The Gods' Decree

Prior to exiting he left a gift for the four who continuously bombarded the ice and mud thinking he was still inside. However, as the seconds went by they felt the water which they strategical made colder becoming warm.

What could he conceivably be thinking by warming water under a river? Did he perhaps think that would be advantageous?

They sneered as it seemed their enemy had the element of fire and in a means to contend with the freezing temperatures sought to heat the water. How naive could one possibly be?

If they previously had the means to freeze such a body of water, doesn"t it stand to reason it could once again frozen? Now they knew the freezing temperature was his bane.

Soon they seized all their previous attacks and sought to once more freeze the body of water. Unbeknown to them Taf in the distance held his breath as though watching a show.

In his mind, he then counted down,

" 5, 4, 3, 2,1 ...."

Then with a gesture of his hand made a booming motion with his fist.

Boom!

As if prophetic his divination was then fulfilled as the iceberg filled with hardened mud resembling rock and rapidly boiling water exploded. It happened so quickly the four had no time to react as they were blasted by the shockwaves of the explosion.

Looking from the distance Taf saw the four unconscious submerging to the river bed. He dove collecting the four and also the captain who received a rippling effect of the blast.

???????

When the five regained consciously they saw a youth uncaring ridding them of their markers.

"Let me apologize for my ungentlemanly act but we are compet.i.tors after all." Taf spouted some nonsense from his lips but the smile on his face indicated he cared not one bit. 

They looked hateful as Taf tallied their previous markers now in his possession before their eyes.

Hmmm!

"Nice 1575 marker points. Haven"t you girls been naughty? With this, I say my adieu." Taf said his goodbyes. though he was now safe for the hour there was still a bet to be won.

"Wait! Ho- How did you best us? We had you on the ropes." It is not known why the vice-captain asked this question of Taf her enemy. Perhaps losing without knowing the means would truly drive her insane but she needed to known.

" You ask me a question. I"ll ask you one of my own. What is the reaction when superheated water imprisoned below the surface of the earth rapidly converts from liquid to steam, violently disrupting the confining rock?" 

Taf uttered which puzzled the three as they sought an answer. While her four subordinated struggled for an answer the squad captain muttered under her breath,

"It explodes." The five then looked up to stare into the eyes of the one who by his lonesome had defeated them all. It was so simple and sinister that they could only laugh. The five looked up in admiration yet they were disappointed to find he had long left after posing his question.

in some way, Laura wasn"t lying when speaking of a Mouse Fanclub. At this moment he had just gained five additional members.

???????

To the western side of the forest, conflicts raged on even more so with the emergence of those within the top one hundred. They hunted in squads of five. These were no ordinary ranked squads but four-stars.

They were adored and feared which is deservingly so. Within the sect, there are twenty of these four-star ranked squads. To be deemed a fourth rank squad all members must be at the peak of the ninth stage and fall within the top one hundred rankings.

That is the reason there can only be twenty squads. If a squad were to fail any of these requirements they would forfeit all right to be known as such. Perhaps in this tournament, they had the most to lose. 

As the sect cared not if they had entered late. Basically, they were saying,

"If You want the accolade, then earn it." 

Presently A female with peculiar silver cascading hair easily dispatched of a third rank squad. 

They had no chance as before knowing it all five were frozen solid with only their heads and the arm wearing the markers left untouched. Sadly for them, their markers were now dim and the time spent in the tournament ended.

She uttered not a word only mentally tallying her score. 

"This is a bit disappointing, 875 marker points. I am guessing these five are currently at the bottom of the rankings."

May thought somewhat disappointed with her gains. As she lingered in her thoughts footsteps could be heard. Taking a quick glance she saw a squad of five surrounding her.

One of the members was beaming from ear to ear. He had dark hair and wasn"t bad looking. By his demeanor, it can be seen he thought much of his appearance. As he from time to time would smile like an apparent prince charming.

" Young lady not only are you beautiful but also quite strong I see. How about joining forces with this small squad of mine? I am sure there is no need to introduce myself."

He uttered with confidence. Who didn"t know his fame within the sect? Not only was he handsome but he had the strength to complement it. His name was Bevon #65th on the official rankings.

Having spoken his name Bevon who is used to be fawned over on a daily basis had a frown on his face. This was due to the young lady not for a second seeming in anyway intrigued. May then looked up annoyed,

"I"m sorry, who are you?"

Though he always held the respect of his squad Bevon heard slightly stifled laughter. He then felt awkward and most of all humiliated. Did this young woman see herself above him because she defeated some lowly third-ranked squad? 

Perhaps she thought this as some huge accomplishment? Pity even the weakest member of his squad could accomplish this with their eyes closed.

"Are you looking down on me?" Bevon inquired with a bit of anger in his voice. His words caused a smile to grace May"s face. He smirked realizing she finally knew her place.

"Yes, indeed I am." She responded with a smile once more pouring water over the head of Bevon. This truly infuriated Bevon, who signaled for one of his members to take care of it. He would no longer engage in idle conversation. Some persons need to learn lessons through harsh and cruel means.

"No mercy!," Bevon uttered coldly to his subordinate who seemed quite annoyed to receive this task. He was a respectable peak ninth stage after all. Not some lackey to be ordered to do ones bidding.

Still seeing the gaze of Bevon he was about to move, however, he was shocked to see his target had long disappeared from her previous position.

When he finally saw May it was too late. The last thing he saw was an arm made of ice barely tapping him in his gut.

Plop!

He collapsed on the ground to the horror of Bevon and his men. It wasn"t even a hard punch of any kind yet Bevon watched his subordinate violently spat blood all over the ground before his eyes closed.

"I"ll make this quick."

?Elemental Art - (Water) - Tentacles?

May then turned her attention to the remaining four as a small chilling mist engulf her body. Behind her back water formed from the mist making eight tentacle-like appendages.

Within a flash, May made it before the startled Bevon as her additional arms acted of their own accord fending off his attacks. Yet Bevon found that this enemy of his was quite swift with her actions as she wove through his attacks as though they were nothing.

Even when his comrades provided a.s.sistance May simply fought like she was a squad of her own comprising four others. One by one the tentacles outstretch disarming her enemies before grabbing them by the throat.

Seeing this Bevon sought to take advantage unleas.h.i.+ng his qi to its full effect. He was the #68th ranked overall.

His skin became hardened with an earthly hue as he viciously launched himself towards May. No matter how strong this girl might be there was no possible way with her delicate body she could contend with an all-out directed a.s.sault.

Without holding back for a second Bevon sent a spiraling kick with all his might.

Boom!

The earth shook but to his amazed he saw May only parry his foot away as though they were in an innocent spar. This absolutely defied physics. How could someone with such a pet.i.te body take on an attack of that caliber? 

He then heard, "What was it you said before? No mercy right?"

Pure dread filled his body as noticed that all his subordinated had been rid of their markers and discarded on the cold ground. That meant May"s tentacles were now free to join the battle. Before he could react they bounded him in place. 

Though he tried to free himself it was to no avail. He then saw May make her hand into a fist as he swallowed his saliva in fright.

Before his subordinate was left unconscious with barely a tap of her fist. What would be the end result if she were to fully unleash?

Boom!

He got his reply as May"s fist twisted in his gut. He then spiraled through the air smas.h.i.+ng through countless trees before forming a crater in the ground. He twitches as blood dyed the ground red.

Unedited Version

To be continued...