My 5th Reincarnation: I Was Born in Another World as a Demon - TWOB 4

The quarter-finals began with heightened security measures, both for the increasingly powerful matches and the "unexpected weather phenomena" that kept occurring around certain competitors.

 Crystal Academy's mirror team entered the arena first, their four members moving in perfect sync as light bent around their crystalline armor. Their reputation for flawless coordination was well-earned.

 "They copy and reflect their opponents' techniques," Aria briefed from their tactical box. "Which might be interesting against our… unique style."

 "How do you mirror chaos?" Luna wondered.

 The match began with Crystal Academy splitting into perfect formation, their armor creating prismatic reflections of Barthopia's team. But something strange happened when they tried to mirror their movements.

 "This makes no sense!" one Crystal fighter shouted as their perfect synchronization fell apart. "How do we copy techniques that look wrong but work right?"

 Raegan's team moved through their now-familiar chaos pattern. Fin's "random" attacks, Ace's "reactive" calculations, Luna's "intuitive" movements, and Raegan's "normal" support created a style that became more confusing when perfectly mirrored.

 "It's like trying to reflect a butterfly in a tornado," a judge commented, watching Crystal Academy's usually flawless formation dissolve into confusion.

 Victory came when the mirror team, trying desperately to copy Fin's elaborate "stumble-slash" combo, basically tied themselves in knots. The crowd wasn't sure whether to applaud or scratch their heads.

 "Barthopia advances through… methods that defy analysis," the announcer managed.

 But the real test came in Raegan's solo match. Stone Warrior entered the arena like his name—a mountain of muscle in reinforced armor, known for being virtually immovable.

 "No tricks will penetrate my defense," he declared, taking his famous iron stance.

 "I'll try my best," Raegan replied cheerfully.

 Stone Warrior's defense was legendary—a technique that had withstood even enhancement magic. He stood like a fortress, daring Raegan to approach.

 Raegan appeared to trip on nothing.

 This "stumble" somehow turned into a series of the most awkward-looking movements ever seen in professional combat, each clumsy motion somehow testing a different angle of Stone Warrior's defense.

 "Is he… is he mapping defense weak points while pretending to be uncoordinated?" Ace wondered, his calculations going crazy.

 In her viewing box, Zia had created an entire ice diorama of Raegan's movements, complete with miniature physics equations frozen in crystal. She panicked and turned it into a snow cloud when Viktor walked past, his enhanced eyes narrowing at Raegan's performance.

 The match's turning point came when Stone Warrior, frustrated by Raegan's apparent inability to attack properly, shifted his stance slightly to launch his own attack, but Raegan vanished.

 Raegan chose that moment to "accidentally" slide through the single moment of instability in the perfect defense at a blinding speed and punch through his ribs. The stone warrior dropped to his knees immediately with no movements.

 "Victory through… increasingly impatient and reckless attack by the opponent and whatever else happened," the announcer sighed, clearly giving up on understanding what he was seeing.

 A message arrived: the climate control budget had been tripled, three more combat schools had requested to study the "Stumbling style".

 "At this rate," Luna teased, "you'll revolutionize combat theory by accident."

 "Very lucky by accident," Raegan agreed, watching Stone Warrior try to explain to his team how he'd lost to what appeared to be competitive clumsiness.

 The semi-finals would bring even greater challenges, but for now, Raegan was enjoying being the most normally abnormal fighter anyone had ever seen.

 The tournament atmosphere had shifted dramatically. Gone were the playful preliminary matches and early-round excitement. Now, with only four teams and four solo competitors remaining, the pressure was palpable.

 Arch-Mage Magnus called for a special semi-finalist gathering. The remaining competitors assembled in the grand hall:

Team Division:

Barthopia's "Chaos Squad" (as unofficially named by fans)

Drakmire's Enhanced Team

Magnus Academy's Elite Force

Storm Gate's Thunder Brigade

Solo Division:

Raegan

Zia

Viktor

Yin

"The semi-finals will be held in our ancient colosseum," Magnus announced, his eyes twinkling. "Its barriers can withstand… unusual techniques." His gaze flickered between Raegan's innocent expression and Zia's increasingly frosted chair.

 Viktor stepped forward, purple energy crackling. "Finally, a stage where we needn't hold back. Some of us have been constraining our true power."

 "While others," he glared at Raegan, "have been making a mockery of serious combat."

Team Semi-Finals:

Barthopia vs. Storm Gate

Drakmire vs. Magnus Academy

Solo Semi-Finals:

Raegan vs. Yin

Zia vs. Viktor

Back in their preparation room, Aria laid out the challenges ahead. "Storm Gate's entire team has enhanced lightning techniques now. They're calling it Thunder God Formation."

 "And Thunder Lord Yin?" Luna asked, ears twitching with concern.

 "The strongest lightning user in tournament history," Ace reported, calculations swirling. "His attacks break the sound barrier."

 "Sounds fun," Raegan smiled.

 Meanwhile, the tournament had other concerns. Zia had accidentally frozen three training rooms while practicing, Viktor's enhanced team had melted part of the arena with their dark energy, and combat scholars were still trying to mathematically prove how Raegan's "Stumbling" fighting style worked.

 "The betting odds on your match with Thunder Lord have been suspended," Fin reported gleefully. "They can't calculate probability for techniques they don't understand!"

 As they prepared for their matches, Vivaan offered its own observation: 'You realize that at some point, you'll probably have to actually fight seriously?'

 'We'll deal with that when it happens,' Raegan thought back, watching Thunder Lord shatter the sound barrier in practice while Viktor's team performed increasingly disturbing enhanced techniques.

 The ancient colosseum hummed with raw power as Storm Gate's Thunder Brigade took their positions. Their enhanced lightning techniques made the air itself crackle with electricity. Even the magical barriers seemed to strain under the ambient energy.

 "They've modified their formation," Aria noted from the tactical box. "Four-point Thunder God Array."

 Luna's ears twitched constantly. "The mana density is incredible. One wrong move and..."

 "Then we'll move chaotically right," Reagan smiled.

 The match began with Storm Gate unleashing their ultimate technique - Thunder God's Descent. Four lightning pillars crashed down, designed to trap and obliterate anything in their range.

 What followed looked like pure chaos to observers. Fin appeared to stumble through lightning strikes while somehow landing perfect counter-attacks. Ace's "panicked" barriers redirected massive energy bursts. Luna seemed to dance randomly through the storm while actually guiding her teammates. And Reagan...

 "Is he... is he doing waltz through lightning?" someone in the crowd asked incredulously.

 From their viewing boxes, both Viktor and Zia watched intensely. Viktor's enhanced eyes tried desperately to decode the seemingly random movements that were defeating championship-level techniques.

 The team battle ended when Storm Gate, trying to counter Barthopia's chaos with pure power, basically short-circuited their own formation, and Fin burst through Ace's mana barrier, creating a repelling force.

 "Victory through... methods that continue to defy analysis," the announcer sighed.

 But the real test came in Reagan's solo match. Thunder Lord Yin entered the arena like a force of nature, sonic booms marking his casual movements.

 "Your luck ends here," he declared, electricity arcing between his fingers. "No more clumsy victories."

 "That's what the last guy said," Reagan replied cheerfully.

 The match began with Yin literally breaking the sound barrier - his famous Thunder Step technique that had defeated countless opponents before they could even register movement.

 Reagan sneezed.

 This perfectly timed "involuntary" motion somehow put him exactly where Yin wasn't, leading to the bizarre sight of the fastest fighter in tournament history missing someone who appeared to be having an allergy attack.

 "STOP!" Yin roared, launching into his ultimate combination - Thousand Thunder Strikes.

 What followed was perhaps the most ridiculously looking dodge sequence in combat history. Reagan appeared to:

- Tie his shoe (avoiding three sonic booms)

- Check his pockets (slipping past five lightning strikes)

- Wave at a butterfly (ducking under a thunder blast)

- Trip over nothing (perfectly countering Yin's finishing move)

 The crowd watched in stunned silence as the tournament's fastest fighter failed to land a single hit on someone who seemed to be mostly focused on peripheral activities.

 The match reached its climax when Yin, utterly frustrated, charged up his forbidden technique - Thunder God's Judgment. The attack was so fast that it created multiple afterimages.

 Reagan chose that moment to apparently lose his balance, his "stumble" somehow causing Yin to tangle in his own sonic booms' directions aimed at Raegan within each other, slowing everything around Yin. With a push of a finger and a wide smile, Raegan sends Yin and his sonic boom to exit the ring at approximately the speed of sound.

 Total silence fell over the arena.

 "Did... did he just defeat sonic speed attacks with poor balance?" someone in the crowd asked.

 Back in their preparation room, his team tried not to laugh too obviously at the growing legend of the "Stumbling Fighter."

 The finals would bring even greater challenges, but for now, Reagan was content being the most normally abnormal semi-finalist in tournament history.

Zia Vs Viktor

The arena fell silent as Zia and Viktor took their positions. The temperature plummeted around the Ice Princess while corrupted energy twisted the air around Viktor, his enhanced form barely recognizable as human anymore.

 "Your natural talent ends here," Viktor's voice carried unnatural harmonics. "Let me show you true power."

 Zia's response was a wave of her hand, creating a field of ice crystals so pure they seemed to sing. For once, her power wasn't creating accidental art—this was the true strength of Magnus's bloodline.

 The battle began with breathtaking intensity. Zia's mastery of ice created defensive formations that should have been impossible, each crystal a perfect reflection of her inborn talent. Viktor's enhanced abilities let him shatter these barriers with corrupted force, his movements unnaturally fluid.

 "She's holding back," Luna observed, her ears twitching. "The ice… she's trying not to hurt him permanently."

 Raegan watched silently, seeing what others missed. Zia wasn't just fighting Viktor—she was trying to save him, her ice attempting to purify rather than destroy.

 "Submit to true power!" Viktor roared, his enhancement creating dark crystals that corrupted everything they touched. "Your natural gifts are nothing compared to what we can take!"

 Zia's response was a technique that made even Arch-Mage Magnus lean forward—Pure Ice Domain, a skill that turned the entire arena into her element. The ice wasn't just cold; it was cleansing, trying to freeze away Viktor's corruption.

 For a moment, it seemed to work. Viktor's enhanced form flickered, the corruption wavering under the pure energy.

Then he smiled.

 "Thank you," Viktor's distorted voice echoed. "For showing me exactly what to break."

 His next move shattered more than just ice. The corruption in his enhanced form seemed to devour Zia's pure energy, using it to grow stronger. Each crystal she created was absorbed and twisted, feeding his unnatural power.

 "No…" Zia whispered, realizing too late what was happening.

 The end came swiftly. Viktor's corrupted form, now stronger from absorbing her pure energy, launched an attack that broke through every defense. Zia crashed out of the ring, her ice shattering around her.

 As medical teams rushed to Zia, Raegan caught her whispered words: "Don't let him… don't let what he's becoming…"

 "Don't worry, I won't let it devour him," he promised softly, his cheerful mask hiding centuries of battle experience, recognizing the true threat Viktor had become.

 Viktor stood in the center of the ring, corruption swirling around him. "See you in the finals, 'Stumbling Fighter.' Let's see how your luck holds against true power."

 Back in their preparation room, Raegan's team processed what they'd witnessed.

 "That wasn't just enhancement anymore," Luna said quietly. "It was like… like he was consuming her very essence."

 "The corruption is evolving," Ace added, his calculations grim. "It's not just changing him; it's learning, growing stronger with each fight."

 Fin, for once, had no dramatic comments to add. The sight of pure ice being twisted into corruption had silenced even his theatrical nature.

 A message arrived: Zia was recovering, but her strongest ice techniques had been somehow… tainted. The corruption in Viktor's enhancement had left lasting marks on her pure magic.

 'You know,' Vivaan commented privately, 'I don't have emotions but I think this might be the time to be a little less normal.'

 'We'll see,' Raegan thought, watching Viktor's corrupted form leave trails of darkness as he walked.

 The finals would require more than lucky stumbles and clumsy victories. Viktor's enhanced form had evolved beyond mere corruption—it was now a threat to the very nature of magic itself.

 Tomorrow would bring the team finals against Drakmire's enhanced squad, followed by Raegan facing this corrupted champion who had defeated even the Ice Princess's pure power.