52 Tidal Wave Domain

"S-so what…?" Ruth raised her voice. "If your level wasn't so much higher than mine...my strength and speed as they are now would be more than enough to beat you! Who cares if my magic is lackluster? My entire family's combat is based on melee, it's tradition and we've done just fine without a whole bunch of magic!"

"Perhaps you'd be correct if we weren't living in this present," responded Edward, his index and middle fingers still before the middle of his forehead. "400 years ago, before the Missing History, a melee tactic such as yours would've been perfectly acceptable. You could even argue that it would be effective against those in your own range of levels even today. However, magic in this era has become quite the fearsome concept, indeed. There are spells where mere strength and speed are rendered useless and one must rely on tactics other than the latter two."

He furrowed his eyebrows and gave a wide grin.

"For instance…"

"Ngh!?" Ruth's breath stopped short for a moment.

Fangirls all around the stadium cheered Edward's name and begged to be noticed by him, but other than that, it was quiet. Eerily quiet as no one attempted to make a peep. Perhaps it was out of respect for the art of battle, or maybe it was just coincidence. The other enlisted fighters taking place in the bracket round paid attention to Edward and all of his movements as he would prove to be an extremely difficult opponent to face in the future. All, of course, except for Kiyoshi Lionheart.

A subtle rumbling that became loud and shook the earth beneath many peoples' feet awakened like a sleeping giant. Edward's hair and clothes swayed gently as he continued to smirk and give Ruth a cheeky look, to which she responded to one of absolute shock.

"Wh-what's that sound…!?" she inquired with sweat dripping down her cheek, missing the blood that ran from her nose and lip. As if she'd only just then noticed the pain, she put a hand over her busted nose and grunted whilst still glancing all around.

"Water Art: Tidal Wave Domain." Edward recited.

Soon, the rumbling sound turned one to rushing water as said liquid matter formed from the grass surrounding the ring. It shot upwards like a waterfall in reverse with a great speed, considering how large the arena was, and formed a water dome around the entire ring. The water ran around quickly in all directions but maintained its perfect dome shape.

"Ah…!!" Ruth's jaw dropped and her eyes widened as she looked all around her.

She could see nothing but water.

It completely disallowed any of the spectators to see in nor did it allow anyone inside the water dome to see outside of it.

"What is this!? What the hell is this spell!?" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Inside the dome, the only ambient sound that existed was muffled rushing water. Her voice somehow bounced off the dome and reverberated. It was as if the two in the middle were completely alone, the only two people to ever exist in this world.

"Ms. Ricard…" Edward began.

Ruth gasped as he called her name. She looked at him one final time and noticed that he'd stopped smiling and his eyes were shut as if he was focusing. His face was completely relaxed, but it had more of a serious look to it. Finally, he slowly opened his eyes once more and gave her the most sincere look she'd ever seen.

"I shall give you only a single chance," he said calmly. "There is a sufficient amount of open space around the ring where you can touch the ground. I highly advise that you surrender."

***

"Holy hell!!" Nakayama screamed, though his voice was almost overshadowed by the overwhelming sound of rushing and crashing water in the stadium. It was as if they were standing in the midst of a tidal wave, it was so loud. "What the hell kind of spell is that!? You can't see a damn thing!"

"Woaaaahh!!" Kiyomi yelled, cocking his body backward and shielding himself from the wind.

"Ngh…!" Chiaki grunted, shielding his eyes a bit with his arm and gritting his teeth. "Damn it...I've never...seen a spell as potent as this…!"

"K-Kiyomi…! I-I'm scared…!" Koko announced weakly as he wrapped his petite little arms around Kiyomi's torso.

"Is this really how powerful a sophomore from Class A is!?" Nakayama said to himself. "If he had used this spell during the elimination round, he might've been able to knock everyone off all at once…!"

As he continued to try and shield himself from the intense wind being produced by the Tidal Wave Domain spell, he slowly turned around to see the reaction of Yasuko. As his eyes finally got a glance at the cool blonde femboy, he saw a reaction that shouldn't have surprised him.

Yasuko's hair was being insanely blown back just like everyone else's, however, his face did not represent anything akin to surprise. His face was completely stale as it had always been. Though, perhaps that wasn't entirely true, as his eyes were narrowed either because of the wind or because he was trying to study Edward's technique.

Nakayama hummed to himself while looking at Yasuko's somewhat strange reaction and then turned back.

It took about a minute, but the wind died down greatly. The blaring rushing water eased up and the sound became similar to a lake water ambiance as opposed to an ocean's. Then, the dome immediately dissipated, the water essentially going in reverse and returning back to the grass from which it originated. It did so as if time itself was being rewound and a suction sound emanated from it as if someone was sucking in air through their lips.

The water was completely gone. No one made a sound, not even the annoying fangirls who were just dying for the handsome Edward Quill to pay them the slightest bit of attention, though that probably would've been uglier than the blow that Edward had dealt to Ruth's face not too long ago.

Nakayama looked down at the ring. He was finally able to breathe normally again since the wind wasn't bashing itself up against his mouth and nostrils. As his attention was brought back to the ring, the scene itself hadn't seemed to change that much.

At least...their locations hadn't changed.

The two were still in the exact same spot, Edward still standing with his two fingers up against the center of his forehead. Ruth was still standing a few dozen meters away, though, this time, she was hunched over even more. Her hair was messy, her clothes were torn heavily, and her body was riddled with bruises and scratches, though the most significant difference was that she was covered in blood seeping from her seemingly endless amounts of wounds. Perhaps it wasn't a deadly amount of red liquid, but it was enough to cause concern.

The crowd gasped when they saw her. If Nakayama was being honest with himself, he half believed that she stood there as a corpse. That wasn't the case, but she certainly looked like a fresh kill waiting to be turned into a zombie.

She stood there just barely huffing. Her T-shirt was ripped, so the bottom half of her torso was revealed, her naval completely visible, and the bottom part of her sports bra was visible as well. Edward stood there without a smile. He, too, was likely concerned for her well-being, though he had no place caring for his opponent currently. He probably made sure that his attacks weren't fatal, but he definitely knew what pain he was putting her through.

After all, he'd told her to "give up" even before he'd completely launched his spell.

"Haaahhh...haaahhh…" Ruth's breaths gently, but barely, seeped from the corners of her mouth, her head lowered and looking at the ground. It was questionable whether or not she was even conscious. Her nose was busted, her face and hair covered in her own blood. Even her ponytail was undone, leaving her looking like some kind of homeless person after an intense brawl for food, and then some.

"Hmm...well...you're still standing, Class B, Ms. Ruth Ricard," Edward said calmly, his smirk slowly forming on his face. He lowered his two fingers and held his hands by his sides before spreading his feet far apart and putting those hands on his knees in preparation of something. "You managed to withstand my Tidal Wave Domain, I see. Extraordinarily honorable. In that case, I shall reward you with my ace in the hole."

He opened his palms and held them outward, one above his head and the other below his crotch. It looked as if he was about to catch a large ball of some sort.

"Feast your eyes upon---"

Her body hit the floor, the impact making Edward's shoulders jump a little in response.

"Ngh?" he grunted, still holding his stance.

…

"I-Is...is that it?" the announcer spoke into the microphone with a dumbfounded tone of voice. It sounded as if he'd just seen a ghost, though Edward's technique wasn't too far from it. "She's not moving...I think she's out cold…!"

Edward returned to his normal posture and stuck a hand in his pocket before turning his back to his fallen opponent.

"You were powerful. However, for your own sake, reconsider the placement of your attribute points...and come back to face me another day."

"That's it, folks! Edward Quill of Class A is the victor! He will move on to the next round! Medics, please get Ms. Ruth Ricard treated immediately!"

The crowd, although dumbfounded with silence at first, let out yelps and cries of astonishment as they cheered for both the victor and the loser.