Chapter 30: The Duel Ends!

Lazaro looks up as the lightning bolt steadily approaches him. Without hesitation, he pulls back on his bowstring and prepares to use, [Water Missile]. As he releases the explosive, he shouts,

"Water Missile!"

The projectile flies up and collides with the electricity, creating an explosion of water. Confidently, Lazaro mumbles,

"Freeze."

The airborne water starts to crystallize as it turns into solid ice. It blocks the lightning bolt as the electricity simply collides with the ice and breaks it. The ice fragments fall around Lazaro as he smirks confidently. Slightly surprised, Aldrich asks,

"Ho, ho! Where did you learn that, little brother?"

Lazaro shouts,

"At the Water Hole! I took inspiration from that one windy day that caused the water freeze! I figured, if I mix current Water Skills with some Wind Skills it would turn them into Ice Skills!"

Aldrich says,

"Hm... Maybe you're not as foolish as I thought... However, your chances of winning are still none! You are merely stalling the inevitable!"

Lazaro ignores Aldrich and prepares three arrows in his bow at the same time. He shoots them all out as they fly at different angles towards Aldrich. Once again, Lazaro mumbles,

"Freeze."

The arrows harden in mid-air and continue on their path. Aldrich takes his spear and swipes the air while saying,

"Electro Wave."

A long yellow string appears and flies towards the icy arrows. Before they hit each other, Lazaro shouts,

"Frozen Sickle!"

The arrows split into crescent and curve around the electric wave. They get close to Aldrich, but before they can hit him, he zaps into the air using his [Electric Flash] Skill. The ice projectiles fly under him and shatter in the air. As Aldrich falls gracefully back down, he says,

"You really surprised me for a second there, little brother. I thought you really improved. It seems as though your new discoveries are merely a speck of successful dirt in your mountain of failures."

He adds,

"Now then, do you want to know why they call me the [Storm Lord]?"

Aldrich starts swirling his spear in the air as a dark thundercloud starts to grow from above. The thundercloud is swirling and sparks are flying off of it. He swings his spear downward while shouting,

"Dance of the Thunder God!"

Multiple lightning bolts come down simultaneously above Lazaro. Lazaro uses [Water Missile: Freeze] again to hopefully block the electricity, but the strong bolts easily break through the ice and continue falling. The lightning bolts all come down and surround Lazaro in a sparking barrier of high voltage. At the same time, Aldrea brings her arm down and announces,

"The winner is Aldrich Alberoth!"

The crowd cheers loudly as Aldrich stands, victorious. Lazaro is lying on the ground as sparks are coming off of him. Aldrich shouts,

"You're a disgrace to the Alberoth Family. Let's make sure you can't disgrace our family any longer."

He his takes spear and grips it firmly with both hands. Lily notices something and whispers,

"I've heard of this before... There's a rumor that the people who Aldrich beat were never able to walk again because of a skill."

She adds,

"But against Lazaro..? There's no way he's that evil, right..?"

Aldrich takes a deep breath and says,

"Special Skill: Deep Paralysis."

From the tip of his spear, a string of electricity appears and heads straight towards Lazaro. As the lightning races towards its destination, it suddenly sizzles out. In front of Lazaro, Saiba is standing with a familiar aura surrounding him. He holds his sword and shouts,

"Don't... You... Dare... Hurt... My... Friend!"

Aldrich turns around with a speechless expression and mumbles,

"I-Impossible..."

Joula, the second eldest daughter of the Alberoths, pulls out a device that's similar to a magnifying glass. She points it at Saiba as a pop-up appears in front of her. She has a shocked look as she shouts,

"N-No way! Wasn't he only Level 30!?"

The pop-up reads,

[Saiba Okumura, 'Legendary Hero'. Level 56]

The number keeps rising as it reads, [Level 73], [Level 94], [Level 118]. Finally it peaks at Level 122. Joula is completely in shock as she shouts,

"L-L-Level 122!? That's higher than Big Brother Aldrich! He's only Level 120!"