Elemental Zodiack

Chapter 27: The Tournament, part 6

["~After countless exchanges, the newcomer, D.A had made her way through once again, securing herself a place in the grand final! We'll be back after a thirty minutes break, with the final, between the three noble fighters that made it this far!"

 And like this... The final round was just around the corner...]

"Wait... The final is going to be a free for all round?" asks Yoso

"Yes. Sarus, Solaria and D.A will fight against each other, with the one coming on top being the actual winner," explains Laure

"So, no second place nor third place, huh..."

"I am somehow sorry for Sarus," intervenes Kein that just appeared out of nowhere, behind Yoso.

"Ah, mister Kein!" shouts Yoso without realizing the tone of his voice.

"Huh? Is there something wrong with Shimada?" asks Laure

"Shhh!" Kein tries to make Yoso cover for him.

"A-Ah, nothing!" says Yoso with a forced smile.

"I-I see..." says Laure

"So? What do you mean? Is mister Sarus at a disadvantage?"

"Well, I think it should be obvious... That Solaria girl is a monster... And D.A's skill which she called 'crescent' is pretty unfair. Sarus has a pretty reckless way of fighting, so it might be impossible for him to dodge her attacks as Masato did earlier," explains Kein

"I see... Well, I personally think that he has good enough chances..."

"You mean that legendary skill that he probably used against Geoff huh?"

"Wait... You realized?"

"Of course... How i***t should you be to unsee that..."

"Good question!" says Yoso while trying to hide his embarrassment 

"Well, anyway, I'll go back now. The fight will start, and Shouko and Shizuo are coming this way... So, sayonara!"

"Yo, Yoso!" salutes Shizuo while coming towards Yoso

"Did you see Kein anywhere?" asks Shouko

"Ah... No! I didn't see Kein after he disappeared earlier," says Yoso

"That midget..."

"I am sorry for the trouble, we'll look for him more..." says Shouko

"Oke, see you later!" says Yoso

 After they left, Yoso couldn't help but let out a sigh and shift his attention towards the battlefield. Both Diana and Solaria arrived, facing each other, waiting for the arrival of Sarus.

 As long as he stepped on the battlefield, countless applause and cheers resounded within the arena.

"Let's finish this fast... I have to find my guy!" says Solaria, clearly referring to Kein.

"I am somehow sorry for that kid..." mutters Sarus

"~Hello everyone! And welcome, to the last battle of this tournament... The Grand Final! This final will be held using an FFA format, with three participants that arrived there, after achieving wonderful victories! Participating in this battle we have, The Zodiack with the sign of Aries: Sarus of the Pitch Black!"

 Applause once again could be heard through the arena.

"-Solaria, The Uncrowned Queen of the Sun!"

 The crowd was once again going wild, with countless men shouting their best compliments towards Solaria.

"-And the other newcomer that has made her way to the final with beautiful victories, D.A!~"

 Not many cheered for her since her mantle and mask had quite the same effect on her it had on Sarus.

"May the final battle of this tournament... Start!"

 Just as the start was given, Solaria let out the exact same skill she intended to finish off Kein with, in her previous battle.

"As I said... I am going to finish fast!"

"Well, this is not even funny..." says Sarus

 The heat already started to get the worst out of them, and Diana's mask even started to melt from it...

"Well, let's see... Smoke Original Skill: World of Pitch Black..." right after analyzing the situation, Sarus used his 'World of Pitch Black' skill, and engulfed the entire stage into smoke, leaving behind, only Solaria that didn't realize what was happening.

"What...?"

 Inside the other world, created by Sarus' skill, he was standing right in front of Diana...

"I feel like this is a more honourable way to fight," says Sarus

"Weren't you just afraid of miss Solaria...?" asks Diana in a quiet voice

"Maybe... Before we start, what's your real name?"

"...Diana Astera..."

"Good name... I am Sarus... Just Sarus," after greeting each other, they both grabbed their catalysts.

 Stepping forward, Diana prepared to attack Sarus, but just then, she got overwhelmed by his inhuman speed which he didn't show until that very moment. 

 With a clean-cut on her face, she cut the mask in half. Then the mask slowly took a black colour and then transformed into ashes.

"What is...?" she couldn't comprehend what just happened to her.

"Legendary Smoke Skill: Decay..."

 Sarus's katana turned its colour into a pitch-black colour, exactly like the very space they were standing in.

"Moon Style: Crescent!" Diana didn't back off just because her mask was destroyed, and instead charged in with all she's got. 

"Uh... That was close," says Sarus after barely escaping Diana's attack, then he quickly retaliates by slashing her flamberge, which quickly turned black, and then transformed into ashes.

"Here I come..." says Sarus while pointing his katana towards her.

 She couldn't dodge the attack, so she chose to defend herself from it.

"Moon style: Full Moon..." and like this, she created the same white shield in front of her, which she used against Masato.

 After deflecting Sarus' katana, the shield itself quickly decayed and disappeared.

 The fight went like this on and on for around five minutes, in which Diana created countless new catalysts using her raw Life force. After doing so, Sarus realized something...

"Is your hair... turning white?" he asks

"...My downside is catching me..."

"I see... Well, I guess it's time I stop joking around..." and so, Sarus readies his katana and lets out another skill.

"Sword Form Number 3: Death Thrust!"

 After realizing the danger she's in, Diana created four barriers in front of her, which Sarus' blade penetrated at once, destroying them all.

 Then right before slashing her, his katana broke, leaving behind only the handle.

"You deactivated the skill...?"

"Yep... If I were to use that against an actual human, it would mean death... And I already won this, didn't I?"

 After saying so, Diana nodded in agreement, just before falling onto her knees.

"My Life force is all gone... And my downside caught up with me..." and while saying this, blood started to spill from the corner of her mouth, and just after, she collapsed on the spot...

"Good grief... I won't ever understand you kids, with your reckless way of fighting... Even though I am pretty much the same," 

 Taking hold of Diana, he distanced a little from the place he cast the skill, and deactivated the 'World of Pitch Black'.

 Appearing in the middle of the arena, was Sarus, holding Diana in her arms, which he put down just after seeing how much space there was between him and Solaria.

"~ What happened?! After a really long battle inside the 'World of Pitch Black', Sarus came out unscathed, and D.A is... After receiving the results, she is apparently out of Life Force and unable to continue, so this turned into a one on one between Sarus and Solaria!"

"So he used it again..." mutters Yoso

"His katana is broken on the floor, but he probably knew that this is going to happen," says Laure

"That is the sole reason he brought two swords in this fight, even though he is not a dual wielder..." says Saki

"You... How much do you intend to drag this fight for?" says Solaria

"As long as it's needed... I am sorry, but I can't lose now..." says Sarus while taking out his second katana

"I see... Will you be able to amuse me?!" shouts Solaria

"We'll see..."

 Solaria charged at full power once again, propelling herself towards Sarus, which quickly evaded her attack.

 "Sword Form Number 2: Ominous s***h!" using this sword skill, he launched a weird wave of energy from his sword, right towards Solaria. She blocked it using her power, but a small cut could be still visible on her hand after that attack.

"What is a sword skill?" asks Yoso

"It's... Some style of fighting that was created by Sarus... It uses as a principle the techniques of the Authorania army..."

"Authorania... So it is a form of magic that doesn't have any affinity?"

"Yes... This is how you should take it..."

"Sun Style: Regulus Enchant!" Solaria powered up once again, coming at Sarus with even more speed than before.

 She punched him with incredible power, and even though he used his sword to block the attack, he couldn't defend himself properly, getting blasted into a wall...

"Tch..." Sarus got badly hurt by this attack and was bleeding from every part of his body. It was clear as day that he should be out of this fight... But...

"How can you still get up?" asks Solaria with an astonished look on her face.

"I have my own reasons to fight... I can't give up after taking that girl's chance to win after all..." he says after looking in the direction where Diana was taken after he defeated her.

"I see... Let's see how much these words will carry you on!"

"Sun Style: Hyper Nova!"

"What is this?!!" shouts Yoso

 The power could be felt everywhere in the arena, making even the ground melt and others' clothes catch on fire.

"Hah... I see... Well, I think this is over..." mutters Sarus while looking straight into Solaria's eyes

"Any last words?" 

"Just do it!"

 After Sarus' shout, she let out the 'Hyper Nova' attack, which took the form of a heat ray, which flew towards him.

 Just at that moment, a huge cloud of smoke engulfed Solaria, and then... It exploded...

 The explosion was so big that created a hole as big as the entire arena, and needed the intervention of several Zodiacks to put a barrier strong enough to avoid affecting the civilians...

"That girl is nuts!" shouts Yoso

 After a while... The smoke settled, and Solaria was heavily wounded all over her body, bleeding from everywhere, as for Sarus...

 He was nowhere to be found...

 After wondering what happened, he didn't give anyone time to panic... A small cloud of smoke appeared behind Solaria, from which the damaged Sarus got out, and slashed her back once with his sword, making her collapse.

"~W-What did just happen?! Sarus of the Pitch Black took advantage of his opponent's affinity, and use her own power against her. Wonderful strategy, skill and overall, a wonderful battle! The winner of the Zodiack Tournament is Sarus of the Pitch Black! Congratulations!"

 Putting his sword back in its sheath, Sarus felt like he was going to collapse at any second, but just then...

"Good fight, mister Sarus!" Yoso appeared out of nowhere, his speed impossible to be seen by the naked eye, and caught the falling Sarus.

"Thank you... Sir Yoso..."

"Can't wait to work with you, from now on, even more!" said Yoso with a smile, while taking Sarus to the medical staff which was rushing in their direction.

"Yes... I will serve you from now on... As your sword..." and by muttering those last words, he lost his consciousness.