9 July 2018
*PSHEEEWWWWW*
*BANG BANG BANG BANG*
*BOOM BOOM BOOM*
A set of fireworks was shot into the sky on a bright day. Some people would immediately question this decision, but nobody did because this is a special occasion. After all, today is the final round of the Brawliever World Cup.
“GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!” shouts Daniel.
“TODAY IS A GOOD DAY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNN!!!!” shouts Radomin.
“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!”
“YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
“GUESS WHAT TODAY IS, FOLKS? THAT’S RIGHT!!! IT IS THE FINAL ROUND OF THE BRAWLIEVER WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDD CUUUUUUUUUUUPPP!!!!!”
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
“YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
“LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”
“WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! AS EXPECTED OF OUR FINAL DAY, EVERYONE’S EXCITEMENT IS AT MAXIMUM!!!”
“CORRECT, DANIEL-SAN!!! AND FOOOOLLLLKKKKSSSSS!!! DON’T FORGET ABOUT OUR LOVELY GUEST, OUR LOVELY WATER MASTER!!!! LUKIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA PRICHYLLIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
“Good afternoon, everyone!” said Lukia as she stood up from her seat in the special viewing room and waved her hand to the audience.
“GOOOODDDD AFTERNOOOOONNNNN, LUKIA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!”
“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
“EVERYONE’S FAVORITE AS PER USUAL! AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?? WE’VE BEEN TOGETHER WITH ALL OF YOU, INCLUDING EVERYONE WHO’S WATCHING FROM HOME, FOR FIVE WHOLE DAYS!!!!”
“WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! THE LAST FOUR DAYS HAVE TO BE THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY LIFE THIS YEAR!! THIS TOURNAMENT IS THE BEST!! BRAVO, BWC!!!”
“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”
“FOOOOOLLLKKKSSSS!!!! I NEED TO INFORM YOU OF SOMETHING BEFORE WE BEGIN!!!”
“THAT’S RIGHT!!! EVERYONEEEEEEE!!! YESTERDAY’S MATCH, IRINA VERSUS ARDINA, EVEN THE UNOFFICIAL EXHIBITION MATCH IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS WAS TRENDING WORLDWIDE ON THE INTERNET!!!!”
*!!!!*
“WWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”
“NOT ONLY THAT, IT ALSO BROKE MULTIPLE VIDEO STREAMING WEBSITES SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE SHEER TRACTION THE VIDEO OF THAT MATCH GOT!!!”
“CURRENTLY, IT HAS GAINED OVER 3 BILLION VIEWS IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS!!!”
“WWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”
“IT ALSO FOREVER BROKE A RECORD OF MOST VIEWED VIDEO ON THE INTERNET UNDER 24 HOURS AS WELL!!!! EVERYBODY CLAP FOR IRINA-SAN AND ARDINA-CHAAAAANNNNNN!!!!!!
“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”
*CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP*
The entire audience let out their loudest round of applause, even merrier than yesterday.
“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! WE ARE NOW GLAD THAT WE ALLOWED THAT UNOFFICIAL MATCH TO HAPPEN!!! IMAGINE IF WE DECLINED!!! BAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
“THAT WOULD RUIN THE REPUTATION OF BWC I FEEL, BUT I GUESS WE’LL NEVER KNOW!!! WAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
At the special viewing room on the other side, the losers of the tournament gained two new members, Ardina Restu and Army-Man. Every fighter gathered and greeted both Ardina and Army-Man.
“Welcome, you two!!” said Selam.
“GREAT FIGHT YESTERDAY, ARDINA-CHAN!!! I ENJOYED IT THE WHOLE TIME!!!” said Erika.
“YEAH YEAH!! ME TOO!!! WHO KNOWS YOUNGSTERS THESE DAYS ARE THAT PASSIONATE!!!” said Megumi.
“Excellent tenacity, as expected, Ardina-san!” greets the Pharaoh.
“NICE FAITO, ARDINA-CHAN!” said Jeremiah, giving a thumbs up.
“I was so enthralled that I think I forgot to blink multiple times. Wonderful job, Ardina-san!” said Sylvianna.
“Hohohoho!! All the females in this year’s tournament are brilliant!!” said Phil.
“Great match, Ardina-san! Even I was at the edge of my seat.” said Yuichi.
“Your dedication to winning was remarkable! I felt honored to be able to witness such passion in a battle!” said Kenichi.
“Wohohohoho!! Youngsters these days are monsters!! I don’t remember being that wild when I was young!” said Arthur.
“Congrats, Ardina-san! Everyone really liked your match yesterday!” said Army-Man.
“You’ve made this big dude impressed throughout the entire fight! Congratulations, Lady Ardina!” said Revon.
Ardina was bombarded by honors, admiration, compliments, and kind words one after the other as soon as she arrived in this room. She was speechless and felt a bit teary. She puts her head down and whispers gently.
“t. . . thank you. . . everyone. . .”
*!!!*
Everyone in the room was surprised. That was probably the quietest she has been in this entire tournament. Erika and Megumi immediately approached and hugged her.
“ARDINA-CHAN IS TOO CUTE!!!” said Erika.
“AAWWWW!!! I DIDN’T REALIZE YOU HAVE THIS SIDE AS WELL!!!” said Megumi.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Uum. . . S-Stop it. . .”
“Ahahahaha!! This is definitely another surprise I didn’t expect from this tournament!! I hope there will be more.” said Army-Man.
“Now, you, Army-Man! Could you tell us what happened yesterday?” asked Sylvianna.
“Yeah, that was really strange! I thought I’d get to see you revealing the Green Reaper’s Faith power, given how tricky you can be with your Faith power.” said Yuichi.
“Oh, right, right!! What happened yesterday, Army-Man-san?” asked Erika as she was still hugging Ardina.
“Yeah, given it’s you, I genuinely thought you’d advance to the final.” said Jeremiah.
“We’ve all seen how you fight and how smart you are at it. What happened? Seriously!” said Selam.
Everyone’s mood in the special viewing room changed from joy to confusion. They are all waiting patiently for Army-Man’s answer.
“. . . . *sigh*”
Army-Man lets out a sigh and takes a seat at one of the chairs in the room.
“So. . . how do I explain this. . .”
He takes a few seconds to process his thoughts. Not a single person said anything. They give complete respect until Army-Man is ready to talk.
“. . . I don’t know.”
. . . . . .
*?*
“Huh?”
Everyone collectively said, ‘huh’. They are now even more confused than before.
“C-Can you elaborate a little?” asked the Pharaoh.
“Like I said, I don’t know. The moment the fight started, I caught a glimpse of the Green Reaper raising her fist against me. And the next thing I know is that I woke up inside the infirmary.
. . . . .
“What?” said everyone in the room again.
“I knew this would happen! I can’t really say anything because I genuinely don’t know what happened! I just lost consciousness the moment the fight started.”
“. . . .”
Everyone was silent as they didn’t know what to make of Army-Man’s story. But then, Selam shares her opinion.
“Is it possible that it was outside interference?”
*!!!!*
“WHAT? You mean like he was cheated?” asked Jeremiah.
“Hmmm, that was a serious accusation. Do you have any proof?” asked Gabrielle.
“Well, I don’t. It’s just, he said that he saw the Green Reaper raising her fist, so I think she wanted to punch him, so whatever happened to Army-Man couldn’t be because of her. That’s my assumption. Simple deduction.”
“Hmmm, I feel like we have very few clues to make any observation whatsoever.” said Phil.
“W-Well, everyone! It was pretty disappointing. . . but let’s just enjoy the final match, shall we?” said Army-Man.
“. . . well, if you say so.” said Jeremiah.
“That’s actually correct, though! As losers of this tournament, we need to learn everything that we can from all the winners so that we may gain something new for our next participation in next year’s BWC!” said Yuichi.
“Great words, Yuichi-san! I agree!” said Kenichi.
“Well, the two wisest gentlemen in the room have said their piece, so let’s do that then!” said Sylvianna.
“R-RIGHT!! LET’S ALL GET HYPED UP FOR THE FINAL MATCH, EVERYONEEEE!!!!” screamed Ardina.
Ardina’s cheer suddenly lifted everyone’s spirits.
“RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!”
“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
Back to the hosts. . .
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! AFTER THE RECORD-BREAKING FIGHT BETWEEN IRINA AND ARDINA, INCLUDING ARDINA’S UNEXPECTED FORFEITURE THAT LED TO AN UNOFFICIAL EXHIBITION MATCH BETWEEN SECOND STATE IRINA AND SECOND STATE ARDINA, AND THEN A SOMEWHAT QUICK AND ANTI-CLIMATIC FIGHT BETWEEN THE GREEN REAPER AND ARMY-MAN, IT IS TIME TO FINALLY BEGIN THE LAST ROUND OF BWC, THE FINAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!”
“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!”
“YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”
“LET US INTRODUCE OUR TWO UNDISPUTED BEST FIGHTERS IN THIS WHOLE TOURNAMENT!!!”
“WWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
“PLEASE ENTER THE ARENA, OUR DEAR TWO FINALISTS, IRINA AGAPOV!! AND THE GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN REAPEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!”
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
The Green Reaper walks out of the fighters’ quarters towards the arena. Irina followed soon after, and she was 10 steps behind. As per usual, the Green Reaper is still not saying anything. Irina waves to the audience with elegance, as she usually does.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
“IRINA-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”
“YYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
“GREEN REAPER-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNN!!!”
“LOOK AT IRINA, FOLKS!! SHE HAS COMPLETELY RECOVERED!! ZERO INJURIES!! OUR MEDICAL TEAM IS THE BEST IN THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRLLLDDDDDDD!!!!!!”
“WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
“LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
“So, what do you think, Lukia-chan? Which one is your fave to win?”
“. . . . I want to say Irina has demonstrated her Faith power to the fullest yesterday, so I can see her as our new champion; however, the Green Reaper reached the final round without ever showing us what her Faith power truly is. So, I genuinely have no idea how this match is going to go.”
“Hmm, I kinda agreed with you, Lukia-chan. I was expecting that Army-Man would’ve shed some light on what her Faith power would be, but that never happened. Wahahahaha!! What about you, Daniel-san?” said Radomin.
“Well, it’s pretty simple! I’M ROOTING FOR IRINA-SAMA!! SHE’S ELEGANT!! AN ADULT!! AND SHE’S REALLY POWERFUL AND SMART!! REMEMBER FOLKS, SHE ALWAYS FINDS A WAY AROUND HER OPPONENT’S FAITH POWER!!” said Daniel.
“Wahahahahaa! I LIKE YOUR SPIRIT, DANIEL-SAN! AS EXPECTED OF THE HOST!!”
In the arena, Irina and the Green Reaper are already standing against each other at the center.
“Dear woman of very few words, let us make this final round the most exciting match in the history of BWC, if not of the century!”
“. . . . Fine, I’ll entertain you for a bit.”
*!*
“That was surprising, I didn’t expect to get a response just now.”
“. . . I’ve been silent for far too long in this entire tournament. And also, I’m getting impatient. Can we start already?”
The Green Reaper immediately enters her battle stance.
“I-I understand your excitement, but we can’t fight until the gong is rung. Remember that this is still an official event and an entertainment show.”
“. . . Good point.”
The Green Reaper exits her battle stance, and she relaxes her body.
“(W-What’s with her. . .)” said Irina in her head.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! IT IS TIME!!! ONE OF THE PEAKS OF THE BRAWLIEVER WORLD CUP!! THE FINAL ROUND!!!”
“THE TWO FIGHTERS WILL BE, ONCE AGAIN, THE PRETTIEST PRINCESS FROM RUSSIA, IRINA AGAPOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVV!! VERSUS!! THE COOL AND MYSTERIOUS FIGHTER, THE GREEN REAPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRR!!!!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
“IRINA-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
“PRINCEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!”
“GREEN REAPER-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN!!!!”
“WITHOUT FURTHER ADO!!! LET’S BEGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!”
*GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG*
The gong of the final match was finally rung.
The Green Reaper activates her Vein Armor across her entire body. She rushes towards Irina immediately without delay. Irina creates sand everywhere on the arena and covers the whole floor with 2 meters of sand. The Green Reaper stops herself mid-running. She looks below and realizes her feet have been buried by the sand.
“Hm. . .”
*CLAAAAAPPPPP*
Irina suddenly creates two giant hands of sand, and the two hands clap the Green Reaper in between, really hard.
*ZZZZZRRRRRRSSSSHHHH*
The two giant human hands crumble back into sand after the clap, and the Green Reaper is revealed, standing completely still under all of that sand.
“Completely unaffected? How strong is your Vein Armor?”
*!!*
Suddenly, the Green Reaper was behind Irina, swinging her right leg at the back of her head. There were only a few milliseconds until her kick reached her head, so the only thing she could do within that time frame was to create a thick amount of sand covering the back of her head.
*BAAAAAAAAAAMMMMM*
“AAAARRGGGHH!!!”
Irina was kicked and sent flying towards the edge of the arena. She was losing consciousness, but she stayed awake. She creates a giant wall of sand, and it catches her and stops her from going ring-out.
“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, FOLKS? THE FIGHT JUST STARTED AND IRINA WAS ALMOST RINGED-OUT ALREADY!!!”
“THE GREEN REAPER IS SO STROOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG!!!!”
“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”
“GREEN REAPER-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNN!!!”
“FIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGHHHHTTTTTT!!! IRINA-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”
“PRINCEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! DON’T LOOOOOOOOOSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”
“UURRGGHH. . .”
Irina is on all fours on the sand, holding her head with one hand.
“(Unbelievable. Her Vein Armor was even stronger than Ardina’s Faith power. . . How am I supposed to fight this. . .)”
*!!!*
Irina soon realizes that the Green Reaper is standing directly in front of her. The Green Reaper swings her right leg forward, Irina slams her hand on the sand, and she creates a sandstorm inside the entire arena.
*?*
The Green Reaper kicks Irina, but she misses. Irina disappears from her spot.
“It’s this trick. . .” said the Green Reaper.
Irina creates 50 sand clones all around the arena, and they are scattered evenly. All of the 50 sand clones raise their right hands with a straightened palm.
“JETSTREAM SAND!!”
All 50 sand clones shoot out sand streams moving at the speed of a fighter jet.
*!*
All those 50 sand streams converge into one and shoot at the Green Reaper, but she simply moves her head to the side and completely dodges it.
“(She dodged that? Just like that?)”
The Green Reaper rushes towards the sand clones.
*BAAASH BASSH BAAASH BAAASSHHH*
Within ten seconds, she has already destroyed half of Irina’s sand clones, defeating each one with just one strike. She rushes to the rest, but the rest of the sand clones turn back into sand, and they all flow into the center, 10 meters above the arena, in the air. The sand forms into the same upside-down pyramid that she has been using throughout this tournament.
The Green Reaper jumps up high towards the upside-down pyramid. She spins herself to do a spinning axe kick. Irina creates 20 layers of thick sand wall to block her kick.
*DDAAAAAAASSSSSSSS*
*ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH*
The Green Reaper’s spinning axe kick went through all of Irina’s sand wall.
*ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH*
The Green Reaper splits open the upside-down pyramid with her spinning axe kick.
