Chapter 19 / Episode 18:Blood

  At the Keigra gate, a man in navy green cloak suddenly arrives which caught the attention of the guards.

"Halt! Who are you?" One of the guards asked.

The man removes his hood, revealing his appearance to be that of a bearded Tenplar and began to walk towards the guards while emitting a disturbing aura.

"I have some business to attend to." The man said as his irises glowed brighter.

Back at the arena, Chief Miza stared down at the arena and observed the Graundar girl who happened to be staring at Xorian with a serious demeanor.

"Jagami of the Graundar tribe: the daughter of Iminko and Jian." Chief Miza said within herself, "Those two are one of the top most respected families in the tribe and are indeed extremely wealthy in livestock, lands and jewelries.

No doubt about it, if Jagami chose to join the academy then it is to represent them and bring more honor to their name. But that boy, Xorian of the Kenar tribe... What is he here for? Who are his parents? I don't really know him since he is not from my tribe but he doesn't strike me as the type of person that will join to represent his parents. I really am curious to see how he does against Iminko and Jian's daughter."

Back at the arena, Trengal looks at the gauntlet on his hand and recalls a blonde woman giving it to him.

"Good thing i bought this gauntlet during the break." Trengal said within himself, "These people don't even know that this isn't the real me. This gauntlet allows me to create a projection of myself while my original body stays in a sleeping state; In other words, I'm just like a man who died and his ghost is wondering about in this arena which means i can easily stay in here without worrying about any danger.

Alright, now that is settled, let's go..."

"Are you two ready?!" Trengal asked.

"Don't expect mercy just because we were once teammates." Xorian said while grinning, "Going easy on you, would kill the thrill of fighting for me."

"Who exactly is supposed to go easy on who?" Jagami asked with a raised eyebrow, "And don't worry, i don't expect any mercy from you... I expect incompetence!"

"Begin!" Trengal said.

  With a yell, Xorian immediately fires a red beam of fire from his fist towards Jagami which resulted in a red explosion that caught the audience off guard.

"What the hell?!" Trengal said in shock, "Xorian is wasting no time in attacking! He truly meant it when he said he won't go easy on her!!"

"Yo, is he crazy?!" A man in the audience center asked.

"No, he is just wild." A woman in the audience center replied.

Xorian continued firing numerous red beams of fire while yelling, creating more explosions . Blue diamonds quickly sprung out underneath Xorian and covered his body, leaving only his head.

"Hey, what the hell?!" Xorian said.

As the large dusts cleared, the blue diamond walls which were at Jagami's corner, quickly dispersed and Jagami began to walk towards Xorian.

"Jagami versus Xorian, huh." Cloud said within himself, "I feel like this fight is more of a battle of grudge for Jagami concerning the kind of stunt Xorian pulled off when we were placed in the same team. But if Jagami has moved on then I'd say this battle is more of a battle of -"

"Cloud, did you see that?!" Sting asked, "Xorian absorbed the heat from Jagami's diamonds and blasted her with an attack from his mouth!

Wait... Were you spacing out, again?"

"Sorry, i was just thinking about the two." Cloud replied.

"Aren't we all thinking about them?" Rish asked.

"Yeah, it's just this battle between them seems a bit personal." Cloud said, "I remember when i was placed in Jagami's team; It was me, Xorian and a few others that were sent on a task to retrieve a terror beast crystal egg in cave Xulon."

"Are you talking about task 457?" Sting asked.

"The task didn't just involve us retrieving a crystal egg without awakening a terror beast, it also involved us getting out in one piece and not losing a single member of our team." Cloud said, "Which would have happened if Xorian had some self control and didn't go punching the eye of a sleeping terror beast, all because he was bored."

"So, it wasn't you that caused your team to fail that task?" Rish asked.

"No, i just decided to take the blame after Zera accused me of being the cause of my team's injuries and the loss of Bam and Gilda's life." Cloud said, "I mean, everybody knows about terror beasts and how dangerous and powerful they are; They are so powerful that a mere kan pressure from them is so strong that it can crush your will to fight and stop your heart in the process and their breath is said to be so deadly that it killed over a hundred warriors from the Kenar and Bi'kru tribe.

Xulon cave didn't just have one or two terror beasts, it had fifteen terror beasts and that crazy moron just went to wake one of them up and almost got us all killed."

Cloud sighed and facepalms himself.

"If only if Bam and Gilda had listened to me, then they might have been able to walk out of that cave alive. I just wish... Never mind.

Right now, what is going through my mind is who is going to win. Jagami is an A+ while Xorian is an A- but I've seen Xorian in a fight 3 times and i can tell that he is not someone to take lightly."

Back at the arena, Xorian was evading all of Jagami's relentless diamond attacks while running towards her and grinning. Xorian engulfs his feet with red aura and leaps towards Jagami with an insane speed and with a battle cry while having his fist set in a position to punch her.

"Take this, Jagami!!" Xorian said.

Xorian lands a powerful punch on Jagami's left cheek that created a strong shockwave; However, Xorian became shocked as Jagami stood firm on the ground while being barely fazed by his attack.

"Is that all you got?" Jagami asked.

Jagami quickly lands a punch on Xorian's right cheek that sent him in a horizontal spinning motion in midair and made him tumble across the ground. Xorian quickly stabilizes himself but Jagami appeared in front of him and began to release multiple knee strikes on his belly while having Xorian's upper body locked in between her arm and side.

Jagami swiftly tossed Xorian at her back and creates a diamond wall, causing him to land back-first on it; Jagami sprints towards Xorian and attacks with a straight kick to his abdomen the moment his back hit the diamond wall, leading him to break through it and tumble violently on the ground.

While tumbling on the ground, Jagami easily catches up to Xorian and slams his head on the ground with her palm, fracturing the ground in the process and leaving many of the audience in shock.

"Woah, she's strong!"

"Yeah, she is incredibly strong."

"From what I've heard, she is Iminko and Jian's daughter, so what do you expect?"

"Well, would you look at that, folks!!" Trengal said, "This isn't a match, this is a domination and a very powerful one!!"

"Yo, what the...?" Cloud said with disbelief.

  Jagami lifts Xorian by the hair with one hand while staring at him with a stern demeanor.

"What was that you said, again?" Jagami asked, "You're going to pay for-"

Xorian interrupts as he quickly fires a red beam of flames from his fist towards Jagami which Jagami easily evades and punched Xorian in the belly, which caused him to cough out blood.

Jagami began to smack Xorian around with her fists and follows up her attacks with a kick to his side. Jagami quickly trips Xorian down with a leg sweep and immediately balances on her hands and performs a somersaulting double legged axe kick on his belly, causing him to cough out blood, again.

Jagami stared down at Xorian as he was groaning in pain while clutching his belly. Jagami swiftly kicks Xorian on the belly which raised him up in midair and quickly punched him on the face which sent him tumbling on the ground.

Xorian's body began to tremble as he struggled to stand on his feet while breathing heavily.

"Sajarat." Jagami said as she creates countless diamond fragments above her and fire them all at Xorian.

Xorian evades the first set and destroys the others by momentarily creating a flaming red barrier with a yell.

"Kuminitu." Jagami said as she raised her index finger, creates an enormous blue diamond sphere and sends it towards Xorian.

Xorian wastes no time in charging towards the sphere and destroys it with a punch.  Xorian charges towards Jagami with a battle cry and tries to punch her but Jagami appears behind him with her outstretched fist, leaving Xorian stunned.

"A thousand needle fists." Jagami said.

Xorian began to react to numerous invisible attacks and Jagami twirls and lands a powerful straight kick on Xorian's back which buried him face-first into the ground.

At the Chiefs center, the Chiefs were impressed with what they were witnessing in the arena.

"Not bad." Chief Tenya said.

"I would expect nothing less from her?" Chief Miza said, "After all, her parents do have a lot of feats and a massive reputation."

"I see..." Chief Ezgord said with his arms crossed, "Tell me, Chief Akuro, who are the parents to that boy? What are their feats and accomplishments?"

"Well, if I'm to be blunt, I'd say they are nobodies." Chief Akuro said, "They have no feats, no accomplishments, nothing that makes them stand out in our tribe but yet, that boy ... There is something about him tha-"

"It's a waste of time." Chief Miza cuts in, "Greatness and power runs in the blood. If being a nobody runs in your blood, then it's highly guaranteed that you and your grandchildren will be nobodies, as well."

"Blood doesn't always define a warrior." Chief Tenya said.

"Well, it defined me." Chief Miza said, "My parents were strong, my grandparents were strong and i was strong, long before i even defeated our Chief and took the title from him. What am i trying to say? That boy stands no chance against Jagami."

Back at the arena, as Xorian groans in pain while struggling to get up, he takes notice of Jagami raising her foot to stomp his head and quickly rolls over to evade it, leaving Jagami's foot to fracture the ground. Xorian immediately balances on his hands and attacks Jagami with a spinning kick but the kick barely fazed Jagami which left Xorian shocked again.

Jagami grabs hold of Xorian's ankle with one hand and slams him on the ground, creating a large crack in the process. Jagami began to spin Xorian around and slam him multiple times on the ground while still holding on to his ankle; Jagami draws Xorian towards her (while still holding his ankle) and lands a hardcore punch on his face which sent him bouncing on the ground.

"Rapomkenki." Jagami said within herself as she slams her palms on the ground, creating a flood of blue diamonds that instantly overtook Xorian and covered his entire body, leaving the crowd in wonder.

"Is it over?" Trengal asked within himself.

The blue diamonds suddenly froze up and shatters and Xorian immediately charges towards Jagami with a battle cry while having a red aura glowing around him.

"Moron." Jagami said within herself with a blank face.

Jagami slightly cups her hands and began to create a blue ball of light between them.

"Wow, so she even has good skills in aura manipulation, too." A Kenar man said within himself.

"Simirash." Jagami said as she releases the blue ball of light towards the charging Xorian.

A frozen barrier appears over Xorian and instantly shatters while Xorian continues charging towards Jagami with a battle cry.

"Alright then, have it your way!" Jagami said as she set her fist in a position to punch Xorian.

Jagami tries to punch Xorian but Xorian evades it and lands a powerful punch that sent Jagami rolling backwards. Jagami stabilizes herself but noticed blood flowing from her nose and lips which left many of the audience in shock.

"This is unbelievable!!" Trengal said, "Xorian's hits have truly connected and it made Jagami bleed!!!"

"You're joking, right?" Rish asked with a wide-eyed expression.

"Not bad." Cloud said with a smile.

"So you noticed, too?" Sting asked with a smile as his eyes rolls towards Cloud.

"It would seem that Xorian isn't as dense as everyone thought him to be." Pit said with her arms crossed.

"Very impressive." Yulin said with a smile, "Aside from Xorian being able to harm Jagami, another thing that caught me off guard is how he froze up Jagami's simirash technique. The simirash technique is a move that allows her to use her aura manipulation skills to make her blue diamonds invisible and create a barrier that restrict your movements but yet... He really is impressive. Isn't that right, Idjra?"

  Idjra's eyes rolls towards Yulin while having an expressionless demeanor on her face.

"What? Considering you've fought both Jagami and Xorian before..." Yulin said with a mischievous smile.

Idjra ignores Yulin and resumes staring down at the arena.

Back at the arena, Jagami wipes away the blood on her nose and lips and stares at Xorian with a stern demeanor.

"I see..." Jagami said within herself, "The moment he realized that his attacks can't harm me, he decided to fully focus on using his Kan ability of frostbite to drain the heat from all my blue diamonds."

"From my diamond wall..." Jagami said within herself as she recalls herself noticing a frozen part of the diamond wall that she kicked Xorian through, "Down to my Rapomkenki. I can even bet that the sphere i threw at him, he must have drained the heat out of it but gave us the impression that he shattered it with a punch. I looked down on him so much that i forgot his Kan ability gives him a boost in his physical capabilities from what he has drained the heat out of.

If I'm to defeat him then it must be with pure physical attacks, only. Which isn't a problem for me since I'm a better fighter and plus, he's still not my level. I am the daughter of Iminko and Jian, i will not allow myself to be defeated by a nobo-"

Jagami halts and stares in shock as Xorian shows her the middle finger while sticking out his tongue with a raised eyebrow, leaving many of the audience in shock as well.

"That's one heck of an attitude!!" Trengal said, "Xorian just showed Jagami the middle finger in a middle of a fight!!!"

Jagami's left eye began to twitch in anger while gritting her teeth as her irises glowed brighter.

"You... You bastard!" Jagami said, "How dare you!!!"

Jagami began to emit a powerful blazing aura that severed the ground.

"Don't get so cocky just because you managed to spill a few drops of blood!!" Jagami said, "I'm going to put you back in your place like the worthless worm that you are!!!!"

At the audience center, Jagami's parents stared down at the arena and smiled.

"That boy is done for." Iminko said, "Pissing off our Jagami like that, he's about to get what's coming to him."

"Yeah, he is." Jian said.

"Unfortunately, that's not gonna happen." A masculine voice said.

Jagami's parents turned to look at the person and sees a redhead Kenar man and a blonde Kenar woman.

"Our son isn't going to lose to your daughter." The redhead man said.

"Oh, i take it you are his father?" Iminko asked with grin.

"Xoran of the Kenar tribe and this is my wife, Galiel of the Kenar tribe." Xoran said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Xoran." Iminko said, "May i make a request? Since you seem so confident in your son, then why don't we make a bet between us fathers?"

"A bet?" Xoran asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, a bet." Iminko replied, "I'll give you 27 plots of land, 103 bulls and 45 bags of rubies, if Jagami loses."

"I don't have anything to reach that amount." Xoran said.

"Oh, i see... What a shame." Iminko said, "Okay, as a punishment for that little stunt your son pulled, if Xorian should lose to Jagami then he'll have to crawl underneath her legs as a dog, in front of all these people."

"What?! No!" Galiel said, "Why would we throw away our son's dignity just because of a-"

Xoran quickly raised his hand as a sign for Galiel to stop.

"Deal." Xoran said as his irises glowed brighter, "Just get prepared to lose that bet because there is no way in hell that our son would lose to your daughter."

Galiel stared in horror as the two men shook hands as a sign of agreement.

"Oh, i do love a challenge." Iminko said with an evil smirk as his irises glowed brighter.

Back at the arena, Jagami's hair and irises were covered with blue diamond along with her having blue eyelashes and her body being arrayed with blue diamonds as well.

"I am going to grind you to paste." Jagami said.

Xorian chuckled as he raised his fist while grinning.

"Bring it on!" Xorian said as his irises glowed brighter while emitting a red flaming streak.