Born in Blood

The Dragonmancer looked a little sad being disqualified. Despite splitting the risk between him and the Sage, he ended up with the short end of the straw.

Despite that, he didn't look too livid or angry at all. He looked at the Sage, then the Queen, then Rin, giving each a small smile.

A moment later, he left. 

Liam couldn't help but feel a pang of awe seeing the General effortlessly pass the round alone.

The man just… stood in his place, unyieldingly. 

'Did he know that they were hollow? Impossible. Even I didn't know, and I'm pretty sure Alucard didn't either.'

'He just left it to chance… and it worked. Respect.'

As the Dragonmancer left, the court changed shape once again to accommodate for the missing player. 

Five versus four.

Just the General, the Queen, Rin and the Sage remained on one side.

And on the other, was Spirit of Nature, Alucard, Eyes of Knowledge, Liam and the Adjudicator.

Except, with tighter Positions, their lack of numbers actually worked against the Bloodsuckers.

They could cover for each other much easily. 

In fact, Liam wondered what a final battle between two players would look like, since the pitch kept getting closer and narrower.

Since they had lost a player, it was the Rag-tag Royalists' turn to serve the ball.

"I'm starting."

It was the General who spoke. Since the ball was with the Mayor, no one contested in time to oppose it.

The Mayor threw the ball to the General, who clenched it with one firm hand. 

And he kept clenching it… until the ball slowly compressed over itself, reduced to half of its original size. 

'This guy…' Liam thought. 'Earlier, too, he changed the ball's trajectory on its own. Does he have some sort of telekinesis or gravitational powers?' 

It made the most sense seeing the General's abilities now and again. But the old monster kept most of it hidden to himself. 

Or perhaps the Formations below Liam's feet were denying him their usage, since they could be considered unfair.

Yeah… probably the latter.

As the ball compressed between his fingers, the General raised it above his hand, then spun around and hurled it like some titan throwing a boulder.

The ball remained compressed, even after leaving his hand. It whistled through the air, passing over Spirit of Nature's position.

Just then, two stringy vine roots unfurled towards the ball, growing out of Naomi's palms, in an attempt to wrap around it.

It was the first time Liam saw her abilities. Her name rang true. 

Naomi had naturistic powers.

Unfortunately, even as the vines wrapped around the ball in an attempt to ensnare it, it hadn't stopped.

In fact, it continued flying over her zone, ignoring her powers like she didn't even exist.

On a closer look, it seemed like Spirit of Nature was seriously exerting all the effort she could muster.

Groaning like a rabid beast, she gnashed her teeth as she pulled back on her vines, all 7 feet of her tensing and exerting effort.

She succeeded in slowing and redirecting it slightly, forcing it to head towards the Adjudicator. 

Except, a second later, she was forced to retract her veins. 

The ball had left her Position and entered the Adjudicator's position. 

BHOOM!

Just then, the ball had reverted to its original size, but instead of bursting with speed or bursting with any new power, it made a sudden downward arch to the ground.

The Adjudicator was still clearly disinterested, but a pinch of distaste flashed in her eyes.

A clangor echoed through the air as the Adjudicator's chains blossomed outward, seemingly stretching from thin air!

What Liam saw next made his eyes widen just a little bit. 

As the ball fell… its bottom crackled with orange sparks, which caught fire and gushed with red flames a second later.

Like a meteor!

WHROOSH!

It also made the noise a meteor made!

Although the Adjudicator was to his side, and several hundred meters away, he felt a vague but firm weight pressing against his shoulders and knees.

From that distance!

Liam couldn't imagine the burden the Adjudicator must have felt.

And yet, the strict-faced lady snapped her chains forward like a whip. Each interlocking link tensed one after the other, no longer free-flowing like normal.

If it was water before, it was now ice.

Then, both opposing forces made contact with one another.

KRKRKRKRKRK!

Their clash produced a jarring, screeching noise that scraped the ears in an unpleasant way.

Glitter-like sparks flew wildly in all directions. One could say it was a beautiful sight, but it'd be the last thing they'd say. 

Both the meteor-like ball and the tense chains were unwavering upon impact. 

An unstoppable force and an immovable object!

Except, this was a little different. Both of them were unstoppable forces.

But there could only be one winner.

And a second later, it was decided who the winner was.

The chains wobbled for several seconds, their interlocking links unable to hold their weight against the ball. 

In just a few moments that seemed much longer than they really were, there was a loud—

CLANG!

Followed by a milder, soft thudding noise. 

The ball was bouncing on the floor, before coming to a stop.

The match was over. 

"Adjudicator," the Mayor announced from above, "Disqualified."

Silence. 

The General smirked broadly. 

The Adjudicator made a disappointed, disgusted face. 

A second later, she forcefully yanked back her chains, which tightened around her wrists like a bandage.

Sending one last glare at those present, mainly the General, Liam, Alucard, Rin and the Queen, she slowly turned around.

The faint clangor of her chains faded into silence… and before long, she was gone. 

'What a weirdo,' Liam thought with a little frown. 'She didn't even wave goodbye.' 

But with how the match played out, Liam didn't blame her. 

In just one move, the General knocked out a player. 

However, Liam realized something.

'Spirit of Nature should have redirected the ball downwards, then thrown it back to the General.'

It was a tricky throw that everyone realized afterwards. Eyes of Knowledge looked like he knew already, though.

'Though,' Liam thought, a little seriously, 'this is getting a little out of hand.' 

Liam gave Alucard a side-glance. 

The king of vampires was holding back. If the General had ridiculous powers like that, why couldn't the Pashah respond in a like fashion?

A little hypocritical, since Liam was holding back himself… but still. 

'It's about time I force their hands…'