Chương 120: Lirien, Kuroe and Elowen

Friday still wasn't over. The ranking field remained busy, and the group had already gotten used to the rhythm of the matches. Astrid, Rina, Marina and Sylvara had already entered. Joker and Harley too. Now only the last ones remained. Lirien was the first to move. — I'm going — she said calmly. — Individual first. No one was surprised. She headed to the registration board without hurry. A short time later, her name was called. Lirien's opponent was a broad-shouldered boy with an aggressive posture.

From the moment the signal was given, he advanced with force, trying to close the distance and settle the fight in close combat. The first strike came in a straight line, heavy. Lirien dodged with a short step to the side, almost without apparent effort. The second came diagonally, faster. She retreated just enough for the attack to cut the air in front of her face. The boy grew irritated with how easily she escaped and increased the pressure. Lirien didn't counterattack immediately.

She simply read his rhythm, dodging at the last instant, forcing the opponent to spend more energy than he should. At a certain moment, when he advanced with his full body weight, she used her voice in a subtle way — a low tone that broke his concentration for a fraction of a second. It was enough. Lirien entered his space, deflected the incoming arm and finished with a precise strike at the base of the neck, followed by a push that sent him to his knees on the floor. — Victory: Lirien.

She came down from the platform with the same serene expression as always. While she returned to the group, Harley tilted her head, observing her. — You still haven't gone for a duo. Lirien looked at her. — Not yet. — Want to go with me? This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The question came lightly, but directly. Lirien took only a second before nodding. — Alright. The registration came out quickly. Soon the names of Harley and Lirien appeared on the duo list.

The opponents were a balanced duo: one more technical and the other more physical. From the start they tried to maintain formation, one holding the front while the other looked for openings. The fight started strange. Harley was controlled chaos. Lirien was calm precision. On paper, they didn't seem to match. In practice, it worked in an irritating way. Harley advanced unpredictably, forcing the opponents to react the whole time. Lirien didn't follow her rhythm — she used exactly the space Harley created.

Every time an adversary turned to deal with Harley's pressure, Lirien appeared in the blind angle, breaking the timing with cold precision. Every time they tried to focus on Lirien, Harley was already on top of them, smiling and pushing the fight into an uncomfortable rhythm. The more technical opponent tried to adjust the formation, but couldn't read both of them at the same time. At a certain moment, Harley forced an exaggerated opening on purpose. The adversary fell for the bait.

Lirien finished the opening in the same second, with a clean strike that threw him off balance. Harley didn't waste it and finished the other one right after. — Victory: Harley and Lirien. As they came down, Astrid whistled low. — They actually combined pretty well. — I thought so too — Harley answered, smiling. — She's quiet, but she doesn't get in the way. Lirien simply gave a small nod. Now only Kuroe and Elowen remained. The two exchanged a look for a second. — Duo? — Kuroe asked directly. Elowen nodded. — …

Yes. The registration came out quickly. Soon they were called to one of the side platforms. The opponents were a duo already used to fighting together. The one on the left was more defensive. The one on the right was offensive and insistent. From the start they tried to impose their own rhythm. It didn't work. Kuroe positioned herself more centrally, absorbing the pressure from the offensive opponent with minimal dodges. She almost never attacked, she simply existed in his path.

Meanwhile, Elowen moved along the flanks, silent. Every time the offensive one committed too much against Kuroe, Elowen appeared in the blind angle. The defensive one tried to adjust, but the two changed positions with too much naturality. There was no verbal communication. Only mutual coverage. At a certain moment, the offensive one attempted a stronger rush. Kuroe dodged by a hair and, in the same instant, Elowen was already behind him, landing a sharp strike to the side of the leg.

Kuroe advanced and finished with a precise push to the chest. The defensive one was left alone. The two closed the space together and ended the fight cleanly. — Victory: Kuroe and Elowen. Shortly after, the two also did their individual matches. Elowen won in a clinical way: she read the opponent's rhythm, dodged what was necessary and finished without dragging the fight out. Kuroe won in a cold and efficient way: she observed for a few seconds, entered the adversary's timing and finished with precision.

When everyone returned to the group, Friday was already further along. — Done — Marina said. — Now everyone has entered at least once. — And no one was left out of a duo — Rina completed. Joker observed the updated ranking in silence. Some positions had moved, but none of them had entered the main list of the top 100 of the 1st Year. It made sense. Except for Harley, who had done more matches, the rest had only fought once in individual and once in duo. Enough points to appear… but far from drawing real attention.

— First Friday of the month — Harley commented, still smiling. — And we only took a look. Joker nodded, hands in his pockets. — It was just an appetizer. — So next time… — Astrid started. — We don't climb for real yet — Joker cut in, calm. — Only on the last Friday. Harley laughed low. — Let them get comfortable at the top. When the month is ending… we take everything down. The group exchanged looks. No one disagreed. Kuroe stopped beside Elowen. — It went well — she said simply. Elowen looked at her and nodded.

— … It did. Friday still had a few matches ahead, but for the group the objective of the day had already been fulfilled. Everyone had entered. Everyone had scored a little. And the main ranking… still had no idea what was coming. End of Chapter 120