Chương 128: [End Of The Tournament]

Grimgar restarted the match. Sam came forward before Leo had fully settled, and once he started, he didn't stop. A fast diagonal slash from the right forced Leo's guard up. Already moving left, Sam drove his second dagger at the ribs before the first strike was even fully covered. Leo shoved Sam's forearm wide and backed off, but the pursuit followed without a pause. Feinting high before dropping low, Sam switched angles mid-movement.

Leo got the Sarren down just in time, but barely, and his opponent vanished out of reach before he could capitalise, circling to find a new angle. Throwing a wide slash to make space, Leo kicked out as Sam ducked under the blade, catching him square in the chest and sending him stumbling back a few steps. Sam looked at him for a half-second. Then came forward again. He's controlling the fight. I need to break his rhythm or I'm going to take a hit eventually.

The left dagger drew Leo's guard across while the right flicked up toward his chin. Pulling his head back, Leo shoved the Sarren between them. Sam slipped under it and drove at his left side, the strike catching nothing as Leo twisted away. I need a plan. Something that catches him off guard. Leo backed off again, covering his retreat with stabs and slashes, but no space opened up. Sam kept pushing, always looking for new angles.

Every time Leo thought he'd closed one off, he was there again, somehow in a space Leo had thought was safe. Come on. Think. Nothing came. No read, no opening. Just Sam, fast and relentless, and Leo running out of room. He threw another wide slash as he jumped backwards. Hang on. That could work. He leapt before he'd finished thinking it. Sam stopped for a brief second and made to move, but Leo slashed at him from above.

Having no other option, Sam ducked the slash but took the full brunt of Leo's body colliding with him before tumbling backwards into the dirt. Up first, Leo dropped the Sarren to point directly at Sam's chest before Sam had fully registered he was on the ground. Sam looked up at him. The sword pointed at his chest, the distance between them. His head went back and hit the dirt. The crowd erupted. Grimgar's hand went up one final time. Shai watched Leo win the final.

Her tail had been swaying back and forth for most of the fight. He'd fought well. When she noticed it, she didn't bother to hide it. Leo kissing her on the head had revealed everything already. Anyone watching closely would have worked it out long before that anyway. Either way, she was happy and wasn't afraid to show it. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. She thought about tomorrow.

The dance was something she was eagerly anticipating, but there was something else she was looking forward to seeing his reaction to. Thinking about Leo's face when he found out made the grin appear before she could stop it.

"Man, I can't believe he won the whole thing. Don't get me wrong. He deserves it," Phil said, loud enough that half the viewing platform could hear him.

"But can we all agree that should not have been three-one."

"Sam had him on the ropes at the end," Luka said.

"If he'd landed one hit in that last point, it could have gone either way."

"Yeah, that last move looked like desperation more than anything," agreed Torren.

"He just threw himself at him. I shouldn't be surprised that was what he went with, but still. What a way to end the tournament," Nessa finished, though a smirk got through anyway.

"Fucking idiot," Phil said, laughing.

"Well, a win's a win, so I guess I can't fault the guy." He shook his head.

"I don't know if that was a plan or he just went completely balls to the wall, but either way it worked."

"Sam's going to be pissed he lost because Leo ran him over," Luka said. The group laughed. Kai smiled at the sound of them. He looked away from the arena floor and found Shai a few steps away, smiling to herself, her tail swaying behind her. He watched her for a moment. He was happy for her. It was obvious she'd made her mind up about Leo. He'd worried for a long time about whether or not she'd ever meet someone. He felt lighter now; Leo was a good man. That was enough for him.

He looked back down at the arena floor where Leo was helping Sam to his feet. He's quickly proving my hopes correct. It had been the thing Kai had watched for most, underneath everything else: not the skill, not the training, not how hard he worked, though all of that mattered. It was whether Leo was the kind of person who could grow into someone Shai could rely on. Someone who could protect her the way she deserved. Today had been part of that answer. He looked up at the sky. I hope you're seeing this too.

Mutton Chops walked out to the centre of the arena floor, arms already raised before the crowd had fully settled.

"What a day." He let that sit for a moment.

"Thirty-two fighters. One winner." He turned to Leo and took his wrist, raising it above them both.

"Let's hear it for Leo!" The roar that followed was the loudest of the day. Leo stood there and let it wash over him, not quite knowing what to do with his face. Mutton Chops let it run before raising his free hand.

"And let's hear it for our runner-up, a fighter who pushed our winner every step of the way today. Sam!" Leo clapped with the rest of them.

"To every fighter who stepped onto this dirt today, you made this tournament what it was. It's because of every single one of you that we had a spectacle worth watching, and I hope we see more of the same next year." He spread his arms wide.

"One final round of applause for both our finalists!" The crowd obliged. When it died down, Mutton Chops leaned toward Leo with a grin.

"Congratulations. You just made me a tidy sum. I'll buy you a drink if I see you about later." He clapped Leo on the back, then stepped aside. Leo looked at Sam and nodded towards the nearest tunnel. They turned and walked off the arena floor. The noise dropped away behind them as they walked, the crowd still going above but muffled now, distant.

"Good fight," Sam said.

"Yeah," Leo said.

"You too, man. That was harder than I'd hoped. Three-one doesn't tell the whole story."

"Did you plan that last move? It came out of nowhere."

"No," said Leo.

"That last point, I had nothing. You were too fast, I couldn't find a way to slow you down, and every time I thought I had an answer, you were somewhere else. That last jump was a last-ditch effort." Sam sighed.

"So close. I nearly had you a few times."

"You did. If any of those had landed, I don't know if I'd have held on in the fifth." Leo rolled his neck.

"You're a lot faster than Phil. He's generally more aggressive, but that I can handle. Trying to keep up was harder this time round." They walked in silence for a moment, their footsteps steady on the tunnel floor.

"I'm starving," Leo said.

"Same. Feels like ages ago since we ate at Torren's."

"Let's go grab the others and see what else there is to do round here." The tunnel opened out ahead of them and the last of the crowd noise disappeared entirely.