The New Arcana Famiglia [A La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia fanfiction]

Chapter 25

Round 1: Match 1- Morgan VS Nova

Nova was a bit surprised by this. He hadn't expected to be up so soon and that too against Morgan.

"Make sure you beat him!" Yelled out Liberta unhelpfully.

Nova ignored him. He didn't have much hope of beating Morgan. The simple reason being, though Nova was good with his sword, Morgan was much better with his arcana.

During the initial instructions phase, Nova had also been reminded to keep his powers in check because instantly putting your enemy to sleep wasn't considered quite interesting.

Just a bad matchup......

"Think this is unfair? "

Nova looked up at his opponent. Morgan gave a thin smile.

"Even I'm not happy about fighting a handicapped opponent."

"Who are you calling handicapped?!?! " Liberta started screaming from the side even as Nova and Morgan startes to walk to the centre of the arena.

"Don't worry. " Said Nova quietly "I don't mind. Also I'm quite handy with a sword. "

Nova unsheathed his Katana.

"Ok then... " Morgan smiled back "I won't go all in with my arcana. Let's fight equally. "

Nova didn't trust him one bit. He knew the only way to win was to be faster, but this guy was too crafty. The crowd started cheering, which made Nova a little nervous. Liberta's threats from the sidelines didn't help either.

"Start! " Shouted Irisu.

Nova raced in close quickly but stopped when he noticed that his opponent was no longer there.

What?

"You still don't believe in magic right? "

Nova turned quickly. Morgan was now standing where Nova had earlier been.

So much for fair...

"If you believe... You will see.... "

Nova tried not to focus on Morgan's voice but there was nothing else for him to focus on for he was surrounded by smoke. His head seemed heavy and it felt like something awful was pushing him back.

Suddenly somebody from the crowd gasped and shouted something bad then the whole crowd started to murmur in awe.

Nova had no idea what they were saying. In fact, he could barely move.

What did he.......

"You are doing it to yourself. " Said Morgan "You refuse to believe the magic around you so you can't expect to fight it either right? "

"What are you-"

Nova tried to shake himself put of it. But it was much harder than he expected.

"Oh me? I'm just giving them a show. "

Nova could only hear his voice now. But he could almost imagine a cruel smile on his face when he said that.

Irisu reached out her hand and touched the floating light in front of her.

"Wow! It's real! "

"It's magic. " Said Jolly watching the floating lights which scattered all around the arena now. There was a dense blue smoke that was blowing up and to Jolly it smelt faintly of tea.

"Why does it smell like pineapple? " Asked Irisu suddenly.

"Huh? Oh.... Not bad. " Jolly suddenly grinned.

"What? " Irisu looked around and saw the mesmerized crowd starting to clap.

"Its all an illusion."

Nova was still trying to shake away the murky feeling in his head when his feet were swept away from under him.

He braced himself for the impact but it never came.

What.......

Nova forced himself to focus and he could see blue smoke all around him and floating lights.

Cheap illusions....

"Are they? "

Nova paused as he detected the faint smell of Jasmine.

He gritted his teeth. He hated it. He hated it so much.

With a cry, Nova swung his Katana around him. Morgan suddenly flashed next to him but Nova was ready and swung back quickly. He managed to catch Morgan's coat which ripped apart under his blade. He tried to continue his assault but a bright flash of light blinded him. Quickly closing his eyes he darted to the side and slashed forward again. Morgan immediately jumped back to dodge the precise cut even as Nova continued his strike.

"Stop your filthy mind games! " He shouted as he started to push him back.

"Why are you playing it? "

Nova charged forward immediately. He could barely see Morgan in the dense smoke but he charged towards the voice.

Just then something tripped him and he fell with a crash.

Quickly gathering his wits he twisted around and grabbed his fallen katana with his left hand even as he swung his right hand in a sharp upper cut.

He was satisfied when his punch connected and a curse followed.

Almost....

Nova moved to get up but stopped when he felt the blade against his neck.

"Concede? "

The smoke cleared up. The arena was silent. Nova saw that he held nothing in his left hand and his own katana was now aimed at his throat by Morgan.

How....

"You are right. It was all an illusion."

Nova thought of he could fight back. Numerous plans went through his mind. But each one met a dead end. And he didn't believe it was an illusion,as the sickening smell of jasmine was still around him.

"You win" He said quietly.

There was a moment of silence and then-

"Match 1 Winner Morgan! " Shouted Irisu. The crowd was stunned for a second and then erupted into cheers.

Nova walked back to the side.

"Why did you give up?!" Shouted Liberta.

"I didn't want him in my head." He replied walking off. Liberta tried to say something but Felicita held him back. She wondered what had Nova seen.

To the audience it had been a strange magic show at first. Felicita herself had been enchanted by the floating lights and the smell of roses. The smoke had slowly cleared and some parts of the battle between the two could be seen. But everyone had seen how simple the finale was.

Morgan tripped Nova. His katana slipped from his grip which Morgan had immediately tried to grab. For some reason, Nova hadn't tried to get his sword and had instead delivered a punch which though successful didn't stop Morgan from retrieving the sword and reversing the situation.

Felicita watched as Elina went up to Nova and patted his shoulder and said something to console him.

"Good luck Felicita! Your opponent is ready!" Said Pace suddenly pushing her forward.

Felicita looked a bit lost but quickly recovered and smiled.

"Thanks!" She said as she walked forward.

"Good luck to you too! " She said turning to her opponent with a smile.

Yukino didn't reply.

Why does it have to be her........