Chapter 29: The Duel Begins!

The next morning, Saiba, Lily, and Lazaro all head to the Alberoth Stronghold where Aldrich is waiting at the front. He announces,

"I'm glad you came, little brother. It would pain me to have to lay waste to those powerless insects you call friends."

Lazaro grinds his teeth in anger. He shouts back,

"I'm ready for this duel! Hurry it up already!"

Aldrich replies,

"My, my. It seems as though my dear little brother wants to speed up the death of those insects!"

The gates are already open as Aldrich marches in. Saiba, Lily, and Lazaro follow him as they are led to a coliseum-like building.

They walk in and are met with bright lights that temporarily blind them. Once they regain their sight, they see a crowd of cheering people that fill the stands of the coliseum. A loud voice suddenly announces,

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Thunderdome!"

The crowd cheers even louder. Lazaro mumbles,

"Zaphry..? He does this now..?"

They keep walking and Lazaro's expression suddenly becomes shocked. Saiba notices and asks,

"Lazaro..? What's wrong..?"

Lazaro points to a group of blonde haired and blue eyed people, similar to him and Aldrich. He shouts,

"Th-That's the whole family!"

He points to a familiar pair of female twins and says,

"Voltie... Voltia..."

Next he points at pair of male twins while saying,

"Raijin... Fuujin..."

Then he points at a girl with twintails and an energetic little boy while saying,

"Joula... Wattson..."

He becomes even more surprised as he points to a refined woman and a bearded man wielding a hammer while saying,

"Big Sister Aldrea and Big Brother Thorden!?"

Lazaro becomes even more surprised as he points to a pair of seniors in chairs while saying,

"Father Zeus and Mother Elecia too!?"

Zaphry, the announcer, starts announcing,

"It's the moment you've all been waiting for! The return of the '[Storm Lord], Aldrich Alberoth'!"

Saiba whispers to Lazaro,

"Storm Lord? What does that mean?"

Lazaro answers,

"That's his title. The King gave him that one."

Zaphry continues to announce,

"This is going to be his first duel to mark his return! It's going to be a 'One-Hit Duel'! The first one to land a hit is the winner!"

He continues,

"Now, let me introduce his opponent! Lazaro Alberoth! Well, Lazaro 'former' Alberoth to be exact!"

He ends his announcement with,

"Big Sister Aldrea will be the witness for this duel! Now then, let the battle begin!"

Lazaro shouts,

"That's all I get for an introduction!?"

Saiba asks Lazaro,

"Witness? What is this? A crime scene?"

Lazaro explains,

"All duels need a witness! They're the ones who decide the winner!"

Suddenly, Voltie and Voltia pick up Saiba and Lily and take them to an empty spot in the stands. In unison they stay,

"You two watch here. Don't start any trouble."

They zap back to their spots like electricity. Saiba mumbles,

"How do they keep doing that?"

Lily explains,

"It's probably a [Body-Type Skill]."

Saiba asks,

"Body-Type..? Aren't skills only for weapons?"

Lily answers,

"The body is a weapon too! I actually have a Body-Type Skill. It's the one I used back in Riveria to flash to the lightning bolt. It's called [Lightspeed]!"

Excitedly, Saiba shouts,

"I can't wait to learn Body-Type Skills too!"

Saiba looks back at the center of the Thunderdome and sees Lazaro and Aldrich standing at opposite ends of the battlefield. Aldrea, who's now also standing on the battlefield, brings her arm up and down while shouting,

"Begin!"

Lazaro takes his longbow and shoots a water arrow out while shouting,

"Liquid Arrow!"

Aldrich sends back a small ball of electricity while saying,

"Charge Shot."

The two projectiles collide and sizzle out in the air. Aldrich shouts over,

"Little brother, you are aware that your Water-Type Skills are weak to my Lightning-Type Skills, right? Or have those insects polluted your mind that much already? In any case, you should know this duel is already over. You and your Water Skills have no chance against my Lightning Skills!"

Lazaro shouts back,

"We won't know until it's over, so shut it Aldrich!"

Lazaro shoots a barrage of projectiles while shouting,

"Liquid Sickle!"

"Liquid Needle!"

"Liquid Lance!"

As the water flies through the air, Aldrich mutters,

"Electric Flash."

Sparks begin flying off of Aldrich's body as he easily zaps in between Lazaro's Skills. After, Aldrich says,

"Let's hurry up and end this, shall we? I gave you some time to prepare so that you gain some stronger skills, but it doesn't look like anything's changed."

He raises his spear, similar to the time in Riveria. A thundercloud starts to form as Aldrich brings his hand down and shouts,

"Charge Strike!"

A large lightning bolt comes out of the sky and crashes down. It seems as though this is Lazaro's loss.