Malin didn"t react. She just glanced at the old man in the distance, waiting for him to signal the beginning of the battle. It was evident that the battle was going to be hard. And if it were the old her, she probably would"ve already surrendered, knowing that she had no chance of winning the battle.
However, she was different now. She didn"t hesitate, even if it was an uphill climb.
Jaek didn"t appreciate being ignored, but he considered that it could be a tactic to get him worked up, just like these people used in the battle before.
He remained calm, not letting his temper rise. Instead, he only smiled.
He stood with his hands behind his back, also glancing at the old man.
"Start!" The old man declared once both the compet.i.tors were looking at him.
As soon as he signaled the beginning of the battle, Malin ran to Jaek. Unlike the tactics of Maya, she didn"t want to let the enemy come to her. The closer she was to the edge, the higher her chance was of being forced out of the ring.
She took the centre stage and didn"t stop with just that. Two wings, made from a bluish energy, appeared behind her, increasing her speed even more, all too abruptly.
"Useless!" Jaek clapped his hands together. Even though it appeared to be a casual clap, the sound waves that came from the clap were so sharp that it made many who were watching the battle clench their teeth. This was just when the sound waves didn"t even target them.
The real target was Malin. It was as if Malin had already expected an attack of this kind. It was all per Maya"s calculation. As soon as she watched, his hands came together, casting her barrier around her, protecting her from the sound waves.
The Barrier did protect her from the Sound Waves, but Jaek wasn"t done yet.
He placed both his hands on the ground, sending a trembling in the ground. The floor started trembling as if an earthquake was coming. Multiple spikes came out of the ground, targeting Malin.
"As expected, he kept some of his skills hidden before. And even this isn"t the extent of his skills, I"m sure. That"s why I said the chances of Malin winning are so low. With his skills that we know, winning is already hard, let alone if we consider his other skills that he hadn"t shown us."
Maya shook her head in disappointment. Even though Malin survived the spikes thanks to her barrier, it still wasn"t enough.
Some of the spikes had managed to penetrate the barrier, barely missing her by a few Inches.
Jaek finally moved as soon as the barrier was shattered.
"Fall back!" He softly spoke. Once again, there were mysterious sound waves hidden in his words, all of which targeted Malin. It also came as a surprise that Jaek would use the same attack without using his hands. He just needed to speak to hurt someone.
The sound waves were like needles and arrows that hit Malin, sending her flying back. However, Malin managed to land on her feet.
"That"s the best you can do?" She asked, even as a trail of blood trickled down her lips.
Jaek scoffed. "Little kid, your friend already used that trick. It won"t work on me. I"m not losing my patience. Don"t worry; I"m not in any hurry either. I"m going to enjoy my sweet time. I have all the time in the world, after all."
Jaek placed his hand on the ground once again. More Spikes came out of the group, right where Malin was standing.
Malin jumped ahead, avoiding the spikes, but even then, there was a scratch on her legs. The spikes managed to leave a mark on her foot, making it bleed.
Jaek wasn"t even going to allow Malin to come close to him. He knew she was a close-range fighter. Whenever Malin tried to get close to him, spikes came out of the group, pus.h.i.+ng her back.
"She isn"t going to win." Seeing the progression of the battle, even Lucifer had realized the outcome of the battle. No matter how far Malin had arrived, there was an inherent difference between the two sides that she couldn"t close just with her sheer determination.
? "You"re right. The chances of her winning are getting slimmer. Moreover, the enemy isn"t getting impatient either. He isn"t even going close to Malin," Maya agreed.
"This battle will take a really long time to finish like this. And she"ll only get hurt more," Lucifer let out. He picked up a small red handkerchief.
Maya noticed Lucifer picking up the red handkerchief. She understood what Lucifer was trying to do.
"What are you doing? At least give her the time to try everything?"
"Saving her some time. This battle isn"t important. If she is hurt here, she won"t be able to fight tomorrow," Lucifer answered as he flew to the stage.
He stopped right at the edge of the stage, holding the red handkerchief.
As Malin"s back was facing him, even she couldn"t see what Lucifer was trying to do. Instead, she was more focused on finding a way to get close to Jaek.
"He can use his spikes and his voice. So getting close to him is really hard. Especially that voice, which he only uses after breaking my barrier with his spikes. I need to do something about it. Maybe I can..."
Malin kept dodging the attacks while trying to devise a new plan. She even felt that she was close to finding a way to him. Unfortunately, she was only in for confusion when she noticed that Jaek had stopped attacking her. Instead, he was laughing heartily.
Through the corner of her vision, Malin also noticed Mander shaking his head in disappointment. Quite a lot of people were looking at her with a mocking gaze.
"The battle is over! Jaek wins! Both the teams are tied, and now the final battle will decide the winner."
"Huh? The battle is over? How? I haven"t left the stage; I haven"t surrendered either. How can the battle be over?" Malin asked, confused what was happening.
"Other than the member who is fighting, a team"s captain can decide when to forfeit a battle. That"s why I said choose a captain wisely," the old man pointed behind Malin.
Malin turned around. It was only when she turned around that she noticed what had happened. A red handkerchief was lying on the corner of the stage, and Lucifer stood right beside it. Lucifer had forfeited the battle for her.
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