Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 422: Vant vs Hathal

The Sea Monkey scrambled back to the surface. To his great pleasure, it saw Netra handing over the severed monkey arm to Slazza, who was already circulating light essence into the disembodied limb. In less than a minute the forearm was reattached and the Sea Monkey was back to his usual self.

“Thank you for the fight!” the Sea Monkey bowed to Netra before lumbering away.

“You’re welcome.”

As the contestants returned to their seats, a gorilla crew stepped out to make sure the arena was back up to snuff.

Slazza declared, “The winner, and fourth semifinalist, is the Vanishing-night Fox of Toxic-shadow Prefecture! Her skills have proven to be all the more terrifying, a perfect example of a true mortal candidate!”

“Now the real fun begins...” Toseko remarked, checking out how any prefecture lords reacted. “... What do you expect of the next fight, Treeda?”

Sighing, Treeda shrugged, “I’m... not entirely sure, believe it or not. You see, I wasn’t set on including that human boy in my final lineup. But, with that leopard’s teachings, the boy suddenly shined brighter than we’d ever expected. However...”

.....

Warak noticed a hint of concern on Treeda’s face. “Are you worried about the boy? Or are you mad that Hathal will get a warm-up facing the boy before facing the true vanishing fox?”

“Oh, that’s right,” Toseko agreed with a strange chuckle. “That means Hathal might just figure them out, maybe. But he’s got the best chance of anyone. How unlucky, for those betting against my candidate.”

“It won’t make a difference,” Isaac stated. “They use different essence types to perform one of the same tricks. But that doesn’t mean every trick in their bags is the same. My confidence hasn’t wavered in the slightest.”

Silent yet enthused, Toseko grinned like a mad man while looking back down at the arena.

In no time at all, Slazza turned his attention to the contestant area. “EVERYONE! It’s time for the semifinal matches! But first, I must congratulate these four contestants! Vant, the illusory swordsman from Toxic-shadow! Belma, the Razor-hide dragon and granddaughter of Razor Prefecture Lord Warak! Netra, the Vanishing-night Fox from Toxic-shadow and Iron Territory! And Hathal, the private candidate of the quadrant who has yet to be touched by any opponent!

“These four will receive gifts from the quadrant, but they must first battle to decide their final rankings! For the first semifinal match, Vant, Hathal, it’s time to do battle!”

Taking in a deep breath, Vant stood up. He blinked. Then he smiled, glancing back at his new opponent. To his surprise, Hathal was looking back at him and didn’t turn away.

Hathal got up as well and slowly walked down.

As if waiting for him, Vant took his time approaching the stairs until both contestants were shoulder to shoulder, descending into the arena. No words were spoken but their shared stares said more than enough.

Once in the arena, Vant spoke, “Thank you for the chance to fight the best. I will learn all I can from you.”

“Good. Watch carefully, and you’ll learn how wind is meant to be wielded...” stated Hathal, not bowing in return.

“Vant, Hathal! Are you two ready? ... FIGHT!”

Not even a split second later, Hathal’s arm was casually swung and a wind blade tore through Vant. But there was no blood, only the scattering of essence.

“Illusory essence. Not only are you human, but you excel in the tricks of mankind. But can they work so well now, facing someone so superior?” Hathal scoffed.

A gentle breeze suddenly appeared and gradually circled through the arena, sweeping over every potential place Vant might be hiding. Then, Hathal began to swing his arm through the air in multiple directions.

Two Vants appeared and dispersed the moment the slicing wind caught them.

“You’re stealth focused with few defenses. The moment someone learns your little trick, it’s all over. That’s why assassins don’t participate in tournaments. Because, in a straight fight, the moment a single attack can’t finish off an opponent or the opponent is aware of them, then it’s all over...” Hathal reasoned as he started walking in a particular direction. “So, will you come out and admit defeat? Or will I snuff you out and show how lucky you were to make it so far?”

“... Either is fine with me,” Vant’s voice appeared behind Hathal.

But the private candidate wasn’t fazed. “Throwing your voice with the wind won’t help against me. Perhaps if you’re wind mastery was greater than mine, but it’s not, and we both know that.”

Just then, Vant appeared in front of Hathal and dashed forward with a lunging strike.

Finally, Hathal chuckled and smirked, “It’s about time you show up!”

Hathal doused his hands in wind, parrying the sword with one and carving into Vant’s now bloody chest with the other. Yet, Hathal’s cocky grin suddenly contorted and twisted the moment his hand touched the sword.

CRACK!

SLASH! Thud, thud...

“IT’S OVER!”

“NOOOOOO!!!” In unison, Peimar and Isaac rushed to their feet and leaned over the balcony, aghast at the view below.

Barely standing while leaning on his sword, Vant gave a thumbs up to his friends in the stands before coughing up blood and collapsing next to his opponent.

“VANT IS THE VICTOR!”

While Slazza’s voice rang out, he rushed into action. For the first time everyone saw him acting with true haste. Both of his hands were placed atop the fallen contestants. One was carefully placed over Vant’s exposed heart and snapped ribs. The other was resting on Hathal’s severed neck, which Narja held back into place.

Warm light invaded their bodies with overwhelming force. Just before Vant’s final breath was drawn, his collapsed lung and damaged heart were salvaged. It took seconds to rebuild the tissue and force the heart to beat again.

The flesh and arteries of Hathal’s neck were reconnecting with help of the light essence. An extra bright flash of warmth was then pumped into Hathal’s chest, jumpstarting his heart. A blood-restoring elixir was forced down Hathal’s throat by Narja to help get the young man’s body back to full function as soon as possible.

As Hathal inhaled his first deep breath, his reflexes activated, as if he was still in the throes of danger from a second ago. A hand coated in viscous, oozing, toxic-green veita was thrown at whoever was now in front of Hathal.