Kanaria was staring at the screen intensely while standing next to Clovis.
"Will Jay be able to do it?" Kanaria couldn't help but ask with a worried face. Jay was her childhood friend. She had witnessed his growth, so of course, she was concerned about him. There was one thing that she remembered. It was what Erwin said regarding Jay's trump card.
"Who knows?" Clovis closed his eyes. "Muscle Augmentation, Minotaur's Swing, and Star Method. He has shown everything."
"!!!" Kanaria widened her eyes. "Then, are you saying Jay will lose?"
"I'm not saying that." Clovis shook his head. His eyes contained absolute trust. "All I know is that ever since he became a part of Libation Fiesta, he has swung his blade the longest and the hardest."
Kanaria raised her eyebrows as a scene of Jay swinging his blade appeared in her mind. During the rain, Jay kept swinging his blade. During the intense heat, he continued swinging his blade. Even after a very tiring expedition, he would still find some time to swing his blade.
That was all that mattered. Kanaria clenched her hands into fists, knowing that she had to place her trust in Jay as well.
In the arena, Jay and Rafael were staring at each other. None of them was speaking as though they were carrying a huge burden on their shoulders.
For Rafael, a single loss would mean humiliation not only for the team but for this city. For Jay, this battle was a way to apologize to Clovis. If he lost this battle, he might as well give up his position as the vice captain.
"Are both combatants ready?" The referee asked while looking at their faces.
Rafael raised his shield and sword, making a stance that could receive any kind of attack from Jay.
Jay wasn't that different. He raised his blade to the point where the tip was pointed at Rafael's neck, but he soon lowered his blade as though he was trying to receive an attack as well.
"!!!" Rafael squinted his eyes. Jay's fighting style was extremely aggressive, so it was unlike him to use this kind of stance.
Nevertheless, it didn't change what he needed to do.
After seeing their expressions, the referee announced while taking a step back. "Match, start!"
As expected, both of them stood still as if they were waiting for the other party to make the first move.
Jay's expression remained calm as though nothing bothered him anymore. Even the noises from the stadium might have been ignored completely.
Rafael's body twitched. On the one hand, a guardian rarely made the first move. On the other hand, the crowd was expecting him to do something due to the previous result.
If he didn't attack Jay, they would think he was a coward.
While biting his lips, Rafael rushed forward.
This action shocked a few people who knew the true nature of both competitors. Still, it didn't really matter.
Rafael stood behind the pillar between him and Jay.
Rafael also had a muscle affinity, so he simply swung right at the pillar. His sword shattered the pillar and reached Jay.
"Huu…" Jay inhaled and lifted up his blade. He received this sword without making any motion to create momentum.
A clicking sound echoed the moment the two blades collided. Rafael tried to overwhelm Jay with his momentum, but Jay actually tilted his blade up slightly, causing Rafael's sword to slide on his blade and ultimately miss him.
After that, Jay rotated his blade and struck him from the right side, aiming for the gap that appeared when Rafael swung his sword.
However, Rafael was a guardian. Not only was he strong, but his body was also flexible. His left hand reached the right side of his body and put the shield in the blade's way.
The banging sound was actually louder than the clicking sound, showing the power put into that swing. Even Rafael couldn't believe it. That swing actually made him adjust his left foot slightly so that he could fully stop the sword's momentum.
As he expected, no one on his team could actually defeat Jay. Then again, he still couldn't afford to lose this match, even if the battle between Libation Fiesta and Eight Swords had been decided.
He skillfully twisted his right wrist and swung the sword from above diagonally so that it would hit Jay while passing over his shield, which would restart his stance.
Jay took a step back to avoid the sword's attack range.
Rafael didn't allow Jay to escape. He immediately chased after him while swinging his sword horizontally.
Jay put his blade in its way, blocking the sword without taking a step. However, that was just a trick.
Rafael used that gap to move past Jay's defense and slammed his shield at Jay's body.
"Raaa!" Rafael swung as hard as possible, trying to launch him into the pillar.
Jay took another step back, but the shield still hit his arms. While the jacket from Clovis had absorbed the damage, the impact still pushed him back for three meters.
Jay hurriedly stabilized his posture as Rafael came again.
This time, he was also closing in, finally becoming a bit more aggressive.
In the first few clashes, he was actually trying to understand Rafael's strength. It was very different for him.
In those swings, Jay could feel the destruction that Rafael possessed. On the other hand, his sword was meant to slash.
Jay raised his saber and struck Rafael diagonally. Rafael did the same and their blades ended up sliding off each other.
Jay's blade actually hit the pillar next to them, cutting the pillar cleanly unlike how Rafael shattered the pillar in his first strike.
Both of them stomped the ground, trying to make another swing.
"!!!" Rafael noticed that Jay was actually one step faster in gathering his strength. As a result, he ended up abandoning his slash and switching his stance, choosing to receive the swing with his shield instead.
"Raaa!" Jay groaned and finally knocked Rafael back for three meters as if this were payback for earlier.