Gon's Harem System
Chapter 99: Loxi vs sera

Chapter 99: Loxi vs sera

Loxi’s body reacted before his mind could.

His legs wobbled, the strength in his dominant arm fading as a dull, aching numbness spread through his muscles.

His breath came uneven, sharp and shallow, his lungs struggling to keep up.

His grin twitched, but it didn’t fade. His teeth clenched as he forced himself to stay upright, to push past the weakness clawing at him.

Sera didn’t speak. She didn’t taunt. She didn’t need to.

Her silence was heavier than any words, her steady gaze telling him everything, she was breaking him down, and she knew it.

"Okay," he muttered, flexing his fingers, forcing them to close around his sword hilt again. "That was cute."

Without another second of hesitation, he leaped back, flames bursting beneath his feet as he propelled himself away.

The fire surged with his movement, trailing in his wake like a living thing, licking at the air before vanishing in wisps of heat.

The moment he landed, he moved.

His sword slammed into the ground with a forceful strike, and the arena floor trembled beneath him.

Then, fire.

A roaring explosion erupted outward, a swirling inferno stretching in a wide, searing ring around him.

The blast sent waves of heat rolling across the battlefield, warping the air, turning dust into glowing embers.

Flames twisted and coiled, burning bright, creating a barrier between them.

The crowd roared in response, voices rising with the fire, but Loxi wasn’t paying attention.

His grip tightened around his sword, his breathing still uneven, but his stance, steady.

His eyes gleamed through the shifting heat, locked onto Sera.

Sera stepped back just before the fire could touch her, her expression unreadable.

The heat rippled in front of her, waves of orange and gold reflected in her sharp, steady gaze.

The flames roared between them, a wild, living thing, but she didn’t flinch.

She didn’t move in panic or frustration. She simply watched. Calculated.

Loxi’s smirk deepened as he rolled his shoulders, spinning his sword once before resting it against his shoulder. "What’s wrong?" he teased, tilting his head. "Finally thinking twice about rushing in?"

Sera said nothing.

The crowd was deafening, but in this moment, it was as if the world had quieted for the two of them.

Loxi rolled his shoulder, testing the damage. A sharp ache pulsed through the joint, his muscles protesting every movement, but he could still move.

That was enough.

He exhaled, shaking out his limbs, trying to drive out the lingering numbness.

The fire around him burned bright, casting jagged shadows across the arena floor, but Sera remained just beyond its reach, calm and waiting.

"Alright," he muttered, straightening, the playful edge in his voice sharpening into something more focused. He spun his sword once, the flames flaring in response. "Let’s stop playing."

The heat intensified, the ground beneath him darkening from the sheer force of it. The fire no longer danced, it roared. It consumed.

The flames around him surged higher, roaring like a living beast, wild and untamed. Heat rippled outward in violent waves, distorting the air, turning the dust beneath his feet to smoldering embers.

The firelight twisted and danced, casting his silhouette in sharp relief, a figure wreathed in flame, moving with effortless confidence.

And then he attacked.

Loxi was fast. Not just in movement, but in thought.

He fought like a performer, yes, but there was a dangerous intelligence behind every action.

He understood the battlefield like an artist understood a canvas, each stroke of his blade serving a purpose beyond the obvious.

His first swing was wide, an arc of fire cutting through the air, bright and consuming.

But it wasn’t just an attack, it was a distraction. A spectacle. A flash meant to pull the eye, to force a reaction.

Sera didn’t fall for it.

She jumped, her body weightless for a brief moment as she soared over the roaring flames.

She cleared them with ease, her landing near-perfect, light, effortless.

But Loxi was already moving.

His sword carved through the air like a streak of light, fire trailing behind it in a blazing arc.

He didn’t hesitate, didn’t pause to admire his own attack.

The moment her feet touched the ground, his blade was there, slicing toward her in a strike too fast to ignore.

This time, she couldn’t fully dodge.

Sera twisted, her body angling away at the last second, but not far enough.

A sharp sting cut across her forearm, a shallow wound, barely more than a scratch.

But the impact wasn’t what mattered.

The moment the blade connected, the arena exploded with sound.

Cheers, screams, stomping feet, an eruption of energy as the crowd reacted to the first visible hit of the match.

It didn’t matter how small the wound was. They saw blood, and that was enough.

Loxi heard it all, but he didn’t revel in it. Not yet.

His eyes stayed locked on Sera, watching, waiting.

Sera barely glanced at the cut.

She didn’t flinch, didn’t acknowledge the pain.

Instead, she exhaled slowly, flexing her fingers, crimson trailing lightly down her arm.

And then, she looked at him.

Loxi flicked his blade, and fire roared to life along its edge, spiraling in wild arcs before coiling around him like a serpent.

The flickering glow cast long, wavering shadows across the scorched ground, illuminating the smirk that curled at the corner of his lips.

"Ah," he murmured, watching the embers drift lazily into the sky. The fire pulsed in time with his heartbeat, eager, alive. He tightened his grip on the hilt, feeling the warmth seep into his palm. "Finally, some progress."

Sera didn’t react.

Her expression remained unreadable, her breath steady, as if the tension in the air did not touch her.

Her eyes flickered downward, to his stance, the way his weight balanced on the balls of his feet, the faint hitch in his breathing, the near-imperceptible twitch of his fingers.

Every detail was absorbed, dissected, stored away in the span of a heartbeat.

Then she moved.

Loxi groaned when he saw her approaching him.