The Duel Tournament

[iscalio]

After sunset, the last duel of the tournament's third day is about to begin.




RuneDragon Class — Group I
Celes Tilly vs. Midori





From the left comes a blonde-haired woman, dressed in simple garments and wielding a pair of sais which is reflecting the dancing lights of the fifty-four torches, almost as if it was emitting light by itself. It is Celes Tilly, the Aegis of Grassland. Celes askant looks up as the murder of crows which has been watching the tournament since its beginning starts to caw raucously as the second combatant appears. A pale woman with a wooden staff wearing black, flowing robes and a gray cloak enters the ring. She has white hair and uncanny red eyes, and a strange odor accompanies her. Her steps seem to make no noise (although that might be attributed to the cacophony of crows) and her whole appearance has something... eerie about it. It is Midori, ruler of the ancient marshes of Verm Oogen.


Not very impressed, Celes Tilly quickly dashes forward to attack as soon as the monk beats the gong. One of her sais pierces the flesh of her opponent, but strangely nearly no blood leaves the wound. Midori counters with a fast flourish of her staff, which causes a strange energy discharge as it hits the Grasslander. Then Midori starts to chant magic syllables as she calls the power of her Darkness rune, but Celes ducks and deftly sweeps Midori off her feet, interrupting her magic. The white-haired woman, still lying on the ground, attacks Celes with another energyball from her staff, shortly before she becomes the victim of a storm of blades as Tilly launches an angry series of attacks against the lying mage.

While covered with nasty wounds, Midori doesn't seem to feel any pain and is able to escape Tilly's clutch, gaining some distance while defending, even able to dodge another quick-attack of her opponent.
The Aegis of Grassland then sets about to launch another desperate attack on the red-eyed mage, but this time Midori is able to finish a spell of her Darkness rune before Celes can interfere: the sinister power of the rune engulfs Tilly in a pillar of mauve screams and moans, and ghastly schemes pervade the choking Grasslander, sucking out her very life force.


As the spook is finally over, Celes Tilly's body lies at the ground, and monks rush into the ring to administer first aid. Meanwhile, Midori is leaving, and with her the constant wailings of the crows leave as well.






Midori wins this duel.

[iscalio]

Target Lady Class — Group I
Sai Fujiwara vs. blank






As the first rays of light caress the valley, the next two combatants enter the tournament ring. From the left comes Sai Fujiwara, former Bishop of Harmonia and now common mercenary. He is a tall and remarkably handsome man with long black hair which he has tied up to a ponytail. He is wearing the same silvery clothes which have earned him the nickname of Silver Cavalier, and he is armed with a katana.
His enemy is the knight Blank, who arrives at the ring on the back of his stalwart steed, a beautiful white horse with an orange caparison emblazoned with the Zexen deer. The gray-haired man is dressed in a white robe and carries bow and quiver on his back. After he has dismounted and entered the ring, a monk beats the large gong.

Sai immediatly starts to move with impressive speed, probably to constitute a difficult target for his opponent, who apparently decided to enter the tournament with only a long-range weapon. And it works: Blank's arrow misses the mercenary, who does not grant the man from Zexen the time to reload. He rushes forward and slashes at his opponent twice with impressive speed, inflicting two deep wounds. Blank, now forced into melee, draws another arrow out of his quiver and drives it deep into the swordsman's shoulder, while Sai continues with his sally of quick-attacks and slices at blank twice again.

The robed archer, severely wounded, stumbles backwards, before he collapses in a pool of his own blood. Sai Fujiwara doesn't even look at his enemy. He performs the chiburui to shake the blood of his blade and sheathes his sword, before he pulls out the arrow of his shoulder and leaves the ring.








Sai Fujiwara wins this duel.

[iscalio]

Around noon, the next duel is about to begin.


CopperSun Class — Group II
Black Pesmerga vs. Ced The Lad





From the left comes Black Pesmerga, a famous knight captain from the Jowston alliance. The young man is wearing a black Matilda Knight uniform and is carrying two long swords; his short, dark hair is scrappy and uncombed.
His opponent is Ced The Lad, the Minister of Tinto. He is young for a man in his position, not much older than twenty, and he has auburn hair and pince-nez on his nose. He is wearing a dark coat and pale trousers, and a gray shawl around his neck. At his back a staff seems to be magically attached, and he is carrying a wakizashi at his side.





The gong is beaten, and Ced assumes his defensive stance, ready to counter his opponent's attacks. But Black Pesmerga does not attack with his blades as one would expect from a knight; instead he raises his right hand and casts a powerful spell. His Lightning rune flashes up and a thunderous rumbling can be heard, shortly before a group of purple and neon green ball lightnings appears over the Matilda Knight's head and strike down on the fighter from Tinto, inflicting massive damage and sending the frizzling Minister to the ground. Black Pesmerga then charges, swinging his swords wildly. Ced is able to get back to his feet just in time and, still twitching from the massive electrical discharges, lands a beautifully executed attack with his wakizashi, right before his enemy slashes with both swords, delivering a mighty blow which causes Ced to drop his sword and nearly sends him to the ground again.
Restraining the pain, Ced then attacks with a quick series of punches, but Black Pesmerga is able to block most of them with the silver arm protectors he is wearing under his uniform and takes only minimal damage. But Ced was only trying to earn some time anyway — utilizing his extensive martial arts-spellcasting combination training of the last weeks, he has already started to cast his most powerful spell during his attacks. Using his Cyclone rune, Ced is raising a mighty storm, and as Black Pesmerga finally realizes what his opponent is doing he launches a desperate attack to interrupt the magic of his enemy. As the blades gore the fighter from Tinto the pain causes him to lose control over the power he unleashed, and a mighty tornado forms in the middle of the ring that lifts both duelists as well as the gong, a monk and a few spectators into the air.




As the storm finally calms down, Black Pesmerga crashes back to the ground. He has a few broken bones, but is still able to stand up, albeit very shakily.
No one really knows where (or if) Ced came down.







Black Pesmerga wins this duel.

[iscalio]

It takes some time to find the missing gong, and the monks use the time to organize the spectator ranks. The next duel is between the leaders of two war-faring nations, and the monks want to make sure that the spectators won't clash violently; nearly the whole order is present to guard the ring, armed with heavy quarterstaffs.



RuneDragon Class — Group I
Gaara vs. sybillious





From the right comes the Flame Champion, the leader of the Six Great Clans, accompanied by the cheers of her followers. She is a small woman with shoulder-length, black hair, dressed in simple Grassland garbs and battleworn leather armor and armed with a pair of shortswords. Then her opponent enters the ring: Gaara, Merchant of Chaos and strongest warrior of Zexen. He is a tall man with unnaturally pale skin and long black hair wearing majestic, exotic robes. His green eyes have something unsettling about them, a charisma enhanced by his long fingernails and the cold smile he is sporting. Gaara carries the weapon of a madman: an impressive, giant warscythe.

As the monk beats the gong, sybillious assumes her battle stance. Gaara, still smiling, starts spinning, merging with his scythe into a human tornado of rotating death. Although this spinning has to be extremely strength-consuming, the leader of Zexen is still able to move with the speed and precision of a striking cobra. sybillious tries to penetrate this wall of blades, watching her enemy carefully, waiting for a weakness in his technique. Then she spots a weak point and seizes her chance, skillfully launching an attack with her shortswords, and is indeed able to hit her opponent, ripping a deep wound into his side. But Gaara's technique was not so easily circumvented: still rotating, he desperately lashes forward and his scythe hits sybillious' arm, nearly severing it from her body.
sybillious, heavily bleeding, drops one of her swords and tries to lose some ground, tries to get out of the scope of his scythe. But Gaara, demonstrating impressive reflexes and stamina, looses the hold on his scythe, and the centrifugal force expands the range of his weapon within a split second before he grabs the shaft of the scythe again. The blade cuts sybillious' throut, her eyes widen in disbelief, and blood squirts out of the Flame Champion's neck while she falls to the ground, gargling helplessly.


For a short moment it seems as if Gaara would finish what he began, but he stops his weapon shortly before it reaches the woman lying before him on the ground. "Next time, Grasslander" he says as he licks sybillious' blood of his scythe before he leaves the ring, while monks come running to administer medical assistance to the fallen Flame Champion.








Gaara wins this duel.

[iscalio]

It's shortly before dusk, and the next duel is about to begin.



DoReMiElf Class — Group II
Death vs. punchdoll





Two Tinto generals are pitted against each other this time: Death, prefect of the Field of Golden Arrows, is wearing a dark version of the plain garbs common among the order of the Knights of the Republic, including a black, hooded overcoat. He unsheathes a beautiful sword, and as the Rage rune embedded into the blade unleashes its power the sword is engulfed in flame and light. Vis-à-vis with the black-haired swordsman stands punchdoll, Guardian Knight of the holy summits of Sun's Crest, the new headquarters of the Republican War Council. The tall, brown-haired man is clad in a black coat and holds his impressive poleaxe casually in his right hand. The two men stand there silently, looking at the ground, neither paying attention to the spectators nor to their opponent. Then the mighty gong resounds, and the Tinto fighters slowly raise their gaze and nod to each other.
And then they attack.


Death at once starts chanting, and fiery red lights dance around his body as he awakens the highest power of his Rage rune. punchdoll quickly drives the heavy poleaxe into the ground and dashes forward, delivering two fast punches in Death's face and stomach. The sudden attack causes Death to lose his concentration, and the spell he was casting goes off, enshrouding the swordsman in a powerful explosion.
punchdoll, who has already rushed back to his weapon, pulls the poleaxe out of the ground and activates his Darkness rune, calling a volley of small, dark, howling missiles which strike down on his opponent. Death tries to dodge the magic arrows but fails, taking further damage.
Debilitated by the pain, Death assumes his defensive stance as he sees punchdoll approaching, brandishing his poleaxe. Combining luck and skill, he is able to parry and counters with a blow of his sword. punchdoll tries to evade the attack but is unable to dodge the flaming blade and suffers a deep wound. Death swings again, but before punchdoll is hit this time he summons forth a dark energy discharge which strikes Death's eyes.
Blinded, Death stumbles backwards, before his wounds and the excruciating pain take their toll and cause him to collapse.






punchdoll wins this duel.

[iscalio]

CopperSun Class - Group I
Lord Dredd vs. Njord




Night has fallen, and once again the ring rests in the flackering light of the fifty-four torches. A mighty, imposing figure stands in the ring with folded arms. The large, muscular man is wearing a pitch black dragon armor edged in gold with a fiery fist over the left breastplate; a large bastard sword is strapped on his back. His mien tells of violence, and his eyes impatiently scan the surroundings, searching for his opponent. His whole appearence seems to be a huge mass of fury waiting to be unleashed on his enemy.
A red pineapple flies into the ring, thrown by cheering Falenian fans. It appears to be a sign of esteem, a sign for the trust the Falenian people has in the Queen's champion. Lord Dredd does not pay attention to the fruit; his eyes are still focused on the far side of the ring. His opponent is late.

Some spectators in the front row are already becoming uneasy, fearing that the 320 pounds of solid muscle might decide to satisfy their thirst for battle elsewhere. But then Lord Dredd's fight for tonight finally arrives - Njord ben Laden, prefect of Asra.
The pirate has black hair and eyes, and he wears dirty black pants and a white shirt with a cyan strip in the middle; his right hand is clad in a black glove. He sports an evil smile and a careless and untamed demeanor, tipping his sword playfully on his shoulder.

As soon as he has entered the ring, the monk beats the gong. Dredd grabs his sword and loses no time, attacking outright. Njord does not move, apparently unsure what to do. He tries to defend the attack and is able to weaken the impact, taking only minor damage. He keeps defending, and is able to dodge Dredd's next assault, a mighty all-out charge, and trips his enemy up as he passes him. The Falenian warrior crushes to the ground and falls directly into his own sword, suffering severe injuries. Bleeding heavily, he stands up and attacks Njord again, who is still passive and defending and suffers another blow.

Now Njord seems to have finally decided on his move and swings his sword at his enemy. This time Dredd is defending and manages to repel the attack completely. He then starts to cast a spell, summoning a fireball in his left hand, but the pirate rushes foward and lands a quick punch in the Falenian's face, disrupting the magic in the process.

Njord then resumes his former tactic and assumes his defensive stance, while Dredd lands a blow with his bastard sword. Njord then exposes an opening in his defending routine and Dredd finally manages to hit the Islander directly, inflicting massive damage. But Njord is ignoring the pain and attacks with a desperate thrust, aiming for the weaker abdominal part of the Falenian armor. The blade finds its aim and pierces the armor, and Njord drives the sword deep into Lord Dredd's flesh before he starts to twist the broad blade. The Falenian warrior groans in immense pain and drops his sword, before he throws up a plethora of blood and collapses on the ground. Njord pulls his sword out and raises it above his head, forgetting his pain and exulting over his victory.
A spiky, red pineapple coming from the spectator ranks barely misses his head.








Njord wins this duel.

[iscalio]

DoReMiElf Class - Group I
Ganon Dun vs. inko37


At sunrise an unhealthily thin monk walks towards the large billboard in front of the monastery. In his mouth he has four nails, and in his hands he carries a small hammer and a papyrus scroll. The sounds of his worn-out wooden sandals attract some bystanders, who watch him affixing the scroll on the billboard. It reads:

Contestant Ganon Dun advances to the semi-final round without a fight, since his opponent inko37 is nowhere to be found.


Crows caw. And the spectators are disappointed.







Ganon Dun (sort of) wins this duel.

[iscalio]

The sun is slowly rising, and the spectators have gathered to witness a fight again.




CutRabbit Class - Group I
Beast Rune vs. The Black Knight




For the Island Nations fights the governor of Lasahn, a man whose real name is unknown even among his own soldiers, and who is simply called the Black Knight due to his pitch black plate armor and helmet. The imposing warrior is waiting for his opponent, holding his sword in his right hand.
And then his enemy arrives, a tall, hooded figure so thin and bony that its face resembles a skull: Beast Rune, torturer of the dungeons of Strelsau, Zexen ambassador of havoc and despair. Like his master Gaara, Beast Rune is carrying a large scythe into battle, and his whole appearance reminds the spectators of the Grim Reaper himself.


The monk beats the gong and the duel begins, and Black Knight charges towards the creepy figure to crush the sinister freak with his sword. But Beast Rune swiftly dodges the attack and Black Knight's momentum causes him to lose his balance and fall to the ground, right into his own blade. The hooded man approaches with a cackling laugh and swings his scythe with full force at the lying man. The Black Knight activates his Lightning rune and is able to let loose a thunder bolt in the last second, just before the scythe hits him and nearly tears his breastplate apart.
For a short moment Beast Rune is paralyzed by the electrical discharge, giving Black Knight enough time to stand up and deliver a blow with his sword. Then the Zexen torturer falls back and summons the destructive force of his Rage rune and a mighty barrage of fireballs flies towards the man from Lasahn, who tries in vain to defend from the spell. The Black Knight is engulfed in powerful flames who feed on his flesh, and his armor becomes hotter and hotter. Screaming in pain, he hectically takes off his armor, uncovering burned skin.

Disfigured and enraged, the Black Knight dashes forward to strike his opponent down. But the bony figure, still cackling, evades and the Islander crashes to the ground again. The impact causes the blisters from the burns to burst, excreting a clear liquid, and the burned skin peels off in shreds.
Black Knight, demonstrating remarkable tenacity and resilience, ignores his pain and stands up again, launching an attack while Beast Rune does the same. They exchange blows, and then both activate their runes, and flaming arrows and a lightning blast hit their respective target.

Both combatants fall to their knees, breathing heavily, but both force themselves to stand up again. Too exhausted to launch an attack, the duelists circle themselves, defending, but not attacking. Then Beast Rune starts to summon another powerful fireball, and Black Knight, realizing what his opponent tries to do, rushes forward to disrupt the chanting of the bony man. With full force, he drives his blade deep into the bowels of the hooded man, whose blood squirts on his own hagridden body. Beast Rune yelps in pain and loses control over the magic, which explodes in a mighty fireball. Both duelists are thrown through the air and hit the ground, and none of them moves anymore.


Some time passes, and the monk is about to declare a double KO, but then both men start to move again, slowly rising to their feet. Beast Rune's cloak has burned to ashes, revealing his lanky body, and with the dark red burns covering his skin he resembles his opponent. His cackling laugh has finally stopped for good, and he is doddering. Black Knight runs towards his enemy and hits him with a fast but weak slash from his sword while Beast Rune does his best to deflect the blade with his scythe.
Both duelists are at their absolute limit, and they know that, and Black Knight attempts to end this fight with a last, desperate blow.


But Beast Rune is faster. He ducks and quickly swings his scythe, tearing open his enemy's stomach. The burned, brittle skin of the Islander rips open with the sound of crumbling dry leaves, and Black Knight groans in excruciating pain before he finally loses his consciousness and collapses in a puddle of blood.




Beast Rune is declared the winner shortly before he drops to the ground as well.








Beast Rune wins this duel.

[iscalio]

It is afternoon on the last day of the quarter finals, and the spectators have gathered at the ring to witness the postmeridian spectacle that is the duel between a lizard and an ironhead.



RuneDragon Class - Group II
Abyscal vs. Pyroflame


For Grassland fights Abyscal, a big red lizardman wearing the feather ornament of the lizard clan chief. He is wielding a large spear and carries the necklaces of a lizard clan shaman around his neck. His opponent is Pyroflame, a Zexen knight in his twenties with brown hair and a goatee. He is wearing light mythril armor and like his opponent he is armed with a spear.

As soon as the gong resounds, Abyscal starts to cast a spell, summoning the power of his Rage rune, whereas Pyroflame rushes forward with impressive speed and thrusts with his spear. The hit might not be very strong, but it's enough to interrupt Abyscal's casting. Unflinching, the chief of the lizards raises his hand again and starts to cast once more, but his opponent delivers another quick attack, preventing the clan chief from utilizing his legendary arcane knowledge.

"Let me finish my spells!" Abyscal shouts, but Pyroflame just continues with his routine, and attacks again with a fast thrust. Abyscal tries to defend with his own weapon and is able to weaken the impact, taking only minimal damage.
"Only once", Abyscal thinks, "I only need to hit him once!" He starts to cast again, but this time he summons the mightiest spell in his collection, hoping to get rid of this bothersome scurrying knight fast. But Pyroflame is unperturbed and continues with his strategy, attacking with yet another quick attack. And once again the man from Zexen is able to disrupt the magic, but this time the powerful spell goes off uncontrollably and explodes in Abyscal's face. The mighty blast renders the lizard chief unconscious, and Pyroflame, completely unharmed, leaves the ring as the winner.









Pyroflame wins this duel.

[iscalio]

The time for the last fight of the quarter finals has finally come.




CutRabbit Class - Group II
PF vs. Kalidor




For the Miner Republic competes a swordsman who is simply called Exile, the prefect of the mysterious dark forests of Morkata. He has dark brown hair and eyes and is wearing a black riding cloak over dark gray scale mail armor.
His opponent is some sort of "exile" himself: A Kamaro Free Knight fighting for the Clans of the Grasslands. It's Kalidor, a silver-haired man with a sharp nose and icy blue eyes, who has earned himself the moniker "The Knight of Silver Thunder" because he is known for using his Thunder rune in concert with his swordplay to great effect. He is clad in burnished plate mail and is armed with a silver sword — which evokes a smile in the face of the experienced miner, who knows how weak weapons made from this soft metal are.


The monk beats the gong and Exile starts the duel with two attacks with his sword, while Kalidor throws lightning bolts at him. One of these bolts is especially powerful, but the prefect of Morkata does not appear to take much damage — apparently he has impressive magical defenses! He continues his onslaught and delivers a fast blow with his blade, while Kalidor is defending before countering with another lightning spell. Exile tries to evade the bolt but fails, and then he charges, attempting a deathblow attack. The knight dodges swiftly and trips his opponent, causing him to fall on his face. With dust in his eyes and thus for a moment unable to see, Exile tries to fall back and defend intuitively against his invisible attacker, but Kalidor summons another powerful lightning bolt to strike down on his opponent. Exile shakes this bolt off like all the others, but he slowly starts to reek of burned skin and ozone.

Now Kalidor finally decides to use his sword and attempts a mighty slash with his silver blade. But Exile is able to dodge and hits Kalidor twice with his own sword, moving with awe-inspiring speed. Resuming his magic approach after this failure in melee, the Kamaro Free Knight summons the power of his Thunder rune once more, and the force of the mighty spell knocks the Tinto swordsman down, seconds after he released the power of his own magic rune. Tremors shake the ground beneath Kalidor shortly before a razor-sharp stone spike grows out of the earth and adds another one to Kalidor's already impressive collection of wounds.

Exile takes some time to stand up, suffering sudden muscle convulsions, probably a result of the constant electric discharges, and Kalidor uses the time to send forth yet another lightning bolt, followed by a mighty, silverish ball-lightning. Both spells hit and harm the miner, just before he manages to regain control over his muscles and launches an angry pair of sword strikes.



The duel is already lasting long, and both combatants are weakened and exhausted, and both know that the fight will end soon. The Grasslander bleeds from numerous cuts and stab wounds, while Exile displays less external wounds - but all of those lightning bolts have probably nearly cooked his inner organs, and he has become very pale and shaky.
Kalidor decides to finish this now, and rushes forward, desperately swinging his sword at the man from Tinto, but Exile assumes his defensive stance and is able to evade the attack. Stumbling past his opponent, the Kamaro Free Knight loses his balance and crashes to the ground, taking damage from his own blade. Exile quickly presses him to the ground, driving his knee deep into Kalidor's back. Then he grabs the knight's silver hair and pulls his head back before he pounds Kalidor's face against the ground with full force, putting him over the edge.








PF wins this duel.

[iscalio]

The sun rises over the mountain range encircling the valley and greets the new day, the first day of the semi-finals of the Tournament of Sword and Shield.




DoReMiElf Class - Group I
Goldmember vs. Ganon Dun




It is a fight between Goldmember, the masked High Sorcerer of Kamaro, who has defeated the Mercenary King Barbarosa Rugner in his last duel, and a man who hasn't fought at all yet: Ganon Dun, who managed to reach the semi-final solely due to the fact that his opponent did not show up.
The man from Tinto is wearing loose black Taikoku Wear trousers and black work boots, stained with the dirt of Tinto's mines, and wristbands and fingerless gloves of the same color. His black hair is unkempt, his body hardened by the bare knuckle tournament circles of Tigermouth. He wears an old chainmail vest as armor and carries a Naginata.


Jebra himself beats the gong, and the duel begins. Goldmember dashes forward, holding his spearstaff like a lance, in an attempt to deliver a staggering blow. Ganon Dun, having watched the last duel of Kamaro's prefect, was expecting a move like this and dodges skillfully, and as Goldmember stumbles past him Ganon Dun plants his boot on his opponent's back, causing the masked mage to painfully crash to the gound.
Then the miner starts to mutter strange syllables, summoning a mighty spell from his Resurrection rune. The rune emits pulsing sounds and a large, purple-golden mandala of light forms around the spellcaster from Tinto. Goldmember stands up, and realizing that Ganon Dun is evoking a powerful spell, he desperately lashes forward again, hoping to stop the chanting. The pointy tip of his staff punctures the ring netting of the chainmail with ease and gores the miner, whose pain causes him to lose his concentration. Suddenly sounds like the screams of the despaired can be heard in the ring as the arcane powers of the rune go out of control. The mandala dissolves and strange symbols of banishment appear around the two duelists, sealing their very life force. The two men scream in horror and pain, accompanied by the agitated cawing of the crows, before they fall to the ground.


Some time passes, and a monk is about to declare a double defeat, but Jebra tells him to wait. "Look", the abbot says.



Weak groaning can be heard, and slowly Ganon Dun rises to his feet. He is heavily shaking, and his skin is covered with smouldering symbols, but nontheless he is still able to stand.








Ganon Dun wins this duel.

[iscalio]

At noon a duel between members of two of the most famous knight orders of the known world is about to begin: A duel between the Zexen Mighty Knights and the Knights of Matilda.



CopperSun Class - Group II
Black Pesmerga vs. Drummsta




For Matilda fights the captain of the Black Knights, Black Pesmerga, who defeated Tinto's minister Cedric in his last duel. Apparently he didn't come around to fix his hair yet, which is still scrappy and uncombed. But as he spots his opponent, he quickly tries to organize his intractable hair.
His opponent is a young woman with long, beautiful, platinum colored hair, who is moving full of grace, despite her heavy plate armor. It is Drummsta, most powerful female knight of the Confederacy, who advanced to the semi-finals due to the fact that King Fliktor of Highland had forgone his duel. She is carrying a longsword and - strange to say - a frying pan.


The monk beats the gong and the duel begins. Both duelists activate their runes and send spells down on their opponent, and a glistening lightning bolt hits the woman from Zexen while a lance-shaped icicle strikes down on the Matilda Knight. Black Pesmerga shakes off the frost and shoots forward with impressive speed, swinging his sword. He slashes at Drummsta, whose armor is still sparkling with electricity, but the Zexen Knight is able to deflect the blade with her frying pan. Then both combatants start to cast again, and as both evoke the most powerful spell of their runes, the magical forces of thunder and water summoned by the two knights combine. Massive clouds mount up within seconds, and a mighty rainstorm breaks loose. Violent purple and neon green lightning dances in the towering clouds above the tournament ring, and ear-battering thunder drowns all sound. The massive rainfall presses the two fighters to the ground with sheer force, and although the surprised knights have already stopped casting, the runes still glow intensely and continue to fuel the thunderstorm with power.

Both knights slowly force themselves to stand up, battling against the strength of the pouring water masses. Only able to hear the deafening thunder and only able to see the gray-blue of the water veil around them, they unavailingly try to orientate themselves. Then suddenly the crackling lightning which pervades the cloud castle above them strikes down on the ring and on the two fighters. Both are ensnared in dancing electricity - the heat of the discharges causes the rain to vaporize and the thunder drowns their screams.


With the energy having discharged, moments later the mighty thunderstorm dissolves as fast as it arose. Soppy spectators, still stunned by the sudden outburst of weather and magic, see a muddy duel ring spotted with smoking craters. They see two knights lying on the ground and watch as one of them slowly rises to his feet.


Seeing Drummsta lying motionlessly before him, Black Pesmerga sheathes his sword. He leaves the ring as the winner while miniscule electrical discharges still dance in his black hair.






Black Pesmerga wins this duel.

[iscalio]

The sun is slowly vanishing behind the mountains as another interesting duel is about to begin: The duel between the captain of the Zexen Knights and a Grassland chieftain.



TargetLady Class - Group II
Milan Fiori vs. Harukaze



Milan Fiori is waiting for his opponent, his golden battle axes in hand. His fellow knights forced him to stay sober for this fight since it won't be as easy as the one against the youth from the Empire. This Safir warrior is strong, this much Milan has learned from the duel against this weird freak Neclord. But nevertheless - he won't stand a chance against the Leader of the Zexen Knights; he is still only a barbarian after all.
Then Milan's opponent arrives. The young chief of the Safir clan seems to be eager to fight, and grips his sword tightly, sporting a confident glance.


The large gong resounds, and Harukaze at once charges to attack. He demonstrates his strength by swinging his large sword with only his left hand and scores a heavy hit at a weak spot of his opponent's armor, right below the arm. Moving with impressive speed, he directly continues his assault with a kick in Milan's face. While the fast kick bestows the knight with a bloody nose, the first attack causes him to drop one of his axes. Angrily, he counters with an all-out attack with his remaining axe and inflicts a deep wound at the Grasslander's right thigh. Harukaze attacks again, and hits, but as he shifts weight to his right leg, the pain of his wound is debilitating. Milan Fiori swings his axe with full force again, aiming at the same location as before. The mighty weapon hits, and only the strong muscles of the Safir warrior keep his bone from being cut through completely and his leg from being severed.

His blood loss is grave, but Harukaze grits his teeth and delivers a quick strike on the burly knight. He is able to hit and inflicts some damage, but crippling pain shoots through his leg and another large splash of blood squirts out of his wound before he drops his sword and falls to the ground groaning. Milan quickly kicks away the Grasslander's weapon and then stomps on his exposed femur, and the sound of crushing bone can be heard around the spectator ranks, accompanied by the scream of the young Safir warrior. Milan Fiori continues his assault on the bloody goo that has been Harukaze's maltreated leg, as the chieftain's tear-clouded eyes spot Milan's dropped axe. Gathering all his strength, he quickly grabs the axe, and with a well-aimed swing he drives it right through Milan's breatplate and deep into his flesh.
The Zexen knight captain freezes and disbelievingly stares at his own weapon in his breast. Slowly and tremulously he reaches for the axe's haft, he tries to pull it out, but his suddenly weak arms are unable to do so. He stumbles a few steps towards his opponent, and then he vomits blood and collapses.






Harukaze wins this duel.

[iscalio]

Morning has broken, and the time for the next duel has come.



CutRabbit Class - Group I
Scarlet assassin vs. Beast Rune





The torturer of the dungeons of Strelsau enters the ring from the right. The searing flames of his own Rage rune in the duel against the governor of Lasahn have marked the fighter thoroughly: his black robe has burned to ashes, and now his whole body is wrapped in bandages to cover his burnt skin - which bestows some resemblance to a mummy upon the grim man from Zexen. He still carries his scythe, but it has now a chain affixed to its lower tip connected to a spiked metal ball. Despite his battered state, he is again cackling eeriely like in the last duel, and as the other duelist enters the ring from the left, he greets him with "Come to get tortured!".
His opponent is Id, the masked assassin from the Nameless Lands, who has defeated the Lantern Lizard, one of Beast Rune's countrymen, in his last duel.



The gong signifies the start of the duel. Beast Rune stays on his side of the ring, taunting his enemy to attack. And that's exactly what the Scarlet Assassin has in mind.
He dashes forward, swinging his black blade, while Beast Rune defends and suffers only minimal damage. Then he counterattacks, and the spiked ball hits the fiery red mask of his opponent, whose blade pierces Beast Rune's soft stomach at the same time, and blood dyes the bandages red. Enraged, the Zexen officer snarls and launches a desperate attack with his scythe, but Scarlet assassin dodges, and his own momentum causes the man from Strelsau to stumble and he crashes to the ground. The fall causes some of his burns to rip open under his bandages and sanious liquids sap through the white cloth.

The assassin from the Nameless lands expects another all-out attack and maintains his defensive stance, but Beast Rune does not attack. Instead he also defends, and both fighters circle themselves, watching their opponent carefully. This lasts for some time, with no duelist taking the initiative, and the first spectators start to become impatient. A few boos can be heard, and as the first angry pineapples come flying Scarlet assassin decides to end this awkward situation. He shoots forward and starts a series of attacks. At first Beast Rune still defends, and is able to avoid most hits, but then he raises his hand and summons a mighty spell, while Id's blade finds its mark again. A scythe-like golden symbol flashes up over Beast Rune's head (apparently he swapped his Rage rune for its darkness counterpart after the backfire in the last duel), and uncanny sounds like the screams of all his tortured victims in the dungeons of Strelsau joggle Scarlet assassin's sanity, before eerie shadow hands reach out of the ground and start choking him. Beast Rune uses this chance and dashes forward, attacking his opponent with a powerful swing with his scythe. The weapon hits its target, but it also cuts through the eldrich extremities; Scarlet assassin, badly hurt but free again, stabs once more at his opponent and then he falls back.


Both men are bleeding profusely and their breath is heavy. Fearing that they might not be able to sustain another attack, they both irresolutely keep defending. Soon the spectators grow discontent again, and this time the boos are louder and angrier. Some start to throw things at the idle combatants again, and not only fruits but even bottles and jars come flying into the ring. Eventually both fighters are hit by such projectiles, and the unfortunate Beast Rune is hit hard by a jar at his head. As the clay jug shatters at his skull, he starts to reel, and accompanied by the spectators' demonstrations of resentment he passes out and collapses.








Scarlet assassin wins this duel.

[iscalio]

A few hours later, the second contestant of the CutRabbit finale is about to be decided.




CutRabbit Class - Group II
Benit149 vs. PF




It's a duel between the Ice Sorceress Benit of the Nameless Lands, who managed to defeat her compatriot Earthquake in the quarter finals, and Exile, the prefect of Morkata, who has sweeped the Kamaro Free Knight Kalidor out of the tournament.
A monk beats the gong and the duel can begin.


Exile eyes up his enemy with a sceptic look. "I'm not sure if I can hit a woman." Benit doesn't have such problems, and as she starts to cast a spell, blue lights dance around the body of the First Lady of Addervon, beautifully harmonizing with her azure outfit. She is about to finish her chanting as a fist burrows deep into her stomach, split seconds before an uppercut hits her chin, lifting her in the air. The blue lights follow her trajectory, slow down in their movement and dissipate before Benit hits the ground with a thud. Exile cracks his knuckles. "Apparently I can."


Benit shakes off her surprise and starts to weave magic again, while the man from Tinto unsheathes his sword. She is able to sling a frost spell at him before she is hit by a mighty blow, followed by a quick strike. Just before he is able to land another powerful attack Benit quickly casts a defensive spell. In an instant the ground beneath Exile's feet freezes over and he loses his balance on the slippery glaze. He falls to the ground, his head thuding heavily against the ice.


Benit uses the time to stand up and grabs her glaive. Exile gets up to his feet again as well, sporting a deep laceration on his forehead. He wipes the blood out of his eyes with his black cape, while Benit rushes forward, ignoring the pain of her deep wounds. She swings her weapon and the glaive hits Exile's side, who suffers only a minor wound thanks to his scale mail. He then counters with another full-force attack, slicing the upper part of his opponent's body. The force of the attack causes Benit to stumble backwards, and a fast tackle by the Tinto Swordsman sends her to the ground again.

Desperately, she tries to throw another spell at him, but Exile is faster. Within an instant he is over her and delivers a fast punch into her stomach. Benit loses her consciousness as her blood squirts into her opponent's face.







PF wins this duel.