Magic Trick

[Trick's PoV]

TODAY IS THE SECOND DAY OF THE CLUSTER BATTLE AND THE ONES FIGHTING ARE THE ALBANIAN SISTERS VERSUS THE SAINT-PIERRE BROTHERS.�

� � � � � � We are excited to watch how the French men fight. They are having close ties with the Borgs, so maybe we can consider them as one to watch out for.�

� � � � � � Right now, Ellis and I weren't talking. Since last night, he still insisted that I summon a monstigna, and I refused. I woke up this morning and I didn't find him in his bed. I just met him here in the dome. Well, we didn't even speak to each other. He didn't even bother to give me a stare or at least say hi.�

� � � � � � I was sitting near Fei and Jia. He was sitting with the Filipino twins and Tiberion. Haru was sitting a little far from us, just reading a book.�

� � � � � � I wanted to open this up to Fei but right now, I think I need to watch the French fight. Who knows, we'll encounter each other in a match in the future.

� � � � � � I've seen Kaltrina and Flutura fight in the past with the Brazilian brothers. They were fantastic, but I sense an odd feeling about this match. The French men looked charismatic and adorable, as they're all smiles to everybody. I don't know why but I can't seem to trust those smiles. They looked like traps to me.�

� � � � � � At the moment, the matches have been decided. Kaltrina will be against Philippe. Flutura will be against Enzo. Corentin is currently on the side, waiting if there is a tie.�

� � � � � � Beketi also appeared and gave special instructions for this match. For the dome slot, they were not allowed to jump higher than ten feet or they will be shot with a lot of crossbows with poisoned bolts that are surrounding the area. For the power slot, they are not allowed to use fire in their match. Regarding the time slot, they only have fifteen minutes per match.�

� � � � � � "Commence!" Jang-mi shouted, when all instructions were clear to the fighters.

� � � � � � Kaltrina ran towards Philippe, but Philippe raised his hand and spoke. "May I make a suggestion?"

� � � � � � Kaltrina stopped running. Jang-mi approached the microphone and said, "What is it, Philippe?"

� � � � � � "I would like to suggest that we have a two-on-two battle," Philippe uttered.�

� � � � � � Kaltrina's face twitched, then she looked at Flutura who was grinning. Philippe then looked at Enzo and Enzo just nodded. Jang-mi took this to the council and a few moments later, she returned to the microphone and announced, "Since the suggestion is from the Marseilles team, we would like to ask the Tirana team if you agree. Tirana team?"

� � � � � � Flutura undoubtedly joined Kaltrina in the ring. "We're ready."

� � � � � � Enzo then followed and stood beside Philippe. "I'm here too."

� � � � � � "Since both teams agreed, the council added two more rules in this match," Jang-mi said.�

� � � � � � What? Are they spicing up the game? Oh, gosh.

� � � � � � "Number one, since we have two combined matches, our time slot will still remain as is. The participants must fight within fifteen minutes," Jang-mi explained and no participant had any reactions.

� � � � � � Jang-mi continued. "If one of the two members is down, then the game is over. The team with both members standing wins right away."

� � � � � � "Whoa!" Furkan yelled. "What a twist!"

� � � � � � "Fair enough. Imagine how the one remaining would fight the two from the opposing team. That would be really hard," Shamil commented.

� � � � � � "Again, Tirana versus Marseilles. Commence!" Jang-mi signaled.

� � � � � � Enzo brought out a palm-size speaker, then he pressed the button and loud music of waltz played. It's so impressive as I think the music is heard even to the farthest end of the dome. It's like, powered by a hundred amplifiers!

� � � � � � "I hope you like music," Philippe said.�

� � � � � � "Of course. Let's dance," Kaltrina said, then she looked at Flutura and they both turned into turtles. Oh, I've seen this before. The shells absorb the powers of the opponent's attacks. That's what they did with the Brazilians when they attacked the sisters with lightning. This will be fun.

� � � � � � Enzo and Philippe danced the waltz but with an invisible partner. They just danced around the ring, as both Albanian sisters remained intact in their shells. To be honest, I don't know what's happening.�

� � � � � � "Partner, do you have any idea what they are up to?" Shamil asked Furkan.

� � � � � � "I'm confused as well, but I am sure that the French are preparing for an attack. The Albanians are in their defense mode," Furkan analyzed.�

� � � � � � I turned to Fei and asked. "Do you know about this attack, Fei?"

� � � � � � "Not really. I'm not familiar with the Saint-Pierres," Fei answered.�

� � � � � � I asked Jia this time. "How about you, Jia?"

� � � � � � "I only know Corentin, but that was a long time ago. We used to see each other in competitions before, but we rarely talk," Jia said.

� � � � � � "Competition? What sport?" I clarified.

� � � � � � "Oh," Jia shook her head. "it's a ballet competition."

� � � � � � My mouth formed an O. Ballet? I did not expect that.�

� � � � � � "Well, based on what we have, we can say that these guys are good in dancing," Fei inferred. "and most likely, they use dancing to fight."

� � � � � � "Interesting." I focused on the two guys who are still waltzing the ring. Kaltrina and Flutura are still in turtle mode and nothing is happening so far.�

� � � � � � "Twelve minutes on the clock, and we're still watching two men dancing and two shells that contain two women inside," Shamil recalled.

� � � � � � "Let us wait. I'm sure they won't fail us to give a great battle. I think this is the calm before the storm," Furkan commented.�

� � � � � � To be honest, I'm not bored. The fight looked like nothing is happening but it's super suspenseful, as any of the two teams might do something unexpected. This is really nerve-racking.�

� � � � � � Then, a couple of moments more, the music ended. After that, Enzo and Philippe stomped both of their feet on the ring. In just a blink of an eye, the shells catapulted above and…�

� � � � � � "Oh, gosh, no!" I screamed in terror.

� � � � � � The hundred crossbows shot simultaneously and the shells were hit. Not just hit, but the bolts were pierced in the shells… which actually confused me. The shells were really hard. How come they penetrated the shells?�

� � � � � � In just a split-second, the shells fell and blood was leaking in both of them.�

� � � � � � "W-what did just happen?" Furkan said.

� � � � � � "Are… Are the Tirana girls okay?" Shamil asked. I hope they were…

� � � � � � Enzo and Philippe walked towards the shells. Then, I observed something on the ring. It was soft!�

� � � � � � "The dance!" I blurted. "The dance made the ring soft. It's as if they turned the ring into a trampoline and took advantage of the dome slot feature."

� � � � � � "The shells' natural power is to absorb the opponent's attack. In a way, the dance that softened the entire ring is an attack. The shells unknowingly absorbed that and that happened," Jia added.�

� � � � � � Fei looked at me with a serious face. "See what I mean? These are just the Saint-Pierres. We haven't seen the Borgs fight."

� � � � � � Deep inside me, I felt a sudden gush of nervousness. We can't just be letting our guards down against these people. They're dangerous. They're threats to our lives.�

� � � � � � Slowly, the Albanian sisters transform into their human forms and the bolts from the crossbow were perforated in their bodies. They were covered with blood and poison, which has a green color. It was a horrifying scene to see.�

� � � � � � "Are they dead? They aren't moving. Can anyone do something? Medic?" Shamil said.�

� � � � � � "They have been shot with a lot of bolts with poison," Furkan uttered. "what do you expect?"

� � � � � � Enzo took the speaker and turned the music off. Then, I noticed that the ring returned to its natural hardness. Philippe gestured a signal to Jang-mi, and Jang-mi approached the microphone immediately.

� � � � � � "I will start the counting. Five… Four… Three… Two… One… As it is obvious to us all that the Tirana team are not conscious and they cannot stand, the winner of this cluster match is… the Marseilles team! Congratulations, Enzo, Philippe, and Corentin Saint-Pierre. You are now qualified for the next round of the competition."

� � � � � � The virtual audience had mixed reactions to this bout. Some are cheering and some are booing. Well, one thing's for sure. I'm afraid.�

� � � � � � It only took the Saint-Pierres less than five minutes to defeat the Albanian sisters. They didn't even exert any effort to win this match. They just frickin' danced!

� � � � � � The medical team led by Dakarai approached Kaltrina and Flutura. They were confirmed dead by one of the staff. Dakarai instructed them to bring the bodies to the infirmary for closer examination.�

� � � � � � Jang-mi, who is unaffected by what happened, announced the next match's details right away. "Two days from now, we will be having our next cluster battle and it will be decided by the Team Selector on the screen."

� � � � � � After that, all teams were in this montage where all of us in our battle stance, wearing our battle costumes. The pictures of each team were shown in roulette form. Then it stopped with…�

� � � � � � "Rio de Janeiro team, with team members, Reginaldo and Raimundo Oliveira!" Jang-mi announced. "And the team that they will be against is…"�

� � � � � � The roulette on the screen moved again and it stopped with…

� � � � � � "Amsterdam team!" Jang-mi yelled. "We have here Fenna van der Linden and Pieter Groenhart."

� � � � � � I turned to Haru and he closed his book when he heard Fenna's name being mentioned by Jang-mi. He then stared at Fenna and followed her with his eyes as she approaches the ring. Then I looked at Ellis, and his face twitched.�

� � � � � � I couldn't tell my feelings right now. I wasn't done with my conflict with Ellis, and now this frightening moment adds up to my worries. There's a lot going on in me right now, and it's so overwhelming.

"See you again in two days. Thank you so much!" Jang-mi closed today's competition.�

Just like that.