The battlefield was set up differently this time, it wasn't as spread out as the previous one, stone walkways fractured the ground in unequal paths with less areas of cover.
One misstep would cost momentum, it wasn't a place built for reckless movement.
Lucien stood at the front of his team, his eyes calculating angles and distances, noticing there was less space for Corin to blink effectively. The air felt cooler than before, the sound of the crowd muted into background noise.
Corin shifted beside him, favoring his left leg subtly which was enough for Lucien to notice. The injury hadn't fully healed with his rest, it stopped him from bouncing on both feet with confidence the way he usually did.
Across the battlefield, the opposing team also took their positions, their formation settling naturally. Four figures spread out along the walkway, keeping clean spacing between them and not getting in each other's way.
Lucien watched them for a moment longer, noting their disciplined movements. They were careful, the exact type of team that waited for mistakes from the enemy instead of provoking them.
"This will be difficult," he muttered under his breath.
A clock was mounted high above the arena walls, its face already counting down the time.
One hour.
Lucien lowered his gaze toward his team, not wanting to waste anymore time.
"We don't push early," he said quietly, "Let them set the pace for the battle."
The team nodded, each agreeing in their own subtle way.
The horn cut through the tension.
The match began.
Neither side moved straight away. Lucien didn't look away from the field, he watched the opposing teams formation tighten, small adjustments betraying the intentions they hadn't acted on yet.
They were waiting for Corin's speed.
"Good," he said. "Then we wait."
The opposing team moved first.
Two of them shifted along the broken walkways, their boots crackling against the stone as they repositioned to wider angles. The other two stayed back to defend the base, maintaining distance and enough spacing to make sure none of them ever stood alone.
Lucien tracked their movement carefully, he didn't rush and give a signal yet.
If Corin moved now, the opposing team would get exactly what they wanted.
A ripple ran through the water of the small river to their left as something skimmed the surface. A small, sharpened, fast moving object that was shot toward Alya's position.
"Alya, step back." Lucien said quietly.
She stepped back quickly, not wasting any of her energy to form a barrier this early, the object shattered harmlessly against the ground where she was standing a moment earlier.
Another projectile came forward, a narrow compressed force that cut through the air toward Corin, fast enough to force a reaction. Corin's eyes tracked the object easily, he leaned back at the right moment, letting it pass inches from his chest before it struck a pillar behind him and dissipated.
Lucien nodded in understanding, they were measuring each member's reaction time.
"Don't follow up yet," he murmured toward Corin.
Corin's expression tightened, but he stayed where he was.
Across the field, one of their opponents stepped forward at last, far enough to slightly break formation from the others. The others adjusted around him instantly to cover his angles.
Lucien raised his hand slowly.
"Faye," he said. "Let them see it."
She hesitated for a second, then lifted her hand. A thin, white glow blossomed across her fingers, not enough to reach anyone or heal.
Across the field, the opposing team hesitated. No one had been hurt, yet she was using her skill.
One of the opposing members slowed down, looking back toward their captain who looked equally confused. Their formation tightened, eyes shifting toward Faye instead of the center, as if bracing for something that hadn't happened yet.
"Good," Lucien said. "You threw them off."
He watched the opposing team reset, their formation becoming more aggressive, their patience running out.
"Corin, engage once." Lucien said quietly. "Then return."
Corin vanished, blinking forward toward the opponents across the field, his speed slower than usual as he favored his non-dominant leg to push forward. He appeared outside the opposing captain's vision, the momentum carrying his body into a clean strike.
His foot struck the captain square in the chest.
The captain smiled as he was thrown back by the force of his kick, his team moving closer to catch him and dampen the impact of the blow.
"Corin, come back now." Lucien spoke sharply, feeling uneasy at the opposing team's reaction to being hit.
Corin was already retreating, blinking away before the captain could follow up. He landed beside Lucien, his eyes flicking back toward the other captain.
"Did you feel that?" Corin asked under his breath, slightly panting.
"I saw it."
Across the field, the captain rolled his shoulders, his eyes never leaving Corin's as he stepped forward slowly.
Lucien's team immediately sprung into a defensive position.
The captain vanished.
The space where he stood lagged behind a fraction of a second too long, his disappearance wasn't smooth like Corin's, it stuttered ever so slightly.
Corin's eyes widened.
"What—"
The captain reappeared closer, his boots scraping hard against the stone pathway as he stumbled through the landing before catching himself at the last second.
The speed was unmistakable.
The whole field went still for a moment.
Alya froze, Faye let out a sharp breath, Corin hesitated. Even the crowd held their breath, almost fully silent.
Lucien didn't move, his stance the same as before but unease was present in his facial expression. He watched the captain straighten, testing his footing like someone possessing a body that wasn't theirs.
The man cracked his fingers, then looked directly at Corin with a grin across his face.
He vanished again.
This time, Corin reacted at the same moment. He blinked forward, meeting the captain mid-motion as they both let out an exchange. Corin's knee drove into the captain's side as the captain's elbow smashed into Corin's ribs.
They separated for a moment only to disappear again.
Blink
Blink
They fractured into flashes of motion, snapping in and out exchanging equal hits.
Corin landed a clean strike to his jaw.
The captain answered with a brutal kick to his stomach.
Lucien's eyes stayed focused, not watching the fight but the opposing captain, catching any movement that could change the momentum of the entire match.
The fight looked equal at first, but then the captain's blinks started to grow shorter.
Lucien leaned in close to Alya, the motion so slight that no one else would notice.
"Get ready," he whispered. "Focus on the captain."
Her fingers twitched as she waited for Lucien's signal.
Across the field, the captain blinked again. Or tried to. For a split second, his body hung between positions, pausing for a moment before snapping back to the position he started.
He staggered, his legs shaking slightly. His jaw clenched as his body would no longer respond to his movements.
The opposing team noticed at the same time Lucien did.
Two of them broke formation, closing the distance without hesitation, rushing toward their captain. The third stayed back as he prepared to cover the retreat.
"Corin," Lucien said. "Intercept them."
Corin moved the instant the words left his mouth.
He didn't blink toward the captain, he vanished into a position that put him directly in the path of the advancing pair, driving his shoulder into one before they could react, knocking him into the ground and forcing the second to move out the way.
"Alya," he said. "Do it now."
She slammed her hands into the ground, the earth answering her call violently as stone shot upwards around the captain in awkward angles. The stone snapped into place, locking around his legs and torso, the rock closing in from all sides before he could react.
The captain punched the stone with all his strength, cracks forming along the stone slightly, but the stone held.
Corin was already moving again, blinking toward the other one of the pair that split off, forcing them to fight him instead of extracting their captain.
The formation collapsed into chaos.
Lucien stepped forward, his eyes certain and voice steady.
"Finish it."
Corin didn't wait a second.
The moment the opposing member shifted his weight, preparing to activate his skill, Corin blinked straight into him. His body drove into theirs, knocking the air from his lungs before the skill could fully manifest.
Corin didn't stay, he vanished again.
Across the field, the last remaining member of the opposing team had already turned and sprinted back toward the base.
Corin appeared behind him in a blur, the defender sensed it too late. He blinked once more, reappearing in the opposing base. The raised platform was right in front of him, the banner planted at the center.
The defender shouted something at him but Corin didn't turn.
He reached the banner and tore the pole free from its mount. He didn't wait to think, he continued to blink away back to his team's base in one continuous movement.
As he reached Team Nox's base, the horn blared.
Corin staggered as he landed, dropping to one knee with the banner still clenched in his hand. His breath coming out fast and shallow, the strain from repeated blinking crashing into him all at once again.
The opposing team slowed to a stop. Alya's stone trap split apart as the opposing captain was let out.
"Victory to Team Nox."