"[Explosion Bullet Scattershot]!"

My eyes widened as a rapid volley of small explosive projectiles came shooting towards me, before she unleashed a larger projectile with an enraged yell as I swallowed up her explosive bullets.

I scrambled away as fast as I could, the projectile hitting the barrier and erupting with immense force, the shockwave knocking me off my feet.

As I fell over, I swung my left hand down, slamming it against the floor and balancing on it, before pushing off the arena and flipping myself forward, landing with a soft thud.

"Now, take this, [Explosion Spear]!"

I raced away as fast as I could, a deafening explosion erupting behind me as I evaded the blast, before raising Ravage as she fired out a barrage of explosive spears at me, swallowing several up.

"How many times do I have to say it?! STOP DISAPPEARING MY EXPLOSIONS!!!"

Grr, shut up already, damn it!

"Why don't you get closer and do something about it?!" I shot back tauntingly, before sprinting across at top speed as she unleashed another barrage of explosive projectiles at me.

Five percent...

Damn it, the entire arena is completely devastated, it's hard to run around with barely any stable footing left, I can't move as freely with my focus on making sure I don't lose my balance.

Suddenly, her barrage ceased as I swallowed up another explosion, she clenched her fists as she went quiet, her shoulders trembling.

I shot towards her as fast as I could, before tensing as she lifted her gaze, a dark look in her eyes.

"I warned you, over and over AND OVER!!! But you just won't stop! Alright, then, just try to swallow this one up! [EXPLOSION NOVA]!!!" She snarled as she raised her right arm up, my eyes widening in disbelief as a massive sphere of her explosive red energy formed above her, expanding immensely.

The entire arena got bathed in a deep red glow, the energy swirling around with immense speed, the air around it shimmering and crackling.

I grimaced before clenching my fists and sprinting straight towards her, trying to get as close as possible. Come on, just a little bit further...!

"Take THIS!!!" She exclaimed as she whipped her arm down, launching the massive ball of explosive energy down.

"<OBLITERATE>!!!" I yelled as I raised my left hand towards her the instant I got within five meters of her, a flash of purple erupting out, before my vision went completely red as her attack closed in on me.

The next thing I knew, I was outside the barrier, right as an ear-splitting, deafening explosion echoed out from inside the barrier.

Cries rang out all around the stadium as the entire place shook and rumbled violently, Ciel suddenly coming into sight a few meters away as she got teleported out too.

The stadium was lit up in a bright red glow as the barrier contained the explosion, nothing but swirling red in sight within it, deep cracks spreading out across the ground surrounding the arena.

Puffs of dust burst out through the cracks as the barrier shook and rippled violently, before the deep red glow shining through the inside of the barrier started to peter out.

As the rumbling began to die down, I glanced towards Ciel as she collapsed onto one knee with a pained grimace, a hole through the middle of her right shoulder, her arm slumped to her side as she clutched her shoulder, trembling as blood streamed out.

I was aiming for her chest, I can't believe she managed to react in time...she must have moved across at the last second, otherwise she would've gotten teleported out first, not me.

A dust cloud burst out as the barrier faded, the arena completely gone, nothing but a deep, smoking crater left in the wake of that last explosion.

"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! After a fierce battle, we have our winner! It's Ciel Campbell, for the third time in HCC history!"

I let out a sigh as the crowd began cheering, confetti bombs going off as the whistle of fireworks shooting up rang out, before erupting across the sky.

Damn it, I ended as the runner-up.

Even though I knew the odds were against me in this fight, I can't help but feel disappointed. This really stings.

"I have to admit, I didn't think you would push me so hard, that ended up being a lot closer than I expected," Remarked Ciel as she approached me, before adding, "I'd shake your hand, but I can't move my right hand and my left is covered in blood."

"It's cool. I'm just glad you're not all raging anymore," I replied with a wry smile.

"Oh, uh...yeah, sorry about that. Apparently, when I use my Magic, my body produces more adrenaline, so it's kinda hard to keep my cool the more I use my Magic. And I love a good explosion, having them wiped out before they erupt really triggered me," She admitted sheepishly.

"Yeah, I noticed. Well, congratulations on the win. You should probably go get healed, you're bleeding a whole lot," I replied, as I glanced at her right arm, which was soaked with blood.

"Oh, I fully intend to, this hurts like hell. Come to think of it, I barely landed any hits on you at all...looking at us out of context, most people would probably assume that I lost," She remarked in bemusement, as some of the event staff came jogging over to escort us to the medical room.

"Yeah, well, if you had landed so much as a single hit on me with any of your explosions, I would've lost right then and there. And the physical hits you landed did a fair bit of damage, pretty sure I've got at least a couple of broken ribs," I replied with a grimace.

"I don't know about you, but I'd take broken ribs over a hole in my shoulder any day."

"Fair enough."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.