25 Sports Festival (Part 5)

Damian did not feel nervous like in the first encounter with Aros. Instead, he felt pumped and motivated.

'Another chance at this. Not going to waste it. I'm going to win,' Damian steeled his thoughts as both fighters were called forward to the centre.

The referee looked at both contestants, "Ready? Fence!"

"You looked much better than before. I can finally have some fun fight," Aros poked at Damian as both of them had a tense standoff.

"I'll show you some fun. Don't come to me and cry when you lose because I'm definitely going to win this time!" Damian declared and initiated the attack.

Aros parried and counterattack which was then blocked by Damian. The flurry of intense exchanges went back and forth with no clear advantages on both sides. Damian was the first to concede and backed off to have some breathing room.

"Retreating so fast? Where was your determination from before?" Aros could not miss this chance to inflict some mental damage.

"Shut up!" Damian shouted as he resumed his offensive with a high diagonal cut at Aros's right.

Aros quickly raised his blade up and blocked the attack.

'Huh, the strike is weaker than normal. Did he start getting tired after all those matches?' Aros was puzzled. 'Wait, crap! That's not his intention!'

By the time Aros realised, Damian had already landed a hit on his chest.

"Hit! 3 points for red!"

"What an intense prolonged trade right at the start of the round which eventually sided to red! Such a high-level match!" The caster yelled at the microphone hyping out the crowd. "Let's leave the analysis back to Mr Seiei, shall we? Mr Seiei, the floor is yours."

"Hmm, thank you Mr Pracas. The fight was quite even from the beginning with both of them demonstrating their prowess. The tides turned after the brief pause where red made an ingenious play, feigning his targets."

"From some of our viewers, the first strike did not look like it had much impact. Is that the feign?"

"Yes, red used less strength to avoid overcommitment to make some space for his real target. If he uses too much strength, it will decrease his ability to control and move. You see, inertia works here. It's a double-edged sword. Haha, no pun intended. Anyways, if you use your whole strength into it, the strike becomes heavier but reduces agility and vice versa. However, this does not really matter to true masters," Mr Seiei explained.

"Thank you for the explanation, Mr Seiei. We will now continue with the match."

Yet again, the two of them were in bitter skirmish. Eventually, Aros started gaining the upper hand. Damian was constantly being forced back but the onslaught gave him to respite.

'The fatigue is slowly creeping out. I need to end this fast,' Damian thought as he frantically held his defense. In a bid to quickly conclude it, he broke out in the small window between the hits. However, the forced attempt was easily thwarted. Aros blocked with his sword and while still in contact, he managed to seize control of Damian blade.

'What is this?! I can't move my sword!"

Without any hesitation, Aros turned the opening into a thrust straight at the face. The impact slammed at his face guard, causing him to crash to the ground.

"Break!" The referee quickly placed his pole in between the contestants before taking a look at Damian. "Are you alright? Can you continue?"

Damian shook his head to regain his focus. "Y-yes, I can continue."

Noticing at him being signalled by the judges, the referee ran to them for a discussion. "Controlled thrust to the head, 5 points to blue!"

"Wow! A huge breakthrough for blue. The odds are stacked against red now. A controlled thrust is a thrust in a manner which controls the opponent's blade. An awesome display!" The caster explained.

Damian huffed as he prepared for the next bout. Aros knew about his exhaustion and exploited it. Pacing is important for high stamina sports or one would wear out too quickly.

"Apologies but this is a chance I should not miss. I'll end it quickly," Aros said.

He raised his sword to signal his readiness and Aros did not give him any space by charging at him. Despite that, he put up a good fight.

"Just go down already, you stubborn fool," Aros struggled to finish him. Damian realised that he was growing impatient and was aiming for his vital spots. This made him loosen his defense and created an opening.

"Hit! 2 points for red!"

'This cheeky guy, he managed to nip at my legs. Alright, no more chances,' Aros thought.

Once the referee signalled the start, Aros immediately closed the distance and started a whirl of slashes but Damian defended well. Suddenly, he managed to seize Damian's hand and disabled him from blocking.

"It's my win!" Aros shouted as he went for the finishing blow to the head. Damian closed the gap between them even closer, preventing the space needed for him to swing the sword. "What?!"

"Hit! 1 point for blue!"

Aros could only land a pommel to the head, not a cut he desired. Repeatedly, he tried to bring him down but Damian still held steadfastly.

"I will not lose!" Damian howled, summoning all his strength left.

'Where does he get all the strength?!' Aros scoured his mind. 'Does winning mattered that much to him?'

Damian's speed and strength managed to match Aros briefly and they ended up even again. Both of them managed to hit each other simultaneously at both arms.

"Hold! Double hit!" The referee declared. "Guys, please mind on your defenses, not on suicidal attacks alright? Ready? Fence!"

'I really need to end it soon. I don't have any strength left. I can't match his strength and speed anymore,' In a flash, Damian was reminded of Leo. 'Right… If I can't brawl it out, I can use my wits.'

Damian once again raised his sword. His hands shaking from the weariness. This was his last chance as he went on the offensive and went swing right at Aros's head.

'Tch, such tenacity.' Aros raised his blade and blocked it. In that instance, Damian ducked and struck from below.

The crowd roared in exhilaration after the long suspenseful silence.

"4 points for red! Match over!" The referee announced.

"What a climactic finish! Mind to explain what happened there, Mr Seiei?" The caster asked.

"A truly breath-holding finale! Red had a fake attack high up, forcing blue to defend. However, that was a ploy to distract him and block his view from the second attack. I would say it was also a blunder from blue's part as he obscured his own vision and left other parts vulnerable. Nonetheless, I would like to extend my congratulations to red. Bravo!"

"That's right, folks. This marks the end of this event. As for the participants, please stay for a while when we prepare for the award ceremony. This is Pracas from the broadcasting club. Peace out!"

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"It was a good fight. It opened my eyes on many things. I would like another rematch some time again. But first, congrats on being the champion," Aros commended Damian as both of them trailed back to the preparation room.

"Oh, what a wonderful lady!" Aros exclaimed as they reached their destination. Sylvia was already there waiting. He knelt on one of his knees and kissed her right hand.

"Hey, hey! She's my prey. Back off," Damian exerted, breaking them apart. "She's mine. Find someone else!"

"Who's feeble enough to be your prey?" Sylvia scowled at him.

"She doesn't look like someone you can handle man," Aros laughed.

"S-shut up!" Damian became embarrassed. "Anyways, I won the match. This means I have a wish right? Back from the restaurant."

"Ugh, yes you do. What do you want to do with it?" Sylvia sighed.

Damian started laughing devilishly. Leo had just arrived to congratulate Damian but ended up at this weird scene. "You're making a really malicious face right now, you know."

Sylvia smacked him right at the head. "Stop it. Anything out of bounds is prohibited."

"Ow, alright, alright," Damian rubbed his head to ease the pain. It'll probably become a bruise tomorrow. "I-I… want you to go on a date with me."

Aros and Leo went wide-eyed.

"Why do you want a date? We're not even in a romantic relationship," Sylvia questioned.

"Going for a date doesn't mean that we have to be in a romantic relationship. A date can be a tryout between people to learn more about each other. Or… is it that you have feelings for me?" Damian teased.

"Leo, who is this person asking me for a date?" Sylvia asked with a deadpan expression. "I have never met him in my life before. Should I call the police for sexual harassment?"

"What the heck? We had a deal and you're backing out from it? Am I that bad?"

Sylvia lowered her phone and gave a huge sigh. "Alright, ok. I'm not going to break my words. I'll go with you but on my own terms. Who knows what nefarious plans you're going to do to me."

"Heck yeah!" Damian celebrated and suddenly collapsed. The exhaustion had finally broken through with that acceptance.