CHAPTER 15
The grueling tournament matches continued in the arena. Darion, along with Takeya, Ray, Sky, and four other fighters, advanced to the quarter-final round, all dispatching their opponents in spectacular fashion.
Takeya won his quarter-final match by disposing of a Rowdy representative with a clasped hand thrust to the spine that paralyzed the warrior before the cataclysmic effect released him from his catatonic state.
Ray was successful in his quarter-final bout as well, the years of Oneiric Gaming and squabbles with his best friend Sky apparently paying off. He defeated a fellow Rowdy by back flipping, raising the toes of both boots into the underside of his chin in the course of the flip, shouting “Back Flip Kick!” during the move. Sky shook his head at Ray’s ignorance upon hearing this. He would have gone with “Double Kick Flip!”
With their quarter-final victories, Takeya and Ray advanced to the next round, where they would face each other to determine who would advance to the finals.
Sky won his quarter-final bout in equally (greater in his view) dramatic fashion. Fighting against a powerful Ascended fighter who dwarfed him in stature, Sky had to delve into his repertoire of “special moves”—“Rocket Uppercut,” “Knuckle Twister,” and then his finishing move, the “Sayonara”—to dispatch his foe. Sky advanced to the semifinals, with one match remaining to determine his opponent.
Now, Darion’s quarter-final match was up, and to his dismay it was against a female opponent—a Rowdy representative named Diana who had defeated her previous two opponents with spectacular displays of fighting prowess. Sure, she was powerful … but she was a girl. Nana warned Darion to watch out because Diana just might whup his butt. Hughes told Darion not to take Diana lightly, because, for Ascended bodies that derived their strength from the Essence, terrestrial notions of differences in strength between the sexes did not apply. He warned Darion to attack Diana with the same ferocity he would anyone else, for she was quite capable of ending his tournament run and setting him back in his quest to help his friend. Darion deferred to his teacher’s wisdom and steeled his resolve to defeat Diana by any means.
The announcer’s voice resonated throughout the arena. “Now, for the final match of the quarter-final round. Representing the Rowdies of the Hall of Might, Diana Davis!” The crowd erupted in applause for the female warrior who had so thrilled them with her tenacious style—never backing down and pressing her opponents with relentless attacks. The crowd was anticipating an exciting match, given the clash of styles with Darion’s superior movement and countering.
“Her opponent, the Iraq-war casualty trained by Joseph Hughes, Darion Elmore!” Upon hearing his name, Darion teleported to the center of the arena.
Aw crap, Darion thought as he looked across the threshold at his opponent. Not only was she a girl, but a pretty one. She was slim and didn’t appear to be formidable in the least, except for the mean look on her face, with her large, light brown eyes squinted in determination. She wore the optional Hall of Might uniform of matriculating females—a formfitting, sleeveless white top with golden shoulder spaulders that descended to the front and contoured her bosom as a chest guard; white, mid-thigh skirt with golden trim; and white leggings tucked into her boots. She had mocha colored skin and black curly hair with brown highlights, braided and tied back in a ponytail.
“Are you ready?” Darion nodded. “Are you ready?” Diana nodded. Clay disappeared.
“Fight!”
Darion exploded forward, looking to set things off with a right to her jaw. Diana was faster on the draw. She leapt forward, intercepting his charge with a flying front kick to his face that snapped his head back. Diana came down and pressed forward with a barrage of alternating straight punches interspersed with whipping roundhouse kicks to the body. Darion flew straight back, managing to block the majority of the strikes with his tight guard. Darion shifted to the right while spinning counterclockwise; Diana was open to a counter but—he didn’t take the shot, still bothered by the prospect of striking a female.
Diana didn’t have such qualms. She reacquired her target and continued the assault. For Darion’s part, he put on a masterful display of defensive maneuvering, shifting frantically to avoid her relentless attacks. Frustrated (and frankly offended) by Darion’s unwillingness to engage, Diana decided to restrain him and thrust herself upon him, clasped her hands behind his neck in a Muay Thai clinch, and began lifting knees into his gut. Darion flew back, attempting to shake her, but her grip was too tight. Darion was taking a lot of punishment and had to do something—regardless of his feelings. He locked his hands around the small of her back and pulled her close in a bear hug. He exploded forward, rocketing across the arena, and drove her into the stands in an explosion of stone shards.
Anticipating his misplaced chivalry, she lay still in the crater, feinting unconsciousness. Darion rose and backed away, then Diana kicked up, smashing the soles of both boots into the underside of his jaw. She continued in her diagonal ascent and with her interlocked fingers caught him underneath the chin, righted herself, and hurled him forward a good distance to the arena floor below. Darion lay prone on the cracked floor and attempted to push himself up, but Diana came down on the small of his back with her heels, flattening him out while forcing a vortex ring of misty Essence from his body.
The crowd let out an ominous oooh, recognizing the Essence diffusion as a sign of one being on the verge of molecular explosion.
Diana dropped down and locked in a rear-naked choke. Darion began to lose consciousness, and as he began to fade he envisioned Jacob lying in the hospital bed in bandages. Then came an image of Zadadach’s face chuckling in mocking laughter.
Darion went wild, zigzagging backward through the arena like a pinball, smashing Diana into any surface he could. Diana tightened the choke. Darion then flew straight up about a hundred feet with Diana on his back. He rolled backward to a supine position with Diana clinging beneath him and shifted downward, smashing her back into the stone below. Diana was stunned, but the tenacious warrior refused to relent and held onto the choke. Darion stood with Diana still clinging on. He had no choice; he reached up and grabbed two handfuls of her hair and hunched forward, breaking her grip and hurled her into the crowd, sending a fissure up the stands upon impact.
Though she landed with a crash, Diana seemed to bounce off the stands and was right back in Darion’s face with a barrage of punches. They traded savage shots in the center of the arena, each blow resonating like an artillery blast.
Both were taking a vicious beating, with each emitting puffs of Essence with every blow received. Diana was fierce, aggressive, powerful—but predictable. She would keep coming forward no matter what. Darion feinted retreat, flying straight back while absorbing her charging blows on his tight guard. Suddenly, he shifted to the right while turning counterclockwise, and, as expected, Diana was wide open. This time, he capitalized. With all his might, Darion lashed out with a right cross to the exposed back of her head. She exploded in a golden blast, the conflagration washing over Darion as he stood with his punch still extended.
The crowd roared in appreciation for both warriors and their hard-fought battle. Darion rose both fists in victory. The stage was set for the semi-final round—Ray vs. Takeya in the first, and Darion vs. Sky in the second—and Darion was one-step closer to his goal.