The Invincible Natal Spirit

"One Punch! He defeated Molark in one punch! Look how far he flew!"

One of the participants next to Trax made a remark. He's just a little stronger than Molark so seeing me defeating that guy in one punch got him shaken.

"Who's his next opponent?"

Trax looked back and asked.

One female Fused Spirit who I got the chance to encounter during the group stage, Namira, raised her hand while trembling a bit.

"M-me… I don't think I can beat him. I ran away from him during the group stage."

She had just won her match before me and was in a jubilant mood but upon seeing what I did, all of that was forgotten.

"Err. Don't worry, Molark told me he'll give me a free hit. I didn't think he wouldn't raise his guard up. I'll apologize to him later."

I tried to downplay what I did but that didn't have much of an effect

"Even if he did put his guard up, the result will be the same..."

Someone murmured in the crowd while the others except Trax nodded.

Well, if that's what they think then let them. That's better, they might even concede early on if I met them in the next matches.

The 7th and 8th matches were concluded with the expected winners without any upset.

From 16 we're now down to 8. After a 10 minute break, Trax took up the stage again and his opponent was someone whose name was around the top 10 on the list.

He struggled for a bit before finally kneeling on the ground, exhausted.

It didn't come as a surprise that he won again so the crowd didn't cheer that much but yeah, I think they're reserving their energies for my match. 

Wait, if I became this famous, will I still be under the category of Unknown Natal Spirit?

Those gambling houses better not cheat me. I was clearly unknown before the competition, they wouldn't suddenly re-categorize me, right? Or maybe they will if they found out how much they will lose. If it comes to that, I'll use the power of connection. Jayna.

Those coins will be crucial for buying Yuko's and the three girls' gifts.

My match with Namira will be the 3rd one. I already saw her conditioning herself, at least she's not thinking of conceding.

When our gazes meet the previous dread she had was replaced with conviction. She's a Fused Spirit with 4 Streams of connection to the Spirit Ocean when she faced me during the group stage, she probably only used one. That sudden blazing of her weapon as it hit my Spiritual Twin, but it's too tough for her so she retreated back after not succeeding at damaging it.

This time, she'll probably go all out.

"Please, don't hold back on our match. I will also give it my all."

After preparing on her corner, Namira approached me and said those words. She's at least better than that Molark. Ah. I couldn't also blame his attitude when he didn't experience my strength beforehand.

While waiting for our match, the ongoing match was on a heated deadlock with neither of the two giving in. They fought for at least 30 minutes before one of them fell down, exhausted by using too much Spirit Energy that he got too depleted.

Even if the other guy won, he'll probably concede defeat. He will fight Trax who's still in his best condition after all.

"It's our turn."

I looked at Namira and she nodded.

I let her walk first while I followed behind her. As soon as we stepped on the stage, the cheers started to drown the whole coliseum.

"Really, you're the biggest upset here. Everyone thought it would be the stage for us Fused Spirits, maybe if I'm also at the audience stand, I will be like those girls."

Namira started talking, maybe to remove her nervousness. And that really helped, her breathing steady as she took a stance in front of me.

"I really wouldn't join here if not for the thing I wanted to get."

Answering her determination, I planned to go all out against her. With my Spiritual Twin materialized in front of me, a sword in its hand. As soon as the signal to start sounded, both Namira and my Spiritual Twin dashed towards each other.

With her Spiritual Twin Phantom appearing behind her, her baseball bat-like weapon ignited once more before it shot a ball of fire towards my Spiritual Twin.

Without even commanding it, the sword in its hands hacked downwards and cut the ball of fire in two. It stopped in its place to wait for the incoming Namira.

Seeing that, I also started to move. Using a bit of World Energy, I used Flash Step and arrived right behind my Spiritual Twin. Willing it to jump before her attack arrived, she was surprised that I was already behind it.

It's already too late for her to adjust her attack. Falling short of reaching me, I grabbed her currently blazing weapon in my hand and pulled it, ignoring the searing flame that's trying to burn anything it touches

Namira held onto her weapon, afraid that if she let it be taken by me, she would immediately fall into a dangerous state.

However, by doing that, she gave me another opportunity to land a hit on her. Using my free hand, I cupped it into a fist and punched right to her abdomen. It was a clean hit.

Since I didn't hold back at all, she flew back for a bit before landing on the ground writhing while clutching her abdomen. Unlike Molark, this girl is really stronger. Nonetheless, taking a direct hit like that and with my main body that was buffed with the Heroes' stats, our match is over.

She didn't manage to showcase all 4 streams of her connection but I guess this is for the better. I'm already bullying them by joining when I'm already comparable to a Transformed Spirit.

The crowd was silenced when they saw me walking towards her again. They probably thought I'm about to finish her, which was quite cruel, there's even some who were shouting her name, telling her to stand up and run away.

I already won, there's no point in further torment. I went next to her and crouched down. Forming a ball of Spirit Energy in my hand, I shot it to her and it immediately enveloped her body. A Spirit Boost can relieve pain so when the effect kicks in, Namira whose face was previously contorted in pain stood up and stood before me. She's not unconscious so she knew it was me who eased her pain

"T-thank you, Ember. You're really strong, I concede defeat. Win this competition, okay?"

After saying that, Namira jumped down the stage. And soon after loud cheering rang out again. This time they're even praising what I did for her.

It's not that I'm discriminating but Molark flew far away and was embedded into the wall, unconscious. Unlike Namira who had just fallen and was in pain from my punch, there's no way a Spirit Boost can wake that guy up earlier.

When I went back to the waiting room, there were now fewer participants. There's only Trax, the injured guy and me left when the 4th match started.

The 4th match was between Ferbil and another female Fused Spirit.

They're both fierce and showcased their 5 streams of Connection giving the audience a satisfying show which almost ended their fight in a draw.

In the end, it was Ferbil who clutched the victory when the female Fused Spirit's arm fell limp from being too exhausted.

However, he's in the same state as the guy from the 2nd match, even if they advanced, with me and Trax who both haven't sweated from our first two fights, they already lost hope at winning this competition.

"It looks like we'll really meet in the finals, Ember. I'm looking forward to it."

Trax, who hasn't spoken a word to me since earlier, said with a smile.

Will he really be able to provide me with any difficulty? I don't know. Though he's stronger than any other participants, it's still not enough to force me on my knees.

"Due to the injury of Hyre and Ferbil, they both dropped out of the competition. Because of that, after a 30-minute break, we'll move on to this competition's Final Battle!"

"The Invincible Natal Spirit, Ember against The Strongest Known Fused Spirit, Trax!"

"Whoever emerged victorious against them will win the Tutelage of our own Noble Spirit, Jayce as well as these Unknown Stone which was originally a possession of his precious daughter Jayna!"

The announcer's voice rang out across the whole coliseum which garnered cheers and excitement from the crowd. The Noble Spirit, Jayce and his daughter, Jayna even stood up and waved to the crowd. Seeing the Orb in Jayna's hand, any lingering doubt that I may have left was already dispersed. I just wonder what's the effect of that Orb.

Ah. I'll be able to try that later so there's no point thinking about it for the time being.

But really, the Invincible Natal Spirit? Can't they think for a better nickname? Ah. Who am I to judge when I couldn't even name my skills beautifully.