Arcane Era-Chapter 43: Arlet Bouli’jer

Absolute silence.

That was what the presence of Ak’ashi’s Guildmaster commanded.

All eyes were on Shen Ak’ashi as he spoke, their full attention captured by his radiance, charmed by his modest smile and calm display of unrivaled power. The same way one would look at the sky to witness the beauty of the sun or the solemnity of the moon, every single one in the massive hall paid homage to the man who stood above all.

—The man the world knew to be The Supreme Lord of Tyranny.

"I believe the end results of the semi-finals will be too obvious this way. It’s clear that Number 1 and Number 2 will emerge victorious against their opponents, meaning they will make it to the finals." He smiled, not even sparing Liyah and Austin a glance.

The latter made a wry smile, sighing at the truism in his words. However, for Austin, he gritted his teeth and tried his best to hide the intense rage that boiled beneath the surface. Veins appeared on the sides of his head, and his bloodshot eyes turned moist just from hearing the words that Shen uttered.

Hate... pure hate could be seen in his gaze.

However, since he was as insignificant as the countless grains of sand beneath the shining light of the heavens, no one paid him any mind when their eyes were fixed on Shen’s magnificent glory.

"What do you have in mind, then, Lord Shen?" Claudius asked, both hands rubbing against each other as he tried to contain his excitement.

"Why don’t we switch things up a little?" Shen asked, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the two boys who stood side-by-side. "Let’s have Number 1 and Number 2 fight against each other in the semi-finals to kickstart the final day of the Combat Exams. The remaining two will fight against each other, and the ones who emerge as the victors will face each other in the finals... which, to be honest, will just be considered as a bonus round for the one who prevails among the first batch."

Everyone laughed at Shen’s remarks, and even Claudius chuckled a little.

The only one not laughing, or even smiling, was Austin.

"Alright then! Let’s do it that way!"

Claudius turned to the four contestants, re-announcing the decision of the Guildmaster regarding the new arrangements of the semi-finals. At this point, Austin’s face had reverted to a neutral facade, giving off the illusion of nonchalance.

"Number 1, Arlet Bouli’jer versus Number 2, Theo... and Number 5, Austin versus Number 18, Liyah." He declared. "So look forward to tomorrow, everyone! It’s going to be grand!"

************

... The third day arrived in the blink of an eye.

Theo had spent all day with Liyah training and practicing in the Sparring Arena, even requesting assistance from some of the establishment’s staff. Both he and Liyah prepared considerably, but even as they entered the hall for the semi-finals, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of inadequacy in their preparations. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Their grueling practice sessions suddenly felt insufficient. Still, they steeled themselves for their greatest challenge yet.

Kaycee encouraged them before taking his seat among the general audience. He had completely skipped out on the second day since he wanted to rest and repair some Armaments, but since this was the Finals, he showed up and planned to cheer his friends on from afar.

"We start off with an epic first round between Number 1, Arlet Bouli’jer... and Number 2, Theo!"

Both parties stood on the stage, eyes fixated on the other.

Arlet sported his usual three-piece suit, with his purple hair perfectly matching his tie, which blended nicely with the rest of his dark suit. A golden brooch sharply contrasted the heavy colors, proudly displaying a grand insignia. He eyes Theo through his mildly tinted glasses, a stoic expression fixed on his clear face.

Already wielded on his hand was his wand, and he was clearly prepared to aim it the moment the battle commenced.

Standing a few meters opposite him was Theo, who wore his usual ashen-black armless shirt that resembled a singlet, matched with faded brown trousers buckled tightly with a belt. He threw aside his sandals, choosing to be barefoot for the fight, brandishing both of his daggers as he glared at his opponent.

Once again, Theo blocked off all distractions from his mind—removing everything that existed beyond the stage from his mind.

The only thing that mattered at the moment... was defeating Arlet.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1!"

ZZZTTZZZ!!!

The match began with the first blast of lightning, its scattered explosion spreading towards everything in front of Arlet. Within seconds, the smell of roasted earth wafted in the air, and strong winds began to quell the misty clouds that formed in multiple locations at once.

"I don’t know how you keep doing it, but..." Arlet carefully glanced all around him, a frown etched on his face. "... You keep dodging my lightning."

At that point, Theo suddenly appeared behind Arlet, charging from the air with both daggers descending with him to create a powerful storm upon activation. The winds from the dagger roared, and the blazing flames surged, creating a torrent of fire as he fell upon his target like a meteor.

BOOOOM!

The very ground of the stage shook, as the cheering audience fell dead silent.

Their eyes were wide open, unable to believe the sheer devastation that two Standard Grade Armaments could cause. The impact alone caused hot winds to surge from the point of impact, creating a deafening noise and steaming heat to erupt into the air.

Even after that was settled, the aftermath of the strike still caused many to shiver. Everything around the target area was charred, covered in blackened soot, with cracks spiderwebbing all over its surface.

But—

"I see... so you took advantage of the light darted into the air." Arlet murmured, his voice perfectly calm despite being the target of such a devastating strike. "How did you figure it out...?"

His body remained in its position, covered by what resembled a translucent clam. He was inside the nearly transparent shell of the clam, and the defense it offered had protected him from the fiery judgment that Theo brought upon him.

"... How did you figure out that I get blindsided by the lightning?"

Theo, his eyes still filled with surprise, darted a few meters away, brandishing both blades as his arms slightly trembled from the impact. His breathing was a little uneven, and that was because he had expended a lot of Ne’sh in a single burst of power.

He wanted to end things quickly, taking advantage of the momentary opening created by Arlet’s temporary blindness when he used his lightning Armament.

How Theo discovered this to be the case wasn’t so difficult, since he had evaded Arlet’s strike during the Preliminary Rounds and the boy still had no clue how he did it despite him simply sensing the threat and leaping away from the area of effect.

However, the more Theo thought about it and observed Arlet, the more it made sense to him.

’The reason he wears those tinted glasses is to protect his eyes from the sudden flash of light that appears when he uses the Armament. Also, when he’s about to launch the lightning, he closes his eyes for a brief moment to protect his eyes... giving a small window of opportunity for someone to study his intended path and avoid it.’

Unfortunately, the Armament could aim in multiple directions at once by scattering the electrical currents. Aiming in a single direction was considerably more powerful, but spreading the area of effect was very potent—and useful in certain instances.

For example, when dealing with a crowd... or when dealing with an extremely fast individual.

Thus far, Arlet had been able to eliminate his opponents with a single move, and it was all thanks to scattering the lightning so even with poor aim, it would reach his target with very little margin of error.

However, Theo was a far tricker opponent to deal with.

Not only did Theo study him throughout all the rounds he participated in, but he also possessed extraordinary senses and speed. As such, he stood the highest chance when it came to fighting Arlet.

Of course, despite possessing freakish speed, there was no way Theo could be faster than lightning. If Arlet didn’t have the handicap of blocked vision, he would have been able to hit Theo by properly aiming at him without his split-second of error. This weakness of his gave Theo his greatest edge, and so he was on his road to victory.

But—

’To think he had another Armament hidden...!’ Theo gritted his teeth as his surprised eyes took in the manifestation of his opponent’s newly revealed Arcane Instrument.

The translucent clam sat comfortably, its lips facing Theo as Arlet stood—completely unperturbed—inside it. His indifference towards the attack displayed a confidence that Theo thought was well warranted.

After all, he was the one who struck the clam’s shell, and he could tell... the thing was tough.

’It must be a Regal Grade Armament.’ He concluded. ’I don’t think I can break it.’