Soon we get to the Arena, which is bustling with people. I remember Lathia saying that most of it is underground and I am a bit excited to see the inside. The inside of the small building is crowded, with two entrances, one to our right and the other to the left. The one to the right has a sign which identifies it as the restroom while the one to the left is where most of the traffic is. We turn left and head down a hallway lined with the orbs of Uua for lighting. At the end of the hallway are stairs leading downward, and from the other end of the stairs, I can hear the muffled roar of a multitude of people talking.

As we get closer to the end of the stairway, the sounds get louder and finally we burst out into the Arena. The first thing that I notice is how big it is, I wouldn't be too far off comparing it to a small football stadium. It is built like an amphitheater, with numerous seats on every row sloping down to the circular stage. For lighting, there are numerous orbs of Uua floating above the Arena, each one producing an absurd amount of light. While the Arena is not full, each row is packed with a massive number of people, so much so that I can't help but be shocked.

"Come on, let's find some seats!" Drew shouts so he can be heard over the din.

We find some seats near the middle of the Arena and settle down.

"When is the duel going to start?" I ask Drew who is sitting beside me.

"In like a minute or so."

After getting my answer I decide to have a look around and judging by the robes, most of the people here are Apprentices, Protectors, and more than a few Wranths, with a large number of Pre-protectors mixed in. Or at least I assume those wearing blue robes to be Pre-protectors.

Suddenly, the stage lights up, and everywhere goes silent as a big-looking guy appears on the stage, wearing a red robe. A Wranth. The show is about to begin. As he begins to speak I hear Lathia ask. "Who do you think will win?"

"I'm thinking Bella," Drew says. "She won last time and she's had more time to get stronger."

David laughs. "My man Lucas won't disappoint me. Hey Emma, who'd you think will win."

Emma shrugs, not bothering to answer.

David turns to face Drew with a smile. "See, she agrees. I'm right."

"We'll see."

We all focus on the guy on the stage. "…And without further ado, let's get started." Suddenly, two blacks circle with numerous points of light within them appear on the stage. The circles are surrounded by a purple glow with a pitch black darkness in their center.

"What's that?" I ask Drew pointing at the circles.

"Portals."

The portals begin to move upward as they slowly reveal different parts of a human body. First legs, then a torso, arms, and finally a head, then they disappear leaving two people on the stage. A girl holding two guns, and a guy with weapons similar to that of David, a sword with a chain connected to the hilt, and the other end disappearing somewhere within his sleeves.

The moderator begins a countdown and the crowd joins. "Five… four… three… two… one… zero." At zero he vanishes.

The Protectors waste no time in acting. The girl lifts up her gun and begins firing at the boy, her attacks are frighteningly accurate, forcing the boy who is already moving to block the bullets with the sword. Suddenly she stops firing and reloads her guns, her hands moving so fast that they blur. The boy, Lucas, wastes no time as he begins his attack, throwing both swords accurately at her. She dodges the swords as she finishes reloading the first gun, but the rapid changes in the movement of the sword as Lucas swings them slows her down as she focuses on dodging them.

The sword's rapid movements soon corner her and a sword is thrown towards her head. My heart speeds up as I immediately imagine the worst -the sword going through her neck- when she makes a rapid movement, shockingly dodging both swords.

Lucas tries to pull back the swords but she grabs the chain of one and, aiming her loaded gun, blasts the chain apart. Her gun begins to glow and when she shoots next, bursts of Uua come out instead of bullets. They light up the sword in her hand and soon, Lucas is down to using one sword, the other one reduced to nothing but a gnarled lump. With the swords no longer harassing her, she quickly finishes reloading and begins firing again. Lucas overcomes his shock of losing his sword and immediately goes on the defensive, his remaining sword nothing but a silvery blur as he uses it to block the bullets.

"Show off," Drew mutters.

This is my first time witnessing the true power of the Laen and I am pleasantly surprised, although so far the most amazing thing is their attack speed, which is enough to leave me awed. He can block bullets with a sword, which alone speaks volumes of his ability.

Once again Bella finishes her rounds and makes to reload when Lucas begins to attack, more ferociously this time. His chains become blurred as he swings them around, surprisingly she is still able to dodge them, her hands reloading her guns at the same time. Suddenly she freezes and a chain catches up to her, hitting her legs and sweeping her off her feet. Lucas then pulls back the chain with the sword still connected, grabs the sword, and throws it again. A portal appears in front of him and the sword vanishes into it just as another portal appears over her head. The sword shoots out of it, moving terrifyingly fast and I feel my heart clench. Is he trying to kill her?

She moves her head to the side and the sword narrowly misses her, then she raises her gun and fires into the portal. The portal closes abruptly, separating the sword from Lucas' chain. The bullet flies to the top of the stage, almost getting to the audience when a transparent barrier appears and stops it before fading away. Bella gets up just as the sword flies back to Lucas, its chain reconnecting to the one with him. At that moment I understand why Bella had blasted his sword to bits at the beginning of the fight. The chain could be reconnected if broken but the sword couldn't, therefore destroying it weakened him.

"They are finally getting serious," says Lathia as Bella's guns begin to glow.

Bella raises her gun and fires once, but something is different this time. What she fires is glowing and I can tell it isn't Uua, but strangely it also seems like it is made of Uua. This time Lucas doesn't block with his sword, choosing instead to raise his arms as a semi-transparent shield appears in front of him. The bullet hits the shield and explodes, covering him with smoke.

Before the smoke can clear, a sword shoots out of it, heading straight for Bella. She easily dodges and fires another bullet at the chain holding the sword but strangely the bullet passes through it, just before hitting the ground and exploding. Then just like that, she vanishes. Random explosions then begin appearing on the stage, following bright flashes of light that I assume to be her exploding bullets.

It takes me a second to think of turning on second sight. When I do I finally spot two beings surrounded by a glow that signifies magic, moving around at astounding speeds as they clash with each other. Suddenly the glow representing Lucas vanishes and the stage goes silent, then he appears again on the other side of the stage, this time with a humanoid creature made of energy, wielding two chains that have blades attached to their ends. They then begin to harass Bella, the humanoid creature taking the lead while Lucas stays in the background limiting her movements. Whenever she tries to counterattack, they disappear into the dust which seems to be slowly covering the stage before reappearing at another point to begin again. As a result, Bella begins firing her gun wildly.

At some point, the air around the stage begins to distort, subtly at first, before becoming extremely noticeable.

"Wait a second, those two are just a cover!" Drew says suddenly.

Bella seems to realize that too and suddenly stops moving. As Lucas and a humanoid creature attempt to attack her, she glitches for a second just as two shots simultaneously ring out. Lucas and the creature burst with light and disappear, they were both fake. Bella stops moving, seemingly listening as everything on the stage becomes abnormally silent; even the distortions stop. Time comes to a pause.

She shifts to the side just as a portal appears in front of her and a sword flies out, a glowing chain trailing behind it. The sword passes by her and enters another portal which suddenly appears in front of it just as another appears from another angle. This keeps happening and Bella keeps dodging until she is surrounded by a web of chains.

The sword appears in front of her and this time she decides to face it, her gun glowing brightly as she points it at the sword. Suddenly a portal appears behind her and Lucas jumps out of it, palm first. The palm seems to distort the very air around it and packs enormous power, Bella tries to escape but the glowing chains tighten around her and stop her from moving.

Time seems to slow down as Lucas reaches out almost gently with that palm, then he touches her. A very sharp crack is heard as a shockwave spreads out from where he touches her. The surrounding chains immediately shatter as Bella flies away from its entanglement before slamming into the barrier surrounding the stage.

And in that one move, Lucas wins.