The air grew thick with tensions. Birds chirped. People didn't blink. Leaves flew through the air. Taylor stood opposite to Cain.
'What to do…? What to do…? He'd be more dangerous with a longsword but I guess he thought this would be cooler…'
She frowned and ran forward. Cain responded. He gripped the chain and kicked the meteor hammer like a ball. It flew at Taylor's head, rapidly gaining mass. She diverted it. Rushing forward, she swung her sword. Unfortunately, it was caught but Cain's chains. Taylor froze and, in that moment, Cain kicked her hard in her kidney. She revolted but was able to land a reciprocal hit. Then, she clutched her stomach and jumped back.
"Two points for Cain! Clean Hit!" Mack shouted.
Taylor gritted her teeth, moving through the pain. A snarky smile made its way on Cain's face that infuriated her for some reason.
"Come on~, give me your best shot. Is that all you can do, little girl?"
"The hell did you call me…?" Taylor asked with anger.
She pushed off the ground, rushing towards him. Cain smirked. He threw his meteor hammer at her which she easily avoided. She took a step and swung her sword. Cain stepped back – smiling. Thinking he would knock her blade off her hands, she moved her sword. Instead, what met her was a deadly impact from Cain's weapon which he had released earlier. She raised her sword, blocking the impact and flew to the side. She grunted. Immense pain shot through her body as if a bullet had hit her.
She checked her ribs. Then, she checked the other parts of her body.
'No broken bones…that's good.'
Then, she stood up as Mack's voice echoed throughout the stadium.
"Oh! Taylor takes a heavy shot to her ribs. Two points for Cain!"
The referee came forward. "Participant Taylor, Any injuries? Broken bones?"
Taylor shrugged. "…No."
"Are you sure?" He asked again.
"Yes, I'm sure." Taylor hissed.
The referee nodded, running off again. He blew the whistle, restarting the match. With renewed vigor, Taylor attacked her adversary. Cain just smirked through it all, making mocking remarks that made her blood boil.
"Not very good, are ya? You're supposed to swing it that way – not this way. Also, you took an extra step. My god, how are you wielding a katana in the first place?" Cain commented with a grin, while avoiding her slashes.
'This guy…' Taylor gritted her teeth, trying to hit him but failing every time.
Dante yawned. "She's just swinging randomly at this point."
"Kinda feels like it, yeah…." Mack narrowed his eyes.
Taylor could ignore their comments but not Cain's. Something about him…his voice or face or whatever it was made her want to punch him so bad. Finally, after a while of dodging, Cain jumped back. He made distance between his rival and paused for a moment.
'She's tired…'
Cain thought as he looked at Taylor who was panting heavily. He smirked and ran forward. Taylor was caught off guard. She tried to step back but it was already too late. Cain grazed her jacket and activated his attribute. Taylor's eyes widened as she reached out both her hands. In the next second, Only the jacket crashed down with force. Taylor barely avoided the attack, sweat rolling down her skin like rainfall.
"That was…close." She panted.
Cain stared at the jacket for a moment. Then, he glanced at Taylor.
"What did you do…?" Cain asked.
Taylor chuckled. "Why would I tell you?"
Just then, Dante's voice rang out once again.
"Sorry, Taylor…but I kinda gotta explain that for the audience." Dante apologized. "Basically, she used her attribute to change the direction of her jacket so it would slide off. In case, you want to how that works…I don't know. It's probably cause she was in motion that the jacket was in moment."
The crowd nodded their heads, appreciating the commentary. Then, they turned their heads back to the fight. Taylor looked dumbfoundedly at Dante.
"Are you serious?!" She screamed.
Dante raised his hands, shrugging. "Seeing at light speed has its benefits. Besides what kind of commentator am I if can't explain shi- to the audience?"
Taylor grumbled while Cain and the entire audience burst out laughing.
"Damn, you really just got exposed, girl." Cain wiped his eyes.
"Shut th-" Taylor tried to retort.
But right then, Cain threw his meteor hammer at her. She tilted her head, barely evading the attack. Remined she was in a battle; she gripped her katana. She tried to close the distance between them but Cain always used his weapon his block her. As time passed, Taylor's stamina began draining. Cain noticed this and formed a plan to defeat her. He pushed his meteor hammer closer to her.
Taylor diverted it with. Cain did it again and Taylor deflected it again. As time went on, Taylor's nose began bleeding. As he touched her own blood, a sharp headache attacked her. She grasped her head in pain. Cain noticed and whistled.
"Perfect timing~"
As Taylor heard those words, she lifted her head and saw Cain's chains. She turned left – chain. She turned right – chain. Cain tugged at his weapon. The Chains closed in. The meteor hammer got stuck between them. Taylor was locked into place as an uncomfortable amount of pain shot through her body. But Cain wasn't done just yet…He gripped the handle tightly. Then, he lifted Taylor off the ground.
Taylor's pupils dilated. Cain pulled down, causing Taylor to fall. With that, he also increased the mass of the ball. Taylor's life flashed before her eyes as she approached the ground.
"God Dammit."
A strangely familiar voice rang out. Taylor was caught before she could hit the ground. Cain's eyes widened as a man held Taylor in his arms – Dante. He untangled the chains from her and placed her on the ground. He threw the weapon back to Cain. The referee neared Cain and pulled out a yellow card.
"Participant Cain, you're in violation of trying to kill your opponent. One more violation and you'll be kicked from the tournament."
Cain glanced at Taylor – then, Dante – then, the referee.
"Fine…" He whispered, almost as if this didn't bother him.
"The winner of the first match is…CAIN RODRICK!! One-hit KO!" Mack announced with excitement.
The stadium cheered him on as he left the arena. Dante stared at his back while medics rushed out and carried Taylor to the emergency room.
'He's really good at rage-baiting. Not the type of guy I'd want to know…'
Dante made a comment about Cain but then, shrugged it off. Then, He blitz back to the commentator's booth and put on his headset.
"Sorry for the delay, ladies and gentlemen. Let's move on to the next match!"
The audience cheered loudly as the tournament continued without delay.