As the remainder of the second round continued, notable fighters like Yuna Hu on the same side of the bracket as Ver and Fatera, and Lily Watts, on the other side of the brackets, were able to push through. Compared to the intended win/loss outcomes as planned by the PORA, the majority of the fighters that they are interested in recruiting all ended up moving onto the next round anyway. On paper, it appeared that the goals of the PORA to fix the matches wouldn't have made any difference at all, and that has been the case, due to the branching power structures of the two. John King may have succeeded in ruining Jing's plans and her attempts to gain the favors of the PORA higher-ups by recruiting students with potential through match-fixing, it looked like the giant girl had at least fulfilled her purpose in messing up her plan. To be honest, John had never been a big fan of the Alarmist branch of the PORA, of which Jing is a member of, so he's more than happy to see one of their own fail and pay with her life. Though before he could even savor his victory in being able to perform his recruitment process in his own way, it looked like the delay in his results had rustled at least a few feathers upstairs, leading to the planned visit from the Grand Commander himself... No. No. No. He mustn't guess what the intentions of the Grand Commander are. If he even stepped an inch out of line, his life will be forfeit. He cannot risk anything. He will just have to perform his duties to the best of his ability and pray for the best, and pray for the rest. Now, PORA's grand plan nears its ready state, and John King is all but a tiny cog in the massive underground machine. However, no cog wants to be deemed worthless and tossed out. Plus, rumors have it that the Grand Commander, like many before, also came out of the Infinite Academy himself long ago, so this could very much be a routine visit of sorts, alumni returning to visit just as the yearly cultural festival arrives. "Now...let's see how this goes..." John King thought, turning his attention towards the third round of the battle. The first person of interest on the list will have been either Ver or Fatera, and whoever loses in the very next battle will be the first target of his recruitment and conversion. There is a lot hanging on this battle, and it's not just the dreams and desires of the two fighters that are at stake. On the morning of the fight, Fatera didn't come to get Ver when she headed out to grab breakfast, and the two somehow managed to snatch the tables at the two far ends of the restaurant. Fatera's chomping away at a piece of morning steak which should fuel her through the entirety of the battle, while Ver worked her way through a refreshing fish soup before heading out satisfied, but not full. Before the calls for the chariots were announced, Ver's already there. She was the first one to take off, followed by Fatera minutes later. As the rounds go on, now with only 16 total fighters remaining in the competition, the sites of battle had already been shifted to way above halfway up the snow-covered mountain. Stuck in between a pair of sharp-edged cliffs is a shallow gully, where Fatera and Ver are dropped off on opposite ends. The width of the gully at its widest part towards the lower end was about twenty meters before pinching together at the top and spreading out and flattening near the bottom. This inherently limits Ver if she does decide to fully channel the Kraken, but if she did, then there will have been nowhere for Fatera to hide. No matter how you look at this, it will have to be a straight-on face-to-face battle to determine the true alpha of Wu's squad. Ver hopped off the chariot and scanned the terrain around her. He was offered the high ground and the narrow side of the battlefield. She inhaled deeply and felt for the environment around her as a bracelet of light looped around her wrist. Far out in the distance downhill, Fatera's footsteps tore through the mountain winds like distant drumbeats. Their gaze cut through the entire length of the gully, and the voice of Principal Khan slowly started fading out, as their whole attention was locked onto one another. Then, Fatera moved. Channeling her entire body with the Wave, she marched through the terrain, each and every foot strike of hers rocking the entire gully and sending streams of snow falling down the cliff to their sides. From the front, it looked like heaven is pouring down the snow along her trajectory to accompany her charge. "Whirlpool Black Special..." Ver said, going straight to her strongest power as she drew the Sky Splitting Sword in her hand, "Kraken two: Sunder!" Two massive pitch black whirlpools formed around her shoulders blades behind her before a pair of flaming tendrils grew out from behind her back. She lunged herself forward, using the high ground and gliding through the air by rapidly expanding the body of the Sky Splitting Sword and riding on it. Then, as she neared Fatera, Ver crounched down, wrapping the tendril around the handle of the Sky Splitting Sword and rapidly shrunk it. Her body spiraled around like a drill, the flames of the tendrils leaving behind a trail of fire loops as the sharp blade tip held by the tendrils were directed straight at Fatera. "The two are crazy! Both are using their strongest attacks so far in the very first exchange of battle!" Principal Khan gasped as Fatera extended out her final runups before planting hard with both legs at the same time. A thunderous boom accompanied her takeoff as the cracks shot out from the craters forming underneath her feet and grew past the cliffs to their sides. "Punchy...PUNCH!" Fatera shouted, countless Wave lines materializing around her fist as they spiraled and concentrated over the glove over her right hand, a bright red semi-transparent coating of the Wave covering her body. Their attacks rammed headfirst into one another, and a shockwave sent all of the Scouting Eyes crashing backward with the closest few becoming straight-up vaporized. The cliffs rocked upon the shockwave's arrival before the cracks overcome its integrity, the chunks of ice and rocks starting to collapse downward, outpouring a mixture of rocks and snow as a cloud of dust covered the battlefield. Everything became silent as the crowd watched on at the two on whatever projection Casts they have access to. Then, from within the smoke, a pair of figures emerged and continued clashing countless times in the air. At this point, Fatera is nothing more than a crimson stripe dashing through the air and bouncing off the ground like a pinball. Ver, however, cannot match Fatera's speed. So she instead utilized the regeneration and Wave sensing abilities of the Kraken to give her the tactical advantage. Her tendrils swung fast and wide, slashing through the air and preventing Fatera from closing. Every time her punch blasted a tendril apart, it was immediately grown back with Ver mixing in jets of high-pressure water to create distance between the two of them. "Hahaha! Ya are stronger than before!" Fatera said, her smile flashing briefly before she became a blue once more, transitioning violently from one attack to the next, trying to break through Ver's defenses as two more tendrils extended out from her back, "Last time we clashed like this, ya tendrils snapped and the sword went flying!" "Shut it..." Ver grunted, "Worry about yourself!" Then, Ver drew her tendrils and slashed them diagonally into one another, forcing Fatera to leap back. Then, as she jumped off the side of the cliff and used it to flying back towards Ver, the four arms of the Kraken suddenly opened up. "Show me what ya..." Fatera said, preparing to deliver a kick before she suddenly realized that Ver had already disappeared from the center of the four tendrils. As the meaty octopus legs flopped down and out like a cut up plate of seafood, Ver emerged from a Whirlpool Purple on the cliff and launched herself silently towards Fatera. "Tricky!" Fatera said, drilling her foot into the ground and spinning her body around, "Kicky KICK!" A tornado of pressurized air tracked her exact movements, and Ver gripped both hands around the Sky-Splitting Sword before slashing it towards Fatera, preparing for another clash. However, at the very last moment before the impact, Ver shrunk the blade, causing Fatera to miss her completely. Though the surge of wind nearly sent Ver flying if not for another pair of Kraken's tendril extending from her foot and locking her to the ground. And there it is! The opening that Ver needed to win! Compared to Yuna or other Channelers that utilizes Wave Martial Arts and extremely precise control of the Wave within one's body, Fatera learned to fight her own way by actually fighting countless times. Over the years, she has developed her own unpolished yet formidable style. On paper, that makes her nearly impossible to deal with for those Channelers that have only encountered others following a systematic and logical approach to close-quarter combat. Though once someone gained an understanding and read on her attack patterns, it is not impossible for her to be exploited. So far, her raw physical gifts had carried her a long way, but Ver will be the first one to truly give her the taste defeat that she desired for so long. As the momentum of Fatera's kick carried her around, her back became exposed towards Ver for a split second. And that split second was all Ver needed. "Surge! My sword!" Ver called, injecting a jolt of the Wave into the Sky Splitting Sword and directed its tip towards Fatera's body. At the moment, a pair of black whirlpools also formed around her palms before a single tendril ran from between, looping itself around Ver's hand and the blade. The black fluid coated itself all over the blade before it was set ablaze, and its tip grew rapidly before the flaming body pierced straight through Fatera's body armor and straight into her flesh. There was a visceral flesh-tearing sound, and Fatera's body was shoved forward as she became pinned into the ground, the warmth from her body slowly melting the snow around her as blood surged out from the wound. "Submit!" Ver said, holding the blade steady and enjoying the moment of victory. "You know what I am going to say, aren't ya?" Fatera said, her entire body tightening up before Ver felt like the blade's body was pinched in between a vice grip, "I AIN'T LOSING YET!" Fatera's body rose up from the ground, the muscles around the wound clamping down around the body of the Sky Splitting Sword and pulling Ver up and off the ground despite the support of the tendrils. Then, as she was lifted into the air, Fatera contorted her body backward and slammed a fist up and back, a mass of concentrated Wave shot-gunning at Ver right in the face!