The Legendary Junkmaster

Dani never appeared after her fight, and even when Jason went looking for her, she was nowhere to be found. Even her mother was not home when Jason tried her apartment. Eventually, he gave up and went back home to rest for the night before making his way back to the jellyfish arena the next day for the finals.

As Jason slid onto a couch, he was finding it difficult to be excited about the match. His thoughts constantly wandered to thinking about Dani and how she was coping. Before he knew it, the announcer had already introduced Sam and Adam. The crowd was growing restless as they looked at the contestants.

After all, Sam still had not revealed her Power. Whereas Adam had shown good judgement and solid control over his own so far. What was even more surprising was that both of them appeared to prefer melee combat. This kind of event was usually dominated by those with powerful long-range abilities or exceptionally rare Powers.

When the bell rang, Jason tried to focus on the fight without getting distracted. Harry was sitting on his usual couch, but after his fiasco with his bet the day before, he did not bother to take another risk on this fight. 

Sam made the first move and closed in with her dual-wielding style. This time she had opted to use the complete spear form of her Primal in her right hand while still keeping the one in her left as a baton. Sam's technique was better than anyone that Adam had fought so far, so he was actually feeling somewhat pressured by her relentless attacks.

He barely managed to dodge the tip of the spear with each thrust that Sam sent his way. Then, whenever he wanted to counterattack, another would come his way and prevent him from doing so. The odds that the bookies were offering slowly changed in Sam's favour to win. Which was to be expected, considering Adam was kept on the defensive.

Beads of sweat ran down Adam's face as he tried to figure out what he could do to change the situation. If he tried to deflect the spear and get closer, Sam would extend the baton to a half spear. Forcing him to give up on that approach before he impaled himself.

His usual acrobatics did not help him either other than to catch a brief respite if he used them to retreat momentarily. However, whenever he tried that, Sam would push forward to keep him within her range. Adam grew frustrated as he could not even gain enough time to use the Orochi's whip form to force his opponent back.

"Come on, Adam! You have to beat her! Stop holding back! You're trapped in a passive state right now!" Jason shouted as he stared at the pair exchanging blows.

It seemed like Adam had reached the same conclusion as Jason as some hesitation appeared on his face. He knew that if he used his Power to its fullest, he would feel drained in a short amount of time. However, he had no other choice if he still wanted to have a chance at winning!

Adam gritted his teeth as Sam let out a grunt as she thrust her spear forward again. At that moment, Adam changed to holding the Orochi in a one-handed gripping his right hand as his left arm suddenly stretched like rubber!

Sam's eyes widened in shock as Adam's arm coiled around her Primal and reached out to ensnare her right arm! As that sight had left her stunned for a moment, she failed to notice Adam's right arm snake out towards her and slash the Orochi towards her left thigh!

Sam yelped and jumped back, letting go of her Primal spear in the process. A thin line of blood began to trickle down her leg as she glared at Adam. Meanwhile, Adam used the opportunity to toss her weapon out of bounds. There was no point in keeping it himself since it did not suit his style at all!

"You kept that little trick pretty well hidden. I'll give you that!" Sam sneered as the arena grew deafening from the crowds' cheers. "I'll admit, I can't beat you without using my Power now!"

Adam's eyes narrowed as two new Sam's suddenly split from her original body! Sam reached inside her coat and produced five more Primals before handing each of her clones two of them!

"Fuck!" Jason shouted as he stared at the scene unfolding below! 'That explains why she bought every one of them that I sold to Al! I thought she would have given them to her guards or something!'

While Jason was in shock, Sam launched a relentless offensive on Adam! Using his own Power was draining him quickly, and he only managed to inflict a few superficial wounds on Sam and her clones as he did his best to avoid the multitude of blows that rained down on him.

The crowd had gone silent. As far as they could see, this fight was already over! There was no more suspense to be had! Adam had put up a good fight, better than most could have done if faced with the same situation. However, any idiot could see the damage accumulating on his figure whenever he failed to negate one of Sam's attacks.

Adam launched a wild swing towards Sam's original body! However, before it could connect, he suddenly felt his body become weak! He had overused his ability in a short space of time, and he was now paying the price for doing so!

His arms snapped back into their original form, like an elastic band that had been stretched and then released! The force of them snapping back so violently knocked Adam from his feet, sending him sprawling across the arena's ground.

Sam allowed herself to break into a broad grin at that point. She had finally done it! She was going to claim the title of Tournament Champion and be accepted as a Guardian. That would allow her to finally get out of this backwater town and live her own life!

"See! You were never going to win! This always belonged to…" Sam yelped as she attempted to jump backwards!

As she was busy gloating and stalking her way towards Adam, he had taken the opportunity to flick out the Orochi's bladed whip form! The crowd erupted when they saw that he still had some fight left in him! 

Since Sam had closed the distance, she did not react in time and soon found the Orochi wrapped tightly around her waist and left leg! The bladed sections cut into her skin, drawing blood. All Adam had to do now was reel the Orochi back in, and Sam was bound to lose her leg and possibly spill her guts on the arena floor!

A bell rang from on high and was swiftly accompanied by an old feminine voice.

"Ladies and gentleman! I give you… Your Champion!"