The next day, the Arena was jam packed and filled with people. Unlike before, only two of the three judges sat in their seats in the commentator stand, with Tyreece Kobe who was typically silent, not making an appearance. The other 2 didn't acknowledge his missing presence for whatever reason.
"ARE YOU ALL READY FOR ROUND 2??"
The arena screamed,
"YES WE ARE!"
A Holographic display emerged from seemingly out of nowhere, taking up the center of the arena. It was so large that it could be seen from wherever you sat in the bleachers.
The hologram displayed the image of a large city that was stacked up like a mountain. It was not the city of Moscow, but neither was it a place that anyone was familiar with. At the top of that cluster, was a tower that stood within the center of the city, where a familiar looking man was tied up to a throne.
In fact, that man was Tyrece Kobe, wearing a pink dress under on top of his suit. He struggled to break free, as all his limbs were restrained and his mouth was sealed. Leonie then began to talk into the mic,
"This game is called, save the Princess. Each teammate from one of the four teams will start the game at the bottom of the city in their own corner. It will be up to each of them to reach the top and save the princess. The points will be measured based on who gets to the top of the tower first, there will be different traps and obstacles that each team will have to overcome. It will also be possible for an opposing competitor to encounter another, so expect some interesting fights!"
Sergeant Frost then took over,
"NOW THAT YOU KNOW THE RULES, LET'S BEGIN! TO MAKE THIS ROUND EVEN MORE EXCITING, PLAYERS WILL BE RANDOMLY SELECTED!"
In the hologram, 4 multicolored Hexagonal platforms began to glow. From each of them emerged a random person from each team.
"IN THE US CORNER, WE HAVE STEPH[1] LEE!"
A brown-haired man with a strong jawline emerged. He wore a black leather jacket and blue jeans. Unlike his prequel he carried no weapons, however, he had a pair of keys attached in the place where a belt would be.
"IN THE KOREAN CORNER, WE HAVE KIM GON-ILL!"
Similarly, he also wore a shining white suit which blinded anyone who looked at him. Compared to the rest of his team he was slightly overweight. He appeared to be panicking from how tall the cluster of cities looked in person.
"IN THE JAPANESE CORNER WE HAVE, YUMENO GOJO!"
The 2 great clans of course, were known all over the world. Especially the Gojo clan, which currently owned its strongest sorcerer, Owari Gojo. Yumeno was no exception to this, as she had also garnard notable fame for becoming a grade 1 sorcerer in a little under a year. And so, all eyes were on her this match.
She wasn't fazed by all the attention, not one bit, as there was only a single thought running through her mind now.
'Win.'
"AND IN THE LEADING CHINESE TEAM WE HAVE, XI QIANG!"
Like the night before he was roaring to go. And already, he had his sights set on a certain someone.
And then almost immediately after, a timer began to countdown.
"3... 2... 1.. FIGHTT"
The large doors that blocked the way finally opened up. Yumeno quickly escaped to her platform as she advanced towards the top of the city. While running however, one of the platforms she stepped on then glowed brightly, as several grade 2 and 3 cursed spirits spawned around her.
Sergeant frost shouted on the microphone,
"THE FIRST TRAP PLATFORM HAS BEEN TRIGGERD!"
Leonie also added,
"Cursed spirits that were captured for this game. Even for a grade 1 sorcerer, a horde of spirits would be difficult to deal with. Even if she kills them all, she will be significantly behind everyone else."
However, Yumeno was no ordinary grade 1. She was the little sister of Japan's strongest, and was quite a monster in her own right.
Unlike her older brother, she did not inherit the six eyes or limitless techniques of the Gojo clan. However, her innate technique still allowed her to become one of the strongest people in the school, surpassing even Kenji who can use black flashes regularly.
The innate technique in question was...
Yumeno pulled out a thin black rod from within her jacket, which quickly unwrapped into the shape of large onyx bow, with a single silver string. When Yumeno began to pull it, she could feel her cursed energy reshaping itself as it turned into 3 long arrows, which pulsed with energy.
As several curses charged towards her, she fired them all simultaneously, with them each hitting a curse in the forehead instantly.
The curses didn't take any kind of damage, and instead they froze in place while the others still continued to rush towards her. They were only several centimeters away, but she really didn't care about them anymore.
The three curses which were hit by the arrows initially, finally moved once again as they rushed in to intercept and kill their own brethren. Quickly, each rogue curse was subdued without even a chance to fight back. As this took place, Yumeno quickly resumed her sprint towards the finish line.
The arena cheered at the overwhelming victory.
Yumeno's Cursed Technique was called Shooting Star. It allowed her to transform her cursed energy into three different types of arrows with different effects. The current arrow she used was called 'Nightmare', which didn't deal any physical damage, but cursed the target by trapping them in a nightmare. Until the target escapes or destroys that nightmare, they will be asleep in the real world, which Yumeno can then control to her bidding.
Additionally, any target hit by this arrow which is a grade or more below Yumeno herself, will instantly be subjected to this arrow without fail. Especially so on cursed spirits who are typically not intelligent.
Not long after he quick defeat though, she could hear something crashing in the distance. Something was plowing through the buildings with astonishing speeds, and it was coming right for her.
The silhouette of a human then rocketed down from the air, crashing into the ground scattering debris everywhere. With just a glimpse, Yumeno could tell that this person was strong... and hostile.
It was Qiang.
However, Yumeno already had her bow aimed at the man the second he landed. With just a single shot, the nightmare arrow instantly flew towards Qiang as it impaled him in the chest. Qiang was a grade 1 sorcerer, the same as her, so nightmare would only work on him for about a minute or two, but that was more than enough time for Yumeno to make her escape. If she needed to, she could just shoot him again.
Yumeno sprinted past him without any delay, but then she felt something tug harshly on her hair. It then forcefully pulled her back, sweeping her off her feat as she saw the mischievous grin on Qiang's face.
"I promised that I would crush this team myself didn't I?"
Raising his arm, he smashed it down into Yumeno's stomach without any warning. The tremendously powerful punch could be felt throughout her entire being, as she was violently pushed into the ground. Qiang didn't stop there, as he then crushed her under his foot repeatedly.
Each blow breaking a rib, each blow crushing a part of her dignity, and each blow made available for everyone to watch.
He then said with restrained anger in his voice,
"You sure are weak for someone in a noble family."
With heavy strain, Yumeno tried to ask,
"H-how?"
Qiang had the cursed energy of a grade 1 sorcerer much like her, in fact, he had slightly less so the nightmare should've lasted 1-2 minutes at least. But he broke free in under 5 seconds. There was no chance he was a special grade, unless he had a cursed tool helping to suppress his energy somehow?
But Qiang didn't even bother to answer her question, as he kicked her in the side, sending her tumbling away. A stream of blood poured from her mouth, as she felt she would pass out any minute.
"Shut up! You piece of trash! Your supposed to be of a noble family, so why the hell are you so weak??"
Not letting her off easily, she ran up to the still crippled girl, and kicked her once again. This time with a kick with all his cursed energy behind it.
"You detestable wench! You deplorable rat! You half-baked Japanese shit! You have no right to have that blood coursing in your veins, and your a stain on your entire family! You exist to hold everyone close to you back, and nothing more. So why don't you go do them all a favour, and kill yourself already. In fact..
LET ME HELP YOU WITH THAT!"
Before he could continue any further with the senseless beating, a robotic voice then coursed through the arena,
"Competitor Qiang, continue on with that violence, and your team shall be penalized."
He paused, before turning back on the crowd. There were no cheers, no shouts of joy nor rage. Only silence. He then turned back to Yumeno, before uttering,
"You make me sick."
He then ran off to finish the game. As he did though, Yumeno managed to get a glimpse of him before passing out. Despite her condition, she still stuck to a single priority. A lesson all sorcerers were taught when forced to combat another. One that was almost instinct.
Deduce their ability.
And right now, Yumeno was on the cusp of that. She already had a rough idea, as one of Qiang's tattoos were now missing. This knowledge wasn't meant for her, but for her teammates which she had failed, since this was the only way she could make things up.
**
On Steph's side, he pulled out one of the silver keys that was attached to his key chain. He then held it out into the air, as a bright light then quickly flashed, before taking the shape of a menacing motorcycle.
His Cursed Technique was Garage. It simply let him summon any vehicle which he had the keys too. The vehicle in question was a special grade cursed tool that he had custom made by a workshop in the US. It costed a hefty amount of money, but it was worth it.
"Maximum: Deathly Engine."
And this technique, brought out the full power of any vehicle without letting it burn out.
Steph began to rev its engine, causing ghostly green flames to burst from its exhaust. He smiled as the wheels began to spin rapidly, grinding against the ground as friction caused sparks to fly, eventually setting the back wheel on fire with that same green flame.
And then, he rocketed off with tremendous speed, speed which even the most powerful of sports cars could never contend with 100 years ago.
As he triggered several traps without a car in the world, a multitude of cursed spirits spawned in front of him. But he laughed as he drove straight through the ones which got in his way. The rest were then quickly incinerated by the green flames that spread from just a single spark.
But now, he faced an issue.
How would he go up? The path to to the top was not a straight one after all. A single sharp turn at that speed would kill him.
He then pulled another of his keys as he summoned,
"Platform!"
The key then glowed, this time with a sinister dark colour as it suddenly disappeared. Then, something manifested at the end of the road, which seemed to be a large ramp aimed upwards.
It was a different tool, made for constructing paths that his vehicle could take, rather than the ones made by others.
"THE JOURNEY OF A BIKER, IS TO BE FREE!"
A deathly green star rose high into the sky. It's flames incinerating even the very air itself, as it took the shape of a terrible litch. Yet despite it being the colour of despair, everyone cheered at its appearance.
The star then continued to rise,as the figure of a human then quickly jumped of it, landing at the very top of the city, just in front of Tyreece. The vehicle on the other hand, reached the very height of the world as it exploded.
"AND IN FIRST PLACE IS AMERICAS, STEPH LEE!"
After some time passed, Qiang eventually finished climbing to the top, granting him 2nd place. Not far from him though was the exhausted Kim Gon-ill who finished in third. Unfortunately due to her injuries, Yumeno was unable to continue the match.
The results then flash on the display.
China - 5 points
US - 4 points
Korea - 3 points
Japan - 0 points
China while coming second, remained dominate as US overtook Korea, now not being far from number 1. Japan on the other hand.. has come fourth twice in a row now. Things weren't looking good for them.
[1] pronounced steff