King of Fighters (Mission/Elyx)

Putting his bar up on top of the railing of the ship, Ardere's long cloak flapped voraciously in the sea breeze. Gazing out towards Sphere Island, he was intrigued at how the mountains had formed like an actual sphere. While he had seen many forms of strange terrain, this one certainly took the cake. He was on his way to this island to participate in a tournament, and win. The King of Fighters tournament, it was certainly a well known tournament across the country. While he had participated in Arena fights, he had been in nothing like this before. He heard people had been killed in these, but that was not going to happen. Taking his foot off of the railing, the ship was nearing the port. It would not be long before he was in that ring, and fighting his heart out. While he was not one to fight for no reason, these men had come here to win and were ruthless about it. If they were going to be so ruthless about it, then they would receive the same treatment from the Fire King. As a guild master, it was his duty to uphold the reputation of his guild, especially due to the fact that his guild was new. He did not plan on losing here today. Instead, he would hop down onto the dock full of vigor.

Taking a deep breath, he could taste the salt content in the air. It was sort of nasty, but he decided to ignore it and get moving. He imagined the check in at Registry had already begun, and being late was not something he was fond of. Looking back at the large cruise ship that brought him, he gave it a casual salute. Then Ardere looked at the massive mountains shaped into a sphere, it was almost intimidating. Taking in all of the scenery, the brown haired man received a few looks, probably due to his Samurai attire. Smirking slightly, he did not mind the attention. Hopefully he could make his guild proud, and impress Sayrn as always, though he doubted his girlfriend cared about such trivial things as a tournament. Chuckling about it a bit, he ventured on into the sphere of rock. A large entrance had been carved into the side of the sphere, to gain entrance into what was beyond. Peering up at the large city, he widened his eyes a bit. Well damn. It was strange to see such a large city in the middle of a rock dome, but he could not stand around and be distracted. From what he knew, the tournament was held underground. It took a little while, but he found himself at the edge of the island, descending some stairs. What he found down underneath the island was amazing, a massive underground arena full of rooms and booths. But in the center was the fighting arena, large enough for H rank spells to go off without harming the audience. Nodding in awe, he made his way over towards the registry. Standing in line was most certainly a pain, but he would wait it out. After several minutes, he found himself at the front of the line. Name please. An older woman asked, who seemed to be in charge of the registry. Ardere Kasai. The woman scrolled down her list, the nodded, checking off his name. Ah here, we are. Ardere Kasai signed up for the doubles fighting tournament. Doubles? That meant fighting duos, who the hell was he fighting with. This meant that someone else was likely hired for the mission, and sent along with him. Doubles? Then who the heck might my partner be?

Leaning against the wall, Ardere peered down into the arena as he watched the Singles Tournament rage on. While he was saddened that he could not participate in this one, he was interested to meet his partner. While waiting for the arrival of the second half to the duo, he gazed down at two men fighting in the arena. It seemed to be the quarter-finals, where the true masters of combat began to reveal themselves. Men and women ruthlessly fighting one another, with such physicality and force that it shook the arena at times. His armored arms folded, the fire mage nodded in approval as a swordsman and a lancer took the stage. The two charged towards each other with such speed and ferocity, that it actually intrigued him to an extent. Lance and sword clashing, the ground beneath them began to break into pieces from the sheer force put into their blows. The lancer seemed to have the advantage at first, wielding two things lances to attack with. Strikes fired in rapid succession, he put the swordsman on the defensive within a matter of seconds. Just when it seemed that the lancer would win, cutting up the swordsman arm and smashing craters into the wall from sheer force; the tide of the battle changed. The swordsman lifted up his sword, charging a mass amount of energy into it before he would strike. The strike emitted a large amount of blue energy, ripping through the ground and knocking the lancer down on his rear. The man did not stand a chance it seemed, as he was instantaneously defeated by the strike.

His eyes glancing over to the registry desk, he saw a young man with dull colored hair registering. His ears twitched a bit as he heard the mention of his name. The confused reaction from the man let him know that this was his partner, prompting the god slayer to make his way over there. Scanning the man, he did not look particularly strong but looks could always be deceiving. However he did look like a nicer man, and that was a positive trait. He was hoping he wouldn't have some muscle guy douche bag as his partner. Moving over to the man, he flipped his cloak open revealing his Samurai armor and letting a bit of air flow through it. I'm Ardere Kasai by the way. You and I should get going with the rest of the fighters in the waiting room. It's nice to meet ya. Sorry for the rush, I wasn't really expecting a partner either. Extending his hand for the man to shake, if he accepted the introduction, then the two would make their way back into the waiting room before their fight could begin. The arena was full of spectators, but the waiting room was full of men lifting weights and doing all types of exercises. Some were even blasting magic at dummies, or meditating to focus their aura. While he did not underestimate any of these men, he had a feeling his warm up would be the first match. Mind if I ask your magic? While he had only just met the man he had overheard as Elyx, knowing each other's magic was imperative. They would be fighting together, and they would have to get used to it quickly or they would lose.

(OOC: You can roll the dice if you wish)

Ardere gave a slight smile as the man introduced himself. Nice to meet you Elyx. I didn't know you kept your name behind your face. It was obviously sarcasm, but he felt like he would need to clarify anyways. Kidding of course. While he could be extremely sarcastic at times, he had just met the man and was not in the business of making a horrid first impression. The two mages would have to work together, and they would have to adapt quickly. Judging by the amount of strong men and women in the room, it appeared they would have an interesting task at hand. However noting that wind magic controlled by a violin was quite unique, they perhaps had a chance to put on a good show and still win. Keeping his voice down, he whispered to his partner. Very interesting magic. I'm actually a Flame God Slayer, but I know some Crash magic as well. Pulling out the red long sword from the sheath on his back, he held it out to the side as to not poke anyone. The light reflecting off the clean blade, it would be apparent to his partner that it was well made. And this is Clarent. It'll come in handy I assure you. Sliding the blade back into it's former place of rest, he began to tighten the straps on his armor.

Observing some of the men, he noticed they had stuck to their pairs. This was when the thought that they were the only two who weren't previously acquainted hit him. Gritting his teeth a bit, he took off his cloak and tossed it into one of the nearby lockers. His wooden and leather samurai armor was tight, and it felt extremely light. He preferred to not have the cloak on when he fought, as to be more mobile. Spotting a clock on a nearby wall, it appeared it was almost time for the fights to begin. Alright Elyx, my spells are extremely destructive at times so we'll need to drag our opponents to opposite sides of the arena if possible. I'll try to limit myself to more swordplay if possible, which I can certainly handle. I don't know you very well, but I'm counting on you to help me out. Many of these guys are depending on fighting as a unit, since we dont know each other well our best bet is to keep them apart. The god slayer was a tactician at heart. While most of his tactical decisions were made in the heat of battle and were a mix of instinct as well as intelligence, now they had an opportunity to be smart about this even if they just met. Hoping Elyx understood, Ardere looked to the opposite side of the room as the doors opened up. It was time for the first round to begin, and the announcer had called their names. Looks like we're in the first match, let's do this. Giving a reassuring look to the man, he tightened his fists. As soon as the other mage appeared ready, he would walk towards the entrance to the arena. He did not spot the other two men or women they were facing, and assumed they must have been readying up still. They had a few minutes to enter the arena before the fight actually began, but he assumed they had been in the room.

Standing next to the violinist, Ardere stared at the barrier that divided them and their opponents. He could not see them at the moment, but he knew they were there. He could hear their movements through the wall, and something was quite off about them. It was almost as if what was behind that barrier was not even human, but the two would certainly see. The announcer called out to the audience, giving the names of both the mages. Elyx and Ardere, two mages from Fiore facing off against their two opponents. Taking a deep breath, the fire mage waited. Of course, be careful Elyx. Whatever is behind the barrier is going to come at us hard, I'll take the one on the right, you take the one on the left. Looking to his battle partner, he gave a reassuring nod. They had a plan and they were going to stick to it, but he was a bit antsy to get this fight started. Once the announcer was done, the barrier would begin to go down. The cheering and clapping of the crowd drowned out most noises, even for the god slayer. It was quite exciting, but he still took it seriously. Drawing his red long sword as his enemies would now be known. Much to his surprise, the enemies were not like anything he had expected.

The one on the left side that would be facing Elyx was a dark winged serpent, almost like a drake or some sort of sea serpent with wings. The one on the left that the fire king himself would be up against was a winged leopard. It was strange to see a cat with wings, and it had such pointy ears. He had heard of animal and beast opponents in this tournament, but he had no idea they would be like this. Well then, good luck friend. Clutching his sword tight, Ardere took off his his heavily enhanced speed towards the winged leopard. As he took off, flames would begin to encase his blade. The flames expanding until they formed a much larger blade on top of the red one, his Sword of Kings had been fully formed. This was perhaps one of his signature techniques, and it came along with his sword. He found himself using it quite often as the blade of flames reached a length of ten meters, significantly hard to dodge at a close range, or when it was within range in general for that matter. Dashing towards the beast, he swung his sword back.

It seemed that the beast would return his charge, and break into a sprint. Just as it took off, the winged creature would take to the air, using it's momentum to increased it's gliding towards the fire mage. As soon as it was within range, the god slayer pivoted his body and spun. The beast narrowly avoiding one attack, would unfortunately dodge to only receive another. There was not much it could do to avoid the massive amount of flames coming at it, thus was injured several times. However this did not mean that the beast was done, it still had quite a bit of life in it. Opening it's mouth, the leopard let out a heavy sonic roar. The brown haired man turning his sword to the side would block the brunt of the force, but was sent tumbling back a few meters. Using his acrobatic knowledge to his adventage, he pushed off with his hands and quickly regained his balance. This was not going to be an easy fight, but he was confident that he could pull it off.  

Clutching the dark handle on his flaming red blade, Ardere gritted his teeth slightly. The leopard he was facing was agile, and quick on it's feet. It was likely that it would dive bomb him through the air, and he had no choice other than to go at it as hard as he could with his blade. Dashing off towards the beast, he left a small dust cloud in his wake. Drawing his sword back, the wind rushing through his thick hair from his increased speed would cause his head band to flap. Fire in his eyes, the god slayer leaped upwards for his flame blade to meet the claws of the flying leopard. Growling at him, the leopard screeched at it's enemy. A sonic wave knocking him back, he quickly regained he momentum and landed on the arena floor feet first. Leaving a small crater in the floor, he leaped up towards the beast again relentlessly. Smacking the beast aside with the blade of flames, he was not going to be knocked down again. It was on and off between the beast and the fire mage, being quite obvious that he was not phased by any of the beast's attacks. While it was taking a while for him to win, he was far from stopping. The crowd went wild as he smacked the beast aside, prompting the commentators to go wild as well.

Rearing his blade back, as the two combatants fell Ardere smacked his blade into the beast again sending it spiraling towards the ground. Leaving a tiny crater in the ground from it's impact, the beast swept wind towards the falling mage. Being instantly swept up in the wind, he found himself tumbling until he regained his balance. Standing back up with barely any bruises, he looked past his opponent and luckily did not see Elyx or the serpent. As the winged leopard came dashing towards him as a last ditch effort to win, the blade would come down. Apologies Mr Leopard, but Flame God's Splitting Edge! There was no stopping it, once the blade was brought down it was too late for the furry creature. Black energy began to form in the ground, and as the ground split open flames would emerge. Thick, black flames of destruction. A mountain range of fire burst from the ground beneath the winged beast just before it reached the Samurai. Fur was consumed by flame before it withered away and turned to ash, the beast was beaten with one swing of the sword. He did not want to waste spells so early on in this fight, fortunately it was not one that would drain him even if it was quite useful. The scorched and corrupted beast fell to the ground, beaten and battered. The fight had not lasted very long, but if the enemies in the next round were twice as strong as these, then they were in for one Hell of a fight. The crowd jumped up and cheered, some animal lover booing with their thumbs pointed down. Fortunately most of the crowd seemed to be in favor of the two mages. Hopefully Elyx had also taken down his enemy, prompting a look from his partner.

Feeling a slight gust of wind blow past his body, Ardere pushed a lock of brown hair back behind his flapping head band. The two mages had won, that much was apparent. Most sound being drowned out by the roaring of the crowd, the announcer waited a few moments before speaking clearly. Now now, settle down. The winners of this round are Ardere and Elyx! This means they will move on to the next round where they will face off against two completely new opponents! Who will they be? We'll fight out in the next round! Walking towards the violinist during the announcer's speech, he sheathed his red blade as the flames began to disappear. That was good, let's keeping on doing that and we'll win in no time. Nodding to his partner, it was time for the two to exit the arena. The roaring of the crowd still loud in his ears, the fire mage walked side by side with his partner into the next room. The sounds of the roaring still ringing, he shook his head as he passed through the two doors into the waiting room. The next group of fighters would exit the room, and begin their fight as well. It would be a little while before their next fight, and the two would have time to recover some stamina. While the others were lifting weights or drinking water, the god slayer laid down on one of the benches and held up a book to read. 'I've spent years training, and I still do. I'm not going to sit here and lift weights like it has any difference.' The thoughts resounded in his mind, remembering all of the training he had done. Rather than focus on getting ready, he chose to freshen up his mind.

Taking off his armor to relax, Ardere would stay focused on the book he was reading until the next match began. It would be about twenty minutes worth of fighting until the next round for them, and a few matched into that before their names were called. The announcer calling their names, and for them to enter the arena. Well, this is it. Round two. Let's go Elyx. Standing up and putting his armor back on, he tightened the enchanted leather and wood set. Popping sounds emitting from his knuckles as they cracked, the guild master maintained a laid back demeanor even as they walked back through the doors once more. The cheering and yelling of the crowd able to be heard yet again, the stared into the barrier. Their two opponents were on the other side, and this time he hoped they were human opponents. Taking a deep breath, he normally would be shaking from nervousness, but he was not nervous. Fighting was in his nature just as much as reading was, and he had known this for years. Already unsheathing the red long sword, he slid his right foot back to take a fighting stance as the barrier came down to reveal their opponents.

The barrier disappeared, and unfortunately it was revealed that they would be fighting two monsters again instead of martial artists. It seemed that during the early rounds, Ardere was doomed to fight beasts. You took the serpent last time, so I'll take it this time. Nodding to his partner, the god slayer would cross in front of him and dash towards the winged serpent. Unsheathing the red long sword he had grown to love and depend on at times, he gritted his teeth a bit. The almost dragon like winged serpent began to glide towards him. Hissing and roaring, it did not appear to be in the best of moods. Leaping up into the air, his body twirled past a large claw coming towards him, and his blade raked against the flesh of the serpent. Screaming and angered, it smacked the fire mage across the ground with one of it's wings. Swiftly regaining his balance, this bash did not deter him. No serpent with wings was going to prevent him from advancing to the next round, he wished to fight a real enemy. Swiping his blade to the side, the gust of wind from the pure force of his swing was enough to make a dust cloud behind them. The serpent hissing and snarling, charged towards him. I hate to break it to you, but you're not... Charging towards the serpent with his full speed, to any average person or mage's eyes he would be moving extremely fast, barely seen. But any experienced mage would see him dash in front of the serpent and smack it in the chin with the flat part of his blade, the force sending the winged beast's head up.

Then, once the force had been applied to send it's head up, he would smack it back down again. ...going to beat me. A black flaming aura would shimmer across his body, intimidating to most but not this monster. This monster only knew it wanted to kill, thus it would receive the opposite from it's opponent. Jumping onto the knocked down head, Ardere leaped into the air. Twirling upwards, he drew his fist back. Flame god's... Black flames enveloped his arm as he slammed his fist down, launching his body like a rocket down towards the creature. ...Crash! The flames formed around him, his fist would slam into the body of the creature, as well as his blade. The force of the punch, more like a rocket blast would smack the creature down into the ground. Flame turning flesh and blood to ash, the ground beneath the serpent cracked and busted open like a small crater. It's eyes white, the crowd went wild with cheering. Sheathing his blade and hopping off of the beast, the guild master let out a slight sigh. He did not wish to be so brutal this early on, but he wished to fight people not monsters. Looking to Elyx, he waited until his fight was over as well. The announcer cheering and calling our their named, the crowd seemed satisfied that they would be moving on to the third round. Once things settled down, the two mages would make their way back to the sweaty waiting room once again. Good job. It had not been easy, but it was not the fight he was looking for. Perhaps he was expecting too much of the early rounds, or taking too much pleasure in fighting, which made him twist his lip a bit.

Entering the waiting room, the Announcer made an announcement that there would be a small break between the rounds for lunch. Thank God, I'm starving. Inaudible stomach growls and slight head pain notified Ardere that his body required food, luckily he had come to this tournament prepared. Stretching his arms and letting out a heavy breath, the fire mage walked over to his pack. Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a sandwich and some water. Looking to his partner, he hoped he had brought something or bought some food from one of the vendors outside. You bring anything Elyx? Taking a big bite of the sandwich, he unstrapped the bracers on his forearms. Continuing to eat some of the sandwich, many of the men had gone out to the vendors to eat. Very few of the fighters remained in the waiting room, and it seemed they stuck to their pairs. It was an odd bit of tension between the groups, but it was understandable. Finishing up some of the food he had brought, if his partner needed any he would offer. Some time would pass before it would get close to the third round, so he found it somewhat imperative to get to know his partner a bit. So, where are you from Elyx? I don't know too much about you, and we're kinda risking our necks out here together. Pouring some water over his arms and hands, he took one of the cloths in his bag and wiped them off before placing his bracers back on. Tightening the straps on the bracers, he fixed his head band. Running around and fighting so much was not the best for his armor, but it would hold fine until the last round.

I'm from Midi, even though I live in Fiore. And my guild is Infinity Hydra, I'm actually the master of it. It was slightly awkward, but the two mages seemed to interact so well thus far. They were strong as individuals, but once they encounter some humans it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed by team tactics. The only way to overcome this would be to use their full destructive power, but they could put each other in danger that way. Ardere let out a slight sigh, he was confident that the two could win but it would not be an easy task. After some time, the Announcer would come back on and announce that the next round of matches would begin. Their match was not up first, thus some more time would pass and the two would be able to rest up. The previous fights had not been too much of a challenge anyways, but saving up their energy was still important. It was in his high hopes that the next round was not one of monsters, but if it was they would likely be stronger than the ones they had faced before. And finally, it was time for them to go on. We're about halfway, let's do this. Offering his fist to the Violinist for a bump, he hoped he would return it as a sign of support and motivation that the two mages would need in the coming battles. As he exited the room and entered the arena, he noticed the smell of blood on the floor. They had done well it cleaning it up, but someone had been seriously injured or killed before their round. The barrier was up, but it would soon come down to reveal their opponents. This was an underground fight, their lives were actually at stake here.

Black Rose. While Ardere had heard of the guild, he did not believe he had the pleasure of working with or meeting anyone from there before. If one were to make a good impression with a guild, helping out their ace was certainly a good way to do it. The same applied for Elyx, who was helping out a guild master. The two would take their spots in the arena, and the barrier would come down. At least they were fighting one human opponent, partnered with a beast. It was kind of strange to see a man and beast partnership, but he would not judge as he went into battle with his phoenix quite often. Seems we keep getting the chumps, hopefully the quarter and semi finals aren't this bad. Fortunately the violinist and swordsman had become quite the duo in the past few rounds, now it was up to them to make it onto the next one and the quarter finals. Popping sounds emitting from his knuckles as he cracked them, the mage did not even unsheathe his sword. I'll take the man over there. The man in a pink Karate outfit was standing upon the large beast, but it would not be long before he was knocked from that position. Dashing towards the creature, the god slayer zig-zagged around to avoid any attacks, before leaping up towards the man. Deflecting a strike, he moved past the man in pink and snagged his collar. Dragging him off of his beast, he would be tossed towards the ground. Landing behind the large elephant-like creature, the guild master stared down his blonde opponent who seemed to quickly regain his balance. Rather than using his sword, he would use his hand to hand combat skills. Considering he was literally made of flames, it should not be hard. Gritting his teeth, this battle had only just begun.

Dashing towards the man, his eyes spotted a round house kick coming from his left. Bringing up his left forearm to block, a punch would come for his shoulder. Rather than blocking it, he let the man know what he was up against. His fist would pass right through Ardere, burning his hand. While it did hurt the god slayer, it was only half of what the strike would have normally done. The man jumped back, flapping his hand around to get the flames off. During this reaction, he took an opportunity to bring his leg up. Slamming his heel down towards the pink martial artist, it was blocked by two fore arms. Unfortunately for him, the Fire King's strength was even beyond the average S rank's, thus the man sunk into the ground a bit. His forearms were likely cracked, but he had not given up yet. A furry of pink punches being unleashed, the Samurai swiftly side stepped and dodged as many as he could, but several still passed through him and burnt the man. Arching a brow, the pink dressed warrior realized none of his physical attacks would work. Drawing his hands back, the guild master spotted energy being gathered up. It was likely that this man could control his ki. He had obviously underestimated him slightly, unfortunately a sword would pierce through his shoulder breaking his focus and canceling the attack. Ardere drove his sword through the man's shoulder rather than a vital spot, as he did not actually want to kill him. After the stab, the man seemed to go limp as if he was giving up. Fading into unconsciousness, he let the man stay as such. He had beaten his opponent, hopefully Elyx had done the same. Assuming his partner had won, the two would make their way out of the arena as the Announcer announced that the two had won. The crowd going wild and cheering for them, he sheathed his sword as he made his exit.

Stretching his arms, a sigh would escape his maw. Might as well, let's hope we start hitting the real fighters soon. Wiping the dust off of his hands, Ardere led his partner back into the waiting room. The amount of people in the room was beginning to thin out, as more competitors were beaten. Very few people remained in here, in fact several went to the viewing area. Tapping his foot on the ground, with a twist of the lip he stood up. Let's go watch one of the fights, kinda boring sitting around here. Awaiting confirmation from his battle partner, he would then make his way over to the viewing area. It was upstairs a bit, but it was a very nice balcony. Several other fighters stood on the balcony, watching the fight that was ensuing below. Two duos were facing off, all four actually people this time. It appeared the majority of them were martial artists, extremely powerful ones at that. They were not the easy one shot opponents the two mages had been fighting before, they were seasoned fighters. A man with a blonde beard and a woman with a rather large sword faced off against a man in spiky black hair, and a smaller man with the a mustache. The smaller man took off towards the one with the beard, the two trading blows. Their physical attacks were so powerful, the ground beneath them began to crack and shake. It was quite the interesting fight, as the woman with the sword brought her sword down to the man with spiky hair's arm. It was something he had not had the pleasure of seeing before, the man caught her blade. Tossing her across the arena, it seemed like he would make quick work of her, but she was far from done.

The smaller man unleashed flurries of blows onto the bearded man, but his defense was stellar. Th ground cracking beneath him, he knocked his opponent back with a loud yell. Picking up the smaller one, he repeatedly brought him up and down. Slinging the man around like a rag doll, he hit him against the ground until he was unconscious. Meanwhile the woman with the sword was hitting the other man with all of his might, attempting to break his skin. Not only was the man tough, he was fast too. Unleashing a flurry of punches, he knocked the woman on her back. Now it was down to the blonde bearded man and the dark haired man with spiky hair. The two charged each other, charging their fists with energy their most powerful attacks collided. The entirety of the ground split like a top level earth quake, and the shock wave sent several hats in the audience flying. Ardere widened his eyes a bit at how strong these men were, but after a couple minutes of fighting it was obvious as to who would be winning this battle. The blonde haired man took off his shirt to reveal his muscular physique, and unleashed a punch similar to one that the fire mage used with his crash magic. Knocking the spiky haired man back, the match was over. The crowd went wild, yelling and cheering. The announcer gave the names of the winners, and announced the next two fighters. Ardere and Elyx were up, it was their time to shine again. Let's go friend. Making his way back downstairs, and into the arena he waited for the next match. Hopefully this one would be a bit more interesting, as it was the last round before the quarter finals.

Sighing heavily, Ardere whipped his red long sword out of it's sheath and prepared for battle. I'll take the weird Elephant thing. Dashing towards the elephant, his foot moved so quickly across the ground, that a dust cloud was left in his wake. Taking to the air, he wasted no time in having fun with the elephant-like beast. The two met in the air, and the fire mage performed a flurry of slashes with his powerful blade. Slicing at the arms and legs of the murderous beast, he was knocked aside by it's rather large trunk. Tumbling through the air, his heels hit the ground digging up some dirt. He left a trail almost like skid marks from abruptly halting his momentum, with intense orange eyes he gazed towards the beast. It seemed to be confused as to why a human was coming at him with such animosity and a lack of fear, obviously he had never encountered someone of his caliber. Swinging the red blade to the right, the ground beneath it was cut slightly from the force of his swing. The grinding of teeth and a heavy breath let out, he charged his opponent once again. Spiraling through the air, he struck the beast repeatedly. It used it's wings to block, which would help to some extent but he was unrelenting. His blade left scratch marks on the wings of the beast, and he pierced it's shoulder with his blade. Screeching in pain, it punched the flame elemental. It's fist passing right through his face, it would begin to reform out of the flames. Letting out a flurry of punching as his blade was still stuck in it's thick hide, the creature burst into flames from one of his passive abilities. Putting his foot on the chest of the beast, he kicked off of it. The impact sending the beast in one direction and the mage in the other, his blade was completely removed.

A sigh escaping his pale lips, Ardere knew it was not worth getting worked up over. These chumps barely made it through the other rounds. But it was at this time that the beast's muscles began to expand, almost like using some form of physical enhancement magic. Pounding towards him, it ran rather than flying. Their fists colliding, the ground beneath them split apart. Struggling to maintain his strength against the beast, he was sent tumbling backwards. Unfortunately for the beast, it was still on fire. Drawing his blade back, the man engaged in combat without wasting time. Blows were traded, fist and fist, blade and fist. As the ground beneath them shook, the crowd went wild. Taking a deep breath, he countered a punch of the beast with his sword. The blade piercing the beast's flesh, it made it's hand almost unusable. Drawing the blade out, he kicked the beast in the chest with all of his might. Sending the beast tumbling backwards, he caught it's arm. Using all of the strength in his body, he slammed the large elephant ape into the ground with ferocity. Letting out a heavy yell, he smiled a bit as he defeated his opponent. Panting slightly, his chest heaved up and down. Rolling his neck back and forth, the fire mage sheathed his sword. Exiting the arena as the announcer performed his duties in announcing their victory, he offered a fist bump to Elyx. Good stuff, I just hope we get stronger opponents like those guys I saw. Before he could exit the arena, the announcer made an important announcement. Now we enter the Quarter-Finals. Ardere and Elyx are first up in the round! they have ten minutes to get water and prepare for their next battle. Arching a brow, Ardere quickly got some water and tightened his Samurai armor. Well I'll be damned, we did good making it this far. Good luck, friend. After about ten minutes, the two mages would be called back to the arena for their next match.