The next day of the tournament came. Backstage of the arena, Finn shifted around nervously. Kaito walked over and slapped him on the back.
"Just keep calm and remember to stick to what you're good at. You got this man." He said with a smile on his face.
Finn nodded but remained silent. In the back of his mind, a voice whispered a thousand warnings…
You're not ready for this. You're outmatched.
The crew moved towards the entrance as the roaring crowd surged to life. The sound was deafening. The announcer's voice boomed over the stadium speakers.
"Next up we have Finn from the Starlight crew going up against…Myzen, a late entry due to an injury!"
The crowd erupted with a mix reaction of cheers, gasps, and murmurs of curiosity. Finn's eyes widened as his opponent entered the arena. Myzen was unlike anyone Finn had ever faced before. He was around Kaito's height but muscular. He had charcoal black skin and black armor like obsidian. His red eyes didn't have a lick of niceness visible in them whatsoever.
Kaito's eyes narrowed as he looked at him.
"This guy… doesn't feel right. Who is he? Where is he from?"
Talon stepped forward next to him.
"You're right. Something's off about this..."
Finn's heart pounded in his chest. Myzen's aura alone seemed to suffocate the air around him.
"I can't let him intimidate me. Stay calm. Stay focused." He thought to himself as he walked into his spot on the battle ground.
Finn unsheathed his dagger, but his grip was tighter than it should've been and his palms sweaty. Across from him, Myzen casually drew his blade. It was a long curved black sword that shimmered in the light of the host star.
"Begin!" The announcer yelled out excitedly.
Myzen moved with mind bending speed.
Finn barely could react in time before the first strike came. He brought his dagger up just in time to block the strike.
CLANK!
He staggered backwards, struggling to keep his footing.
He jumped back and tried to attack from a different angle, but Myzen was already waiting for him.
He parried one of Finn's wild swings and countered with an uppercut using his off hand.
That single blow nearly ended the fight as Finn fought to keep his body from going limp.
Myzen didn't stop. Each strike came in heavier than the last. Finn ducked under a horizontal slash only to catch a brutal knee to the side of his head.
The sound of the bone on bone violently cracking against each other reverberated across the stadium.
He stumbled back, his knees wobbly and his vision swimming with the taste of blood in his mouth.The crowd winced collectively. Even the crew, watching from the sidelines, exchanged worried glances.
Finn gritted his teeth, willing his body to keep moving. Pain radiated with every breath, but the thought of giving up now was unbearable.
"I need to think. I need to find an opening." He thought to himself urgently.
Desperation filled his body and he moved in. He faked a lunge to Myzen's left, then darted right, trying to hit his exposed side.
For a brief second, he felt a flicker of hope. But that hope was quickly snuffed out as Myzen twisted with supernatural speed.
In an instant, he disarmed Finn and slammed him into the ground.
Finn gasped as the wind was knocked out of him and his dagger clattered out of reach.
His vision blurred around the edges and for a moment, he felt the weight of hopelessness pressing down on him. But somewhere in the haze of agony, a spark ignited… the same one from before.
It wasn't as strong, but it was there.
"I… I can't lose here. I have to keep my promise to Kaito.." He muttered to himself.
He forced himself out of Myzen's grip and managed to stumble to his feet. A faint shimmering green essence began to flicker around him. It was weak, hardly noticeable, but it was there.
His dagger, still lying on the ground a few meters away, began to glow subtly.
Myzen's eyes narrowed slightly.
Finn lunged forward. This time his speed caught Myzen off guard slightly. He stomped on the heel of his dagger, flipping it upwards to his hand as he darted toward Myzen.
His dagger sliced across Myzen's side, drawing blood.
The arena gasped in shock.
But the moment of triumph was short-lived. The energy coursing through Finn's body faded away.
His vision darkened at the edges and his body became heavy.
"No… not now!" He thought to himself, trying to stay upright.
In an instant, Myzen retaliated. His blade sliced through the air, smashing against Finn's dagger.
CLANK!!!
The sound of metal ringed around the arena as Finn's dagger shattered into pieces. Before Finn could react, a knee dug into his chest, sending him flying across the arena.
After crashing into the far wall, Finn fell to the ground, laying there battered and broken. Every breath was agony. Yet, through the blood and the pain, he still managed to struggle to one knee.
His entire body was trembling.
Despite that, he continued to clutched his shattered dagger weakly in his hand.
Myzen watched him and for a brief moment… a look of empathy came over his face before he quickly shook it off.
Finn ran forward with a desperate cry, swinging his dagger with all the strength he could muster.
Myzen sheathed his sword as Finn's blade arced through the air, aimed for his chest… but it wasn't enough.
Myzen sidestepped the attack effortlessly.
He grabbed Finn's wrist mid-swing.
Before Finn could react, Myzen's free hand shot out and delivered a brutal palm strike to the back of his elbow.
CRACK!
The pain was instantaneous.
"AAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Finn screamed bloody murder before crumpling to his knees.
His arm bent inward at an unnatural angle, swinging uncontrollably. His bones poked out from both ends of his snapped arm.
The crowd recoiled collectively, a mixture of gasps, squeals, and horrified murmurs rippled through the stands. Some even vomited out of weird places. Even those who had cheered for blood fell silent.
Finn began to convulse uncontrollably as he fought against the searing pain.
He couldn't fight anymore.
His body had reached its limit.
In an instant, five figures appeared in the arena, each of their essence flaring dangerously.
Kaito, Elara, Jinx, Rorik, and Talon, all of them moved faster than the crowd could process, appearing from the stands and forming a circle around Myzen.
Kaito was the first to speak.
"Move a damn inch and I swear you'll regret it." He said, his voice low and menacing.
Myzen stopped in his tracks but his expression didn't falter as he took in the fierce glares from the crew.
The crowd gasped in shock at the sudden turn of events, and the announcer's voice crackled awkwardly over the loudspeaker.
"I... I'm afraid the match is over! Finn has been disqualified due to outside interference!"
The officials rushed forward, but none dared step too close to the tense standoff happening.
"So this is what it takes to save your little elf runt? All of you? Pathetic." Myzen said condescendingly.
Talon's eyes glowed purple with her hand raised as her tail whipped behind her.
Jinx for once wasn't smiling, but instead had a face of pure rage.
"I'm going to blow your sorry ass into a million pieces if you make another move. Got that?"
For a moment Myzen seemed to consider it, his crimson eyes flicking between each and everyone of them.
"Interesting... Very interesting. But I didn't come here to fight all of you today. Maybe next time." He said as he glanced at Kaito.
With that he stepped back. The crew stayed on high alert, watching his every move.
The arena officials, visibly trembling, finally managed to step forward.
"Pl-pl-pl-please… you all need to leave the arena immediately! The match is over!" One of them, a short thin thalorian man said.
"We'll… we'll have to disqualify Finn due to the interference… rules are rules…" Another similar looking thalorian added.
Elara, Jinx, Rorik, and Talon turned to Finn. His body was broken, his breathing shallow. He fell unconscious due to the immense pain. They carried him carefully with Talon using her telekinesis powers to lift him up and out of the arena.
As the crew began to make their way out, Kaito remained behind, his eyes locked on Myzen.
Elara turned back and called to him.
"Kaito, let's go. We'll deal with him another time."
Kaito didn't respond at first, his body tense as he continued to stare Myzen down. The air around him seemed to ripple with suppressed anger.
Then… he spoke.
"You think you're hot shit huh? Beating down a kid who's barely had the chance to grow?" He said calmly.
He began to think back to the times he was beaten, left bloodied and bruised on the streets day in and day out growing up.
"But you're wrong... All it does is show how pathetic you are." He said, his voice becoming louder.
Kaito lifted his hand up and gave Myzen the meanest middle finger the galaxy has ever seen.
"Just watch Myzen. Everyone will see just how much of a fraud you really are when I kick your sorry ass."
There was a pause, a heavy silence that followed Kaito's words like the calm before a storm. Every single spectator watched in stunned silence at the events unfolding in front of them.
Then…
Myzen's smirk.
It wasn't the type of smirk one would look down on another with, no… It was the type of person who would agree with what Kaito said.
The officials, terrified of both men, urged them to leave before things escalated further.
"Please, both of you... leave the arena!"
"We... we can't have any more violence here!"
Kaito stood there for a moment longer. But he knew now wasn't the time. He turned his back on the arena and walked out.
As he walked through the dimly lit halls of the arena, he felt a presence. It was different from Myzen's, it was more subtle, but no less overwhelming.
A middle aged elf man with light bronze skin wearing a hooded black cloak stepped from the shadows, his smile wide. He leaned casually against the wall.
"Quite the speech you gave back there. Impressive. Almost makes me believe you can really take Myzen down." He said sarcastically.
Kaito tensed immediately, his instincts screamed that this guy was dangerous. Yet, something about the man's energy was... different.
"Who the hell are you?" He asked.
The man pushed off the wall, walking closer.
"I can't tell you my name… not just yet, but let's just say I'm someone who appreciates a good fight. And you, Kaito... you're about to be in one hell of a fight."
"That still doesn't tell me, what do you want?" Kaito replied.
The man's grin widened.
"Hmmmm… Oh, I know. How about I help you take down Myzen?" He said almost jokingly.
"And what's in it for you?"
"Hehehe. Well…you'll just have to find out… Kaito."