After an entertainment break, the semifinals of the first Neo Gladius Tournament had begun. Cassie had chosen a small town made of stone and awaited Misaki’s entrance. Misaki made her flashy entrance, wearing her Teal fire outfit, with Stefan hyping up her arrival.“Interesting. Why did you choose this as the battleground?”

  “I considered my opponent and their ability, just like you taught me. I need to be able to take cover and deny you flammable material. This was the best solution I could think of.” Cassie admitted.

  Misaki applauded Cassie. “You’ve learned well. Ya think you can beat your teacher now?”

  Cassie prepared her bow. “Thank you for all you’ve taught me! Yes! I’m ready!”

  “Let’s have some fun!”

  “Right!” Once the match commenced, Cassie rapidly fired off multiple arrows, forcing Misaki to evade them. Misaki took cover and lost sight of Cassie. She quickly but cautiously pursued Cassie in the direction she had gone. “Got you!” Cassie exclaimed after she loosed an arrow from the second floor above Misaki.

  “You shouldn’t declare your attacks!” Misaki dodged the arrow and ran into the building where Cassie was.

  “Ah crap!” Misaki realized her mistake when she tripped a bomb that Cassie had set for her.

  “Thanks, Vivian!” Cassie waved to her and jumped to the next building over, as the first building collapsed onto Misaki.

  “You owe me a dress now, new friend!” Vivian smiled back.

  “Oh boy…” Cassie’s smile quickly faded as Misaki burst out from the rubble, ablaze in Teal fire.

  “Now we can get started!” Misaki exclaimed and bounced from wall to wall to reach Cassie. She dodged arrows as both girls jumped from building to building. Once Misaki got within reach with her scythe, Cassie popped a smoke bomb to buy herself time.

  Misaki heard a noise to her right through the smoke and slashed in that direction. The speed of her slash blew some of the smoke away. The crowd gasped as Cassie launched herself at Misaki from behind, her daggers coated in Teal fire.

  “Not bad!” Misaki congratulated Cassie as her dagger hit Misaki’s right shoulder and damaged her Teal shield. Misaki turned to face Cassie, who attempted to pull away, but Misaki swung her scythe to catch Cassie in the back. She pulled Cassie in close and turned up her flames. “You shouldn’t have gotten so close!”

  Cassie struggled to pull away and attempted to match her teacher’s technique of wrapping herself in flames to protect herself, but to no avail. Cassie’s Teal shield broke under Misaki’s tremendous heat.“Damn, you’re something else Misaki! I’m sorry, I thought I’d put up a better fight.”

  “You did great! Don’t sweat it, you’re well on your way to being a top Gladius.” Misaki and Cassie exited the arena together. Luna and Rody had watched Misaki’s match from the private suite.

  When it was over, Luna and Rody excused themselves, and everyone wished Luna luck.

  Rody accompanied Luna to the tunnel. “Misaki looks really tough.”

  “Yeah! I can tell she’s been working really hard. I can’t wait for our match, but first I’m gonna teach Cassius not to be a bully, and get him back for you!” Luna prompted Rody for a fist bump.

  Rody didn’t accept the invitation. “Luna, I don’t want you to feel like you need to avenge me or anything like that.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” Luna remembered Raine’s advice to drop hints for Rody, and she gently pushed him against the wall. “I-I’d do anything for you…” Luna blushed and brushed some of her hair behind her ear.

  “W-wait…” Rody stammered. What does she mean by that?

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “I’ll prove it to you! Wait for me here!” Luna rushed off.

  Gosh, why did I say that?! Luna shook her head and refocused on her match. Luna exited the tunnel to Stefan’s introduction.

  “Here comes the Lunar Dragon for her semi-final match!” Stefan announced. Luna decided to follow Misaki’s example and wore a Teal fire superhero cape. She posed like a hero and then skipped along, greeting her fans with a smile.

  Cassius stared her down, waiting in his prepared battleground of the snowy Jaxartes Forest. The section had been near the Wall Fortress of Darkhan, to be exact. He laughed at Luna as she approached.

  “This is a battle, not a little girl’s performance!”

  Luna kept her idol charm for the audience. This is a great opportunity to show everyone I can be a hero!’ Luna smiled as she approached Cassius, ignoring his comment. “I’m really glad you chose The Jaxartes for our battlefield.”

  Cassius laughed.“Why? So you can use the excuse that you lost to me on my home terrain?”

  “Because this is where my father showed all of Byzantia what can happen if you stand up to a bully. Now it’s my turn! That wasn’t nice what you did to Rody!” Luna conjured teal flames on her fists and dropped into a fighting stance, her katana still sheathed.“I’m going to pay you back for that!”

  “You’ll need more than comic book platitudes to beat me, girl!” Cassius wrapped himself in Teal electricity and charged Luna as soon as Stefan began the match.

  Luna made a game of Cassius’s offense with her speed and agility. She seemed to be bouncing around the forest.“Missed me! Whoops! That was close!” She taunted him with every miss. She leapfrogged over Cassius after a powerful downward swing. “Wee!”

  “Quit running!” Cassius shouted. He slammed his hammer into the ground, but Luna jumped to avoid the electrical currents.

  “If that’s what you want!” Luna threw a volley of punches that caught Cassius off guard. He responded by exploding with electricity in a burst of defense. Luna was caught in the discharge and stunned momentarily.

  Cassius took advantage of the opening and swung his hammer upward, catching Luna in the stomach and sending her flying a few feet. Before she could get up, Cassius promptly pummelled her with his hammer again. The audience gasped as Luna endured a punishing onslaught of hammer blows.

  From the ground, Luna responded with a hellacious punch wrapped in fire that knocked Cassius’s hammer back.

  She stood, holding her side and panting to catch her breath. “I won’t let you beat me!”

  With a confident smile and a fierce cry, Luna wrapped herself in teal fire. She snapped the fingers of her right hand in a sweeping motion, then raised her left, engulfing the forest in flames. The audience watched in awe.

  “Hold still, please!” Luna snapped her fingers and sent flames directly at Cassius. He jumped out of the way and slammed his electrified hammer into the ground. The fire had melted the snow, leaving a slick layer of water. Electricity surged through it, shocking Luna and bringing her down to one knee.

  Before Cassius could capitalize, Luna growled and once again surrounded herself with teal fire. The water evaporated instantly, and in a burst of blazing speed, she launched into a flying kick that caught Cassius in the face. He toppled over, and Luna pressed her assault, punching and kicking furiously. She sent him crashing through trees as he struggled to stay on his feet.

  Up in the private suite, Luna’s friends looked on.

  “Is the late Emperor’s son really that strong? He’s able to hold his teal shield for a long time,” Raine wondered aloud.

  “Have you noticed that Luna hasn’t used her katana yet?” Morgan asked..

  “Does that mean she is holding back? Why would she do that?”

  “I think she’s getting him back for hurting my brother,” Erika responded.

  “The Teal shield only keeps you from being fatally wounded. It doesn’t negate the pain you feel from every strike.” Morgan said.

  “Oh dear, so she’s not breaking it on purpose? Should we tell Stefan to end the match?” Raine asked worriedly.

  Morgan put her hand on Raine’s shoulder.“I think she just wants to teach him a lesson. I’m sure she’ll finish it soon.”

  “Our Luna can be quite scary…”

  In the arena, Luna allowed Cassius to get back on his feet. Furious, Cassius let out one final shout and charged at her.“Let’s end this!”

  Luna used his momentum against him and flipped him onto his back. She grabbed Cassius’s hammer and raised it above her head.

  “Hope ya learned your lesson,” Luna said with a wink, then brought the hammer down on Cassius with such force that the impact created a small crater.

  The crowd erupted in cheers as Stefan announced Luna as the winner, while Cassius remained motionless.

  Luna made her way over to Rody. “Do you think I overdid it…” she asked bashfully.

  “Y-you really showed everyone what a great fighter you are, but yeah maybe just a little…” Rody noticed Cassius struggling to get on his feet. “I-I’m gonna go help him.”

  “Really?” Luna wondered. “Even after what he did to you?”

  “I guess I feel inspired to be a hero like you.” Rody smiled at Luna, who beamed back at him. “And I feel like God wants me to help him. I’ll catch up with you in a sec.”

  “Aww sweet Rody!” Luna’s eyes glinted as she watched Rody assist Cassius.

  Rody caught up to Cassius and slung Cassius’s arm over his shoulders to help him walk. Kobe saw this and smiled. “Good job, son.”

  The crowd wasn’t quite sure what to make of the scene.

  “What are you doing?” Cassius asked.

  “I just want to help.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I believe in God and I believe in doing good for others. And I hope we can be friends.”

  “No one wants to be friends with the offspring of a tyrant.” Cassius retorted.

  “Well, I figure us Elerian should stick together, right? Besides, a son shouldn’t bear the punishment, or sins of his father, Cassius.” Rody helped him take a seat in his room. “Here’s my contact info, in case you want it.”

  “Your girlfriend has a screw loose somewhere. Be careful.”

  “She’s not my girlfriend, but we’ve been together since I can remember. Sorry, she was so rough…”

  “Don’t be, I was playing dirty to find an advantage over her. Do you know what they used to call her father?” Cassius asked.

  “They called him a dragon, since he was the first to use The Flames of Teal in battle. She will surpass his reputation. Get back to her before she decides to set us ablaze.”

  They both chuckled. “Take care, Cassius.” Rody left, and on his way back, he got a notification on his phone that Cassius had messaged him.