”You are mistaken, Damian.”The circle of soldiers, now surrounding both Phoenix Wing members, and incorporating Riona though she did not yet bear their mark, stood in palpable silence as a lone figure walked toward him. Hyun's long, dark brown hair flowed freely in the sweet wind that filtered through the remaining trees. Her stride held no worry or hesitation, instead mirroring the grandiose magnificence of her glittering golden eyes. Only two days ago the Blade of Phoenix Wing had broken the will of a woman to live, but Hyun was not that woman anymore.
Her words held force in and of themselves. Even without a kingdom forevermore, she had not forgotten the bearing of a queen.
”Miss Marlene has committed crimes against Frenzy Plant. Assault of one of our members with intent to kill, and destruction of guild property. If someone came into your guild's hotel, trashed the foyer, and beat one of your friends, would you simply let her go freely back to her guild without consequences? I think not. Until her innocence has been proven or her actions justified and reparations made, Marlene is the prisoner of Frenzy Plant.”While speaking, Hyun had been advancing, and now stood only a few feet from her former opponent. Abruptly, her face broke out into a very uncharacteristic smile, one that combined with her oddly luminous eyes to give her a subtle air of the unnatural.
”You should think twice, next time, before barging onto an army's turf and loudly demanding to have your way. But I'm sure that you were just leaving.” Obvious within her tone and golden eyes was an unspoken challenge, one that put the entire circle on edge and thickened the tension enough to be cut with a knife.
Round Three: Trial By Fire
Deyja's, Iron Enigma's Dearest Darkness, versus Demetri, Frenzy Plant's Blazing Brawler
The lull settled over the Doma Flau following the shocking and mysterious bout between Jack and Angelo suddenly and extravagantly gave way. High above the sand, the grand lacrima display blazed to life, showing Games Master Sheldon in lethally gorgeous cyclone of shadow and fire.
”The short wait is over, ladies and gentlemen! You might have paid for your whole seat, but you'll only need the edge, because we have a glorious matchup for you right now! Demitri of Frenzy Plant, and Laynette of Iron Enigma! Get down here and be ready to rock—heaven or hell!"As Laynette's name was called, Deyja would curse under his breath and start to climb down from the top edge of the stadium. It would take him almost ten minutes before he got all the way down and into the tunnel that lead into the Arena itself. Why did he have to come here while Laynette watched that stupid furrball? He swallowed as he walked into the arena, immediately feeling tens of thousands of eyes on him. He had to keep himself from shouting and running back into the stands. He stood at the entrance, staring at everyone in terror for a few moments before he got his voice, though it was almost inaudiable.
"U-uhm, Laynette b-broke her A-ankle s-so... I'm s-subbing for her." He doubted anyone heard him, so he said it again slightly louder, before dropping his eyes to the field and walking to the middle. Unbeknownst to him, the display overhead shifted to accommodate, swapping out Laynette's insignia and face for his own.
How could he fight with this many people watching him? Even worse, his guild was watching him too, and there was also Phoenix Wing, who he could feel a few evil eyes from.
"I-I guess I'm ready." He'd murmur under his breath once he was standing on his half of the middle, looking across the Arena at the other entrance, wondering what his opponent was like. Would he be able to fight him? Or would he let his whole guild down? He continued to worry, and sweat was beading already aon his forehead.
By the time that Deyja had arrived, Demetri had already made his entrance. He leaped from the stands into the arena, performing a flip, his fiery forearms burning out the letter D in the air as he fell. The ground where he landed burst into a miniature crater on his arrival, and he'd settled in to wait for his opponent to navigate timidly and meet his challenge.
He'd been speaking up to a few members of Frenzy Plant, those with the lowest seats, when Deyja finally appeared. Having been off to the side, he'd been somewhat hidden from the Iron Enigma mage's immediate view. Now, however, the soldier noticed the other competitor's arrival, and strode over to join him. Demetri approached until he was about twenty-five feet away, and gave the small, skinny man a nod.
"Alright then. Let's make this battle like shortbread: short and sweet. Prepare yourself."Demetri pulled his arms, inhaling simultaneously. As fresh oxygen filled his lungs, the fiery cracks in his brimstone forearms flared up. After gathering power in such a manner for a couple of seconds, the soldier quickly spread his arms, flexing the fingers. His arms danced with fire, and around his feet, burning-red magic circles began to form. They were small, only about the size of plates, but as more and more appeared in very quick succession it seemed like there was no end to them. In only a moment, the ground for several hundred feet in every direction was blanketed in the circles.
Deyja would not have long to contemplate them, however. Demetri rushed forward, sprinting at high speed, and aimed a crushing flame-powered hook punch at the other wizard's shoulder, so it would be more difficult to dodge than, say, a head shot.
Deyja would watch as the disc like magic circles landed everywhere, and he would shift back and forth on his feet.
What is he doing now? Is this an attack? It doesn't really look like one. He bit his lip, and was almost caught off guard by the direct attack his Opponent launched.
"Sh-shadow Control!" The dark mage would throw his hands up between him and the attack, his shadow disappearing from behind him and forming a hemisphere around him instead. Demitri's attack would slam into it, but do seemingly nothing to it or its occupant, who wasn't even looking at what was happening.
After the few seconds it took for Deyja to realize he hadn't been hit, he looked up at his attacker. It took another second for him to remember what was going on, and the hemisphere that was his shadow would suddenly begin shrinking. It would form a sphere in in front of its owner, before being launched away from him at Demitri at high speed. The orb of shadow would continuously charge at the fire mage, whenever it flies past him it would stop before shooting towards him again. The continuous barrage of attacks would likely keep the mage busy while Deyja went back to worry about all the people staring at him. He felt so uncomfortable in a stadium like this.
Why couldn't they just put a dome up or something? Then I could focus on fighting this guy and not all these people. Do they all have to be staring at me? He shook himself and turned back to his opponent, whom his shadow was probably still attacking.
As far as priorities went, dodging was not high on Demetri's list. When his punch had been blocked, the brawler squinted to get a read on his opponent's magic.
It's like Make magic, but with shadows. That means while it's versatile, it...uh, what did Indigo say about it again? Nevermind. Deyja's projected shield attack bore down on Demetri, but after extensive training and near-daily workout, his speed was almost as impressive as his strength. Fire spewed from the cracks in his forearms as he brought down both fists on the incoming blast with enough force to cause it to lose cohesion. Demetri smiled to see that he'd managed to destroy the boomeranging spell on the first attempt.
"Don't underestimate me," he told the distracted Iron Enigma wizard,
"Strength isn't all I bring to the table." He made a gesture with his arm -thrusting it straight upward- at about the same time that Deyja turned back around. From twelve of the magic circles surrounding the raven-haired man, fiery brimstone fists erupted straight up--a fusillade of uppercuts, all with equal might to Demetri's own.
When Deyja turned and saw that his shadow orb had been destroyed, he immediatly panicked, looking below him. It was still there, good. He didn't even notice his opponents taunts, or his attack, until he was flying. An experience he would've found pleasureable had it not been caused by pain. As gravity retook the frail mage, he came crashing down to the ground, groaning.
Did I break something? Oh how Ironic that would be. Lying about Laynette having broken something then breaking something myself. No, nothing broken yet. After a few seconds lying there and doing his wellness check, the dark mage would stand up, glancing at the cheering crowd. Why couldn't they just shush and go away?
Shaking himself, Deyja faced his opponent again, seemingly unaware of any pain he should've felt.
"I-I didn't a-appreciate that. Th-the crowd w-was distracting m-me... All th-their staring. I-I can't stand it." He'd hug himself and rub his shoulders, seemingly disinterested in the fight. After a moment he regained his composure and held out his hand.
"Shadow Control." His shadow would again form a solid ball and launch itself at Demitri. However, instead of simply trying to hit him over and over again like the previous time, it would stop just out of his arms reach, and stay there. Moving as he moved, not approaching nor going away, and certainly not attacking. If Demitri moved towards Deyja, it would move to the opposite side of Demitri to it's master.
The strange words of Deyja earned him a frown from his Frenzy Plant foe. After determining that the new shadow ball wasn't offensive, but rather another distraction to keep him busy while the Iron Enigma member pondered his insecurities, Demetri crossed his arms. If his brimstone skin burned against his chest, he took no notice of it.
"That's your problem. If you let yourself be put in the games, then you signed up for this. You've got thousands of eyes on you, all just waiting for your next move, and you're giving them a downright awful show. If you really just want it to be over, don't bother defending. They'll all be so unimpressed that you'll be forgotten right off. Hear that, kid? Being a nice man, I'll finish this for you now. ASURA!"Four magic circles appeared on Demetri' back, specifically his shoulderblades. In a flash, new brimstone arms reached out from them, muscular and with fingers clenched into fists. The brawler now had six arms. Roaring, he reeled back and punched the ground, causing a miniature explosion that launched him up into the air. Beneath Deyja, another round of burning uppercuts emerged to send him skyward as well, faster than a distracted man could react. As Deyja neared the zenith of his launch cycle, Demetri executed a six-armed slam to return his opponent to earth and end the battle in a decisive and showy move.
”What's this!?" Sheldon's voice sang out in awe.
”Looks like Frenzy Plant's formidable fist-fighter is about to deliver Deyja a smackdown of diabolical proportions!" 
