Honoka vs Engetsu

“The first fight shall be between Honoka Shibawara and Engetsu Shibawara. Since you are both fighters from organizations contracted to fight for your respective candidate, you may go all out. Rest assured my healing power can heal any wounds you receive, even some fatal ones. However, you are forbidden from attacking once the match has been called. The loser will also be confined should they survive. It also counts as a loss if you try to forcefully attack the barrier protecting the audience or if someone from your faction tries to aid you. Naturally, the one who interferes with the match will also be punished. Now then, you may begin,” Ricardo stated.

Honoka and Engetsu immediately locked swords. Engetsu was by far the strongest mortal here at maxed out level 100 on the mortal plane. He also possessed the power of fire like Honoka.

The two conversed via the clashing of their swords. Engetsu managed to draw blood from Honoka’s cheek, however, she cauterized the wound and smiled as she lopped off Engetsu’s right hand.

Engetsu shrugged and created a hand of fire before blasting it out towards Honoka. The flame turned white as Honoka dodged and fired a green flame bullet from her sword at Engetsu’s eye.

“Trying to snipe? Thou hast no honor,” Engetsu growled.

“Tis merely a new move. A ranged attack, or doust thou prefer ranged slashes,” Honoka sneered as she launched a ranged red fire slash attack.

“Thou art weak. Thy fire can’t burn me.”

“Fire dragon’s ROAR!”

Enegetsu winced in pain as Honoka went into fire dragon mode and hit him with her roar attack.

“A dragon!? Hast thou made a pact with thy enemy!?”

“Yes father, I have made a pact with a man who will let me slay.”

“FOOL! Assassination is a business. We can’t have a renegade going around killing all the strong people in the world,” Engetsu roared as his sword shattered upon making contact with Honoka’s scaly arm.

Honoka unleashed an attack that shattered his tengu mask, revealing his scarred and angry face.

“Take pride knowing you shall be the first of my foes to be branded,” Honoka laughed.

“You can’t brand fire!” Engetsu roared as he turned into a fiery tengu.

“MOERU BRAND!” Honoka yelled as she landed her finishing blow.

“GYAAAAH!” Engetsu screamed as he spewed up blood and rocketed through the barrier and through the colloseum’s outer wall. 

He flew about a mile before crashing into a lake. Steam erupted as he floated unconsciously in the water with a fire kanji branded on his chest.

“We can confirm that the match goes to Honoka. If the Matteo faction wishes to save his life, you’ll have to retrieve him yourself. Naturally, you will need to bring him back here for confinement,” Ricardo sighed.

I quickly destroyed Engetsu with my dark flames of destruction causing him to scream as he was destroyed. That’s one threat down. Best of all, Honoka’s now at level 95. Five more levels and she’ll be ready to ascend to the Omni plane.

“The winning fighter may leave the venue. You may communicate with your boss via radio,” Ricardo stated as Honoka exited the stadium.

Once she was outside, I warped her to me and the others via a wormhole.

“The next match shall be between Henrico and Ouga,” Ricardo announced.

“Tch! They won’t even tell us whose man is whose,” Zeno muttered.

“Quite the loose lips you have. My subordinates respect me so much that they willingly bite their tongues to prevent secrets from leaking,” Matteo sneered.

“Shut it you fat midget.”

“I might be small and rotund, but I have heart and intellect.”

Ouga ended his match with a single shot, obliterating his opponent’s head.

“*Sigh* My apologies, but I can’t regenerate missing heads easily,” Ricardo sighed as some men carted away the headless Henrico.

Ouga snickered as he gazed towards Ramona and Zeno.

“Too bad, looks like I won’t get to kill you here,” Ouga thought as he zapped away.

“As for the remaining boss and their fighter, they are to remain here until the next round. The other bosses may return with their guards,” Ricardo announced.

“Rookie,” Alana muttered as Ramona was the only one of the 5 candidates to get up.

“They really don’t want to show their hand. Sakura, have you made any progress?” Ramona asked.

“We’ve found the coin and the next clue, our partners effortlessly cleared the test by means I can’t comprehend,” Sakura muttered on the other line.

“*Sigh* Well results are what matter most.”

“It seems the key is within a museum in Naples at the bottom of a staircase. We’ll retrieve it as soon as possible.”

Ramona hung up and returned to her seat alone. Zeno sighed and camped at a spot overlooking the Colosseum’s entrance.

“Tryin to scope out potential competitors? Not a bad idea,” the knight that was with Matteo stated.

“Heh? This a meeting of cringe? Well guess I can’t do anything since I’m stuck here,” a snarky girl with twintails growled.

“What do you mean?” asked Zeno.

“What are you dumb? If our bosses stay here, that means we’ll be the bodyguards until we’re forced to fight in the final match.”

“We could switch out.”

“Uh no. Everyone else is off scouring Italy for the key. Besides, not everyone has a warp power user like you guys do.”

“Well don’t you have a keen eye. So who’s your boss?”

“Not telling you Ramona’s bitch. You neither Matteo’s bitch.”

“How about your name?”

“How about I kick your ass for hitting on me perv,” the girl growled as she stormed away.

“She looked almost the same age as me. She also had a miserable look in her eyes. I wonder what she’s been through,” Zeno wondered.

The snarky girl walked into a secluded corner and slammed her fist into the wall, dissolving the stone.

“Dammit! Why do we have those creeps working with us!? Why was the boss so insistent on selling her soul like that?” the girl angrily thought.