Chapter 61 - Final Match (2)

<p>"You know, I think that does make sense," I finally say after pondering for three minutes. Tilpott, who is the most patient person I think I'll ever meet, nods with a smile. <br/><br/> "Basically, Luzieni was the patron God for Alyphia, who is my patron, and he recognized me instantly due to my marking? And then he told you so in your head — not because you're crazy, but because Paladins and Clerics often have a close connection to their sworn Gods?"<br/><br/> He nods again, reminding me of fun little figures from Earth called bobbleheads.<br/><br/> "Cool, cool, not confusing at all! That's why it only took me seven attempts to understand!" My tone is extremely happy-go-lucky, apparently so much so that the dripping sarcasm of my comment flies over the gullible man's head as he keeps bobblehead-ing. I sigh, and with the imminent danger of my life being resolved, I pay attention to the match. Tilpott pulls two chairs up closer to the balcony I'm on that allows us to watch, offering me one. I smile at him politely and sit, frowning as I watch Eniyala crawl around like a spider on her chains. <br/><br/> "She never did that with me…"<br/><br/> Tilpott shrugs. "It is the true Final's Match," he simply commented.<br/><br/> As I continue watching the initial confrontation of the two, I note a lot of similarities in Eniyala's fighting style as compared to our fight, but also some differences. "She's still improving," I chuckle quietly as I realize, leaning forward as I become more invested.<br/><br/> She creates two axes, and I frown again. "Was she not going all out before?"<br/><br/> Tilpott shakes his head for once. "I doubt she wasn't. I'm sure there are other circumstances why she refrained from using what she is now."<br/><br/> I shrug, but a slight frown remains on my face as I keep watching the back and forth. It was already Eniyala's second-longest match, the only one that had been longer being our fight. Still, I felt a bit cheated somehow. I tried to shake my head clear as I continued to watch the match, cheering for Eni in my head.<br/><br/>* * *<br/><br/> 'I don't think I stand a chance. Should I forfeit?' Eniyala asks herself. She's exhausted — Having to dart around and send out spells at the same time was exhausting on itself, but having the brute shrug off every attack she sent at him was starting to beat on her morale. <br/><br/> 'No,' she thinksn<br/> firmly. 'Ignioses don't give up, and I won't do so here. If I'm going to go down, I'm going to give him hell for it.'<br/><br/> "Ra this," she mutters, and barely hearing it, the Berserker gasps. "R-ra?" He says angrily, and he raises his flaming axe up intimidatingly. 'Shit.'<br/><br/> "Barbaric Ignios! Ignios Chains!" Eniyala calls out in panic, and her axes cross to block the blow, and four of the ten chains wrap around his weapon to help pull off some of the force. The other six hone in on the Berserker's upper body. 'If I can take out his ability to swing those giant weapons…'<br/><br/> With a deep inhale, the man hardens his body by flexing every muscle in his body, the flames spurring hotter and bigger upon his chest as the chains bounce off harmlessly. Eniyala narrows her eyes, and the chains right themselves and spin their way around Rarara's body. As they snap into place, holding all but his right arm down, his fiery eyes meet with Eniyala's. Now that it's had enough time to heal, the snake lunges at the man, and Eniyala holds up her middle finger. "Eat it."<br/><br/> With the Berserk Skill wearing off, the man looks up to see a giant middle finger slamming down towards him. "Rhit…"<br/><br/> BAMM!<br/><br/> An explosion of red and blue flames crawls up the side of the pyramid, and begins to crumble into the new hole.<br/><br/> "Whoa! Is that the grand finale?!" Zwelli calls out excitedly.<br/><br/> "You just flagged it NOT to be over!" A heavily bandaged young man yells loudly across the arena from him. His voice cracks and grows a bit hoarse at the end of the sentence, suggesting he isn't used to such a volume with his voice. He is pointedly ignored by Zwelli, who continues, "I think—"<br/><br/> A loud bang and the sound of crumbling stones cuts the small announcer off, as a large figure rises from a small, red cloud of smoke. <br/><br/> "See?!" the boy shouts again, his voice cutting through the silence. "I told you so!!"<br/><br/> "Raaaaaah!" the Berserker screams, ripping his arms around his body and dispersing the cloud. His skin glows red, and his gruff beard and thick eyebrows are a darker black than before.<br/><br/> His earlier wounds are also black now, but they don't seem to bother him much. <br/><br/> 'Actually, he seems a lot bigger now,' Eniyala notes as the muscled gorilla steps forward, looking down at her with respect.<br/><br/> "You fought like a true champion, little lady," the man says, stunning the already quiet group of people watching from the stands into a deeper silence.<br/><br/> Eniyala props herself up on one elbow; her Mana is all but spent, and she would be out completely in a few minutes. Her Stamina was also completely shot, which made sense for her low Vitality. Still, she looked up at the giant in confusion. "You can fucking talk?"<br/><br/> He laughs; a laugh that seems almost villainous. "Of course I can. Obviously, my grammar is currently somewhat improved, as my intelligence is boosted by my Last Stand Skill. Quite a drawback, though. I mean, paralysis for a day per minute using the Skill is quite harsh, if you ask me."<br/><br/> Eniyala's mouth gapes for a moment. "I… see." In her head, she thinks to herself, 'I think it was a bit more than just a bit of grammar that was improved, but sure.'<br/><br/> He nods firmly, offering his hand to her. She hesitates, but finally takes it, allowing him to help her up. "Will you forfeit? I would prefer to not strike a weakened lady."<br/><br/> She pauses again. "I said I wouldn't give up," she states, and the man nods understandingly. He lets her go, stepping back. "One attack. We both get one final attack."<br/><br/> She agrees, preparing herself for the strongest attack she could muster. The ripped muscles of her opponent contort as he prepares a heavy hit with his fist. The form is wild, more similar to the form he would take with an axe. Eniyala doesn't have time to worry about this, though. <br/><br/> "Fist of Ignios!" She cries, and a large fist of blue fire flares up from behind her right shoulder, fuming and then charging ahead as she punches forward. It flies past her at extreme speed, rumbling towards the Berserker. He throws his own fiery fist forward, the knuckles meeting in a flash. The white flare blocks everyone's vision for a couple seconds, and when they can see again Eniyala is on the ground unconscious, where Rarara is standing with a bloody knuckle, looking casually at his opponent. <br/><br/> He looks around before raising the bloodied fist in the air. "I am Thequinies Malio Pik Intrialis Mutál, the new Level 25 and under champion! I had a worthy opponent in my final match, but emerged victorious! Remember my name!!" he declares proudly, before dropping to the floor frozen in the raised arm position as if turned into a block of ice.<br/><br/> "… And, I guess we have our champion, as they just proclaimed…? How strange," Zwelli notes, and a second later the stands erupt into a fury of cheers, cries of anguish, shouting, and several other indiscernible sounds.<br/><br/><br/>* * *<br/><br/>[Final Stand (Ultra Rare Unique Active Skill): The user improves every aspect of their body by exponential amounts. However, each minute spent using Final Stand has a backlash of 20 hours of paralysis. <br/> Cost: 10 Stamina per minute — Cooldown: 5 days (or whenever paralysis ends)]</p>