Power show off
After knocking out Maro, Akira walks away, and Maro is taken down from the wall and brought for healing.
"What did he tell you that made you end the fight immediately?" Gamble asks.
Akira responds,
"The same thing as before." Kazoto and Elarina start to get a little afraid of Akira. After a short break, the referee resumes the tournament.
"So, it's time for the Block 3 fights. Maki Araha and Shuu Sunfire, please come to the ring." Gamble and Akira are surprised to hear another person with the surname Sunfire. Then Akira notices on the table that there are three competitors named
"Sunfire." Gamble thinks and says,
"Don't tell me they're all Aki's brothers." Akira shrugs and says,
"The world is strange... I guess." Meanwhile the fight begins. Shuu calmly avoids and blocks Maki's strikes, and she corners him at the edge of the arena. However when Shuu is at the edge of the arena, he redirects Maki's attack, causing her to fall out.
"The winner is Shuu!" Gamble stands up saying,
"Well, it's time for the heroes' duel," adjusting his shirt and walking to the arena.
"And now, the duel between Gamble Garrett and the Hero of the Bow, Elarina Nightshade!" As Gamble and Elarina enter the ring, Gamble yawns, which makes Elarina a little sad. When the referee starts the fight, Elarina creates a bow from shadows, and Gamble is slightly startled. "Well, this is interesting. No one reacts when a hero has a weapon," he says, creating a staff from light. Elarina shoots three arrows, but Gamble blocks them and shortens the staff to throw it. When Elarina dodges the staff, it starts to grow and hits her, and Gamble strikes her right in the face. The audience begins to boo at Gamble, but he ignores it and continues his attacks. However, Elarina creates a wall of shadows.
"As a source of light, I command you to strengthen my target. LIGHT BOOST," he says, and his right fist starts glowing with yellow light, easily destroying the shadow wall. But Elarina manages to dodge, and Gamble immediately casts a new spell,
"Wind Blade," creating a single slash of wind. The wind hits Elarina, pushing her almost to the edge of the arena. Gamble cancels the enhancement and says to Elarina,
"What's wrong... get up," then creates the staff again, but this time it's not glowing at all. It's just yellow and reflects light like gold. Gamble charges at Elarina, who creates smaller katanas from the ground to block Gamble's attacks. But he corners her at the edge of the arena and says,
"And you call yourself a hero?" Then he blows in her face, causing her to fall backward, losing the duel. Gamble dismisses his staff and walks away as Elarina tears up.
"Damn, are they really that weak?" Akira thinks to himself then notices Sara talking to Seraphina. Akira already knows something is up. When the arena is repaired, Akira, Kazoto, and Elarina start discussing spells, and in the meantime, the referee announces the next round.
"Kai Sunfire and Mai Shin, please come to the ring." When the competitors enter the ring, Akira and Gamble feel an incredibly heavy mana and look at Kai in fear. And when the referee wants to start the round, Mai collapses, showing no signs of life. She fainted from fear, and Kai silently leaves the arena and returns to the stands.
"What's with this guy?" Akira says, and Gamble replies,
"I don't know, but he emits more mana than Kaen when we first met him." After Mai is taken from the arena, the referee announces,
"Kai Sunfire wins due to Mai Shin's inability to fight. So, it's time for the Block 4 fights. Elarina Knifir and the Hero of the Axe, Seraphina Evans!" Akira pats Elarina on the shoulder and says,
"Just try your best," and she enters the arena, and Seraphina looks sad when she sees her. The fight begins, and Elarina takes a fighting stance as Seraphina slowly approaches and hugs her.
"I know you're suffering..." she says with a sad voice. Elarina, scared, pushes her away with dry mana, surprising Akira and Gamble. Kazoto shouts from the stands
"Pedophile!"
Akira and Gamble look at Kazoto, who simply continues watching. Elarina wants to attack Seraphina, but she stops her attack and says,
"You don't have to fight for them..." Surprised, Elarina takes advantage of her distraction and uses fire magic to ignite her hand, burning Seraphina. Seraphina almost immediately pushes Elarina out of the ring. Elarina didn't even feel the impact. This time, Seraphina looks at Akira and Gamble with an angry gaze, while they smile and wave at her jokingly. Elarina goes back to the back to change and heads to Kaen, who says,
"I also wanted to fight her. I wonder if she would show me the same mercy? I don't know, but I would have burned half her face by now." Aki laughs and says,
"But you know she practically doesn't feel pain, right?" Kaen's expression changes from laughter to fear. Meanwhile, the referee starts the next round.
"Let's begin the quarter-finals! This time, I ask the competitors Akira Izumi and Aria Sonson to come to the ring!" Akira, surprised, goes to the ring while Kazoto kicks him in the butt, saying,
"Break a leg, old man." Akira yells at Kazoto,
"I'M 21 YEARS OLD!" After entering the arena, Akira shouts to Kaen,
"Your master will avenge you, young one." Kaen blushes, and Aria asks,
"You have students?" Akira, rubbing his nose, says,
"Yes, I do." The fight begins, and instead of attacking, Akira jumps lightly. A surprised Aria takes a fighting stance as Akira starts to jump from foot to foot, moving his arms to warm up fully. Aria, confused, notices that in an instant, Akira is next to her and strikes, but she blocks it. Akira continues a series of attacks, and Aria blocks them effortlessly. However, when Akira performs one of his attacks, he vanishes. Aria immediately blocks behind her, but Akira disappears again. This happens a few times until he appears at the edge of the arena.
"Sixth technique of the Dragon Dance: Phantom Dance," he says, and then Aria receives a few invisible strikes. When she falls to her knees, Akira kicks her out of the arena. When Aria tries to get up, Akira helps her and says,
"To think that the master of the Eighteenth Fist got caught by this." Aria responds,
"And to think a lazy guy mastered the Sixth Dragon Dance," after which they bow to each other and return to the stands.
"I thought you would fight her longer," says Gamble. Akira replies,
"Just because she has nice breasts? No thanks." Kazoto chimes in,
"I told him it was strange too." Gamble yells at Kazoto for saying that when the referee announces the next fight,
"I invite Kazoto Arashi and Sonia Drascels to the ring!" As Kazoto heads to the arena, Akira kicks him in the butt. He falls down the stairs, and Akira yells,
"Break a leg, kid!" Kazoto and Sonia enter the arena as everyone cheers for Sonia.
"Don't hold back. Fight with all you've got," says Sonia. Kazoto activates Raigan and says,
"Don't worry. I don't intend to." The referee starts the fight, and Arashi charges at Sonia. She blocks his attacks and pushes him away, and he creates thunder shurikens in his hand, throwing them to the ground. Then he creates another and runs toward Sonia. She tries to hit him, but he dodges with a slide and plants the shuriken in her boot. When he stands, he forms a
"tora" (tiger) hand sign, causing the shurikens to explode one by one, injuring and paralyzing Sonia. As she tries to get up, Kazoto grabs her by the clothes and throws her out of the ring. Kazoto brushes off his hands bows and returns to the stands. When he sits Gamble says,
"You really lack delicacy," to which Kazoto replies,
"I still treated her gently. Not like Akira with that guy." Akira smiles, and Gamble mutters,
"Two jerks, found each other."
"Now I invite Shuu Sunfire and Gamble Garrett to the ring," announces the referee. Gamble stands up and says,
"If one of you hits me, you are gay," then heads to the arena, while the annoyed Akira and Kazoto say,
"Good luck." When Gamble and Shuu enter the ring, they both bow to each other respectfully and the referee starts the fight.
Gamble summons his shield with a bright shine. and then Gamble stomps on the ground and says,
"Let the heavens imprison my target. Heavenly Cage." A moment later, Shuu is trapped in a bright cage that gives him a mild shock when touched.
"So, that's how it is... I understand," says Shuu, and then the cage explodes from the flames Shuu releases as he attacks Gamble.
"May the demons protect my soul. A soul that will lead to the dissolution of the darkness that hinders my Sunfire strength!" After naming his spell, Shuu jumps back and shoots a small fireball from his fingers. Frightened, Gamble shouts,
"Protect everything at the cost of life! Shield Wall," and a yellow-green shield appears in front of him. The small fireball, upon hitting the shield, enlarges and slowly melts the shield. Kazoto in the stands asks,
"Why don't we feel the heat?" Akira replies,
"I'm not sure, but I think he cast the spell to only melt magical objects, so as not to endanger anyone." Kazoto seems to understand and returns to watching the battle, where Gamble begins sending mana into the shield to keep it from breaking as Shuu approaches from behind. But instead of a surprise, Gamble has a smile on his face. Turning his head to Shuu, he says
"Got you. First technique of the Dancing Dragon: Ryuuken!" Gamble forms his hands into a
"dragon's maw" and strikes Shuu, who manages to shield himself. The energy from the blow pushes Shuu to the edge of the ring. When the shield breaks, Gamble jumps back, and Shuu cancels the spell, quickly closing in on Gamble and hitting him in the stomach. Gamble wasn't prepared for such a swift counterattack, but he raises his hands and says,
"Let the heavens serve me once more! Heavenly Cage of Shields!" Small bright shields form around Gamble and Shuu, immobilizing Shuu. From the unexpected blow, Gamble falls to his knees and uses wind magic to push Shuu out of the arena. As Gamble stands up with slight pain, he gestures to deactivate the spell.
"I hope you have respect now," Shuu says, standing up and offering his hand to Gamble. Gamble surprised asks,
"How much respect do you have?" After shaking hands, Gamble returns to the contestants' stands while Shuu heads to the changing rooms.
"So, the winner is Gamble!" Back in the stands Gamble sits down and says,
"Why do hits to the stomach hurt so much?" Akira laughs and replies,
"Because you ate." Kazoto starts laughing, and the referee announces the next match.
"Now I invite the contestants Seraphina Evans and Kai Sunfire… please excuse me for a moment," he says, rushing to a man sitting near one of the entrances to the arena. After a moment, he returns and shouts,
"Seraphina, the Heroine of the Axe, wins by a forfeit!" Gamble, slightly irritated says,
"What's with that guy? He didn't even lift a finger during the fight." The referee continues,
"So we move directly to the match between Seraphina Evans and Akira Izumi! Please come to the ring." Akira, with a cold expression and clenched fist, says,
"Get ready because they're planning something," then heads to the ring. Seraphina barely restraining herself from attacking enters the ring. Seeing the calm Akira, she nearly loses control but holds back. When the referee starts the fight, neither of them moves to attack, and Seraphina shouts,
"Why?! Why do you exploit even children?!" Akira remains silent, and Seraphina turns to the audience, mainly addressing the king,
"Akira Izumi and Gamble Garrett exploit children. A half-fox and an elf girl for their sadistic whims. Even young Kazoto is used, and when he wanted to leave, they scarred his eye." Kazoto and Gamble can't stop laughing, while Aki and Elarina are embarrassed. Kaen and Hana look at each other, and Kaen asks,
"Are you being held here too?" Hana jokingly replies,
"Yes. My brother loves using me for his sadistic purposes," and they start laughing, while everyone around them looks strangely at Kaen, Elarina, and Kazoto. Then Akira shouts,
"And who told you that? That bitch who since I met her, wants to take everything from me?! The same bitch who ruined my best friend's reputation just to gain trust and deceive her father?!" Akira, with unbelievable anger, takes a step that makes the arena tremble and says, leaning slightly,
"Say whatever you want about me. I can be a worthless piece of trash." Akira's eyes start to glow a bloody red, and he shouts even louder,
"But try to say anything about my students... and I'll kill you!" he says, barely controlling himself. Seraphina, undeterred by Akira's words, continues,
"Dear King Drascels, I request that after my victory that these children will be freed from them. If this continues, they might become trash like them in the future." Hearing these words, Akira relaxes his tense muscles and mutters something under his breath. Seraphina turns around, and the king stands up, saying,
"Very well, you may use weapons, but no killing." Akira begins to emit an aura of blood-colored flames. When he raises his head, still muttering, he looks at Seraphina. Seraphina summons her axe but doesn't have time to grab it as Akira is already next to her, hitting her directly in the face. Delivering slow but powerful blows, Akira pushes Seraphina, who can't do anything, to the edge of the arena. When she's about to fall, Akira grabs her by the hair and brings her face close to his.
"Where do you think you're going? I said I'd kill you," he says, throwing Seraphina to the center of the arena. She quickly gets up, summons her axe again, and enlarges it, saying,
"Maybe you're strong," wiping the blood from her nose,
"but are you strong enou-" She can't finish as Akira hits her in the chest, causing her vision to blur.
"What's wrong? You're supposed to be so strong, but you can't beat a piece of trash?" Seraphina falls to her knees, spitting blood, and Akira kicks her in the face. When Seraphina falls, Akira picks her up and starts attacking her with a series of blows, shouting at her,
"What's wrong now?! You serve the princess like a dog! Come on, fight!" He keeps shouting until Gamble stops him, saying,
"That's enough, Akira." Seraphina, covered in blood, collapses on the ground, and Akira, dragged away by Gamble, shouts,
"I'm just a piece of trash! You can't even beat trash? HA?" Gamble knocks him out and carries him to the changing rooms. The king announces,
"Gamble Garrett and Akira Izumi are disqualified. Seraphina is unable to fight, which means Kazoto Arashi wins." Kazoto falls out of his chair, saying,
"See? They know who's the best." After the tournament and receiving his prize, Akira wakes up at the party. Confused, he asks Gamble, sitting next to him,
"What are we still doing here?" Gamble, finishing the cake, says,
"It's still a birthday party. About two more hours, and we can leave because Hana is complaining." Akira, wanting to scratch his leg, notices he's in his clothes and asks,
"Did you dress me?" Gamble nods while finishing the cake. Akira smiles slightly and says,
"I knew you were gay," and gets hit on the head by Gamble, who continues eating the cake. However, they notice Maro Sunfire approaching them angrily. As Maro is about to say something, he attacks Akira, but Kai stops him from behind, saying,
"I told you to calm down." Maro, insulted, pulls his hand away and steps back, while an older man appears from behind him, saying,
"Are you Akira?" Akira nods, and the man sees Aki, who is terrified at the sight of him.
"You weren't supposed to show up here, bitch," he says. Aki apologizes, bowing, and tries to leave, but Kaen and Kazoto stop her, saying, "Akira said you'd come, so don't run away." Kaen smiles, waiting for the situation to unfold. Akira, changing his tone, asks,
"And why is that?" The man replies,
"Because she's a disgrace to the Sunfire clan." Angered, Akira stands up and tries to hit the man, but Kai blocks him with a finger.
"Please, no aggression. I'll take care of him, Akira. Father, enough. We're leaving," Kai says, taking his father and brother away while Akira starts breathing heavily in the background. This worries Gamble, who asks if everything is alright. Akira, scared, replies,
"I'm going home. If you want, you can stay."
"We're going too," says Kaen, and Gamble, finally finishing his third piece of cake, says,
"So I guess we're leaving now." As they leave, Akira is still frightened, and Gamble is worried that Akira is scared of a man not much older than him but wasn't afraid of a three-meter-tall demon.
"By the way, I didn't tell you," says Gamble, and Akira asks,
"Tell me what?" Gamble explains an important piece of information that Akira missed since he woke up,
"Kaido isn't from the royal family and never had that special ability Giene talked about." Akira, surprised, asks,
"So why did she tell us that?"
"To set us up against him. Even Aki fought herself to send us to him," Gamble says seriously. Akira holds his head, saying,
"Too much. Wait, and those who attacked Elarina? They had a wolf symbol." Elarina says,
"Coincidence." Aki nods, and Akira asks, puzzled,
"But why did she send us after him?" Gamble replies with a smile, quoting Giene,
"Because he stole my food." Akira holds his head and shouts,
"Why is everything so complicated?" Everyone starts laughing, while a man in a mint-green haori watches them from a distance, talking to a crow on his shoulder,
"The new sage and bearer of Seraume are within my reach." The crow responds,
"Follow and observe them." The man replies,
"Yes, sir," and jumps onto a tree.