A World Of Decree: And The Seven Laws

With such little time remaining, Leo had to make the best of it. His only star was stolen, and his only chance to get more was through Draxx. Despite all the things Leo heard about him, his confidence only seemed higher when faced with such an abomination of a man.

Leo clapped his hands together, releasing a surging wave of fire between them. "Burn." He said, forging a tower of red flames through the center of the street like a strike of lightning.

Draxx didn't even flinch, almost seeming irritated by Leo's confidence more than the actual spell. "Absorb." Draxx let the spell do the work as all the flames entered his body like fumes, increasing his power level. "You dumb children never learn."

Draxx started running full speed at Leo, hucking a low punch directed at his gut, but Leo forced more flames to escape his feet and launched himself in the air to dodge.

Draxx instantly reached his hands into the flames still flowing through the air, "Absorb."

Leo chucked a loogie into Draxx's face from above, making sure it was boiling with heat, but almost impossible to detect. Draxx was about to say something else when a tiny drop of boiling saliva landed straight in his eyes, "AHHHHH." He yelled in arrogance rather than pain. Forthwith, Draxx dropped to his knees trying to scr.a.p.e off the saliva from his eyes, and just as he did so, a hurling fist of flames and pain landed straight into his face.

Draxx was sent tumbling down to the floor in pain, annoyance, and humiliation. His eyes wondered for a clear view, but his mind was too focused on his beard burning into ash and dust.

Leo landed softly back onto the ground, and started running towards the sack of ingots within a heartbeat. His hand reached inside, grabbing as many as his soft fingers could handle. However, he tried to reach for more, but the back of his shirt was grabbed by a hand bigger than his head, and he was instantly sent flying across the street with a forceful pull from the back.

All the ingots were sent flying in different directions except for two that Leo managed to get a solid grip on as his body tumbled and bruised across the streetside. Grunts and m.o.a.ns escaped Leo's throat as his body was dragged across the ground, but the ingots remained close to his c.h.e.s.t in the palm of his hand as if he was cradling a baby.

Leo's shirt was ripped, coupled with bruises and scr.a.p.es. Draxx's face was red, burnt, and beardless. Even the audience laughed at Draxx's display and embarrassment. However, Draxx had the face of a murderer, and he wasn't about to let Leo walk out clean from the round.

"ONE MINUTE REMAINS!" The announcer called, prompting another full on sprint from Draxx.

Leo tried his best to get up, but Draxx's speed was faster this time, and his punch had way too much force behind it. Draxx planted his first straight into Leo's gut, not only damaging all his internal organs, but sending him flying once again into the side of a nearby building.

"GUUUUGH!" Leo coughed as Draxx nearly knocked his frail body out cold. As Leo was flying through the air, he couldn't feel a single thing in his body. There was no pain, but there was no motion either. His limbs wouldn't move to soften the blow. His mind wouldn't go blank for his spirit to keep fighting. His fist remained closed, unable to release the ingots no matter the cost.

As his body hit the building, his head was whipped back against the stone. His head spun, his back was in pain, and his mouth couldn't form the words he was trying to say. All that came out was the wheezing and noises of a dying whale on the beach.

His body fell to the ground, and the audience began stirring with anticipation in their seats as Draxx was walking over. Leo slowly pushed his fist into the ground, shaking, but able to at least reach his head up. His eyes were beginning to adjust to his surroundings, and all they could see was one mountain of a man towering over him.

Without hesitation, Draxx grabbed Leo's hand that had him propped up on the ground, and raised the boy like a lifeless body for everyone to see. "You are nothing but a child. Consider yourself lucky to land a single hit on me." Draxx spat at him.

Leo's dizziness prevented him from moving effectively, but Draxx eliminated that problem by doing him the favor of lifting him face to face. Leo's mouth opened, and barely, just barely, managed to muster out an affordable sentence. "M-m..Ma-make it. A-A double." Leo mumbled as he reached his other hand around his body, and gripped all the muscles in Draxx's forearm with all the flames his body could produce rapidly without a spell.

Draxx had no time to react or cast his spell, so the pain of fire against flesh scolded him to a degree of madness. "AHHHHHHHH!!" He let out a flurry of screams before realizing he could absorb it.

Leo dropped to the ground, and Draxx was about to finally finish off his enemy, but luckily, the timer had reached its final second.

"TIME'S UP!"

The announcer stopped Draxx's motion nearly a second before his fist would collapse into Leo's skull. Since the sack wasn't in Draxx's possession, no points were given to him, filling him with rage and absolute hatred towards Endless Sun. He let out an aggressive grunt and walked off the stage unwillingly.

Leo, by what seemed like a force of willpower and determination, still had two ingots in his grip, equating to a total of 12 points. He smiled as the ingots disappeared and the medics carried him off. Even though he lost the battle, he won the war.

Medics rushed onto the arena as all the buildings and houses dispersed into a white light. The announcer ended with a few closing remarks, and let everyone know about the finale of the first stage happening in the evening. This was mainly due to the suspense this would build and the attention it would attract during the later hours of the day.

Mooks and the others rushed towards the medic rooms, seeing one of the doctors leave the room as Leo became adjusted to his surroundings again.

Leo gained a smile as he saw everyone barge in, but his head was still a little shaky. "Hey… Guys." He said in a low, recovering voice.

"Are you an crazy!" Paris was the first to make an entrance. "You had me worried sick you idiot!"

Leo scratched the back of his head, feeling the light healing process kick in from what the doctor gave him. "You know me… Always making you worry sick." He chuckled, seeming to regain his usual sense of humor.

Mooks jumped on top of the bed Leo sat on, placed his paw on his shoulder, and forcefully took a look at the back of his head without consent. Mooks examined it for a few seconds, and gave a sigh of relief. "Minor concussion. But recovered now thanks to the Doctor."

"Since when did you become a medic?" Leo gave a friendly smirk.

Mooks hopped back on the floor, "The amount of times Calvin butchered his head is beyond me. So I decided to take action and learn a thing or two."

Everyone laughed, and Katie came over to Leo, grabbing his hand. "Hey, Leo… You were amazing out there." She smiled brightly. "I was cheering non stop with the rest."

"Thanks." Leo dropped his head, letting go of her hand. "But I was still no match for him… His power level made me question every decision. And if it weren't for the timer-"

"Why does it matter?" Atlas cut him off and everyone turned to him. "You outsmarted him. You walked out with the points. You were the one to humiliate him. Not everything is about winning and losing."

Leo gained a smile, but Mooks shut it down. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you're partially wrong." Mooks started with a face full of regret. "Leo did indeed outsmart and embarrass Draxx. But this only makes things worse. Draxx will now have a death wish on us, and luck won't alway be on our side. In this tournament, winning is everything, no matter how we do it."

Paris was about to smack Mooks on the head, but Leo interrupted her from doing so. "He's right. If it weren't for the timer, I might not have been here to even say another word." Leo made the mood fall, but he was just speaking the truth. Everyone felt the urge to cheer each other on, but things just don't work out like it's a story. Everyone knew that if they lost tonight, it would be over for them just like that.

"Tonight will either be a battle of our defeat, or it will be a battle that everyone will remember. There's a lot of pressure in this final round, and no one knows what it will have. Every Guild is going in blind. Every Guild will send one competitor. Every Guild, won't make it."

Paris raised her hand, pointing a strict finger at someone other than herself for once. As everyone followed the direction of her finger, they realized it pointed directly towards Atlas. All eyes were on him, all hopes were on him, and all approved Paris's decision telepathically.

"Atlas." Paris said. "You will win tonight. And if you don't, I'll kill you."

Atlas gulped, but gave a small chuckle along with everyone else. However, he gave a strong look back, "I promise, I will not let you down." His voice was different. It was that of a man. A man who's driven by pride. A man who's driven by hope. A man who's driven by the faith his friends have in him.

Mooks gave Atlas a look he's never given to anyone ever before. It was a look a tiger gives to his father running the tribe, or perhaps a look a father gives to his son who's meant to lead it. Either way, it was powerful enough to shake the boots off a demon in the shadows. "Atlas Bright." Mooks said. "Take us to the second stage."

…

As the sun began to set and the skies began to dim, Rina and Calvin arrived at their destination. Their first step back on land was on Princewood's dock, where Calvin needed to return the boat, and grab hold of his belongings. Luckily, Mooks did the favor of grabbing all of Calvin's luggage, and having it ready for his return back to Harvoria.

Rina already had all her clothes on the boat, so a quick run back to the dorms for accessories with Calvin's help only subtracted a minor amount of time. Although she was desperate to go see her friends and Atlas, neither Calvin nor Rina knew when the rounds would take place. However, somewhere inside, they both felt a feeling that they needed to be at the Throne as soon as possible. It was hard to explain that feeling, but they both knew something important was going down tonight.

Rina took a quick shower for her own relief, dressing up in freshly new clothes she still had in her room and organizing her hair to it's normal look. Despite being able to flow with the water, her time on the open ocean really gave her look a whole new level. It wasn't a pretty one either.

As Rina rushed out of her room, Calvin waited patiently in the hallway. He turned around as he saw the door open, and had to quickly remind himself that he was a professor that needs to act professionally and accordingly. "Wow…" He said as his eyes widened, leaving his professionalism behind him like nothing more than a lie. "You look wonderful, Rina."

Rina walked out with her hair flowing over her shoulders like a waterfall. She had a pair of arched eyebrows that gently swept over her eyelashes. Her lips were a natural shade of red, almost as if she just drank a vile of blood or perhaps bit into a ripe cherry. Either or, they were ready for trouble. She wore a look of complexion and charisma, but her eyes could catch even the most confident man off guard. Even she knew that one simple blink could faint a man, but she was careful, acting on instinct rather than a playful act of elegance.

After reassuring her outfit was perfect, in which it was, she gave Calvin a luminous smile, flashing her heavenly-white teeth like the moonlight in an empty room.

Everything about her made Calvin's heart a-thump, but he knew she wasn't for him. His heart belonged to someone else. Someone he holds his last and final regret for.

"Next stop," Calvin bowed, "The capital!"

"Mooks, Laena, Cartuja," Rina said, lively with a look of hope. "Paris, Faibel, Leo… Atlas. Please, wait just a tiny bit longer. I'm almost home."