Chapter 58 Semifinals bracket A (2) Loch Rojo vs Taka Kumar

*Narration*

"How utterly predictable..."

Taka's eyes widened, chills ran up his spine, his eyes caught a glimpse of a smile, a predatory smile.

As Taka's weapon was inches away from Loch's head, the pallum moved surprisingly quick, like a snake his hands slivered around Taka's, holding him right under his elbow while still dodging his katar.

And in one fluid motion, Loch pulled Taka on the ground placing the adventurer on top of him, he wrapped his legs on his neck and squeezed tightly. Loch had countered Taka's finishing blow with a triangle choke.

'Fuck... Sneaky bastard.' Taka thought while trying his best to bend his right elbow in order to loosen the pressure on his neck. "Arghh." he was grunting and wailing, his left trying desperately to reach Loch, but the pallum had a great position, he placed his knees tactically not allowing for Taka to stab him with his free arm.

"Give up." Loch spoke, his voice cold and firm, his hold on Taka becoming tighter and tighter. "You've fought well, there's no shame in admitting defeat."

Seeing that his left hand couldn't reach Loch, Taka gave up on that idea, his right elbow was getting tired with it Loch was able to squeeze in some more pressure on his neck. His vision was getting darker, his face was becoming blue from the lack of oxygen. Still there was still some fight left in him.

'Give up?' Taka thought to himself. He then looked at the pallum, the two fighters eyes met, both of them had filled with fire and determination to win. Taka spoke with a strained voice. "N-Never... I-I w-will win... N-no matter w-what!" after that his right elbow gave out, allowing Loch to full control of Taka's neck.

"You fool!!!" Loch clicked his tongue and grimaced, he respected Taka's determination, but not giving up now is a fools errand, especially with their position. Loch tightened the hold even more with the intention of putting Taka to sleep.

But suddenly, the alarm bells inside Loch's head sounded, his instinct of which he trusted above all else screamed for him to run. As he was face to face with Taka he saw his lips slowly rising to a smile.

His right hand that was inside of Loch's hold slowly opened, with it Loch realized what Taka was about to do.

"This mad man!" Loch tightened the hold even more, he became desperate in putting Taka to sleep at this moment.

"Fi-Fire..." as soon as he heard Taka spoke, Loch activated his ancient magic and shadow walked away from the adventurer.

Taka was free, he coughed heavily as he tried desperately to chase his breath. All this time his palm was still pointing towards the pallum.

"You're such a mad man!" Loch smiled as he stared at Taka. "You would have taken yourself with that as well."

"I-I told you... *cough* I'll win this no matter what." Taka answered as he slowly got up on his feet. "Even if it means risking my body for it."

Loch stared at the adventurer from Ganesha familia, the fire in his eyes showed that he firmly believed that he would win. No matter the cost. He smiled at it, Taka Kumar was just like him, they are eerily similar. Both are tactical fighters who relied heavily on speed and technique, both have a strategic mind and would look for things to exploit to have the upper hand. Taka when he baited him earlier and Loch as well. But what was most similar is the two have this unshakable will to win.

"Taka Kumar..." Loch spoke. "I respect your resolve, but I will win this match and move on to the finals." he then got in his stance, pulling two daggers out of his back pouch. "You on the other hand, is an obstacle in my way. And I will beat you!"

Taka looked at Loch as he declared his victory. He smiled. "Loch Rojo... You've got it all wrong." he took his stance as well, his two katars poised and ready to attack the enemy in front of him. "I will be the one beating you!"

The two stared at each other, eyes unmoving, the crowd loud cheering was not registering in their ears. Right now, they are alone on the stage. All their attention and focus are fully directed against one another.

Full concentration, the two inched closer to one another. Their sweat trickles down their face. Both reaching their chin, and at the same time dropping to the ground.

*Drop*

As their sweat hit the floor the two moved simultaneously leaving dust at their trails.

The two clashed in the middle of the stage with their weapons raining down on each other.

Loch opened with a left vertical slash.

Taka parried with his right and in one swift and fluid motion countered with the same hand.

Loch saw this and moved his head to the side, a red line appearing on his cheek, he countered with a right stab to the head coming from below, aiming at Taka's jaw.

Taka clicked his tongue when he saw Loch dodge, on his peripheral he saw Loch's incoming attack from below, using his left he blocked the incoming dagger.

Seeing Taka blocking his attack, Loch pulled his right hand back, he then spun and delivered a spinning side kick using his left.

This caught Taka off guard, but it was still something he could handle, raising his right knee up he checked Loch's kick, he then delivered a stab with his right katar in a superman punch motion.

Loch used the momentum of his spinning attack to dodge the incoming strike, Taka's katar missed him by a small margin, he continued his spin, delivering another kick, this time a right to the head.

Taka blocked the blow with two hands, he grimaced at the power behind the kick as his body skid back creating space away from the assassin.

Loch followed it up by throwing his two daggers towards Taka, he timed it well as he threw it when Taka was blocking his vision with his own hands.

"Arghh!" Taka ground as he was hit by the two daggers at his left shoulder and bicep, blood gushed out from the wound.

Loch was not one to miss this chance. He charged in taking another pair of daggers in his back pouch as he went in for the win.

Taka saw this and pointed his right palm towards Loch, this made the pallum stop on his tracks and jump back. He didn't know why but he couldn't use his ancient magic as well as he could when Taka was unleashing his firebolt spell. This in turn made him cautious of it which made it the perfect deterrent for Taka to use.

"Gotcha!" He smirked and went for the counter attack which caught Loch off guard. Taka gritted his teeth and pulled the dagger stuck on his shoulder, he then threw it towards Loch.

The pallum blocked the projectile, but it was enough time for Taka to get closer, loading mana into his feet Taka performed a summersault axe kick towards Loch hitting him at his right shoulder making him drop his dagger, as he land he followed it up with a spinning 45 which hit Loch at his solar plexus.

Loch flew in the air as the air was expelled from his lungs, he tried to balance himself mid air but Taka was already in pursuit of him.

Seeing this, Loch threw the only dagger he had left towards Taka.

The dagger sailed to the air straight at the adventurer. This made Taka smirk. "A desperate attempt." he mutters as he tilts his head to the side, his eyes catching his reflection on the dagger sailing past him.

"I made you look." he heard a voice behind him, Taka's eyes widened, the pallum who was in front of him was nothing more than a black mist now. Right now Loch was behind him, and he caught the dagger that he threw towards Taka.

Blood splurts as Loch slashes his dagger across Taka's back, the latter grimaced as the sharp pain assaults his senses.

With a grunt he turned and opened his palm towards the pallum but he wasn't there anymore. Again a sharp pain assaulted him, this time the slash came on his left side, it targeted the spot just under his armpit. He was then sent flying as Loch kicked him at his ribs.

'Fuck, I was a tad slow there!' Taka balanced himself and landed shakily on the ground, his knees were like jelly, and his vision was beginning to become dark.

"Give up..." he heard Loch's voice. "I've slashed your back and axilla, you'll bleed to death without medical attention." he then saw Loch looking at him at a fair amount of distance away. "All I have to do is wait and you'll just go down on your own... This is my victory, give up."

"Hehe..." Taka chuckled as he got to his fighting stance. "You'll have to make m-me." he answered as his knees buckled momentarily.

"Don't be stupid... From what I'm sensing, you're already in your last leg, your remaining mana is minuscule at best... I reckon you can't even perform your magic and were only using it as a bluff now." Loch spoke angrily, he hated people like this, there is no logic in fighting a losing battle. "You can always fight another day..."

"YOU DON'T GET TO SAY THAT TO ME!!!" Taka screamed, a dark circle was now forming under his eyes as his skin was getting paler by the minute. "I NEED TO WIN THIS!!! I-I made a promise to someone..."

"Your life is more important than a promise that you've made." Loch answered him with a cold voice.

"AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!! You're an assassin by practice... What makes you think you can talk to me about life and death?!" Taka retorded with venom in his voice.

He was trying to anger him, trying to use the trick that he pulled against Phryne. But Loch was someone who is experienced in this field. After all, it is one of his many tricks when he is out completing a contract. Still the statement Taka spoke stings quite a bit.

"That's precisely why I value life..." Loch answered, his voice making Taka pause because of how sincere it is. "I am an assassin by practice, I have taken life countless of times, be it monsters or mortals alike... I have killed and I know that I will kill again, and with that knowledge, I know that every life in this world is precious." Loch took a breath and continued. "I kill for duty, and with honor... Killing you right now will be a spit to what I believe in, I may be an assassin, but I have a code."

"I don't care! If you want to beat me, then you'll have to kill me!" Taka spoke with resolution. "THAT IS IF YOU CAN!!!" He wailed as he charged toward the pallum assassin, brandishing his weapon, his mana screamed, at least all that is left in him.

Loch sighs as he watches Taka charge him, a scowl then formed on his face as he whispered under his breath. "Then so be it."

A dark mist oozed out of Loch's body as he too charged towards Taka, he gripped the dagger on his hand, now stained with Taka's blood.

Inches away from each other, the fighters prepared their weapons, Taka with his katars, and Loch with his dagger.

Taka saw that Loch had no intention of dodging him, Loch knew Taka couldn't perform another firebolt that for some reason countered his shadow walk, so his plan was to finish the match as quickly as he could with his ancient magic.

Taka knows this as well, but he was planning this.

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*Flashback*

Ilta took a deep breath as she closed her eyes to recall the fight. She then starts to tell Taka how it all went down from her perspective. "Well for starters he's fast, too fast for me to handle, especially when he injured my ankle..." Ilta winced as she remembered the events of the fight. "Still I reckon that you can keep up with him, after all when it comes to speed you have me beat as well."

"So... A fast and agile fighter..." Taka made sure to remember that, he was someone who plans for everything so this stuff wasn't enough for him. "How about his magic? How did it feel when you're facing him?"

"Tsk!" Ilta clicked her tongue before answering. "Annoying! His magic is a headache to deal with, it felt like his bending in the environment and suddenly appearing out of nowhere."

Taka closed his eyes and imagined himself in Ilta's shoes. "Elaborate." he said as he got into his stance.

"I can't exactly explain it well, but it felt like he was getting swallowed by something and poof!!! A dark mist would take his place as my arm would just pass by him."

Taka became silent after that, he was inside his head, simulating what he heard from Ilta, the two saw this and decided to stay quiet, this was Taka's way of meditating and they didn't want to snap him out of whatever trance he's on.

Taka suddenly opened his eyes. "as of now, my theory on how his spell works is still the same, but I wouldn't be sure if it's true without facing him first. Either way what you said made me about 40% sure that I'm right."

"And can you beat him with only 40% data?" Shakti asked him. "And what are you planning with that thing that you've asked for?"

"It's enough, for now. I'll know more when we fight... It's something I came up with to counter his magic... If my theory is right then this is his biggest weakness." he then paused and looked towards Ilta. "Ohhh... And I was looking forward to beating you but I guess I'll settle for him."

This angered Ilta who in turn grabbed Taka by his collar. "WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU ARROGANT BRAT?!!"

"Chill chill CHILL!!! I'm just joking!!!" Ilta let him go as Shakti came to his rescue arguing that he'll be fighting later so injuring him would be a no go... For now... "Jeez you just can't take a joke can you?" he mutters under his breath. "No wonder you're still single."

"Huh? What was that?" Ilta asked, looking at him with intense eyes.

"N-Nothing!!!" he flailed his hand while he answered.

Ilta then came closer and raised her hands up making Taka wince and close his eyes, he waited for the fist to come to his face but instead he received a hug.

"Make sure you win and beat him up for little-bro." Ilta hugged him tightly, she then pulled away and exited the room quickly.

Taka stared dumbfounded at the door, right before Ilta left he saw a glimpse of her face, her eyes were a bit red and her nose was puffy. On his shoulder he felt something wet when Ilta hugged him.

"I better make sure she's alright. Do your best out there. I believe in you." Shakti quickly followed Ilta out, Taka can even hear her scream wait up as her footsteps ran after the red-head.

He moved his hand on his shoulder as he wiped away the wet feeling. He knew it was a tear. She was crying... His big-sis was crying.

"I'll win..." he said to no one as he looked at the door. "I promise I'll win."

*End of flashback*

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As the two of them are inches away from one another, Taka reached for something on his back pouch.

Loch saw this, he activated his magic to prepare for Taka's last hurrah.

Taka saw this and smirked. "You know... You really shouldn't rely on your magic." Taka pulled a small black ball not larger than a pebble on the street. "After all, no magic is truly perfect."

With a quick movement Taka threw the small object to the ground, he then closed his eyes while doing so, it then exploded into a bright white light blinding everyone who was watching except for him.

Loch was blinded by the light as well. "Fuck!" he cursed as he tried to get away using his shadow walked.

But he can't. No matter how hard he tries, he can't perform the ancient magic.

"Loch Rojo... I win." Loch felt chills as he heard the voice beside him, a sharp pain then assaulted his senses as blood gushes out from his side.

Taka had stabbed Loch with his katar, hitting him at the ribs.

And in one swift motion Taka performed a spinning heel kick straight at his abdominal, sending the pallum flying in the air.

Many thoughts are running inside Loch's head, questions of how and why are flooding inside his mind. His magic, the ancient magic on which he had spent years of his life trying to perfect and master, had failed him right at the moment he needed it the most.

He landed hard on the ground as his body bounced off a couple of times before coming to a halt. Blood was gushing out his wounds, he coughed blood as well. The wound he had received was quite fatal without treatment.

His hands moved and applied pressure on the wound, but his hands were numb and no strength came up to it.

He sat up, using everything that he had in that action alone. He saw Taka walking to him, his steeps were shaky, his face looked like shit, he too had received a fatal wound as well.

"H-How?" He asked with gritted teeth. "How did you do it?"

Taka stopped on his tracks, a smile strained smile slowly forming on his lips.

"HOW DID YOU DO IT?!! THAT MAGIC WAS PERFECT!!! HOW DID YOU COUNTER IT?!!" Loch wailed, his voice was a mixture of anger and curiosity. He really wanted to know how his magic, a magic on which he had given everything to master, was snuffed and counter, just like that.

"HAHAHAHAH!!!" Taka laughed as he heard Loch's question. "A perfect magic? Please don't make me laugh. It hurts when I do." Taka then fell on his knees. The blood loss was now getting to him, his vision was now black but he was desperately clinging to his consciousness. "Loch Rojo... Let me tell you the thing my big brother used to tell me when I was young... All magic, no matter how powerful it is, no matter how strong it is, it will always have a weakness." he said as he fell face first to the ground. Even his consciousness was starting to vanish. "I-if you really want to know... Find it out yourself."

Loch was dumbfounded by Taka's answer, he really wanted to stand up and beat the shit out of him, but his legs refused to listen to him, hell his body was shutting down at a fast rate. He fell back down lying at a pool of his blood as his mind wondered how Taka managed to counter his magic. "Fuck you..." he cursed under his breath as the pain he felt vanished.

"I'm s-sorry big-sis... Looks like I lost." Taka spoke his last words before the darkness swallowed his consciousness.

The medics hurriedly rushed at the stage towards both fighters, seeing that Taka was out cold and Loch was still clinging on to his consciousness, Loch was declared the winner and moved on to the finals.

The two were bombarded with healing spells as they were carried towards the infirmary. The crowd clapped at the performance of the two. It was an intense fight that could have gone either way.

But at the end, only one will come out on top, and that one was the Errësirë, Loch Rojo.

Ganesha came up on stage and announced the result, the crowd applauding at it, some were louder than the other, but all of them had gained a lot of respect towards the two fighters who had given it their all.

"What an intense fight!!!" Ganesha spoke, trying his best to hide his worry as one of his children was gravely injured in the fight. Still he has to act as a professional. The show must go on. And only he could come up on stage and announce the next fight on the card. "Now, the second fight of the semifinals... Will BEGIN!!!"

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Chapter 58 is done now, how do you guys like the story so far?

Please leave a comment, a review and feedback so I can improve on writing this fanfic. every little thing helps as it allows me to see your preference on things and would help me write a better fanfic for you all to enjoy.

thanks for picking up this fanfic. hope you guys like it.

good day, love y'all.