The two fighters now stand in front of each other. Kazumine, looking fierce. Excited even, that he gets to face off against one of the top three fighters in his school. Then there’s Ashio. Not looking all too amused. It’s one thing to win the tournament, but it’s another to face him.

  Ashio decides to speak first, breaking the intimidation. “I wish you the best of luck in our match.”

  “Thank you. It’s an honor to be able to face you. I will give it my all.” Kazumine replies with a smile on his face that masks his nerves.

  Overlooking the fight from their seats, the other two emperors carefully observe. “Who do you think will win?” Todo asked while seeming eager, seeking to hear the professional opinion of his comrade.

  “While the obvious answer is Ashio. I’m interested to see the potential of an average student when pitted against one of the strongest.” Remarked Shiryu.

  OK EVERYONE! IT’S TIME FOR THE MATCH YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR! IF KAZUMINE WINS THIS MATCH, HE WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY PUT IN LINE AS A SUCCESSOR! BUT SHOULD HE LOSE THIS MATCH, HE GOES HOME A LOSER!

  The crowd roars even louder than before now that the real show has begun. Starting things off, Kazumine rushes towards Ashio, leading with a combination of punches. Left. Right. Left. Right. Ashio easily dodges each blow with relative ease. All while keeping an unimpressed face.

  “So this is the strength of the strongest sophomore?” Ashio attempts to try and get under Kazumine’s skin, but fails. Kazumine keeps his focus. He continues to throw out his punches, calculated, trying to wind the top student in terms of speed.

  Ashio decides that he’s had enough. He begins his offense. Starting off with a kick to push his opponent back. Then, closing the distance on his terms. The difference between their speed is extremely vast. But this does not mean that things are one sided. Kazumine is able to block or dodge most of Ashio’s attacks. Even the slightest miscalculation can mean certain defeat.

  “Impresive. To think that you’re fast enough to react to my blows. Is what I would say if I hadn’t figured out your little trick.”

  Kazumine smiles as if the jig is up. “Is that so?”

  Just what was Ashio talking about? Well, it turns out that Kazumine has a special ability. One of many known far and wide throughout the campus. He has the ability to alter the friction of any object that he touches. It might not seem like much at first. But it's because of this exact reason that he is able to evade serious damage against Ashio. He’s been consistently altering the friction on the ground at small amounts to even notice. In return, the emperor’s trajectory is thrown off without his knowing so.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The young emperor seems unfazed. Although finely mastered, such an ability is no match for Ashio’s fighting prowess. (What a fool.) “I will admit that being able to control friction at a fraction of a second in order to match my speed is impressive, but you don’t have any good defenses.” Ashio creates some distance between himself and Kazumine.

  “Don’t think for a second that you can beat me. Now that I’ve figured out your trick, I won’t need anymore than 3% of my power to win.” Ashio seems to be smiling with confidence.

  From Sumiko’s point of view, she is a little confused at the lord’s declaration. “Friction? I know that people can do extraordinary things, but he’s not manipulating friction. Lord Twig must be downplaying his opponent in order to make himself look more powerful.”

  Kazumine’s annoyed expression overpowers his joy. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. I cannot alter friction, just like you claim. Rather, I can utilize the moisture in the air. In other words, I can freeze the ground.”

  THAT’S A TOP RANK FIGHTER FOR YOU! KAZUMINE IS ONE OF THE FEW STUDENTS WHO CAN USE ABILITIES!

  The two fighters prepare themselves to launch their final attacks. In a flash, we see the outcome. Kazumine’s punch was blocked by one of Ashio’s hands. Meanwhile Ashio’s free hand is driven deep into Kazumine’s face, causing him to fall over, signaling the end of the match. “Jet blow.” Ashio stands victorious over Kazumine’s body, and the medics come to take him away.

  AMAZING! WHO EXPECTED THIS OUTCOME, AND WHO DIDN’T? THIS MEANS THAT KAZUMINE WILL BE GOING HOME AS A REGULAR STUDENT! WELL ANYWAYS IT'S TIME FOR THE NEXT FIGHT, LORD TWIG VS LORD HEAVYWEIGHT! WHO WILL WIN THIS EXTRAORDINARY FIGHT?

  Now that the stage has been cleared, the next fight is ready to go. Todo walks onto the stage, happy. He’s the type of guy that loves battle. Afterall, he’s the tankiest.

  “It looks like you’ve gotten stronger, Ashio.”

  Ashio smiles back. “Hm. Indeed, I cannot afford to be the weakest.”

  The two begin to get into their battle stances. Todo tenses up his muscles. “Then let’s get it going, then.” Ashio begins the assault, rushing past him and very discretely landing punches all around Todo’s body. Or so he thought, because Todo has been blocking all of them. Switching up the gameplan, Ashio proceeds to use the very move that he used to beat Kazumine. However, Todo grabs his hand and redirects him. It’s obvious how outmatched Ashio is in this fight.

  INCREDIBLE! THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF USING YOUR OBSERVATION! THE WAY THAT LORD HEAVYWEIGHT DODGES LORD TWIG’S ATTACKS IS JUST BEAUTIFUL!

  “You aren’t the only one who’s progressed.” Todo’s muscles begin to swell up. “I call it the Iron Temple. Just try to attack me.”

  (This has to be some kind of trap. He either wants me to attack him to show off his endurance, or it’s a counter move.) Ashio bursts into a fit of laughter. “Very well. This is a great opportunity to try out my new move.”

  Ashio stands there, focused. His aura surrounding his body. In the blink of an eye, he makes his way towards Todo, unleashing a sequence of punches even faster than earlier. Anybody who is not at least on the same level as the upperclassmen in terms of observation, can not see his movement. To put into perspective, faster than the eye can see. What’s the name of this new move? It’s known as Limit Break: Thunder Flurry.

  Todo, on the other hand, has just been standing there, tanking. “That move is strong, but my defense is almost unbreakable.” He spoke too soon. Ashio’s attack actually managed to break through his defense.

  Truly thinking that he turned the tides, Ashio now feels more confident. “Almost unbreakable! This is the end!”

  It’s like a never ending cycle. Because Ashio’s hand gets stuck in Todo’s aura. “I’ll have to admit, had it not been for my rapid healing and endurance, you would have won.” Todo strikes Ashio in the back of his head with a heavy blow, rendering him unconscious. “This is my win.”

  THERE YOU HAVE IT! LORD HEAVYWEIGHT WINS WITH JUST ONE BLOW! NOW, IT’S TIME FOR THE FINAL MATCH! LORD TODO VS. LORD SHIRYU!