The news of Indra fighting Lakshman spread very quickly throughout the town and neighbourhood villages. People were talking great things about it and everyone seemed excited about it for some reason.

A few days later, the officials visited Indra to speak to him. They requested that they hold their duel within the barriers of the stadium. At first, Indra did not like the idea as it seemed more like a money making idea.

They countered by saying this was to contain the damage that will be inflicted by the fight. Even though it was true, Indra did not want it to become a show. That was when Lakshmi made her thoughts clear.

“I think this is a good idea to give everyone a show while fighting to your heart’s content. After all, the arena is erected with a barrier to stop the destruction from bypassing it.”

He stared at her incredulously and said “O-Okay, but... What if Lucky can’t fight to his best with the entire crowd? What if he becomes so nervous, he wouldn’t be able to fight like he normally does?”

She chuckled and said “Aren’t you forgetting that he did many things and was never nervous about them. Besides, I’m his mother and I’m not worried. So why are you getting worried unnecessarily?”

“W-Well... you might be becoming a little too lenient on him,” he muttered.

“Huh?” she said sharply as her eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Nothing! Nothing at all!” he exclaimed quickly and waved his hands at her.

With no other option left, he accepted the offer. With that, the preparations for the battle were made within two weeks.

During this time, everyone from around the area bought tickets to the arena. Witnessing the battle between the Water Sword Saint and the Rising Hero was causing a great wave of excitement.

Like that, two weeks went by and the day of the battle came. In the morning, Indra and Lakshman did not train that day. They simply greeted each other normally and ate breakfast together. Afterwards, Indra left to meet with his friends in town.

Their match was scheduled in the afternoon, so Lakshman spent his time talking about various things with Ondine, his Slave Spirit, and Tetra, his Contract Spirit. They discussed things like skills and techniques he might use against his father.

“I’m not feeling well,” Ondine said a while later and clutched her stomach.

Lakshman stared at her in surprise and said “Why are you feeling sick? Stop being so nervous, Ondine!”

Then, an hour before the match time, Lakshman left home. He walked towards the arena with Ondine on one side and Tetra on the other. As people passed him, they stopped and greeted him while some even encouraged him.

Lakshman simply waved back and thanked them shortly for their encouragement.

“T-There’s a lot of people here,” he muttered to his companions.

“They came here to watch you and Indra fight, master,” Ondine said with a satisfied smile on her face.

“They came to see master’s awesomeness,” Tetra said proudly with a puff of her chest.

He simply laughed at their words and said “This somehow doesn’t feel like a warrior’s fight though.”

“Just ignore them and do what you have to do, master.”

“Focus on defeating your father, master. Everything else can come later.”

Hearing their words of reassurance, he smiled and they went on their way. It was a few minutes later when they finally arrived at the arena. The officers of the arena greeted him enthusiastically and guided him in.

They showed him to a room which is to serve as his changing or preparation room. Lakshman did not particularly care and went in with Tetra. Ondine wanted to go in with him, but she decided to support him from the seats.

“Good luck, master! I’ll be supporting you!” she said brightly and made a thumps-up gesture towards him before leaving.

Walking in, he saw the room was lit brightly. The light was being illuminated from enclosed glass. Lakshman and Tetra moved towards the bench and sat on it. Tetra then hugged his right arm and leaned against him.

Lakshman closed his eyes and let the silence envelop him. He did not feel lonely with Tetra being by his side. Instead, he thought about what he needs to do to win against his father.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” he said in response.

The door opened and a lady walked in holding a set of armour. She saw him and smiled before walking towards him.

“Your armour, sir,” she said and laid it on the empty space beside him.

“Oh? T-Thank you, but... why the armour?” he asked curiously.

“Not to worry. Your father has requested me to deliver it to you saying a warrior shouldn’t fight without armour to protect him,” she said with a smile.

“O-Oh... That’s very considerate of dad,” he said and looked amazed at the armour.

“It’s not much. He just didn’t want to hurt you too badly without your armour.”

“Gah! Dad is underestimating me!”

The lady laughed and, before leaving, said “Best of luck, Lakshman.”

He nodded and smiled as she left by closing the door. Once she left, he looked at the armour. It was silver and sparkled from the reflected light. Looking at it, he realised it was brand new and wondered if his father bought him a new pair just for the occasion.

“Dad... Really...” he said softly with a smile of affection.

“Master’s father is very considerate,” Tetra said in a low voice.

He looked at her in surprise. Then he smiled and touched the metal armour. He felt a little ease, knowing that he will not get seriously hurt. On the other hand, he was prepared for the worst if his battle causes him more than just a bruise.

Then a thought came to him and he turned to look at Tetra as she continued to lean against him.

“A-Are you alright with this?” he asked her hesitantly.

She made a small smile and said “Tetra is master’s sword. Tetra will do what she has to help master.”

“I-I see, but... don’t you feel a little bit afraid to get hurt?”

There was a short pause before she asked “Why is master talking like that? Is he afraid of pain or afraid to fight?”

“No, that’s not the problem here, Tetra. I’m just feeling a bit nervous about fighting dad in front of all those people. I don’t want to do something that could make you look bad and all.”

At his words, she chuckled and said “Master is master and people are people. You are worrying needlessly.”

“Tetra, what do you mean ‘Master is master and people are people’? Are you saying I’m different and they are different?” he asked uncertainly and she nodded.

“No matter what happens, master is master,” she said simply.

“Oh...” he said slowly and he finally understood what she meant.

Lakshman finally felt at ease by her words. He originally did not worry about the people watching him fight his father. However, on the spot, he started to have doubts about whether it was good for him to fight like this.

Several minutes later, the door opened and a man entered. Behind the man, there stood several more people with hoods and staffs. At first, Lakshman wondered if these people were here to cause trouble.

“Lakshman, it is time,” the man in front said and he smiled warmly at him.

“O-Oh...” Lakshman said as he was surprised by the man’s words.

Realising the man meant the match, Lakshman nodded and he stood up. They helped him into his armour and then escorted him towards corridor.

“Please go along this way and you will arrive,” the man, in the lead, said.

The rest of the group wished him wishing him good luck and left. Sighing to himself and with Tetra hugging his right arm, he walked along the corridor. After a while, he saw light emanating ahead. He squinted as he stepped into it.

As he stepped out, there was a loud cheer that caused him to almost jump in fright. He blinked furiously and looked around. All around him were people seated on high walls and waving at him. The sheer number of the people sitting and standing was overwhelming.

“T-That’s a lot of people,” he said in awe as he stared around.

Then he tried searching for Ondine, but there were so many it was difficult to locate anyone he could recognise. Just then, the cheers increased in volume as they turned in the opposite direction.

Lakshman looked ahead and was amazed by what he saw. There, walking towards him in full armour was none other than his father, Indra. He was wearing full set armour that glowed brightly in the sunlight.

Once he reached his son, Indra looked at his son and smiled. Lakshman was awestruck and had his mouth open as he stared at the amazing figure of his father in full armour.

“Well...? Not too shabby, eh?” Indra said in an impressive voice.

“I... ah... um...” Lakshman stammered as he struggled to find words.

Indra laughed and said “First starters, why don’t you close your mouth? You’re looking very silly right now.”

He used his armoured hand and closed his son’s lips. Lakshman only blinked at him and did not say anything. On the other hand, Tetra was looked at him as if she was not impressed by his appearance.

“I am not intimidated,” she said in a serious voice with narrowed eyes.

Indra laughed and said “Well, I’m not trying to scare anyone, but that’s good. Unlike my frozen son, I’m glad to see his companion is taking this well.”

“You underestimate me. I am the renowned Phoenix Blade who fought by alongside the Phoenix Titan.”

“Now that’s more like it! Don’t you agree, Lucky?”

When he turned back to face his son, Lakshman blinked in surprise. Then he shook his head vigorously and looked seriously at his father while narrowing his eyes.

“Yes, dad... I’ll defeat you!” he said in a firm voice.

Indra stared at his son in surprise. Then he sighed and said “Not exactly what we’re talking about, but... if you think you can win, bring it!”

With those challenging words, he smiled and walked away. Lakshman looked serious as he watched the retreating back of his father. Then he felt a grip from Tetra and he looked at her. She was looking up at him and looked slightly worried.

“No need to worry. I’m fine now,” he said and smiled confidently at her before smoothly rubbing her head.

Ondine, who was seated beside Lakshmi, saw this and gritted her teeth in frustration. Lakshmi noticed her reaction and smiled before petting her on the head.

“Patience,” she said softly and Ondine nodded quietly.

Just then, there was a loud voice being projected throughout the entire arena. It was the voice of the commentator as he hovered high above the crowd that overlooked the arena.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the long awaited fight!”

At his words, everyone roared wildly. Then, as the roar of the mass subsided, the commentator continued.

“Today we’ll be seeing the Water Sword Saint, Indra Chand fight his son, Lakshman Chand, who has been known as the Rising Hero!”

There were loud claps and cheers when the commentator announced their names. Lakshman looked up at the commentator with a wondering expression on his face.

“H-He’s floating...” he muttered and Tetra explained.

“That man is using a Gravity Magic Spell to stay afloat and using an Amplify Magic Spell to increase the volume of his voice so that everyone here can hear him.”

“That’s amazing...” he muttered. Then he looked at her and asked “Do you think I can master that?”

“Master, you can do anything once you apply your mind to it,” she said and smiled.

Just then, they heard the commentator continue speaking.

“We have Indra on the west end and Lakshman on the east end. The main reason for this battle was Lakshman’s decision to go on a journey and Indra opposed it. His reason for opposing it was because his son is too young.”

There was a change in the crowd as everyone had different opinions. They shared their thoughts with their neighbours while others argued over it.

“Now, if everyone is done discussing it amongst themselves, we can get right down to the match!”

At his words, everyone slowly became quiet and waited expectantly.

The commentator looked around at the crowd of people below and asked “Just before we begin, I’d like to request those who will get sick to contain it. Otherwise, you’ll make the people, around you, sick as well!”

At his words, there was a round of laughter. There were even some that eyed their neighbours suspiciously.

“And for those crazy people, out there... Are you ready for the brawl?!”

At his words, there was a sudden roar of clapping and cheers while whistles sounded throughout the arena. It was obvious how excited everyone was and the commentator stated it.

“Yes! I heard it, loud and clear! The excitement that everyone is going through, let’s get down to it!”

The cheers grew louder and louder. The commentator then turned his attention to Indra and Lakshman.

“Are the two warriors ready?”

At his words, Lakshman looked at Tetra. She looked up at him and smiled before, in a flash of light, taking on her sword form. Seeing this, the crowd roared excitedly and it seemed to increase their excitement.

Lakshman saw his father get into position and noticed that Indra was looking confident with a smile on his face. Knowing the advantage lay in who takes the first strike, he readied himself and waited for the battle command.

The crowd slowly became quiet as the commentator waited. Then the whole arena became quiet, but the radiated exciting energy was immense. The commentator waited for a moment as he looked around. Then, in a loud voice, he issued the battle command.

“Now...! Warriors...! Let the battle... begin!”

As he finished, Lakshman instantly rook a leap towards his father. In a flash, he reached Indra and Indra was taken by surprise.

“What the?!” Indra exclaimed in shock.

He quickly brought his sword up to block as Lakshman brought his sword down at him. The two swords clashed fiercely as both of them desperately fought to push their swords the other way.

At that moment, sparks began to exhibit from the clashing swords. For a few seconds, while they struggled to force each other down, the sparks became stronger and numerous from the connected swords.

Suddenly, there was a violent flash of light where they stood. The next instant, a huge explosion erupted and blinded everything.