Book 2 - Chapter 78

"Ladies and.. gentlemen, welcome welcome welcome.. to This Week Today's Tournament. My name is Oliver and I see a lot of you had purchased the seat upgrade which I promise that you won't be disappointed! We have exciting combatants today that will definitely knock you out of your seat! Now sit back and relax as our combatants prepare themselves for your entertainment!" announced the speaker.

I was sitting in the exact same waiting room as yesterday with Rose. I was wondering whether I should proceed to head to the arena but one of Peter's subordinate told me to just sit down and relax. There will be other entertaining performances before my final fight with the Elemental Ice Queen. And besides, my opponent was still busy getting herself ready. Hm, sounds like her alright. She spends time putting her face on often. Not sure why she would need to do that when she is already the most beautiful elf with her natural beauty. Perhaps to the members of her own race, she is not.

We started seeing performance of all sorts from cultural dances to martial arts. What a tactic to drag out the main event and persuade people to purchase more food and beverages. I am not really complaining but the longer this drags on, the more nervous I get. Damn it, how much longer do I need to wait until the fight begins?

Rose saw that I was restless and held my hand. She smiled at me attempting to calm me and rested her head on my shoulder. I hugged her and started petting her head. Hang on, who is calming who now? But the very act of stroking her hair and her familiar smell calms me somehow. It is always intimate moments like this that is the most memorable in my opinion.

We heard a knock on the door and a cough. I turned my attention to who it was and it was an escort who gestured me to follow her. I guess it is time for me take the stage. I gave Rose one last hug and made my way to the arena with the help of the escort. Without her, I would had gotten lost. Such is the size of the colosseum that I am fighting in.

I reached the entrance of the arena and the escort told me to wait here. No doubt we are expecting for the announcer to give my introduction first before I show myself. Why am I so nervous? It doesn't really matter if I win or lose anyway. But strangely my hands are shaking. Is it from excitement or am I just so nervous? I don't understand what is going on with myself right now. Gotta start taking deep breathes to calm myself.

The escort noticed that I was restless and asked if I needed a drink. I told her I'll be fine and will live through it. The waiting period is killing me with anxiety. It was then that I heard the soft pitter-patter of footsteps running closer towards my location. Before I turn to see who it was, I knew in my heart that it was Daisy. Rose had brought her here to calm my nerves. She reached out her arms wanting me to carry her which I obliged. She gave me a hug and asked me to win the tournament for her. I gave her a kiss on the forehead and promised her that I will do my best to win. Who knew the best way to get rid of nervousness is to have an adorable daughter to shower you with love.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the moment that you all are waiting for is finally here! Are you all excited? I sure am. Our contestant for today is the winner who won yesterday's match. The fourth member of the great powers who decided to sneakily participate in the tournament. You all know him by his title, but did you all know about his undercover name? Put your hands together, to the one, the only, Soong Jean-Wuu!!" shouted Oliver.

Geez, do you really have to insult my fake name like that? I placed Daisy down and adjusted my mask to cover my face. I gave Rose a nod before heading out to which she replied with a nod of her own and a smile. As I walked out of the entrance, the escort wished me best of luck and I thanked her for it.

The crowds were wild today as I was greeted by waves of cheers, completely opposite to the welcome I had yesterday. As I made my way to the arena zone, I waved to the crowds and bowed in thanks for their support and encouragements. I am always grateful for the people here who accepted me when I was hunted by the Demon Queen many years ago.

The crowds went silent when Oliver brought the loudspeaker closer to his mouth. It would seemed that the crowds are aware about the identity of my opponent. I held my breath as he made his announcement.

"Facing our handsome chad over here, is an undefeated Queen that arrived in this shores about 5 years ago. She is known for her beauty where some might say… me gusta. But she is also known for her brutal tenacity towards her opponents, pounding them into the abyss. With beauty and brawn, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, our beloved champion of the West, the Elemental ICE QUEEN!" he shouted.

She walked into the stage gracefully while appearing to be in good mood. It seems like she had grown her ponytail even longer than before. She looked at me with her emerald eyes that sparkles in the dark against the moonlight, her perfect body that would make any men drool in her very presence. She was not wearing her glasses which she usually swapped them for her contacts. And she is still wearing an outfit that exposes her stomach area. When will she learn?

As she stood opposite me inside the arena zone, I knew full well who she was. Underneath my mask, I realised I was smiling awkwardly at her. She was the one that stole my heart before I met Rose and I am certain my heart still flutters in her presence. I was genuinely surprised when I realised that she was still wearing the bracelet that I bought for her a long time ago. Lily Moonshine, my first crush, female friend and resurrector. Perhaps Rose was right, maybe she could not forget about me as long as I am alive.

She smashed her fist together which was not her usual steel gauntlets that she used to brawl with. All she was wearing is a white half leather gloves that exposes her fingers. There is barely any protection on that glove, will she be alright?

It took her a while to notice who she was looking at and she tilted her head. I was certain she mouthed the word "Zen?" when she realised who she was looking at. I placed my index finger on where my mouth would be in front of the mask and shook it left and right. I wanted her to not fight me as Zen but as Soong Jean-Wuu. She understood my intention and smirked.

The both of us readied our stance. Being a brawler, she will be fighting using unarmed combat techniques. A brawler that fights exclusively in close combat. No doubt Peter had a lot of fighting techniques beaten into her as he is also an unarmed fighter himself. I would have to assume that I am fighting a lesser version of Peter himself which means I will need to be careful. But I am not in a rush to start using my weapons just yet. Let us see who has the better unarmed techniques taught by the very same teacher.

Before Oliver even announced "Begin", Lily rushed in close to me and delivered a right jab, aiming towards my mask. I moved my head aside and was met with her leg. She kicked me with her left leg which I managed to block in time with both of my arms but I was sent flying a couple of metres away. My arms were shaking from the impact of her kick which felt extremely heavy. She used momentum and her full body weight to deliver her kick. It would seemed that she had perfected her fighting technique under the guidance of Peter. I certainly need to be careful should I wish to continue brawling with her if I do not want to have my bones broken.

"W.. what am I still doing here? Begin, begin now!" shouted Oliver as he rushed out of the arena.

I breathed deeply. To counter heavy attacks, I will have to guide her attacks away from me or using to damage herself. What better way to use the water style, Liu He Ba Fa for this purpose. I changed my stance to water style and Lily smirked at me with a "Fu fu" remark. I got to be like water if I were to counter her attacks.

Her response to my stance was to use tiger style. I was confused and intrigued by her choices. Is she telling me that even if she is using a style that is directly opposite my mine, she is still able to win? How cocky she had gotten. Definitely deserves some spanking.

She leaped at me, bringing her hand in the form of a claw towards my mask. Boy, she really intends to break my mask. I guided her attack aside and deliver a casual leg sweep to her left leg to break her balance. She immediately lifted her leg and delivered a knee strike towards my left side. I used both of my palms to block her attack but it still sent me flying backwards again. Geez, she is not holding her punches at all.

Once again she came on the offence and started attacking me with ferocity. I avoided or countered her attacks but being an elf meant that she was flexible and light which she uses it to her advantage to avoid my attacks. No wonder she was confident that she counter my fighting style despite using strong aggressive attacks. She continued her attacks but at some point, she realised that neither of us were able to overpower the other. I was surprised that I am good enough to be on par with her using unarmed techniques. I was certain that she would had overpowered me a long time ago as I trained using unarmed techniques as my backup combat style in the event I do not have any weapons with me.

I smirked and perhaps she heard my "Heh" under my mask as she started sneering upon hearing it. Never underestimate the hearing of elves. She dropped her guard and started approaching me nonchalantly. What is she planning to do? I kept my guard when she suddenly leaped into the air. I was expecting her to deliver a flying kick at me or something but to my surprise, she did a backflip and went over my head.

Shit, she is right behind me now. I thought she was going for my weak spots but to my surprise, I felt her back leaning against my back. What is she doing? How is she going to attack me if we are both facing the opposite way? We aren't covering each other's back right now.

"It's been a while," she whispered.

I felt her move and instinctively moved my palm to block her elbow strike to my mask. It was purely my intuition that I predicted her move as I couldn't see what she is planning to do. I leaped away to put some distance from her. Huh? Where did she go? I peeked behind and she was still right behind me. She is mimicking my movements and is preventing me from seeing what she is doing. Fine, two can play in that game.

I delivered an elbow strike of my own which she blocked with her palm. I was surprised when I saw her eyes were closed. Is she predicting my movements based on my muscle movements? When did she learn such an advanced technique? There is no style that I know which is able to combat someone who is behind you. Well, there are some but those techniques are brutal and I doubt she is going to let me grab her neck from the back.

Running out of options to counter her, she started attacking me at the few spots that she can reach. My head, sides and legs. I blocked a couple of them but she kicked my knee which caused me to fall forward. She took the opportunity to rush at me to break my mask. But crouching low, I had some advantage to deliver an upwards strike. We traded blows. Her right hand went for a jab which smashed my mask while her left hand blocked my upwards palm strike going for her chin. She thought she had me but realised my left palm was on her stomach.

I sent her flying with a palm strike but she performed a flip that stopped her momentum. Geez, she is really athletic and flexible now. I wish I can be 'that' flexible.

"You can't beat me in unarmed combat, Zen. C'mon, show me Inazuma. I bet he is itching for a fight," she smirked and curled her index finger at me.

I adjusted my stance and body. No painful injuries so far, I can still face her using unarmed combat but let's make things harder for her since she had gotten so arrogant now. I raised both of my hands in front of me. With a flick of the wrist, I summoned my gauntlets. Let's see how well she fares against them.