with one leg swinging for his middle. He blocked it, but that just left him open for a gut-punch that sent him staggering and wheezing.
'A good thing these clothes don't burn so easily,' a distant part of his mind noted as Chizuho kept up the pressure. 'But I can't win like this, I'm too slow.' There was a way to fix that, by doing what Chizuho was doing. But the thing was, the san had experience with combining two of the Ways. Eurik could barely use Wind chiri .
'No choice,' he resolved when a kick snapped his head up. It felt like it was about to fly off.
Luckily, Chizuho's actions provided Eurik with all the Wind chiri he needed. Loosening his stance, he drew some of the chiri inside of him. Every muscle in his body tensed as the competing energies scrubbed against his nerves. It felt like his body was on fire.
'Can't hold this for long.' Blinking, Eurik looked for his opponent and found him preparing to breathe another firestorm in his direction. This time, he did something other than defend.
He leaped out of the way and let the flames pass him by. Eurik started to close in on Chizuho even before the fire died down. 'One shot.'
A san, compared to a human, didn't have many weak spots. No bones to break, no soft organs either. They didn't even get concussions since their brains were made from the same amber-like material as their eyes. Still, they did have a sensitive area and Eurik aimed his fist for it.
His haymaker collided with the side of Chizuho's head, hitting his hearing membrane.
***
“That cost him,” Leraine mused after the outcast collapsed to his knees. Not that the san was in a position to exploit the opening. He was clutching the right side of his head, swaying on his feet.
“He moved very fast at the end, but I think he hurt himself more than he did his opponent,” her teacher agreed.
Down in the arena, the san was once more facing his opponent. He seemed to say something before taking a wider stance and bringing his hands together. Dust stirred, began to circle around him. From that whirling air sprang ribbons of fire and twisting air that spiraled towards the san, coming together between his hands.
Leraine watched as a small sun began to grow between the plant-man's hands; the outcast, too, stared at the green humanoid. She frowned. “Why doesn't he attack? Those streams shouldn't be able to stop a rock.”
“I wouldn't be so sure,” Irelith countered. “Besides, I think that if he makes a move, the san simply launches whatever attack that is immediately, rather than waiting for it to finish. And it looks nasty enough already.”
The outcast must have followed the same reasoning. He didn't even get up, he just waved his arms and summoned a torrent of sand to him. It covered him, turning him into a moving statue of sand. His next move was to raise a dome of rock over himself, hiding him from view completely.
None of it seemed to disturb the san who continued charging his attack. Leraine could tell when he was ready because the ribbons feeding the ball of light dried up. The san held for a moment, then a streak of light sped across the field hitting the dome; the back half blew out, fire and debris washed up against the barrier.
“And it's over,” Irelith declared over the roars of the audience. “He gave a better accounting of himself than the other two, but it wasn't enough.” The san appeared to have come to the same conclusion as he took on the same self-satisfied pose he'd shown after his last victory.
Leraine forgot what she was going to say when the san sank into the ground up to his neck.
***
Pushing himself back to the surface, Eurik greedily took a deep breath of fresh air. He'd had to seal the tunnel behind him or the flames would have spilled from the dome down into the tunnel, cooking him alive.
Regaining his breath, he turned to Chizuho. “Don't bother struggling, I made sure to pack the earth around you tight. They'll have to dig you
'A good thing these clothes don't burn so easily,' a distant part of his mind noted as Chizuho kept up the pressure. 'But I can't win like this, I'm too slow.' There was a way to fix that, by doing what Chizuho was doing. But the thing was, the san had experience with combining two of the Ways. Eurik could barely use Wind chiri .
'No choice,' he resolved when a kick snapped his head up. It felt like it was about to fly off.
Luckily, Chizuho's actions provided Eurik with all the Wind chiri he needed. Loosening his stance, he drew some of the chiri inside of him. Every muscle in his body tensed as the competing energies scrubbed against his nerves. It felt like his body was on fire.
'Can't hold this for long.' Blinking, Eurik looked for his opponent and found him preparing to breathe another firestorm in his direction. This time, he did something other than defend.
He leaped out of the way and let the flames pass him by. Eurik started to close in on Chizuho even before the fire died down. 'One shot.'
A san, compared to a human, didn't have many weak spots. No bones to break, no soft organs either. They didn't even get concussions since their brains were made from the same amber-like material as their eyes. Still, they did have a sensitive area and Eurik aimed his fist for it.
His haymaker collided with the side of Chizuho's head, hitting his hearing membrane.
***
“That cost him,” Leraine mused after the outcast collapsed to his knees. Not that the san was in a position to exploit the opening. He was clutching the right side of his head, swaying on his feet.
“He moved very fast at the end, but I think he hurt himself more than he did his opponent,” her teacher agreed.
Down in the arena, the san was once more facing his opponent. He seemed to say something before taking a wider stance and bringing his hands together. Dust stirred, began to circle around him. From that whirling air sprang ribbons of fire and twisting air that spiraled towards the san, coming together between his hands.
Leraine watched as a small sun began to grow between the plant-man's hands; the outcast, too, stared at the green humanoid. She frowned. “Why doesn't he attack? Those streams shouldn't be able to stop a rock.”
“I wouldn't be so sure,” Irelith countered. “Besides, I think that if he makes a move, the san simply launches whatever attack that is immediately, rather than waiting for it to finish. And it looks nasty enough already.”
The outcast must have followed the same reasoning. He didn't even get up, he just waved his arms and summoned a torrent of sand to him. It covered him, turning him into a moving statue of sand. His next move was to raise a dome of rock over himself, hiding him from view completely.
None of it seemed to disturb the san who continued charging his attack. Leraine could tell when he was ready because the ribbons feeding the ball of light dried up. The san held for a moment, then a streak of light sped across the field hitting the dome; the back half blew out, fire and debris washed up against the barrier.
“And it's over,” Irelith declared over the roars of the audience. “He gave a better accounting of himself than the other two, but it wasn't enough.” The san appeared to have come to the same conclusion as he took on the same self-satisfied pose he'd shown after his last victory.
Leraine forgot what she was going to say when the san sank into the ground up to his neck.
***
Pushing himself back to the surface, Eurik greedily took a deep breath of fresh air. He'd had to seal the tunnel behind him or the flames would have spilled from the dome down into the tunnel, cooking him alive.
Regaining his breath, he turned to Chizuho. “Don't bother struggling, I made sure to pack the earth around you tight. They'll have to dig you
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