As Nozomi walked into the arena the crowd was cheering, as they were excited to watch a new round. Without wasting any time the commentator yelled " LET THE SECOND ELIMINATION ROUND, BEGIN!" All the contestants immediately started fighting each other in an attempt to throw others out of the circle. A man with a large axe charged at Nozomi. The man swung his axe at Nozomi's side full force. Nozomi immediately took his dagger out of his space ring and used it to block the axe. Before the man could react Nozomi dashed towards him, grabbed his collar, and threw him out of the arena. For now, I'll just use basic martial and magic spells. Nothing good will come out of showing off my blessings in my first match."
As the fighting continued multiple other contestants were thrown out of the circle. There was a girl not too far from Nozomi. It seemed she was chanting a spell and a large-scale one at that. "let's take her out now. If I allow her to finish casting it'll be bad for me." Nozomi started channeling Seishin through his dagger and charged at the girl. But before he could reach her he was stopped by a man with blonde hair in armor, he was holding an extremely large sword around 8 feet. Nozomi didn't have time to deal with him so he tried to jump over him. As Nozomi was in mid-air the man swung a gigantic sword right towards Nozomi's Stomach. " He's stubborn. Looks like I'll have to deal with him first." Nozomi maneuvered his body in mid-air and landed on the man's large sword. Nozomi then started running towards the man. But before Nozomi could reach him the man swung his sword at full force launching Nozomi back into the air. " This guy's physical strength is no joke, if I'm correct he should be around the level of a high-tier blessing knight."
Nozomi started getting frustrated as he had no time to deal with this Magic knight. Nozomi channeled large amounts of Seishin into this dagger and threw it at the man full force. The man tried using his large sword to block it but the dagger sliced through the sword like a stick of butter. Before the man could even process what was happening Nozomi landed and started dashing towards him with his cloak waving in the wind. When Nozomi was in front of the man he punched him right in the chest, " Destructive fist third technique, Osuushi no hōkō wa yobimasu." The man's armor caved in and he went flying out of the arena. Nozomi picked up his dagger and threw it at the girl casting magic.
The girl dodged the dagger but in doing so her concentration was ruined and so was the spell. Before she could try casting another one Nozomi appeared behind her. Since mages usually focus on Magic their physical bodies were pretty weak. The girl tried to use her magic staff to hit Nozomi but he grabbed it with one hand and broke it with his fingers. Nozomi followed up by hitting the girl with a roundhouse kick which made her go flying out of the circle. When Nozomi turned around and looked back there was only one other contestant left. The last contestant standing was a female elf, she had long blond hair and a green headband. She was wearing a combat suit that was brown and green and was holding a large bow with a quiver on her back filled with arrows.
She immediately drew her bow and fired an arrow and Nozomi. Nozomi channeled Seishin through his cloak and used it to block the arrow, Nozomi wasn't worried about the cloak being damaged since it had multiple inscriptions and was also fireproof. He then dived in grabbed his dagger from the ground and started running towards her. The elf girl drew her bow and started firing multiple arrows at Nozomi. Nozomi would deflect the arrows with his dagger and continue running towards her. Once Nozomi was close the girl drew her last arrow and said. " I call upon the spirit of nature to help me. Spirit magic arrow of the angel's tears." She released the arrow and it started flying towards Nozomi. " That arrow she fired right now seems different from the rest. I won't take the risk of deflecting it, let me dodge it instead."
Nozomi jumped into the air full force using a movement technique known as heavenly wind steps.
Before Nozomi could land he was surprised as the arrow was following him! " She must have used a special type of homing magic for the arrow to follow me. Also, it seems that there are inscriptions on that arrow. The strength of it could probably kill a blessing Knight if it hit him in the chest." When Nozomi landed he immediately started channeling Seishin in his fist and it collided with the arrow " Destructive fist fourth form, Tora no kobushi." As Nozomi's fist collided with the arrow sparks started to fly everywhere and the arena started to shake, The audience started cheering like crazy. The arrow started to crack but it still wasn't enough. Nozomi increased the output of Seishin in his fist and the arrow finally broke.
Nozomi's fist stung but it wasn't enough to deal any real damage to him. Nozomi started running towards the girl. The girl dropped her bow and drew a knife in an attempt to fight Nozomi in close combat. But before she could, Nozomi was already in front of her and hit her stomach with a palm " gentle gale palm technique." The girl went flying back and fell out of the circle. Nozomi looked around and was the last person standing in the arena. " whew it's finally over." The commentator then yelled, " THE WINNER OF THE SECOND ELIMINATION ROUND IS, NOZOMI KUHAKU!" The entire stadium started roaring and Nozomi walked back to the waiting room. When he arrived he saw Katsumi sitting there. " Yo Katsumi! Let's go grab a meal since we're done with our elimination rounds." Nozomi said. Katsumi then smiled and looked up " I'm in the mood for some breakfast. I won't be polite then." Katsumi said. The duo stood up and walked out of the arena.
The second they left Nozomi was shocked. Standing there were Adorjan and Aria. Adorjan was wearing his usual clothes. Aria had her long blonde hair up to her waist and her same old usual glasses. But this time she was wearing a majestic robe which was purple and black. Nozomi was ready excited to finally see her after five years. They ran towards each other and Nozomi hugged her tightly. "Aria it's been five years and you've grown. I can't believe you are one of the ten great mages now!" Aria smiled back at him " Well dad did help me a lot. I couldn't reach where I am today without his help." The two chatted for a while until Aria finally said " I have some matters to Attend at the magic tower. I'll catch you around Nozomi." Aria and Adorjan then left and Nozomi turned around and saw Katsumi standing there.
"I'm sorry I wasted your time Katsumi. I got too carried away."
"Don't worry about it, I would've done the same if I had reunited with a loved one after five years."
"Alright, then let's go grab some food, it's all on me" As the duo walked towards the Blue heart pavilion they were stopped by a large group of men. " I finally found you, bastard." When Nozomi realized who it was he started to laugh. It was the young man named Marcus who he had beaten up the other day. " WHOEVER KILLS THAT BASTARD ILL REWARD HIM WITH A THOUSAND PIECES OF GOLD!" The men all started charging at Nozomi in an attempt to take his head. " Since I'm here there's no point in me turning away. Let me help you," Katsumi said. Nozomi and Katsumi both charged at the large group of men wiping them out one by one. One of the men swung a spear towards Nozomis's head behind him. Katsumi grabbed Nozomis's head forcing him to duck. Katsumi immediately followed up by channeling Seishin into his hand and using it as a blade to behead the man. Another one of Marcuse's goons charged at him, Nozomi flipped over Katsumi and kicked the man in the face knocking him out cold.
Even though it was the duos first time meeting their chemistry was unmatched. Katsumi and Nozomi were both grinning as soon it had become a competition of who could defeat more. One of the men had extremely heavy armor and a mace. Nozomi appeared right in front of the man and put his hand on the man's stomach. "One-inch punch." The man's armor burst into pieces and his eyes went blank as he had lost consciousness. A man was standing in the back who was throwing knives at them. Nozomi threw his dagger at one of the men and it impaled his head. Katsumi grabbed Nozomis dagger and pulled it out of the man's head, he then used Nozomi's dagger to deflect all of the incoming knives and tossed the dagger back to Nozomi.
Suddenly a man with a black cloak appeared behind Marcus and started chanting some words. " Fuck, that bastard hired a mage to deal with us," Nozomi said. The mage yelled, "FIRE BLESSING RELEASE, FLAME THROWER." Nozomi got in front of Katsumi and used his cloak to cover both of them, the flame kept spreading and they couldn't continue like this. As Nozomi was covering them he crouched down, Katsumi stepped on Nozomis's back as a boost and jumped into the air. Once Katsumi was in the air he drew his crimson katana. " One sword reigns over all, Ittō-ryū Iai, Geirusurasshu." Blades of wind started raining down on all of the men. The mage was killed as one of the blades hit his neck. Once the blades dispersed only Marcus was there standing by himself and the rest of the men who came with him were either out cold or dead.
Marcus turned around and tried to run but Katsumi was standing behind him, he tried to run the other way but he bumped into Nozomi. Without a second thought, Nozomi grabbed his dagger and Slit Marcus's throat. " You've already troubled me enough, it ends here. I hope you are satisfied dying over such a small matter. Let's go Katsumi, I'm sorry this had to happen." The duo headed into the restaurant and ate a lot of food. Once Nozomi settled the bill they headed back to the stadium. As they walked to the stadium the crowd's cheer got louder. " It seems as the elimination rounds are now over." Said Katsumi. "The real one on one battles finally begin, If I meet you in the final round I won't go easy on you just because we're friends Katsumi," Nozomi said. " Friends huh? It's been a long time since I've heard that word. Do you see that grandpa? I've finally made a friend." Katasumi started smiling " I could say the same for you Nozomi, If we meet I won't go easy on you." They both started laughing and entered the waiting room.
