After the 30-minute break, the Tournament Announcer returned with the arena's music playing in the background. Fireworks lit up the sky. The Announcer struck a pose and began her announcement.

  “Welcome back to the Western Practice Tournament! I hope y’all enjoyed your break ‘cause we’ve got some mighty excitin’ news to share with ya!

  Kael, that former participant who stirred up quite a ruckus, has been apprehended and is now safely tucked away in prison where he can’t cause no more trouble. And the Shield of Creation, that powerful artifact, has been reclaimed and handed over to none other than our King Maizen himself!

  The Announcer continued, “Now, let’s get this show back on the road! The Electrifyin Roselle takin’ on the powerhouse Chalcon in a showdown that’s bound to set the arena ablaze! These two fierce competitors are ready to bring their A-game, so buckle up and get ready for one heck of a fight!

  Chalcon and Roselle stood on opposite ends of the battlefield, ready for their match to begin. Chalcon stepped forward with his aggressive stance. He shot Roselle a glare and declared, "Don't think for a second that just because we talked and played 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 confidently and said, "Well, Mr. Angry Boy, I won't hold back either. If I can shoot you down before you even get close, then what can you do?" With a flourish of her hand, she summoned her massive cannon.

  Chalcon’s face twisted into a scowl. He clenched 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 cannon. “Alright, I’ll call you something else. What do you prefer?”

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

  Roselle grinned. “Chalcon it is!”

  “Let the battle, Begin!”

  Once Stronberg signaled the start of the battle, Chalcon wasted no time. He unsheathed his sword and closed the distance between himself and Roselle before she could even aim her massive cannon. Roselle's eyes widened in shock as Chalcon's blade descended.

  With quick reflexes, Roselle ducked under Chalcon's slash, narrowly avoiding the deadly edge of his sword. She rolled to the side to put some distance between them, but Chalcon immediately charged forward with ferocity.

  Roselle decided to drop her massive cannon and surrounded her body with a protective layer of yellow lightning energy. She raised her charged arm to clash with Chalcon's sword.

  Chalcon 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 Chalcon pressed the attack, he spoke with confidence. "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 chance against me."

  Chalcon 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 can’t take too much damage here, but he’s so fast...’

  Chalcon lunged forward and slashed 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 midsection with the hilt of his sword, causing Roselle to stumble. Chalcon followed up with a low sweep, attempting to take out Roselle's legs, but she managed to jump over his blade.

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

  Chalcon then jumped forward with a powerful overhead strike aimed at Roselle's head. Roselle barely managed to raise her arms in time to block the attack, but the impact sent her tumbling back.

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

  Chalcon, standing confidently, taunted, "Tired already? I haven't even warmed up yet."

  Roselle met his challenge with fiery eyes. “I’m just getting started."

  Chalcon continued decided to employ his special move.

  "Manipulation Ball."

  He formed a blue ball of energy with red particles. Roselle knew all too well what this move does from watching previous battles. Chalcon was ready to try and manipulate Roselle's energy.

  Roselle managed to evade the Manipulation Ball by surrounding her entire body with yellow lightning with the focus on enhancing her speed.

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  Chalcon's eyes widened in surprise as his technique missed its mark.

  Roselle thought to herself, “Chalcon is really fast. It's going to be hard to use my Cannon against him."

  As Chalcon charged at Roselle with his sword, she executed her remembered technique, Water Puddle. Despite her elemental affinity being lightning, she managed to mimic the move thanks to her sister's teachings. A deceptively harmless-looking puddle formed on the ground before her.

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

  Chalcon was infuriated by the puddle's trickery. He struggled to get up and angrily demanded, "What the hell is this?!"

  When he tried to stand, he comically tripped again, much to the amusement of the crowd, who burst into laughter. Chalcon's growls of frustration only fueled their amusement.

  Meanwhile, Roselle seized the opportunity to reach her massive cannon. She aimed it directly at Chalcon. "This is where I shoot you down!"

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

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

  Chalcon, emerging from the aftermath of the attack, shouted in anger. He hadn't sustained significant damage, but the fact that Roselle had managed to land a hit on him first rattled him. Frustration and rage coursed through him. "You... you little…brat! You think you can just hit me like that?! Just wait until I’m done with you!"

  “You think you’re so clever, don’t you?” Chalcon 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 bladderwoof! Think you can just—just... drudge about and win like that?”

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

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

  He paused and took a deep breath. The boy made an effort to try and regain his composure. He glared 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, Chalcon appeared like a comical 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, Chalcon, time to re-focus.”

  Chalcon, still fuming but with a more controlled demeanor, readied his stance. “You think this is a joke? I’m done with the games. Let’s see how you handle this!

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

  With a swift and forceful swing, Chalcon brought his blade down, clashing with Roselle's Massive Cannon. Momentarily, the combatants were locked in a test of strength.

  Roselle's pushed back with all her might, managing to overpower Chalcon for a brief moment. With a burst of energy, she fired her Massive Cannon. However, Chalcon was quick to react. He deftly sidestepped the incoming blast, narrowly avoiding the destructive energy.

  The boy then swung his sword and clashed once more with Roselle's Massive Cannon. The force of his thrust this time sent Roselle staggering backward despite clashing with his weapon. Chalcon used this opportunity to thrust forward with even greater strength behind his swing.

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

  Chalcon's blade cut through the air with deadly precision, slashing across Roselle's chest. The force of the blow sent her tumbling backward. A pained look crossed her face from the wound.

  He smirked. “Nice try, 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? Chalcon's too fast, and my puddle won't work on him. He's seen through my moves. I need to come up with something new, something he wouldn’t expect.’

  Chalcon continued 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. Chalcon, in his aggressive pursuit, didn't notice these subtle changes to the puddles. While lunging forward for another attack, 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 become unsteady.

  Roselle seized the opportunity and used the distraction to her advantage, striking back with her massive cannon. The blast caught Chalcon 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, forming a rapidly spinning fan of crackling electricity. The fan of lightning homed in on its target, Chalcon, with pinpoint accuracy and an explosion of lightning filled the arena. Chalcon was engulfed in the storm of electricity.

  After the electrical storm subsided, Chalcon's figure appeared, scorched and smoking, on the battlefield. Chalcon, though weakened, managed to get back on his feet. He seemed to have undergone a surprising change of emotion. His face, which was etched with anger, now bore a face of elation. He exclaimed, "Holy crap that was powerful!"

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

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

  Chalcon grinned. “Of course I’m enjoying it! This is what I live for! Right 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!” Chalcon exclaimed, 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 cannon 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.”

  Chalcon looked towards the stands and shouted, "Chala!" His excitement was raising; however, his elation was replaced by a glare directed at his sister right after he shouted her name. Roselle, still on guard, looked at Chalcon in confusion.

  Chala, standing in the stands, gave a subtle nod to Chalcon. His grin returned right after he saw this. Roselle, observing this exchange, murmured to herself, "What the heck is going on with those two?"