Chapter 169 Switch It Up

Scoffing at the pointless threat, she has her gaze directed at the one person who was caught in the middle of their scuffle.

'I had watched the others die, I can't let that happen again!'

Whoosh!

Zui dashed towards the fallen lady, punching her lightly.

'Second strike!'

"Kyla Cos has been disqualified," Kritz announced before she could defend her actions.

Zui let out a sigh of relief, hoping she could get proper care before she would be left for dead or suffer a much worse situation at the hand of Crystal.

"How dare you?!" Crystal screams as her hair flies wildly around her.

Turning around, Zui raises her brow. "I didn't realize following the rules was a problem, Crystal!"

Hisha cast a pleased smile at Zui, 'she has grown, unlike the past.'

[I wonder what could have been the motivation?]

'I might sound self-absorbed if I respond.'

[Your words and smile already show you know the answer]

Shaking his head, Hisha realized he forgot about one thing–removing his mark from Kyla.

Opening his palm, his gesture beckons the stiff body of Kyla pulled towards him.

Holding her in a choking grab, his eyes glow and so did hers.

Huff!

Huff!

She breathes for a few seconds before turning limp and passing out.

Nodding towards Kritz, Kritz covers Kyla in his orb before teleporting it toward the infirmary.

[1 unmarked]

[Harem: 6168]

With Kritz gaining permission to continue, Crystal covers her fingers with ice claws, licking her lips.

"It's just down to the two of us." Crystal cackles, opening and closing her hands.

Walking circles around Zui, ice spreads out in a circular formation surrounding the arena as the floor becomes slippery due to the ice.

The arena had become a deadly trap as the ice spread out and covered the entire area.

Coating her feet with Sux, Zui berates Crystal for her poor choices.

The ice breaks upon contact with her feet as she moves casually toward Crystal.

Opening her hands wide as though for a hug, she tilts her head. "C'mon, let's hug this out, it was a good game."

Hisha had almost burst into laughter at her words, they all knew anyone who was dumb or brave enough to try that without knowing a way to counter that was worth participating in the tournament.

'How long does this technique last?'

[Crystal or Zui, host?]

For a brief moment, Hisha felt himself questioning how that sounded as though he had gotten intimate with them and was having a debate about it.

'Zui.' Hisha deadpans.

[3 hours, currently she has exhausted 1 hour 23 minutes]

'There isn't much time if this gets dragged on.'

[That's right]

Steepling his fingers in front of him, he waits for the next chain of events.

"I wish not to hurt, instead come here, it's just two strikes!"

Crystal's limit gets to its maximum as she shoots ice from her fingers.

Creating a magical array to deflect the projectiles, Zui shakes her head. "Don't tell me that's your best."

Before Crystal can move, Zui sweeps both arms under her legs and kicks off the ground, using magic to spin her body as she bounces from the ice shards.

"Does that count as a strike?" Zui taunts with a grin.

'I guess not.' Hisha replies in his thoughts, realizing he didn't get any sort of notification.

"You're going to pay for that!" Crystal screams as she runs toward Zui only to slip and fall into the water.

'An excellent strategy but how will she react when she realizes she has fallen into my trap?

What happens once Crystal finds herself unable to move while trapped underwater?'

Zui snickers as she has the water overlap and pulls on Crystal's limbs.

As Crystal struggles to break free from the water, Zui continues to taunt her.

"Remember you're dealing with a witch, not all is as it seems."

Pushing herself from the water, Crystal curses as she stands up.

'Zui is playing dirty, but she won't get what she's looking for.'

"We both won fair and square, but I'll take the win this round."

Crystal's eyes bulge when Zui pats her on the shoulder.

'H–How?!' Crystal froze at the proximity between them.

Crystal's face turns red at Zui's words, her cheeks become even redder when Zui gives her a wink.

Gritting her teeth, Crystal looks at the water with fear in her eyes, feeling her manipulation of the water to form ice dwindling.

Given enough time to recover the little she had lost, Crystal kicks off the ground, her feet start glowing as she spins, ice flying through the air like shooting stars.

Aiming at Zui, she unleashed her attack.

"You should have known better than to underestimate me, Crystal!"

Smiling, Zui dodges the first volley of ice crystals.

"Don't think touching me counts as a strike!!" Crystal spits in disdain.

Crystal's eyes glow brightly as she raises her hand, the ice forming into a giant ball.

Her attack was interrupted as Zui grabbed her arm, pulling her close enough for her hold to dwindle.

Bam!

Crrk!

She nudges Crystal in the rib, and using her other hand, Zui blocks Crystal's next attack and pushes off her.

The ice melted from the drain of her Sux, Crystal's eyes widened as the ice was turned back into tiny fragments.

'Was she able to do something else beyond draining Sux?'

"You can't win against me!" Crystal yells in protest at losing so easily.

Sigh!

Hisha rolls his eyes at the bicker between the two. 'They are by far the talkative type."

[It's entertaining]

'Speak for yourself, HTC. Zui has only a few minutes before her technique deactivates from the strain.' Hisha snaps.

Crystal's eyes turn crimson as she snaps her fingers, releasing a series of ice spikes.

Zui saw the spikes coming and moved to dodge them.

But Crystal's attack was fast and accurate.

Zui's movements were too slow and the spikes pierced her shoulder.

'A strike!' Crystal beamed with hope.

Hearing Zui's scream in pain, Crystal's eyes darken as she rushed towards Zui.

Backing away, Zui creates a shield to block Crystal's attacks.

Bam!

Bam!

Her blows were blocked and deflected until she finally managed to push Crystal back.

Alta leans to her side and at Solara, "hmmm where have I seen this play out?"

Adjusting in her seat, Solara shakes her head, there is no way she will answer such an obvious question.

Snapping her fingers, pretending as though she could just remember what she had racked her thoughts for.

"This would be the second time she's using a shield to save her ass," Alta conversed with a straight face.

"What's more, her opponent is weaker, so there is a higher chance she will still gain an upper hand as she had been a few minutes ago."

Solara stares in disbelief at the accurate analysis of both parties and how calm Alta was while speaking to them.

"You believe Zui will win?"

"She will," Alta asserts with a smile.

Solara's mood was elated and was immediately pulled down when Alta continued.

"... and I will be there to show her her place," Alta concludes with a grin and a wink.

"Typical," Solara mutters under her breath and shakes her head.

*****

Clutching onto her shoulder, Zui frowns her face as she realizes mistakes made by going easy on Crystal.

All that was needed was another strike to get her out of the arena.

Zui's hair spreads around her body as purple Sux coats her body.

Her eyes glow brightly as she forms a large ball of Sux that bursts into tiny fractions.

"I didn't intend to use a bit of my Sux to this level." Zui expresses, slightly disappointed in herself.

A wave of Sux spread out locking onto Crystal.

Turning the situation in her favor was near impossible with the range of attack from Zui.

Feeling her whole body bombarded with Sux, she drops to her knees, eyes shaken with fear and confusion as to the reason her body felt heavy and immobile.

Huff!

Huff!

All the Sux she had gathered was forcefully bombarded due to overexposure from Zui. With her body not being able to take it, she would suffer a setback from the exposure.

She stiffly raises her head to get a glimpse of a staggering Zui in her direction.

"Go... away!!!" She mutters.

At the last sound of footsteps, she was met with a glimpse of Zui's feet.

'So this is the end, huh?!'

Her heart pounded as she gathered her thoughts.