'Overtempest Mode'
The moment Ysellia activated her mode, the entire battlefield changed. The air became heavier, making it harder to breathe properly. Powerful winds flowed wildly across the arena while dark clouds gathered overhead. The atmosphere itself felt dangerous.
Ysellia now truly looked worthy of the title Disaster Dragon.
Without wasting another second, Ysellia moved first.
'Blue Fang Torrent'
Water streams wrapped around her double-edged sword as she launched into a rapid flowing sword combo. Her attacks came continuously without giving Lila any room to breathe. Lila immediately began jumping back and dodging with everything she had.
To the audience, it looked like Lila was simply running away.
But that was not the case.
Ysellia kept chasing her relentlessly, her sword slicing through the battlefield again and again. Every swing released steam into the surroundings.
And that was exactly what Lila wanted.
'Vapor Mirage'
Using the steam around the battlefield, Lila created multiple false afterimages through reflections in the mist. It was a clever tactical move. Instead of wasting her own mana creating steam, she used the steam generated by Ysellia's attacks themselves.
For the first time since entering 'Overtempest Mode', Ysellia stopped.
She looked around sharply before rushing toward one image after another, only to realize every single one was fake.
Her frustration became visible.
With a strong burst of wind magic, Ysellia blew away all the steam covering the battlefield.
And the moment the steam disappeared, Lila was already prepared.
'Steam Serpent'
Multiple serpent-shaped steam attacks rushed toward Ysellia from different directions, hiding the true path of the real attack among them.
Ysellia was caught off guard.
'Heaven Splitter'
She swung her sword powerfully, releasing a massive wind blade toward the incoming attack. But this time it was not enough.
Boom!
The 'Steam Serpent' attack exploded directly into Ysellia and blasted her away. She crashed onto the ground before slowly getting back up.
Now her anger was far more visible.
Meanwhile, Lila remained calm and focused.
Ysellia stared directly at her before raising her sword once again.
'Raging Monsoon'
Violent rainstorms began forming all around the arena. Heavy rain poured endlessly while powerful winds continued raging across the battlefield. The entire arena felt like it had been swallowed by a storm.
And once again, Ysellia rushed toward Lila.
Lila immediately began dodging again while Ysellia continuously swung her sword at her. But unlike before, Ysellia was now controlling the flow of the battle.
Every dodge Lila made was being guided little by little.
Left. Right.
Left again.
Left once more.
And then... A violent thunder strike crashed from one of the storm clouds directly into Lila's path.
The lightning struck her body and instantly brought her down onto one knee.
Ysellia appeared right in front of her, already prepared to attack again.
Lila was still dizzy from the shock. At the very last second, she barely managed to raise her spear and parry Ysellia's sword away. Even after blocking it, the vibration from the impact travelled through her entire body and deep into her bones.
Lila quickly forced herself back onto her feet, trying to regain proper footing while the storm still raged around her.
But Ysellia gave her no time to recover.
She chased Lila once again.
Lila understood she needed to do something quickly. She continued dodging carefully, making sure not to repeat the same movement pattern again.
Ysellia smiled while hunting her down.
"Let's get this over with."
Then she activated her ultimate sword art.
'Dragonstorm Execution'
Ysellia launched herself high into the air. From above, she unleashed a massive sword swing downward, releasing destructive wind pressure toward Lila. As Lila avoided each one of them.
And immediately after that Ysellia herself came rushing down toward her target.
This time, Lila had no choice but to face the attack head-on. She engulfed herself in flames, using most of magic.
'Burning Comet'
Lila leapt forward, her body wrapped in spiraling flames as she charged directly into Ysellia's attack.
Boom!!!
A massive shockwave exploded throughout the arena from their clash. Even the audience could feel the impact.
Dust and smoke filled the battlefield.
And when it finally settled, Lila was on one knee, breathing heavily.
On the opposite side stood Ysellia, supporting herself with her sword while panting heavily as well.
Neither of them had any intention of giving up.
Then suddenly, Lila smiled.
Ysellia became slightly confused seeing that expression.
And then 'Tripwire Firecracker'
Boom!
Sudden explosions erupted around the battlefield one after another.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The entire arena shook from the chain of explosions.
Ysellia had been caught directly inside the traps.
Because of her exhausted body and the confusion from the sudden attack, she was unable to escape in time.
The explosions completely overwhelmed her.
And moments later... Ysellia fell unconscious.
For a brief second, the entire crowd went silent in shock.
Then the entire arena erupted into cheers.
Lila had won.
Ifa immediately shouted "What just happened… simply wow! What a performance by these two amazing fighters, especially Lila, who entered this fight as the underdog and still managed to win it all!"
Shai followed soon after "I believe while Lila was dodging earlier in the fight, she secretly placed those traps around the battlefield without anyone noticing. Maybe during the mist… maybe during the storm… only Lila truly knows. What incredible presence of mind. She knew she lacked in raw strength, so she covered that weakness with brilliant tactics. Congratulations to Lila!"
Ifa loudly continued "Yes!!! And with that, going into the third bout of this Round of 16 match, the score between Eternal Wings and The Rising Heroes is now tied at 1-1!"
Lila slowly walked back toward her team.
Sera immediately jumped in happiness and hugged her tightly.
Doran grinned before saying that her thinking during the fight was seriously impressive and that he wished he had that kind of brain during battle.
Adrian simply smiled and said,
"Good job."
Hearing that made Lila blush slightly.
Drakar quietly gave her a nod, almost as if he was thanking her.
And as the second bout came to an end, the next fight was about to begin.