"And then... there was one. Now, Nichole Firestar... it is just the two of us left to finish this dance."

Nichole stood twenty feet away, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Her topknot red hair was completely loose, and her arms were trembling slightly from the exhaustion of fighting against someone as strong as Ayako.

Yet, despite the clear disparity in their remaining reserves, her amber eyes were completely devoid of fear. She raised her left hand, wiped a trail of fresh blood and soot from her lip, and spat onto the dirt.

"Perfect. I always preferred one-on-one brawls anyway. Let’s see what you’ve got, Izumi!"

With a mutual understanding, both captains burst forward simultaneously, unleashing a wild final duel that had the entire coliseum holding its collective breath.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

It was a clash of ideologies. Ayako fought with the flawless precision of Myria’s fiercest warrior – every strike of her katana was a calculated work of art, weaving through the air with pristine grace.

Nichole, however, fought with the raw, untamed savage pride of Riverton’s bravest. She didn’t care about form or beauty; she threw her entire soul into every single swing. Her giant broadblade tore through the stone and earth, creating a constant, roaring inferno of exploding fire magic that superheated the arena until the air itself began to warp from the intense heat.

The battle built up to a dizzying crescendo. Ayako glided forward with her blade and executed a quick thrust aimed straight at Nichole’s shoulder.

But right at that exact second, something completely unexpected happened.

Nichole – whose entire reputation was built on being a reckless, hot-headed, and purely instinctive brawler – suddenly did something entirely contrary to her character. Instead of trying to parry the strike with raw strength, she purposely tilted her body to the side, letting Ayako’s razor-sharp katana slice clean through her leather vest, cutting into her ribs.

"URGH! G-GOTCHA!"

Using the split-second advantage of having Ayako’s weapon trapped in her body, Nichole clapped her bare left hand directly onto the flat of Ayako’s sword arm, locking her wrist in place. Simultaneously, she coated every single ounce of her remaining mana onto her broadblade.

The iron slab turned from a brilliant blue to a blindingly bright shade of crimson hot.

"TAKE THIS!"

BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At a point-blank, impossible-to-dodge range, a colossal explosion of compressed fire-infused-mana erupted from Nichole’s blade.

The sheer force of the blast was so enormous it completely illuminated the entire coliseum in a blinding flash of red light. The shockwave violently shot Ayako backward, her figure soaring straight across the arena before crashing and burying into the distant pile of broken stone.

Nichole slid back ten feet before slamming her blade into the ground, using the hilt to keep her exhausted body from collapsing onto the dirt. She panted like a wolf, her chest heaving in and out, but a wide triumphant smile was plastered across her sweating face.

"""..."""

For a long, drawn-out ten seconds, nothing happened.

The arena remained in a state of stillness. A thick, black smoke hung heavily over the wreckage where Ayako had landed.

["H-Has she...?"] Commentator Ken stammered into his microphone, his hand shaking as he looked down from the ruined booth. ["Has Nichole actually done it?! Has the Captain of Riverton achieved the impossible and knocked out the Heiress of the Izumi clan?!"]

Nichole’s smile grew wider as she braced herself for the final verdict.

Ken slowly raised his hand, his voice preparing to deliver the historical announcement. ["L-Ladie and Gentlemen! The winner of the final–"]

RUMBLE... RUMBLE...

Suddenly, the entire coliseum began to vibrate. A low tremor echoed from deep beneath the earth, causing loose gravel and broken stone to bounce erratically across the floor.

["Wait a minute, people! Look at the ground!"] Faye screamed. ["It’s not over! Something is happening beneath the stage!"]

Nichole’s smile immediately vanished.

CRACK—SPLINTER!

Before she could even lift her foot, a massive sprout of wood violently erupted from the solid stone directly beneath her center of gravity. Within an instant, the ever-growing roots multiplied exponentially, twisting and coiling around her ankles, her torso, and her arms like a cluster of living, unbreakable pythons.

"Argh! Let go of me! LET ME GO!"

Nichole desperately tried to flare her fire magic to burn the wood away, but the wood was far too dense, absorbing her weak flames as if it were pure fertilizer. Not to mention she practically had zero mana left in the tank.

The tremors finally reached their utter peak.

In a spectacular, yet terrifying display of environmental sorcery, the wooden roots shot a hundred feet into the air, expanding outward into sweeping branches that instantly blanketed the entire center of the arena.

When the dust and tremors finally settled, what was left standing dead center on the field was a giant, staggeringly beautiful, and fully bloomed Sakura tree. Its pink petals gently drifted through the afternoon air.

And trapped dead center within the heart of the trunk was Nichole. She thrashed and struggled with every ounce of her remaining strength, straining her muscles against the wood, but she could not budge out of her confinement. She was completely locked in place.

From the opposite side of the field, beneath the massive pile stone rubble, a single light step echoed through the quiet arena.

Crunch.

The broken rocks tumbled away, and Ayako slowly took a step out.

Her uniform was heavily scorched, and a thin line of blood was leaking down her pristine left cheek. Yet, despite the clear signs of physical damage, her posture was completely straight, and her expression had returned to its classic, serenely elegant composition.

She raised her hand and controlled a branch that carried her all the way up the giant Sakura tree – straight to the struggling Nichole.

"I must truly commend you, Nichole," Ayako said softly, her melodic voice carrying a genuine warmth as she stopped about thirty feet away from the trapped captain.

"That final strike of yours... it truly was spectacular. That was, without a doubt, the second most fun I have experienced since my arrival on this continent. However..."

She wrapped her slender fingers tightly around the hilt of her katana, gently guiding the blade back into its traditional scabbard until it rested at her waist. She then dropped her center of gravity into a low, classic drawing stance, her posture completely locked.

"However... Tomorrow’s battle will require an immense amount of my actual stamina, I imagine. I cannot afford to waste any more time on a prolonged struggle today. Therefore, I am ending our dance right here."

Sensing the lethal finality behind her words, Nichole’s eyes widened. She began to struggle even more violently against the wood as she bared her teeth.

"Don’t you dare look down on me! I can still fight! Let me out of this damn tree and I’ll show you! You think this is over?! Think again!"

"No. I’m afraid this really is over. Had your mana infusion technique been completed, it may have been a different story. Sadly, that is not the reality. As a reward for your valiant effort, I will show you what a completed mana infusion looks like."

"Y-YOU–!"

"Do not worry, Captain," Ayako said smoothly, her breathing controlled as the translucent blue mana coated around her scabbard "I am using the flat of my steel so you will not die. Though it is a shame that you will have to miss the rest of this magnificent tournament.

"You fought with incredible honor, Nichole Firestar. Let it be known across all of Myria... that you have earned my undisputed respect. Until our paths cross next time."

The blue hum enveloping her scabbard vanished, transforming into a swirling formation of sakura petals.

In a single, silent heartbeat – the entire world around Ayako seemed to stand completely still.

Her hand blurred.

SHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A blinding flash of vertical silver light sliced clean through the tree and arena.

Then, the delayed kinetic force caught up.

BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The hundred-foot-tall Sakura tree was instantly split perfectly down the center which exploded into millions of flying splinters and drifting pink petals.

Nichole stood no chance. Feeling the slash of Ayako’s blade and the pressure that followed thereafter, her unconscious body flew backward at high speeds straight through the protective barriers before crashing heavily onto the Rivertonian stands below.

When the cloud of splinters and petals finally settled across the stone pit, Ayako, with a fluid motion of her wrist, guided her katana back into its scabbard.

The metal locked into place with a loud CLICK that echoed distinctly throughout the quiet coliseum.

The stadium remained frozen for one more breathless second before the eastern stands went absolutely completely wild.

""""YEEEAAAHHH!!!""""

["L-LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT’S ALL OVER!"] Commentator Ken screamed into his microphone. ["The sudden-death tiebreaker has concluded! The winner of the match, carrying her entire nation to Day Two – Izumi Ayako of Myria!"]

The holographic scoreboard in the sky shifted and locked in the final two countries who had survived the opening round crucible:

DAY 1 FINAL QUALIFIERS:

ELDORIA VS MYRIA

Ayako gracefully hopped off her branch and began her slow walk off the cratered arena stage toward her bench. As she reached a certain edge, she stopped for a brief moment.

She tilted her head slightly toward the southern Eldorian bench, locking her grey eyes directly with Amber, who was currently sitting with her legs crossed and watching her with a wide grin.

In a rare, playful manner, Ayako raised a finger to her cheek and returned the mocking wink right back at her.

The message was clear. The warm-up phase was officially over.

And tomorrow, the real war would begin.