After the 30-minute break, the Tour Announcer returned with the arena’s music pying in the background. Fireworks lit up the sky. The Annouruck a pose and began her annou.

  “Wele back to the Western Practice Tour! I hope y’all enjoyed your break ‘cause we’ve got some mighty ex’ o share with ya!

  Kael, that former partit who stirred up quite a ruckus, has been apprehended and is now safely tucked away in prison where he ’t cause no more trouble. And the Shield of Creation, that powerful artifact, has been recimed and handed over to her than our King Maizen himself!

  The Announcer tinued, “Now, let’s get this show ba the road! The Electrifyin Roselle takin’ on the powerhouse Chal in a showdown that’s bound to set the arena abze! These two fierpetitors are ready t their A-game, so buckle up a ready for one heck of a fight!

  Chal and Roselle stood on opposite ends of the battlefield, ready for their match to begin. Chal stepped forward with his aggressive stance. He shot Roselle a gre and decred, “Don’t think for a sed that just because we talked and pyed for a bit means I’m gonna take it easy on you! I’m here to win, and I’m gonna slice you up!”

  Roselle smiled fidently and said, “Well, Mr. Angry Boy, I won’t hold back either. If I shoot you down before you eve close, then what you do?” With a flourish of her hand, she summoned her massive on.

  Chal’s face twisted into a scowl. He ched his fists and shouted, “Will you stop calling me ‘Mr. Angry Boy’? It’s seriously gettin’ on my nerves!”

  Roselle chuckled, adjusting her grip on the on. “Alright, I’ll call you something else. What do you prefer?”

  Chal’s irritation seemed to settle for a moment, repced by a hint of annoyance. “Just call me Chal. It’s my name. If you want to be fair, you should use it.”

  Roselle grinned. “Chal it is!”

  “Let the battle, Begin!”

  Or sighe start of the battle, Chal wasted no time. He uhed his sword and closed the distaween himself and Roselle before she could even aim her massive on. Roselle’s eyes widened in shock as Chal’s bde desded.

  With quick reflexes, Roselle ducked under Chal’s ssh, narrowly avoiding the deadly edge of his sword. She rolled to the side to put some distaween them, but Chalmediately charged forward with ferocity.

  Roselle decided to drop her massive on and surrounded her body with a protective yer of yellow lightning energy. She raised her charged arm to csh with Chal’s sword.

  Chal brought his sword down with even more force, causing Roselle’s yellow lightning energy to falter in the face of his relentless assault. She was forced to give ground.

  While Chal pressed the attack, he spoke with fidence. “I know all about this kind of energy you’re using, its strengths, and its weaknesses. You’ll have to do better than that if you wanna even stand a ce against me.”

  Chal danced around the battlefield. He delivered a series of strikes on Roselle. Roselle used her yellow lightning as a shield against his sword strikes, but it barely protected her. Roselle said to herself, ‘I’m better off trying to dodge these attacks… I ’t take too much damage here, but he’s so fast...’

  Chal lunged forward and sshed diagonally from the right, aiming for Roselle’s left shoulder. Roselle narrowly dodged the attack by leaping backward.

  He swiftly spun around, delivering a quick jab to her midse with the hilt of his sword, causing Roselle to stumble. Chal followed up with a low sweep, attempting to take out Roselle’s legs, but she mao jump over his bde.

  The boy theed a rapid thrust aimed at her chest, which Roselle blocked with her lightning out of desperation, causing a brief csh of energy.

  Chal then jumped forward with a powerful overhead strike aimed at Roselle’s head. Roselle barely mao raise her arms in time to block the attack, but the impact seumbling back.

  Roselle was already panting and somewhat bruised from Chal’s assault. She took a moment to gather herself.

  Chal, standing fidently, taunted, “Tired already? I haven’t even warmed up yet.”

  Roselle met his challeh fiery eyes. “I’m just getting started.”

  Chal tinued decided to employ his special move.

  “Manipution Ball.”

  He formed a blue ball of energy with red particles. Roselle knew all too well what this move does from watg previous battles. Chal was ready to try and manipute Roselle’s energy.

  Roselle mao evade the Manipution Ball by surrounding her entire body with yellow lightning with the focus on enhang her speed.

  Chal’s eyes widened in surprise as his teique missed its mark.

  Roselle thought to herself, “Chal is really fast. It’s going to be hard to use my on against him.”

  As Chal charged at Roselle with his sword, she executed her remembered teique, Water Puddle. Despite her elemental affinity being lightning, she mao mimic the move thanks to her sister’s teags. A deceptively harmless-looking puddle formed on the ground before her.

  Chal stepped onto the puddle on his way over to her. His foot touched the puddle, and it caused him to lose his bance. He slipped and stumbled until he lost his footing.

  Chal was infuriated by the puddle’s trickery. He struggled to get up and angrily demanded, “What the hell is this?!”

  Wheried to stand, he ically tripped again, much to the amusement of the crowd, who burst into ughter. Chal’s growls of frustration only fueled their amusement.

  Meanwhile, Roselle seized the opportunity to reach her massive on. She aimed it directly at Chal. “This is where I shoot you down!”

  With a thunderous bst, she fired a devastating shot. The impact caused a shockwave of energy that engulfed Chal. The crowd’s ughter turned into cheers when they witnessed Roselle’s attack.

  Amid the fading smoke, a triumphant Roselle stood. Her massive on was still smoking from the powerful shot. Cha watched with a satisfied smile in the background.

  Chal, emerging from the aftermath of the attack, shouted in anger. He hadn’t sustained signifit damage, but the fact that Roselle had mao nd a hit on him first rattled him. Frustration and rage coursed through him. “You... you little…brat! You think you just hit me like that?! Just wait until I’m doh you!”

  “You think you’re so clever, don’t you?” Chal shouted. “Sneakin’ around, settin’ up puddles like some kind of trickster! You’re just a—”

  His words started to lose coherence. “You’re a… a… squibbleknock! A no-good bdderwoof! Think you just—just... drudge about and win like that?”

  Roselle looked at Chal with bewilderment. “Uh, Chal, are you okay? You’re, um, making up words now.”

  Chal’s rage seemed to hit new levels of absurdity. “You don’t get to talk! You’re a buh! A—”

  He paused and took a deep breath. The boy made an effort to try and regain his posure. He gred at Roselle and said, “Alright, alright. Enough of this nonsense. I’ll just… I’ll just show you what real fighting is like!”

  From Roselle’s perspective, Chal appeared like a ical creature. His face was flushed with frustration while animatedly flinging nonsensical words at her. His wild gestures and exaggerated faces made it hard for her to take him seriously, despite the seriousness of the battle.

  Roselle shook her head. “Okay, Chal, time to re-focus.”

  Chal, still fuming but with a more trolled demeanor, readied his stance. “You think this is a joke? I’m doh the games. Let’s see how you hahis!

  Chal closed in on Roselle with his sword ready to attack. Roselle hoisted her Massive on and aimed it squarely at her aggressive oppo.

  With a swift and forceful swing, Chal brought his bde down, g with Roselle’s Massive omentarily, the batants were locked in a test of strength.

  Roselle’s pushed back with all her might, managing to overpower Chal for a brief moment. With a burst of energy, she fired her Massive on. However, Chal was quick to react. He deftly sidestepped the ining bst, narrowly avoiding the destructive energy.

  The boy then swung his sword and cshed once more with Roselle’s Massive on. The force of his thrust this time sent Roselle staggering backward despite g with his on. Chal used this opportunity to thrust forward with eveer strength behind his swing.

  Roselle attempted to create another puddle, hoping to slow Chal down, but hetwirled around on the puddle and used the opportunity to unch a swift and precise strike.

  Chal’s bde cut through the air with deadly precision, sshing across Roselle’s chest. The force of the blow seumbling backward. A pained look crossed her face from the wound.

  He smirked. “ry, Roselle, but I’ve learned a thing or two from your moves. You’re not gonna catch me slippin again.”

  Roselle growled and thought, ‘What do I do now? Chal’s too fast, and my puddle won’t work on him. He’s seen through my moves. I o e up with something new, something he wouldn’t expect.’

  Chal tinued his relentless assault. His strikes came fast and fierce. Roselle released small bursts of yellow lightning with each of his attacks.

  With each strike, Roselle directed the yellow lightning toward the ground, creating a series of small, electrified puddles. Chal, in his aggressive pursuit, didn’t notice these subtle ges to the puddles. While lunging forward for atack, he swiftly evaded Roselle’s attempt at using a water puddle, but the lightning charged around the puddle branched out towards his feet, causing them to bee unsteady.

  Roselle seized the opportunity and used the distra to her advariking back with her massive on. The bst caught Chal off guard, sending him sprawling backward, his attacks momentarily disrupted.

  Roselle saw the opportunity she had created. She thought to herself, “I’ve got him.”

  With a powerful shout, she called out,

  “THUNDERCLAP…SUUUURRRGEE!!!!”

  She summoned a massive burst of lightning. It arced outward from her, f a rapidly spinning fan of crag electricity. The fan of lightning homed in on its target, Chal, with pinpoint accurad an explosion of lightning filled the arena. Chal was engulfed iorm of electricity.

  After the electrical storm subsided, Chal’s figure appeared, scorched and smoking, otlefield. Chal, though weakened, mao get ba his feet. He seemed to have undergone a surprising ge of emotion. His face, which was etched with anger, now bore a face of etion. He excimed, “Holy crap that owerful!”

  Roselle caught her breath and surveyed the se. She felt somewhat suprised. She had expected Chal to be more disgruntled or enraged, but instead, he looked almost... thrilled.

  “Wait, are you actually enjoying this,” Roselle asked, with astonishment.

  Chal grinned. “Of course I’m enjoying it! This is what I live fht now? This fight? It’s the best I’ve had in a long time!”

  Roselle raised an eyebrow. “You mean you actually like fighting?”

  “Like it? I love it!” Chal excimed, stepping forward with renewed vigor. “It’s where I feel most alive. Every strike, every move—it’s all part of the thrill! You’ve got skills, Roselle. I’ve gotta give you that.”

  Roselle tightened her grip on her on and gave a small smile. “Well, if this is what gets you excited, then I’ll give it my all to make this fight the best you’ve ever had.”

  Chal looked towards the stands and shouted, “Cha!” His excitement was raising; however, his etion was repced by a gre directed at his sister right after he shouted her name. Roselle, still on guard, looked at Chal in fusion.

  Cha, standing iands, gave a subtle nod to Chal. His griurned right after he saw this. Roselle, this exge, murmured to herself, “What the heck is going on with those two?”