My Soul card is a Reaper-Chapter 873: Orion vs Fiona (part-3)

At once, the air twisted around him, and a colossal figure emerged from her body.

A giant armored being. A translucent sheen encased its body, shaped like Fiona herself, but scaled beyond imagination. Snow cascaded from its every movement.

Fiona's eyes shimmered with pale blue flame as she spoke. "You are a hundred years too young to defeat me, Nephew."

The Baphomet roared in response, stomping forward in fury. Its body size increased exponentially in order to match Chione's titan form.

Then, he charged forward. Fiona met it halfway.

Their fists collided.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

A shockwave exploded outward, cracking the barrier around them. The remnants of energy were about to strike the audience, but they dissipated as if there was another invisible barrier protecting them.

Azzy was seen stretching his hand forward, controlling the natural energy to maintain the invisible barrier. Looking at the giants, he muttered. "Seems like even Fiona managed to keep her own secret."

In another section of the audience, Selene stared at Chione's Titan Form in awe. "It's not just Zion. Even Fiona has such a colossal divine form? Ugh… what's with this generation of Garcia family?" But then she remembered something, and she clasped her hands as she murmured in a bit of a daze. "I wonder what Lord Azrael's form looks like."

Meanwhile, in the waiting room, the two remaining opponents, who were going to fight next, also had their eyes glued to the screen that was showing the live match.

Zion's eyes widened, his hand resting on his other arm, the back of his bent index finger touching his chin. "This was surprising indeed."

BOOOOM—BOOOM—BOOOOOOOM!

Each blow they exchanged split the air itself.

Fiona's frozen fists collided with Baphomet's black flames. Their towering forms moved like living storms across the arena, cratering the reinforced platform beneath them, shaking the dome to its core.

To the spectators, it was like watching a war between gods.

Each time Fiona's frosted palm struck, shockwaves burst in elegant rings, freezing the ground, the air, and even the light around it.

But Baphomet?

His fists were molten meteors, crashing down with reckless abandon. Ice shattered, stone vaporized, and space seemed to bend around his limbs. Unlike Fiona, who had control over her form and was trying her best to control it, Orion had no control over Baphomet. The latter didn't have a shred of hesitation when he pulled the punches.

CRASH!

Baphomet seized Chione's arm mid-punch, twisted, and threw her with such force that the titan form skidded across the entire length of the platform, smashing into the invisible barrier.

The audience nearby screamed. Some of them run away from their seats

Fiona gritted her teeth inside the cockpit of her Avatar, controlling its spine to straighten, its legs to rise again.

"Not enough," she muttered. Her breath fogged the air as she spoke aloud. "You are strong, Orion, and you surprised me a lot with this power, but I refuse to yield to a thing that you have no control over."

But there was no reply from the beast.

Only another roar.

Baphomet barreled forward again, each step cracking the earth. He swung a clawed arm sideways like a guillotine. Fiona raised both of Chione's arms to block—KRAAAK!—and was sent sliding again.

This time, she countered. "Frigid Veins of the Moon Lotus!"

From the base of Chione's feet, a massive bloom of glacial lotus petals erupted, curling like a dome. Ice vines shot forward, latching onto Baphomet's limbs, torso, and even his horns.

He struggled—but the vines only pulled tighter.

"Cool down," she whispered.

Then…

FWOOOM.

Pillars of cold energy blasted upward from every vine. The temperature was nearing the absolute cold, and his moments became a lot slower.

Steam hissed violently from Baphomet's body as his molten form began to hiss and crack.

"Got you," Fiona said, raising one hand. "Frozen Purity Spear."

A blade of light formed above Chione's hand, Crystalline, vast, humming with godlike pressure.

She hurled it forward.

Time itself seemed to pause as the spear spun, tip whistling, trailing a comet tail of snow-white radiance.

SHHHH-BANG!

The spear struck the frozen Baphomet, right in the chest.

It pierced through his armor and injured him. And the impact sent the beast flying.

Baphomet crashed through his own crater at the far end of the stage, embedded into the stone. The purple-red aura around him flickered violently, and a deep crack ran down one of his horns.

But… He stood up again.

Just… staggered. As if the blow hadn't just wounded his body, but stirred something deeper.

Inside his subconscious mindscape, Orion's soul stirred.

"What… is this?"

"Where am I…?"

"Fiona?"

The haze around his thoughts began to lift, but the beast still had its claws on the reins.

Fiona, still inside Chione, narrowed her eyes. "He's faltering," she whispered. "Then I have one chance to end this before the Baphomet regains full control."

She clasped her hands.

The skies darkened above them.

A mirror of Chione appeared behind her, even larger, shining like a divine projection. The audience gasped in collective disbelief. Even the grand judges sat forward in their seats.

"Glacial Nirvana."

BOOM.

The temperature inside the barrier plummeted. Every corner of the stage was devoured by falling snowflakes. Chione raised both arms, and a dome of ancient runes appeared above her.

Baphomet looked up, eyes widening for the first time. It shivered for a moment.

He launched himself forward, trying to shatter the domain before it could seal.

But Fiona was already there. She appeared right before him, Chione's hand gripping Baphomet's face.

And she whispered, almost gently: "Sleep."

The entire arena went white.

A massive whoompf of energy spread like a tidal wave of mist, erasing everything in its path.

Then…

Silence. Only mist remained on the battlefield. The entire crowd leaned forward, breathless.

And from that mist… A figure collapsed forward with a thud.

It's Orion.

His form is no longer monstrous. He was himself, and looking healthy and unharmed, if one might add.

Above him stood Fiona, panting heavily as she dismissed the Titan form.

However, when she dismissed it, her arms trembled uncontrollably. Her knees buckled. Blood ran from her nostrils, staining her white robes crimson.

The tiara on her head cracked down the middle and fell, shattering against the stone.

She tried to take a step forward, but…

CRACK.

A sharp, unnatural sound echoed from within her.

Fiona gasped and fell to her knees, clutching her chest.

Deep inside her body, her Soul Orb pulsed erratically. A thin fracture ran across its crystalline surface as a result of using divine form.

Affea stood from the proctor's podium, alarm flashing in her eyes. "She—she cracked her core?"

In the stands, Azrael's expression tightened. "She went too far," he muttered.

Gideon sighed beside him, adding a comment. "She's reckless."

But Azzy shook his head. "But she stopped him."

Below, Fiona clenched her jaw through the pain. Her hands trembled over her core, spiritual energy leaking uncontrollably now.

Still, she rose just enough.

She turned to face Affea, who had just landed on the battle platform that was cracking throughout. "Proctor, announce the result." She said in almost a whisper.

"The winner is Fiona Garcia."

The large screens also displayed:

[MATCH END.]

[VICTORY: FIONA GARCIA.]

But there was no cheering from the audience.

All went silent as Fiona smiled and shut her eyes, falling to the floor.

The medics rushed onto the field. Two headed toward Orion. Three toward Fiona.

"Her soul orb…" Affea whispered, initially checking her condition. "It's fractured." Her face turned ugly.

One

Two

Three

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Nine

Just nine seconds later, Fiona slightly stirred as she was being carried on a stretcher. She managed to raise her fist before flinging it down.

At once, the cheers erupted all over the stadium.