Shortly after, the preliminary round concluded. The victors who advanced to the next stage were Hayasaka, Misakii, Kaito, Lala, Kaguya, and that mysterious fighter who had defeated Kirito.
It was this last one who caught Kaito's attention, although luck did not have them face each other in the immediate round.
The duels were set as follows:
Hayasaka vs. Misakii
Kaito vs. Lala
The stranger vs. Kaguya
Half an hour later, the second round officially began.
In one of the arenas, Hayasaka and Misakii stood face to face. It was probably the most balanced fight of the three.
Misakii's abilities were mainly physical, reinforced with water magic. However, whenever Hayasaka slipped into the shadows, Misakii was unable to harm her.
Aware of this, Misakii decided to unleash her full power from the start. The clear sky suddenly darkened, covered in thick clouds. Within seconds, the rain poured down in torrents. What began as ordinary drops quickly turned into liquid blades, swift as projectiles, piercing the arena with surgical precision.
The storm engulfed the entire field, cornering Hayasaka. But as soon as she merged with her shadow, she became untouchable.
"Damn it, that move is too annoying," muttered Misakii, though she showed no sign of giving up.
Even so, Hayasaka could not leave either. The razor-sharp downpour forced her to remain hidden, attacking only in a limited way from the shadows. Fortunately, she did not master that technique well enough to inflict lethal damage, and Misakii managed to dodge most of her ambushes.
Finally, the rain stopped. The sky cleared, leaving puddles all over the arena. That was the moment Hayasaka chose to emerge and strike decisively.
Cautious as always, she planned a fatal blow, fast, lethal, and definitive. Instead of coming from a blind angle, as anyone would expect, she appeared right in front, surprising her rival. A shadow rose from the ground, aiming directly at Misakii's neck.
However, the attack was much weaker than expected. Misakii seized the moment and landed a punch to her stomach, forcing her to retreat several meters.
"How did you do that?" asked Hayasaka, confused yet calm.
Misakii did not hesitate to reply.
"Interference. I weaken enemy attacks within the range of my influence."
"Influence…?" Hayasaka repeated, until she looked around and understood. The entire field was soaked in water.
"You planned it from the beginning," she admitted with a crooked smile. "I underestimated your cunning."
"I'm a genius. Adapting to this world was easy. Come at me with everything."
Accepting the challenge, Hayasaka drew two daggers. Beside her, her shadow split into two identical figures of herself. The three lunged at Misakii in a coordinated assault. The water girl defended herself with reinforced punches and liquid blasts, but little by little she was being overwhelmed.
Cornered at last, she sighed in disappointment and raised her hands in surrender.
"Ugh… I was hoping to make it to the finals, at least."
At the same time, in another arena, Kaito was preparing to face Lala. His strategy was clear: end the fight quickly so he could watch Kaguya's match, intrigued by that stranger who had defeated Kirito.
"Hey, you're the number one in the world, right?" asked Lala with a smile.
"I am. Why?" Kaito replied, uninterested.
Lala nodded excitedly. "I knew it was you. Well, I have something to tell you…"
Before she could continue, the start signal sounded. Her expression shifted to slight disappointment.
"Ah… I guess we'll talk later."
Kaito only nodded, ready to strike.
Then, Lala pulled out a strange spherical device with a technological appearance and threw it at him.
"Try my Dokodemo☆Pyon! Warp Marker!"
The object flew in slow motion to Kaito's eyes, who dodged it easily while rushing toward her. However, instead of hitting the ground, the sphere hovered in the air, emitting lights and a mechanical hum.
Kaito frowned. At first, he thought it was a bomb, but for some reason it vanished into thin air. Though confused, he decided not to waste time and charged at Lala, throwing her out of the arena effortlessly.
What he did not expect was to hear her voice again coming from the center of the stage.
"Waa, so fast!"
Kaito turned, incredulous. Lala had reappeared unharmed. He repeated the move several times, throwing her out of the ring, only to see her return again and again to the same central point. After about ten attempts, he stopped.
Lala was breathing heavily, her face slightly bruised. "Uff… so dizzy."
"What the hell did your device do?" asked Kaito.
She smiled proudly. "Very simple, I blocked a space-time location and set conditions to return there. As soon as I leave the arena, I reappear in the center."
Kaito raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. "Impressive."
And he meant it. From the way she spoke, it was clear she had built the device herself. To create such an artifact in a new world like Gaia, and in the short time they had been there, was worthy of respect. But that did not solve the fight.
"Then I just have to defeat you right here," he declared with a dangerous smile.
Lala looked at him cheekily, as if to say try it.
Kaito did not hesitate. His body could move at more than eighteen thousand kilometers per hour, and his strength equaled more than ten tons. However, his true power lay in the combination of his speed and mass. Each of his blows released energy comparable to more than two hundred kilos of TNT, enough to rival anti-ship missiles.
An ordinary human could never withstand such an impact. Even in Gaia, Kaito was sure that only certain hidden powers could endure it.
And yet, Lala endured it. The strike shattered her into glowing pixels, which normally meant death and elimination. But for some reason, she simply reappeared intact at the center of the stage.
"How…?" Kaito's eyes widened in shock.
"Waa, I lost a life. You're really strong."
Confusion consumed him.
"Lose a life? But doesn't that mean losing the battle?"
Lala only smiled, refusing to reveal more.
Kaito tried another method, vibrating his hand until it pierced her heart. Once again, Lala dissolved into pixels… and reappeared.
"Why don't you give up?" she suggested calmly. "I can revive as many times as needed. You want to see your girlfriend's match, right? If you keep going, you'll only waste time."
"Do you really think I would surrender?" he shot back harshly.
Lala tilted her head, amused. "Then let's make a deal. I know you want the prize. I can build something for you, I'm good at that… you saw it already, didn't you?"
Kaito remained silent for a moment. It was true that her powers were not innate but creations of her own hands. Even so, the unknown intrigued him much more, that mysterious rival of Kaguya. And honestly, he doubted that the prize from this tournament could grant him such a significant power boost as to make a difference.
Besides, Lala's obsession seemed more scientific than warlike, so after obtaining the prize she would probably not even use it, only study it.
Maybe giving in was not such a bad idea… but...
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(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)