Another Stupid Isekai

Celestine got visibly stressed by Will\'s words, but she tried to hide it with a smile. Things got worse as he left, though, because shortly after that somebody knocked on the door to our room.

- Participant Celestine, please prepare for your match. I\'ll escort you. Your items are already waiting for you - we heard the familiar voice of whoever was responsible for guiding the fighters from our room.

- I\'m coming! - she replied.

Everybody tried to comfort her with some words, or a hug, so I had to push my way through them. I hugged her, then whispered in her ear:

- It\'s going to be an easy fight. Just don\'t allow your mind to defeat you, because that\'s your worst enemy right now. Be calm and focused - then I kissed her on the cheek and took a single step back.

She gave me a smile, then a nod, and finally left the room.

- Oh, god. I think I\'m gonna puke - said Tihana as soon as the door closed. - The tension is too much...

I fixed how she felt with my healing magic before anybody else could react.

- Trust your mother - I told her.

She nodded, then smiled. John also came to her to place his hand on her shoulder. They decided to sit down on the couch, where Leonal and Carmelita already were. Both looked nervous too.

- And it\'s time to speak about the participants of our fourth duel - Matthew spoke, bringing my attention to the TV.

- We have Luis Martinez who is going to be taking on Celestine - Bruce added.

- To those who don\'t know Luis is a Cuban immigrant, who first emigrated to the united states, but when the first opportunity presented itself, moved to Arc. Then he started his journey as a hunter, but also as a businessman. He quickly gained respect in both those fields and then became one of the rising stars in the world of hunters - Matthe explained.

- Exactly. He a very well-known figure. The complete opposite of the other participant, Celestine. We only know that she used to own a bookshop in Las Vegas, but then became a hunter, and even married one of the first hunters. They formed quite an interesting family, as we were able to observe in the arena - Bruce pointed out.

- Oh, yeah! That\'s quite the family. All of them went head to head with one of the bests and even emerged victorious from two out of the three duels. What an incredible show of force.

- Yes. This shows that even as a rising star you can\'t go against those mysterious beings known as the first hunters. Many of them stay in the shadows, and those who don\'t, are known very well for their strength.

- That\'s a topic I would love to dive deeper into - Matthew said. - But unfortunately, the duel is about to begin, so we won\'t have time to even touch it properly.

- The gates are opening! - Bruce added.

That was indeed what was happening. Both opened at the same time. There was no music, which meant they both didn\'t pick any to be blasted through the speakers during their entrance.

Celestine was wearing her silver armor and already had her helmet on. The sword and shield were also in her hands.

Martinez brought a single, heavy, two-handed axe.

His armor was quite interesting in terms of looks. The left hand was covered in metal rings, which formed this weird sleeve, with leather poking from underneath. On the shoulder he had a reinforced pad, partially protecting his neck. The whole torso was naked, and he had some nice muscle to show off.

The right hand was completely naked except for a bracer, reaching slightly further onto the forearm than just protecting the wrist.

His pants were heavy. Probably made out of kevlar with brown leather patches on top of it. There were some symbols emboldened into them. The TV screen made it impossible to see, but I was quite sure those were some kind of runic enchantments.

I made a mental note to try and decipher them if any of the camera operators would decide to zoom in.

- Quite a dry opening, without any music, but the fight itself will definitely bring us some emotions. Are you ready, dear viewers? I hope you are because if not you only have a few seconds left to grab a drink or some snack, because soon the action won\'t let you leave your couch! - Matthew said.

- Oh! I can\'t wait! We\'ve been blessed today with an amazing beginning to the whole event, with such strong participants clashing among one another - Bruce added.

- I would love to share how I feel, but I can\'t, because the duel is starting! - the commentator screamed.

Martinez smashed his fist into his chest, and the veins popped out on his bicepses and forehead. His eyes opened wide as he gritted his teeth clearly entering some kind of rage.

Celestine\'s first move was more elegant. In a flash of light, several swords appeared around her and then assembled into pair of wings, which she used to take off into the air.

She didn\'t fly for too long, as her opponent jumped right after her, arching his whole body as he swung the axe from above his head. He smashed it onto the shield Celestine used to protect herself, but the sheer force behind the weapon send her right back to the ground.

She landed heavily on the sand, but Luis did too, and he rushed to close the already short distance. He swung the axe again, but my wife dodged it by dusking down. She tried to cut his leg, but her blade didn\'t manage to go through the thick armor. There was too little power behind her attack.

He pushed her with his whole body by taking a step forward, which made her fall to the ground. She tumbled to escape further.

To my surprise, he didn\'t even chase her. He grabbed his going and made a particular move with his hips. Celestine saw it. I did too.

- Oh, you are so dead - left my mouth.