There were now only two active participants left in the finals
With a grunt Alana pulled KayleÆs knife out of her right thigh Then she rolled onto her belly and slapped the ground with her left hand pushed her body of a couple of meters off the ground She twisted midair and managed to land on her good leg She swayed for a second then turned toward Paolo while she ripped off his handÆs grip on her face and tossed it to the side
An excellent fight Paolo announced from a growing pool of blood One worthy of crowning a champion
Alana simply stared at him appearing too exhausted to muster the words But as she held the knife aloft her arm didnÆt waver
Chuckling Paolo looked down at his own limbs Blood oozed from the stumps of the fingers on his right hand and gushed spiritedly from the severed end of his left forearm In front of him and a few meters to the left his limbs twitched Yes it should be exactly like this Alana Donal I want to show you one last Skill
He raised his right arm The silk wisps of images that he took from the audience flowed in faster and faster weaving themselves together where AlanaÆs Want had severed his flesh Very quickly the missing fingers were replaced by a ghastly phantasm of those fingers His hand glowed with meaning and Paolo clenched those spectral fingers into a fist
The Right Hand of the Challenger
Paolo lightly threw a punch forward The spectral fist shot not toward Alana but directly up into the air gleaming like freshly polished silver
Then he shrugged at Alana But the fact I need to make a challengerÆs fist means that it is already my loss We concede
The crowd was silent until the words that Paolo had said seemed to sink in Randidly tilted his head and considered the slate grey sky hopefully they could finish the award ceremony before it began to snow
Then the audience caught up to Paolo’s words and exploded
King Phirun watched the award ceremony with a frown on his face and his arms crossed Some of the best doctors from the various Zones had rushed down to the arena and made sure that all the contestants were recuperating without any issues But aside from having their images roughed up a bit even the hemorrhaging Wivanya was quickly returned to prime form so that the ceremony could begin
That was the benefit of the System as long as there were no extenuating circumstances even severed or annihilated limbs could be replaced So that now only thirty minutes after being pronounced out of the final Wivanya sat primly on her hind legs while her rapidly wagging tail revealed her cheery mood Alana Donal actually had to whisper something to the dragon so that she wouldnÆt injure any of the other duos with her tail
The sight only served to worsen King PhirunÆs mood Beside him Huang Shou glanced sideways at him in amusement You are disappointed with the result
Pah King Phirun spat to the side Next to him his ZoneÆs duo that made it the farthest in the tournament Kadir and Tosam visibly flinched But then King Phirun shook his head No Alana Donal deserves this victory Paolo and Kayle are also impressive fighters The only problem I wish they would have a little decorum They act so carelessly
Huang ShouÆs smile quirked upward at the corner and he adjusted his grip on his cane Oh
King Phirun refolded his arms so the opposite arm was on top Although he was inherently suspicious of Huang Shou the man at least had an admirable amount of pride For that reason he deserved an answer These are the greatest warriors of our age fighting with each other to the point that they were practically bleeding out and ineffectually swinging their fists at each other How can the populace have any respect for power when the powerful seem so mundane Truly I am glad that I didnÆt decide to participate I worry about how my reputation would have been impacted
Truly it was a great dishonor to lose to Paolo and Kayle in the quarter final round Haung Shou said lightly but the smug expression on his face revealed his true feelings King Phirun grunted but had nothing to say to that quiet boast The older man had earned it His gaze was heated as he turned briefly to his duo that was eliminated in the top 16 then back to the arena floor
Randidly Ghosthound looked around at the waiting audience Beside him WivanyaÆs flicking tail was positively hypersonic It is with great pleasure that I announce the victors of the EarthÆs first and possibly last DuoÆs tournament In third place
Last tournament Kadir mumbled to himself
Tosam nudged his partnerÆs shoulder Because we might be renaming the planet today
Hank Howard and Ancho The Ghosthound continued While the crowd clapped enthusiastically for the gunslingerÆs saunter toward the proffered bronze medal in the GhosthoundÆs hands Kadir huffed out a breath
Well IÆm not gonna go calling Earth something different just because of some stupid tournament Kadir said through gritted teeth
Hank took the medal and then tried to put it around AnchoÆs neck The horse shook its head wildly avoiding it like it was a piece of rotten meat Meanwhile King Phirun threw a mild glance at Kadir If you felt so strongly about the issue you should have simply won the tournament
Besides it might not matter Added Tosam with a sly smile The name change happens in the System right With its translation software it might automatically translate Earth to the new name every time you say it So even if you refuse to say it no one else will notice And you will hear everyone else say whatever the new name is
Kadir blinked in horror Beside Huang Shou Huang Li leaned forward and glanced down the row of people at Tosam ThatÆs an excellent point
Out on the arena floor Hank threw up his hands helplessly and put the medal around his own neck The audience was half clapping and half laughing as he returned to his starting position at the side of the arena With a small smile on his face the Ghosthound continued In second place Paolo and Kayle
This applause was much louder but mostly because mixed in the clapping were calls of you got screwed Æ and Next time for sure Æ Despite their loss Paolo and Kayle seemed rather genial about the whole thing taking the silver medal from the Ghosthound and then engaging in an impressively fast game of rock paper scissors afterward With a wide grin Paolo slid the medal around his neck and strutted back to their position Kayle just shook his head
Finally the announcement that we were all waiting for The Ghosthound beckoned He didnÆt even bother to activate his images yet he somehow seemed to be standing at the bottom of a bowl so your attention couldnÆt help but flow down toward him The winners of the duoÆs tournament are Alana and Wivanya
The clapping from the crowd started off loud but it was quickly drowned out by the fifty or so dragons that launched themselves into the sky at the announcement and belched frost toward the overcast grey skyline Wivanya raised her head and joined her children in their exultation giving themselves over completely to their joy
Rather than a medal Randidly produce a glowing stone tablet Strange runes covered its surface shifting as the GhosthoundÆs fingers pressed up against it He walked over to Alana and offered her the Runic Tablet So Are you ready to officially make our planet a part of the Nexus
Yes Alana said shortly She looked at Randidly with several seconds as though wanting to say something He regarded her with a mild expression on his face Then she shook her head and looked down at the tablet She held it in front of her with both hands as though she was truly holding an ancient artifact that could be broken from the slightest mishandling Wivanya lowered her head from her roar and brought it next to AlanaÆs head where the dragon began to speak rapidly
King Phirun could not hear what the dragon was saying but Alana Donal was having none of it After literally shooing the enormous dragon away she released a sharp breath and looked around at the audience I name this world Expira
The tablet in her hands broke in half golden dust shooting rapidly out of the broken tablet and flying up into the air Then in front of King Phirun a notification appeared