Chapter 227 - Second Finalist Is...

"Then let me show you something… Good luck dodging this!" teased Freele, condensing the light around her hands.

Suddenly, three smaller tempests picked up around Oli. They weren't powerful enough to suck him in but they were strong enough to slow him alongside the larger cyclone. And that made Oli an easier target.

A thin beam of light shot out of Freele's hands, aimed directly for the cornered and slowed Oli. All eyes focused the best they could as that attack was thrown in the blink of an eye.

But everyone's anxiousness was shattered yet again when that ray of light failed to fade. Instead, a mist of darkness rushed out of Oli and met the beam head-on. Neither attack seemed to overpower the other, but the light dispersed the darkness while the darkness consumed the light. 

"Incredible! All this time, Oliver had an answer to Freele's light and we never knew it!"

"Not those with dark essence…" Lizbeth chuckled along with the announcer's shouts. "He wasn't hiding it but he wasn't showing it off either. His affinity is pretty strong though, so I'm not sure if many realized it till now."

"So that's why you like him. You should have said so!" laughed Nixt. Of the hosts, he was the most attentive of Oli's every move.

Back in the stands, Tranton sighed and leaned back. He glanced and grinned at his youngest son. "Is this what you meant earlier." Getting a nod from Trenk, Trantor asked, "So what? How will that be enough for him to overcome his disadvantage against wind? Or the difference in cultivation?"

Trenk kept his thoughts short as he wanted to focus on the match. "Because his affinity is better than hers…"

"What? He has dual essences and at least one with high affinity?" Trantor questioned but got no response. "Trenk? How good is his affinity? Trenk?"

Not caring what the audience thought, Oli and Freele weren't letting up at all.

Freele instantly began revising her assessment of Oli and her plan.

"So, how will you finish me off now?" Oli shouted his question with a laugh. With no quick response coming, Oli bolted between two smaller tempests. "No answer? Then allow me…"

A mist of darkness burst out of Oli and washed over the stage. The wind slowed it but couldn't dissipate it entirely, not with Oli pouring out everything he had. It only stopped when Freele cast light around the stage, creating a large circle of light amid a sea of darkness. 

"Focusing only on your immediate surroundings… You really are trying to drag this out…" Oli's voice carried over the stage but his location remained a mystery. 

Darkness rushed toward Freele from two sides, charging like horizontal columns wanting to crush her in the middle.

But Freele wasn't unprepared. A small beam of light was thrown into each column of darkness, along with a slew of wind blades. She didn't dare let Oli get close without paying a price. But as those two columns of darkness evaporated, two more came. And Freele felt something different about the one to her right.

Doing the same thing, Freele scattered the dark pillars with light and wind blades. She also hurled a small wind vortex into one of those columns. But her confident stare wavered slightly as she realized what had been hiding in that darkness. 

As Freele and the crowd saw a small, essence-coated boulder be shredded in the wind, there was one thing that Freele had failed to notice.

An arm suddenly shot up from the ground and grabbed Freele by the ankle. Freele reacted instantly and threw a wind blade with each hand. But as those wind blades left her hands and Oli's hand pulled Freele's feet to the ground, She felt a jarring impact in the heel of her free leg.

Oli then leaped out of the ground, bloodied and breathing heavily. Two large slashes were left on his shoulder and torso. They were bleeding profusely as Oli let his dark mist disperse completely. He had finally reached his limits.

However, as the crowd started to cheer again, Freele's light dimmed drastically and the wind stopped blowing around her. She collapsed onto the ground. Trembling, Freele struggled to say anything as she reached for Oli and her consciousness faded.

"B-but… I…"

Her hand dropped to the floor and her eyes were left half-open, yet Freele was barely breathing as she stopped trembling.

"FREELE!"

"It's over! The match is over!" 

The ref could barely call the match as Trantor had already started to rush up the stairs and onto the platform. Seeing his unconscious fiancee and remembering her terrified trembling not even a moment ago, Trantor looked to her barely-standing, exhausted opponent. "What have you done? What did you--"

"Calm down…" 

A hand fell onto Trantor's shoulder as Lizbeth descended onto the stage in a rush. She too looked at Oli for some sort of reply, but Lizbeth wasn't blinded with emotion like Trantor. Lizbeth noticed Oli's weak footing, his haggard breathing, and twitching face. Without question, Lizbeth watched Oli slowly turn and begin his long, gradual return to the seats below.

Medics were now on the stage. They stepped forward as Lizbeth got Trantor to step back, immediately checking her pulse and vitals. In moments, the medics gave an answer to everyone's worries.

"She's going to be okay! Young Master Freele will be fine, ladies and gentlemen!"

The announcer's shouts sent a wave of calm over the audience's hearts. But they were all still left wondering what had just happened and why Oli, the disadvantaged combatant with terrible wounds and imminent blood loss, was the victor. 

"Stupendous!" The announcer continued as Freele was carefully loaded onto a stretcher and carried off the stage, "Do you know what this means? Do you?! Today is a day that history is truly made! Today, we've seen our titanic competitors fall one by one with two dark horses coming out on top! Today, we saw the rise of two future stars of the Trighton Territory! Today, we will see a final fight unlike anything ever before!"