Guilian, 19 years old, a tall, strong young man, eyes full of that spark called courage, but he was not always someone like that, "We are the result of our whole journey, each of the steps taken and still to be taken defines us." Although he never talked about important things about his past with his traveling friends, we will dig into his story.

 

Village of Veiru,6 years before the tournament, in one of the houses there was a young Guilian still asleep almost past noon. His grandmother wakes him up by throwing a few blows to his face with her broom as old as she is, with his five senses recovered in a single instant he realizes that he fell asleep for quite some time because of his special regimen of night exercise.

 

He runs out in the direction of the fields to help his father and grandfather and almost bumps into his mother at the door and outside the house with his 2 little sisters but dodges them in a hurry and shoots out for his colossal delay. While he is focused on running, his entire family sees him with smiles on their faces as they see him full of energy and vitality.

 

It is at this time that, as is evident, Guilian was a carefree young man, all the discipline in his life was due to his older relatives, because being the only son of the family in a farming community, he had the responsibility of carrying the family farm in the shortly distant future. Because of his younger sisters, he developed a sense of buffoonery to amuse them, and it was those moments that he enjoyed most in his entire life, something that his parents and grandparents rejected him for not taking his instruction seriously.

 

It was precisely on this day, when his life was going to take a 180-degree turn, either by fate or by chance, that his world would end in just an instant. While he struggled to plow the land with his own body instead of using cattle for his delay, outsiders would arrive in his village.

 

All the villagers were a little skeptical at first, but the stories they told about the outside began to captivate them to the point of becoming very popular among the community. Guilian's grandfather was the most skeptical of all, he was always keeping an eye on them, especially with the harvest season almost knocking on the door.

 

During the night a marriage took place, the son of the village chief married and the whole community celebrated them. Guilian was, as usual, choking on the feast while everyone had a partner to dance to, eating his feelings while feeling betrayed by his friends with a partner.

 

Because of how late the end of the party was, the young children stayed to sleep in their homes while the older ones celebrated. As Guilian could hardly continue eating, he decided to go to sleep in his bed for a new day at work, the sermon of his father and grandfather actually reached to him that morning.

 

But there was something strange, there were signs of struggle at the door of his home, and the strange movement of the candle lights could be seen from the windows. Running without even giving a break, he entered his house and as he moved, he could see that everything was a mess. With the worst of his thoughts taking all space in his mind, he arrives at his sisters' room only to find the perpetrators.

 

Outsiders held his sisters captive as they searched for any valuable items, and he couldn't help but throw himself at them with great fury. But that only caused them to throw him with wind and water, those two were adepts. "Don't take it personally, we just wanted something to sell to survive. We will settle for selling them as slaves." And they started laughing sadistically.

 

The anger was taken to exorbitant levels, so much so that he lost the notion of reality and by the time he regained his senses, he was outside his house totally covered in flames with his sisters behind him, watching the flames rise to the heavens. While he tries to know what had just happened, he realizes the reality, from his hands is coming fire and that’s when, in a totally unexpected way, the whole community is contemplating what he did.

 

His family is shocked because he is an adept and his little sisters have their eyes totally lost, what they have seen during his explosion of anger left them totally traumatized. That only "added fuel to the fire", because without knowing what really happened, everyone concluded that Guilian provoked it and began to attack him.

 

Shattered, Guilian rushes out of the village, and his hands keep being covered in flames. After a whole night of running, he manages to stop hearing the sounds of persecution and begins to understand what happened. His fury awakened his Fire power and set the house on fire, leaving the outsiders inside and by the expression in the gazes of his little sisters, he incinerated them before the house... in front of them.

 

Alone, with nowhere to go or return to, Guilian began to wander in the open until he reached a small town, where he worked for a few days until, unintentionally, his hands lit up again and attacked him as at home. And history repeated itself from town to town, over and over again, for years, until he learned to control his power.

 

It was his entire journey that made him forge the determination to use his power regardless of whether people rejected him, in order to save as many lives as he could, like his sisters. It is all these events that pass through Guilian's mind every time he uses his Fire power, they are his catalyst.

 

Back to the present, Guilian is face to face with Ryuken, they look each other in the eye, the tension can be felt in the air as everyone waits for the first fight of the semifinals to begin. It is precisely in this type of moment that the nerves make your senses sharpen to the point of being sensitive to anything, even the slightest variation can make you give a false move, the greatest psychological war.

 

However, Ryuken sees clearly that Guilian's gaze has not an inch of doubt, just as anyone is sure that the rain goes from top to bottom. A single word coming from Queen Alice's mouth is more than enough to cut through the deafening silence, "Start!" and the bell rings.

 

Guilian is propelled with explosions of both hands to throw himself directly at Ryuken and at the last moment he makes a third, flying over him, but Ryuken throws a kick from the ground to above his head, thanks to great flexibility and his foot ends up approaching Guilian’s face.

 

One more impulse and Guilian maneuvers to avoid the blow, turns and makes the first attack, throws an explosion from close, giving him directly. But once he lands a few meters away with the remaining momentum and the smoke dissipates, there is no sign of his formidable opponent.

 

—You have really worked on the development of your power. —Ryuken says calmly as he stands right behind him.

 

He barely manages to react and fires explosions in his direction, as Guilian's hands point at the target, no matter the position or posture, he can fire his explosions to attack and distance himself at the same time.

 

What Ryuken did was completely different from his previous match, Guilian can't help but simply lose sight of his opponent. He changes the strategy, his hands are covered in flames, and he begins the combat at close range, a very dangerous bet, but with no alternative.

 

He uses his explosions only to boost himself and try to launch quick and forceful attacks. Blow after blow, Ryuken dodges them all with little body movement, without even taking a step back at any time. Despite the wild attack, no attack is effective in the slightest.

 

—This will be more than enough. —is what Ryuken says with a few flames in his bare palm to make him ridiculous with himself.

 

Again, Ryuken dodges all of Guilian's fiery blows and puts his hand right on his face and releases the fire in a small but strong burst.

 

Guilian is left suffering on the ground from the damage to his face, he can't help but let go of his hurting voice, and tries to recover as quickly as possible, but it’s useless, he can't see clearly from the damage, no matter if it is permanent or not, but he is determined to keep fighting. His hands are engulfed in even more intense flames and the heat begins to be felt all over the battlefield.

 

From the audience, Hanna can't help but panic about seeing her friend suffer from the fire and with the possibility of being left with permanent damage like her. She screams at the top of her lungs that he doesn't have to go any further, that he please takes more care of his life than a silly competition and starts to break down in tears.

 

Tsubaki can't help but be affected by Hanna's condition and she screams next to her something totally opposite.

 

—Finish it at once! Get him off its cloud with blows! —Tsubaki shouts unexpectedly with an expression of concern.

 

Guilian can't help but smile at being irritated by the words of the girl he is always fighting with. Ryuken is somewhat surprised to see that his opponent has such composure, even in the deplorable state of his vision. Guilian goes straight on the attack and is getting closer and closer to even rubbing him. Combat performance is becoming more intense and accurate. Ryuken can't help but be forced to use more and more forces to "play" with his opponent.

 

How can Guilian be more accurate now than at the beginning? It's what everyone is wondering in their minds. Deprived of sight and by the "heat of the moment”, Guilian’s senses have been sharpened beyond the limit, his exercised body responds quite well to varied stimuli, including the heat of his own fire, by emitting large amounts of heat in his surroundings, Ryuken avoids being affected by it, leaving a defined form of lower temperature than the rest of the field.

 

Were it not for his body trained since childhood and the influence of his friends in being more perceptive and detailed, this kind of skill would never have awakened in him. As he approaches his target, he notices an unusual movement, refrains his last blow a bit and, in effect, manages to dodge Ryuken's second attack.

 

—I see that you have grown quite a bit in the short time of our confrontation. —is the praise he receives from Ryuken —What is your determination for? —it's the only valid question between two warriors crossing attacks.

—Of course, it’s my friends, but above all, my desire to return to my village with my family. I will gain fame and renown and be accepted back into my home. —Guilian responds honestly and openly, giving a smile to the two girls who support him from the stands.

 

The silence is immediate and after a few seconds it begins to feel how the atmosphere full of emotion changes to an ominous one in a few moments.

—Disgusting. Family? Being accepted again? You can't count on anyone except yourself. —says Ryuken with total disgust at that display of emotions.

 

An incredible power arises from Ryuken and in a single instant he is hit by a direct kick to the abdomen, leaving Guilian completely lying on the ground, unable to give any breath. Without giving him a chance to defend himself, Ryuken begins to beat Guilian with his hands outstretched, clearly with the intention of injuring him as much as possible without concluding the fight.

 

After a few minutes, Guilian is completely bloodied and covered in burns and the entire audience can't help but be intimidated by such an act of brutality. Hanna and Tsubaki do not stop screaming for their fallen friend and as a final touch Ryuken gives a flaming blow to Guilian's face to finish him off, falling into the water on the edge of the Arena.

 

The fight is over, Ryuken moves on to the final round and Guilian is rushed to the medical ward to at the very least save his life. The two friends do not hesitate to accompany him during the intensive treatment, while the call of the next semifinal match is sounded. Chris is on his way to the Arena as the healing team passes by him with his badly injured friend.

 

For a brief moment, Chris feels as if his heart has stopped beating and decides to go to the medical ward before the fight. The medical team does their best to heal his wounds while Guilian's friends can only watch the fight for his survival. Meanwhile, Tsubaki tells Chris what happened in detail.

 

The imperial wizards have tried their best to stop the internal bleeding, but Guilian calls Chris for a moment. He tries to say a few words despite his injuries, but he does not have enough strength. Chris takes Guilian's hand and for a brief moment Hanna feels the pulse through her body.

 

Guilian loses consciousness and the healing team begins treatment again with alarming urgency as Chris heads to the Arena, without even looking back. The only thing that goes through Chris' mind are Guilian's memories, their souls were connected by the heat of the moment and Chris could see his friend's memories.

 

He has felt his pain, despair, anguish, all from having his dreams trampled on by a stranger, he can't help but feel something inside him ignite with great intensity, but he must remain calm for now and concentrate on what is in front of him. Chris arrives at the Arena and meets his opponent, Pierre.

 

—I'm sorry, I really wanted to enjoy the tournament and get on my way no matter the result, but now I can't even stop thinking about winning this fight and going to the final. My friend will never rest in peace if I don't give him a lesson. —with an extremely bitter feeling and a look full of cold and repressed anger, Chris begins the second semifinal match.