!"
As the referee permitted for the match to officially start, both Leopold and Lucas charged headfirst at one another, their swords unsheathed and ready for combat! Of course, Leopold knew that this battle he was placed in would be a tough one. Lucas had been the one to defeat Leopold when they first spared, so the boy knew that his friend was more than just a little powerful.
That being the case, Leopold knew that he was going to have to be prepared to use more than a little bit of his strength this time. "Lucas is quite the skilled fighter, after all. He may force me to go at full power this time. Question is can I do the same..." He was going to need that if he was going to win.
Leopold and Lucas watched as each of their shining swords clashed against one another. Sparks went flying from the metal before both of the boys jumped back. They looked at each other with bright eyes and widened smiled.
"Looks like you've gotten better, Lucas." Leopold said to his fellow knight.
Lucas nodded, pointing the tip of his sword at Leopold. "Maybe just a little... How about you? That technique of yours may need some work, Leopold." He laughed.
Leopold shrugged when he heard Lucas's comment. "I haven't had many good fights so far." The boy narrowed his eyes, breathing slowly.. "But tell me, Lucas... can you teach me something that they could not?"
Lucas jumped up into the air from his spot, looking down upon Leopold. "Maybe!" He barred his sword as he prepared for another quick strike.
Leopold sighed. It would seem like he was in for one hell of a battle the time. "That's good! Then let's get this going!" He jumped into the air as well, the battle only beginning to heat up!
==============
While Leopold fought against his closest friend and comrade from Stashin, others watched the fight with curious looks on their face. In particular, Zion was sitting in the stands as he saw Leopold and Lucas each exchange blow after blow with one another, the battle not at all calming down.
The black haired boy crossed his arms. "Man... they're really going at it!" After Zion had again won his own battle and advanced another round, he had decided to watch the rest of the respective battles between students so as to see just how strong remaining competition would be.
Being as it was Leopold's turn and Zion had yet to see the boy in action, he had made the decision to go ahead and watch his roommate's fight so as to see just what he was really made up of.
He shook his he and laughed."I'd never be able to match this level of power..." Despite all of the many things that Leopold may have said to as to protest himself as "weak" and not combat ready, the boy clearly was not one to be messed with. Zion worried that he may even give some former Heroes a run for their money.
"So you're amazed too, huh?"
As Zion thought to himself about the ongoing fight between Leopold and Lucas, someone came up behind him. Zion turned around and saw that a girl who was just a bit shorter than he was looking right back at him. She looked surprisingly pleased for some unknown reason.
"Who's this?"
"Yeah, those two knuckleheads are pretty impressive." the girl continued, adding on to her previous statement. She threw her emerald green hair back behind her head, letting put a few small chuckles.
Zion blinked. He has seen her somewhere before, right? "That's right! She's Ivory Stashin, Second Princess of the Stashin Kingdom and the person Leopold and this other guy are supposed to be the attendants of... I think she still has yet to loose a fight in this tournament, if I remember right." He looked at the girl and frowned.
Ivory kept looking at the fight that was going on, not staring directly at Zion himself. "So, how long have you known Leopold?"
Zion shrugged, looking at the fight with her. "Since last week, I suppose." He thought about what he would tell her. "I'm Leopold's dorm buddy and personal romance advisor." He let a smile turn back up on his face as he watched his friend. "And yeah... I'd say that he's pretty impressive."
Stashin's princess nodded. "Just how much more powerful do you think Leopold can get?" She finally looked at him, a serious look on her face.
"Don't know." Zion replied, blatantly. "From what I've seen of Leopold, he doesn't ever use his full power. Still, I don't know why that is..." From what Zion could tell, he always seemed to be holding himself back. It was as if there was something that was blocking him from going at max strength!
Princess Ivory yawned, nodding once again. "I know. Nobody has ever known why he does what he does." She narrowed her eyes. "Even me and Lucas are clueless to as why he doesn't try harder." She turned around and began to walk away. "Well, sorry for bothering you like this." She smiled and waved to Zion. "See you in the rest of the tournament, new guy!"
Zion blinked in confusion as he watched her go "I'm sorry... What the hell was that again?"
================
CLASH!
More and more sparks flew from Leopold and Lucas's shining swords as the battle raged on. It had now been exactly ten minutes since the start of the battle, making it the third longest of the whole tournament! With no clear winner in sight, everyone watched on the edge of their seats in anticipation!
Leopold looked at his opponent as he fell back to the dirt ground. "I'm guessing that Lucas is fighting at about somewhere around twenty five percent of his power by now. I should step my game up if that's the case." The boy nodded, preparing to take a more definitive approach.
Quicklt, he jumped away from his opponent so as to gain a bit of room. "I think that it's time I showed a little more grit!" He sheathed his sword, putting direct combat out of the picture. He was going to need to start using more of his supernatural abilities before Lucas could get the jump on him!
"Spirit Arts: Plasma Armor!"
As Leopold spoke those two words into being, the sight of plasma could be seen as it started to engulf Leopold's entire body. It formed a "shell" that acted as a sort of armor made up of his own plasma-made energy.
Lucas, who sat on the opposite side of the arena, gave his friend a slight smirk. "Wanting to take this up a notch, eh?" She sheathed his blade as well. "Fine then. If you're going to use your Spirit given abilities, then I suppose I should take this seriously!" Lucas took a deep breath.
"Defensive Magic: Iron Wall!"
Leopold watched as Lucas formed his famous "Iron Wall" straight from out of the ground! The Iron Wall spell was a magical spell that put up a defense barrier around its caster. It was made up of primarily stone from what Leopold had always known and with how just strong it was, penetrating it would take some work.
"Nice one, Luke..."
Lucas smiled even brighter, clearly thinking that he had put Leopold in quite the bind. "What are going to try now, Leopold? Going to come at me with that fancy unknown power of yours?" He laughed pridefully.
Leopold shrugged, trying not to seem worried. "Well, as that of a Spirit, using my Spirt Essence was necessary to defeat you." He crouched down, preparing for another attack. "And that fact has not changed.
Lucas pointed his finger at Leopold's head. "Alright then, Spirit Human.... Come at me and try and take down the "Iron Wall" if you're so eager! That is, if you even can!"
Hearing the boy's words, Leopold took a short deep breath. He held both of his hands outward and channeled some of his power to form that of a plasma sword. Since plasma made up almost everything in the universe, harnessing it was child's play for him! Add that fact to his already powerful skills and the boy seemed like quite the force to be reckoned with!
"Spirit Arts: Plasma Sword Blast!"
He pointed his sword at the Iron Wall and fired a beam of pure Plasmatic energy at it! The beam soared through the open air, aiming for the weak sport of the wall. When it made contact a few seconds later, a loud sound resonated from the stone. Still, despite Leopold's efforts, the plasma was not able to make so much as a scratch!
"Damn it!" Leopold gritted his teeth, wiping the sweat from his forehead. It looks like his initial try was not going to be so amazing, huh.
Lucas shook his head in disappointment. "Poor Leopold... It would seem that you'll never be able to defeat me! That trick of yours was a no go, Leo!" He put his hand on his face. "You will need to try much harder!"
Leopold raised his sword, thinking to himself. "As much as I hate to say it, he does make a point there." The boy narrowed his eyes as he tried to come up with another plan that might work. "I've tried to use the Plasma Sword's power already on his Iron Wall! I've done it countless times! Still, I've never seemed to crack it..." Leopold sighed, stretching his arms. "Then maybe I should use something a bit more... powerful." He again pointed his sword at Lucas.
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "I told you that wouldn't work, Leo! Just give up now!" He held his hand out, preparing for the strike that was surely to come from his friend. "Oh well... Guess this will be a good learning lesson!
Surprisingly though, Leopold laughed. "Oh don't worry, Lucas... I can assure you that this isn't the same skill." Leopold took a deep breath and looked into the center of the iron wall.
"Plasma Sword! Void Blast!"
Everyone watched as at tip of the blade there seemed to form some sort of ball swirling with that of black plasma. It was different from the one that Leopold had used earlier, the feel much darker and more intense. The boy fired the swirling ball of plasma energy at the wall, aiming again for its weakest spot..
Lucas looked at his and was surprised. "W-What the! You never had something like this before!" He tried to raise the power on the Iron Wall, but it was too late. The blast hit the defense barrier and it cracked on impact.
Soon after, it sailed right through the wall and towards where Lucas was standing. The Infite boy sighed as it smashed into him directly. He was then sent flying into the wall behind him, knocked unconscious and unable to do so much as stand anymore.
Leopold raised his fist. "That makes ninety seven wins for the Iron Wall and one for me, Lucas!"
As he listened to his own swords, Leopold sighed and shook his head. "Probably not something to say out loud, Leopold..." Oh well. It wasn't like there was much he could do now, right? What's done is done.
"Winner, Leopold Stratus!"
=================
"That was some attack, Leopold!" Ceil exclaimed.
After the battle with Lucas, Leopold had decided to get some food at the school's cafeteria. Apparently, Ceil had been with her brother there just before he arrived. However, it seemed that her brother left shortly before for some sort of "business" that he had been needed for in that moment.
"Pity because I was going to talk to him and really tell him what's what!" Leopold thought, disappointed at the missed opportunity. "Oh well. Guess that lecture will just have to wait for another time..."
He soon refocused back in on what Ceil had said to him. The boy scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "It wasn't really much." Leopold looked at her, almost blushing.
Ceil frowned, not happy with his lackadaisical statement. "Theres no way that could be true!" She got up in his face as she spoke. "It's was so freaking awesome! The fight went like BOOM and then SLAM and then there was BASH!" Her eyes sparkles as she re-enacted her own version of what happened. "You were epic!"
Leopold smiled awkwardly. "Just what is she talking about?" Ceil hadn't been this cherry during their battle in the arena! However, for some reason or another, Leopold had found that now she seened to be acting like more of a little kid! "It's so confusing..."
"So, you've made it to the final twelve contenders! Did you see who it is you are you going against next?" Ceil asked. She tilted her head, waiting for his answer.
"Don't know..." Leopold said, honestly not actually knowing who he would fight next..
Now that it was closer to the end of the final day, there were only a total of twelve people left. Who had yet to be eliminated from the competition. Those said people included all of the following students from Academy Five:
Damion Wolfshine from Class 3-A
Lilia Dragoness from Class 3-A
Shin Swartz from Class 3-B
Baron Skilkson from Class 2-A
Breeze/Lily Kushida from Class 1-A
Cinder Kushida from Class 1-A
Leviathan Dragoness from Class 1-A
Leopold Kushida from Class 1-A
Ivory Stashin from Class 1-C
Leopold Stratus from Class 1-D
Nix Claw from Class 1-D
Zion White from Class 1-D
Leopold observed all of the results listed, quite surprised with what he saw. Both Nix and Breeze were still remaining in the competition, along with the annoying Miss Cinder! It wasn't operant that Leopold was expecting.
"Not only that but somehow me and Zion have managed to make it through as well." he thought to himself.
The bracket were as follows for the next round...
BRACKET A
[Leviathan vs Lilia]
[Leopold S. vs Ivory]
[Leopold K. vs Zion]
[Winner advances to finals]
[Winner vs Winner]
[Winner vs Winner]
BRACKET B
[Cinder vs Nix]
[Baron vs Breeze]
[Shin vs Damion]
[Winner vs winner]
[Winner advances to finals]
[Winner vs Winner]
The boy frowned. "That means I'm taking on Ivory in the next round and either Zion or Ceil's brother in the round after..." Leopold crossed his arms.
"Man, that's going to be a tough one! You think I can win them all, Ceil?" He looked at the young girl with an eager face, hoping for some encouragement.
Ceil put her finger on her lip and thought. "I don't know... Out of both brackets, you're in the harder one from where I'm sitting. That means that winning won't be easy..." She nodded to her statements.
Leopold nodded as well. He looked back at his food that was still resting on his plate. "Well I've faced tougher challenges in my life, so I still have a chance." He smiled. "And who know? Maybe someone I fight will be strong..."
Little did Leopold know that from the school chairman's office a meeting was going on that would change the next few years at the school as well as the tournament...
==================
"Sir! The final twelve have been revealed!" a staff member said. The board of the Academy of Magic were meeting on how the Ranking's Tournament had gone so far and discussing the strength of their students in the current year.
"I'm not surprised that Miss Lilia and Sir Damion made it like they do every year..." One of the directors commented.
"Yeah and Miss Cinder making it was another prediction that came true as we expected..." another observed.
"But what about our few dark horses we didn't predict?" someone asked. "That Zion White has been pretty impressive and we never imagined that Sir Leviathan would be as strong as his sister..."
"What our your thoughts, Chairman Striker?" an executive asked.
The chairman listened to the conversation with his mind in thought. This tournament sure had been one of the schools best showings in quite some time, so maybe this meant that some strong people could come from their school. "I don't know... I was mostly impressed wind Miss Ivory of the Stashin kingdom as well as her two bodyguards..."
"Ivory Stashin is a royal, but you liked the showing from her attendants as well?" a female board member asked.
Striker smiled. "I honestly think that one of her attendants may be the biggest dark horse of this whole tournament and the only person who could defeat Miss Lilia..."
"What was his name again? Leopold Stratus?" a male asked.
Striker nodded. "Yes, and I think that he could be used a a valuable item to have in the future..."