Chapter 56 Tournament Bracket A (9) : Edwin Hyrule vs Tiona Hiryute

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TheManCandy is back!!! and I'm feeling good now that my thesis is over and done. and I'm happy to say that after four grueling and hellish years TheManCandy would finally graduate.

BANZAI!!!

Anyway here's a long chapter. hope you guys like it.

-TheManCandy.

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*Narration*

*BOOM!!!*

Edwin was sent flying back, he was able to raise his shield up on time, still it was strong, he didn't expect it to be that strong, the force literally lifted his feet off the ground and he was by no means, a small man.

He balanced himself mid air and landed on his feet, he skidded a few more feet back, he quickly set his shield up in front of him to guard against Tiona's follow-up but no attack came. No... The Amazon was nowhere to be seen.

The hair on his body stood up, he felt a shiver, his senses were screaming at him. And Edwin followed it, he looked up and saw the Amazon falling straight down at him with her weapon in tow.

"TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE!!!" Tiona wailed as she came crashing down at Edwin, slamming her weapon at the knight.

Edwin raised his shield up, dodging was never an option for him, he might hate his talent but he still has pride for it.

Both of their weapons glowed, enchanted by mana they prepared for the clash.

*BOOM!!!*

Metal hits metal as the two forces collide. Edwin's knees buckled by the weight of Tiona's strike.

The stage erupted in an explosion of dust and debris.

And when the dust settled, it showed that Edwin had blocked Tiona's blade with his shield, and around them a crater had been made.

Edwin was kneeling on the ground, yet his shield held firm, a smirk visible in his face as he stared at the wide eyed amazon.

She had put everything she had on that attack, every once of mana in her body, she pushed her muscles to the limit, and with her everything she slashed at the knight who was able to block it.

She had to move fast, sure he was able to block it but his balance was all over the place, his iron wall was now showing some cracks in it.

With her muscle aching, Tiona willed herself to move, twirling and spinning to the side of the knight she unleashed another powerful blow.

Edwin calculated the attack, she was moving to his right, his shield won't be able to make it on time, but his sword can.

With a move that can be described as sloppy at best he raised his sword to block Tiona's twin blades, it may be ugly but the result was all that matters to him right now... He refused to lose.

Yet even when he blocked it he still felt chills run up his spine, then he saw it. Tiona's face... She was smiling. A predatory smile, her eyes felt like she was looking at her prey.

"Gotcha..." he heard her whisper, but for him, it felt like a scream.

Tiona continued to twirl around the knight, using her momentum to its fullest, she spun all the way towards his back.

His back that was completely open, vulnerable to any attack, especially now that he's balance was broken and he was down on his knees.

"Shit!" he cursed, he won't be able to make it, he physically can't, try as he might it was just not possible. "Well played..." he gritted his teeth and spoke.

He physically couldn't block the attack that was coming... But his magic can.

"Guardian!" He wailed, his voice booming all throughout the amphitheater, a short chant magic. A magic that he could only use once per day, the magic that earned him his alias as the paladin.

A light beamed down towards Edwin from the heaven above.

*BOOM*

Tiona felt both of her arms go numb as her own force bounced back at her, she was knocked back a couple of meters with her feet off the ground.

'Fuck that felt like a solid wall!!!' Tiona thought to herself as she balanced herself mid air in order to land on her feet.

She then looked at Edwin, she covered her eyes in the process as a binding light shone from him.

"I've got to say... I didn't expect you to push me this hard." She heard him speak as the bright light slowly subsidized, this allowed her to get a look at the knight who was now staring right at her.

A silver aura surrounded his whole body, a wing made out of pure mana has sprouted out his back, his eyes glowed in an almost divine silver hue. On top of his head rest a sun like halo with eight 5 distinctive rays. His appearance was close to that of an angel in the legends.

Tiona was amazed, in her mind this was a new summit for her to climb, a new challenge for her to conquer. Any other adventurer would have cowered or submitted in front of Edwin's power, but not her. Not Tiona Hiryute.

Edwin grimaced, he really didn't want to use this, this was supposed to be his triumph card, a last resort, he could have taken that hit and he was sure that he could have taken it. But his body moved on its own.

Right before the attack hit he remembered what the Amazon said to him. "I'll FUCKING BREAK THAT DEFENSE OF YOURS!!!"

And at the brink of her breaking it he unleashed his triumph card, maybe because of pride. He hated his talent, he absolutely despise it, he wanted to be someone who can trade blows, who can beat his opponent down in an exchange of swords, yet he was blessed with an unparalleled talent for defense.

He hated it, but at the same time, he hated the feeling of losing, he hated losing above all else. And he felt like if Tiona had hit her with that attack, he would lose. Not the match, but his pride. So without thinking, without so much of a second of thought, he unleashed his ultimate magic.

A magic of which stood for everything that he hates, the perfect shield, unbreakable and unmoving.

"Tiona Hiryute... You are strong, me using this magic is proof of your strength. So with the utmost respect... I will beat you with everything that I have." Edwin spoke as the entire Arena shook from his mana.

"Ancient Magic..." A huge gust of air blows everywhere as the wings behind his back flaps in a show of power. "GUARDIAN!!!"

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"You've got to be kidding me!!! ANOTHER ONE!!!" Thor wailed as he watched the event unfold.

The other gods felt the same way, another ancient magic user had shown itself for everyone to see. All eyes then turned towards Athena.

The goddess didn't give them any attention and instead was focusing on the fight, on her face was a mixture of emotions that made her unreadable.

"So... Your child is an ancient magic user huh?" Heracles asked while the rest of the gods listened in. They as well are curious about this child who along with Loch had used the magic of the old world.

"Yes... He is..." Athena answered, still not letting her eyes off the stage.

"Is that the reason why he is appointed as a pillar even though he's only level 5?" Heracles smirked as he asked the question.

Athena finally took her eyes off and looked at Heracles. "..." she didn't say anything which Heracles took as a confirmation. She then turned back into the match.

"So he's able to use the Guardian. Well that's annoying." Heracles also returned his attention to the match. "A magic which makes you practically invincible, a perfect and unbreakable shield. I faced someone who has had this magic before, and I have to say that magic is bullshit."

"Oho... Judging by your words it seems like you really hate that magic." Thor who had finally calmed down asked his friend who had experienced facing someone who used that magic.

"The one who created that magic was a bastard and a fucking headache to deal with but I have to admit that he was a strong opponent who was able to match me blow for blow." Heracles recalled his time when he was still mortal. "Come to think of it, he kinda looks like that child." He said as he pointed towards Edwin.

"So he's a reincarnation of that man." Thor said while looking closely at Edwin, his eyes suddenly widened when he realized who Heracles was talking about. "Edwin Hyrule is the reincarnation of Purist Thunderwrath."

"Seems like it." Heracles answered while shrugging. "Now let's focus on the match, it looks like it's about to reach its climax."

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Edwin rushed towards Tiona which shocked the amazon, she didn't expect for him to came charging out at her.

Still, it was what she wanted, a head on fight. So the amazon rushed at him in order to meet him at the middle.

Edwin sees this and placed his shield in front, and in one swift motion he pushed it towards Tiona.

Tiona was much faster still, she couldn't understand it, there's a nagging feeling behind her brain, yet she choose to ignore it.

With a quick side step she dodged the shield bash of Edwin and was now on his right. Not wasting any time she swung her blade straight at him.

'He's not blocking it.' She thought as Edwin was letting her attack hit.

*Clang!*

"The fuck!" She cursed, her weapon stopped at Edwin's body, she felt like she was hitting a wall of solid adamantite.

At her peripheral she saw his sword heading at her, with a fluid motion she ducked the slash while delivering an attack of her own.

This time she was striking at his head, where no armor was present.

"I got you now!" She declared as her blade sliced the wind at the speed of her attack.

"Arghhh!!" when the attack hit Tiona groaned, all her momentum came to a sudden halt. Her eyes widened, her weapon connected yet as she looked at Edwin she saw him just taking it like it was nothing.

"H-how?" She asked.

Edwin did not answer, instead he bashed Tiona with his shield hitting her at her head.

The blow sent her head back, she then felt a thudding blow at her abdomen as Edwin delivered a spartan kick straight at it.

"Gwuah!!!" the air in her lungs was forcefully evicted by that blow. She then hit the ground hard as she rolled a couple more meters before stopping.

With great difficulties she looked up, only to saw the knight already at her space, she forcefully rolled to the side just in time for her to dodge the sword of Edwin.

But she didn't have time to think, a kick followed her on which she blocked using her twin blade.

The roles have now reversed as Edwin was now on the offensive.

"Tsk!" Tiona clicked her tongue, the knights was relentlessly chasing after her, she was able to lunch a couple of counter along the way but it had no effect on him whatsoever.

Edwin gave her an overhead slash on which Tiona flawlessly parried to the ground, she then retaliated with three consecutive blows that which hit Edwin at his chest and head.

But it had little effect if there was ever one, Edwin was just shrugging all her blows like it was nothing.

Edwin again bashed her with his shield, this time she was able to see it coming, getting her feet off the ground she took the hit head on with her Urga, and using the force to create a considerably large amount of distance between the two of them.

She landed on her feet unstably, her breathing was rough as her body was littered with wounds and bruised.

She was at her limit, even with her skills her body just couldn't keep up anymore and she knew it.

Edwin was looking at her, he also knew that the amazon will go down with a couple more blow, hell even one clean hit will probably bring her down for the count.

"The fuck is that magic?" Tiona asked, her voice filled with frustration. "Wait don't answer that."

"Hehe... I wasn't planning on answering it." Edwin couldn't help himself but to chuckle. The amazon even with all her wounds still has that cheery personality on her.

"Well either way I'm pretty much spent, all I have now is one more attack." She said with a challenging smile. "I'm curious though, that magic of yours... Will it be able to handle it?" she issued a challenge.

Edwin looked at Tiona, she still had that fire in her eyes. His heart beated fast. How could he backed out when she was challenging him with all the determination and fire. "Bring it." he answered as he placed his shield in front of him. His mana roared at her challenge, a bright silver light glows and radiates out his body.

Tiona smiled viciously at this, her canines showing from the excitement. "I did say I'll break that defense of yours." her mana, a fiery red exploded in the arena as the heat even reached the crowd watching behind the protective barrier of the stage.

Seeing Tiona made Edwin heart beat faster, he couldn't understand why. Because of excitement? Fear? Awe? He didn't know. All he knows is that at this moment he wanted to win. And with it, an appreciation for his talent bloomed deep inside his heart.

Tiona took her stance, her hand gripped her twin blade Urga with everything she had, it even cracked her handle. All the strength and power that she gained because of her skill erupted as she willed her mana to move. It roared and covered her entire body.

She was radiating power, the mana she released was now on par with the level 6's in her familia. Right now her power was that of a high ranking level 6.

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Finn and the members of Loki familia felt chills as they watched the power of Tiona. They knew she was strong, but not on this level.

"Looks like your way above me sis." Tione whispered as she clenched her chest. She was proud by her sister's strength. But at the same time there was a pang of competitive jealousy tuck deep inside her. 'I'll catch up.' she thought as she watched her sister with determined eyes.

Ais didn't believe Tiona had this much power, she firmly believe she was above the twins but now, there was doubt in her heart as she witnessed the amount of mana Tiona was releasing. Her eyes wondered towards the knight who'll be taking that attack. He was smiling. A look of confidence in his face, a look that screams "come! I'll beat you no matter what!" this made Ais wonder. Would he be able to take that attack head on.

Bete was shock by how much strength the amazon had, her strengths right now was at his level, and he's a level 6, what made it worse is that he only leveled up recently so right now Tiona was actually stronger than him. "You've gotta be kidding me." he couldn't help but mutter at the sight he was watching.

Finn was impressed, he was proud by the strength Tiona was showing right now, hell she might actually win this. "Go get him." he whispered as he clenched his fist in support.

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Tiona gritted her teeth, her muscles were screaming in pain and her body was getting heavier by the second, yet she didn't care. Her heels dug deep as the ground where she was standing cracked with her sheer force.

She pushed herself off the ground and beamed straight towards Edwin, a red orange light following in her trail.

She pushed every mana inside her body towards her weapon and it glowed a violent red light.

"HERE I COME!!!" She waile as she slashed her weapon straight at the knight. All her power, her mana, her strength, all in that one attack.

"ARGHHH!!!!" Edwin pushed his shield forward to meet her weapon head on. His mana roaring along with him as his shield glowed a brighter silver light.

*BOOM!!!!!!!!!*

The two forces collided with a loud and thunderous boom, their mana battling for dominion against one another, red fiery light intertwined with a silver radiant glow. Sparks form their clash hit the barrier surrounding the arena making it crack and shake by their force.

""ARGHHHH!!!!"" The two roared at each other as they unleashed everything they have. The unstoppable force that is Tiona Hiryute, the crusher, against the immovable object that is Edwin Hyrule, the paladin.

Their clash so strong made the barrier brake in their wake. And the crowd who were watching now felt the full brunt of their aura and mana. This made the crowd especially those who are weak to faint on the spot, some even vomited as they felt the oppressive force in their system.

August was fast enough to deploy his mana to protect Froke from suffering the same faith as those weaker individuals.

Denki who was somewhat able to withstand the aura felt his heart beating so fast in his chest that he feared that it might explode out.

Froke was pale, August may have protected her but she was able to get a glimpse of that oppressive feeling and it wasn't exactly nice. She felt like she could have died.

The others weren't as lucky though, they have suffered the full brunt of the classhing aura making them shake violently and faint form their power and intent.

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"RIVERIA!!!" Finn quickly called the elven mage on which she noded in understanding as she hurriedly enacted a new stronger barrier to block the two aura from doing any more damage.

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*Clang!*

A high pitch sound suddenly echoed all throughout, as suddenly the red aura was swallowed by the silver one.

Tiona watched as her beloved weapon, Urga, cracked and shattered in her hands.

Edwin saw this as well, their eyes met and with it Edwin whispered a word that only Tiona could hear. "I win."

The two landed behind each other with Tiona now only holding the handle of her weapon. Her face still carrying a cheerful smile she turned around to face Edwin and spoke. "Nice freight."

Tiona's vision darkens, she feels dizzy, the pain she felt in her muscles vanished, and her body became as light as a feather.

With sheer will she kept her eyes open and beamed the knight with the brightest smile she could muster. She then spoke. "I'll get you next time..." and fell unconsciously as her body entered mind zero.

Edwin seeing this hurriedly caught the amazon before she fell hard on the ground, he was exhausted as well, Tiona had pushed him to his limit, any more and he would have been the one unconscious right now.

"I'll be ready anytime." he said softly like a whisper as he placed Tiona on the ground. He then stood tall and raised his sword up declaring his victory.

The crowd who finally took their breath which they didn't know they were holding cheered loudly, raining down applause at the two combatants who had given them such a good fight.

Edwin looked down at the unconscious amazon and smiled gently, he'd like to thank her for waking him up with her slap earlier. He then made a promise to himself that next time he will win against her in a blow for blow fight.

He then turned and exited the stage, he knew his next fight would be an even greater challenge. For he will fight the prince next.

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Loki was pulling her hair out and was fuming in anger, she wanted to vomit, the prospect of paying over 300 million valis made her shudder, what's even worse was that she's paying it to Athena.

Her head creaked and looked at the table where Athena was sitting and saw the goddess smirking at her.

Oh how she wanted to rip the war goddess's eyes out and feed it to her.

She started murmuring some colorful words much to the displeasure of the gods sitting next to her. She didn't give a flying fuck though.

Athena on the other hand was on cloud 9, sure there were some instances where she almost had a heart attack, particularly at the last attack but her child held on and won. now she awaits her prize, and she can't help but be smug about it.

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With that the first round came to an end, some of the spectators left their seats to get some refreshments and something to eat. The others who had fainted from the clash of the two were carried out towards the infirmary to recover. There was a 2 hour rest time for the fighters where they are being tended to with the best potions and healing magic for them to fight at a hundred percent or at least close to it.

Luckily for them, Riveria was among the mages who are tending to the fighters, and with her magic, the fighters who'll be fighting at the semi-finals are receiving the best treatment they can get.

Loch Rojo, the pallum who'll be fighting next was thankful for this, he had suffered a heavy injury in his previous fight and his mana was close to running dry.

Orario had spared no expense for the participants and it showed, he was now ready to fight again in the stage, be it so he is nowhere near his full capacity but with the additional 2 hours rest he might just recover close to it.

"How are you feeling my boy?" Anubis, his god asked nervously, he knew the previous fight had taken a toll on his child.

"Groggy, but I can still fight." Loch answered as he moved his mana inside his body in order to circulate it for a faster recovery.

"You'll be facing Ganesha's boy, I heard he's a good fighter and an excellent tactician to boot." Anubis said as he caressed his chin to think. "Unlike your previous opponent, he has tact to go along with his skill, and from what I can dig him, he is the one who calls the shot inside the dungeon.... Think of him as a lesser version of Finn."

"So in summary, he's strong and smart." Loch paused for a bit and continued. "I'm guessing he'll go crazy at the start and try to finish me off quickly since his match was quite short and he'll be thinking I haven't recovered yet... And if that doesn't work, he'll prolong the fight for as long as he can to drain my stamina more."

"I believe so..." Anubis sighs and continues. "Either way, you'll be facing a hard battle ahead... But still, I just can't imagine you losing, especially now that you've finally perfected that ancient magic."

Loch didn't answer, his ancient magic, shadow walking took a heavy toll on his body, and with the amount of mana each time he used that magic was so draining for him.

Even so, it is the best weapon in his arsenal and his only chance in winning the whole tournament.

"Loch?" Anubis called his name. "What are you thinking?"

Loch looked at his god and smiled as he clenched his fist in determination. "That I'll win this whole thing."

"That's my boy." Anubis smiled at his answer.

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Taka was sitting inside one of the many infirmary, his mind was in a constant simulation on how to fight an untouchable opponent.

There are countless theory that was swarming inside his mind on how Loch's magic works.

That pallum had beaten his vice-captain, even he wasn't confident in beating Ilta in a straight fight yet Loch was able to do so.

And it's because of his magic.

"Tsk." he clicked his tongue while thinking about it. 'That magic is fucking annoying to deal with.'

His concentration was suddenly cut when he heard a knock. He opened his eyes and answered for the knocker to come in.

The door opened and Shakti entered the room, besides her was Ilta who was now able to walk on her own thanks to the recovery magic done by Riveria along with the potions provided by the organizers.

"Captain! Vice-captain!" Taka stood up to greet the two only to be stopped by Shakti.

"Sit down, you need to recover as fast as possible. You'll be fighting next after all." Shakti smiled and continued. "So how are you feeling?" she asked.

"I feel good to be honest, my fight wasn't that hard to begin with." he answered.

"That's good to know, anyway here's the thing that you asked me to get." Shakti handed a black pouch towards Taka which he received gleefully. "Why do you need that exactly?"

"Well I have a theory on how Loch's magic work and if it is what I think it is then this would absolutely help me out a lot." he answered them with a smile. He then looked towards Ilta and asked. "Now I have a few questions for you vice-captain, if you don't mind."

"Jeez, I always hate it when your so formal like that. Be more lose for crying out loud. I've known you since you were a kid." Ilta pouted and glared at Taka.

"Hehe..." Taka scratch his head as he laughed awkwardly. The two ladies smiled at his reactions.

"Ok shoot. I'll answer your question but you have to call me big sis like you did when you are younger. Deal?" Ilta said while smiling.

"Bu-"

"No buts... Take it or leave it." Ilta said as she smiled teasingly

Taka looked at Shakti for help, but all he received was a shrug and a chuckle.

"Don't look at me. Your deal is with her." Shakti said while smiling teasingly as well.

"Fine... B-big sis... Can I ask you a question?" he asked again, meekly.

"Please?" Ilta teases him.

"Arghhh... Can I PLEASE ask you a question big sis?" Taka asked again, this time a bit annoyed by Ilta's antics.

"Sure." Ilta answered jubilantly.

"It's about your fight with Loch..." Taka said, this time seriously. This made the vibe in the room crumble as Ilta bit her lips recalling how the fight went.

"...ok." She answered, this time she was serious as well.

"Tell me everything, I want to learn how to feels like fighting him from your perspective. In doing so might confirm the theory that I have with his magic."

Ilta took a deep breath as she closed her eyes to recall the fight. She then start the tell Taka how it all went down from her perspective. "Well for starters he's....."

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Ganesha walked towards the stage, the two hours intermission before the semifinals had come to an end. The crowd was now going back to their seats carrying with them some foods and drinks for the continuation of the tournament.

"I AM GANESHA!!! I see that y'all are ready to continue the cheer and go wild for out fighters!!!" the crowd responded with a wild cheer as Ganesha started to hype them out. "Now then... I won't keep you waiting much longer... Let the semifinals of the tournament bracket A... BEGIN!!!"

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Chapter 56 is done now, how do you guys like the story so far?

Please leave a comment, a review and feedback so I can improve on writing this fanfic. every little thing helps as it allows me to see your preference on things and would help me write a better fanfic for you all to enjoy.

thanks for picking up this fanfic. hope you guys like it.

good day, love y'all.