Mirelle held her katana before her, the blade now fully drawn
The hilt had an intricate woven pattern of black, gold, and red which matched her attire perfectly. Her blade was fully black on both sides. There was an indent running in a straight line down the centre of the blade. The indent wasn't large, but it was still visible under close observation. It looked deliberate, purposeful, as if the blade itself had been designed with precision in mind
In response, Soren held his sword in front of him, the ordinary silver blade looking plain and simple compared to Mirelle's ornate weapon
In the sky, the announcer appeared
King Cassian was a tall man, well over six feet, his presence commanding despite the distance. His black hair was slicked back with precision, not a strand out of place. His tanned skin practically glowed under the arena lights. Piercing amber eyes surveyed the pit below with an expression of pure amusement, as if he were watching the most delightful performance unfold
He wore an elegant black suit that had no place in a colosseum, no place anywhere near combat or blood or violence. It was the suit of a businessman. A showman. A predator dressed as a gentleman
In his right hand he held a polished black cane, tapping it idly against the air where he stood. A tall black top hat sat upon his head, adding to the theatrical presentation. Every finger on both his hands bore a gold ring, intricately designed, each one unique, catching the light as his hands moved. He was dressed for a performance, and the arena was his stage
"Heloooooo everybody, it's your favourite commentator again, King Cassian, the one who has brought all of you the entertainment you see today," he said, his voice amplified across the entire arena
The crowd roared
Soren looked around. There weren't as many people as in his first fight, but there were still quite a few. The spectators filled the stands, their voices creating a constant hum of anticipation
Cassian continued, his voice carrying effortless authority
"Today, two fighters from our middle division will be fighting again, and what a match do we have here today. On our left, we have our crazy fighter who previously killed the Umbrax we brought in"
He gestured toward Soren with a casual wave of his hand
"And on our right, we have quite the reputable fighter. She has been in the colosseum for quite some time. She needs no introduction, but for those of you watching who don't know, please let me introduce Mirelle Kingsblade"
The crowd started roaring, louder now, recognizing a familiar name. Mirelle's reputation preceded her. It seems that she has made quite the name of herself in here
Cassian, walking on air as if gravity held no claim on him, walked a few steps toward the center of the arena
"I don't intend on letting everybody wait any longer," he said, his voice carrying finality. "Let the fight begin"
He snapped his fingers
The yellow light from the collars disappeared. The magical restriction that had been placed on all prisoners vanished in an instant, the two beasts in this cage were now unleashed
As Soren breathed in, he could feel the fresh mana circulate throughout his body
When one breathes in, mana is processed by the spiritual organ responsible for processing and filtering magic, circulating it towards an individual's mana cores. The main difference between ranks is the amount of mana cores one possessed. A rank 1 would have one mana core. A rank 2 would have two
What separated a rank 1 and rank 2 spell was not only complexity, but also the stress it put on an individual's mana cores. A rank 2 spell required two mana cores to be produced without any side effects. A rank 1 mage could theoretically use a rank 2 spell, however doing so was extremely dangerous due to the stress it would put on their singular mana core. It could easily lead to death. If one survived, it could result in the destruction of one's spiritual mana processing organ, rendering the user incapable of using magic forever
Even though the fight had begun, both fighters kept their distance
Despite it being two people fighting in the ring, Soren looked like a rabid, hideous beast. His clothes were still ripped and ragged. His opponent, by contrast, looked like a warrior sent to vanquish him. The contrast between them was stark and intentional
As Mirelle held her sword straight, she looked into Soren's eyes and spoke
"Allow me to introduce myself," she said, her voice calm and composed. "My name is Mirelle Kingsblade, hailing from the great Kingsblade clan from the northern region. May I have the pleasure of knowing who my opponent is?"
Soren looked at her and thought: She is quite the talkative one for someone entering a death match
But Soren, unimpressed, didn't give an answer. He just brandished his sword and began circling around her, his movement calculated and predatory
Mirelle, in response to this silence, said, "I ask all my opponents their names in my way of respecting our battle. As often their names, their stories end with myself being the last witness
She bent down, bracing herself for movement
"You are quite the interesting person," she continued, her brown eyes never leaving his scarred face. "I wonder what your story is!"
She swung herself forward toward Soren, her katana raising as water magic began to coalesce around the blade, creating a faint shimmer in the air
Her body swung through the air, and Soren, already reading her intent, was able to dodge to the side as Mirelle landed on the ground
What looked like water formed beneath her feet, gliding her around the arena at great speed as if she was skating through the air itself. The water magic beneath her was perfectly controlled, a liquid path that allowed her to move with impossible agility
Soren was able to wield both intent magic and blood magic due to conflicting magic pathways. The main reason for this was that his intent magic was comparatively weaker than his blood magic. Many mages could wield different types of magic, however the reason why mages never wielded different types of magic at the same strength as each other was due to the different types of magic conflicting against each other whilst being processed in their body. This could possibly lead to death
This led to people mainly devoting their time toward cultivating the magic that they had the greatest affinity toward, as this would bring the most return for their effort
However, this didn't mean someone couldn't use different types of magic. A mage could use another type of magic as long as it didn't match or come greatly close to their main magic pathway. If it was comparatively weaker in terms of output and didn't put as much stress on the body's mana cores, different types of magic could coexist
Mages could hold similar affinities for different types of magic pathways. Most happened to cultivate what they were most affinity toward. However, a mage could only marginally be affinity to a different pathway. So in theory, they would be able to understand both. And this was how Soren could both use intent and his blood magic
Soren, after dodging to the side, didn't waste any time
He didn't want to drag out this fight. He didn't want to let Mirelle get close to him. From his research, she was a skilled, agile fighter. That was where she held the advantage over him. However, Soren knew that due to the difference in ranks, he possessed the advantage of raw power
But now that they were outside the prison, the difference in ranks was much more minimized. And Soren wasn't stupid. He knew that he wasn't as skilled as his opponent. So he just had to be more brutal in the way he fought
He could feel the mana at his fingertips come together. In his mind, he visualized the convergence of mana particles into a spell as if it was muscle memory. Then he produced a spell he had done many times before
Rank 2 blood railgun
His fingertips exploded and the railgun came out at blinding speed. It was like a red death ray aimed toward Mirelle
Mirelle was sharp. She quickly dodged it as she maneuverered around the ground like she was ice skating, using the water beneath her feet to dance around the colosseum. The water magic propelled her in directions that seemed impossible, her body moving with liquid grace
Soren rotated his arm, pointing the beam after her as Mirelle began closing the distance down, gracefully dodging the beam of death with each adjustment he made
Soren, noticing this wasn't going to work, brandished his sword again
The beam dissipated as he refocused his energy. If ranged magic wasn't going to connect, then he would have to meet her at close quarters. He would have to match her speed and aggression with his own brutality