The people were made speechless by this battle. They first thought that Jay should lose and Libation Fiesta should concede.
However, Jay and Rafael had just shown that each of them had the will to win. This wasn't just a matter of competition for them.
"Please win, Rafael!"
Still, they were the citizens of this city. They needed to cheer for their group. However, they didn't say bad things to Libation Fiesta anymore.
After all, in the arena, Jay shed as much blood as Rafael. He continued to persist no matter how much he got overpowered by Rafael's beast soul and continued inflicting damage on Rafael's body.
Both fighters had crashed into the pillars, destroyed them, or even used them as additional weapons. Their swings didn't become weaker as time passed. Instead, their will to win continued to increase.
There was only one thing on their mind. It wasn't how to win against their opponent. It was how they should remain standing the longest.
Although it wasn't visible from afar, the screen was zoomed enough to let them see their bodies shaking due to the injuries.
"From a contest of wits to a full brawl! Libation Fiesta has shown their determination and strength. Jay Havenson is also carrying the torch that his teammates pass onto him.
"On the other hand, Captain Rafael has a reason they can't afford to lose. Even I am able to feel his determination from here. He is fighting not only for the sake of his team but also for this city.
"Both fighters have been covered in injuries that would normally take people down. Yet, they haven't let out a single cry of pain.
"This is a clash between two individuals, carrying the weight on their shoulders."
Shion slightly toned down her words, knowing that Rafael's victory wasn't guaranteed with Jay as his opponent.
That was why she tried to word it in such a way that even if Jay ended up winning, there wouldn't be a lot of backlash to Eight Swords and this city. It wasn't that the Eight Swords were weak. Their opponent was simply too abnormal.
In the arena, Jay and Rafael clashed for more than a hundred rounds. Wounds had covered their bodies.
There were a lot of strikes that could become fatal, but both of them were still sharp enough to avoid them even though they would receive some injuries after that.
The referees were already on edge because Jay and Rafael had bled so much that their clothes had been dyed red.
However, those two remained sharp, their expressions showing that they weren't going to concede.
"Haaaa!" Rafael and Jay roared as their blades clashed once again.
"Kh!" Jay gritted his teeth as Rafael overpowered him again with his beast soul, causing him to bounce on the ground a few times.
However, Jay stood up and headed back to Rafael purely out of instinct. He used the beast soul to give him the speed that allowed him to regain his stance in less than a second.
Rafael bit his lips when he looked at Jay's stubborn face.
'Why don't you go down? You can still win this match even if you lose. You have shown more than enough. I have a city to protect, so I have to win! Your determination is lower than mine,' thought Rafael while swinging his sword, blowing Jay to the pillar. 'Just go down after that!'
"Gah!" Jay's back and head hit a pillar as he spat a mouthful of blood.
Jay squinted his eyes. His left pupil had started to turn red and its vision became blurry, probably due to the blood that entered his eye.
'He is strong indeed, but…' Jay had seen the back of someone stronger than him. When Clovis entered that mysterious state, he became a god-like figure. The speed of his swing surpassed anything he had seen so far. The strength in each swing was equal to that of him, who focused everything on his muscle.
There were supposed to be a lot of other things he benefited from. More importantly, that person only had a 15% evolution rate. If it were him, could he have the heart to become an explorer with that evolution rate?
Clovis was growing stronger at a much faster rate than him. He knew that it was impossible to gain the captain's position. However, he would never give up.
'I know that compared to him, I'm more talented. He has nothing but a stubborn heart that refuses to accept his fate. That's why I'll continue swinging my sword. If I can't beat him in one swing, I'll do it in two. No matter how many swings I need, I'll stand back up and swing my sword!' Jay charged forward while roaring. "Rafaeeel!"
'Just get down already!' Rafael was screaming in his mind as he swung his sword downward, planning to knock Jay's sword off his hand. This was a perfect chance as Jay once again came with a horizontal swing.
But in that instance, Jay instinctively changed his approach in using the beast soul, especially after getting that knowledge of the new utilization of beast soul.
Normally, he would use the beast soul on his arms, increasing the speed of his swing.
This time, however, he used it on his arms at first, gradually moving it toward the tips of his fingers and causing the momentum to move from his arm to his fingers. Of course, it also meant that the momentum continued moving to the very tip, specifically his blade's tip.
That change actually increased the momentum of his sword by twofold.
"!!!" Rafael was shocked by the burst of power that actually overwhelmed his Tier 3 beast soul.
It launched Rafael more than twenty meters as his body crashed into not one but two pillars in rapid succession.
Jay coughed up blood a few times after that. He didn't know what happened earlier since his instinct took over.
He gritted his teeth as his head started ringing.
Rafael spat a mouthful of blood. He didn't understand what was happening, but he immediately stood up even though his legs were already shaking, barely supporting his body.
To his surprise, he actually saw Jay stand on his feet once again. His face looked pale and his eyes seemed to have lost his focus. But Rafael could see the desire to win emitting from his body.
Rafael felt goosebumps. Without him noticing, his own spirit felt fired up, acknowledging his opponent.