Chapter 29

The tournament continued, each match more thrilling than the last, as the crowd roared with excitement. I won my next fight with ease, as did Ezekiel who dominated his matches with his unparalleled earth magic. And finally, the time for the final match arrived, which was a 3-way match between me, Ezekiel, and a young boy named William.

As I sat in the waiting room, preparing for the match that was set to begin in ten minutes, my attention was drawn to a knock on the door. "Master Lucas, Ezekiel wishes to see you," Andrew announced.

I stretched and stifled a yawn before responding, "Let him in." Ezekiel walked in, his eyes filled with a newfound sense of determination. It was clear that my words had struck a chord with him.

"You seem to have made your decision," I remarked, offering him a smile. Ezekiel bowed respectfully before responding, "I have, Lord Lucas. It seems that God has been showing me signs all along, but I have chosen to ignore them."

I couldn't help but feel pleased with Ezekiel's response. "I'm glad to hear that, Ezekiel. You've made the right decision," I said, patting him on the back. "And please, drop the honorifics. We're both men of faith."

Ezekiel hesitated for a moment before complying with my request. "Of course, Lucas," he said, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"You know, Ezekiel, I feel like we could be good friends, don't you?" His guard is slowly dropping, but I can't complain since it's still progressing.

As Ezekiel composed himself and agreed to be my friend, I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. "Good, Andrew, bring it here," I instructed, knowing that I had just the thing for my new friend.

Andrew returned with a small, intricately decorated box adorned with various religious symbols. "Here is a little gift for you as a testament to our new found friendship," I said, presenting the box to Ezekiel.

Curious, Ezekiel opened the box and his eyes widened in awe as he beheld a beautiful cross made of the highest quality, complete with a protective rune stone. "Thank you, Lucas, this is truly a generous gift," he said, his voice full of appreciation.

"It's nothing, my friend," I replied, grinning at him. "Just a small token of our friendship."

As the final match approached, Ezekiel and I said our goodbyes and made our way towards the arena. Once we arrived, the three of us positioned ourselves in the center, poised and ready to commence the match.

The crowd was pumping as I gazed at my opponents. William appeared to be fidgeting nervously, clearly overwhelmed by the pressure of the final match. Ezekiel, on the other hand, looked composed and ready, his eyes closed in prayer as he held his sword tightly.

With the knight explaining the rules, I couldn't help but feel confident. This was going to be a decent test of my strength, and I was looking forward to it. As I listened to the instructions, a smirk played across my lips, knowing that at the very least, this fight was going to be entertaining.

The moment the signal was given, I launched into action, sprinting towards William. He managed to dodge my initial attack, but it was clear that he was no match for my speed and strength. With a swift motion of my sword, I knocked his weapon out of his hand and sent him flying across the arena.

"Alright, Ezekiel, it's just you and me. Let's make this interesting," I said, grinning at him.

Ezekiel gripped his sword tightly and nodded at me, his eyes glinting with determination. I couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement as we both advanced toward each other, our weapons clashing loudly in the echoing arena.

As I exhaled, a sudden chill filled the coliseum, causing the temperature to drop. The floor beneath us turned into ice within seconds, a testament to the power of my ice magic. I extended my hand toward Ezekiel, unleashing a barrage of icy spears in his direction. However, he quickly reacted, forming an earth wall to shield himself from my attack.

But that didn't deter me. I continued to press forward, determined to win this fight. Ezekiel shattered his wall into little pieces and flung them toward me while simultaneously charging at me with his sword. I agilely dodged from side to side, dodging every stone hurled in my direction. As Ezekiel's sword came crashing down, I skillfully blocked his strike with my own sword.

He made another move, attempting to strike me with his sword. I dodged and quickly punched him in the gut, grabbing the back of his armor and launching him back. At that moment, I created a wall of ice behind him, which he crashed into.

But Ezekiel wasn't one to be deterred easily. He quickly recovered and formed a small floating earth shield, blocking my punch toward his face. As my hand hit the shield, I recoiled, giving him an opening to swing his sword towards my leg.

As Ezekiel swung his sword towards my leg, I quickly reacted by forming ice in its path and raising my leg for a kick to his head. But he let go of his sword and intercepted my kick, swiftly moving to the side of his body. I stumbled forward, and in that moment of vulnerability, he swung me into my own ice wall.

I shook my head, trying to clear the daze as I watched him retrieve his sword. Ezekiel charged at me again, his eyes ablaze with determination. We clashed swords once more, the sound of metal ringing out in the arena.

As we clashed, I seized Ezekiel's sword and swiftly turned it into ice, shattering it into pieces. With his weapon gone, Ezekiel was forced onto the defensive, conjuring earth shields to counter my strikes. It was evident that his mana was dwindling, so I decided to bring the fight to an end. I swung my sword with increased strength, throwing him off balance, and then aimed for his Achilles heel. He stumbled and fell, and I quickly got on top of him, holding my sword over his body while summoning ice spears to surround him.

"It's over, Ezekiel. You lost," I declared triumphantly.