A Press Reporter, In the Heavens?!

The overall shape of the bracket was mostly normal, except with 10 Winners Round 3 and 16 Winners Round 2 seeds, the number of matches went 32-24-16, with a single match between Winners Round 2 and 3, and another between Losers Round 3 and 4. The 11th ranked seed was actually seeded into this "Round 2 ½." An arrangement like this would never have worked in the Dive Game pro leagues, but in this tournament, every win added to a sect's prestige, so most welcomed the potential chance for an extra one.

"Excuse me!" The new voice speaking up was accompanied by hurried footsteps coming in our direction. My guard went up, then relaxed as I saw they were in the garb of an Outer Disciple of Earth Ascension. "Ah, we already have our copies of the bracket, thank you."