Lightspeed

Meixia shot blasts of light at Haru using her blaster. Yet, due to Haru’s agility, he managed to avoid them all.

Haru then dashed at her, trying to land a hit. He used his signature move, leaping towards his opponent and throwing a kick mid-air using his heel aimed towards the ground.

Meixia shot a blast on the ground which created a shock of explosion to propel her from her current location, in order to dodge Haru’s attack. She leaped backward a few steps away from Haru.

Meixia was familiar with Haru’s fyx skill, “Lightspeed.” It was a fairly simple skill; it made him move at the speed of light. This gave him the edge of agility and evasion in every fight. He did this by concentrating his fyx energy on the soles of his feet, converting it into lumina sorcery, which in turn accelerated the speed of his movement.

Although sounded fairly simple, what was dangerous about his skill is, he could imbue it to any attack. Although a kick was nothing extraordinary, by imbuing it with the speed of light, it could become a lethal attack. Haru also did this with a light arrow he conjured during his fight against Yara, which made the arrow faster than any other projectiles seen during the course of the tournament so far.

Meixia understood that she did not stand a chance against a close-range combat against Haru, so she was keeping a distance between them. She was also the first one to ever dodge Haru’s attack, instead of blocking them.

“Come on, I know you still got tricks up your sleeves.”

Knowing that she still had more to offer, Haru was trying to provoke her.

“Fineee...”

Meixia drew another blaster from her waist, making her hold both blasters. Haru knew that Meixia was ambidextrous and she could shoot with both hands with perfect accuracy. If it weren’t for Haru’s fyx skill, Meixia would have landed several attacks already.

Meixia then charged her guns and shot two blasts of light towards Haru.

Haru managed to evade her first attack. However, Meixia also calculated Haru’s escape route, so she aimed her other blaster in that direction. Haru then got hit by Meixia’s other attack.

“Ugh!”

Meixia’s blast of light exploded right when it hit Haru’s right thigh. Meixia specifically aimed them at Haru’s legs, since she wanted to impede his movement.

Meixia’s fyx skill was “Explosive Blasts.” Every blast of light she shot will explode upon contact. The explosion will spread the burning sensation of lumina sorcery to the surrounding area. This was a highly dangerous skill since even if the attack did not hit the target directly, the explosion that resulted from it could still damage the surrounding area, damaging foes and friends alike.

The two of them were staring at each other.

“Why do you want to win anyway, Haru?”

Haru was stupefied. He was reflecting on the answer.

“Is it to prove your worth?” Meixia asked a follow up question.

“No,” Haru answered, firmly.

Haru took a deep breath before he started uttering another word.

“I have to meet the Premier.”

Meixia saw the resolution in Haru’s eyes. His will seemed unwavering.

“Even if it means to fight me?” Meixia asked once more.

“Even if it means to fight you,” Haru answered, not changing his mind.

Meixia accepted his answer. She looked satisfied by the resolution she saw in his eyes.

Even though Meixia was his dearest friend, Haru hadn’t told her about his relationship with the Premier. Only one person knew this fact, and that person was not Meixia.

Meixia then dropped both of her blasters on the ground and raised both of her hands.

“I give up.”

Meixia willingly forfeited the match. She let Haru win the round.

Haru looked surprised, but also relieved at the same time.

Saaya announced Haru as the winner. Haru advanced to the finals.

The semi-finals lasted longer than everyone expected. Since it was almost time for dinner, Saaya decided that the final round would be conducted the following day.

In the dining room, Haru asked Meixia about their previous match.

“Why did you give up?” Haru asked.

Haru knew that he should be grateful, but he also thought that he deserved to know whether his win was valid or if there was any other issue going on.

“You won’t change your mind, will you?”

Haru was stupefied, once again. He knew that was a rhetorical answer, so he remained silent.

“You never fight for serious without a reason or a goal. You wouldn’t fight me if the stakes were not that high. That’s why, I knew you have your reason.”

Being Haru’s best friend during the academy, Meixia understood completely Haru’s actions and personality.

“I trust you. I will be cheering for you during your final match tomorrow.”

Meixia gave Haru a pat on his shoulder. Haru was moved. He was so grateful that Meixia trusted him so much.

After dinner was over, everyone was dismissed to their room to have a rest for the night.

The next day, everyone is gathered at the field once again. It was finally time for the final match of the tournament.

“Alright, everyone. As you all know, today is the final round of the tournament. The winner will be accompanying me in escorting the Premier during the Lantern Festival.”

Saaya announced today’s agenda. Members of Garuda Squad were listening to her closely.

“I also have another announcement.”

Everyone started murmuring, curious of what the announcement was.

“Since there are other Temple Members coming to the festival, I will assign every one of you to escort different people. The assignment will be based on the results of this tournament.”

Saaya then let the last two participants of the tournament into the arena. Zum and Haru were preparing for the final round.

Saaya blew the whistle, signaling the commencement of the match.

The final round began.