*!!!!*

  "OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! THE BATTLE JUST STARTED AND THE PHARAOH IS ALREADY USING HIS ULTIMATE FORM!!!!"

  "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

  "FOLKS!!! THIS JUST GOES TO SHOW HOW DANGEROUS ARDINA RESTU'S FAITH POWER REALLY IS!!! SHE HAS DEFINITELY BECOME ONE OF THE BIGGEST THREATS IN THIS ENTIRE TOURNAMENT!!!"

  "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!"

  "Well, you're not wrong there, Daniel-san." said Lukia.

  "(I bet Irina can easily counters her Faith power with her sand. . .)" thinks Lukia in her head.

  "WOAH!! Pharaoh-san immediately goes into his Ultimate form!! This is exciting!!" said Jeremiah.

  "Jeremiah-kun! I'm surprised you're not frustrated about losing this tournament." said Erika.

  "What are you talking about? Of course, I am incredibly frustrated that my dream cannot be achieved this year. But at the same time, I just really love competition and the beauty of Believer's battle!" said Jeremiah with a sincere expression.

  Everyone inside the special viewing room was in awe, hearing him. After all, they all came to this stage, firstly motivated because of the same root, Believer's battle.

  Back at the arena, the Pharaoh prepares to throw his spear downwards.

  *FWOOOOOMMM*

  His flame rages wildly on the blade of his rock spear.

  "GOD'S PUNISHMENT!!"

  The Pharaoh throws his flaming rock spear downwards at Ardina. Ardina stands still in her spot as she puts her hands on her waist and smiles towards the coming attack.

  *FWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM*

  *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM*

  At the moment of impact, Pharaoh's flaming spear causes a wild, raging fire, engulfing Ardina entirely, and then it creates a giant explosion shortly after.

  . . . . .

  After the raging fire dispersed, Ardina stood completely fine, not harmed or affected by the heat in the slightest.

  "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! IS ARDINA'S FAITH POWER REALLY THAT INVINCIBLE??"

  "NO ATTACKS CAN GO THROUGH HER DEFENSE!!! HOW BROKEN IS HER FAITH POWER??"

  "I hope she wins now! That kind of Faith power is perfect for someone who sits in the ranks between 11th to 20th Strongest Believers in the world, the ten right below us!" said Lukia.

  "OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!!! WHAT A PRAISE FROM LUKIA!!!"

  "SHE ACKNOWLEDGES ARDINA'S FAITH POWEEEEERRRRRRR!!!!"

  "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

  "Heh! I never expected that level of attack would've worked anyway!"

  "Eeehh? Then why on earth did you do that for?? Welp, if you're just gonna float still in the air, it's my turn to attack then!!"

  *!*

  The Pharaoh felt that something was in front of him, even though he didn't see anything. He quickly erected a yellow rock shield in front and covered its surface with a thick layer of air.

  *BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMM*

  "HHHRRRRGGGHHHH!!!"

  Pharaoh's rock-air shield was punched, but he endured the force as he tried to stay steady in the air.

  "(HEAVY!!! UUURRRGGHHHHH!! WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS FAITH POWER?? HRRRRGGGHHHH!!!!)"

  "(But now. . .)"

  "Hm?"

  From the floor around Ardina, water appears out of nowhere. It appeared in large amounts, and in no time, she was trapped inside a ball of water.

  *!*

  "URRRMFFFF!!! *BLURB BLURB BLURB*"

  Ardina tried to speak in the water as she struggled to breathe.

  "Eeehhh? Why is she trapped?? What happened to her absolute defense?" said Jeremiah.

  "That is the same thing I've assumed when I fought her. There is only one invisible being, and when it attacked someone, she was defenseless." said Selam.

  "Not to mention Pharaoh being a Hybrid. Is this where she would fall?" said Yuichi.

  All of a sudden, Pharaoh also summons his giant snake next to him, and it launches itself downward fast at Ardina. As soon as the giant snake went after Ardina, the Pharaoh felt that the heavy pressure on his rock-air shield was gone.

  "SSHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

  The giant snake bites the water ball in its entirety, but it is stopped by something invisible. The giant snake's fangs didn't touch the water's surface. It was lifted and thrown away as if it were a toy snake.

  During that sequence, the Pharaoh appeared behind the water ball. He is perfectly in a position where Ardina could not defend herself. The Pharaoh covers the blade of his rock-spear with a layer of air and swings it through the water ball.

  Ardina turns around and raises her left hand.

  *!!!!*

  Her left hand turns invisible, and it blocks Pharaoh's spear. She pushes away the spear to throw the Pharaoh's balance off and prepares to punch with her left hand. This also blows the water ball away and frees her.

  "Grh!!"

  The Pharaoh erected a rock-air shield in front in panic.

  *BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMM*

  He blocked the punch but was sent flying away from his spot. He recovers in the air 10 meters away from her, and at the same time, his giant snake also lands on the arena on the opposite side after being thrown by her invisible being.

  "W-WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT???"

  "EEEEEEEEHHHHH??? NOT ONLY IS ARDINA'S FAITH POWER THAT STRONG? SHE CAN ALSO FIGHT ON HER OWN????"

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  "W-Wow. . . so she's a Summoner type then." said Lukia.

  "FOLKS, LUKIA SAID THAT ARDINA IS A SUMMONER TYPE!!!!"

  "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! NOW IT MAKES SENSE!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, A SUMMONER TYPE CAN TRANSFORM ONE OF THEIR BODY PARTS INTO ANY PART OF THEIR SUMMONED BEING, EFFECTIVELY MAKING A CONFRONTATION AGAINST A SUMMONER TYPE TO POTENTIALLY BE A 2v1!!!"

  "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

  "ARDINA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN!!!"

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

  "SHE'S SO PRETTY AND STROOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNGGGGGGGG!!!"

  "Of course! Why didn't I think of that? I was too focused on finding an opening, I forgot to determine her type!"

  "So, are you giving up, Pharaoh-san?" said Ardina as she smiled.

  "I can't get over how cutely you act despite your rude attitude. . . Please mind your tone towards people older than you!"

  "Ah, right! I apologize! Tehee!!" said Ardina as she put her index finger against her cheek.

  *BWOOOSSHHH*

  Ardina jumps forward and closes the distance between her and the Pharaoh in one second. His legs were invisible, and she also created a shockwave with her jump.

  *!*

  Not even the Pharaoh predicted this. She clenches her right fist, and it turns invisible.

  *BAAAAAMMM*

  "AAAAAARRRRGGHHHH!!!"

  Ardina punched the Pharaoh on his left cheek, but he felt that he had been punched by something much larger. He was sent flying away towards the edge of the arena.

  "GRRHH!!!"

  The Pharaoh summons his giant snake. As he kept flying towards the edge of the arena, the giant snake spread its wings and floated a bit off the arena. It stretched its tail to its maximum length and caught and curled around the Pharaoh's right hand. The giant snake swings its tail 90 degrees and swings the Pharaoh towards the south side of the arena. The giant snake lets go of its hold on Pharaoh's hand, and it launches him fast back towards Ardina.

  He transforms his left leg into the giant snake's tail. He swings it sideways, it stretches to its maximum length, and acts more like a whip than a kick.

  *DAHK*

  The tail whip was stopped by Ardina's invisible summoned being.

  *!*

  But then a fiery rock spear was coming at her diagonally from behind. The Pharaoh secretly throws his fiery rock spear when he summons his giant snake and uses its huge body as a cover. She turns around and punches the spear away with her invisible right fist.

  "SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

  From her right, the giant snake launches itself at her with its jaw wide open sideways. Her invisible being throws away the Pharaoh by his tail. It immediately moves towards Ardina's right side and blocks the giant snake's bite.

  The Pharaoh transformed his leg back to normal and is now flying right towards Ardina's left side while her summoned being is holding off his giant snake on her right side. He gathers air into his palm, and it forms into a small sphere. He shoots his airball right at her.

  "Time to fly! AERO SPHERE!!!"

  *BWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*

  His attack explodes into a giant air explosion.

  *!*

  Surprisingly, Ardina is standing still despite the explosion. Her summoned being moved the giant snake it held to her left side to block the Pharaoh's attack in the very last second. The Pharaoh doesn't stop, he thrusts his rock spear at Ardina after infusing fire on its blade. The invisible being moves the giant snake forward to block Pharaoh's attack, but he unsummons his giant snake at the last second.

  The Pharaoh thrusts his flaming rock spear forward, but he was confused as he didn't hit anything. He was expecting that her invisible being would've blocked that attack, but instead, Ardina jumped higher than the Pharaoh.

  "Time to finish this, Pharaoh-san!!"

  She prepares her right fist, and it turns invisible. The Pharaoh creates a rock-air shield in front, but is confused once again about why he doesn't feel any attack coming towards his shield.

  *GRABS*

  *!!!*

  Ardina grabbed Pharaoh directly with her invisible hand from the side, avoiding his rock-air shield altogether.

  "MELI-CHAAANNN!!!"

  *BWWWOOOOSSSSHHHH*

  She throws the Pharaoh towards the edge of the arena.

  "This again? I can easily stop myself, you know!"

  The Pharaoh gathers air under both of his feet to control himself in the air.

  *GRABS*

  *!!*

  "W-WHAT?"

  But he was suddenly grabbed by Ardina's invisible being.

  "Please throw him out!!" said Ardina as she winked at her invisible being.

  "WWWWHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

  *BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMM*

  The Pharaoh was dragged towards the edge of the arena in the air, but then he was smashed down onto the grassland outside the arena. But at the same time, the Pharaoh's giant snake was suddenly falling from above Ardina.

  *!*

  *CHOMP*

  She was bitten on her left arm before she even fully turned around.

  "KYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

  The giant snake drags her down towards the arena.

  *BAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMM*

  She falls into the arena, and the impact raises dust and dirt into the air, creating a slightly thick dust cloud. The Pharaoh was smashed to the grassland outside the arena, which happened one millisecond faster than Ardina falling towards the arena.

  "Urrrgghhh!!"

  Ardina stands back up, holding her left arm.

  *THUD*

  She walks flimsily for a few seconds, but then falls face-first into the arena, and she loses consciousness.

  "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! THEY BOTH FAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

  "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH???"

  "WWWHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT???"

  "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH??" said everyone on the other side of the viewing room.

  "Another double KO?" said Kenichi.

  "T-That fight was intense!" said Phil.

  "It looked like a double KO, but. . ." said Erika.

  "Daniel-san, this isn't a double KO! Not even close!" said Lukia.

  "EEEEEEEEHHHHHH? Are you sure, Lukia-chan?"

  "I bet on my rank as the 7th Strongest Believer in the world! Besides, it's pretty obvious. . ."

  *GULP*

  "W-When you say it like that. . ."

  "Alright, Daniel-san! Let's announce the winner then!!"

  "A-Alright, Radomin-san!!"

  "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! THIS INTENSE FIRST MATCH OF BRAWLIEVERS’ EIGHTS, WHAT LOOKED LIKE A DOUBLE KO, IS ACTUALLY NOT!!!!"

  "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHH????"

  "THE WINNER OF THE FIRST MATCH OF TODAY!!!! ARDINA RESTU!! VERSUS! THE PHARAOH!"

  "THE WINNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRR IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!"

  "ARDINA RESTU-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!"

  "SHE WILL ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ROUUUUUUNNNNDDDDD!!!!!"

  *!!!!!!!!!*

  "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

  "ARDINA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN!!!!"

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

  "YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

  "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

  "PHARAOH-SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!"

  "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! PHARAOH-SAAAAAAAAAAAANN!!!" screams Jeremiah in the viewing room.

  "Woooww! Seeing you honoring the Pharaoh is really amusing!" said Megumi.

  "The hosts are right! Ardina won that match." said Erika.

  "Eh? Erika-san, why would the hosts be wrong?" asked Sylvianna.

  "It's not like I was doubting them. It's just that they both fell at almost the same time. But the truth is that the Pharaoh went ring out first just before Ardina crashed into the arena. I used my Vein Armor, so my perception was increased! I can guarantee that!" replied Erika.

  "Uuumm, Sylvianna-san! Crashing into the arena doesn't mean a KO! Ardina falls after she wakes up and walks for a few seconds, right? It's probably the effect of the snake's poison. She collapsed quite a while after the Pharaoh was ringed out! She was always the winner. . ." explained Sylvianna.

  ". . . . Ehehehehe! I apologize!! I forgot that I'm a bit of an airhead!!!" said Erika as she put one of her hands behind her head.

  "O-Okay. . ."

  The medical team quickly rushes to the arena, and they split towards both fighters. After a quick examination and first aid, they informed the hosts of their conditions.

  "LADIES AND GENTLEMEEEEEEEEEEENNNN!!!! BOTH OF THEM ARE FINE!!!"

  "ARDINA IS SIMPLY ASLEEP BECAUSE OF THE GIANT SNAKE'S VENOM!! SHE SUFFERS VERY MINOR INJURIES HERE AND THERE!!! THE PHARAOH ONLY HAS MINOR INJURIES AS WELL!!!! THEY ARE BOTH FINEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"

  "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

  "ARDINA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN!!!”

  "PHARAOH-SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNN!!!"

  "Urgh. . . It's not like I passed out or anything! But damn, she ringed me out. . ."

  The medical team carries Ardina inside while the other half assists the Pharaoh to walk back towards the infirmary.

  "Do I really need the medical attention? I just fell into grass. . ."

  "It's just a procedure, Pharaoh-san!! We will treat any injury, even the most insignificant ones!!"

  ". . . Ahahahaha! I appreciate you all, medical team! You are all very serious in your jobs! Very wonderful!"

  "Umm. . ."

  One of the medical team members who is assisting him to walk, a woman, shyly opens a conversation with him.

  "G-Great job out there! I-I'm sorry that you lost. . . I was rooting for you!"

  "Ahahahaha! Is that so? Thank you for your support, then! I'm sorry to let you down! I'll try again next year!"

  The woman smiles, hearing his declaration.

  "WAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!! WHAT A FIGHT THAT WAS, RADOMIN-SAN!!!"

  "CORRECT DANIEL!!! ARDINA-CHAN'S FAITH POWER IS STILL SO TRICKY TO FIGHT AGAINST!!"

  "DAMN RIGHT!!! I SAW THAT THE PHARAOH ALMOST GOT A HANDLE ON HOW TO EFFECTIVELY FIGHT HER!!! BUT JUST BECAUSE HE CAN LAND A HIT DOESN'T MEAN IMMEDIATE WIN!!!"

  "WAHAHAHAHAH!!! THAT'S WHAT MAKES HER FORMIDABLE! ONCE U GET THROUGH HER DEFENSE, YOU STILL HAVE HERSELF TO DEAL WITH!!!"

  "I've said this, but I really hope she wins now so she can join below our ranks between the 11th and the 20th! She also seems like a fun girl to hang out with!"

  "WOWOWOWOWOOOWWWWW!!!! THAT'S A MASSIVE EXPECTATION COMING FROM OUR WATER MASTER!!!"

  "YOU BETTER WIN THE WHOLE THING NOW, ARDINA-CHAN!!! WAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

  "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

  "WAHAHAHAHAHHA!! THE AUDIENCE AGREED!!!"

  "OKAY FOLKS!!! WE'LL TAKE A QUICK BREAK AS USUAL!!! WE'LL SEE YOU IN A MOMENT FOR OUR NEXT MATCH!!!"

  "MATCH NUMBER TWO!!! ARTHUR BATISTAAAA!!!! VERSUS! ARMY-MAAAANN!!!"

  "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

  "AIGHT FOLKS!!! SEE YOU LATER!!!"

  "CATCH YALL LATER!!!"

  "See you, everyone!" said Lukia as she waved both of her hands from her seat.