"Ladies and… gentlemen, welcome, welcome, welcome… to This Week Morning's Tournament. My name is Oliver, and I see a lot of you have purchased the seat upgrade, which I promise you won't be disappointed with! We have exciting combatants today that will definitely knock you out of your seat! Now, sit back and relax as our combatants prepare themselves for your entertainment!" announced the speaker.

  I was sitting in the exact same waiting room as yesterday with Rose. All this waiting is making me anxious, and I was wondering if I should proceed to the arena, but one of Peter's subordinates told me to just sit down and relax. There will be other entertaining performances before my final fight with the Elemental Ice Queen. And besides, my opponent was still busy getting herself ready. Hm, first sign that fits her character. She spends time putting her face on often. Not sure why she would need to do that when she’s already the most beautiful elf with her natural beauty. Perhaps she felt inferior among the members of her own race that she made her put makeup on.

  We started seeing performances of all sorts, from cultural dances to martial arts. What a sneaky tactic to drag out the main event and persuade people to purchase more food and beverages. I’m not really complaining, but the longer this drags on, the more nervous I get. Damn it, how much longer do I need to wait until the fight begins?

  Rose noticed that I was restless and held my hand. She smiled, attempting to calm me, and rested her head on my shoulder. I petted her head and leaned on her head in response. Hang on a minute, who is supposed to be calming who now? But the very act of stroking her hair and her familiar odour calms me. It is always intimate moments like this that are the most memorable in my opinion.

  We heard a knock on the door followed by a cough. I turned my attention to the interrupter and it was an escort who gestured me to follow her. I guess it’s finally time for me take the stage. I gave Rose one last hug and made my way to the arena with the help of the escort. Without her, I would had gotten lost. Such is the size of the colosseum that I’m fighting in.

  I reached the entrance of the arena, and the escort told me to wait. No doubt we’re expecting the announcer to introduce me first before I show myself. Why am I so nervous? It doesn’t really matter if I win or lose anyway. But strangely, my hands are shaking. Is it from excitement, or purely from nervousness? I don’t understand what’s going on with myself right now but I really got to start calming myself. Take deep breaths. Fuh, fuh.

  The escort noticed that I was feeling restless and asked if I needed a drink. I told her I’ll be fine and would live through it. The waiting period was killing me with anxiety. It was then that I heard the soft pitter-patter of footsteps running closer towards my location. Without even glancing to see who it was, I already knew who was coming over. Rose had brought her here to calm my nerves. She reached out her arms, wanting me to carry her, which I obliged. She gave me a hug and asked me to win the tournament for her. I gave her a kiss on the forehead and promised her that I would do my best to win. Who knew the best way to get rid of nervousness is to have an adorable daughter to shower you with love?

  “Ladies and gentlemen, the moment that you all have been waiting for is finally here! Are you all excited? I sure am. Our contestant for today is the winner of yesterday’s match. The Fourth member of the Great Powers who decided to sneakily participate in the tournament. You all know him by his title, but did you all know about his undercover name? Put your hands together, to the one, the only, Soong Jean-Wuu!!” shouted Oliver.

  Geez, do you really have to insult my fake name like that? I placed Daisy down and adjusted my mask to cover my face. I gave Rose a nod before heading out, to which she replied with a nod of her own including a smile. As I headed out of the entrance, the escort wished me the best of luck, and I thanked her for it.

  The crowds were wild today as I was greeted by waves of cheers, completely opposite to the welcome I had yesterday. As I made my way to the arena zone, I waved to the crowds and bowed in thanks for their support and encouragement. I’m always grateful for the people here who accepted me when I was hunted by the Demon Queen many years ago.

  The crowds went silent when Oliver brought the loudspeaker closer to his mouth. It seemed that the crowds were aware of the identity of my opponent. I held my breath as he made his announcement.

  “Facing our handsome chad over here is an undefeated Queen that arrived in these shores about five years ago. She is known for her beauty, where some might say… me gusta. But she is also known for her brutal tenacity towards her opponents, pounding them into the abyss. With beauty and brawn, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, our beloved champion of the West, the Elemental ICE QUEEN!” he shouted.

  She walked onto the stage gracefully while appearing to be in a good mood. It seems like she had grown her ponytail even longer than before. She glanced at me with her emerald eyes that sparkled in the dark, her perfect body that would make any man drool in her very presence. She was not wearing her glasses, which she usually swapped for her contacts. And she is still wearing an outfit that exposes her stomach area. When will she learn?

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  As she stood opposite me inside the arena zone, I might have ogled at her in her full glory. Underneath my mask, I realised I was smiling awkwardly at her. She was the one that stole my heart way before I met Rose, and I’m certain my heart still flutters in her presence despite being married. I was genuinely surprised when I realised that she was still wearing the bracelet that I bought for her a long time ago. Lily Moonshine, my first crush, my first female friend, and my resurrector. Perhaps Rose was right; maybe she couldn’t forget about me as long as I still exist in this world.

  She smashed her fist together, which were not her usual steel gauntlets that she used to brawl with. All she was wearing were white half-leather gloves that exposed her fingers. There was barely any protection on those gloves; will she be alright?

  It took her a while to notice who she was looking at, and she tilted her head. I was certain she mouthed the word “Zen?” when she realised who she was looking at. I placed my index finger on where my mouth would be in front of the mask and shook it left and right. I wanted her to not fight me as Zen but as Soong Jean-Wuu. She understood my intention and smirked.

  The two of us readied our stance. Being a brawler, she will be fighting using unarmed combat techniques. A brawler that fights exclusively in close combat. No doubt Peter had beaten a lot of fighting techniques into her as he is also an unarmed fighter himself. I would have to assume that I am fighting a lesser version of Peter himself, which means I will need to be extra careful. But I’m not in a rush to start using my weapons just yet. Let us see who has the better unarmed techniques taught by the very same teacher.

  Before Oliver even announced "Begin", Lily rushed in close to me and delivered a right jab, aiming towards my mask. I moved my head aside and was met with her feet. She kicked me with her left leg, which I managed to block in time with both of my arms, but I was still sent flying backwards a couple of metres. My arms were shaking from the impact of her kick, as it felt extremely heavy. She used momentum and her full body weight to deliver her kick. It would seem that she had perfected her fighting technique under the guidance of Peter. I certainly need to be careful should I wish to continue brawling with her if I don’t want to have my bones broken.

  "W… what am I still doing here? Begin, begin now!" shouted Oliver as he rushed out of the arena.

  I breathed deeply. To counter heavy attacks, I would have to guide her attacks aside or away from me and use momentum to counter. What better way to use than water style, Liu He Ba Fa for this purpose? I changed my stance to water style, and Lily smirked at me with a "Fu fu" remark. I had to be like water if I were to counter her attacks.

  Her response to my stance was to use tiger style. I was confused and intrigued by her choice. Is she telling me that even if she is using a style that is directly opposing mine, she’s still able to win? How cocky had she gotten? Definitely deserves some spanking.

  She leaped towards me, bringing her hand in the form of a claw towards my mask. Boy, she really intends to break my mask no matter what. I guided her attack aside and delivered a casual leg sweep to her left leg to break her balance. She immediately lifted her leg and delivered a knee strike towards my left. I used both of my palms to block her attack, but it still sent me flying backwards again. Geez, she is not holding her punches at all.

  Once again, she came on the offensive and started attacking me with ferocity. I avoided or countered her attacks, but being an elf meant that she was much more flexible and lighter, which she used to her advantage to avoid my attacks. No wonder she was confident that she could counter my fighting style despite using strong, aggressive attacks. She continued her attacks, but at some point, she realised that neither of us was able to overpower the other. I was surprised that I was actually good enough to be on par with her using unarmed techniques. I was certain that she would have overpowered me a long time ago as I trained using unarmed techniques as a backup combat style in the event I lose my weapons.

  I smirked, and perhaps she heard my “Heh” under my mask as she started sneering upon hearing it. Never underestimate the how sensitive elven ears are. She dropped her guard and started approaching me nonchalantly. What is she planning to do? I kept my guard up when she suddenly leapt into the air. I was expecting her to deliver a flying kick at me or something, but to my surprise, she did a backflip and went over my head.

  Shit, she is right behind me now. I thought she was going for my weak spots but to my surprise, I felt her back leaning against mine. What is she trying to do? How is she going to attack me if we’re both facing opposite each other? We aren’t covering each other’s back right now.

  “It’s been a while,” she whispered.

  I felt her move and instinctively moved my palm to block her elbow strike to my mask. It was purely my intuition that I predicted her move as I couldn’t see what she was planning to do. I leaped away to put some distance between us. Huh? Where did she go? I peeked behind and she was still right behind me. She is mimicking my movements and is preventing me from seeing what she’s doing. Fine, two can play at that game.

  I delivered an elbow strike of my own, which she blocked with her palm. I was surprised when I noticed her eyes were closed. Is she predicting my movements based on my muscle movements? When did she learn such an advanced technique? There is no style that I know of which is able to combat someone who is behind you. Well, there are some, but those techniques are rather brutal, and I doubt she is going to let me grab her neck from the back.

  Running out of options to counter her, she started attacking me at the few spots that she could reach. My head, sides, and legs. I blocked a couple of them, but she kicked my knee, which caused me to fall forward. She took the opportunity to rush at me to break my mask. But crouching low, I had some advantage to deliver an upwards strike. We traded blows. Her right hand went for a jab, which smashed my mask, while her left hand blocked my upwards palm strike going for her chin. She thought she had me, but only to realise that my left palm was on her stomach.

  I sent her flying with a palm strike, but she performed a flip that stopped her momentum. Geez, she is really athletic and flexible now. Wished I could be that flexible.

  “You can’t beat me in unarmed combat, Zen. C’mon, show me Inazuma. I bet he’s itching for a fight,” she smirked and curled her index finger at me.

  I adjusted my stance and body. No injuries on me thus far. I can still face her using unarmed combat, but let’s make things harder for her since she had gotten so arrogant now. I raised both of my hands in front of me. With a flick of the wrist, I summoned my gauntlets. Let’s see how well she fares against them.