"Congratulations once again, Nika!” Marco called out. “That was a fantastic match you pulled off. Now for the semifinal matches…”

  Nika smiled, knowing she gave quite a show.

  "Who's next? Bring it on!”

  "For our first semifinal match, we have our icy assassin Yuki Xerosi..."

  Marco read off the introduction sheet,

  “And her opponent will be the calculating, cross-dressing dark elf from Frigid, Kaitan!”

  Yuki seemed excited, her usual calm demeanor replaced with excitement from the announcement.

  "Ooooh, I'm going up against him... This should be an interesting match.”

  Nika and Alice were excited as well. Nika gave her friend a smile.

  "Yeah, this definitely should be interesting. I know for sure Kaitan'll put your ice abilities to the test, Yuki.”

  Yuki nodded, knowing her skills would be tested.

  "Yeah, he'll definitely challenge me, but I'm ready for it. I'll give it my all.”

  "Great attitude! That's the spirit, Yuki."

  Nika smiled, encouraged by her friend's determination.

  Yuki smirked,

  "I'm gonna give my all. I'm not looking to lose so easily."

  That being said, Yuki went down to the arena, the crowd being excited to see her again after her victory in her previous match.

  The crowd let out an exciting roar as Yuki approached the arena, with a few people yelling out, "I'm rooting for you, Yuki!”

  "You got this, Yuki!"

  "KICK THAT DARK ELF'S ASS, GIRL!" Nika yelled down to her from Celeste's suite, giving her friend encouragement.

  Yuki smiled, appreciating the support from her friends and fans. She walked more confidently into the arena, ready for her match against Kaitan.

  Speaking of Kaitan, it was his turn to step into the arena. And that, he did. With his signature sly grin intact on top of that.

  Kaitan's smirk widened as his eyes fell on Yuki, his gaze scanning her over intently for only a moment. He then spoke up, his voice deep but smooth.

  "So, I'm pitted against the ice-wielding assassin today, huh?”

  Yuki met Kaitan's gaze, her expression calm yet focused.

  "That's right. I'm ready to face you.”

  Kaitan chuckled, his smirk widening.

  "That's a bold claim. We'll just have to see if you've got what it takes to take me on, won't we?”

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  Yuki's expression showed no hint of intimidation, only determination.

  "Oh, I have no doubt I can take you on. Let's see if you're as tough as you act.”

  "Ohh...a feisty one, aren't you?"

  Kaitan let out another deep chuckle, still amused.

  "I like your attitude. My last match was rather...disappointing, but perhaps you could give me some trouble instead. Come at me with everything you got, sweetheart.”

  A rare smirk crossed Yuki's face, her usual calm exterior cracking just a bit.

  "Don't worry. I don't plan on holding back."

  Celeste observed the two from her suite's window, looking over to Alice and Zalgo.

  “You two…this is a match between two expert Void Mages. You two could learn a lot from them during this battle. I advise you to pay close attention to this match.”

  Yuki flared up her aura, its temperature causing the ground beneath her to freeze while making the arena a bone-shattering temperature.

  "Oh-oh, not holding back you say?"

  Kaitan's smirk transformed into a wide grin, a bit surprised with her show of power.

  "Hooh...now THIS match is really getting interesting.”

  "You bet."

  Yuki couldn't help but feel a bit cocky.

  "I'm giving this my all. I'm not planning on letting you walk all over me.”

  Kaitan chuckled, amused at Yuki's words.

  "Is that a challenge, sweetheart?”

  "You can call it that if you want,"

  Yuki smirked, more confident than ever.

  "But I don't plan on letting you leave this arena without a few scratches at minimum.”

  Kaitan's smirk turned into a sinister smile. He chuckled once more, now even more amused.

  "Is that so? Well, I love a challenge. Don't be surprised if I break you instead, sweetheart."

  Kaitan charged up his aura this time, the sheer amount of spiritual pressure in the arena being enough to almost make the crowd slightly disoriented.

  Yuki didn't even flinch at the pressure, her smirk unwavering.

  "You'll have to do more than that if you want to knock me off balance.”

  "Oh, you think so? How adorable."

  Kaitan smirked even more and charged forwards, his speed quickly closing the gap between them.

  Yuki kept composed, barely reacting to his quick charge. She swiftly shifted into a battle stance, ready to respond to any of his attacks.

  "Let's see what you got, dark elf.”

  "With pleasure, darling."

  Kaitan lunged forward, attempting a powerful kick towards Yuki.

  In a split second, Yuki dodged the kick by ducking underneath the attack, narrowly missing her as it whizzed past her head.

  Yuki clicked her tongue, taunting, "You'll have to try a lot harder than that, my elven friend.”

  Kaitan took his leg back, shaking his head slightly.

  "Oh, just you wait. You won't be so smug in a bit, sweetheart."

  He bounced on the heels of his boots, preparing for another attack.

  Yuki steadied herself, preparing for Kaitan's next move.

  "Try me.”

  "With pleasure."

  Kaitan darted towards Yuki again, closing the distance in a microsecond, and barraged her with a flurry of precise kicks.

  Despite Kaitan's quick speed, Yuki managed to evade each attack. She quickly ducked, dodged, and weaved through the rapid kicks, each move making her seem like an illusion.

  Kaitan, a tad bit annoyed, picked up the pace of his attacks, but Yuki kept up with his speed, evading every single attack with ease. Her movement was quick and graceful, like a slippery ice dancer.

  Kaitan was becoming increasingly exasperated by Yuki's quick dodging, but he kept a level head. He decided to go for a different approach. He abruptly changed direction, feigning for a low attack before he swiftly aimed a powerful heel strike towards her ribcage.

  The abrupt change in Kaitan's attack caught Yuki slightly off guard, but she quickly raised her arms and blocked the attack with her forearms, pushing his leg away just before the strike landed.

  The impact of the block sent tremors through Yuki's arms, but she managed to deflect the attack with minimal damage due to focusing all of her aura into them. However, that left the rest of her body very vulnerable and unprotected. Before Yuki could redirect her aura, Kaitan took the opportunity in the blink of an eye, landing a lightning-fast roundhouse kick at Yuki's abdomen. The impact shattered her Aura Shield, the pink glass-like shards scattering across the arena floor. With her Aura Shield down, Kaitan followed up with a harsh kick in her gut, landing a critical blow that sent Yuki flying back.

  "Ah!"

  Yuki's body was knocked off her feet, landing painfully on her bottom a good distance away from him. She got up again, a bit surprised by the power and speed of the kick. She felt a stab of pain in her stomach and her arms were sore, but she kept her composure.

  “Ooh…” Zalgo said under her breath, her hand clenching her own stomach as if she was the one who was kicked.

  “And THAT,” Celeste began with a snap of her fingers. “...was what I wanted to bring to your attention, Alice and Zalgo.”

  The two girls looked to Celeste, inquisitive. Zalgo queried, “And what's that, Celeste?”