Marco was eager to not let the hype die down as he made the announcement for the next match:

  "Ladies and gents, we have a real treat for you this time round! On the south corner, we have a girl with a unique sense of dress, the mysterious yet magnetic...Zalgo-”

  The girls looked at Zalgo, who were also surprised at her name being called.

  "M-me?!" she exclaimed.

  Nika's eyes widened, "Whoa, we were not expecting Zalgo to be called…”

  Rachel nodded, her expression intrigued. "Yeah, she's been pretty low-key so far. I wonder how she'll perform in the arena.”

  Yuki smirked at Zalgo, her curiosity piqued. "You're definitely an intriguing one. Let's see what you're capable of.”

  Zalgo took a deep breath, her expression hardening. "I'll do my best. Trust me.”

  Marco continued, "On the north corner, we have a rather...level-headed blonde with a heart of gold, the cool, but lively...Tato!”

  "Tato's in the tournament!?" Rachel exclaimed in surprise.

  Zalgo flinched, her excitement growing. "Wow, I didn't expect Tato to be a competitor, we haven't seen her in quite some time. This tournament just got more interesting.”

  Nika nodded, her eyes widening with anticipation. "Yeah, Tato would be strong if she trained with Celeste like you guys. This match should be intense!”

  "Indeed," agreed Yuki, a smirk playing upon her lips. "Two old friends meeting again in the arena should make this a worthy match.”

  Rachel nodded, her excitement palpable. "Can't wait to see how this unfolds."

  ...

  Zalgo walked onto the arena, watching as Tato did the same. Tato didn't look much different, except her curly blonde hair being a little longer. But her emerald green eyes were as calm as ever, taking slow, deliberate steps forward until coming face-to-face with Zalgo.

  "Z-Zalgo?!" Tato blurted out, the sight of her old fellow classmate being a shock to her.

  Zalgo chuckled, amused by Tato's surprise.

  "Indeed. It appears we'll be facing each other today.”

  Tato nodded, taking a deep breath. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, but I suppose this'll be an interesting match.”

  "I suppose so. And don't hold back, okay?”

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  "I have no plans to. Are you ready?”

  "Ready as I'll ever be."

  With a brief burst of her aura, Zalgo summoned her spears, all four of them floating in circles around her body.

  Tato raised an eyebrow, impressed by the spears.

  "Interesting...spears huh?”

  Zalgo grinned, her confidence growing. "They do the job quite well, trust me. So what can you do?”

  Tato smiled slightly, her eyes gleaming with determination.

  "You'll see soon enough. Shall we begin?”

  Zalgo chuckled, her smile growing wider.

  "I was hoping you'd say that."

  Without another moment of hesitation, Zalgo threw a spear at Tato, sending it towards her chest.

  Tato quickly dodged to the side, the spear missing her.

  "Fast, huh?”

  Zalgo crossed her arms, amused by Tato's quick reflexes.

  "You bet. Let's see if you can keep up."

  Zalgo threw two spears at Tato this time, both of them being faster than the first spear she threw.

  Tato quickly crafted a shield of aura in front of her, blocking both spears.

  Zalgo nodded her head once, her smIle showing some respect.

  "Impressive defense. But can you handle some... pressure?”

  Tato shrugged, her eyes narrowing. "Pressure? Bring it on.”

  "Oh, I'll bring it alright."

  Zalgo snapped her fingers, one of the spears she threw earlier circling around Tato before stabbing right at her back.

  Tato quickly ducked and rolled forward, barely avoiding the spear as it flew past her.

  "You'll have to do better than that.”

  Zalgo chuckled, her smirk widening.

  "I'm just getting started."

  Zalgo aimed two spears at Tato, both hovering in the air as they prepared to shoot at her at once.

  Tato rolled to the right quickly, avoiding the first spear before blocking the second with another aura shield.

  Zalgo chuckled, her expression amused.

  "You're quick on your feet, I'll give you that. But are you fast enough to dodge this?”

  Suddenly, all four spears started flying at Tato from different, unexpected directions at blinding speeds.

  Tato, with her eyes wide, tried her best to dodge the barrage of spears. But the spears were too fast, and one of the spears managed to graze Tato’s arm.

  "Ah, that stings…”

  Zalgo observed the blood on Tato's arm as she gripped her spears tightly.

  "Looks like I got ya, eh? Guess you weren't fast enough.”

  "I'll get you back for that.”

  Zalgo chuckled once more, her smirk growing wider.

  "Oh, I'm counting on it. Come on, let's see what you've got.”

  Tato clenched her fists.

  "You're on. This is where it gets interesting."

  Tato conjured a dagger made of water, the water emitting steam as well as her aura.

  Zalgo raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued.

  "A water dagger, huh? Now this should be interesting.”

  "Don't underestimate this. Water is quite strong when molded properly. And this isn't just any regular water if you notice the steam — it's scalding hot.”

  Zalgo chuckled once more, her smirk never wavering.

  "Oh, I noticed all right. Let's see what this 'scalding hot' water can really do.”

  Tato smirked, her eyes glinting with determination.

  "You'll see soon enough."

  Tato launched the scalding hot water at Zalgo, the water dagger moving in a zig-zag motion.

  Zalgo quickly dodged the water, but some of it splashed onto her leg, scorching her leg a bit, making her gasp.

  "Ugh, damn. It's hot alright. You're not playing around, are you?”

  Tato chuckled, her smile widening a bit.

  "I'm just getting started. Keep up while you can.”

  Zalgo gritted her teeth, her leg still burning.

  "Oh, I'll keep up alright. You're not the only one with surprises.”

  Tato scoffed, getting into a defensive position.

  "Bring it on. I can handle whatever you throw at me.”

  Zalgo grinned, her confidence growing.

  "Oh, I'll bring it alright. And then some."

  Zalgo summoned two spears and threw them at Tato at blinding speeds.

  Tato summoned two water barriers and blocked both spears with them.

  Zalgo huffed at seeing her spears being blocked. "Impressive shields, I'll give you that. But can you keep it up?”

  Tato smirked.

  "Of course. I can do this for as long as I need to.”

  "Cocky, aren't ya? We'll see how long you can keep it up, because I'm about to turn up the heat.”