The Spider Queen

(Planet Caorn- Elysium Archipelago)

(Unnamed Island- Grand Arena)

Ryan's sword was remarkably thin.

In fact, it bore a striking resemblance to the sabres used in an ancient Earth era fighting sport called fencing.

Qiana lowered her stance and her fingers tightened around the hilt of her daggers. This would not be an easy fight.

There was a reason why Ryan Wilhelm was chosen as the representative of Atlas University.

He may be arrogant, but he indeed had the skills to back up his rather irritating personality.

[One second… BATTLE BEGIN!]

The shadows beneath Qiana's feet began to spread outwards and cover the ground of the sandy field.

She leaned backwards and disappeared into the darkness. There was a complete moment of silence as Ryan stood perfectly still.

Then a wide grin spread across his face.

"Do you think your cheap tricks will work on me?!" Ryan loudly laughed as his figure blurred and then vanished from the spot.

His weapon moved so fast that it was impossible for anyone below the void stage to track his movements.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Amazingly Ryan's blade cut through the spreading darkness as if the inky black nothingness was a mere piece of paper.

Qiana tilted her neck to the side and narrowly avoided a quick strike that would have decapitated her instantly.

She wasn't fast enough…

A thin red line spread slowly from the side of her neck and it was accompanied by a sharp burst of pain.

Qiana placed her right palm on the side of her neck and quickly assessed the damage. Fortunately, only part of her skin and flesh had been sliced off.

Blood slowly dripped down from her neck and stained the white sand beneath her feet.

Ryan raised up his arm to strike again when a dagger was thrown right at the middle of his forehead.

He was forced to ungracefully block the sudden attack and the dagger fell helpless into the ground behind him.

Qiana did not stop and continued to fling needle-like blades in her opponent's direction which made Ryan take several steps backwards and widen the distance between them.

An irritated frown flashed across the handsome young man's face as he lifted up his sword and blocked yet another attack.

"Stop this and fight me!" Ryan roared as he narrowly avoided a dagger that aimed directly at his lower regions.

"You… fine… I'll just come to you then…"

Ryan took in a deep breath and his skin began to turn a golden bronze colour. He bent his knees and prepared to lunge at the plain faced girl.

Qiana saw that her opponent was about to charge and a small smile appeared on her lips. She stretched out her fingers and thin threads could be seen wrapped around her fingertips.

Each thread was connected to one of the daggers that she had thrown.

Now all she had to do was pull gently and….

Stab!

Ryan flinched as several daggers penetrated his back.

The blades only went in a few inches deep because his body armour technique prevented them from entering even further.

But still… it was incredibly painful.

Body Armour Technique- Golden God!

Ryan tossed his sword to the side and flexed his arms. The deep bronze colour of his skin turned into a brilliant golden shine.

The daggers embedded in his back were slowly pushed out of his flesh and dark black blood dripped from where the blades had entered his back.

Qiana had poisoned the daggers.

The first rule of a being good assassin…. never fight fair.

Ryan staggered forward but managed to steady himself. He cocked back his left fist and punched in Qiana's direction.

BOOM!

An enormous shockwave was produced by his punch and the burst of air slammed directly into Qiana's body before she could react.

The slender girl flew backwards and crashed into a nearby wall with a heavy thud.

She slid to the ground unceremoniously all the while coughing out blood and specks of her organs.

The golden armour around Ryan's body began to crack and soon his skin returned to his normal colour.

He stepped towards his weapon and picked up the blade.

"This is the end…" Ryan muttered as he turned to look at the injured girl.

Except there was one small problem… the girl was gone.

Ryan's eyes widened in shock as he quickly looked around hoping to see if he could find out where Qiana was hiding.

Nothing.

It was like she had disappeared into the desert.

Ryan was so focused on looking for his missing opponent that he did not realise that he could no longer hear the sounds of the crowd.

The grand arena was now completely silent to the point where you could hear a pin being dropped.

It was like he had been teleported to a different dimension.

The shadows beneath Ryan's feet twisted and squirmed as if they were somehow alive. A slender hand emerged from the darkness holding a dagger in its palm.

With one smooth thrust, the dagger sliced through Ryan's Achilles' tendon. The handsome young man's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.

"Again… again… with the shitty techniques…" Ryan growled angrily. He tried to stand up but the wound on his right leg just would not heal.

Qiana did not give him the chance to recover. An endless stream of daggers came flying out of the shadows.

Some came from behind while others were thrown directly at his body. Ryan's eyes narrowed as he saw the wave of attacks.

He gripped his sword tightly and then prepared to use a move that he had been saving for the last round of the tournament.

Ethereal Style- Endless Blades!

Ryan swung his weapon and dozens of translucent images of his sword followed the movements of his blade.

These translucent images may appear to be just illusions, but they were real enough to block the daggers in their path.

Slowly but surely Ryan's swordsmanship ripped apart all the shadows near his body and one of his translucent blades even managed to penetrate Qiana's stomach.

Qiana coughed violently and pressed down on the injured area. She hadn't even seen when the attack had reached her.

Ryan was strong.

She had known that going into this match but…

No… don't think negative thoughts… you still have one ace up your sleeve.

Ryan and Qiana stared at each other for a brief moment. They were both heavily injured and would not last for much longer.

Ryan's back was torn apart by the daggers coated with poison while Qiana was bleeding from the wound in her stomach.

This was the end.

They each only needed one last move to decide the winner and the loser.

Ryan gripped his sabre in a reverse grip and small red runes appeared along the edges of his weapon.

He was going to use another sword technique but this time… Qiana was ready.

Lightning Transmission!

Small electromagnetic signals pulsed outwards from Qiana's body and entered the mind of Ryan who was about to attack.

This was a special technique created by the ancestors of House Abazin that allowed the caster to modify the electric signals sent to the brain of their victims.

These signals would create false images in their minds.