Battle Royale: A Wizard's Challenge!

Invitation: Gathering of the Strongest
"Hmmm..." An elderly man sat across an expansive stadium. Well, not across, but rather, in the center. He, with his student, sat in the middle of this enormous stadium. The stadium was painted with numerous coats of thick white paint, and ornate by other coats of varying, darker colors. The four corners at which large poles stood to fortify the rectangular-shaped stadium each had a specific decoration, reflecting that of the four cardinal directions. The east pole possessed an azure, draconic figure slithering and climbing across the pole; the west held numerous white tigers climbing to the top of the pole; the south had a bright, vermillion phoenix dancing across the pole with her feathers separating from her being; and the north was ornate with several purple shell-like figures. It was fitting for the occasion that would be about to occur.

"Are you sure about this, Master Harry?" Lyon asked, raising an eyebrow at his master's intentions. While Lyon wasn't shying from a battle, Harry's sudden request for a battle royale of this kind...something dubious was indeed aboard. "Of course I am sure, Lyon. Do you doubt your old master's intentions?" Harry responded in an inquiry, to which Lyon was abashed ever-so-slightly. "Uhh...not at all master. However, uh...what prompted you to take such a step?" Lyon asked once again, to which Harry took another sip from his cup of tea. "Well, you see. I'm an old man. And an old man has a much higher chance of dying than a young man, depending on whether they have a relatively low-profile occupation. Now, I am a Wizard Saint. If I leave my position without any proper successors, what would that make me? Now, I understand that you are a primary candidate for me, however I also understand you aren't exactly compatible with the nature of a Wizard Saint. Therefore, this is what the Battle Royale is all about."

Harry responded to him with great detail, before sipping again from his teacup. "Oho! Our guests are here; please make them feel welcome, Lyon." Lyon, while still mildly astonished from the answer, looked towards the large stadium gates. Painted in a sheen of glittering silver, and ornate with numerous patterns of insects, smaller mammals, and magical designs: it opened.

Francesca was expecting something a little...unpretentious. She was honored to be invited to this, and she just couldn't turn it down. She should have been expecting something intricate by how the letter was written and how everything was explained, it has a great deal of detail. Drawing in a large breath, she put on a smile as she walked through the gate of the stadium. Francesca was ready for this, she was ready to prove her strength.

Lycon understanding the invitation, he was invited to a giant free for all of the strongest warriors in the world, fully prepared wearing his large heavy uniform and carrying his battle equipment ready to duke it out with the strongest there is. The tall man entered not caring for the scenery only paying attention to the details of the battlefield and his future opponents, while he dislikes fighting women he is fully capable of doing so. Standing he awaited for the rest of his opponents quietly waiting for it to start.

A small snowstorm appeared to surround the pole on the south side of the arena from which a relative young looking male revealed itself, sitting rather relaxed on the pole while eating an ice-cone. According to his sister, this battle would help him grow while also teaching him some things only this kind of opponents could teach him. Why Lancelot had to go fight someone while trying to bring peace was something he didn't really get at the moment, but since the invitation was addressed at him personally, sis urged him to go and try to have some fun... "Do you also want some ice oji-san?"

A strange wind came throughout the stadium as many of the contestants looked over to see a muscular man walking in with a black, red, and white kimono as he entered through the door, and looked up to see Harry standing in the middle of the field. "Excuse me for being in this place, but I had heard the rumors of an opponent from the Ten Wizard Saint's, and I came to see if despite not being part of a guild, if I may participate in this event" He said with a confident tone, "My name is Ray Martinez".

An eerie looking masked individual with a top hat and a red suit sat in one of the chairs that would be intended for the audience, as he looked down, his mask's wide smile and crescent eyes gave an uneasy feel from him "Hehehe, and I thought this was another prank! For once, I actually get to meet a Saint, face to face, even if I am hiding mine, hehehe" Marx said, giggling with excitement as he jumped down to the where the others were, standing firmly as he had both his hands behind his back "Though I do wonder why this letter said "do not commit any crimes", I don't exactly remember....any kind of redemption from my side"

The next new arrival, a middle aged man in a red suit carrying a jewelled walking stick, stood next to the Sothern coelom, admiring the artistry before venturing deeper into the arena. "I should think that rule would be self explanatory." Once closer, he twirled his walking stick between his fingers, then tucked it under his arm. "Noah Promin, pleasure to meet you all."

"We're almost here Simba!" A young voice called out as he eagerly walked to the arena. He heard rumors that there was going to be a giant free-for-all in an arena. Having the desire to prove himself to the world, this young man could not refuse. The lion growled worriedly for his long-time companion, only for the man to brush it off with a grin. "I know Simba... I could get killed. However, you know I won't be able to sleep for a week if I missed this chance!" he shouted objectively. Once he arrived, the young man looked around the arena to see opponents of various genders, sizes, and shapes. He wore a military-esque outfit with a white longcoat with a flame decor on it. With a determined smile on his face, he proudly introduced himself. "So you guys are going to be my opponents. The name's Geibu Nakamura! It's an honor to meet all of you."

Into the Arena a young woman enters. "Hi, I'm Anna Emerald." she smiles. She turns around to see everyone else. She is just woried about how thing are back at her guild. "Oh I hope they won't break anything." but she stops thinking about it and turns her attention to everyone else.

"Haha!" a young man, who was silouhetted against the sun, and standing on the edge of one of the stadium's walls cried. He then leaped upwards ("Hup!"), spinning slightly in the air, before landing on the east pillar, skidding slightly, and righting himself. Now revealed, he appeared to be a young man with wild, lime-green hair, wearing a white tank-top with a white cotton scarf. Training bandages were wrapped around his part of his hands and almost all of his forearms. He also wore dark blue jeans with the ends folded up. Trianing bandages extended from his lower legs to inside the sneakers (of the same color as the Jeans)  he wore around his feet.

Finally, the last man to enter the stadium showed his face. It may have seemed well, however everyone was having an uneasy feeling, like a chiil running down their backs. They all stopped their clamour and looked in his direction. He was wearing a white shirt with a green club on it; he wore black shorts and sandals which were nothing special. But the most disturbing thing about this character is that he had a cold, blank stare showing absolutely no emotion. "Finally," he said in a soft voice, "I am Perseus, of the Giant Hunter Guild; however, I am known there as Percy" He then bowed his head to Harry in respect; "It is an honour to be in the presence of one of the Ten Wizard Saints, I hope to be a member myself one day," he said changing his mood slightly, "But I must know the power of one first hand before reaching such a pinacle." Suddenly he smiled, and the atmosphere in the room changed it's colour. Then, in a more cheerful voice he said "Shall we begin?"

Harry applauded all of the entries within the grand stadium, and stood up to give an even larger applause. Sarcastic or not, the applause sounded quite genuine indeed. He stepped forward, and confronted the ten mages - good or bad - that accepted his invitation. "Oh my, only ten? I was sure that more would arrive to the event. Ah well." Harry said, with his old and calm tone. "I assume you all know of myself: Harry Houdini of the Ten Wizard Saints. Perhaps in more familiar terms I would be known as The Old Escapee, or even older, Cerberus' Fang!" He said with a pang of enthusiasm that made him sound a tad bit...annoying. Lyon sighed at his master's enthusiasm, before walking forward to the area where his master was.

"I am Lyon Bane - apprentice of Harry Houdini, and the co-host of the event." Lyon stated seriously; the invitation of two Dark Mages did not bode well with him. "As such, I will be your preliminary challenge for this event. If you are left unable to fight against me, you are, quite simply, expelled from the event. If there are no questions, shall we begin?" Lyon raised his eyebrows, and subsequently exerted a dense magical aura from his being; as he constricted himself in magic, he gathered magic within his fist before striking the air with a powerful palm strike. In that moment, a roar akin to thunder echoed among the stadium, causing a massive shockwave to be expelled towards the participants of the event.

Out of reflex, Francesca raised her forearm to the blast, a shield of light protecting her from the blast. It protected her from the damage, but the force of the roar akin to thunder pushed her back a significant distance. Lowering her arm, the shield slowly started to disappear. Drawing in a large breath, she held the air in her cheeks for a few seconds. Quickly, a beam of white and dark light raced out of her mouth towards her target, Lyon. When it would strike him, it would create a large flash of dark and white light.

Raising a single eyebrow at the blast, Lancelot created some ice in front of the blast, which reformed into hexagonal pieces and arranged them in a shield-like barrier. As the barrier was being formed, he made two more layers of his shield, keeping a tiny amount of space filled with ice-cold air between the layers in order to strengthen his shield. "Chill down a bit Lyon, why not take some ice to eat?" As he spoke, he gathered some water from the surrounding environment, shaping the water into 20 long needles that surrounded Lyon in a row formation. The moment he finished asking the question, Lancelot fired the needles at high speed at Lyon as he continued on his own ice.

"Slayers...pussies." Lyon briefly thought, and concentrated at the two threats before him. Both were aimed towards Lyon, and at the various angles at which they both fired at, he only had a single option left. "Heh, long-distance?" Lyon taunted the duo who attacked him, before beginning to charge into their attacks; or so it seemed. Within an instant, his shoes, as the beam of opposing lights was narrowly evaded by a roll to the right side, therefore leaving its flash to be ineffective against Lyon.

Stopping for just an instant, he analyzed the position of the needles of ice, and immediately took the opportunity that he had to create a light blue force-field surrounding the entirety of his being. As the needles began to draw closer, they would be barricaded by the force-field. However, the force-field was on the verge of dissipating; therefore, Lyon flooded his body with magical power from his clothing, and at the moment the barriers broke, Lyon accelerated away from the icicles heading towards him, appearing as if he was skating on the ground beneath him. And in that skating position, he appeared near Francesca in only a few moments, "Bring it!" He exclaimed, beginning a roundhouse kick aimed towards the left side of her abdomen.

The shock wave had pushed Ray back a bit as he noticed that the fight had already begun, he saw that two of them were already trying to attack Lyon. ''A pure frontal assult isn't going to be enough, especially if the person is a partner to a Wizard Saint. I need to find an opening and attack when the time is right ''Ray thought in his mind as he saw the kick in play. ''There's my moment. ''In that instant, Ray disappeared, flashing a few times during his path towards Lyon, charging magic into both of his fists as he was aiming to hit Lyon.

"Hmph" Marx grunted, as the shockwave attempted to penetrate through his air condensed shield, looking as it wasn't going to last long "My, my, boy, starting off rough, are we?" Marx said to himself, as a card appeared in his right hand, and another in his left hand, as the instant his shield broke, he threw one card away, snapping his fingers as he teleported to the card he threw, narrowly avoiding the shockwave.

"Let's see now..." Marx thought to himself as he condensed the air under him, standing firmly on the air, looking down "I could target the Saint, but I may be kicked out...Damn, the boy seems like a good match up though, being the Saint's apprentice does show promise. I guess I should be more careful with my actions this time...but I am tempted..." Marx thought to himself, as a fiery red card slipped from his sleeve into his hand "Boom" Marx said as he randomly threw the card down, which was meant to explode upon impact.

"Fighting against a group is so bothersome." Lyon thought once again, and decided to discontinue his attack against Francesca in favor of creating a powerful pulse towards the ground, utilizing the momentum gathered through the aforementioned quake to propel himself upwards, thereby narrowly avoiding the kick Ray used, although the pressure from the kick did indeed cause him to cringe slightly. Subsequently, he noticed the attack by the Dark Mage and grunted in irritation. The card that was thrown to the ground exploded, releasing a column of flames that would likely engulf anyone in his own vicinity, as well as himself. To narrowly evade further damage, Lyon subsequently erected multiple force-fields at his location, reinforcing his primary one in order to minimize damage, although the flames did burn him across his shoulders slightly. Quickly, Lyon attempted to suspend himself on the stadium's seats, rather than leave himself in the open air.