"All right then. Time to try something different." said Nika as she gathered up her thoughts, ignoring the obnoxious laughs of the spectators. Nika decided to stop charging at Guanqiu with her ass for now and instead changed her approach. She was going to charge at the girl with the intent of punching her first, and right when she sees an opening, she would then turn around and surprise her with a butt slam.

  "All right...let's see how you dodge this..." she muttered to herself as she got into a fighting stance and began to move around the girl cautiously, trying to find an opening.

  Guanqiu, noticing the subtle change in the other girl's approach, was already on guard. "Oh? No more charging with your butt? Did you finally realize it was futile?”

  "Shut up...I'm just trying a new approach." replied Nika, trying to ignore the mocking girl. She was looking for any sign of weakness or any window of opportunity to attack.

  "Your new approach isn't any better, you know." responded an amused and arrogant Guanqiu, keeping her eyes fixed on the other girl. "But I won't deny that your stubbornness is entertaining, if anything else.

  "Just shut up." replied Nika with gritted teeth.

  Nika continued to cautiously look for any weaknesses or openings. She wanted to punch the girl's pretty little face soooo badly.

  Despite Nika's efforts, Guanqiu continued to be one step ahead, always ready to move or counter anything the other girl could do. It seemed like Nika was getting nowhere, and with each passing second, her chances were looking more and more bleak.

  "You're not making any progress, you know..." said the mocking voice of the confident, mocking girl. "Perhaps you should just give up and accept defeat?”

  "Shut up, you brat. I'm nowhere close to giving up!" retorted an irritated Nika.

  But deep down, she knew that time wasn't on her side. She had to do something, and fast. And so, she took the cap off of her full potential and let her true power show, her aura even more frighteningly powerful than that of Guanqiu's.

  "Oh ho! Is the so-called 'top five' finally getting serious?" replied an amused and excited Guanqiu, noticing the massive change in aura. "This may get interesting, after all.”

  Nika's eyes gleamed with intensity, now fueled with determination instead of pure, angry rage. "You better believe it. I'm done playing around with you.”

  "Oh, am I about to see the real power of one of the 'top five strongest?'" Guanqiu quipped, her excitement growing. "Enlighten me.”

  Without saying a word, Nika immediately sprinted towards the girl, intent on landing a punch.

  But to Nika's dismay, once again, Guanqiu, with her quickness, effortlessly dodged the incoming punch. Nika tried again, and once again, it was the same result. No matter what Nika tried, she just couldn't land a hit on the girl. The spectators couldn't help but continue to laugh uncontrollably at Nika's failed attempts.

  Nika's face was red with anger and embarrassment, both from the laughter of the spectators and her own failure. Guanqiu seemed to revel in Nika's frustration, a smug smile plastered on her face. "Is that the best you can do, top five...?”

  Nika clenched her fists in frustration, "Shut up! I'm not done yet!"

  Nika flared her aura up, enough to create a crater where she stood.

  "Oh...getting more and more desperate now, are you...?" said a smug Guanqiu as she noticed the intense and ominous aura surrounding the other girl. "Is the little top 5 reaching her limit...?”

  "No...! I'm not done!" replied Nika, her face filled with sheer determination. "I swear, I'm going to kick your ass!”

  "And how do you expect to achieve that...?" taunted the ever-smug girl. "...when you can't even touch me?”

  Nika gritted her teeth. She hated how the girl was right. But Nika was stubborn, very stubborn, and she wasn't going to give up that easily. She took a deep breath and continued to search for openings. With her newfound speed and strength, Nika rushed in for a kick. Although Guanqiu easily dodged as usual, that was exactly what Nika wanted her to do, as she spun around and successfully slammed her rear into Guanqiu, sending her flying into the arena wall, leaving a big crater there.

  "YES!! I GOT HER!" shouted Nika excitedly, her face beaming with confidence. "...Oh wait..." her excitement died down as she saw Guanqiu emerge from the rubble, uninjured and untouched, from the crater. "...Oh hell no...no freakin’ way. How!?”

  "That was an interesting attempt..." said an amused Guanqiu, wiping dust off her qipao. "...but you're going to need more than just a big rear end to catch me off guard, you know...?”

  "I...I hit you right into the wall..." said a shocked Nika, completely bewildered. "...I hit you with my butt at full power. How could you just shrug that off and walk away unharmed!?”

  "Your rear end is quite powerful, but you underestimate me if you thought that would be enough to take me out..." said a confident Guanqiu, her voice dripping with arrogance. "With the Darkness flowing through me, I have more power in my pinky than what that butt of yours can deliver.”

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  "Darkness...?!" repeated a curious and confused Nika.

  "That's right..." replied the confident girl. "I have complete control over the power of Darkness, and it has strengthened me in ways you can't possibly imagine…”

  "Why are you telling me this...?" asked an increasingly confused Nika. "...why are you openly bragging about such a dark and sinister thing...?”

  "Because, dear..." replied a mocking and arrogant Guanqiu, "I enjoy showing off and displaying my power. It's amusing to see the looks on your face when you realize just how strong I am.”

  "Ugh! You're absolutely insufferable, you know that!?" retorted an irritated Nika, gritting her teeth with annoyance. "What even happened to you all of a sudden?! What happened to the shy, easily-flustered Guanqiu I've met just moments ago?!”

  "Oh...you mean the shy and naive facade I put on?" responded a mocking and amused Guanqiu with a smirk. "You were fooled. My shy and naive persona was all an act. I wanted to lure you into a false sense of overconfidence. Now that we're in this fight, I no longer need to hide my true self.”

  Nika's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she's hearing. "...You mean to say all that shy and naive act was just a facade...and a part of a plan to put me off guard? No, that's just the Darkness talking! I know the REAL Guanqiu is in there, I just gotta beat this Darkness outta you!”

  "You poor naive fool..." replied the mocking Guanqiu, her tone filled with condescension. "You think you can just beat the Darkness out of me? You think that's all it takes to break this level of control and power?”

  Nika gritted her teeth, anger swelling up inside her. "I'll give it my damn best to do just that!”

  "Oh, I'd love to see you try," Guanqiu provoked. "But I must warn you, the Darkness is not something to be trifled with. It's a force of unfathomable power. I doubt your feeble attempts will make any dent in it.”

  Nika clenched her fists tightly, her eyes ablaze with intense determination. "You sound so damn sure o’ yourself, but I'll bet my butt I'll find a way to break through your Darkness and beat some sense into you!”

  And Nika was going to do just that as she dashed in with all her strength, connecting a dropkick to Guanqiu's gut.

  "Good attempt..." replied a confident Guanqiu, feeling the impact but still standing tall. "But can you do better than that...?”

  "Oh, I can do much, MUCH better than that!" yelled out an angry Nika, lunging at the girl again with another kick.

  But once again, it was all in vain, as the agile and quick girl easily dodged the incoming kick. The audience laughed at Nika's another failed attempt, adding to her frustration and anger.

  Nika's face was scrunched as she let out a loud huff. She kept up the pressure and didn't give time for Guanqiu to breathe, rushing in with a butt attack that was too fast for the audience to see, even Guanqiu herself. Guanqiu, unable to dodge, attempted to block the attack, but the blow broke her left arm before Nika's butt then crashed into her body. Guanqiu was sent into the arena wall, creating an enormous crater from the impact.

  Nika stood there, her face filled with determination and triumph, thinking she finally struck a major hit. "Yes! How d'ya like that?!"

  Then, to Nika's shock, Guanqiu slowly rose out of the crater, a sly smile on her face. Though she held her damaged and broken left arm, it didn't seem to faze her one bit. A pitch black force surrounded Guanqiu's broken arm, and within seconds, the damage was reversed, her arm now back to normal.

  "What...what just happened?!" gasped Nika, her eyes widened in disbelief. "Your arm was broken...! How did you just heal it...?”

  "Did you already forget, dear?” said Guanqiu with a raised eyebrow. "I have complete control over Darkness. It obeys my every command, and that includes rapid healing. My control over Darkness is absolute and unparalleled.”

  Nika was at a loss for words. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Guanqiu's ability to heal so quickly and completely was beyond anything Nika has ever seen. And the way the Darkness obeyed Guanqiu, it was almost as if it was a part of her.

  "And now..." Guanqiu continued, "I will show you just a taste of the power of Darkness."

  A gigantic black fist came from above the arena and crushed Nika into the arena floor in one blow. The fist disappeared in a puff of smoke, and after the smoke cleared, there was Nika, knocked unconscious.

  The crowd went silent. They couldn't believe what just happened. Nika, one of the top five strongest fighters in the Coliseum, was knocked out with only ONE blow.

  The entire arena was left in shock. Nika, one the strongest, was laid there unmoving. The match was over. The audience couldn't believe what they just witnessed. Marco couldn't even muster the strength to announce the winner as he, too, couldn't believe his eyes.

  As for Nika, she was completely motionless. There was not even a twitch as she lay there unconscious…

  The arena was eerily calm, until a sinister chuckle broke the silence. It was the voice of Guanqiu, her voice filled with smug satisfaction. "That was simple. Too simple, if you ask me," she remarked calmly. "I didn't even break a sweat.”

  "I must say, my power does feel amazing,” continued Guanqiu, still basking in her victory. "I can do virtually anything I want. I can heal myself, control others with a simple thought, and inflict pain without even moving a single muscle. The Darkness and my control are simply unstoppa—"

  Guanqiu was cut off by her body shuddering uncontrollably, her eyes no longer glazed over as her smug expression turned into a surprised, meek one, looking at the scene before her.

  "W-wh-what...?" Guanqiu muttered with a confused and scared voice, clearly taken aback as well. "H-how...how did...?”

  Nika's eyes started to flutter open, slowly regaining consciousness, her senses slowly returning. She managed to prop herself up onto her elbows, still dazed from the brutal hit.

  When Nika's vision cleared, she was just as flabbergasted as everyone at the sight of the now timid-looking girl, completely changed from the confident, mocking, almost arrogant persona from moments earlier. She seemed absolutely terrified.

  "N-no...no, it can't be..." muttered the now visibly shaking girl. "What...?"

  The crowd was left completely speechless from the abrupt change of character.

  Nika slowly pushed herself up from the ground, still dazed. She looked at the now terrified girl before her and managed to speak, "Guanqiu...what the hell happened...?”

  Instead of a cocky, arrogant response, a timid, fearful reply came from the girl. "...I...I don't know."

  The crowd's confusion was growing by the second, so did Marco's. But he had to announce the winner at last to finally conclude the tournament, so after clearing his throat, he shouted into his microphone, "Nika has been defeated by knockout! The winner of this match, and the tournament, is...GUANQIU!!!!”

  Nika, still dazed from the brutal attack, couldn't protest or express any objections to the conclusion. She slumped back onto the arena floor, clearly defeated and heavily bruised by that one, simple attack.

  The crowd clapped and cheered for Guanqiu, though it was more of an automated response for the majority of them, as they were confused and perplexed by the girl's drastic shift in personality. They couldn't understand what triggered this change.