Project 7 the First: The Hero's Great Come Back

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

The second round has already begun. It was a tough competition for most of the participants. There were many skilled individuals of different types. It wad hard to judge who the strongest team was, but it was interesting seeing different types of mages battling for victory.
For the second round, Block A has already finished; and it was time for the next block to fight.
"Now for Block B," Nolan announced. "Team Project 7 versus Team Skyscraper!"

Project 7 was in the waiting room feeling all nervous on their next fight. Bryan was the most nervous of the seven of them. He did not stop walking around the room.
"Okay, guys this is it," said Bryan tensely
"Calm down, Bryan," Gavin persuaded. "It will go smoothly. Just have faith."
"I can't calm down!" said Bryan with frustration. "I wasn't able to come up with a strategy. It will be sure that Vincent will be fighting, and we won't be able to defeat him. Roderick's quick recovery was a mystery, but it doesn't mean that he could still hold such strong pressure of water!"
"Stay calm, Bryan," said Mr. McGuillon. "No matter what happens, everything will be fine."
"Why don't you represent us again, Bryan," said Shannelle.
"There's no way I'm facing that monster," said Bryan.
"I'll go!" said Marjorie as she raised her hand confidently. "I'll do my best."
"Seriously, Marjorie? I thought you said that you didn't want to fight them," said Albert.
"Well, I changed my mind," said Marjorie. "Besides, I won't allow missing all the fun."
"Count me in, too," said Gavin. "I want to take part in this, too, you know?"
"Okay, that makes two," said Bryan. "Shannelle?"
"I don't know. Maybe I'll pass. I'll just wait for the next round," said Shannelle.
"How about you, Roderick?" asked Bryan. "Are you okay participating another round?"
"I don't know," said Roderick.
Then, Lance suddenly raised his hand.
"I'll do it," he said boldly.
"Are you out of your mind? Hello? Excalion to Lance? Going out there for you is like asking for a suicide," said Bryan.
"I know what I'm doing, okay?" said Lance. "Why can't you just believe in me? Who knows? Maybe putting me out there will be the best decision yet."
"You're kidding, right? Why not say that to the others?" said Bryan as he tried to embarass Lance.
When they looked at the team, they were not laughing about it, it seemed okay to them.
"Why not give it a shot?" Gavin suggested. "I mean, I've seen Lance doing hand-to-hand combat before; and he's good at it."
"Yeah," Albert agreed. "He helped me improve my skills."
"Whatever," said Marjorie, trying to act cool. "Your decision is none of my concern."
Roderick and Shannelle did not seem to oppose. Then, Bryan looked at Mr. McGuillon.
"They're right, Bryan," said Mr. McGuillon as he looked at Lance. "I believe in Lance, and so should you."
Bryan had bo other choice. Nobody sided him, so he said with irritation, "Fine. Just don't screw this up!"
Lance thanked him with a smile and said, "I won't let you down!"
So, the three went to scan their hand prints on the pads next to the door. They stepped out of the door boldly without holding back.
"Okay," said Nolan, "for Team Project 7, we have Gavin Striker, Marjorie Carmen, and Lance Garen. For Team Scyscraper, we have Vincent Gervin, Ryan Jarvis, and Ken Sulivan."
He looked at both sides to check if they are ready. Then, with the signal, he started the match.
Vincent had a smirk on his face when he saw Lance. He was giggling mischievously.
"Well, welll, well. Look who we have here?" said Vincent arrogantly. "You're that powerless guy from the first day! I can't believe that your teammates decided to let you out on the battlefield. It's too dangerous for the likes of you."
"Oh, really?" said Lance. "Don't be too confident with what you say."
"Don't try lecturing me, Mr. Zero," said Vincent. "You're nothing. You're garbage, a tiny pebble on the street, a piece of gum spitted out. You're no use to your team. Sending you out here implies that you wanna be killed. So, if I were you, just accept defeat."
Lance did not seem to be bothered with his harsh words. He just stood there listening to what he said.
"Are you done?" Lance asked.
"Shut up, Lance," Marjorie murmured. "Don't get us killed before we even start the match."
"If you were said the same thing, won't you get intrigued as well?" Lance asked Marjorie. "Don't worry. We will win this fight. No problem."
Marjorie felt irritated with Lance. She did not know what else to say, so she kept quiet.
"Shall we begin?" asked Lance.
"You sure are confident... for a sore mortal loser," Vincent insulted as he prepared a stance with his trident. "This will be a piece of cake."
Vincent summoned a huge wave of water behind him like tsunami. He showed a grin as he did.
Then, Lance slowly raised his fingers in midair. He wrote some greek characters in the air and said, "Break the chains; undo the seal!"
Then, he transformed into his frost mage form. His ordinary shirt and jeans transformed into his navy blue, turtle-neck shirt and brown cargo pants tucked in his boots. He also had his cloak with his hood over his head, and his spear was at his back. He pulled down his hood revealing his shiny silver-white hair. He removed his mask to reveal his pale white face and icy blue eyes.
The crowd began to whisper to each other. They were all shocked with the big reveal.
"So, who were you saying the sore loser was?" asked Lance.
Suddenly, with a blink of an eye, Lance swiftly disappeared with the wind. Then, he appeared behind Vincent. His hand glowed with blue aura; and with one touch of the huge wave of water, it froze in an instant like a sculpture in a museum.
Lance then whispered to Vincent, "Oh, wait. I think that sore loser is you."
Then, Lance kicked him at the side which sent him flying. He hit the wall of the arena so hard that it left a crack. Lance teleported back to his teammates without breaking a single sweat. He looked at his teammates staring at him like he did something wrong. Their jaws dropped.
"What?" Lance asked. "Haven't seen a frost mage your entire life?"
"You're the frost mage all this time?" asked Marjorie.
"What does it look like?" said Lance.
"You, bastard," said Gavin. "It was you all along! Why didn't you took off your mask back then?"
"Wait. Gavin, you knew he was the frost mage all this time?" asked Marjorie, shocked.
"Well, we've met; but he didn't reveal his identity," said Gavin. "He's just really stubborn."
"Stop with all the blabbering," Lance said. "Deal with it later. So, do you wanna win this or not?"
"Hell, yeah," said Marjorie.
"Very well. The plan is to keep them away from each other. The farther, the better. Marjorie, you take care of that Jarvis dude. We already know he's like Mr. McGuillon, so we have an advantage. Just don't freak out when you see blood this time," said Lance.
"Roger!" Marjorie replied as she charged at Ryan.
"Gavin," Lance called.
"You want me to take care of Ken, right?" Gavin asked. "I'll deal with you after. For now, it's show time."
Gavin went for Ken leaving Lance behind.
Lance was standing still as he waited for Vincent to attack him. Vincent was badly hurt from that hit.
"That was some kick," said Vincent, still feeling the pain. "I shouldn't have underestimated you. A frost mage, but can land a hit with great impact. That sure is something."
"Shut your trap," said Lance. "The way you talk is annoying."
"I see. If that's the case," Vincent slowly crouched. Then, glided across the field charging toward Lance. Their weapons collided. Vincent swung his trident randomly as he tried to land a hit at Lance, but he did not have luck. Lance blocked all his attacks by spinning and twirling his spear around his body. He also tried to land a hit on Vincent, but they both canceled out each other's attacks.
"You're not bad," complimented Vincent.
"Not so bad yourself," Lance said. Then, as Lance thrusted his spear, Vincent immediately parried it; but Lance took the advantage and kicked him upward as hard as he could. Lance immediately ran toward the walls of the arena. He pushed the walls with force using his feet that he was gliding in midair. He slashed Vincent as he bounced from every side of the arena wall. Then, he quickly dashed below Vincent, jumped as high as he could, and smacked him with the end of his spear's shaft. Vincent fell hard on the ground like he fell from a tall skyscraper.
As Lance landed beside him, he said, "That's what you get for messing with my dorm neighbor." He smiled and walked away.