Next match: Visionary vs. Zephyrus! Contestants, take to the square!” The auditator bellowed as Onyx’s round finally got underway. He rarely ever got cold feet, nor was he one to openly flaunt pretentiousness. Thus, rather than waving to the spectators like Liz, he quietly walked his way to his side and observed his adversary. The man was unarmed, draped in the usual attire of these lands. There was really nothing notable about the man, he could simply fade into any crowd at his leisure. While his partner energetically returned the waves of the crowds, the boy took a moment of respite and inhaled deeply. The flooring itself was solid sandstone, only a few minutes prior had citizens traversed the area like it was just an ordinary town square. But since the town’s governor had to entertain himself once in a blue moon, the whole area had been transformed into an arena.
Onyx straightened his uniform and tightened his tie. The lingering teachings of learning to appear presentable in front of others still stuck with him five years later. His opponent’s lips were already moving at a rapid rate, a preceding cantation to the duel which was about to take place. He couldn't lie, he was interested in what the man had up his sleeve, and nearly disregarded all of the observers because he was so fixated. ”Hey, Liz, you ready to give the reins to Beta?” He asked while glancing over to the girl, hyperactively jumping to blow off some energy. ”Yep! Make sure you got her back, alright!” Liz patted Onyx’s shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. She received a solemn nod in response, simultaneously shifting his thumb over the embedded howlite.
Liz’s body was suddenly enveloped in a blinding light, causing a few nearby spectators to avert their eyes. Once the brightness dissipated, the first thing all of the observers noticed was the locks of snow-white hair flowing in the wind. Next was the pair of round irises, glistening with a captivating gold, a drastic change from the red which just encompassed them. ”Finally somebody to smash to a pulp~.” The high-pitch was replaced with a deeper tone, filled with not arrogance, but something much, much more dangerous; pride. The girl ran hand through the straightened ivory hair and focused on her adversary. A grin stretched across her face as she placed a balled fist into her palm, and proceeded to crack her knuckles. ”About time we get this show on the road!” Beta perked up at the faint sound of someone clicking their tongue. She glared back at Onyx, silently interrogating him for a reason.
”Well… One of the clerks of a shop I frequent said cracking your knuckles has negative effects. Causes arthritis early and other syndromes of the like.”
Onyx received a tilted head and narrowed eyes as a response, as if she was looking at a crazy person. ”...Does it look like I give a flying fuck?” The girl hissed, to which he motioned to continue on. The two set their sights on their opponent, while Will took cover behind Onyx’s figure. Round, start! The duo shielded their faces as a gust of wind slammed into them, but firmly held their ground. After he lowered his arms, it was obvious what their opponent was. Without exchanging any words, Beta leaned forward and propelled herself at breath-taking speed at the man. She reeled back her hand and prepared to strike down on him, but was met with something invisible stopping her fist a few centimeters from his nose, ”Air Wall. The girl was abruptly forced back into the open air by the man, but considering how much of an seasoned brawler she was, Beta quickly regained her bearings and landed primly next to her partner. ”An air mage…? Kinda generic.” Onyx, meanwhile, didn’t seem too rattled at the sight.
”Kind of generic? No, really generic. And he’s one of those egotistical nutjobs who announce their abilities.” She eased herself into a combat stance, while Onyx just aimlessly stood and watched their opponent. ”Well, at least he only has a contract with air spirits. Imagine if he could also wield earth, fire, and water. Now that would be a riot.” Beta chuckled at the thought of such a man wielding all four bases, of course it was impossible. ”Oi! What are you two blabbing about! ”Air Ravine!” At the command, a zephyr crudely sliced through the sandstone set on a course for the two. They nonchalantly sidestepped the attack, but seeing the aftermath was something a bit disconcerting. The tear in the arena led out of the boundaries, sand began to pour into the crevice while spectators lost their footing out of awe. Onyx whistled out of surprise as he traced the path of the strike, but nonetheless, it didn’t do anything to them.
”Alright… So he’s somebody we actually have to be cautious about. Will and I will back you up, try and whittle down his magic reserves. At this juncture his defenses are impregnable. We just need to outlast him, and then the match is ours.” Beta nodded in agreement and charged the mage once more. It wasn’t long before she closed the gap between her two, the fighter gracefully brought around her leg and attempted to strike his side. But yet again, she was met with the same opposition. The summon began to growl as she bombarded the mage with more attacks, slowly but surely pushing him closer to the out of bounds line. He finally took note of the territory he was losing and casted another ability, ”Air Hold” The array of strikes were halted when Beta’s limbs were constrained. She struggled to get her way out of whatever was restraining her, but any effort was made in vain.
”Tch. She forgot to put some distance and gave him enough time to cast a restraint prayer. He’s got quite the contract with air spirits. Will, you know what to do.” Onyx glanced back at the caped pumpkin, which was in the midst of cowering behind his shoulder. The grip of the white gloves only tightened as soon as its master made the order, but after a few moments of internal debate, finally gave in and released the teal uniform. Will wizzed past Onyx and flew straight into the mage’s face while he was distracted keeping the spell enacted. The man flailed about before beams of light shot out of the pumpkin’s sockets and into his retinas. He quickly knocked the being off of his face, letting out groans of pain while stumbling.
”Damn it! Blade of the Four Corners!” Four spouts of wind flew into his open palm, forming a barely visible shortsword. Like a projectile, he propelled himself towards Onyx, who was merely standing with the usual apathetic he had painted on his face. The boy raised his own arm to a ninety degree angle as the man closed in to swipe. The blade should have met cloth, but instead met dense sand. A shield of grains came into fruition on Onyx’s left forearm, ”It’s rare to see a summoner, especially an air spirit one, versed in close quarters combat. I’ll admit, you’ve surprised me.” He shoved the man back and held his hand toward the ground. The mage didn’t see at first, since he was deadset on striking down teen, but now he had a firsthand look at what Onyx could do. Sand flowed through the audience’s feet and into his hand, forming his own elemental rendition of the mage’s blade. ”A sword and buckler. Looks like you are quite versed yourself. What are you, a knight of the capital?”
Onyx peered at the man and brandished his sword at the contestant, ”En garde.”
When their swords clashed, rather than sparks flying into the air, bits of sand and wind parted from the blades. ”...Even if you disabled me, Beta would still beat you senseless.” The mage suddenly froze with his attack, suddenly realizing the meaning behind Kalon’s words. The round was called to an end as Beta and Onyx surrounded him in unison, only a breath away from decimating their opponent.
Beta paced her way back over to Onyx’s side, then gave Will a quick high five at their achievement. ”Damn, I barely got to do anything! Make sure you find somebody I can actually hit next time, alright? Let’s go grab a bite to eat.” Onyx silently nodded and began to lead his comrades off the stage, until his ears picked up faint laughter. The man broke into emphatic laughter to the point where he could barely breathe. Beta leaned over to her partner and queried, ”What crawled up his ass and died?”
The two were about to take their leave before the mage finally managed to get out a few coherent words. ”So, what is a noble like yourself doing in a dump like this? You know you’re still the talk among summoners even after half a decade?” Onyx instantly stopped in his tracks, his entire physique tensed up at the mocking words. Murmurs began to spread through the crowd, Beta gave the boy a worried look and glanced back at their former opponent, with a smirk stretched widely across his face. ”To think I would find a person like you here.” The man paused mid-thought, making an adjustment to his soliloquy, ”Sorry, my apologies. I don’t think the word person is befitting of you. You are even worthy of the title human. You are just an empty husk, waiting for the day that somebody finally gets the galls to stab you in the back!” Onyx slowly turned himself around as the man continued to jeer, showing a sliver of bewilderment as the man continued to laugh like a hyena. He felt a light squeeze at his shoulder and glanced over at Beta, ”Switch me out with Liz. If I listen to this guy for one more second, my foot’s gonna go somewhere it never should.” He eased his thumb over the black gemstone, and just like that Liz was back in their plane of reality.
”I mean, giving a quarter of one’s soul is considered insane, heinous even, but the whole entire thing? Nobody in their right mind could conceive such an idea. Well, those who value their lives, that is.” Liz began to grit her teeth, like a hound about to lash out to protect her master’s pride, but a hand patting her head placated any agitated ideas. She looked up at her partner, who had already regathered his stoic demeanor. ”People are still chatting about me? Guess the summoning community hasn’t expanded much since I took my leave. Or maybe the minds of its current heads aren’t as sharp as they used to be.” The summoner loosened his posture, ”I might as well pretend to have an existence, rather than not try at all. Besides, my soul’s in a safe place.” To emphasize his point, he patted the girl’s head once more, then led her out of the arena. ”Your rambling is holding up the tourney.”
”Visionary was your alias, right? Quite contradictory.” With that, the two parted ways into opposite sides of the crowd, and the tourney continued on. The trio found an open spot in the nearby seats, and awaited the next round. Liz stared at the ground, still peeved off about the whole ordeal. ”Don’t worry about it, like I said, my soul’s in a safe place. At least most of the observers were focusing on the guild insignia rather than what he was going on about. Anyways, let’s see how the others fair.”