Curse of the Crystals

Chapter 19: The Final Matches - part 2

Shun, hoping to have at least a shot at earning some points, decided to go on the offensive. Itzal was able to easily dodge Shun's first attack with the blade in his left hand, and although the follow-up attack with his right blade seemed catch Itzal somewhat off-guard, his magic still allowed him to evade it. Before Shun could react according, he had a short-sword at his throat yet again. "Five points to mister Fusun, granting him the victory!"

Once again, the crowd gave a mixed reaction. Seeing one of the underdogs lose against someone with such a huge advantage wasn't to everyone's liking. Shun himself left the arena without a word, but it was clear that anything he might have said wouldn't have been kind.

Before the mood could sour entirely, the announcer spoke up. "The last match of the day is a promising one! We'll see the esteemed miss Fortier go up against the mysterious Alchemist, who is the only participant that made it this far without fighting. I'm sure everyone is curious to see what he will bring to the fight, and whether or not it will be enough to defeat a contestant as strong as miss Fortier!"

The announcer wasn't the only one thinking about it, as Millicent herself was also wondering what she was going to be up against. She had only a rough idea of the Alchemist's fighting style, and she was feeling pretty confident that she could defeat him by keeping him at range with her spear. That said, she worried he'd come up with some tricks, so she was on guard. When the Alchemist showed up wearing robes that were clearly hiding some of his weapons, she knew he'd be going to use some sort of trickery.

It's why she rushed at him the moment the match started. Considering they were only allowed to use wooden weapons, she at least knew he wouldn't be throwing weird chemicals at her or that he couldn't try to poison her. What she didn't know was how quickly he was able to throw two throwing knives at her, one from each hand simultaneously. She was able to dodge one of those, but the other caught her in the chest. Sadly enough for the Alchemist, non-poisoned knives wouldn't have been able to significantly harm someone, and it seemed like these wooden versions were counted as such by the referee. "One point to the Alchemist!"

It gave Millicent enough of a confidence boost to bridge the gap between her and the Alchemist, and to stab at him full-force, before he had even drawn another weapon. To her surprise, he dodged around her spear as if he was dancing, then grabbed a hold of it with his right hand and brought a dagger to her face with his left hand. When had he even drawn that weapon? She had underestimated him, and that was a costly mistake. "Five points to the Alchemist!"

She didn't make the same mistake again. Instead, a mischievous plan formed. She stabbed at the Alchemist again, in a similar manner, trying to bait him into repeating the trick. He didn't fall for it. If he would've, she'd have thrown him down in instant, now that he wouldn't have the element of surprise. That said, his attempt to merely dodge her spear didn't leave him unscathed. She'd been able to hit him in the side hard enough to normally leave a nasty gash. "Two points to miss Fortier!"

Before she could go for the same tactic, two more knives were flung her way, with the same result as the first time. She wasn't able to dodge both at once, but neither was the Alchemist able to hit a vital spot while trying to throw two at once. "One point to the Alchemist."

She was taken by surprise when the Alchemist suddenly lunged at her. With the far superior reach of her weapon, it was only a matter of keeping it in front of him to block him off. That's when she realized the trick he was playing. He had gotten her to take on a defensive stance while getting close enough to her to throw a single throwing-knife at her from up-close. It hit her in the face hard enough to hurt, even if it was just a wooden prop. A normal knife would've likely cost her an eye. "Three points to the Alchemist, making him win the match!"