Chapter 87: Victoria vs Rachel and Ian vs Ronald.
After Jeremy left, another fight was drawn, and it was between Victoria Grayson and Rachel Cadaver. The crowd slowly calmed down as the names appeared, but soon murmurs filled the arena again.
Victoria was the favorite for this match, and many people expected her to win. However, Rachel was also not to be underestimated because she had fought her way here through several difficult battles.
She had shown skill, speed, and strong control over her mana, and those who watched her earlier fights knew she was dangerous.
Both of them entered the arena as they faced each other from opposite sides. The distance between them felt heavy with tension. Victoria's silver hair slightly swayed in the air as she stood calmly in place.
Her light blue eyes were filled with confidence, showing no fear or hesitation. She was wearing a green fighting suit that fit closely around her body, allowing free movement while also offering protection.
Rachel wore a gray-colored suit that looked simple but practical. She had lavender-colored hair and eyes that gave her a sharp and alert appearance.
Her build was short compared to Victoria's, and her facial features were slightly sharp, making her expression look serious even when she was calm. She rolled her shoulders lightly, preparing her body for the fight ahead.
The referee stood beside them, his eyes moving between both fighters. After making sure they were ready, he raised his hand and said loudly, "Begin."
Victoria heard this, and almost instantly, an earth armor formed around her body. The ground beneath her feet trembled slightly as the armor took shape, covering her arms, chest, and legs with solid layers of earth.
The armor looked heavy, but Victoria moved as if it weighed nothing at all.
Then, many wind cutters formed around her. The air around her began to twist and spin as sharp blades of wind took shape.
With a single motion of her hand, she launched them toward Rachel. The wind cutters flew forward at high speed, cutting through the air with sharp sounds.
Rachel reacted immediately. She also conjured many wind cutters of her own, showing her control over wind mana. The blades clashed in the middle of the arena, creating loud crashing sounds as they collided and canceled each other out.
The air became chaotic as broken wind currents scattered in every direction. Both fighters knew how to use wind mana, and neither was willing to fall behind.
As the wind cutters clashed, Rachel suddenly vanished using burst. Her body disappeared in a flash, and before Victoria could adjust, Rachel arrived right in front of her.
A fire blade had formed in Rachel's hand, its flames burning brightly. Without hesitation, she attacked Victoria, swinging the blade toward her.
Victoria reacted quickly. An earth wall was conjured between them, rising from the ground in an instant.
The fire blade struck the wall, sending sparks and small fragments of earth flying. The wall blocked the attack completely, stopping the flames from reaching Victoria.
At the same time, earth spikes formed under Rachel's feet, sharp and ready to pierce through her. Rachel sensed the danger immediately.
She used burst again, creating distance just before the spikes could reach her. The spikes rose into the air, missing her by a small margin.
Then a metal bow formed in Victoria's hand. The metal shaped itself smoothly, and she created many metal arrows one after another.
She pulled back the bowstring and launched the arrows toward Rachel. The arrows flew through the air in rapid succession, each one aimed carefully.
Rachel dodged them skillfully, moving her body with speed and precision. She danced around the arena, twisting and stepping aside as the arrows passed her. Some struck the ground, while others hit the walls of the arena with loud metallic sounds.
Then Rachel began to conjure fireballs in her hands. The flames grew brighter as she formed them, and she launched them toward Victoria. The fireballs flew in arcs, spreading heat through the air.
Victoria conjured an earth wall once again, blocking the fireballs. The explosions sent dust and smoke into the air, but the wall held strong. Rachel did not stop. She changed the angles of her attacks, launching fireballs from different sides, trying to catch Victoria off guard.
Victoria sometimes dodged the attacks by stepping aside, and sometimes she used earth walls to block them. She remained calm, reading Rachel's movements carefully. Then a windstorm formed around Victoria, the air spinning violently as it tried to sweep her upwards.
Victoria suddenly merged with the earth. Her body sank into the ground as if it were water. She escaped the windstorm by hiding underground, leaving only disturbed soil behind.
Rachel stopped attacking and began to scan her surroundings. Her eyes moved quickly as she tried to find where Victoria would emerge from. She stayed alert, knowing that the attack could come at any moment.
Suddenly, the earth beneath her distorted. Rachel detected it immediately and used burst to escape. When she looked back, she saw an earth spike in the place where she had stood a second ago. Victoria still had not revealed herself.
Rachel's nerves tensed as she looked around for Victoria. Her breathing became heavier as she tried to focus. Then suddenly, her leg was grabbed. Before she could escape, her body was pulled downward. Only her head was left outside as she was trapped inside the earth.
Victoria emerged from behind her. She looked at Rachel and said calmly, "Let's end this."
Before Victoria could do anything, fire formed around Rachel. The flames gathered tightly around her body, and then they burst outward. Victoria backed away as the fire spread in every direction, forcing her to retreat.
From the fire, Rachel emerged. Her clothes were covered in dirt, and her breathing was heavy. She looked at Victoria and then used burst, arriving right in front of her. A fire blade formed in her hand again, and she swung it toward Victoria's side.
Victoria was late to react. The attack landed, and cracks began to form on Victoria's earth armor. The impact pushed her slightly backward. Before Rachel could pull away, Victoria suddenly grabbed Rachel's hand.
Victoria's right punch landed straight on Rachel's face. The force sent Rachel crashing to the ground. Dust rose as her body hit the arena floor.
Rachel quickly used burst to create distance, but before she could recover, a windstorm was conjured behind her. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and move forward. She appeared at Victoria's side and punched her.
Victoria moved backward and dodged the attack. She twisted her body smoothly and landed a side kick straight at Rachel's neck. The kick landed cleanly, and Rachel fell to the ground once again.
Earth spikes rose from the ground and formed a cage around both of them. This was the same cage Victoria had used against Sandra to limit her speed. Now she had done the same to Rachel.
Rachel slowly stood back up while clutching her neck. She looked around and saw the cage surrounding her. She understood the situation she was in. She knew she could not use many of her spells in this small space. Using large-scale spells inside the cage would hurt her as well as Victoria.
But Victoria specialized in the earth element, so she could defend better than Rachel. Rachel gritted her teeth and decided to fight using martial arts. She knew she could not beat Victoria in this aspect, but she had no other choice.
She moved forward, and both of them engaged in a physical battle. Victoria dodged each attack with precision and landed a few blows of her own. Their fists and kicks clashed as they fought for several minutes. Rachel's movements slowly became heavier, and eventually, she fell to her knees.
Victoria stopped attacking and stood there, watching her opponent.
The referee arrived beside them and announced loudly, "The winner of this match is Victoria Grayson."
The crowd applauded both of them as they left the arena.
Then another match was drawn. It was a battle between Ian Pavlov and Ronald Ashdown. Both of them entered the arena and faced each other. The referee started the match and said, "Begin."
Ian vanished instantly and arrived at Ronald's side with a fire blade in his hand. He swung it toward Ronald, but Ronald conjured a water whip and counterattacked. The blade and whip collided, and steam began to rise from their collision.
Ian vanished again and arrived far away. Many fireballs were conjured around him, and he launched them toward Ronald. Ronald conjured several wind cutters to counter the fireballs. He also created several water streams and launched them together toward Ian's attack.
The combined attacks overwhelmed Ian's fireballs and broke through, heading toward him. Ian retreated using blitz.
A light beam was conjured in Ian's hand, and he hurled it toward Ronald. The attack pierced through Ronald's stomach, and blood began to ooze out. Ronald groaned in pain and stopped for a second.
Ian took this opportunity and used burst, arriving behind Ronald. He kicked Ronald in the back, sending him to the ground. Ronald groaned again as he tried to stand up, but he felt something burning near his neck.
He did not move his body. He rotated his head and saw Ian standing behind him with a fire blade at his neck. Ian said nothing.
Ronald knew he had lost. He raised his hand and said, "I lost."
The referee nodded. The blade vanished as Ian turned around and left the arena. The crowd from the fire department cheered loudly as the referee announced, "The winner of this match is Ian Pavlov."
Ian left the arena as Ronald was sent to the healing room. Ian and Victoria had secured their spots in the top sixteen.
Now only eight matches remained.