The noise inside the arena was chaos wrapped in celebration—thousands of voices rose at once, some shouting in wild excitement, others murmuring with concern.
In the center of the field, the "wounded dwarf" groaned and pushed himself upright. The crowd could not have known this was Noir, still wrapped in the battered illusion of the fighter Noel had just faced. She limped toward the edge of the field, slipping into one of the side tunnels without looking back, careful to keep her movements steady until she was out of sight.
The announcer's voice boomed over the magical amplifiers.
"That concludes the matches for today! All sixteen contenders for the next round have been decided! However, due to the… unusual circumstances in the final fight, there will be a full investigation."
A ripple of reaction swept through the stands.
"For this reason, the tournament will enter a two-day recess before the round of sixteen begins!"
