Chapter 196 – Ranked
Siu had exactly one night to prepare, so he did the most reasonable thing and went to bed early. When he woke, he didn't feel nervous, and to his surprise, he had slept well, without ever dreaming about anything weird. The only sign that it was a slightly different morning was that he skipped breakfast because he wasn't hungry. And that he left with everyone following him silently.
Upon arriving at the location, Nokoh immediately noted that Floating Arena XVII that Salen had chosen looked considerably different this time around, with fewer spectators and less noise. Even if Arya was ready to reproduce her cheering show from before. As for Siu, he was still surprised that people had caught the automatic announcement, since Salen had chosen the earliest possible date and the challenge had only been made public the previous evening. Most disciples simply had no time to even realize that the Paragon List had undergone another change, let alone recognize Siu's name. Only those who caught that he was from the Spirit Wardens, who actually looked into their organization, not only going by the rumors and their three Paragons, were the ones who came to watch.
Even then, word had spread far enough amongst those who were in the know, summoning a few dozen of them early in the morning. There were more than enough people present for Siu to start to feel a bit conscious when he stopped on the approach and looked around, and all those eyes turned towards him.
"Nervous?" A voice cut in, making Siu turn towards the source, and he watched as Val walked up to him with several Fire Ring members.
"Only because now I have a crowd to please."
“Just don't lose!” He laughed, making Arya scoff.
“Thank you for the detailed advice!”
“You're welcome, little fox.”
Just then, another group appeared on the opposite side, and Siu had caught them at once, as they were the Burning Banner, with Rovan at the front, Kal walking a step behind him. Visible in the morning sunlight, a bit of dark-red fuzz had finally returned across his scalp, along with his eyebrows, giving him a less frightening and more laughable look.
"Siu, Senior Val," Rovan gave a polite nod to both of them after they stopped, “We were curious, so excuse our presence.”
“It's not a secret battle,” Siu answered with a shrug while Kal looked toward the arena, squinting.
“Beat her.” He chimed in, sounding serious. “I don't like her; she is tarnishing the ranks with her style.”
"Will do. And for that..." Siu cupped his hands, and without any hesitation or saying goodbye to the others, he walked over the chain and stepped onto the arena.
The formation recognized him immediately, coming to life well before everyone could get to their position, because Salen was already waiting inside. She watched him greet the others and walk over, her eyes burning as her double-ended scythe rested upright beside her, gripped by her twitching fingers. When Siu finally stopped and took a look at the weapon, Salen just smiled, licking her lips.
“So.” She slowly lifted and then rolled her weapon between her fingers. “You are their tiny little leader.”
"Hm..." Siu stopped several meters away, squinting at her, then back at the rest of the group, outside of the formation. “Apparently, but I don't know if I am tiny. Vael is the tallest, while Arya is the smallest.” Although he couldn't hear her, the flashing lights and the now multiple Aryas clearly had something to say, as they began holding up Marly, pointing at her. "In human form, at least." He added quietly, but that just further annoyed Salen.
“I meant that you don't look like much.” She snorted.
“I get that a lot.”
“And I mean it.” Salen sneered as she lifted the scythe fully now, pointing it at him. “I'd hate for this to be boring. So do scream for me when it starts.”
[PARAGON CHALLENGE INITIATED]
[RANK DEFENDER: SALEN MOR — RANK 100]
[CHALLENGER: SIU — UNRANKED]
[VICTORY BY CONCESSION, INCAPACITATION, OR FORMATION INTERVENTION]
[BEGIN]
The moment the last word appeared, Salen moved first as Siu's eyes tracked her weapon while the upper crescent of the scythe headed toward his neck from the start. In answer, his body dropped by reflex and let the blade pass over his head, but the second one was already coming, from an upward swing, at an angle he had not expected, forcing him to abandon his counter entirely and jump backward.
Salen followed him without hesitation as the scythe spun in her hands, clearly wanting to prevent Siu from doing anything. Her movements looked erratic from the outside because, as Siu already noticed, her style was built atop the Wild Dog, favoring reactive, instinctive battling. Whatever she actually learned was based on moves that could be linked and chained together in various ways, giving her endless combinations to use and develop on her own.
“Oh?” Salen laughed, "You are good at running, boy! Come, come, let me enjoy this!"
Siu didn't answer, and instead of letting the pressure push him farther backward, he switched to the Iron Ox, suddenly planting himself down and catching Salen mid-attack. The moment he did, Salen's shaft slammed against his forearm, and the impact alone let out a vibrating echo, rattling both of their bones. Even Salen was surprised, feeling her fingers' grip loosening, which was enough for Siu to launch a counter.
Seeing his palm flying toward her midsection, Salen kept smiling, breaking off her attack and rotating her weapon with a quick flick, forcing Siu to divert and then abort his attack, putting a few meters between them instead. Just in time, too, because Salen had already prepared to take a hit and attack, so the swinging bladed end of her scythe had missed his stomach by less than a finger.
As their exchange went on, everyone watching had the same idea: that Siu was clearly in a bad position, pushed into constant retreat, and that the fight was dictated by Salen. Completely.
“Does this look bad to you, too?” Joren asked, whispering to his half-brother.
“Not yet,” Ruben answered, watching without blinking.
“It isn't.” Nearby, Val leaned forward, joining the conversation, "You both know that in every spar, Siu needs time to read your styles before adapting. It's the same here."
"Huh," they heard Kal mutter as he crossed his arms, standing not that far from the Wardens, talking to Rovan. “He's fast, I'll give him that.”
"His baseline speed is indeed great," Rovan nodded. "He has ample essence in his body, with proper channels cultivated to push it through his body. I guess he had a long preparation period while being amongst the outers, working on his bones and marrow to give him such a strong foundation."
“What do you say? Five? Six years?”
"Probably." Rovan agreed, nodding, and as their discourse caught Seloryn's ear, she had to slightly turn her head, hiding a smile.
In the meantime, Siu ducked another sweep in the arena, getting into a rhythm that Salen kept dictating. She had expected him to retreat from the second blade this time around too, so she had already prepared the next forward step she had to take to give chase, but... When she saw him flex the right muscles and turn to dodge, and she went after him, all that movement fell apart at once. The moment she was past the point where she could still change course, Siu's rear foot was already planted in place, causing Salen's eyes to widen in surprise. She was deceived?! How?!
Yet the pain didn't arrive as she expected, because Siu's elbow struck the weapon in her hand. She wanted to think about why, but then the impact shoved the weapon off-line, opening her up even more for Siu's other hand that snapped toward her throat like a snake's bite. Already in a panicky retreat, Salen did her best to turn herself away, but his fast strike still grazed her jaw, giving the first true contact of the fight, leaving a scar on her with bright blood dripping down onto the arena's floor.
“FUCKER!”
She attacked him without wiping the blood, falling for another deceptive move. She reacted late when she realized it, and her hasty correction became Siu's next opening as two fingers struck beneath her ribs this time around, causing Salen to hiss while rotating her scythe to try and cut him. That's all she needed: a cut. However, Siu had already stepped further inside. This time around, Salen wasn't interested in what he might want to do, so, just reacting, she slammed her forehead toward his face, wanting to headbutt and bite him... That would count just the same as a cut.
As Siu twirled around her like a dancer, avoiding both the biting headbutt and the following swing of her scythe, his palm smashed into Salen's shoulder, sending her into a stumble. For the first time, Siu followed right after her, using the Wild Dog himself, with no pause, sending out attack after attack. A punch, followed by an elbow strike, going into a low kick. Still stumbling, Salen blocked the first, but got hit by the second and third, making her fall. In desperation, she swung the scythe in a wide circle to force distance between them, and it worked, making Siu retreat.
Witnessing the sudden change, people outside the barrier began talking again, much louder, including Kal, whose eyes narrowed.
“Tsk... He's fucking with her!”
"..." Rovan glanced at him momentarily. “That is one way to describe it. Most who faced Salen tried to keep their distance and avoid getting cut, but Siu is right in her face from the start, meeting her head-on with her own style. That's ballsy, even for you, wouldn't you agree?”
“Maybe.” Kal snorted, crossing his arms. "It can also be stupid; if she cuts him, he still will be done for."
“Or we will see what affinity he has,” Rovan added, starting to smile.
"You fucker..." On the other end, Salen was no longer smiling at all, gasping for air, the cut along her cheeks still bleeding, soaking her clothes and leaving a slippery trail on the surface of the arena. “What are you doing?!” Siu didn't answer, of course, dodging a wild slash. “What affinity are you using?!”
Ther reason she asked was that she had no opponent yet who hadn't manifested their true powers against her by now. But... he did not. Was he taking her lightly? Was he toying with her? Her?! It couldn't stand. Maybe because of her sudden rage, her unpredictability growing, one of her strikes finally scraped Siu's upper arm, cutting open his robes and his skin, even if just barely.
“YES!” She inhaled at once, while Siu skidded backward, only throwing a look at it, before his cold, blue eyes locked back onto Salen.
Her water was already inside him, wanting to spread and assimilate into his blood. If not for being prepared for it, Salen's affinity could remain hidden for longer than Nokoh's, as it didn't feel that alien or cold. However, Salen's yelling question had its answer hiding inside Siu since the start. He was using his affinity, already using water, but using it internally. Maybe it was thanks to Salen's way of fighting, or Nokoh, or the talk about his internal spell use... It didn't matter; his current water-based affinity was making his blood rush much more fluently, giving him extra speed and reactivity... And the power to simply destroy all that did not belong in his body.
“I'm going to make them watch you—” Salen was still yelling... but not for long.
She was forced to stop speaking when her connection was cut, and Siu rushed at her unhindered. Coming out of her shock, Salen tried pulling the weapon back before her, but in a fight like this, that was akin to not even having it in her hands. Appearing right before her, Siu's hand closed around the shaft, stopping its movement, while his other hand latched onto her dominant wrist. His entire body turned the next moment, making Salen's eyes widen as she still tried, doing her best to move the scythe, but it was too late. By the time Siu's hips turned, a loud crack echoed around the arena as her wrist got bent, her grip opening and the scythe being ripped out of it.
Holding it with one hand, the other still locking Salen into place, Siu took a good look at it, as if admiring the craftsmanship... then threw it away like it was worthless. Salen just watched, dumbstruck in horror, as it struck the stone, throwing sparks and skidding until the formation barrier stopped it... She wasn't even registering when Siu punched her in the face, and her head snapped backward.
She stumbled, but was still held by Siu's hand, so she immediately got yanked back into place, right into a strike aimed at her ribs. Like a yo-yo, she was sent backward, pulled forward, over and over again. A strike to the ribs, palm to the shoulder, low kick to the knee, all of them landing, cracking the bones and making her throw up blood.
“Concede.” He stopped, holding her by the broken wrist, but Salen hadn't gone down to her knees yet, looking at him dazedly.
“Fuck you...”
She tried to lunge at him barehanded, but Siu's snake-like grip, with the strength of an iron clamp, was unbreakable. He just lifted, throwing her out of balance, before his finger struck beneath her armpit like a knife, dislocating her shoulder at once. When she cried out, Siu just swept her leg, sending her to her knees, and when she tried to get back up, he kicked the side of her left one, destroying the joint, forcing her to stay down.
“Concede.”
“NEVER!” She yelled, but the moment she was about to spit blood at his face, Salen's face changed a lot... because she recognized killing intent way too well. It was worse than one born from rage, as Siu's intent was... cold. Her eyes went wide because of the way his arm coiled back, fingers held onto a fang-like form, aimed at her skull... her eyes... “Wait—!”
Siu's hand left a sharp crack as it shot out, breaking the sound barrier, a clear killing strike, aimed to enter through the eyes, into the skull... into the brain. It was a clear-cut execution. Even the spectators could see no hesitation in his movements at all, reeling a little, because the moment the decision was made, he made no attempt to stop his hand or to avert it.
Naturally, Salen disappeared just at the right moment, and Siu's hand passed through empty air, letting the following airburst shatter and crack the tiles where she previously was kneeling.
[FORMATION INTERVENTION]
[WINNER: SIU]
[100 — SIU]
[UNRANKED — SALEN MOR]
And it was done... just like that. Most of the onlookers were still trying to see how the battle would go, how Siu would get out of being cut, what affinity he had... yet the next moment, he caught Salen and hit her until she was saved by the formation.
There was only one question in their heads for a brief second: What just happened?