Luna and Rody entered the private suite where their friends and family were watching the matches. Luna and Rody’s parents, Raine, Morgan and their parents, Rody’s sister Erika, and Bella with Admiral Otto all greeted Luna and Rody and congratulated them. The two thanked everyone for their support.

  “I’m sorry, Dad.” Rody lowered his head as he approached his father.

  “Why? You held your own. It’s obvious training with Luna has made you better.”

  “I’m sure everyone expected the son of the famous Kobe Harris to win.”

  “Don’t worry about that, just don’t give up. We’re all proud of you.” Kobe hugged Rody.

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “Hey Luna, I’ve never seen you run so fast!” Andres teased

  “Aww, Luna loves her childhood buddy!” Her mother, Kara, giggled.

  Luna and Rody both turn red .“Mom! Dad!”

  “It’s okay, sweetie, the women in our family have always been lovey-dovey with our men. Isn’t that right, Andres?” Kara snuggled up to Andres.

  “Yeah, escape while you can, Rody, before she sinks her teeth into you. It’s too late for me.” Andres grinned at Kara.

  Kara playfully chomped on Andres. “That’s right! You’re not going anywhere!”

  “Ah! You see what I mean!” As the adults laughed and carried on, Luna and Rody slipped away to the other side of the viewing box. They sat down with Erika, Raine, and Morgan to watch the next matches.

  The next match was between Cassie Casanova and Vivian Vega. Vivian had chosen a shopping mall as the battleground. The arena was created without a roof so the viewers could see, and multiple cameras broadcasted the match from various angles.

  Vivian, who was twenty, had bright orange hair and purple eyes. She had been armed with a shotgun and carried multiple pouches of Teal crystals. She had waved excitedly to Cassie as she entered the arena.

  Cassie, who was eighteen, was a tan, short-haired brunette with purple eyes as well. She had walked in with a bow strapped to her back and two large daggers strapped to her hips for closer combat.

  “So…Why a shopping mall?” Cassie asked.

  “Because shopping is the best! Look at all the pretty dresses! And the purses! Oh, and the makeup!” Vivian gushed.

  “You realize it’s all gonna get destroyed in our match, right? Especially if you plan to use your Explosion ability…”

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Oh… Hey!” Vivian tried to get Stefan’s attention. “Can I ch-”

  “Let the battle begin!” Stefan interrupted Vivian on purpose, much to his amusement.

  Cassie raised her bow, created an arrow of Teal fire, and loosed it, forcing Vivian to take cover behind a wall.

  “No! We’re gonna ruin all the pretty things!!” Vivian sobbed.

  “Oh geez…” Cassie exhaled as she ran to find an escalator to the second floor.

  While Vivian continued to lament over ruining the mall, Cassie began shooting arrows at her from the second floor. Vivian rolled out of the way as the Teal fire arrows tore apart some floral dresses near her.

  Vivian peeked from cover to see the dresses in tatters. “Are you crazy! Those were on sale!”

  “The arena isn’t real, girl, it’s fine!” Cassie shouted back.

  “That’s it!” Vivian pulled out some Teal crystals from her pouches and hurled them at Cassie. “Take this!”

  Cassie jumped out of the way, and the crystals exploded upon impact. “It’s not that serious!”

  Vivain got up and returned fire. “I’ll show you serious!” Vivian pumped off shots from her shotgun and continued to throw exploding crystals. They destroyed multiple stores in their exchanges of fire. Finally, Cassie shot an arrow that struck one of Vivian’s crystals just as Vivian began to throw it. The crystal exploded in her face, destroying her Teal shield. Cassie walked over to Vivian, who was covering her face, sobbing.“You’re not hurt, are you?”

  Vivian returned a muffled, “No…”

  “You fought well. Let’s go shopping for real sometime, okay?”

  Vivian uncovered her face. “Really?”

  Cassie laughed. “Yeah, really.”

  “Okay!” Vivian jumped back up as the crowd cheered for the good sportsmanship.

  ***

  Up in the pressbox, Stefan finished his announcements and turned to Misaki.“Looks like your protege is pretty good.”

  Misaki stood up to stretch. “Of course she is! I taught her. Cassie will be a fun opponent!”

  Stefan raised his eyebrow. “Don’t you have to win this match first?”

  “This first one won’t last long at all.”

  “Someone’s confident.”

  “Yeah, well maybe someone pissed me off and I’m gonna take it out on my opponent!”

  “Oh my, sounds like a real jerk, that guy!” Stefan chuckled. “Anyway, good luck, Misaki.”

  “I won’t need it.” She walked over to the door and turned back to look at him. “You better announce really cool for me.”

  He smirked. “I’ll think about it.”

  “Hmph.” She turned and left.

  While Misaki made her way down to the tunnel entrance, Stefan announced her opponent. “Matis Johnson has also chosen a rainy battlefield in hopes of quenching his opponent's flames. We all saw how that turned out against Luna Cortez! Will this match be different?”

  Misaki strode confidently into the arena, armed with her scythe. She wore a crown and a robe of Teal fire to spice up her appearance.

  “Here she comes! Another favorite to win the tournament. Please welcome The Flame Princess! Misaki Mackenson!” The crowd applauded the clever nickname.

  Misaki glared up at Stefan in the pressbox, who couldn't hide how pleased he was with himself. “I’m gonna kill that idiot!” She said through gritted teeth.

  Matis motioned as if he were going to make a speech before the battle, but Misaki cut him off. “Shut up! I’m not as nice as Luna Cortez, I don’t care what you’ve been through or what you think of me! If you want to play the victim, I’ll be more than happy to victimize you! Start the match, Stefan!”

  “Hey, I-” Before Matis could finish, Stefan interrupted him. “Wait!” Matis panicked as Misaki charged him at full speed. He tried desperately to hit her with rifle fire and quickly needed to reload.

  “No! You’re just a waste of time!” Misaki slashed her scythe upward and caught Matis under the arm. She swung him into the air and smacked him down onto the ground. After two more swipes, his Teal shield broke, ending the match.

  “There you have it, folks! The Flame Princess doesn’t have time to mess around, she wins in seconds!” The crowd was thoroughly impressed with Misaki’s ability. Misaki exited the arena, intending to berate Stefan for the nickname he had given her, when she saw her mom waiting for her.

  “Hey there, Flame Princess!” Mai smiled at her.

  “Ah, Mom!”

  “You did it to yourself with your flashy entrance. You know, I was a princess once for Halloween. I think it suits you, honey.” She laughed.

  “I’ll give Stefan a piece of my mind when I see him! What did you think, though? Am I as good a fighter as you?” Misaki asked.

  “You did great, what else can I say? Although I was surprised by your choice of flames.”

  “Don’t worry, everyone will see the type of fire I’m capable of in the finals.” Misaki said determinedly.