EA Chapter 23 - Brawler Vs Brawler

It was well past noon, and the Brawler Tournament was in full swing. The first few rounds had, unsurprisingly, been knock down, drag out fights that left the arena in an awful state. Brawlers, by their nature, were tanks who could dish out and endure large amounts of damage, even as rookies. It was more exciting than the Cleric fights, more destructive than the Arcanists, and easier to follow than the Ranger fights.

Either one Brawler eventually got the upper hand on the other, clobbering them unconscious, or a foolish mistake would lead to a ring out.

Luna and the others settled in their seats when the time came for Kiharu’s bout. A hush was steadily falling over the audience, many of them taking bets on who would win. Many of them were placing their money on Gravide.

“I hope she’ll be alright,” Rema murmured, netting her fingers.

“Yeah... I can sense that other girl’s aura. It’s pretty imposing,” said Romula.

Luna said nothing, her dispassionate gaze fixed onto Gravide Ventius. Kiharu had her beat in height and muscle mass, but Gravide was not much smaller. She was stocky, her thick neck hinting at a lot of sturdy muscle mass. Her silver hair was worn short, distinguished by a braid that ran down to the nape of her neck.

Her face, Luna couldn’t help but note, was utterly calm. She bore no fear for what was to come, watching Kiharu with cold, steely eyes. She focused on Gravide with her mana sense, only to wince at the pressure radiating off of her. The girl was strong, no two ways about it.

“What do you think?” Syri asked, as if sensing Luna’s unease.

“I think... Kiharu has an uphill battle ahead.”

The referee raised his hand, and the arena fell silent. “Begin!”

Kiharu moved first, springing from her starting point with a great boom of wind. Her fist made a beeline for Gravide’s face, only for Gravide to snap a hand up and catch it in her palm. The impact unleashed a great shock wave, the ripples of which cascaded across the barrier protecting the audience.

Shocked gasps ran through the cadets, a few even applauded, while the two Brawlers stood locked in a continuous struggle that made the arena shake in protest.

They sprang apart, but Kiharu was quick to rush her again. She threw a flurry of punches at Gravide, her fists a pair of scarlet blurs. But Gravide, impassive as before, parried and weaved around the majority of blows. Kiharu tightened her stance, her aura blazing red around her, putting more speed into her punches to little avail.

Gravide pulled her head back, Kiharu’s knuckles only barely passing her chin, and snapped forward with a crushing punch that caught Kiharu in the jaw. A gasp ran through the crowd, while Kiharu was sent skidding harshly to the edge of the arena.

Gravide righted herself, shaking some smoke from her knuckles. Kiharu regained her balance, turned, and spat a fat glob of blood onto the tiles.

“Alright,” she growled. “Let’s try that again.”

Luna sat back to watch the fight unfold, saw the increasing ferocity in Kiharu’s attacks as she repeatedly threw herself at Gravide. Yet no matter what angle she tried to attack from, or how hot her qi burned, Gravide always sped up and rebuffed her attacks. At no point did she seem to be trying particularly hard.

Each blow Kiharu took echoed across the arena like a crack of thunder, until the beastkin’s arms were marked with bruises, and blood was oozing from both nostrils.

“I’ve... never seen Kiharu struggle this much. She hasn’t even gotten a hit in,” Syri said in disbelief.

“Is.. is Gravide really that fast?” Rema asked.

Luna frowned, narrowing her eyes. No, it wasn’t just speed. The amount of qi the two were putting out was roughly equal. While Gravide had a slight lead, it shouldn’t have been enough to let her dodge Kiharu so trivially. She focused intently on Gravide, paying particular attention to her eyes.

They flashed as another blow raced her way, heralding a sudden jerking dodge that made Kiharu’s fist shoot wide of her.

“Precognition,” Luna muttered. “She’s seeing Kiharu’s moves before they can connect.”

Kiharu slowly panted for breath, her aura rippling around her like red-hued steam. “Damn. Guess I gotta really go all out then,” she said.

“Please do,” Gravide replied, glaring over at the beastkin. “Before you put me to sleep.”

Kiharu grinned. With one fluid movement she whipped her beefy arms back and sent her bracers hurtling out of the arena. They landed in the dirt beyond the platform, thudding deep into the earth. In an instant her qi rose sharply, the heat of her aura whipping up like an inferno. It only grew stronger as her leg weights were tossed off too.

The beastkin hopped from foot to foot, huffing from the exertion, while the onlookers muttered to each other in confusion.

“What did she just do?”

“Training weights? Is that allowed?”

“I guess... since she didn’t use them like a weapon?”

The referee said nothing, at least.

Now Gravide was watching her with more wariness, spreading her feet apart as she dropped into a more serious fighting stance. Luna could sense her qi rising, her aura shimmering up around her as a pale blue haze. She braced, narrowed her eyes, but Kiharu came rushing at her like a whirlwind. She raised an arm to block, doubtless sensing where incoming blow would come from.

Kiharu shifted mid-swing, her first blow a mere feint, and rocketed her other fist into Gravide’s chest while she was distracted, her speed sharply increasing. The great boom of the impact sent strong ripples through the barrier, and even with it in place the wind kicked up by Kiharu’s punch nearly knocked a few cadets from their seats.

“Whoa!” Romula and Rema howled in unison. “She got her, she really got her!” Rema exclaimed, as she and her sister hugged each other and hopped up and down in their seats.

“Got her dead on! I knew she could do it!” Syri said, pumping her fist in the air.

Luna smirked. She knew better than to underestimate the meathead.

The downside was that the cat was out of the bag when it came to their little trick. Everyone present knew about the weighted gear the Hawks were making use of. Oh well, Luna told herself. It was bound to happen at some point in the tournament, and she supposed it didn’t much matter if the other cadets knew about the trick. It broke no rules, for she had checked them thoroughly, and it was too late for anyone to get in any such training of their own.

Still... it would have been nice to be able to shock the prince herself. Well, Luna mentally added, she had no shortage of other tricks she could use for that.

Gravide wheezed from the pain of the impact and stumbled back, one hand pressed to her gut. Her knees shook, threatening to buckle under her own weight, and for a moment it looked as if she was about to throw up. “D-damnation,” she said, her voice strained with exertion.

Kiharu grinned at her, exposing her long incisors. “That wake you up?” Kiharu asked, a mocking sneer flashing across her face. She lifted her fists, wisps of scarlet light smouldering on her knuckles. “Cuz I’m just getting started.”

Slowly, with great care, Gravide forced herself to her feet. Her own aura continued to rise, blazing with such intensity that the tiles began to splinter beneath her feet. Now Luna could see that the coldness in her eyes had been replaced with a white hot fury.

“You wanted me mad?” Gravide hissed. “Congratulations. I’m sure you can wear that as a badge of pride, after I beat your head in.”