Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

"In Ring B we have Thomas von Petra! A cousin to our dear Miss Rena and the chosen representative for Arcadios in this competition. Facing off against this handsome man is none other than Lady Elize al Famyn! Do not let her beauty fool you folks, I hear she strikes as quickly and deadly as a viper!"

Desmond Adler looked at his opponent. She was an attractive young woman, who was very clearly trying to downplay her noble heritage. It was something Desmond could understand. Though he did not know her circumstances, his issues with his family led him to sympathize with whatever it was she had going on.

Looking at the other ring, he noticed that Thomas von Petra was undoubtedly Rena\'s cousin. They looked similar and had similar colored hair. Though, Rena\'s was more crimson than the young man\'s. Thomas\' opponent on the other hand was a peerless beauty. If Desmond did not have as good of control over his faculties as he did, he probably would have lost all sense of reason right there.

"Are you quite finished gawking at someone other than your opponent?" Rena called out.

Desmond rubbed the back of his neck from embarrassment. "Yeah, sorry about that. I will put my all into this fight. So don\'t hold it against me?"

"I will only hold it against you if you hold back," Rena shouted.

"Of that, I have no intention. I assure you." Desmond responded with a smile.

She was right. He needed to get his head in the game, otherwise he would not achieve his goals. If he let himself be distracted now, there was no way he would win.

"Fighters, at the ready! And… Begin!"

Desmond opened with an ice spell, paired with a spear attack. "[Glacies: Ice Spear], [Spear Arts: Twin Impact]"

The girl Rena blocked the ice spell with a spell of her own. "[Ferrum: Iron Wall], [Lux: Enhanced Speed]"

The Ice Spear shattered against the Iron Wall without leaving so much as a scratch. Then, with the assistance of her light spell, Enhanced Speed, she was able to dodge the spear just as it split into two. They impacted the ground without issue, one disappearing as the Art ended.

"It looks like you missed," Rena said with a smile, holding up her hand and preparing to cast a spell. "Too bad you lost your weapon. I\'m confident my magic is stronger."

Desmond only smiled, then snapped his fingers. His spear, which was several feet behind the girl, vanished and reappeared in his hand. "Sorry. You think I would throw my only weapon without a plan?"

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"It\'s enchanted?!" the girl shouted. Then in a panic, she cast several more spells. "[Ferrum: Iron Spikes], [Aqua: Water Shot], [Ventus: Wind Blade], [Ventus: Air Step]"

A surge of spells flew towards him including a line of metal spikes that shot out of the ground. Desmond was able to weave around the spikes, dodging them with ease. However, the opening he thought he had was a trap for him to take a hit from the Wind Blades. One nipped his shoulder, leaving a small gash that began to bleed.

"[Aqua: Waverider]"

The water covering the ground that was generated by Rena\'s spell flew toward him and added to an additional body of water swirling around his feet. Desmond rose into the air on a wave as it surged towards the redhead. He was at the crest of the wave, holding his spear at the read.

"[Aqua: Crushing Pressure]"

The wave became even higher, threatening to engulf the entire ring. Rena was using her Air Step, but if she had not she would have been sucked into the body of water and might have drowned. However, the height that Desmond had reached now overshadowed the height she gained with her spell, and the wave crashed down on top of her.

The girl attempted to cast several spells. Desmond had to dodge several wind blades that sliced through the water. At this range, without the water showing where the invisible blades were at, he would have taken more than his fair share of hits. The girl was tenacious and it reminded him of his sister for a moment.

Once again he found himself distracted and had to shake his head clear. \'Dammit, focus Desmond. Focus!\'

Desmond maintained the pressure of his spell, making sure she wore herself out from the struggle. When the water dissipated, Rena was on the ground, face up and locking eyes with Desmond. He had the head of his spear pressed slightly against her neck.

"Good fight." He said.

"So it was." She agreed, though her face belied a hint of sadness. "I concede."

*****

Rena lay there on the ground, drenched from head to toe and to the core of her being. Her opponent was a handsome-looking young man with Violet hair and blue eyes like the depths of an ocean. She could tell that he had a reason for being here as much as she did.

Though she felt sad that she had lost to him, she could not bring herself to be upset with him. In the end, the stronger of the two won. Rena had already heard in the middle of her fight that Thomas had won his battle with Lady Elize. This meant that Desmond would go on to fight Thomas in the final four.

"Do me a favor, Desmond."

"Yes?"

"Thomas…"

"You want me to go easy on your cousin?"

Her face contorted in anger. "No, I want you to humiliate him."

The man paused for a moment then laughed. He offered a hand to her to help her to her feet, then nodded and returned to the entrance to the arena. Waiting for him was a young woman who looked a lot like him with the same color hair and eyes. She latched onto Desmond the moment he approached, which brought a smile to her face.

"It seems that is who he is fighting for. Good luck Desmond."