Leon was slightly surprised by the actions of Zen, but it did not mean he would leave himself open as such.
As the pointy edge of the lance closed in, Zen noticed the expression of Leon which changed from shock to amusement.
Like a speeding bullet, the lance found its mark with absolute force and precision. However, its target disappeared before it could deal its deadly damage.
Zen cursed his bad luck as his eyes shifted around trying to detect the disturbance and ripples in space that accompanied the use of Leon's ability.
However, in their current terrain, that would be a difficult task.
Leon was one of the few users of spatial abilities in their world. And while it was rare, that was when taken from the point of quintillions upon quintillions of people.
Teleport as it was simply called allowed Leon to manipulate the forces of space by creating fissures that connected two points and by bridging those points, he could move from point A to point B.
Of course, there were more versatile applications of the ability, but at the level of a class F awakened, that was as far as they could go.
It currently had a range of 30 meters around Leon. However, the weakness of this ability was that when he used his abilities to create the dimensional fissures, there was a small delay in the opening point B, a delay that was quickly noticed by anyone who knew of its effective range.
It was the reason Leon did not use his abilities in the early stages of the fight. In an open arena, the spatial fissures could be seen the moment it began forming, giving his opponent more than enough time to prepare a counter.
'Now let's see if you'll take me seriously now.' Leon smirked as he watched Zen frantically look around in the hopes of detecting any signs of him.
He wasn't going to make it easy, and as punishment for looking down on him, he prepared a little something that would take him by surprise.
Suddenly Zen heard the sound of something cutting swiftly through the air from his back. His response was quick and accurately timed as the moment he heard the sound; he didn't hesitate to beef up his defence with his abilities.
Slightly turning around, he saw he moving projectile closing in on him from above—it was a spear and it came in fast.
With delicate but agile movements with no signs of panic, Zen bent forward slightly, his gaze locked on the incoming spear and spun his body as he dodged the spear by the skin of his teeth.
The moment he dodged; he wasted no time as he disappeared behind the large stems of trees surrounding them.
While Zen was taking a breather from the close call, Leon teleported from his hiding spot high in the trees and got closer to Zen.
However, like everyone involved in the tournament, a change in terrain usually meant being exposed to remnants of powerful attacks.
The two fighters suddenly heard a high-pitched sound like a pulse in the distance, and due to its nature, it was difficult to pinpoint its exact location.
But they didn't have to wait long as the two felt a gust of wind wash past them.
Zen pondered and looked in the direction of where the wind gust came from. But that was only the prelude of what was to come.
Zen heard a shout of Leon from above and wondered the reason behind his panic scream. He didn't have to wait long as he noticed loud creaking and cracking sounds as trees fell over in the distance, approaching their location.
But what caught Zen's attention was the visible pulse moving in his direction. 'So that's why.'
He thought and bolted in the opposite direction. Whatever that pulse was, it would definitely leave him exposed and an easy target. Of course, Leon had to overcome that pulse where he failed.
Running through the forest of trees, Zen noticed Leon ahead of him, swiftly cutting corners and bypassing trees with ease.
"This would be a good opportunity to end him if there weren't so many goddamn trees!"
He exclaimed and looked behind, noticing how close the pulse was moving. It was faster than the two of them.
"Fuck, am going to be the first to get caught in it." He concluded and he was right. The moving pulse was moving way too fast as it raised every obstacle in its path.
Soon the pulse was on him and with no choice, he covered himself in a metallic suit from head to toe, adding to the defence provided by his armour.
The moment he was done, the pulse washed over him like a tidal wave, sending him spiralling chaotically. The debris from the splinted wood clashed with his armour but had little effect on him.
As if that wasn't enough, the exposure to the pulse sent a jolt of vibrational ring through his entire body that resounded in his ears, disorienting him.
Zen was unable to tell his left from his right, up from down. His vision was blurry as the ringing sound intensified.
'Urgh… What the hell is this? Some kind of sound attack?'
Fortunately for him and unfortunately for Leon, he soon experienced the same thing and unlike Zen, he didn't have any extra defence.
The wood and rock debris did a number on his body, especially his face even though he tried to shield it from the debris. Even then, he bled from the cuts that appeared on his face.
The disorientation he felt was even worse. With no way to protect his ears from the high-pitched ring, his scrambled senses made it hard to even see what was happening around him.
'Fuck…' He cursed inwardly even though he spotted it earlier than Zen.
The spectators watched in silence as both fighters flew around for some time before free-falling back the now-ruined terrain with a thud.
"Oh... I wouldn't want to be in their shoes. I bet their senses are all over the place."
"That's what a powerful sound user can do. Something Brad would be able to do. Well, eventually anyways" Alex added before returning to watch the two fighters struggle to get back on their feet.
"Yes, eventually. But right now, it would be nothing but an annoyance," Ross agreed and continued, "Right now, it seems Zen himself is in a bind."
Zen was the first to make it to his feet, depowered his metallic coverage and looked around with clear confusion in his eyes.
A moment later, he noticed the figure of Leon and a light of realization struck him, recalling what was happening and what he needed to do.
'I guess this is the end for him…'