(Sky-God Arena – Semi-Final Match 1 Continued)
"Jessica Jones is down… and Leo Skyshard walks away victorious, putting Rodova Academy 2–0 up in the semi-finals," Derek announced, his voice edged with disbelief, the weight of what had just unfolded still sinking in.
"I don’t think anyone saw this coming—not like this," Lee added, leaning forward. "Not with this level of clinical precision. That was a surprisingly dominant performance from the youngster…as someone ought to stand up and applaud him, because that fight was undoubtedly one for the history books."
"That fight wasn’t a brawl. It was a calculated dismantling," Derek continued. "Leo never rushed, never overextended. He baited, he read, he reacted—and when the moment came, he finished it without hesitation."
"Flawless awareness. Ruthless execution. This is the Assassin Class at its most refined. And while you can argue over who the strongest fighter in this tournament is, I don’t think anyone would question that Leo Skyshard is, without a doubt, the most dangerous assassin on the circuit."
"Well said," Lee replied, letting out a dry chuckle. "There’s something terrifying about that lad, isn’t there? You watch him move, you see the silence in his decisions—the poise. This kid’s going places. You can feel it in your bones. If he’s like this now… what will he be a year from today?"
As the camera shifted to the Rodova bench, Leo could be seen quietly taking his seat, his eyes already fixed once more on the center of the field, blood on his lips but no hint of emotion in his gaze as usual.
"Unlucky for him… he can’t receive any medical treatment just yet, despite the injuries he’s sustained—because for now, he’s still an active participant in this round." Derek said, his tone dipping slightly as he added one final note about Leo, before Yu Shen’s fight began.
—----------
*Step*
*Step*
And just like that, Yu Shen stepped onto the battlefield.
Unhurried.
Unshaken.
As there seemed to be no pressure in his stride—only purpose.
Rodova was already in a strong position, with both Su Yang and Leo securing victories in the opening bouts.
So even if he were to fall here, the juniors had already paved the path forward—and as long as he left his opponent wounded enough, Rodova would remain in control.
However, in contrast, his opponent walked with a long face, worry etched into his very soul, as he knew that everything was essentially on him now to somehow help Clarence claw a win back.
"It’s Satoru Miu taking on Yu Shen now, and it’s a battle between two dual sword wielders with a very similar fighting style–" Lee announced, as Satoru unsheathed both his swords and assumed a cross blade fighting stance.
"Fighters ready?"
"Begin—"
The referee’s voice echoed, and instantly, both men shot forward with a flash of movement, the air cracking behind them from the sheer force of their acceleration.
*CLANG—!*
Their twin blades collided at the center of the battlefield in a blinding flurry, sparks bursting into the air as metal grated against metal, each strike delivered with deadly precision.
Yu Shen’s expression remained unreadable, his feet rooted with iron discipline as he pivoted cleanly and swung for Satoru’s side. But Satoru blocked with his left-hand blade and countered with a diagonal slash, forcing Yu Shen to hop back half a step.
Then—
[Snowpiercer]
Yu Shen slashed the air with his right blade, conjuring a jagged crescent of razor-thin ice that shimmered like glass as it carved a deadly path toward Satoru.
But Satoru spun sideways, narrowly avoiding the arc, his boots grinding into the sand as he retaliated with [Windflayer Waltz]—a twin-blade technique that unleashed three rotating wind-edged strikes in rapid succession.
Yu Shen blocked the first, parried the second, and leaned under the third, his cape flaring behind him from the residual pressure—before he drove his knee into Satoru’s gut and pushed him back with a palm strike that crackled with freezing mana.
*CRACK—*
*HISS—*
Frost spread rapidly along Satoru’s vest, lacing up toward his collar before he slashed through it with raw mana to prevent his upper body from freezing entirely.
"He’s trying to slow him down—Yu Shen’s using his ice not just offensively, but tactically," Derek commented. "If Satoru can’t move fluidly, his twin-blade style will crumble."
But Satoru wasn’t down yet.
With a sharp breath, he roared forward again and unleashed [Fangs of the Void]—a brutal forward rush where both his swords glowed with dark energy and left trails of black mana arcs behind every swing, as Yu Shen’s eyes narrowed in panic looking at the move.
[Frigid Bloom]
A circle of frozen lotus petals erupted beneath his feet as he raised both blades and spun once, deflecting all of Satoru’s strikes while simultaneously sending a pulse of freezing mist into the air that began to blot out the visibility between them.
*FWOOSH—*
The mist clung to skin and metal alike, chilling the bones and dulling one’s reflexes, as the temperature within the battlefield dropped significantly.
"Damn you—!" Satoru growled as he leapt out of the mist, hoping to catch Yu Shen on the other side. But to his horror Yu Shen wasn’t there.
Instead, Yu Shen was in the air, having anticipated the timing of his charge perfectly, as he came down from the top with his blades glowing in a unique blue aura.
[Blizzard Fang]
Mid-air, Yu Shen spun with both swords and from that motion, a cluster of ice spears burst outward like a frozen nova, catching Satoru off-guard as they tore into his side.
"GAH—!"
Satoru dropped like a stone, blood spraying from his hip as he buckled and tumbled into the arena floor, sliding across the sand as frost clung to his armor and joints.
*GASP–*
The audience sucked in a collective breath, as Yu Shen landed softly a moment later, his blades relaxed at his sides.
In contrast, Satoru struggled to rise after the injury, blood seeping from a deep gash along his ribs.
Still, he pushed his body up using his swords.
Still, he refused to fall.
"You… haven’t won yet," he spat, pain etched into his every breath.
As Yu Shen simply shook his head in response, and replied "Oh but I have.... you just don’t know it yet."
Then, with a single, unhurried step, he surged forward again—his blades spinning into a cross-shaped arc as he unleashed his final, decisive technique—
[Frozen Eclipse]
Both swords converged in a spiraling cross-slash, releasing a final burst of ice energy that crashed into Satoru’s chest with an echoing roar, as it knocked him clean off his feet and sent him flying into the arena wall.
*CRASH—!*
He hit the barrier wall and slumped forward, completely still, seemingly knocked unconscious, as the referee called the match.
"Winner—Yu Shen of Rodova!"
*ROAR—*
The arena erupted as Rodova secured their third consecutive win.
"Unbelievable…" Derek whispered. "Rodova just took a massive lead in this semi-final with a clean 3-0 sweep against the three Grandmasters from Clarence!"
"Su Yang. Leo Skyshard and now Captain Yu Shen," Lee echoed. "Three fighters. Three victories. And now… their path to finals looks almost assured."
"I mean it’s a given Lee, Yu Shen is making way for Su Yang to come up once again, and I don’t see any possibility where Su Yang struggles against two master level warriors, when the Clarence Grandmaster he faced earlier couldn’t even make him break a sweat!" Derek commented.
And just like that—less than seven minutes later—Su Yang stepped in and tore through Clarence’s final two contenders without breaking a sweat, cementing Rodova’s place in the Grand Finals.