Daniel and Raymond had performed well, I could see that but what I wanted was to win to keep my promise to father to become the strongest with Leon by my side. Now it was our turn.
And like usual "See you on the other side brother" I said before we went to our own stages.
He thinks I had not heard him but I did hear him whispering
"Yeah, see you on the other side"
My opponent was Private Daiya Irma, a relaxed-looking man with the clear, confident aura of an Artificial Rank B Water user.
"Lex fou Bartfort," I introduced myself, readying my one-handed axe.
"Daiya Irma," he nodded, conjuring a sphere of clear water that floated above his palm. "Let's make this interesting."
The signal came. Daiya immediately flicked his wrist, and the water sphere burst, sending hundreds of high-pressure water needles at me.
It was currently daytime, meaning I was in my Sunfire Aspect, with golden hair and eyes and my mana rotation art on full blast. I channeled mana into my hands and conjured a Flare Shield, a shimmering, yellow heat barrier. The water needles hit the barrier and evaporated instantly with a sharp hiss, filling the air with a cloud of steam.
Daiya smirked, and the steam cloud solidified into a thick fog bank, instantly dropping visibility to zero. A smart tactical move. He was attempting to use my own energy reaction against me and manipulate the environment.
I couldn't see, but my training kicked in senses were heightened,.
I could hear the subtle shifting of the water in his attack, the faint sound of his foot shifting.
I focused my Solar energy into the blade of my axe, turning it bright orange and superheating the magi-steel. I swung wildly in a circle, creating a wave of pure heat that pushed the fog back in all directions.
"Found you!" I shouted, charging toward his general direction, following the heat displacement in the air.
Daiya was ready. He created a Glacial Wall—a massive, solid barrier of ice that blocked my charge. The superheated axe bit into the ice, melting it rapidly, but I couldn't break through fast enough.
"Impressive heat," he noted from behind the wall.
Water started seeping through the melting ice and around the edges of the wall.
I quickly pulled back,
He took out his sword and we started exchanging hits.
I needed to end this. It was time for a risk. I closed my eyes briefly and triggered a rare manifestation of my light abilities: Blinding Light.
It just made him create space and that's when it happened, we heard hears from Leon's Stage.
The roar from Leon's stage was infectious. He'd done it. The feeling of "we both made it" surged through me, I wanted it. My opponent, Private Daiya Irma, was looking at Leons match the next stage.
"Kid's got grit," he commented, turning his attention back to me.
"Looks like I can't afford to take it easy like Theo did. Sergeant Barnes would have my hide."
"Glad to hear it, Private," I said, a grin stretching across my face. I could tell this following exchange would demand everything I had.
It was now late morning, nearing high noon—my strength was rising with the sun, but Daiya's expertise was Rank B, a full tier above mine.
The moment came, and Daiya didn't start with a casual water sphere this time. The man was all business.
He slammed his hands together, and the ground of the arena floor instantly became slick with a thin layer of highly pressurized water. He then took a stance, raising both hands to form a whirlpool of mana, ready to control the flow of the entire arena.
My Sunfire Aspect flared to life. I channeled energy into the soles of my boots, generating intense heat to instantly vaporize the water beneath my feet, giving me traction where he had none. The arena floor steamed.
"Water adapts!" he declared, and the steam I generated instantly coalesced into a thick fog bank, just as my original battle plan predicted, only this time it was denser, magically charged, and colder.
My internal monologue kicked in: 'Okay, plan B it is. This guy is experienced.' I relied on my passive senses, a carryover from my Night Form's heightened clarity.
I heard the subtle shift in water pressure to my left. He was sending a wide-area tidal wave attack.
I pushed my solar energy outward, creating a small, localized solar flare at my position—a blinding burst of light and heat. It served two purposes: it gave me a flash look at his position through the fog, and it disoriented him.
I charged through the still-dissipating steam cloud, my axe blazing orange with Sunstrike power. I anticipated his movement and swung low.
Daiya was ready. He was tougher than Theo. He met my attack with a solid barrier of flowing water, turning my heat-based attack into a burst of superheated steam. He wasn't relying on brittle ice. He was using moving water, which absorbed my heat much better.
We were locked in a stalemate of steam and elemental energy for several minutes. The arena was a chaotic mess of mist and noise. I could tell I was running low on immediately available mana.
Suddenly, the arena went silent.
I felt a massive impact. Daiya's full force, an internal pressure wave, hit me square in the chest. I was sent flying backward, my head slamming hard against the arena wall. Darkness swirled at the edges of my vision.
"Winner, Private Daiya Irma!" Sergeant Barnes's voice echoed, distant and tinny
I was down. My body was broken, the pain intense. But something inside me refused to stay down. The 'Warrior's Sin'—staying weak when I still had something to give—rang in my head.
The sun was directly overhead now, high noon.
A torrent of mythical power, not my own conscious mana, fell over the stage. The heat in the arena didn't just increase; it ignited. The remaining water on the ground flash-boiled into superheated plasma. My wounds began to knit themselves shut, powered by the direct, high-noon sunlight.
I got to my feet, my body moving on instinct and the sheer will to win. My eyes were completely white, vacant of thought or consciousness. I was operating purely on my Grace's raw power.
"He's still going!" Daiya's panicked voice cut through the heat haze.
I raised my axe, now radiating a blinding, white-hot aura. I was no longer a cadet; I was the Avatar of the Sun. I launched myself at Daiya with a speed that defied my earlier movements.
Daiya threw up his strongest water barrier, but the white-hot axe of solar judgment simply sliced through it like paper.
Just as the axe was about to connect with a killing blow, a circular blue shield, a blur of motion, came flying through the air, hitting my axe handle with a loud CLANG and deflecting my strike.
A massive figure landed between me and Daiya. Captain Steve Rogers, his artificial Grace activated, muscles bulging and shining with a metallic aura blazing with defensive power.
He didn't hesitate. Steve drew back a massive fist powered by his Grace, mana and connected with my jaw. The world went dark for the second time.
Omni POV: The Aftermath
Lex collapsed into Captain Rogers's arms, unconscious. The intense heat faded instantly, leaving the arena a scorched, damp mess.
"Told you they'd surprise us," Bucky said from the stands, a proud smile on his face, though his tone remained gruff.
"Yeah, they did," Steve replied, carefully picking up the unconscious boy.