Dancing out of the way, Kal spun his staff, deflecting both of the arcing sticks his latest opponent used for weapons. Each baton had two red metal rings set into the wood toward the tip with a couple finger widths gap between that popped and snapped with electricity. Each time he deflected one of the weapons, he received a small jolt through his staff, but the shock was muted enough that it didn't affect his ability to fight. Kal did not want to find out what a direct hit felt like.
The mage spun his staff in the other direction. The platinum tip struck a baton right next to his opponent's hand, sending it flying. With a wave, Kal used a simple cantrip to send the baton flying out of the ring, only to watch it stop spinning, reverse direction, and streak back to its owner. The baton flipped around in the air, aligning itself before coming together with its mate. The red rings snapped together with a loud crack, but Kal's foe ignored the noise, grabbing the handle of his recovered baton and pulling them apart in a curtain of arcs before launching another attack.
Kal ducked, dodged, and deflected the arcing rods while getting several hits in, but in trying to avoid being touched, his strikes lacked the power to do significant damage.
Adding to his frustration was a tiny bit of pressure from the taunts Kashka threw at Nao after the last round. He felt rushed despite knowing there was no time limit on these matches. Kal felt he needed to finish this match quickly, at least before Nao finished his, or he would disappoint the assassin.
Kal deflected both rods, knocking them wide before thrusting forward with his staff. The man ducked and attempted to dodge out of the way, but ducking brought his collarbone in line with the tip of Kal's staff. The crowd groaned as they heard the bone crack. Kal's adversary grunted as both batons dropped to the ground, and he grabbed his shoulder
"Halt! Halt!" shouted the judge as he ran over and snapped open a large white folding fan between them. Attacking once the fan was open resulted in immediate disqualification according to tournament rules. He had noticed its use a few times during Asahi's fights and asked Ichiro about it. Now he was thankful he had that opportunity as he stepped back.
"What are you on about?" Kashka sent over the bond. "You're more than smart enough to know that when the judge says stop, you don't attack anymore. Why do you feel like you needed to specifically be told that?"
Kal didn't have an answer for the cat. Her words stung because they were true. He didn't understand why he was being so foolish and not trusting himself.
"It's Ikuno coming back in just a few days, it's your new business venture in Silvermoon, and it's me," the cat answered, her tone over the bond subdued.
"Explain."
"You have gotten more and more nervous every day closer to Ikuno's return, and you worry if you will be up to the task of protecting her if Azrin attacks. Assuming ownership of Darrow's holdings has you shaken because you don't know what you've gotten into and worry that the whole mess will come crashing down on your head. And you still feel guilty for taking me off of The Scarlet Bitch and away from Ratt. They're all hurting your confidence."
Kal watched as two Azum priests escorted the man off the field while mending his broken collarbone. The judge folded the paper fan and declared Kal the victor, but Kal hardly felt like one as his opponent disappeared into the crowd.
The bond led him to Kashka and the others to watch Nao's match in an adjoining ring. His opponent had heard about Nao's previous victory and used a variety of ranged spells to keep the youngest brother at a distance.
Three balls of purple energy streaked across the field. Nao batted two of them away, his sword shimmering with magic with each hit. The third ball struck him in the shoulder. The brother audibly grunted as the tip of his sword dipped and he reached across to clutch the injured arm.
"It's over," said Ichiro, shaking his head.
"That's all it takes to beat your brother?" Kashka asked.
"Not for Nao, for the other man," said Asahi. "Nao could have easily deflected all three of those balls but didn't even make an attempt at the last one. He has seen something in his opponent that will assure his victory. It's the only reason he would take a hit like that.
The mage kept up a steady stream of low-level attack spells that Nao barely managed to dodge or deflect, each time wincing in pain.
"Uh oh," said Kal. The two brothers, Kashka and Yua, nodded knowingly as the mage began advancing on Nao.
The mage loosed an arrow of fire that the youngest brother barely dodged by sidestepping and leaning out of the way. Steam rose from the front of his shirt as he threw a hand out toward the mage.
The hand tracing the next spell stopped as a thin strand of silvery rope shot out from Nao's arm and wrapped around the mage's. He quickly shuffled his feet for a better stance and pulled hard on the rope. The magic-user stumbled forward as Nao grabbed the rope adjusted his grip and pulled again, keeping him off balance. The mage continued stumbling forward, unable to do anything else as he tried desperately to get his feet beneath him. When Nao held out his sword, the man attempted to throw himself to the side, but the blade's tip followed him. The mage howled in agony as the sword sunk into his gut and exited out his back.
Nao's opponent looked down in growing horror at the red stain radiating out from where the sword pierced him. Shaking hands tried to grab the blade and pull it out as the judge halted the fight.
Nao batted his hands away and snarled, "I'm not getting disqualified because you bled out and died from cutting your fingers off. I'll take it out when the healers arrive." The man could do little more than nod as all the color drained from his face.
Moments later two priests ducked under the ropes and ran toward Nao and his opponent, their healing spells already drawn and ready. The mage shrieked again as the brother pulled his sword free then grabbed at the wound, pressing his hand over it to staunch the flow of blood. Sobbing, he dropped to his knees as the priests' magic went to work.
Nao turned, ignoring the scene behind him, and pulled a cloth from a pouch to clean his blade. Tossing the bloodied cloth behind him, he sheathed his sword and strode toward his brothers.
"You play too casually with other people's lives, brother," said Ichiro, as his youngest brother ducked under the rope fence.
Nao scowled. "The rules state that killing your opponent is a disqualification, not hurting them, even severely. I placed my sword well. Even without the priests, that wound would not have been lethal."
"I understand, but just because you are allowed to run a man through does not mean you should. The spirit of this tournament is to disable your opponent or make them yield, not leave them standing at death's door."
"I won. That's all that matters." With a pointed glare at Kal and Kashka, Nao flashed Ichiro an evil grin. "If I get thrown out of this tournament, I will at least make it worth the effort."
"I think he intends to kill me," Kal said as the youngest of the three brothers walked away.
