11 Chapter 10 [Special Chapter]
||3rd POV||
"Begin!"
And immediately, Ariella and her opponent dashed straight for each other.
Once at an appropriate distance from Ariella, the opponent swung his staff straight for her head.
Ariella, seeing his attack, immediately bent down to dodge his swing, just narrowly dodging it.
When the attack finally passed over her head, she bolted straight back for her opponent and sent a kick towards his torso.
The opponent seeing how close Ariella was to hitting him, quickly brought back his swung staff and placed it just where Ariella's attack was gonna land.
As if predicting what he was gonna do, Ariella quickly changed the direction of her feet just when it was second away from hitting the staff and immediately directed it to her opponents chin.
!!
*BANG*
And just like that, the opponent was struck right under the chin, causing him to be lifted up from his feet and sent spiraling back.
'Ugh!!'
The opponent thought as he was assaulted with the immense pain of being stuck in the chin and the pain of his neck suddenly being snapped back.
*OHHHHH!!*
The crowd roared at the magnificent display of experience and battle knowledge.
Actually, Ariella wasn't always so knowledgeable and good with fighting so how is it that she's suddenly so knowledgeable at fighting?
Simple, Lor is the cause for this.
During the time when Lor and Ariella were talking and conversing about different topics and subjects, One of them had been about fighting and Lor gave her one or two tips when fighting.
Ariella had brought up the subject of Lor being so good at fighting and just how he was capable of beating his opponents despite being so much younger than them.
She asked him how he was capable of doing that and Lor decided to share a bit of his experience when it comes to fighting.
He taught her how to trick your opponent into thinking they had figured out where you were gonna hit and just when they least expect it, you hit them in a completely different spot.
This was something Lor had learned in one of his training sessions in the training simulator.
Lor, just in case he met someone as skilled as him one day or even more skilled, decided that he'll create strategies or counter measures in order to come out on top.
And although, he knew it was useless creating such counter measures or strategies due to the fact that his [Superior Reactive Adaptation and Evolution] Ability would be more than enough to destroy any opponent out there and the fact that with his [Extreme Talent] ability, he'll rarely meet any opponent as skilled or even more skilled than him, chose to still create them just for safety measures.
It's DC, and although it's just the Young Justice universe plus the fact that Lor has absolute faith in his abilities, only God knows what's out there.
Although the chances of Lor meeting a being that could give him trouble despite having such Overpowered abilities are minuscule, he still chose to create these 'tricks' or 'counter measures' that'll help him should he need them in better surviving against these beings.
Though he doubts these little counter measures and tricks will help him if even his overpowered abilities can't do anything.
Lor only revealed a bit of his experiences to her after talking with her for so long and getting to know just how her mind generally works.
The girl was very similar to Kara but also very different at the same time.
Kara was a shy girl with a compassionate heart while Ariella was a confident girl with a kind but ruthless heart.
So similar yet so different.
Anyways, Lor taught her a bit and just how to trick your opponent. He also told her this trick won't work on people with a large amount of battle experience or high battle instinct.
But since she's going against kids who hadn't even left their comfort zone or faced a large amount of enemies then this trick would be more than enough to beat them.
But that still doesn't completely explain how she's capable of using the trick.
Well, Ariella being able to use the trick despite just learning it was the result of a skill.
The [Teaching] Skill to be precise but that's not important now.
Just know Ariella is capable of using what Lor taught her recently due to the skill and Ariella being naturally talented.
Back to the match, the opponent landed harshly on the ground while still groaning in pain at Ariella's vicious attack.
Just as he was struggling to stand up, Ariella suddenly appeared beside him and sent a kick towards his ribs.
!
The opponent's eyes bulged at the sudden appearance of Ariella and quickly rolled away to get out of the range of her attack.
Unfortunately for him, Ariella only had to increase the range of her attack to hit him since he didn't have enough time to get far away from her.
*BANG*
"Ughh!!"
He was struck hard in the side, causing him to shout out in pain and his body to lift up from the ground and be pushed away towards the side of the stage.
*CRASH*
The opponent landed once again on the ground harshly and gasped in pain. He quickly tried his best to get up since his opponent will definitely use his current predicament against him.
*SWOOSH*
And just like he expected, Ariella had indeed pressed on and was using her current advantage against him as much as she could.
She punched down towards his face at a fast speed and just when it seemed like it was gonna hit, the opponent quickly rolled out of the way, causing the technological advanced gauntlet to strike the ground.
*BOOM*
The force caused a vibration to appear from where her fist had landed and spread across the entire stage like a wave.
The opponent immediately used this chance he had to get back to his feet and immediately make some distance between him and Ariella.
He immediately looked around for his staff but seeing that it was far away from him, he knew that wouldn't be able to reach it on time before Ariella starts bombarding him with attacks.
He released an annoyed sigh before raising his fists and getting in a basic stance for hand to hand combat.
'Hand's it is then.'
He thought as he watched Ariella stand up from her former punching position.
"Tsk"
Ariella stood up while clicking her tongue at the missed opportunity to take down her opponent.
Now that her opponent is ready and more prepared for her attacks then it just means that she'll have a harder chance of beating him.
'I'll just have to do my best then.'
She thought as she turned around to her opponents direction only to see him charging straight for her, fists raised and ready to engage in combat with Ariella.
'Maybe there is a chance to beat him without sustaining too much injury.'
She thought as she ducked under his swing and performed a backflip to dodge the leg sweep from her opponent.
When she landed, she immediately dashed straight for her opponent and sent a punch towards his face.
Her opponent directed her attack to side and proceeded to send a palm towards her chest.
Ariella, seeing the attack, immediately used her free hand to slam down on his hand, stopping it from hitting its target.
*CRACK*
"Ahhh!!"
The sound of bone breaking echoed across the arena followed by a painful scream.
The opponent's hand was hit directly by Ariella's gauntlet and since it had no protection against the gauntlet except its own skin, it directly broke.
"Ugh!!"
The opponent staggered back as he held his now broken arm while groaning in pain.
He looked at his arm and figured it was out of the fight for now.
His gritted his teeth as he stared back at Ariella with absolute rage.
"How could you break my arm?! Did you really have to be so cruel?!!"
He yelled in rage as he looked towards the still stoic Ariella for an answer.
"The moment you walked on this stage, you should have been prepared for injuries like this. We're soldiers not sheltered children. If you can't even handle something like this then you might as well quit being a soldier and live a pampered but worthless life in your caged home."
Ariella said as she looked at her opponent with cold eyes.
!
The opponent was shocked and took a step back at the unexpected answer from Ariella.
He expected an apology and a look of regret on her face for what she had done but what she just said had completely exceeded his expectations.
The adults and soldiers watching this fight also nodded their heads in agreement at what she said.
Indeed, such injuries are to be expected when going on missions and currently, the military guild isn't raising spoiled children who expect things to be easy for them but capable and trained soldiers who'll give their lives for their planet.
If you can't even handle something as meaningless as a broken arm then you might as well quit because when you finally join the military guild for training, a broken limb would be the least of your worries.
*OHHHHH!!*
The audience cheered in respect and awe at what the young future soldier just said. They were happy to see that the quality of soldiers protecting them hadn't dropped at all and that there were even more capable soldiers being added to their ranks.
All in all, it just means their lives are in good hands.
"Tch"
The opponent clicked his tongue at the crowds support for his enemy and angrily kept the words that were about to spill out to himself.
He kept walking back as he constantly tried to come up to solution for his predicament. He needed something to win this fight and one hand isn't gonna help him at all in that.
His eyes turned towards the staff laying on the floor not too far from him and inwardly decided to go for it.
!
Ariella picked up on what he was planning but just when she was about to rush towards him to stop him, he immediately bolted straight for the staff.
"Oh no you don't!"
She yelled as she rushed straight for him. Unfortunately, she was too slow and by the time she finally reached him, the opponent had already grabbed the staff with his working hand and immediately thrusted it towards her gut, wanting to use the momentum she built up trying to reach him against her.
Ariella twisted her body to the side just right when she was about to be hit by the staff, causing her to narrowly dodge the cunning attack.
Her opponent didn't let up and immediately swung his staff towards her head, trying to deal her a devastating blow.
Ariella brought up her armored hand to the side of her head just in time to block the deadly attack.
*BANG*
The staff hit the gauntlet, creating a loud sound from the impact. The opponent then immediately brought back his staff and swung it to the other side of Ariella, right where her ribs are.
*BAM*
"Ugh!"
The attack slammed into her ribs and sent her flying towards the side of the stage. She crashed down, tumbling and rolling before coming to a stop.
"Ugh."
She groaned in pain as she stood up before falling back to her knees while clutching her side in pain.
She turned towards her opponent only to find him already upon her and swinging his staff towards her head.
She looked at the staff heading for her face before raising her hand and catching it mid air, stopping its trajectory and preventing her head from getting hit.
*BANG*
A loud sound erupted from the collision between the two forces as the opponent stared in shock at what just happened before his eyes.
The audience that were also watching, the excitement of the ferocious fight keeping them on their toes, were also shocked.
The girl just caught a technological advanced staff that was known for its strength like it was nothing.
The audience was extremely baffled while the adults just nodded their heads in acknowledgement at the girl's mighty strength.
It was quite clear she had trained a lot in her physical strength and coupled with the advanced gauntlet on her hands, doing something like what she just did isn't out of the picture at all.
Ariella's eyes brimmed with anger as she stared at the opponent who managed to hurt her so badly. She wasn't complaining or mad about him being so brutal but she was upset at the fact that she got hurt.
It just means she needs more training.
She pulled the staff towards her direction and watched as her opponent was also dragged along.
She slammed her fists into his face, breaking his nose and causing him to let go of his staff.
She then took his working hand, turned around and pulled him towards her, throwing him off balance.
She then flipped him straight over her back and into the air before then slamming him back into the ground.
*BOOM*
"Ahh!!"
The opponent landed harshly on the ground as he cried out in pain. Ariella didn't care as she held him down before then giving a mighty punch to his face, finally knocking him out for good.
*WOAHHHHH!!*
The Audience roared in excitement at the brutal but thrilling fight. It was exactly what they came here for, to see who gets to be their future general and witness a good fight.
And they were surely not disappointed.
Ariella stood up in pain as she clutched her side in pain, it seems the injury worsened due to performing such actions while still injured.
She turned towards the cheering audience as she raised her fist to the sky in celebration.
*OHHHHH!!*
The crowd cheered louder at her actions and applauded her victory.
It was well earned.
"And we have a winner!! Ariella Del-Nar has come out victorious in her battle and as a result, concludes the placing for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd position! Can we please have a round of applause for this amazing match?!!"
The host yelled as the people applauded her hard work. She obviously trained a lot in order to be so skilled and didn't waste her time running around and having fun like her peers did.
She was a hard worker and she deserved this victory.
*CLAP!*
She walked back slowly towards the direction of Lor. Her footsteps, heavy and slow as she struggled not to fall down.
Just right when it seemed impossible and she was about to collapse, a hand reached out to her and grabbed her by the waist before she could fall.
It brought her close to its body and it held her tightly to make sure she didn't fall down.
"Are you okay?"
A soft, charming voice pulled her attention towards it as she turned to the owner of such mesmerizing voice.
She looked up and was shocked to find Lor smiling down at her.
His smile, captivating and causing her heart to beat faster and faster.
She never thought she would ever see Lor show such a smile to her face. She thought the most she would ever get out of him would be a small one but to see such breathtaking smile on Lor's face never even crossed her mind.
"Are you okay?"
Lor asked again, his smile retreating back as his face started forming a worried look.
She pulled herself back out of her thoughts and immediately responded to him.
"Y-Yes, thank you for catching me. I thought I would be able to make it before my legs gave up."
She said as an embarrassed look appeared in her face. She looked away from his face, not daring to look at handsome and heart tugging face of Lor.
"Silly, did you really think you could make it with such injuries."
Lor said as he looked at the bloody side of Ariella, the opponent really did a lot of damage to her.
Ariella blushed in shame at the embarrassing but truthful words of Lor. She knew she wouldn't make it but she at least wanted to try.
Lor shook his head at his adorable but headstrong friend. He scooped her off her feet and then walked towards the medical bay stationed to heal any injuries occurred during matches.
The opponent was also being carried there as he too suffered huge injuries.
"Woah!"
Ariella yelled in surprise as she suddenly found herself looking towards to the sky instead of the ground.
She looked towards Lor who was the perpetrator for this and immediately pouted and complained.
"Why are you carrying me, you dumb dumb. I never asked you to!"
She yelled as she struggled to get out of Lor's firm hold.
"Oh? Then would you rather walk there yourself? I don't mind putting you down if you think you can."
Lor said as he proceeded to get into the motion of putting Ariella down.
"No! I mean yes! Wait! *Sigh* Just take me there already."
She said as she gave up resisting and just kept quiet, trying her best not to think about how close her and Lor currently are.
"Hehe."
Lor simply chuckled at her words and kept walking to the medical bay.
Lor was naturally not this friendly with Ariella before so what happened that suddenly made Lor act so warm and friendly with her?
Simple, it was the match she had with her opponent.
Lor is someone who usually keeps his emotions in check but he simply couldn't when he saw how similar Ariella was to his past self.
Lor used to be like her, working hard everyday, studying and trying hard to come out on top in life to the extent that he even neglected a few things in life.
Little things that he should have enjoyed in life were ignored all so he could live a great life on earth.
Dating, finding Love, socialization, making friends, enjoying games, hang out, travel the world and finding something he genuinely loved were all ignored so he could make it in life.
Although, he did later make it and came out on top later on but he missed the right time to make friends, find love and enjoy just what life had to offer him.
He regrets that in so many ways.
He could see his younger self in Ariella, always striving forward to meet ends, spending time studying and training instead of having fun like kids her age would and constantly not getting any acknowledgment for her hard work.
It was painful and heart wrenching seeing this in Ariella and he didn't want her to turn out like him.
Missing the good things life had to offer.
And that's why he's currently being so nice to her, so friendly. He sees himself in her and the fact that she was good person.
He's decided to make her his friend just like how he's friends with Kara. He'll open up his heart to her and hopefully...
She doesn't break it.
"We're here."
He said as he reached the door of the bay and watched as it slid open. He walked in and was immediately greeted by workers constantly moving around, trying to help around and do what they had to do.
He saw various medical pods with injured participants inside and people constantly monitoring them and making sure they're okay.
One worker saw them and immediately moved towards them along with other workers who saw them.
"Young Lord Lor, thank you for bringing Participant Ariella. We saw her injuries but when we saw she was moving away and didn't come to us, we thought she was going to her family to use their medical pod but it seems she couldn't make it. Thank you very much for bringing her here."
The worker said as he ordered the other workers beside him to get the girl and take her to a medical pod.
Lor nodded and proceeded to give Ariella to them.
"Wait, will you stay with me and wait for me to get healed up...please?"
Ariella said as she turned towards Lor, her eyes looking at him for confirmation and hoping he would stay.
*Sigh*
Lor sighed looking at the pleading eyes of the girl and decided to wait for her.
"Fine but if you don't get healed up soon then I'm leaving."
Lor said as he raised a condition for him to stay. If it takes too long then he'll have to leave, he doesn't like staying among too many people for long.
"Sure. Thank you."
Ariella said as she gave a grateful smile before finally falling unconscious.
"She's okay right?"
Lor said as he turned towards the leading worker for confirmation. His tone was cold and held no emotion to it but inwardly he was genuinely concerned.
"No worries, young lord. She's just tired and needs to rest due to loosing a large amount of blood. She'll be fine soon."
The worker said as he too replied in an emotionless tone.
"I see, That's good. You may continue your work then."
Lor said as he turned around and walked to a seat that was reserved for high ranking people. He sat down and crossed his arms as he watched the workers escort Ariella to her pod before placing her inside and monitoring her vitals.
Lor didn't have to wait long before Ariella was healed and ready to be released from her pod. She hopped off and stretched for a good few seconds before touching her sides and body for any signs of pain and discomfort.
She tapped her sides for a few seconds before nodding her head, confirming that her body is all healed up.
She turned towards Lor who was still sitting there and watching with a bored look on his face.
She immediately smiled when she saw him and walked towards him with a happy smile.
"I see you waited for me huh."
She said as she placed her hands behind her back and walked around the now standing Lor.
"Of course I did. I said I would didn't I?"
Lor said as he glanced at her before walking towards the exit of the bay, hands in pockets and hair swaying side to side.
*Chuckle*
She giggled as she walked up to Lor and walked side by side with him. Her eyes constantly glancing at his hands, hoping to hold them as they walk.
'*Sigh* That would be going too far. We just met not too long ago, hoping to get him to hold my hands would be asking for too much.'
She thought as she released a sigh before walking out of the bay.
*OHHHHH!!*
"There they are!"
They were met with screams and cheers from the audience as they applauded the two soldiers.
Ariella's face lit up like a light bulb while Lor's face didn't change at all, he simply kept walking. He walked to his spot along with Ariella and sat down on it, waiting for the host to announce the results of the tournament.
He didn't wait long as the moment the opponent Ariella fought walked out of the bay, the host immediately announced the results.
"And now that our participants are healed and we have completed all rounds and matches, we shall now announce the winner of this tournament!"
The host yelled in excitement as the crowd also cheered, equally just as excited to know the results despite guessing it already.
"For the third position, we have Zex-Os!"
The host yelled as a hole suddenly appeared on the stage before a winner podium started rising from it. It finally got out and everybody could finally see it's entire body.
It was circular in shape and had black as its color scheme. It also had numbers written on it in different colors. Number 3 was colored in bronze color, Number 2 in silver color, and number 1 in Golden.
[Image]
Zex-Os, the one who fought against Ariella, stood up from his seat and walked towards the podium. He was obviously depressed that he got third place as shown by the depressed and sad look on his face.
He walked towards the 3rd spot and climbed on it, facing the entire crowd and people staring at him.
He felt disappointed and not even proud to stand on this podium. If anything...
He felt humiliated.
"For second place, we have Ariella Del- Nar!!"
Ariella stood up as she looked towards the podium. It looked so close yet so far away from her. She gulped and then turned towards Lor.
"I'll see you up there, Lor."
She said as she waved at him while Lor nodded as a response. She walked towards the podium with steady steps as she tried her best to remain calm.
*WOOOOHHH!!*
She walked up to the second spot and stood on top of it, watching as the crowd cheered for her and showed their support.
She felt...happy. Very happy.
Although, she didn't exactly get what she wants...she got something even better.
Lor.
A new person she loves with her whole being and a person...
She can hopefully spend her life with.
"And last but not least, our contestant for the number one position...Lor-Zod!!"
*OHHHHHHHH!!!*
The entire crowd stood up from where they were sitting and immediately cheered. They applauded and gave their entire support for their future general.
Lor stood up as he Walked towards the podium with slow but steady steps. His entire body was straight and upright and seemed to be emitting an aura of confidence befitting of a general.
His every steps catching the attention of everyone as he walked towards the podium, watched intensely by the participants and group of adults against the house of the Zod with eyes brimming in rage and fear.
Zod simply nodded his head at his son's bearing and poise while Faora watched her son intensely, seemingly wanting to imprint this moment into her head.
Lor reached the podium and he walked towards the Number 1 spot. He stood on top of it as he was greeted with another round of cheers and applause from the audience.
Lor looked at the people who were looking at him with admiration as he silently thought to himself if it was right to let all these people die like that.
The people might have been rude and infuriating for talking about him behind his back but they were just people who were worried about their lives.
Worried if they were in the right hands.
Lor through out all these years had come to see the people's admiration for him, their respect and favor.
Lor was really considering if he should let these people die now.
Is it really alright to let them die out like that? The kids and families who have nothing but themselves to perish like that.
Is that alright?
Maybe...just maybe...things won't turn out bad if he decides to save some of them.
"These are our top contestants who have proven themselves worthy to bear the pain of protecting their planet! The courage and strength needed to annihilate all enemies who dare to go against our planet!"
*WOOOHHH*
The crowd cheered once again for their soldiers.
"These are the people who shall bear the burden of protecting our planet along with our future general!"
The host said as he presented Lor as the future general, earning the cheers and screams of the audience.
"This..."
The host stopped his words as he walked towards Lor while holding a Red cape with golden lines on it.
He stopped in front of Lor and placed the Cape on his back before attaching it to his shoulder.
"...is our future general. Our protector."
The host said as he backed away after putting the cape on Lor before getting on his knees and placing his right arm on his left chest as a sign of respect and acknowledgment.
The whole stadium suddenly got loud as everyone got on their knees and placed their right arms on their left chest.
Everyone...including the group of adults against Zod even though they were against it.
Everyone except for Zod, Faora and the council.
Lor looked at the now quiet stadium as his eyes scanned their faces.
The look of adoration and respect plastered on their faces stirred emotions in him even he didn't know existed.
His cape fluttering in the wind, it's magnificent red and radiant gold giving an ethereal feeling to Lor's being.
Lor looked down at all the people currently kneeling before him and was shocked at what was currently happening before him.
Right before him, at this moment...lay more than a million people on their knees.
________________________________________
Tournament Arc is finally over!! I know y'all been waiting for this and honestly, I wasn't expecting it to take so long either.
I was planning for it to take like two chapters but Oh well, I guess things don't always go according to plan.
I was planning on making this the chapter where we time skip to the planets destruction but I've decided it to be the next chapter.
So for y'all who can't wait for the planets destruction and want to get to canon already, well, it's almost time.
You'll get that next chapter.
So rejoice, Lol.
Anyways, this chapter was pretty satisfying for me. Although, I don't know if y'all will find it satisfying.
I guess I'll just have to see your comments.
In this chapter, there was a massive increase in the relationship between the MC and Ariella, a future lover.
With the backstory I have saved up for the MC, there's a massive similarity between them both and I thought that if they had such similarity and MC still acts like that to her, won't that mean everything he experienced in his past life was irrelevant?
For MC, whose memories about his time with his family and the hard work he put to succeed in life which he considers precious to him, it can't be meaningless.
And so, I made the MC open up to her but only as a friend. He wont tell any of his secrets to her and if Ariella wants to win his heart then that's up to her.
I've helped her enough by giving her this boost.
Anyways, next chapter, like I said is gonna be a time skip to the planets destruction and just what he has done from the time he was 8 years old to 14.
Y'all also get to see his status after so long.
And next chapter is also gonna be when Canon starts so y'all who've been with me till this point...
Thank you. Really, I appreciate it.
I appreciate your comments, Constructive criticism, memes, jokes, ideas, suggestions and most importantly, the time you took to read my story.
I never expected to go this far in my story. I was originally planning to drop it after the first chapter once I got my frustration of not putting the countless ideas in my head out.
But your motivation and support made me continue it so thank you.
It means a lot to me.
Anyways, this chapter, just like the previous ones was also pretty long.
5332 words.
Quite high right? Among other Webnovel's and stories on Wattpad, it sure is high.
I won't post tomorrow and probably won't go back to my normal everyday post a chapter schedule until I get a high amount of chapters saved.
When I do get a lot of chapters saved up then I'll tell y'all.
Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did.
I'll see y'all next chapter.
Peace ✌️
