Chapter 20

In the spectating room, Sana dashes to the medical center to check up on Lyon, and out of nowhere, Yanan suddenly appears. Yanan started giggling and said, "Finally, it is our turn to fight. I've been waiting patiently for us to fight since I saw you fight in the first round. You amazed me, Mike, with your fighting style ever since we fought. You were so fragile and weak. You weren't even worth fighting; it's time to see what your capable of Mike, or should I say, Michael?" I widened my eyes and charged at Yanan, but right when I was about to throw a punch, he instantly moved behind me and said, "Nah! Don't get all worked up before the fight, so save that heat till then. Yanan left the room and started walking toward the stadium. Yanan started feeling heavy and all his senses were going haywire, he dropped to the ground and started breathing heavily. He turned around and saw Despair walking behind. Despair looked at Yanan and said, "Are you okay?" For the first time, Yanan felt true fear towardssomeone whose power was hundred times greater than his. Yanan looked up towards him, eyes wide open, saying with a frightened voice, " ye… yesss I am." Despair replied, "Okay, then you better get on moving. You are up next, Yanan." Despair took one step, then instantly disappeared. Yanan got up and started walking toward the stadium.

Narrator: After Yanan met with despair for the first time, he knew that power would be impossible to reach. Now let see what is going on with Sana and Lyon at the Medical Office.

Meanwhile, at the medical office, Sana burst open the door and started shouting, "LYON WHERE ARE YOU!? ARE YOU OKAY!?" And with low voice and a embarrassed expression, Lyon replied, "I'm over here Sana and yes, I'm feeling alright. The nurse healed me up to one hundred percent." Sana smiled with relief and replied, "Thank heaven, because it wouldn't be fair of me fighting you while you are all beat up for our official match. I want us to go all out." Lyon looked down to his hand, all wrapped up in bandage. He started grining, saying, "you knowwhat? I'm feeling lucky today, and you know what that means, Sana?" Sana looks at Lyon with confusion and says, "What?" Lyon remove the bandage off his arms and said, "For our battle, I LYON WHO HAVE THE POWER OF THE ANGEL OF LIGHT WILL WIN THIS MATCH!" Lyon shined a bright aura while having his fist in the air and everyone is covering their eyes cause they weren't trying to become blind. As for Sana, she also covers her eyes, then says, "Lyon, don't get too COCKY!"  Sana roundhouse kicks Lyon, knocking him off the bed.

Narrator: Sana is dealing with Lyon's cockiness. We will go back to the spectating room, where Michael is getting ready for his match.

In Michael's head, he says, "He's stronger now. He was way stronger than before I met him. Should I take off the gem and fight him with full power, or should I keep it and see how far I can go within this battle?" I continued to talk out loud, "You know what? I'm going to keep it; let's see how my battle experience rivals his." A staff member walks into the spectators room and clears her throat, then says, "If Mike is here? Please hurry to the stadium. It's your turn to fight!" I calm down my excitement and rushed down to the stadium."

The announcer then begins to speak, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first match of the semi-finals!" The crowd was then shouting and screaming. The announcer continues, "On our left side of the arena, Mike!" The moment I walked in, everyone began yelling and chanting my name. Luke then stands up and starts pumping his fists through the air, shouting, "Come on, my boy, you got this! Let that sorry bastard know!" I look up, and I see Eren and Luke. Eren smiles and gives me a thumbs-up. Eren then says, "You got this kid." I smiled back and waved towards the crowd. The announcer continues, "On our right side of the arena is Yanan!" Yanan then slowly made an appearance. The crowd went wild, but Luke was the only person booing. Luke kept shouting, "He got nothing on my boy, Mike! I bet one grand on Mike!" A group of people heard Luke and decided to make a bet with him. Eren then shakes his head in disbelief as this is happening in front of him. The announcer then shouts, "Fighters, start heading towards the middle!" Yanan and I then began to head towards the middle, but then something unexpected happened. Despair suddenly appears out of nowhere between them. 

The moment I saw him, I already wanted to kill him. Erma, Lele, and Crystalâ€"all three of them were slaughtered by this monster. The announcer then continues and says, "The semi-finals and final matches are going to be more unique than the previous rounds. Despair is going to help set up the portals." Despair looks at me and says, "I know who you really are; good luck." Yanan then says,"It looks like I'm not the only one who knows about your little secret." I ignored Yanan and mainly focused my attention on Despair. Despair then made the portal. The announcer then continues, "The arena for this match is going to be in space, the fighters will be fighting on a platform, and there will be meteors and such around them. No more mountains interfering with these fights!" As I was getting ready to enter the portal, Despair whispered in my ear, "You'll soon see them again. Their last words were wishing the best for you, after all. Despair then vanished. Zedros then says in my head, "Don't let him get to you. Use all this frustration on Yanan. Make sure you win this, or we won't make it to the finals." I replied, "Right!" The announcer then shouts, "Fighters, start entering the portal!" We both entered through the portal. Luke then shouts, "Mike I have 100 grand on your ass! Don't let me down, or it will be your ass next!" As soon as we entered we took a step back. I looked around and saw how the arena looked. It reminded me of the time when I was sparring with Eren. The announcer then shouts, "3, 2, 1, Fight!" 

Yanan and I slowly approached each other. I reached my hand out to him. I then said, "May the best fighter win." Yanan looked at me and shook my hand. Yanan's grip then got tighter. I then felt the pressure and began to increase it. The platform then began to shake, and then, in a few seconds, the meteors started to shake in space as well. The crowd was shocked. Yanan and I were staring at each other with a little smirk on our faces. Yanan and I then stopped. Yanan then said, "It will take more than a handshake to befriend me." I replied, "Just trying to be a good sport, that's all." Yanan then says, "Show me that you are not the same person that I randomly met on the mountain." I cracked my knuckles and said, "Alright, then let's do this." The crowd was confused about why they were talking and not fighting. Luke, on the other hand, was annoyed. Luke shouted, "Mike, stop goofing around with Yanan and beat his ass! Remind you, I have 100 grand for your ass!" We both threw a punch and clashed. We were both throwing punches left and right. Smoke was then appearing. Yanan then eventually landed the first punch and threw me into space. I stopped myself from flying away and saw a meteor next to me, which I threw towards Yanan. Yanan then flicked the meteor, destroying it into space dust. I then said, "Well, that was pointless." Yanan then shouts, "Come on, take this more seriously!" Yanan then vanished and appeared behind me. I put my arms up, getting ready to block his attack. Yanan then kicked him towards the platform. I did a flip and landed on my feet. Yanan then summons his Perfect Blackhole and throws the same meteor I threw at him earlier toward me. I then smacked the meteor and said, "You are not the only one who can destroy meteors with ease." Yanan then used it as a distraction and punched me in the gut. I then spat out saliva. Yanan, with a serious look, then says, "You won't make it far if you keep acting as if I'm your friend." 

I then held onto Yanan's arm and headbutted him. I then threw an uppercut, sending Yanan into the air. I then said in my head, "It looks like befriending Yanan didn't work. Maybe next time, when we are not fighting he'll come around." I then flew up. Yanan then touches his chin, seeing that I left a bruise. I then said, "It looks like I gave you a reminder." Yanan then says, "Dark Sun." He then sends a sphere with dark, burning mana towards me. I then shouted, "Corrupted Blackhole." I absorbed the Dark Sun." Yanan then says, "It looks like we both have that in common, except mine is like a pocket, but yours absorbs it and replenishes your dark mana. Yanan then summons his Menace Blade and rushes towards me. I dodged his first attack and then summoned my Yin Kitana to block his second. Yanan was then holding me down. I then shouted, "Dark Eradication." Dark Mana was then covering my Yin Kitana, increasing its strength. I then did a reverse spin out of that position and tried striking from above. Yanan then blocks it. Yanan then blocks it and creates a dark sun with two of his fingertips. He then releases the blade, and blasts it towards me. I was then sent back, and the burning sun exploded. I then said softly, "Blackout." The area turned pitch dark. Yanan looked around and said, "You like blinding people too, huh?" Yanan then closes his eyes and senses my presence. I then began throwing a barrage of slices with my blade as Yanan began to block every strike with his Menace blade. Yanan then lets out a yell, releasing an amount of energy that clears the darkness from the arena. I was then pushed back. I then shout, "Darkness Spheres!" Dozens of spheres made out of dark mana were being released toward Yanan. Yanan then shouts, "Dark Terror!" A beam of dark mana was unleashed and destroyed the dark spheres. The beam then struck me. I grunted and held my chest. Yanan then says, "I'm going to end this Mike; it, looks like you haven't changed at all. You are still the same kid I met back then, still is now." Yanan then vanishes, leaving an afterimage, and slices my chest. I then took a step back. I tried rushing toward Yanan, but he kept dodging and countering my attacks. Yanan was more skilled with a sword than I was. Eventually, Yanan managed to smack the Yin Katana out of my hands. I then started throwing hands. Yanan threw in a slice, and I shouted, "Dark Eradication!" My hands were covered with dark mana, and I managed to catch his blade with both of my hands.

I was holding my ground. The ground started to break. I then let go, letting the blade fall next to me. I then started throwing punches, beating Yanan left and right. Yanan then dropped his Menace Blade and jumped back. I then got the upper hand, and as soon as I threw in another punch, he caught it with one hand. I was struggling to move my hand. Yanan then crushed my hand. He was then in his imperfect transformation. Yanan then says, "Time for us to stop holding back!" The hand he was crushing was the one with the glove. 

Yanan had a smirk on his face and said, "Time to get rid of this stupid glove." Eventually, he lifted me from the ground and started slamming me back down repeatedly. He then stopped and put his palm against my chest. He then says, "Dark Pulse." A big shockwave of dark energy struck me and launched me across the arena. A mark was then left on my chest where he had struck me. I then slowly got up and summoned my Yin Kitana. I then said, "Yin's Collision." I got into a stance and dashed towards Yanan. As soon as I got close to Yanan, it was over. Yanan then snapped his fingers, and the mark on my chest exploded. Yanan then caught me and said, "Enjoy the sidelines Mike. You were not ready for this encounter, and same for the next." Yanan then summoned his Menace Blade and sliced the gem on my glove, destroying it. Yanan then threw me and said, "Dark Sun." The big sphere of burning dark mana then destroyed the platform and consumed me. The crowd was cheering, worried, and excited. Eren stood up, worried. Lyon held Sana as Sana started tearing up, worried for Mike. Luke started shouting, "Mike, don't give up; I can't lose my money!" All four of them shouted, "Get up and win this!"

I was unconscious. I then appeared in front of Zedros. Zedros was sitting on his throne. Zedros then said, "This kid used his full power against you, not giving you a chance to use yours. This is how a real fight is Michael. You fight to win; it doesn't matter if it's unfair. This is no game. This is not child's play, Michael! Yanan right now is showing you up, but you have some hope left." Zedros then lends Michael some of his energy. Zedros continued, "You were a miracle that has happened by wielding this power; now it is time to create more." Zedros then snapped his fingers, releasing Michael. The gem started to unleash energy and power. I then consumed it. Luke then shouted, "Eren, what is going on? I don't know what is happening to Michael, but I am loving it!" Eren then says, "The gem took some of Michael's power, but there was a limit to how much it could store. You can still gain more power even though some of it has been taken away." Luke then replies, "So he just got back the power that was stored in all because Yanan broke the gem. Michael is now breathing again, and he won't be showing any mercy towards Yanan now!"

I then flew out of the Dark Sun, and I was transformed into my imperfect form. Yanan had an evil glare on his face. Yanan then shouts, "Time to go all out Mike!" We both rushed each other. I then summoned my Yin Kitana, and we both clashed. I then countered Yanan and side-kicked him to the side. Yanan then had a rush going on. Yanan then shouted, "Burning Sun!" Yanan then made 3 Burning Suns and launched them towards me. I then got into my stance and said, "Yin's Collision." I launched myself destroying 2 Burning Suns. Yanan saw me destroying the first two so he then shouted, "Dark Wall!" I then destroyed the third dark sun and then sliced through the dark wall. Yanan was amazed and shouted, "Yes! This is what I have been waiting for!" I then turned around and started landing a barrage of slices upon Yanan. Yanan smiling like a maniac and then let out a big burst of energy launching me back. Yanan then shouts, "Shadow Step!" Yanan then sliced me from below. The strike stunned me. Yanan then spread his arms wide, smiling like a lunatic, then got into his stance and then lands a power strike downward. Once Yanan landed on the floor, dozens of slices appeared on top of me, pushing me back down to the ground. I then got up and said, "Fuck this platform." I then said, "Dark Disintegration." I touched the platform and destroyed everything. There was nothing to stand on. Yanan was then laughing. We both rushed and kept on clashing. Every meteor and everything around us were then destroyed. There was nothing but us and the emptiness in space.

I then shouted, "Blackout!" Yanan then shouted, "I got a better trick up my sleeve than that. Dark Slumber!" It was then a clash of both dark mana users' domains. Eventually, the darkness coming from Yanan and Michael merged into one. Nobody was able to see anything, and we were only able to hear them yelling. The sounds of two swords hitting one another. The darkness began to disappear, and we began to see the two again. Both of their clothes were destroyed. They both had scars and bruises. Yanan was still smiling, while Michael had a serious expression. Yanan then shouted, "Michael, you have surprised me! I thought you were just a bitch and pathetic in the beginning, but this! This is what I have been waiting for! A challenge, a rival! Now let us end this with a bang!" They both got into a stance. Yanan then shouted, "Dark Slash!" I then shouted, "Yin's Amputation!" They both let out a big slash and collided. The cameras then started to shake, and it got blurry. The announcer then said, "Give it a second folks; it won't take long until we see them again." Everyone had their fingers crossed, Luke muttering, and Eren then said, "Come on Michael." The cameras then cleared up and we saw Yanan unconscious, and Michael was still standing, raising his sword in the air. Everyone started shouting and yelling. Lyon and Sana are cheering, Eren standing up from his chair cheering, and Luke is collecting the money he won. The portal then opened and medics went through. I then detransformed and fell down unconscious. The medics came in, taking us both inside.