Chapter 22 - Quarter Finals

Warning: Violent Chapter

8 September 2041 (Real Time) - Institute of Blades, Second Reality

As Elden came out of the medical bay, he was greeted by a familiar face. Hood down with his arms crossed as he leaned against a pillar, Darron Markell flashed Elden a winning smile.

“Long time no see old man.” said Darron in good cheer.

“You’re only five years younger than I am, where do you get off calling ME old?” replied Elden with equal enthusiasm.

“Thank you, for looking after my son.” said Darron as the two clasped each other’s forearms.

Elden smiled and nodded in reply. “It’s good to see you again old friend. These past twenty years have been boring without you around.”

“Heh heh heh. I have that effect on people.” Darron winked. “I know it’s a bit sudden, but I have a favour to ask of you.”

“Then let’s take a stroll and get away from these crowded places.” said Elden as he led the way out the back of the Institute.

Although the two men highlighted the events in their life for the past twenty years, it was mainly Darron that talked. Having stayed at the Institute and not ventured out into the world, Elden did not have many interesting things to say outside of training. Darron caught Elden up with the more recent events regarding Hunter and their conversation with detective Augustus Vanlith regarding the kidnapping cases.

“In the end, what I wanted to ask from you old friend, is to train with Hunter.” said Darron.

“Hmm. I have taken a liking to your son Darron. He reminds me of us when we were young.” Elden paused to think before he looked Darron in the eye. “I would be honoured to train him but as you know, Drayton has taken him directly under his wing. I’m not sure he would allow me to meddle.”

“As long as you try, then I am happy.” replied Darron.

“Very well.” said Elden as he released a sigh. “Let’s head back then. I’ll go and find Drayton after my next match. It’s better to speak to him before he gets busier after the tournament.”

**********

Elden Solari made short work of his opponent in the match that secured him a place in the quarter finals. As soon as the match was done, it didn’t take long for Elden to locate Drayton. He had just stepped out of a conference room with the rest of the council members. Noticing Elden, the council members discontinued their chatter as one of the men nodded towards Elden’s direction.

“Ah Grandmaster Solari. How can I help you?” asked Drayton.

“Hello Principal. I was hoping if I may have a word in private?”

Drayton had asked the rest of the council to stay put as he and Elden walked some distance away, out of earshot. Elden summarized his conversation with Darron to give Drayton a better idea of his intentions in asking to train Hunter.

“I see. I will agree, on one condition.” said Drayton.

“Principal, please name it.”

“You must swear fealty to Hunter when the time demands it.” Drayton delivered his condition with a fierceness in his eyes that left no room for compromise.

Elden Solari observed the elder man before him. He took several moments to think, before he made his decision. “I will.”

“Let it not be said that I alone was witness.” said Drayton as he waved the four council members over. “In front of these witnesses, I’ll have you swear it.”

Elden didn’t blink. He was not the type of person to go back on his word. “I, Elden Solari, Grandmaster representative of the Institute of Blades, take an oath to swear fealty to Hunter Markell.” Satisfied, Drayton nodded to Elden as the latter took his leave to attend to his remaining matches.

“Master. Just… just what was that about?” asked one of the councilmen.

“I’d also like to know why he would do that in the first place. He’s the most carefree and irresponsible person in the world. He normally doesn’t give a toss about Institute matters either.” said the councilwoman.

“A sure friend is known in unsure times.” quoted Drayton. Turning to the council members, he said “A fact not well known in the Institute is that Elden Solari had rejected the blademaster title of Emperor twenty years ago. Elden never cared for title. He only accepted it so that he could fight against Darron Markell in the same division. When Darron left before the tournament, Elden no longer saw the point of ranking up.”

“What!?” exclaimed the councilwoman. The councilmen were just as shocked. “He’s never made it past the quarter finals!”

Drayton chuckled. “He finds it boring after a time so he just resigns. I have been offering him the title every few years since then and he has always rejected me. I would caution you to keep this conversation to yourselves.” Drayton turned and looked towards the retreating back of Elden Solari.

He smiled, genuine and warm. “In these twenty years, Solari has surpassed Darron who has lived a civilian lifestyle. Right now, Elden is the closest person to reaching Sainthood. He is second in blade mastery only to me.”

**********

Shortly after the quarter finalists in the Grandmaster division was decided, the tournament began the quarter finals for the Adept division. For the quarter finals, only stages 2 and 4 were used. Ward Gilman was unfortunate that he was matched up with Rory Weyer.

It was a one sided match, ending in minutes. In the end, Rory was uninjured as Gilman tried and failed to land any strike. It was an expected outcome but one couldn’t help but feel pity for Gilman. Watching Rory dodge his increasingly desperate attacks made the difference in speed and skill clear. To not land a single hit and suffer complete defeat was both frustrating and humiliating for Gilman.

Arron’s match against Nadia Holtz was also rather uneventful. Nadia had the basics down to a tee, which made her a very solid and well rounded Adept. She had relied on her strong foundations to overcome her opponents but it wasn’t enough for someone like Arron who had more cunning. Unlike Rory with his match, Arron came out with a few wounds. They were the price he paid to get critical hits in at Nadia.

The second pair of matches for the quarter finals featured Elyse Drayton and Jenny Warwick at stage 2 as well as Armand Foxwell and Annelle Kingston at stage 4. Elyse Drayton is Graham Drayton’s niece while Annelle Kingston is the younger sibling of Elaine Kingston, daughter of Leisha and Chadwick Kingston.

“Match, START!” shouted Flynn.

LOUD CHEERING

Contrary to Elyse and Jenny who had gone all out from the start, Annelle and Foxwell circled each other as they kept their distance uniform.

“You’re a cautious one aren’t you.” said Annelle.

“Perhaps I’m just taking my time while I admire the view.” said Foxwell, a sly smile on his face.

“Ho? Better drink your fill then before I take your eyes out. Pervert.” replied Annelle.

Foxwell shrugged and wiggled his eyebrows. Irritated, Annelle initiated the attack. Foxwell met the attacks head on, parrying each and every strike.

BANG BANG BANG

The two of them locked blades, Foxwell’s strength forcing Annelle to take one, then two steps back. As Foxwell continued to push Annelle back, she stopped resisting, letting the force stagger her backwards. As she fell on her back, she grabbed Foxwell’s collar bringing him down with her. Propping her foot on his midsection, she used the momentum of the fall to propel him over her head as she back rolled.

“Ooof!” Foxwell was surprised but was alert enough to recover his stance quickly. Annelle had closed the distance and danced through her forms, weaving from side to side as she twirled her blade, spun and thrusted. Foxwell dodged and parried, their speed equal.

‘Concentrate… must concentrate...’ Foxwell chided himself as his eyes kept being drawn to her c-cup chest.

“Pervert!” yelled Annelle as she sweeped his leg from under him. She spun out of the leg sweep and slashed upwards, cutting into Foxwell’s midsection before he could exert enough force to stop it with his own blade. As his body made contact with the ground, he immediately rolled away and recovered his stance.

A quick check told him that his wound was not serious. Foxwell attacked. Although they were equal in speed, Annelle was outmatched in strength, forcing her to wield her blade in a two handed grip. Each successive parry slowed her next response enough that after a dozen exchanges, Foxwell had created a window of opportunity.

Slashing from left to right, Foxwell used the resulting force from the impact to spin away from Annelle before cutting downwards. Annelle was unable to parry in time as Foxwell severed her left arm at the elbow, hand still gripping the sword as it hung in mid air. Blood splashed from both ends of the severed limb and Annelle’s scream of pain was heart rending.

Foxwell followed through with an upward slash from left to right, cleaving through Annelle’s thighs and up towards her lower back. Foxwell flicked his sword clean of the blood and gore as he watched her upper body tumble to the ground, bits and pieces of her innards littering the floor.

“Sorry. Nothing personal.” said Foxwell to the corpse.

“Winner! Armand Foxwell! Clean kill!” announced Flynn.

LOUD CHEERING

On the other side at stage 2, Elyse Drayton had also finished her match. She looked like a savage, her blonde hair and face dyed red with blood. It looked like Jenny Warwick gave her a tough time.

“That concludes the Adept’s quarter finals. The semi final match ups are as follows!” announced Flynn as a holo screen popped up above stage 3.

SEMI FINALS

VSRory WeyerElyse DraytonArmand FoxwellArron Markell

“We will now move on to the Master division!” shouted Flynn.

CRAZY CHEERING AND CATCALLS

The two acrobats Camilla Chalet and Dante Lavigne were one of the first pairs that fought in the quarter finals. Camilla’s performance was a sight to behold. Her flexibility and mobility enhanced her gracefulness in combat. Compared to the loud and unappealing Dante Lavigne, Camilla was already the spectator’s choice before the battle even began.

The second pair to fight was Darwin Steiger and Newton Rosek. It was already expected that Darwin would win this match without any difficulty. His performance against Elgin Tian propelled him up the rankings in the viewer’s eyes. Camilla and Darwin both moved on to the semi finals within ten minutes after the start of the match was announced.

Dante was eventually not able to match Camilla in her acrobatics, where she was able to both attack and defend at the same time. Her motor skills and coordination was simply a level above his and it became evident as the match wore on. Darwin defeated Rosek in under two minutes, utilizing his [Speed Spirit] to create illusions as he methodically cut the man down.

The third and fourth pair were the McRaven brothers, Irene Davenport and Heidi Alers. Grant’s style was hit-and-run whereas his brother Tobias preferred to be up close and personal just like Heidi. Irene wielded her long blade, posing a tall hurdle for Heidi to overcome as Irene was an expert in controlling her zone.

“Match, START!” shouted Flynn.

Tobias took a boxing stance against his brother Grant, wielding both blades in reverse grip. Though one watched the McRaven brother’s fight, a loud hammering noise could be heard from the other stage. It was without a doubt Irene, her long blade smashing the stage.

“Brother.” said Grant. “Forfeit this match. Your style is at a disadvantage to mine.”

“I’m aware brother, but don’t worry about me. This is one of the rare chances I will have to test my skill against yours.” answered Tobias.

Grant sighed. “Very well.” he said as he walked towards Tobias. Utilizing his footwork which is only a level below that of Darwin’s [Speed Spirit], Grant closed the distance in the blink of an eye.

BANG BANG BANG! BANG BANG BANG!

Grant’s blade twirled as he forced his way through Tobias’ defense. Tobias held firm, his countenance grim as he concentrated on parrying his brother’s attacks. He pushed out with both blades, forcing Grant to take a step back. Tobias followed through with a kick to the midsection, which sent him tumbling away.

Tobias took a chance and threw one of his blades. The gamble paid off as the blade embedded itself at the back of Grant’s leg, nullifying his footwork speed. Tobias closed the distance with caution. He knew his brother’s blade handling skills were top notch even without his footwork.

Grant recovered his stance and pulled out the blade, his leg quivering. He tossed the blade to the far end of the stage and watched it clatter and slide before it fell off onto the grass. Knowing that it would be futile to move around, he awaited his brother’s approach.

Tobias circled his brother, making sure to keep himself on the side of Grant’s wounded leg. He closed in, one step at a time.

SHICK!

Tobias darted in, his blade cutting a line perpendicular to the existing leg wound. Grant screamed in pain as he hobbled on one leg. Tobias licked his lips, reigning himself in from being careless. One wrong move and his brother could take his head off.

SHICK!

SHICK!

SHICK!

Using his brother’s favourite hit-and-run tactic, Tobias continued to dart in and out, each time leaving a new cut at the back of Grant’s legs. Tobias saw Grant exerting his will to keep his legs from shaking. It was time to move in for the kill. As Tobias stepped in for the crippling blow, Grant’s demeanor changed. He was smiling!

“Tsk tsk. Got you you little brother.” said Grant. His hobble all but disappeared. Grant still moved slower, but the surprise was enough for him to meet Tobias’ approach, blade twirling.

SHICK! SHICK! SHICK! SHICK! SHICK! SHICK!

Grant’s blade twirled once, slicing off Tobias’ main-hand holding a blade. It twirled twice more, taking Tobias’ off-hand above the elbow and halfway up the forearm. He followed with three quick successive slashes that dismembered his brother in chunks. Left shoulder to right midsection. Right midsection across to the left. Left midsection to right collarbone.

The three strikes were executed with such speed that Tobias managed to utter “Ugwah?” before blood sprayed in a wide radius as he fell to the ground in pieces.

“Winner! Grant McRaven! Clean kill!” shouted Flynn.

LOUD CHEERING

Meanwhile on the other stage, Heidi could do nothing but try to out maneuver Irene. Her close range style of fighting was unsuitable against Irene’s defensive zone. She would perhaps have had a chance had she accustomed herself to carrying more than a pair of blades as the others could have been used as projectiles.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Irene chased after Heidi, leaving deep wounds on the stage wherever she tried to cut Heidi but missed. Heidi’s brows were furrowed in concentration, trying to pinpoint an opening that she could exploit to bring her within striking distance. She felt that she would have a fighting chance at zero distance given the length of Irene’s sword.

“Stop running around Heidi, it’s getting boring.” said Irene.

“It’s not my fault. If you had carried a blade half that size I wouldn’t be running around in the first place.” retorted Heidi.

Irene sighed as she stood with her off-hand on her hip, a blade at least 160 cm long held in her main hand with the tip resting on the ground.

“We can’t keep going on like this.” said Irene.

Heidi shrugged. “You could always let me into your zone and we can duke it out up close.” she smirked.

“Fine.” replied Irene.

Heidi had mentioned it as a joke. While she understood that this would be a stalemate otherwise, she didn’t think that Irene would have seriously considered zero distance fighting. Seeing no hint of a trap in Irene’s eyes, Heidi closed the distance with cautious steps.

“You can stop one pace away then we can get this over with.” said Irene as she held her long sword with one hand two thirds of the way up to the tip.

At one pace away, Heidi took a boxing stance with a wide guard, blades held in reverse. There was a moment of silence and then the two women exploded into action!

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG

Irene wielded her sword like a quarterstaff, blocking Heidi’s relentless assault using the sharp edge of her blade. Irene pushed Heidi back and counter attacked with a sweeping slash. Heidi ducked under the blade, strands of her hair floating in the wind as it was cut clean. She stepped in and swung her right blade, leaving a deep gash along Irene’s right flank.

Heidi kept low and shuffled to Irene’s back before swinging her left blade to cut across Irene’s lower back. Irene gritted her teeth as her wounds burned. Following through the momentum of her swing, she rotated as Heidi cut her back, swinging her blade down.

BAAANGGG!

“Nnnggghhhff.” Heidi had rolled away but the blade caught her foot at the ankle. She rolled to a knee, casting a glance at the bleeding stump. Her eyes were alight with pleasure.

“Be a good girl and lie still. I know you like pain, I’ll give you all the pain you want.” said Irene.

Heidi smiled but did not reply. She remained on one knee as Irene approached her. “This is going to hurt.” said Irene.

“Yes. Yes it is.” whispered Heidi. Irene’s sword came whistling down where Heidi knelt.

BAAANGGG!

SHAK SHAK SHAK SHAK SHAK SHAK

Irene screamed. Just as her blade reached Heidi, the latter had sacrificed her other leg as she rolled to the side towards Irene’s left leg. On her knees, Heidi had stabbed Irene six times with terrifying speed from her calf all the way up to her thigh and buttocks.

“Son of a bitch!” she yelled as she twisted her wrists and swung the blade sideways, pivoting on her good leg. The blade cut clean through Heidi’s arm just below the shoulder, across the collarbone and through the other shoulder. Heidi was still smiling.

“Winner! Irene Davenport! Clean kill!” announced Flynn. “Looks like Heidi Alers left Irene a souvenir. Those wounds must hurt. A lot!”

LOUD CHEERING

“The semi finalists for the Master division are as follows! Congratulations to all contestants!” shouted Flynn. The holo screen for the Master division semi finals came up above stage 3.

SEMI FINALS

VSCamilla ChaletIrene DavenportTobias McRavenDarwin Steiger

As the Grandmaster division matches were announced, Elden Solari stood on the stage with his now signature nonchalant attitude. When Steel Flynn announced the start of the match, Elden held up a single hand in front of him with his palm facing outwards towards his opponent.

“Wait. You win.” he said, before turning around and walking off the stage, leaving his opponent gawking.

BOOO! WTF WAS THAT!? OIII! WTF!?

Jeers and insults followed Elden as he walked away from the fields in search of Hunter. Elden no doubt had the ability to stand at the apex of the Grandmaster division but it is not what interested him. He would on occasion join the tournament if there was an opportunity to fight someone he found to be unique.

However, more often than not, those that he took an interest in usually only reached the quarter finals. Some of those times, he never got the chance to fight with them. Due to his status as a Grandmaster, people still pay him some respect but most view him as an eccentric old man.

It was a selfish notion but for practitioners such as Elden, strong opponents are difficult to come by with the Institute being so secluded. His friendship with Darron was born from their continuous duelling, pushing each other to breakthrough to the next stage of their expertise.

Having now had the permission from Drayton, Elden saw no further reason to continue with the tournament. It was more interesting for him to work with the potential that Hunter is housing within him. Elden’s goal was simple. He wanted to cultivate Hunter’s talent so that he would one day have another sparring partner worthy of fighting with his full strength .

**********

Hunter had woken up with Lashell by his side. He was asleep for some time on one of the spare beds in the medical bay. Opting to stay put and spend time alone with his mother, the two had a teary reunion as they caught up with what’s been happening in the outside world.

Hunter held back when it came to Lara for no other reason than to keep the agreement they had of making sure her real identity and capabilities were not discovered. Naturally, Hunter also had to keep quiet about his knowledge of Sasha, Carl and Katherina’s kidnapping and their current whereabouts. It would have been difficult to explain how he knew these things without revealing Lara.

Lashell was sharp. She knew that Hunter had held back on telling her about something but she pushed it to the back of her mind. For her, seeing her eldest walking and living - if that’s what it could be called - was cause enough for her to celebrate.

After spending an hour chatting and reminiscing, the nurses eventually asked them to leave so that others could use the bed. It was outside at the hallway that Elden Solari found them.

“Hunter.” waved Elden, his eyes widening as the woman next to him turned to look at him. “My my, if it isn’t Lashell! It’s been a long time eh?”

“Elden! It seems these twenty years has not been too harsh to you old friend.” said Lashell as she gave Elden a hug.

Elden chuckled. “I guess so. You’re looking just as good as you did all those years ago. I always told Darron he was a lucky man and I’m always right.”

Hunter gawked as his mother turned a shade pink. ‘This woman blushes? For real?’

“Anyway, Darron caught me up on your situation back home. Hunter, he asked me to teach you.” said Elden, putting up a hand to forestall any questions. “I have already asked Drayton and he has agreed. Once the tournament ends, the principal will spend more time out in the real world so this is for the best.”

“Son.” said Lashell, putting an arm around Hunter’s shoulder. “You’re in good hands with Elden. He’s the most devout practitioner in the whole Institute and even gave me and your father a hard time when we sparred. Where Darron and I had all but stopped training since we left this place, there is no doubt Elden had continued.”

Lashell looked at Elden as she finished her sentence. Elden nodded in agreement.

“I’d like to spend a week with my family first, after this tournament is over.” said Hunter.

“Sounds good to me.” replied Elden.

“Speaking of which, why don’t we all get together after the tournament? You’ve not met Arron and Darell yet have you?” Lashell asked Elden. At his affirmative, Lashell turned to Hunter. “You can also invite your girlfriends. I haven’t met the blondie yet.”

Having it said so casually made Hunter’s ears burn. His face turned a shade darker when Elden caught his eye and the old man started wiggling his eyebrows with a big smile on his face.

**********

Author’s Notes

So, if you had followed my A/N Thinking Log then you'd have known that I had to redo half the chapter since I lost the first half to carelessness. It's going to be a long weekend, perhaps Saturday would be the only time I have spare. Sunday morning here will be the Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight so I won't be around to write.

Will do my best to get a chapter done on Saturday so I can at least have something to post by Monday.

PS: No offense to Mayweather fans but I hope Pacquiao knocks him out! Also, watch their HBO Sports YouTube video, it builds up the anticipation :)

-Harven