KINGDOM OF MAGIC

Castro VS Zora?!!!!!! (1)

Jolie felt like she was underwater, like she was at the border of life and death. She heard mumbling around her but couldn't discern their voices. She was trying to swim out of the water, but no matter how far she swam, she couldn't escape, and eventually started drowning. She was down to her last breath when she woke up coughing and wheezing.

"Jolie! You're alive!" Castro shouted while embracing her

"Don't ever scare us like that again." Xero added.

"Yeah... Fine, I won't go all out like that again. At least for a while." Jolie said, while raising her hands in surrender and quickly dropped them, because it hurt.

Just then, Zora walked in, stroking his chin with a smile on his face. Looking at the Langnon trio in awe.

"What's your name, girl?"

"It's Jolie, sir"

He smiled. "You were really something back there, though you were a bit rough. The other young man that went before you also did very well, so I've decided to give you guys free access to train at my magic academy..."

Everyone turned their heads to him in disbelief. "Really?"

"Yes, yes.... On one condition." The middle aged man's eyes became slits. His smile slowly dissolved into a more stern look as he opened one eye and pointed at Castro.

"Provided he fights me for his duel, whether win or lose. You all will enter the academy."

"I can't fight you mis...." Castro was interrupted by Xero, who put his hand on Castro's mouth.

"Let's discuss this, sir. We'll be right back." Xero said with a weary smile and made a huddle with Castro and Jolie.

"Look, he said win or lose. Meaning we have nothing to lose actually!"

"I agree, Castro just do this for us... Please!" Jolie made puppy dog eyes.

"I can't, I don't know how to control my aberrant magic. I may destroy the entire colosseum"

Xero sighed. "Good point, we'll tell him about that"

Xero raised his head from the huddle they made, and turned to the man.

"Will a magic barrier be placed around the battlefield?"

The man nodded.

"There you go, Castro. There's gonna be a field."

Castro went silent for a while, thinking about possible outcomes. He then looked at Xero and Jolie.

"I'll do it, but I'm not necessarily going to lose because of it"

Castro went to meet Zora, who knew that the response was favourable.

"I'm going to win!". Stretching a hand to shake Zora

"We'll see about that" Zora shook him with a suspicious smirk on his face.

The commentator came out, ready to announce the new matchup that will be seen when a messenger came to him and whispered in his ear. With every second passing during the passing of information, the commentator's face looked more dreadful, like he was afraid. He finally called himself to order and went out to announce the shocking matchup.

"This match is going to shock the mana out of you all... Who's ready?"

The crowd cheered in anticipation of the match.

"On the left side, we have a veteran in his line of work. Who has trained countless and done exploits. The owner and organizer of this event, Zora.... Himself!"

The crowd cheered with an even louder voice than before

"And the unlucky person that will be fighting this veteran is.... One of the Langnon survivors... Castro!"

The crowd cheered him on

"With this match having the tendency to be explosive, we are placing three more barriers to avoid collateral damage"

Everyone was silent. With the way the other matches went, it's anyone's game now... Literally. The colosseum was so silent, you could hear someone breathing.

"Let the battle begin!!!!!!!" The commentator shouted from out side the barrier, floating in midair.

On the battleground, it was also tense. Castro and Zora stood looking at each other, anticipating each other's possible attacks, even when they don't know what the other can do.

"Screw this! I can't be waiting around" Castro blurted. He dashed forward towards Zora to deliver a roundhouse kick to his neck when Zora held him by the leg. He held him so tightly he was still in the same position he was in when delivering the kick, as he should have fallen a long time ago.

"Nice speed, and there was no strengthening magic in use!" He smiled and flung him away. Castro flew for a few seconds, then stabilized himself and backflipped a few times, before stopping finally.

"That tears it." Castro assumes a tiger stance, with red energy surging from his hands. He lunged and ran to Zora at breakneck speed, throwing a barrage of punches, raising dust and creating afterimages. Zora kept dodging and hitting away his hand skillfully.

"As expected, you're good!" Castro delivered a quick jab to Zora's face. Zora, seeing that all the afterimages are clearing up, saw a fist coming directly to his face.

"s**t, I can't dodge it!" He muttered. The jab hit his face, sending him flying to a wall.

"But I'm better at this by a small margin." Castro released hot air from his mouth.

Zora stood up and staggered a bit, but only had a few scratches here and there.

"Mana strengthening technique... A subset of mana manipulation! You've done well. What is your name?" Zora commended.

"It's Castro."

"Hmmmm.... Your punch is still lagging in power"

"How?" Castro asked in shock.

"When you struck me, your punch with normal strength only shifted me a bit, while the mana surrounding your hand propelled me to the wall. In summary, your mama output is stunted."

"Huh? Really?"

"But that doesn't matter now. Hope you're ready?" Zora said as his figure became blurry. In the twinkle of an eye, he appeared a few feet before Castro and sent a punch to his face. Castro, having quick reflexes, dodged it in a manner that the punch only grazed him. Zora swept him off his feet, sending Castro flying midair, leaving Castro with no choice but to spin in the air and propel himself backwards. Zora's foot suddenly came into Castro's view. Seeing he couldn't dodge the kick to his chest, he crosses his arms in an attempt to block it. Castro flew back, falling head first to the ground.

"Huh? My hands are still intact? I thought they were blown off! And I still took damage from that kick". Castro stood up, muttering and massaging his wrists.

"Time to take this up a notch!" Zora lunged forward at him. "Mana strengthening boosts physical strength, but it strains the body... I wonder how long he'll last!" He throws a low kick at Castro, but he created a hole in the ground, implying that he missed. Zora attempts to kick Castro in the torso. But Castro throws a front flip, utilizing the opportunity to land a drop kick on Zora's head. Zora doesn't fall, but instead his head is lowered and he holds Castro and gives him a headbutt, sending Castro flying across the battlefield. In the twinkle of a eye, Zora appeared where Castro was headed and attempts to smash him to the ground when Castro's figure became blurry.

"An afterimage?!" Zora wondered. The afterimages of Castro increased with every second. Soon afterwards, the afterimages of Castro all lunged forward at Zora.

"I call this move... Quick finish!" Castro and his afterimages all attacked Zora at the same time, creating a huge dent on the ground.

"This guy got skills! Clean hit from Castro to Zora!'

Castro jumped a distance away from the crater created from the attack, anticipating Zora's next attack.

Suddenly, everyone heard clapping.

"Nice one, Castro!" Zora was on his knees, getting up and staggering. "But this isn't fun anymore! Let's see how good you are with magic!"

"They weren't using magic the whole time?! And it's already this intense?!" The commentator shouted.

Zora's black grimoire, glowing purple, began floating in midair. Zora's smile became more maniacal than before.