Chapter 50 Tournament bracket A (3) : Ilta Farna vs Loch Rojo 2

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Long chapter today as an apology for last week when I didn't post an update on schedule.

Hope you guys like it, love y'all.

-TheManCandy

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*Narration*

The crowd was holding their breath as the two fighters charged one another for their final attack.

The gods are more of the same as they watch the fight on the edge of their seats.

Anubis clenched his fist and bit his lips. 'You can do this Loch.' he thought to himself as he watched his child charge on with determination and will to win.

Ganesha stared intently at his vice captain, he was proud with her grit as she took the punishment and waited for the opportune moment to strike back. 'Go my child.'

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'Shit I won't make it.' Loch can already see the outcome, no matter how fast he is, Ilta's timing was just superb. He'll get hit first.

As Ilta's fist got closer to his face, he gritted his teeth and braced for impact.

*Crack*

Ilta grimaced in pain, her right ankle buckled, because of this she was thrown off balance.

Her attack missed by a hair's length.

It only grazed Loch's cheeks.

A broken ankle, plus dizziness from blood loss made Ilta waste her only chance.

Loch can feel the air push his face away from that strike, if it hit him, he would have been finished.

It was unfortunate for her but Loch wouldn't waste such a huge opening.

He pushed through.

Aiming his dagger at her chest.

He will finish this fight now.

He will win.

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But he miscalculated one minor thing, Ilta was falling towards him, her momentum was going down.

His dagger hit, but not on the desired target, he stabbed him on her shoulder, his dagger penetrating her, hitting her joint making her scream in pain.

But it wasn't by any means lethal, the pain made her jolt awake, and now she has leverage.

"I-I got you now you slippery son of a bitch." Ilta voice was staggering in pain, but her eyes were filled with fire. She was stabbed at the left shoulder, she knew the knife went into her socket, the pain was unbearable yet she was smiling.

Loch's eyes widened. He felt goosebumps when he looked at her eyes. 'Fuck' he thought as every cell in his body was screaming danger. He tried to jump back, to gain space and distance but this time Ilta was a tad bit faster.

She locked his hand with her left as she held on him, blood squirting out of her wounds, she was forcing it to move, she didn't care about the pain, she wanted to win. "Let's get WILD!!!" Her body glowed a fiery red as her mana ran wild, a vicious smile was plastered on her face. She rained down punches with her right.

Loch can do nothing, he was hit multiple times by Ilta's powerful fist, his face became a bloody mess.

He received the beating of his life. Anubis seeing this stood up from his seat, he wanted to rush out to save his child.

"STOP THE FUCKING MATCH!!!" the god screamed, his voice desperate. He couldn't stop himself from making his godly aura leak.

The room shook at his power making the other gods look in his direction. They too felt that the match should be stopped now.

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Time stood still for Loch, his mind was tethering between consciousness, he moved his mana to protect himself but it was to no avail. Ilta's power in her every punch was just too strong. As he was about to fall into a deep sleep, he felt the aura of his god. He heard him scream.

'Lord Anubis...' at the corner of his eyes he can see his god being held back by the other deities, he was trying desperately to reach him. 'Why are you making that face?' he clenched his free fist, he could hear the muffled screaming of the crowd. 'Right... I'm losing right now, my god is trying to stop the fight.' he felt a serine feeling as another of Ilta's fists landed on his face. 'I'm sorry for showing you such a pathetic sight. And to show my sincerity...' "I'll FUCKING WIN!!!" he declared, his voice roaring with intensity as willed his body to gather every speck of mana remaining in him.

As Ilta fist was about to connect again, she felt chills as the pallum screamed for his victory. "SHUT UP AND GO THE FUCK DOWN!!!" Ilta roared at him.

Her punch beamed straight at the pallum with all the intention of ending the fight, but instead of hitting solid flesh and bones, she hit nothing as Loch's body dissolved into a black mist.

Anubis watched the whole thing happen with his mouth wide agape. "Loch..." his eyes scanned the whole stage looking for his boy, he spotted him standing a few distant away from Ilta, smile slowly emerge from the god's face. "You've finally done it now child... Now show them why you're called the Errësirë!" Anubis screams at his child, the whole stadium hearing his roar.

Everyone then saw the pallum, standing at the distance, a black mist surrounding him, his body seemingly blending with the environment. It's as if his not even there.

August as well as every fighter who was watching felt chills running up their spine. "What a terrifying magic." said August as he tried to reel in his mana that was attempting to run amok with excitement. He really wanted to fight that man.

For the first time in a long while Mashima Toga opened his eyes. A starined smile of pure amazement can be seen on his face. His eyes glimmered at the man known as the Errësirë. "This kid!" he can do nothing but applaud him.

He recalled the profile of everyone in the tournament, he was of course the oldest at 74 with August and Ais tied at being the youngest at 16. And if he recalls, the man named Loch Rojo was only 22 years old. "The young ones today sure are terrifying." he smiled as he muttered.

His eyes darted towards Denki, his face showing awe at what the pallum was doing. "I hope this event doesn't discourage you Denki..." As his master he wants nothing more than to see his pupil succeed. He is worried though. Being under the wing of the Gáe Bulg may open up his insecurities. And now another young man not far from his age is showing talent and skill above everyone else. He prays that his pupil will view this as a motivation to grow strong. "After all, you're one of them... A monster as well." he returned his focus to fight at hand.

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The gods were all in utter shock, everyone of them is looking around for confirmation of what they have just witnessed.

Thor was sweating as he calmed himself down with a drink. "Tell me old friend..." he opened his mouth towards Heracles. "I'm either crazy or did I just see that child use ancient magic?"

Heracles couldn't believe his eyes, he had his fair share of run-in with users of ancient magic, he after all was mortal at a time where those magic were the norm. "No... He really is using one right now." he then smiled at Thor. "He used a pale imitation of one earlier, but right now, he is using the real deal..." he returned his focus at the match, his eyes glued to the young pallum. "He's Shadow walking."

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Thor's laughter booms in the room making the other gods snap their heads at him. "Anubis had found himself a monster."

Heracles can't help himself but smile as well. His eyes search for the god who wears a jackal's mask. He found him clinching his fist in excitement and joy as he watched his child proudly. "That he did." Heracles excitedly watched the match again thinking, as he did he only had one thought in his mind. 'I want to see August fight him.'

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Freya was intrigued by Loch Rojo, she couldn't help herself, she after all heard Thor and Heracles talking about him. A user of ancient magic would be perfect for her familia.

The only problem was Anubis.

It's true, his familia was small but that doesn't mean the god was weak. Anubis was after all a god of death. And she really didn't wanna mess with those types of gods.

"Such a shame..." she sighs and drank a small sip of the wine that she was holding. "That child would have been perfect."

Loki on the other hand was pissed, when Loch first arrived at Orario he applied to her familia as most pallums did because of Finn. She thought he was just another pallum who idolized her captain so she turned him down. She was pulling her hair in annoyance. She could have had him, a user of ancient magic. And shadow walking no less. "Fuck me." she could only curse at herself as she regrettably watch the fight.

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Arthur was the one who was most shocked about Loch, he racked his brains trying to remember who he was. "That dude was not in the anime as well." he came to that conclusion. "What the fuck is happening? Who the fuck are this guys?"

He couldn't believe it, in his mind Ilta would be the clear winner here since she was a canon character and from his knowledge one of the strongest in Danmachi. Yet this guy, this unknown guy is showing magic which he has never seen in the anime.

And his god is Anubis, the Egyptian god of death. "He wasn't in the anime as well..." Arthur was starting to doubt everything. Was he really in the world of Danmachi? Questions were stacking up in his mind.

'Was this because of me? Did I cause this? Did my presence in this world somehow cause a butterfly effect?' He was panicking. He's best weapon was his knowledge of the plot. Without it he was just another adventurer in this world. 'Did I do something? I made sure not to meddle with anything before the canon starts.'

His very being was in turmoil. First was the adventurer named August, the moment he shook his hand vision of that thing assaulted him, it even knew that he was not of this world. Then this Loch fella appeared.

Right now he was certain of one thing. He needed to change his approach, because right now, he might not even be in the Danmachi world that he knows of.

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The crowd went wild but Loch couldn't hear them right now, all his focus was on Ilta. He is angry, because of her, his god, who fully believed in him, made that face earlier. Because of her, he looked pathetic in front of his god. "Ilta was it? I'll be sure to remember your name." he spoke coldly. This made Ilta flinch. The air around the pallum changed.

Right now Loch has no daggers left, he only has his fist. He smiled to himself. 'That's more than enough... After all...' "I have to return the favor for the beating that you gave me."

Ilta kept her eyes glued at Loch, she was in a huge amount of pain, her ankle was now completely broken and she was bleeding heavily all over. 'I'm fucked aren't I?' she asked herself. 'what the hell is that magic, he's there, I can see him, yet I feel like his presence is vanishing from my sight.'

She took a stance, making sure her right leg was behind her in order to hide it away from Loch, she missed her chance earlier, maybe it was her only chance, but still, she needed to try.

Ilta eyes widened as the pallum was suddenly right in front of her. "Fast!" She quickly threw a powerful jab yet it hit nothing as Loch's body was now a black mist.

She felt his presence at her left then a fist suddenly landed at her abdomen. The air was knocked right out of her, but she didn't get a chance to rest as a knee was heading straight at her face.

She raised her hand to block it but no impact was felt. Her eyes widened again as Loch's body was not there anymore, instead a black mist now took his place.

"What the h-" she didn't get to finish her words as Loch reappeared behind her sending a kick at the back of her head.

Her vision turned dark as she felt dizzy, she was fainting as she fell hard on the ground, her head bouncing at the hard pavement.

She snapped back awake, willing herself not to faint. The hair on her neck stood as she sensed danger coming her way. She might not be able to fully sense him but her danger sense was still there.

She rolled quickly to the right at the nick of time as Loch came crashing down where she was earlier. Using her hands she pushed herself up launching herself towards Loch while grimacing in pain as her left shoulder burst blood.

She ignored it and still went on the attack. She loaded up her right fist and delivered a powerful punch much stronger than the one she threw before. It was because of her skill, the more damage she takes the stronger her attack is. (much like Yang from RWBY. (I made this decision for her skill since not much is written about her in her wiki page, this skill was based on her alias paluza. I hope you guys find this skill ok.)) "EAT THIS!!!" she roared as the wind made way for her fist.

But her fist hit nothing, Loch was no longer there and only a black mist remained.

Her punch blew the mist away because of how powerful it is, but even with that much power, it didn't change the fact that it hit nothing.

"Eat what exactly?" she heard him whisper right beside her ear making her jolt in horror. She didn't sense him that time. Her danger sense which she fully trusts didn't sense the pallum that was right behind her with his face even close to her ear for him to whisper.

She quickly turned around making a spinning back fist with her motion, her right ankle bending in the wrong direction as she did but she gritted her teeth and ignored the pain, but as usual, Loch wasn't there anymore and her fist only hit the black mist.

She was suddenly sent flying as Loch kneed her in the back. Before she could even recover the pallum was right in front of her, he caught her in the air as he palmed her face and slammed her to the ground.

She spat blood from the impact but Loch wasn't done. He kicked her in the solar plexus while she was down making her spit blood again.

But she wouldn't pass out, she still had that determination in her eyes, she still believes she can win.

But determination and believing in one self can only take you so far.

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"Give up." Loch spoke, his voice as cold as ever. "You have no hope of winning this." he was giving Ilta the beating of her life, her face was now a bloody mess much like his when Ilta was pounding it earlier with her face. The only difference is that the red head suffered more damage.

Loch respected her guts, but he could see that she could no longer fight. He wanted her to surrender. He didn't want to deal any more punishment at her. She just refuses to go down.

Ilta was on the ground breathing heavily, no matter what she tried she couldn't get a hit, she was getting sick of that black mist every time her fist connected. Frustration was apparent on her bloody beaten face.

The crowd doesn't know how, but Ilta was still willing herself to stand. Her muscles were creaking in pain as she pushed herself up to the ground. Her jaw was broken and she couldn't speak anymore.

It was now deadly silent as they couldn't believe she still had the strength to stand back up.

Ganesha wanted to stop the fight, he wanted to march at the middle of the stage and pull her child out of her delusional thoughts of winning. He knew the moment Loch used ancient magic that her child didn't stand a chance but he didn't have it in his heart to stop her. He is a firm believer of free will and he knows that her child would hate him if he stopped the fight.

But Shakti didn't care for that. She landed on the stage with a thud shocking the crowd. Her face was stoic as she looked at her best friend and vice captain.

"Give up." she said firmly, she then looked at Loch who was just standing there. "This fight is over."

"Aptin I an till ight!" Ilta argued, she couldn't even speak right because of the damage she received. Her eyes were now tearing up as she looked at her best friend and captain. "I an till ight... Leas et me ight."

Shakti bit her lips and with a deep breath she delivered a quick blow towards Ilta's solar plexus knocking the wind out of her and knocking her unconscious. She didn't expect the blow therefore she wasn't prepared to take it. "I'm sorry Ilta..."

Her moves shocked the crowd as gasp can be heard all over the amphitheater. She didn't care, she caught her friend before she hit the ground and carried her on her shoulders.

She turned around and gave a nod to Loch. "Thank you for not killing her." she spoke sincerely. She knows that if Loch willed it, her friend would have been dead, he was desperately trying to knock her out but with her skill and will, she just wouldn't go down.

"Take care of her." Loch nodded in response and turned around walking off the stage into the waiting room. He too was at his limit, he needed to get away from prying eyes fast. He knew it. He was entering mind zero.

At first he felt anger towards Ilta, but now, he has nothing but respect for the red-head. He didn't know if he was able to take that much of a beating. Still he viewed her decision to keep on fighting as stupid and insane. But he can sure respect her bravery and determination.

As he was walking in the dark hallway he was greeted by his god, Anubis.

His vision turned blurry, he can finally relax now. Anubis hurriedly caught him before he fell face first on the ground. He was still conscious but it was just barely.

"You did good my boy." Anubis smiled at him as he let his child use him as a crutch placing his hand on his shoulder. "Now let's get you patched up before you completely fall into mind zero."

"T-that would be nice." Loch answered him as the two walked towards the infirmary where Miach and his familia were waiting for them to patch the participants up.

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Shakti carried Ilta slowly towards the other infirmary, she knew her friend well, and she knew that as soon as she woke up she'll be fuming in anger.

Ilta was the type of person who wants everything to be on their own terms. And that involves losing as well. She knew that her friend would rather die than admit defeat, so she had no choice but to step in.

She passed by Ganesha who was getting ready to get on the stage to announce the winner and the next fight on the card.

"Thank you." Ganesha said to her as she passed by him.

She just nodded silently and continued on her way. She had been a member of Ganesha familia for as long as she was an adventurer, and it's safe to say that she knew her god better than anyone else in her familia.

Ganesha was the type of god who values free will to a tee, he will stand idly by to watch his children as they face challenges and trials and for them to make it pass them on their own. Aside from giving sound advice he was the type of god who wouldn't meddle with their business no matter the consequences because he believed that it may lead to a learning experience for them to grow into the person that they are destined to be. If that's your decision then you should learn to live by it and face its consequences. This was what he always told them. Shakti can respect that, on the matter of fact, she preferred it that way.

So she understood why her god didn't stop the fight, she knew that Ganesha was making Ilta make her own decisions and choices. And she can see it, how her god made such a melancholic and desperate face earlier. He really wanted to stop the fight but he didn't since it would be a slap to the face of his beliefs. Of free will.

So as captain she had to step up.

She'll just buy something from the hostess for Ilta to make her cool off later.

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Ganesha stepped on stage, he did well masking his emotion for the crowd as he spoke to them with the same energy as he did from the start.

The gods however can see through his farce, they all knew that Ganesha was feeling shitty after that match.

"WHAT A START!!!" he opened up gaining the applause and cheer of the crowd, he was such a good showman. "That match was a rollercoaster ride filled with ups and downs and in the end Loch Rojo the Errësirë from Anubis familia came out on top." his voice was jolly as he tried his best to hide his feelings. "And with that he moves on to the second round!"

"Now we go unto the next fight!" the crowd erupted with cheers. "A fight most of you had been anticipating... Well I know I have." this earned a few laughter from the crowd.

"I GANESHA, will now introduce the two next FIGHTERS!!!" The crowd roared in excitement. "At my right, The surprise participant who many didn't even expect would be joining this tournament, not much is known about him except that he is fighting out of the kingdom of Rakia!!! The crown prince himself!!! Marius Victrix Rakia!!!"

The crowd still couldn't believe that a fighter from a foreign nation would be participating in this tournament. For as long as they knew, Rakia was one of the many kingdoms trying to conquer Orario because of the dungeon. They didn't know how to react when they found out earlier that someone from Rakia was participating, he was even the crown prince of that nation. Still they were intrigued by his strength. He must be strong since he passed the test, and this is their chance to see the fire power of that nation.

Marius entered with a smile on his face, the crowd booed him but he didn't care. He even smiled mockingly at them which made the boos grow stronger.

"My my... It seems that the prince isn't welcomed by the Orario crowd. But he's face shows that he just doesn't care." Ganesha being the showman that he is fed off the crowd and fanned the flames. "Now for his opponent, she is the commander of Loki familia second string, known for her speed and tact in battle. Orario's very own!!! The Alchat!!! Anakitty Autumn!!!"

The crowd cheered loudly making it known that she was the favorite out of the two, she entered the stage with a confident smile on her face as she waved at the crowd who was fully on her side.

"Now that I've introduced you to both of them... Let the match... BEGIN!!!"

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Chapter 50 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.