Lady Arachne hosted the next tournament, something about how she’s neutral, now that she’s out of the game. Her arena was smaller and the audience was even not half of those that came for the first part.

Malak told Thaedric it was because the remaining two matches were strictly for the vips of the Crumbs. And the betting stakes would be much higher because those doing the betting this time have a lot to bet for.

Business and territory will fall and rise with the flow of the matches.

This time when they called Thaedric’s name and that of his opponent, there was no cheer from the audience, just murmuring.

"The fight will be between Crime lord Orso, represented by Reaper Blood, and Crime lord Rowan represented by Flynn!"

The two fighters moved into the ring and Thaedric studied his opponent as she walked to her place opposite him, tall and muscular with brown eyes that took him in quickly.

"Fight!"

She shrugged her impressive shoulders. "I must say, I don’t expect you to be able to carry and use such a heavy weapon."

Thaedric looked at the mace he held with his right hand. His family is known for their raw strength and Thaedric is a pure line of his family. "Don’t let my build fool you," he warned.

She nodded. "I won’t underestimate you Reaper Blood. I can see the raw strength in you. I’m just surprised you’re using a blunt weapon is all. Well then, let’s get to it."

She started walking towards Thaedric, and each step cracked and crushed the stone stage.

’Flynn,’ Thaedric thought. ’Earth Elementalist.’

She stretched her right hand and the stone softened like mud and flowed up to her. It molded and stiffened. When she raised her hand, she was holding a large sword made entirely of stone and hardened earth.

The sword was as tall as her and the edges were blunted; she carried it as if it was nothing.

"Now we can match each other," Flynn said.

They lunged forward at the same time and their weapons crashed, like two bikes colliding. The stone floor beneath them cracked and a shockwave ripped out as they were both thrown back.

"Strong!" Sandskar said.

Thaedric shook his right hand, shaking off the vibration that made goosebumps rise. "Protect only my head. I want to enjoy this," he told Sandskar.

Then they started.

Flynn crossed the distance between them in a flash and rammed the edge of her sword into Thaedric’s side. He shot off sideways with a grunt of pain and slammed into the side of the stage, making an impressive dent in the stone wall.

Thaedric dragged himself out of the wall with a muffled groan. "That was intense." He was fine, all things considered. His side hurt as hell, but it didn’t stop him from running towards his opponent and swinging his mace as if it was made of cheap plastic.

Flynn brought up her sword just in time and parried it. And for all her talk, she must have underestimated Thaedric’s strength because she yelped in surprise as the mace connected and sent chips of hardened rock and stone flying.

She dug her feet into the stone, her legs sinking in to keep her from rocking back. But she quickly recovered and danced back. She transferred her weapon to her left hand and shook her numb right hand. "You... your strength is greater than mine." She sounded surprised.

Thaedric rubbed his side. "You pack a mean punch yourself."

She frowned. "Why didn’t you block that first strike? I’m sure you saw it coming."

"I wanted to know how hard you can hit. And let me tell you, Malak hit harder without a weapon."

She blinked. "A test? Training?"

"Now that we have that out of the way, why don’t we get serious?" Thaedric asked, but he was already halfway to her, and his mace came down like a giant’s hand, smashing into her and sending her tumbling.

He followed her, intent on bashing her down before she could regain herself, but the ground Thaedric was running on softened and ripped apart. He stopped and jumped back.

Flynn picked herself up with a grimace and a narrowed-eyed stare. "Yes, why don’t we get serious?" She gestured into the air and the mana answered. It surged around her and the area she was standing on.

Hot air snapped across the stage as a soft glow began to shine from the softened ground around her. The mudstone broke away and gave way to hot, boiling lava.

"What in the actual fuck," Thaedric whispered. "That’s honest-to-heaven lava. And she’s standing in it." He moved far away from her, but still, the heat followed him. The whole stage was rolling with heat.

She raised her sword and the big chunk of a weapon glowed red as if the edges were made of hardened lava. Maybe they were. Thaedric couldn’t say. ’Sandskar. Her bloodline is powerful. Full body shield."

"Already in place." The black scarf around Thaedric shifted.

"Come here, Reaper Blood, let’s dance," Flynn said, and she began moving in her hot red pit.

"I’d rather remain here, thank you." Thaedric weighed his options. He couldn’t launch any sneak attack now that she was surrounded by lava. His speed advantage was greatly reduced. He groaned. "Every advantage greatly reduced. I can’t fight in a lava pit!"

Flynn frowned at him as she moved towards him, but her speed was also greatly reduced. This was why bloodline techniques were a complex thing. She was an earth elementalist, but her bloodline focused on lava.

"Well," Thaedric said out loud enough for her to hear, "I’ll just stay here. You can’t power a technique that powerful for long. You’ll wear yourself out eventually or cancel the technique."

Flynn’s frown deepened. "Then I’ll come to you." She gestured and an arc of lava rose, slowly at first but then faster, and it fell on Thaedric like a flash of light.