Theo’s gaze flickered upward, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

’This is troublesome,’ he thought, narrowing his eyes. ’I’ve never seen her use these kinds of petals...’

The fragments above him had spread into multiple rotating layers, forming a dense, razor-sharp storm.

There was no way out of this one.

’So the spear was a setup,’ he realized.

’But... that’s a one-time trade.’

If he made it through this storm, she’d be at a major disadvantage without her durable spear.

Then—

The storm surged down.

Dozens, if not hundreds, of petals shot down all at once, screeching through the air as they tore toward him from every angle.

Theo’s grip tightened.

’Block it!’

He opened his mouth, drawing in a deep breath—

Then shut it and held it in.

Water exploded out from his umbrella in an instant.

But it wasn’t his usual shield.

Instead, the water collapsed inward, forming a massive, pressurized bubble around him.

SHS! SHS! SHS!

The first wave plunged into the sphere.

Each petal sank into it, sending ripples across the bubble.

Their speed dropped instantly, yet they continued forcing their way deeper inside.

Theo’s jaw tightened.

’It’s working... but—’

More petals followed.

Dozens pierced into the sphere at once, carving through the water in streaks.

All of their speed and momentum disappeared, but the sheer number pushed them further and further in.

’The pressure,’ he thought. ’I need to crush them.’

But... that same pressure would also push down on his body.

Even if it was a little less since it was his own water, he couldn’t fully negate the effects.

’And I’m already low on oxygen!’

For a moment, he truly didn’t know what to do.

Then, his eyes lit up.

’The water... that’s it!’

He stood up as his gaze sharpened.

His grip tightened around his umbrella as he slowly raised it above him.

’If I can’t stop them... I’ll move them and the water!’

The sphere shifted slightly.

At first, it was subtle, sending a slight ripple across it.

Then, the entire bubble lifted off the ground.

Iris’s eyes widened.

She jumped back immediately.

Yet, there was nothing she could do... but watch.

As the bubble rose above Theo’s legs, it began to transform.

Its sphere-like structure disappeared, slowly turning into a cylinder of sorts.

As the water reached above Theo’s middle, it began to rotate slowly.

The petals inside began moving too, slowly being gathered at the middle.

Theo’s vision flickered slightly.

’Faster!’

The sphere stretched out even further as the entire mass rose up, surrounding his umbrella.

The rotation intensified instantly.

SHHHHHH—

A massive water tornado formed above him, having grown nearly the size of an entire tree.

The petals trapped inside were pulled to the middle — and crushed into a single, tiny ball by the sheer pressure inside.

Theo’s arm trembled slightly as he held the umbrella steady.

’Almost...’

Iris’s eyes widened further.

"...What is that?" she muttered, slowly backing away.

Theo gritted his teeth.

’Now!’

He took a step forward, his grip tightening.

Finally, he swung down with all his might.

The entire water tornado followed his motion, bending with it as it surged forward with devastating force.

The arena trembled.

Iris’s eyes widened as the massive shadow of water swallowed her entire view.

’I’ll die—’

Her thoughts were cut off.

A figure flashed between them.

The figure’s hand shot up, forming a massive earth dome around her in an instant.

BOOM!

The impact shook the entire arena.

Water crashed into the dome, still spinning violently.

For a split second, it tore into the earth, carving a shallow crater into its surface, sending cracks everywhere.

Then—

It broke.

The remaining force disappeared, the tornado losing its structure as water scattered in all directions, crashing down in a heavy rain across the arena.

A deep silence followed.

Everyone held their breath as they stared at the arena.

Theo stood frozen, his arm still extended from the swing, chest rising and falling as he struggled to control his breathing.

Finally, the earth dome slowly crumbled away.

Iris stood behind it, completely unharmed but motionless.

Alia stood beside her with a raised arm.

Her eyes were wide and filled with shock as she looked at Theo.

The silence remained for a few more seconds.

Finally, Alia’s voice rang through the arena.

"...Match over," she said, her voice soft but loud at the same time.

The words echoed through the arena, almost like they were amplified.

That’s when the announcer recovered.

"Holy shit! Did you all just see that?!" he shouted, his voice bursting with excitement.

"By creating a massive water tornado... he forced Judge Alia to step in!"

He barely paused.

"The winner of the first quarter-final is Theo Lane!"

A ripple went through the stands.

Then—

The entire arena exploded into noise.

Cheers erupted from every direction, voices overlapping into a deafening roar as people jumped to their feet, shouting his name.

"Theo! Theo! Theo!"

Some pointed wildly at the field, others cheered because their bets had paid off, yet, regardless of the reason, everyone was caught up in the moment.

Down below, Theo finally lowered his arm.

His fingers loosened slightly around the umbrella as he let out a long breath, his chest still rising and falling heavily.

’...that was close,’ he thought. ’I can’t believe I pulled it off, though.’

Even though his core ached immensely.

He’d successfully done it. Hell, he’d overdone it.

The original silver core phase didn’t have anything like a rotating water vortex in it.

Across from him, Iris slowly moved.

She blinked once, then let out a quiet breath of her own, her shoulders relaxing slightly.

For a moment, she just stood there.

Then a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"...Guess I wasn’t quite there yet," she said softly.

Theo gave a small shake of his head.

"You were close," he said. "You’d have won nine out of ten times."

Iris let out a light chuckle as she shook her head.

"Of course not, silly," she said. "You didn’t even use half your strength, how could I consider that close?"

Before Theo could respond, the announcer’s voice rang out again.

"We’ll take a fifteen-minute break to repair the arena."

"Will the next fight be just as crazy? Up next — Owen Wilson versus Lyra Miller."