combination of magical and lightning damage took away a huge amount of HP. Holyver inhaled sharply. Just as she thought her chance to retaliate had come, her muscles suddenly stiffened, and she felt as if she had lost control of her own body.
A quick glance at her status revealed that she had been paralyzed.
Cyclone grinned proudly as her plan worked. Learning from the fight between Jack Hill and Silent Acacia she had realized that a player wouldn't give her time to cast spells. Thus, it was important to start with [Lightning Strike] which had no cast time.
Unfortunately, her equipment effect didn't trigger, which would have shot an additional bolt of lightning at the opponent. But Cyclone was already quite satisfied with being able to paralyze Holyver.
Cyclone took a few swift steps backwards while simultaneously starting her cast for [Static Domain].
For a moment the situation turned awkward as the two contestants looked at each other, none being able to attack.
But a second later Holyver was freed from the stun. She instantly sprinted towards Cyclone, raising her halberd above her head. A white sheen played around the blade, threatening to cleave the enemy into two.
Cyclone had to gulp but she focused on her cast. In her mind she only had one thought.
Please work, please work...
Cyclone closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as the halberd struck her perfectly. Suddenly Cyclone's robe light up. She was delighted as her set effect triggered. Bright sparks crackled, reflecting twenty percent of the damage back to the attacker.
[-2340!]
[-585!]
Cyclone's body shuddered as the powerful blow took away more than a fourth of her HP. She opened her eyes again and saw Holyver standing before her, motionless.
"What is this?! Paralyzed again??"
It took Holyver a lot of effort to barely move her mouth to complain. But what answered her was only Cyclone's cheeky laugh:
"Hehe."
Another second and a half ticked by. Holyver finally regained her movement, feeling her legs still shaking.
Right then, mana gathered on Cyclone's wand. Her cast was completed! With a wave of her weapon a domain filled with crisscrossing lightning surrounded her body.
They zapped around, quickly targeting Holyver.
[-1!]
[-1!]
As expected, the lightning didn't deal much damage. Its only purpose was to trigger Cyclone's passive. The blond mage watched eagerly but her smile quickly froze.
After getting affected twice, Holyver now showed resistance to the paralysis effect.
"My turn!"
Holyver grinned as she swung her silver halberd in a wide arc. Cyclone's eyes widened in shock. She hastily urged the mana in her body. With a burst of sparks, she disappeared. But she didn't travel far, trying to keep her opponent in the range of [Static Domain].
[Stance -23]
"I knew you would do that!"
Holyver sounded excited. She made use of the momentum, swung her halberd above her head and forcefully struck the ground. White energy erupted from the ground in a straight line, aiming right for Cyclone.
"What?!"
Cyclone was startled. She tried to urge the mana in her body but felt a certain resistance. Obviously, there was a difficulty in using flash step in quick succession.
Her thoughts freezing Cyclone reacted purely on instinct. She threw her body to the side, escaping the opponent's skill at the last second.
Cyclone's face landed in the sandy beach. She involuntarily spat out a few corns of sand.
At that moment the audience was going crazy.
"Quick, Cyclone! Get away!"
"Careful!"
"Run!"
"Haha, our Holyver got this!"
"This is over!"
Cyclone couldn't hear anything but suddenly she felt a shadow looming over her body. Jerking her head around she noticed Holyver standing right above her. The woman's eyes radiated confidence and her halberd was raised high, ready to end the fight.
Cyclone trembled, showing a strained smile:
"How about letting me go this time? I'll owe you one."
Unfortunately, Holyver didn't talk any nonsense. Her halberd struck down, bringing with it a violent pressure.
Cyclone's chest tightened as she urged her mana, trying to get away again. But her state of mind was not optimal, and the flash step took a moment to prepare.
And this moment was about to be fatal!
"Cyclone!"
"You can't lose!"
"My idol!"
Countless distressed cries echoed through the arena, all of them music to the ears of Holyver's fans.
But to everyone's shock the situation suddenly changed.
[-1!]
A bolt of lightning unleashed by Cyclone's [Static Domain] struck Holyver's chest. The female demon froze. The look in her eyes changed to one of disbelief.
Not again...
She stared at Cyclone, feeling aggrieved. The young woman who seemed so kind at the beginning of the match became an insidious devil in her eyes.
Cyclone was already expecting a ton of damage when she suddenly noticed her opponent's lack of movement. Her thoughts switched instantly as she realized that the paralysis must have worked.
Without hesitation Cyclone flicked her wrist, sending a normal attack towards Holyver, before hastily pulling her body up. She didn't forget to throw out a cheeky 'Thanks'.
[-2101!]
Cyclone quickly escaped a few steps. She was glad to have survived but she also knew that the fight wasn't over yet. Holyver had 13700HP and about half of those were still remaining.
Gritting her teeth Cyclone started another cast. Her eyes were fixed on Holyver. A moment later the female demon regained her movement, and her eyes were filled with anger.
Holyver began to run, closing the distance in no time at all. Cyclone focused on her cast, knowing that the deciding moment had arrived.
A flash ran through Holyver's eyes. She raised her halberd high, letting out a shout:
"Ultimate: Mountain Splitter!"
Cyclone flinched. She was just about to use flash step when doubts flashed through her mind.
Mirage said that every skill is activated by mana even if they are of physical nature. But there is no movement of mana here! Is she trying to trick me? Should I dodge or not?
Cyclone's thoughts raced. She came to a decision in a split second. She carefully prepared a flash step, but she wouldn't use it yet!
Holyver grinned as if victory was in her grasp, swinging her sharp halberd down. The violent weapon cut into Cyclone's neck. Since it couldn't just cleave a player into half it turned ethereal, passing through Cyclone's body, but the damage was real.
[-1813!]
Confusion spread in the audience. Serena looked towards Liam, noticing him nodding with a satisfied grin, asking:
"Liam, why didn't Cyclone dodge?"
"Because she's smart. She called the opponent's bluff."
"What bluff?"
"Holyver shouted the name of her ultimate skill but didn't use it. Instead, she only used a normal attack, trying to bait Cyclone into wasting flash step. If Cyclone had really dodged, Holyver would've instantly followed up with her ultimate and might have been able to kill Cyclone."
Serena's eyes opened wide, staring at the arena floor.
"So mean! It's good that Cyclone is so smart!"
"Haha, you're right Serena! Cyclone did really well this time!"
"I didn't expect this from her!"
"Great instincts!"
Everyone was full of joy for their friend, praising her move generously.
On the arena floor Holyver gritted her teeth. She had to change her plans. She needed to attack while Cyclone was still casting.
Considering this the female demon moved decisively. She triggered her passive, boosting her next attack as she activated her ultimate skill with a thought. This time she didn't shout out the name.
Holyver's muscles trembled. Her body expanded in size. An immense force was born in her halberd. Holyver felt as if she held a mountain herself as she raised her weapon and smashed it in Cyclone's direction.
The entire arena shook. A deep crack spread through the floor, almost shattering the island apart. Sand and dirt spread through the air, obscuring the sight for a moment.
Holyver stared ahead, unsure if she had hit her opponent. But suddenly a chill ran down her spine. She realized that no damage number had popped up!
A crackling came from behind Holyver's back. Lightning shot through the air, taking the form of a thick rope and wrapping around her body. A painful shock instantly drove through her entire being.
[-1823!]