Quartz smiled slightly as the healers reached them. One of them healed the bruises on Quartz. Another healer with long blue hair moved toward Munashii, but he shook his head, flashing her a warm smile. “No need for that.” He then waved to the crowd, and proceeded back to the stands, his wounds bleeding slightly.
“What a great fight.” David said, receiving a hearty cheer from the crowd.
Canopus was itching to fight Munashii. Quartz had not been a weakling, but the silver haired man had very nearly crushed her once he had caught her. But the way the ladder fell, it would be several rounds until he got the chance.
The next battle left Azure, a saska, the winner, and the fight after that a 7-foot tall green skinned lizard. Then it was Dirk’s turn to head down to the arena. A young girl stood waiting for him, wearing a red seaweed skirt and a top consisting mostly of two purple shells.
David raised his hands. “Both combatants ready? Then fight!” He backflipped off of the arena.
Dirk stood stoically and watched as Perl smiled wide and placed her hands together. “I was hoping for a water environment to start with, but I guess I’ll have to create one. I summon thee, great Ebonark!” As she finished speaking she drew her hands apart with a swift action and a magic circle sprung up in front of her.
Deciding he had listened to enough he ran toward the small summoner. She was so intent on the spell she was casting that she didn’t notice Dirk until he was almost on top of her, which is a feat considering how large Dirk is. On seeing him, Perl panicked, ducked and gestured wildly, invoking the first spell that came to mind. A thin puddle of water stretched out a few feet in every direction. Sure, that may not seem like much, but in the right situation any attack can be devastating. As it was, not only did Dirk’s kick sail cleaning over Perl’s head, but when his other foot hit the ground he slipped on the water and fell flat on his back.
From his position he could see the summoning circle had not disappeared during his interruption, and in fact he was just in time to see a large black-skinned creature dive out. It spun around, seeming to need no time to be disoriented, and hissed at Dirk.
The advisor rolled away before returning to a standard upright battle stance, keeping most of his attention on the summoned threat. Perl now stood a healthy distance away at the other side of the arena, smiling confidently.
The summoned lizard seemed to swim through the air as if it were water, and it did that, swiftly and directly toward Dirk. Acting on practiced techniques, Dirk spun around and knocked the creature back with a well-placed roundhouse kick. The creature flopped against the stone a few times before a blast of water erupted from its mouth. Dirk jumped back, crossing his arms in an X-shame in front of his body and ducking slightly, bracing himself for the impact.
When the water hit him, he didn’t even flinch. However, his advice to the other had been to hide what powers they had until later rounds, so he sunk to one knee and feigned intense concentration on his blocking.
So convincing was his acting that Perl approached from her distant position, a spell being cast between her hands. She was probably hoping to catch him on his unguarded side, but she did not notice what Dirk could see even through sunglasses – that she was gradually getting closer to the puddle she had made, which was one of the few places in the arena on which Dirk had stepped.
The moment that Perl’s bare foot touched the puddle, Dirk triggered one of his most useful magic abilities, which was the power to teleport to any place he had already been. In a flash of green fire, he was suddenly gone from the receiving end of the torrent, and with another flash, he was standing one foot in front of Perl and a little to the side.
As he expected, she jumped out of surprise and let go of her magic spell, which left the front of her body exposed. Dirk pushed an uppercut into her stomach. The young girl doubled over and fell down, making it very easy for Dirk to pick her up, carry her to the edge of the arena, and gently drop her to the grass.
David raised his hand. “Knockout! Winner, Dirk Dareklite!”
Suddenly there was a resounding growl and Dirk whirled around, bringing up his hands to ward off the black lizard which was charging him. And then the creature slammed into an invisible wall.
“No, no, no, little fishy thing. Your master has been defeated.”
Dirk looked to see David holding out his hand and wagging his other finger. The creature growled, but seemed to be surrounded by a force cage out of which it couldn’t get. The healers were tending to Perl who stood up and called off the black lizard. It faded back into the summoning circle and Dirk finally relaxed.
David shrugged in Dirk’s direction before turning back to the crowd.
“And now ladies and gentlemen, we will be giving you a nice 30 minute break for lunch. If you haven’t fought yet, keep that meal small so it doesn’t hinder your ability. We will return with battle 17, Valorie Sterling versus Travis Dulean, followed by Gwendolyn Sapphira versus Kristin Hammermill, and then Akira Misahi versus Penelope Wright. Don’t be late, now get out of here.”
Dirk made his way back toward the stands as the group came to meet him. Kaye pulled the copious amount of water from his clothes and hair. He thanked her.
“Is 30 minutes really long enough for lunch?” Josh asked. “I mean there’s only the one restaurant.”
“Fighters have preference.” Dirk replied. “We get a seat no matter what, since the spectators don’t really have to be back in thirty minutes.”
“I don’t think I can eat.” Kaye said. “I’m so nervous.”
“Well you didn’t have to fight in the first half.” Kyanosa grinned.
“You’re just happy cause your fight’s over.”
“Yep.”
