Marco cleared his throat, ready as always to begin the next match.

  "Get ready, everyone, as the semi-finals are coming to a close! Our next match will be, from the north corner...the mysterious, spear-wielding Zalgo…versus...the peppy sniper Zoe!!"

  "...Against Zoe, huh...?" Zalgo pondered, taking a deep breath in preparation."

  "Girl, you got this," Nika encouraged with a smile. "Sniper or not, you got your spears to your advantage, so get creative, and as they say here in Valoria...buona fortuna!"

  The crowd roared to life as the two opponents made their way into the arena.

  With her sniper rifle in hand, Zoe eyed her opponent, analyzing her with a confident smirk.

  "This one’s a toughie, eh?”

  "You could say that," Zalgo replied, twirling her spears with ease. "Don’t get cocky just because you have that long-range weapon and think I’m just going to stand still.”

  "Oh, I’m counting on you keeping me on my toes. I love a good challenge." Zoe chuckled, readying her rifle for battle.

  Marco shouted: "And let the match...BEGIN!!!!!”

  Without hesitation, Zoe fired her rifle, aiming for Zalgo's legs, but the spear-wielding young woman swiftly dodged to the side, avoiding the attack with ease.

  The missed shot hit the wall behind her, leaving a deep indentation.

  "Whoa..."

  The crowd reacted with surprise and excitement as Zalgo dodged the attack effortlessly.

  "Well, now, you're quick on your feet, aren't ya?" Zoe taunted, attempting another shot.

  "Quick on my feet and even faster with my hands."

  Zalgo dodged again in the nick of time, closing the distance between them.

  Zoe attempted another shot, but before she could fire, Zalgo was much quicker, moving like a ghost, and was suddenly behind her.

  "W-what the-"

  Zoe didn't expect the sudden movement behind her, spinning around in surprise to find Zalgo standing right behind her with a spear pointed directly at her neck.

  "Got ya."

  Zalgo looked at the surprised Zoe as the crowd roared, cheering on the sudden turnaround.

  "Oh...you...little..."

  Zoe couldn't deny that she was a little impressed (and scared) by Zalgo's quick movement speed.

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  "How are you so damn fast, Zalgo?"

  Zalgo pushed the spear closer to Zoe's neck. "I just watched how quickly some of the other fighters in this tournament were moving. Now I can move as fast as them.”

  Zoe's eyes widened in disbelief.

  "You learned that by just watching them move? So you're an Emulator, huh…”

  "Indeed."

  Zalgo said coolly, her eyes focused on her adversary.

  "Not a bad power to have, but that’s just movement. Don’t forget that my aim is still sharp."

  Zoe smirked, pivoting on her foot to slam the butt of her rifle against Zalgo's face, swiftly readjusting her rifle to aim at Zalgo’s chest.

  However, instead of trying to dodge, Zalgo stayed put, letting the butt of the rifle smash against her face, her head snapping violently to the side from the impact.

  The crowd gasped.

  "Did she just let herself get hit!?”

  Despite the impact, Zalgo stood her ground, unphased by the gun butt to her face. Her expression remained calm as she casually wiped the blood dripping down her nose.

  "Hmph..."

  Zoe was taken aback by her opponent's indifference to the hit, but she wasn't going to let that stop her.

  Without skipping a beat, she quickly fired a shot, aimed at Zalgo's right shoulder.

  However, to everyone's surprise, Zalgo spun a spear around rapidly enough to deflect the shot like it was nothing.

  "W...what...?"

  Zoe hadn't seen anyone deflect bullets like that before, not knowing how to react.

  "You...can spin your spears to deflect bullets...?”

  "As easily as you can aim your gun, little one."

  With that said, Zalgo dashed forward at high speeds, thrusting both her spears at the sniper.

  "Oh, shi-"

  Zoe's eyes widened as she barely dodged the jabs, reacting with another gun butt to Zalgo's cheek.

  This time, the impact of the rifle, combined with her quick reflexes, stopped Zalgo in her tracks.

  The crowd's cheer grew louder, "Man, this is becoming an intense match!!! Zoe's turning up now!”

  "You’re pretty quick yourself."

  Zalgo smirked, rubbing her bruised cheek, feeling the blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

  "I like a good challenge. Time to switch things up."

  Zoe snapped her fingers, and just like in Zoe's previous match, the arena turned into a maze with huge walls surrounding Zalgo, with Zoe nowhere to be seen.

  "Tch...so you can trap your opponents into maze-like terrains..."

  Zalgo looked around cautiously, expecting the other girl to pop up at any moment.

  However, while still hidden, Zoe fired multiple shots in succession, trying to get a hit on her hidden prey. Four bullets pierced through Zalgo's left shoulder, left forearm, left calf, and right elbow in order.

  "Ghk-"

  Each bullet hit its mark, causing pain to overwhelm Zalgo's body, but she wasn't one to give up.

  "WOOOO!! Zoe's going crazy now!" The crowd roared.

  "SHOOT ME NEXT!" someone else in the crowd shouted.

  "Heheh...that can be arranged~"

  Zoe reloaded her rifle, attempting to take advantage of the trapped situation.

  From inside the labyrinth, a frustrated Zalgo tried to identify Zoe's location by sharpening her hearing, but the sniper's movements were almost inaudible.

  "Come on...where are you?"

  Zalgo was growing impatient with the cat and mouse game, trying to locate and catch up to Zoe.

  A gunshot rang out, hitting her right thigh, and she slumped onto the ground, her strength slowly fading. The bullets were weighing in on her body, slowing her movements down drastically.

  "Damn it...got hit again..."

  Zalgo looked at the bullet wounds, and she was quickly losing blood.

  "And your wounds are all slowing you down," Zoe said, revealing herself from her hiding place, her rifle aimed at Zalgo's head.

  A man in the crowd screamed: "YEAH ZOE, BLOW ZALGO'S HEAD OFF! THEN MINE NEXT!!!”

  A few people laughed at that, but Zalgo smirked despite the pain from her wounds.

  "That's what you want, huh?"

  Zalgo forced her body back up, despite the bullets still lodged in her flesh.

  "Oh, you're just asking for it now."

  Zoe took aim, this time directly at Zalgo's forehead, smirking.

  "Come on, then. Pull the trigger."

  Zalgo's calmness contrasted the situation's danger.

  Zoe nodded with a dark grin, her trigger finger beginning to slowly pull it back.

  "With pleasure~”