The Group 3 finalists entered the arena.

On one end, a short, stocky native woman dressed in a smart navy blue 2-piece dress suit. Her appearance was odd, she looked like a teacher who had just left school for the day. Of any of the candidates that had appeared so far she looked the most out of place. Upon stepping into the arena she took two steps forward as she mumbled an incantation.She took flight as her incantation set in and propelled herself towards the middle of the arena. The act alone announced her as a formidable Le’o user.

Entering from the opposite end, a group of 3 natives. All 3 were completely naked save for the traditional markings that covered their bodies and the various tatau. They stalked forward from the waiting room, staring their opponent down like wild animals marking their prey. They immediately spread out and approached the middle from different angles.

As they crossed the threshold the chimes rang and the match began.

All 3 sprung into action as soon as the chime went off, immediately activating their tatau and dashing straight at the floating, stationary woman. They all ran in a loping, animalistic fashion. Bent over and using their hands to help them keep balance, they looked like a pack of wild dogs attacking a cornered meal as they launched their assault.

The first launched itself at the woman, attempting to tackle her around her midriff. Instead of avoiding the attack the woman grabbed the attackers hand and stopped them in mid-air. She quietly incanted “Down.” before letting go of the hand as the attacker was smashed into the ground.

The second attacker had tried to flank under the woman, counting on her being distracted by the first’s attack. They miscalculated and had to jump away due to the first being thrown down towards them with enough force to crack the floor. The first had been dribbled forcefully and found themselves winded, their last ditch mana reinforcements barely keeping them conscious.

The third immediately tried to tackle the woman from behind after seeing the first get handled. They activated their tatau and tried to build an improvised defense against the woman’s Le’o. The third was not as adept as the second with defensive mana but they still tried as they sailed through the air. Right before they made contact with the woman, she whipped around and looked them dead in the eyes while releasing another incant. “Stop.”

The attacker froze mid-jump, arms splayed out in an attempt to reach the woman. With a chuckle the short woman began to reach out for the third attacker when they were suddenly released from her control. Their forward momentum resumed and they crashed into the floating woman, hurtling both towards the ground.

The second attacker had been able to dispel the command and was now dashing towards where the entangled were supposed to land. Just before they hit the ground, the woman suddenly flipped the third attacker over and kicked off of him. She was able to apply enough force to push herself away from him as she attempted to regain her aerial dominance. The third attacker was sent crashing into the ground, the force of the impact having been multiplied by the woman when she kicked off of him.

As the woman pushed off of the third attacker, the second was able to wrap their arms around her waist and drag her down. The second used a quick incantation on themselves to force both to fall towards the ground. As they fell, the second twisted and used the force of the fall to pull off an in-air suplex right when they made contact with the ground.

The force of the suplex sent out shock waves as the ground crumbled around the two candidates.

The second attacker had been unable to completely transfer all of the impact to the woman and was knocked unconscious by their own attack. The woman, on the other hand, had been able to envelop herself in defensive mana right at the point of impact. She hadn’t completely mitigated all of the damage as her right shoulder was now completely useless from taking the brunt of the impact.

As she freed herself from the grasp of the unconscious attacker she was suddenly hit with numerous stomps from the first attacker. They had been able to recover from the initial engagement and were now taking advantage of the situation. They continued to stomp down with their mana enhanced legs without regard to their own partners well being.

The woman had been able to erect a stronger barrier after the surprise of the initial attacks but she was being pushed into a corner from the continued barrage. She had hoped to take advantage of the first attacker being worried about their teammate but they showed no signs of caring about injuring them. Her back began to feel sticky as the force of the kicks turned her barrier into a hammer. The unconscious attacker was slowly getting pulverized by their own teammate.

As the first attacker began to tire out they were taken unaware, blasted backwards after a particularly ferocious stomp. The woman had turned her barrier into a landmine by changing the basic wording of the incantation right before the labored attack. The first attacker found themselves laying in a puddle of their own blood, writhing in pain as the short woman stood and dusted herself off with her good hand.

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‘Ekolu smiled as the finalist he had picked out made her way back towards her waiting room. While his level of control over his Le’o wasn’t anywhere near as masterful as Nima’s or Fiti’s, he still strove to hone his ability.

His mastery in mana activation and tatau usage was second to none but his heavy reliance had left him with glaring weaknesses in his style. Nima had shown him these weaknesses on numerous occasions and he continued to look for ways to better himself.

“You look happy.” Wha whispered in his ear as she lay on a couch next to him. “You like feisty little women don’t you?”

She had retreated into her domain after the incident with Nima and had come back smelling like na’u on a cool spring evening. He loved the smell, it reminded him of his ancestral home, and he loved it even more on her.

Instead of answering ‘Ekolu turned and buried his face in her neck, inhaling the nostalgic scent as he took a playful nibble. After a short moment he answered, mumbling as he still had his face buried in her neck. “You know it.”

Wha chuckled and cupped his face before playfully pushing his head away. “Not here, stupid.”

While there were no rules against the Tu’i fraternizing, Wha still felt slightly embarrassed showing too much affection in front of the others. Especially in front of Nima. ‘Ekolu had fewer qualms about showing affection but it was different for him, his straightforward nature made everything he did seem natural. It also helped that he was incredibly dense.

The rest of the Tu’i paid little mind to the two. The only one who had any kind of reaction was Taha but he kept it to himself. He didn’t want Wha ruining his mood so close to their accepting the challengers.

“Wha.” Nima said, as he looked at the two. He didn’t say anything else, just made eye contact with her and nodded. She smiled a terse smile and returned the nod. Everything that needed to be said was exchanged in that short moment, anything else would be unnecessary.

They watched as the Group 2 final was began. The intruders ambled out of their waiting room, haughty and full of themselves. They all knew that this match would be short but they needed to watch. Taha balanced on his haunches, eagerly watching and plotting against the hated intruders.

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In her waiting room, Hiku sat patiently. She had been informed of the changes to the final match and it fell within expectations.

The members that had attended her up to this point were silently kneeling before her, waiting for her command. They stared at her adoringly, eyes glazed over in blissful terror.

They didn’t adore her because of her beauty. Far from it, she was everything but beautiful. If the members were asked to describe her they wouldn’t be able to give a cohesive description. Trying to describe her was like trying to hold sunlight, every time you’d attempt to do it you’d find yourself empty handed.

What they were sure of was that they were in the presence of true royalty. A being that they knew on a deep, instinctual level. The members had never met her before the first day of the tournament. Yet, on that first meeting, they immediately knew that this woman was important to them. Like a long absent mother who had come back to comfort her wayward children.

She sat patiently, one long leg crossed over the other, as she observed the ugly impostors who came to visit her old friends abode.

“Children, have either of you ever met Nima?”

The members' voices caught in their throats, they didn’t feel that they had the right to respond. So they both just shook their heads.

“Sounds like him. He really likes his anonymity.”

As the intruders wildly shuffled into the arena, Hiku watched on. Patiently waiting for her meeting with the ruler of the island.