Mo… Mom — Nuke.
After a few seconds of near unconsciousness, Nuke still managed to get up quickly from the arena floor, clenching both fists tightly.
She raised one hand to the height of her ear, while lowering the other to the level of her knees, scanning for Vitel with eyes that moved like a predator hunting its prey, though her vision was still recovering from the blur.
When she finally spotted her, her gaze locked on, and she charged toward Vitel, who had once again created distance and was casually playing with her fourth stone between her fingers.
As soon as Nuke's vision fully cleared and she noticed the stone, she accelerated even more, trying to prevent Vitel from firing. But she wasn't fast enough.
Vitel spun, using the muscles in her arm to launch the stone at incredible speed. It flew straight, spinning rapidly through the air.
When Nuke stepped out of its path, the stone suddenly curved midair. Even after dodging again, the stone kept coming without losing speed, curving once more and striking Nuke cleanly near her ear, forcing her to turn her head to the right.
When she looked back to where Vitel had been, she was already gone.
The moment her eyes began searching, instinct kicked in, and she looked down just as Vitel's fist came flying toward her chin.
Nuke blocked the punch with her forearm like a shield. Using that same arm, she grabbed Vitel's wrist, lifted her into the air, and slammed her onto her back against the arena floor.
Seeing Vitel still down, Nuke didn't hesitate and brought her heel down toward Vitel's head. But Vitel rolled away from the point-blank strike, spun, and pushed herself up on her hands, kicking Nuke in the face near her mouth.
"She's starting to use her legs more… but if I want a real chance, I'd better keep dodging. Her kicks aren't as strong as her punches." — Vitel thought.
Quickly, while Vitel's foot was still on her face, Nuke grabbed her by the ankle and threw her upward, about three feet above her own head, waiting for her to fall so she could land a finishing punch to the stomach.
As she was thrown, Vitel's first concern was to twist her body using her core so she could reorient herself midair and land properly.
Right as she reached the height where Nuke's punch would connect, she bent her upper body midair to avoid it, extending her hands to brace her landing. She dropped into a split, then immediately rotated her body, striking Nuke's side with her calf and using the momentum to rise, launching into a rapid exchange of punches.
Vitel kept dodging Nuke's punches by inches. Most of Nuke's strikes only grazed her. She was giving everything just to avoid getting hit, knowing that one clean hit would end it. But Nuke was both strong and resilient, enduring several hits in a row while barely managing to dodge some.
When Nuke found an opening, she spun and drove her boot forward, kicking Vitel in the abdomen and sending her flying.
"This is my last stone… it's now or never." — Vitel thought.
Still midair, she twisted her body as fast as she could and launched her final stone with spin and about seventy-five percent accuracy. At the same time, she landed on her feet and sprinted toward Nuke, ignoring all the pain in her body, focused only on finishing the fight—for herself and her family.
"You're not catching me with that again, Vitel." — Nuke thought.
As they both charged at each other, the stone made its first curve. Nuke quickly stepped out of its path. Then came the second curve, aiming straight for her chest—but at the last possible instant, she dodged beautifully.
Just as their punches were about to collide, Vitel slipped past Nuke's strike and landed a full-force punch directly on her nose.
The stone ricocheted off the arena wall and struck the back of Nuke's neck. Even so, she didn't go down.
Vitel immediately grabbed onto Nuke's arm and wrapped her legs tightly around Nuke's neck in a chokehold.
But even being strangled, Nuke didn't give in. For a few seconds, fueled by sheer will, she drove her knee into Vitel's back. The first strike loosened the hold slightly. Vitel tried to recover, but the second knee forced her legs to release completely from the pain.
The arm Vitel was clinging to twisted, and as her legs lost their grip, Nuke grabbed her by the neck, choking her.
With the final move seen from the stands, Nuke slammed Vitel into the ground with all her strength.
When the instructor approached to check the result, neither of them moved.
Nuke was on her knees, nearly unconscious.
Vitel lay flat on her back in the sand, completely knocked out.
Winner! Nathalia Vanharley! — Instructor.
The medical team from the House of Plato entered the arena to treat both fighters after the match was declared over.
From the stands, Neale and the others were speechless, shock written across their faces. Only Kilay maintained an even more serious expression—one that, despite its intensity, revealed nothing.
Nathalia Vanharley will be treated and taken to the waiting room for the final admission stage, along with the previous participant. — Instructor.
As for Miss Morgan, having lost the match and being a resident of this city, she will be expelled from the Order and from Kirden, along with her family, after receiving proper treatment. — Instructor.
Silence took over the entire arena after those words.
Group twelve has exactly thirty seconds to decide which members will fight next in the arena and earn the chance to advance to the final admission stage. — Instructor.