The roar of the crowd crested like a physical wave, echoing against the stadium canopy. Floating screens flashed in frantic rhythm, points ticking upward in shimmering silver and gold numerals as the livestream chat cascaded into an unreadable blur.
On the arena floor, the fragmented streams of light—scattered when the mantises severed the combined beam—floated downward like illuminated dust. Water droplets catching the lingering trace of the solar flare transformed the space into a misty, multicolored hall of mirrors.
Argenti did not show the slightest hint of frustration. His red hair caught the glare of the overhead arc lights, his gaze widening with unmistakable admiration.
"Magnificent," he said softly, yet his voice carried across the damp air with effortless resonance. "To cleave through adversity with such unclouded resolve... that, too, is a reflection of unblemished beauty. Sushang, the light of your blade does not falter!"
Across the ring, Sushang let out a long, measured exhale. A drop of sweat ran down the side of her temple, but her footing remained solid. The faint tremble of earlier anxiety had completely vanished, burned away by the raw momentum of the clash. Her mother's training was simple: when steel speaks, doubts are silent.
"Flattery won't stop the next strike, Sir Knight!" Sushang grinned, her eyes bright and focused. She extended her hand forward, two fingers straight like an unyielding scabbard. "Scyther, Scizor, close the line! Show them the momentum of the Cloudfist style—Agility, follow through with Dual Wingbeat!"
"Scy!"
"Zor!"
Two distinct insectoid cries rang out in perfect harmony. In a fraction of a heartbeat, both mantises vanished from plain sight, leaving behind only the displacement of rushing air.
Emerald and scarlet afterimages flickered across the arena floor, carving tight, geometric angles through the misty spray. The immense speed didn't just carry them forward; it stirred the shattered remnants of Roselia's petals into a howling vortex of floral debris.
Argenti's eyes tracked the shifting wind with sharp precision. He took half a step back, armor clinking softly as his cloak swirled with practiced grace.
"Grace is tested only when pressed by the storm," Argenti declared, his arm sweeping wide in a theatrical cue. "Milotic, draw the veil—Safeguard! Roselia, catch the petal wind and release Dazzling Gleam!"
Milotic arched its serpentine body, scales shimmering with a pearlescent sheen. A translucent, crystalline barrier rippled outward from its coils, wrapping around both itself and Roselia just as Scyther burst through the mist.
At the exact same moment, Roselia raised its twin-colored roses skyward. Pure, blinding fairy energy surged from the blooms, instantly detonating into a dome of brilliant radiance.
The light was intense enough to force spectators in the front rows to shield their eyes. For physical attackers relying on close-quarters precision, a sudden flash at point-blank range was normally fatal to their rhythm.
Yet Scyther and Scizor did not slow down.
A disciple of Xianzhou swordsmanship did not track the enemy solely through sight. When the glare stripped their vision, they trusted the whistle of the wind, the vibrations passing through the stage tiles, and the innate bloodlust of the mantis.
Scyther's scythes hummed, its emerald wings snapping wide to carve through the light itself with a double-winged gust. The concussive wave struck Milotic's crystalline barrier, fracturing the delicate perimeter into glittering shards.
From the blind spot above, Scizor dropped like a heavy anvil.
CLANG!
A heavy steel pincer, burning with metallic gray luster, slammed straight into the opening Scyther had cleared. The impact drove into the arena floor, sending a violent shockwave through the water film and knocking both Milotic and Roselia back several paces.
The score panel flashed erratically.
Sushang's bar surged again, the difficult combination of blind execution and synchronized striking driving her points past Argenti's for the very first time in the round.
In the elevated viewing box, Jing Yuan rested his chin on his palm, an amused smile playing at the corners of his lips.
"She didn't hesitate," Jing Yuan remarked, his golden eyes reflecting the swirling lights below. "Many who train with the sword hesitate the moment their senses are contested. But Sushang knows when to let instinct guide the steel."
Beside him, Su Yi nodded thoughtfully. "Argenti gave her a stage that demanded pure intent, and she answered it in kind. A contest is not simply about doing damage; it is about showing the will of the pair. At this moment, both of them are speaking the exact same language."
Down in the ring, the light slowly settled.
Roselia stood panting slightly on Milotic's coiled tail, its roses glowing faintly. Scyther and Scizor maintained their battle stance, scythes cross-locked before them, their carapaces gleaming under the arena spotlight.
Argenti placed a hand over his chest, bowing slightly toward Sushang before raising his head with an even brighter smile.
"A truly splendid counter," Argenti said, his battle spirit burning higher than ever. "Then let this final movement bloom without regret!"
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