My debuffs still hadn't come to an end, and this was set to be my hardest fight yet.

Yr'Arl had been a surprising physical powerhouse even without the armour that was now covering his body. With it, I had no idea how intense the augments to his strength and speed would be. 

Fighting the armour on its own had been a pretty intense experience too. The enchanted armour set had been strong and agile even without a wearer. I was almost certain that, now Yr'Arl was wearing it, those insane levels of strength would still be present, just as if the armour were some kind of power armour. 

I drew my own sword and moved to deflect an overhead strike from Yr'Arl's own spectral blade in one smooth movement. Our blades collided in a shower of manna infused sparks as I diverted the swing down and to my side. I was surprised that the blade didn't simply dissipate on contact like so many other forms of Manna had done with my sword. The blade that Yr'Arl was wielding didn't even flicker, which meant it must have been outputting an insane amount of manna to overwhelm my Null Space blade's innate anti-magic field. 

Yr'Arl's sword bit into the ground, and I used the momentary lack of balance that feline alien had to blast him hard in the side with one of my energy beams. 

The armoured section that I had pounded with my close-range energy attack had some slight burn marks, but that was all. It seemed as if the armour was just as powerful defensively in this scenario as before, if not more. 

This fight was starting to become even more troublesome. 

On the plus side, I was pretty sure Yr'Arl couldn't teleport anymore while he was in this form. It made sense. From what I understood about the Spectral Armour it was technically a separate, autonomous entity. It would be the same as teleporting two people, and from what Yr'Arl had displayed of this new power so far it seemed like that didn't really end up going very well for anyone involved. 

I used my tried and tested combination of my anti-gravity and propulsion to dart back and away from my opponent. 

"You're really pulling out all the stops this time, aren't you Yr'Arl?" I said with a smirk on my face. Despite my debuffs, I was still managing to have quite a bit of fun. 

"You are a most formidable opponent, Jacob Lyre, it would do me well not to underestimate your ability and… as you say, pull out all the stops that I can."

With that he threw his sword at me, spinning it horizontally through the air like a helicopter blade. I jumped up high, only for Yr'Arl to have met me in mid-air with his arm cocked back for a punch. 

That was his biggest mistake so far. He knew I had been off my game for the majority of the fight, and now he was looking to capitalise on that by rushing me as much as he possibly could. But while I may have been powered down somewhat, unable to move as fast as usual, a head-on assault like this was never going to work. 

My propulsion shot me straight down into the ground, and as I flew past Yr'Arl's leg I grabbed on and swung him down with me. With a yowl, Yr'Arl was driven into the ground so hard that his suit actually shimmered. I was making headway, and I couldn't afford to give in now. 

I let my sword drop to the ground and enveloped my hands in the hot energy of my energy beams. I was on Yr'Arl in an instant, pounding away with closed fists like a berserker. With every hit I let loose my energy beams at close range, only to envelop my hand once again in even more energy. 

In seconds Yr'Arl's helmet was battered, dented and flickering. 

"I… Yield!" Yr'Arl managed to yelp out through the blows I was reigning down on his helmet. 

I let the energy fields around my hands dissipate and got off of my friend, and rose up to standing. I then offered my hand, which Yr'Arl took, so I could help him up. 

"That was a most invigorating bout, Jacob Lyre," Yr'Arl said after a few moments to catch his breath, allowing the spectral armour to drift away like smoke in the wind. 

"Not too bad yourself Yr'Arl, you've definitely got some new tricks under your sleeve," I replied, a smile on my face. 

The cat-like alien had come a long way in the short time between our first fight in the battle royale and our second sparring match now. He had gone from being the sort of ranged caster that wouldn't be able to stand up to anyone else if they got up close and personal to a down and dirty bruiser who could take anyone on in an up close and personal conflict. 

"And yet, you have still managed to best me," He said, unable to meet my eyes. 

"Oh please, I may have beaten you bud, but it wasn't easy by any means. You seriously had me on the ropes back there," I said, completely sincerely. If I hadn't figured a way out of his teleportation barrage, then the fight would have been done there and then. 

"I thank you for the kind words, Jacob Lyre," Yr'Arl said. "It is impressive to see how far you have come as well. Your inexperience is still apparent, but your ability to come up with innovative solutions to problems on the fly is quite incredible. With your overwhelming strength… you may end up winning the tournament tomorrow after all." 

I couldn't help my smile widening even further at that comment. Yr'Arl had always been upfront and honest with me, especially when it came to how he felt about my combat abilities. If he thought that I had improved, then I probably had. 

Maybe I did have a chance at winning the tournament. 

Maybe I even had a chance at beating Lara.