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"Are you all set?" Viktoria asked as Jackson turned around with an annoying look spread across his face.

"What are you doing here..?" Jackson asked, reluctantly departing the stoop as he slowly approached her; she threw her thumb behind her, pointing to a man in a suit running toward them.

"Gabriel just came and got me! I saw you enter the plaza and wondered why you were acting so suspicious, so I decided to come and say 'hi!'" She smirked, resting both hands on her hips.

"Ah! Mr. Seraphin! I was just looking for you; we have some important business to discuss on our way to the Training Grounds! Please, follow me!" Gabriel said, exhausted, as he leaned forward, resting his hands against his knees.

"If I must..." Jackson sighed, ignoring the daggers glaring into his back as he passed Viktoria, who followed and continued stabbing him. Gabriel huffed, standing up and quickly smoothing his disheveled appearance, and led Jackson toward the small coliseum Flaming Dawn utilized as a barracks, armory, and training grounds.

Along the way, Gabriel explained what Jackson's initial cut of the proceeds was, as well as the odds the house was using tonight, his cut of what the house makes, the rules of the Exhibition Match, "In addition, the winner will receive a last-minute prize from Ramus as the initial draw from the crowd was not as strong as we anticipated."

'I can't believe this entire thing gained traction!' Jackson lamented in his head, rolling his eyes. Viktoria paused her incessant glaring and raised her finger to ask a question as Gabriel immediately turned around and pointed at her with a glare, "It will remain a secret until it is awarded to the winner."

She threw her hands up, immediately surrendering with an innocent smile, as he turned back around and continued, "If either of you even thinks of taking it a step too far, do not think we will not hesitate to immediately disqualify you and intervene. Just because there will not be a referee down there with you two doesn't mean we do not have people in the stands."

They entered through a back doorway into the coliseum as Gabriel finished his explanation, and Jackson nodded, "I understand and agree to the terms."

"Me too!" Viktoria cheered, throwing her hand into the air and doing a small hop. Gabriel stopped at an intersection and pointed down opposite hallways, "You each take one hallway and prepare in the locker room at the end. When you hear your name called, come out into the coliseum. Got it?"

Both nodded as he turned around and departed, while Viktoria looked Jackson once over and huffed before turning and leaving the young man alone; he sighed and shook his head, muttering to himself as he walked down the hallway.

***

Gabriel quickly entered the Emperor's Box, nodding to Ramus, who grinned from ear to ear as he turned around. He stepped onto the elevated platform in the coliseum and shouted loudly with a massive boom, "Ladies and Gentlemen!!!! Flaming Dawn is proud to welcome you to our Coliseum Training Grounds!"

The audience had been waiting eagerly for this moment, and they'd already spent hours watching a few sparring matches with training swords. They could finally see the headline fight! The packed stands erupted into an ear-shattering roar of excitement.

"Tonight, we'll be having an exhibition match between two of the most promising up-and-coming Climbers: Jackson Seraphin and Viktoria Snow!"

The crowd roared once more as both combatants entered the arena, glaring at each other as they walked to the center and stood on opposite ends of the stadium, facing each other.

"The only way to win is to force your opponent to say, 'I yield!' Now, let's get started!!"

"Let's go!" Viktoria yelled, charging forward, her rapier held high in front of her and her buckler tucked close to her hip. Jackson took a deep breath and focused on the two swords in his hand, then he charged forward as well.

Viktoria swung her rapier diagonally upward, aiming for Jackson's neck, but he easily dodged by stepping back and swinging his sword horizontally to block her attack. She twisted her body and slashed sideways with her rapier, forcing Jackson to jump back to avoid getting hit.

Jackson pulled his right foot back and jumped off the ground, lightning arcing from the soles of his black combat boots, launching himself straight into the air. Viktoria spun around and thrust her rapier toward Jackson's chest, but he used his momentum from jumping to swing his sword downward, blocking her attack.

Viktoria rolled backward and landed on her feet, spinning around to slash her rapier toward Jackson's legs. However, he simply leaped over her attack, landing on the ground behind her. She turned around and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying backward.

Jackson backflipped through the air, quickly landing on his feet and rushing toward Viktoria, twirling his two swords around his body. She rapidly blocked his attack with her rapier and pushed him away with her buckler, causing him to stumble backward.

"Hah!" Jackson laughed as he recovered his balance and readied his swords. Viktoria lunged forward with her rapier, but he quickly sidestepped and swung his two swords in a circle around his body, deflecting her attack and launching her backward.

As her boots skid against the dirt, her intricately designed buckler began frosting over as ice crystals formed around the edges, growing larger and crawling along the face of her shield. Viktoria quickly regained her footing and launched toward Jackson, ice gathering and spiraling around her rapier.

As her rapier thrust toward the ground, Jackson rolled out of the way, a large cluster of ice spikes gathering at the epicenter. Lightning shot from his feet as he launched toward her, spinning in the air as she slashed both swords horizontally.

Viktoria pulled her rapier back, slamming her buckler into the ground as a block of ice rose from the dirt between her, blocking Jackson's attack as he sliced it in half, backflipping off the chunk, kicking violently, launching it at her.