The intense brightness that followed was a different sort of brightness from the first activation Randidly chewed on his lip she was developing her image further with every use True Alana was once again the epicenter of the phenomenon but rather than being blinded by the light AlanaÆs form seemed to swell and fill the attention span of the viewer In this baser form the shard of divinity that she channeled in her image became all consuming And with that power at the tip of her spear she thrust her weapon forward
At the same time Paolo exploded with a hurricane of force All of the pressurized energy of his image that had been funneled from the crowd through his body finally broke out through KayleÆs barriers from the inside So he was swimming at the head of an avalanche of concentrated images swinging his fists wildly challenging everything and anything in his path
The two forces collided and Randidly pressed his lips together in a thin line the battle was approaching the point that he was confident in his own safety but it would be more difficult to ensure the health of the participants His three images swam through his blood slowly altering his body in preparation for what might follow
And the confrontation stretched onward as Randidly watched The clash was a little like two spouts of water spraying at each other drops were flung in every direction but no immediate victor was determined With the addition of the audienceÆs image Paolo was able to force Alana into a standstill What he lacked in detail he made up for with a single minded pursuit of power
Into that strained stalemate stepped Kayle With the deft fingers of his uninjured right hand he reached up and grabbed the shattered edges of the barriers he had conjured around Paolo Eventually he settled on a jagged remnant that shimmered in his hand even as it began to disintegrate and scatter But while it remained he slashed downward at Alana Victory Severed
A white crescent of light shot forward toward Alana The shard in KayleÆs hand fell to pieces even as the hand holding it was torn to pieces
RandidlyÆs pupils instantly tightened to the size of a pin tip A lot of meaning and imagery was seething beneath the surface of KayleÆs gesture giving the slash vastly increased power based on the symbolism present But just as quickly as Randidly recognized the threat it presented Wivanya was moving She tossed her body in front of the attack and crossed her wings as an extra line of defense Heavy layers of ice formed across her body
Wivanya took the brunt of the slash and crashed into the arena with enough force to shake the surrounding ground Much of her left wing was shredded and enough blood to fill a small stream gushed out of the wound on her side Some of her organs were clearly visible through the ripped flesh Even so the white crescent had enough force to continue downward and strike Alana
Her image of divinity was cleanly dispersed by the shattered nature of Kayle and PaoloÆs combination attack but so was PaoloÆs the only problem was that Alana hadnÆt been expecting it at all A quick scan indicated that the damage to Wivanya was severe Randidly had no way of seeing her Health but based on the blood being knocked unconscious and the way her image was obliterated he made his decision
Wivanya has been knocked out for the remainder of the match Randidly announced Even as Paolo spear tackled Alana Randidly used Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to wrap the heavy dragonÆs body with roots and lift her to medical help Of course no sooner did Randidly lift Wivanya off the ground than she regained consciousness and began to struggle
I wait I can still Absolute Wivanya began but Randidly briefly unleashed the significance that he had gathered in his Nether Nebula The nebula paused in its clockwise rotation and briefly twisted in the counterclockwise direction Thick cords of Nether unspoiled and wound themselves around Wivanya
YouÆve been knocked out Randidly said quietly struggling to keep his Nether from interfering with the images of the surrounding people as he suppressed Wivanya Some part of him was unsure if his intervention was the right decision but he had already intervened He could sense how weak and feeble WivanyaÆs Willpower currently was It was best for her to retire and recover
There was an extended moment where chilly sapphire eyes met firm emerald ones then the dragon collapsed and curled up like a piece of carbon paper left next to an open flame Randidly carried her away with the roots toward the waiting medical team then turned back to the fight
After both images had been shattered by KayleÆs strike and most likely further weakened by the brief appearance of Nether in the space Paolo had rushed forward and tackled Alana directly Her spear was knocked from her hands as the two grappled and she was forced several steps backward
But Alana reacted quickly her hands finding purchase on PaoloÆs leather armor But with the advantage of momentum he unleashed several sharp punches to her sides and face shoved her once then threw a Haymaker that smashed Alana into the ground
Coughing heavily Alana rolled quickly to the side to avoid the several slashes that Kayle unleashed at her downed form Had not both of his arms been wounded she likely would have been eliminated right there Then she flipped up to her feet and produced another spear that she leveled at the two foes that were circling around her Blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth
Her eyes flicked between Paolo and Kayle who were carefully positioning themselves Golden flames surged to life along her limbs That was a great move But I can feel both of your images starting to fade Are you stalling for time now rather than attacking
Your image is even worse Kayle commented so quietly that his words were almost lost in the roar of the crowd Even if the participants were feeling quite drained the audience was still at its zenith
For his part Paolo guffawed and slapped his chest You think that IÆm done When the audience demands more Never I still have more gas in the tank
And true to his word his image once more began to churn He took several steps toward Alana the glorious glow of triumph around his body brightening back toward its previous levels She kept her spear steady but AlanaÆs eyes narrowed You if you keep absorbing so many external images your own image purity
Maybe for other people it would be a problem but I get to tell my own story Paolo countered He took another step forward The image around him intensified He glanced sideways as he flashed a grin at Kayle I know what you are thinking But I want your word that I get a single exchange right now with her without your interference You already got to fight with her for a while
ItÆs foolish Kayle replied sharply Paolo shrugged The two stared at each other for almost ten seconds while AlanaÆs breathing slowly grew more regular Blood stopped leaking from the wound on her shoulder
Finally Kayle sighed and shook his head Fine One exchange And I wonÆt do any follow up
Perfect Paolo cracked his knuckles and then lifted his left hand the fingers of his right tight around his left wrist All the images that surged toward him from the audience congregated around that hand filling it with a massive if a bit conflicting amount of meaning The Left Hand of the Champion
Paolo clenched his glowing fist Alana huffed out a breath and her flames surged even higher around her body She rolled her shoulders and the flames around her regained some of the previous intensity Waves of heat once more surrounded her The Second Revelation Struggle
She moved quickly her spear flicking side to side unpredictably while Paolo moved ponderously under the weight of his image He only threw a single punch so heavy with his Willpower that it blew all of AlanaÆs brutal attacks away Paolo had small gashes opened up across his arms and a deep wound right below his collarbone but he smashed Alana into the marble arena with enough force to crack the reinforced stone ground