"M-Misao!"
The choice of opponent drove fear into everyone's hearts. Misao was already know to go overboard in battle, and with the unpredictable Gaia now in complete control of her action, the tournament didn't seem to be on a good start.
Shiva, however, was unnaturally calm. Standing in the face of Misao with the untamed force of the Celestial Dragons radiating off her, one would surely be showing at least a little fear.
Even the fairies in the crowd were calm, along with Reiki, who simple sat with legs crossed and an odd smile on her face.
"How are you so calm!?" Luna squealed in worry. "Misao is gonna mop the floor with your queen!"
Reiki simply giggled, not giving an answer as to leave it up to fate, which fairies seemed to trust a lot in.
"Now!" Gaia spoke, "Defeat and Victory are separated by only two things! Incapacitation or Death! Now let the battle begin!"
As soon as those words left Gaia's lips, Misao pounced. Flames boosted her from her position as she led her attack with a kick. Shiva's clairvoyance was the only thing that kept her away from certain decapitation as she quickly dodged down, strands of her hair being burned off.
The heat of Misao's leg distorted the air around it as she instantly followed her kick up with a downward slash of her scythe. Once again, Shiva managed to avoid the attack by the skin of her teeth.
The first part of the fight seemed to be just that: Misao would launch an attack and Shiva would counter with her clairvoyance, seeing seconds into the future and dodge with perfect timing.
Although this would seem like a good strategy to an outsider, those who were familiar with Misao's fighting style knew this tactic wouldn't work in the long run.
Takumi tapped his finger on his elbow in anxiety, "She needs to attack soon, Misao won't tire out that easily if that's what she's going for."
The Wings of Athena didn't know for sure whether this was true or not but one look at the battle field proved his point. Sweat lined Shiva's brow and her movements had gotten sluggish, even if it was just by a minor amount.
Misao, on the other hand, was still as fierce, if not fiercer than before.
Soon enough, Shiva's tactic started to falter. She messed up the timing on a kick and suffered a blow to the face and if not for her movement reducing the damage, she would have surely been knocked out right then and there.
"Guh!" Shiva gasped for air as she rolled across the ground.
The crowd held their breath as Misao went in for another attack, this time Shiva had no time to dodge. All seemed lost as Misao's flame infused punch drew closer to the Fairy Queen's face.
*Bang!~*
"Ah!"
Instead of trying to dodge, out of nowhere, Shiva met Misao's head on. Misao's flames were quickly extinguished, causing an explosion of smoke to envelop them.
The smoke didn't even have time to dissipate on it's own as rays of golden light sliced through it. When the smoke cleared, Misao and Shiva seemed to be frozen in place.
What seemed to be Shiva anyway... the Fairy Queen's body was clad in a suit of runic armor, similar to Reiki's. Lightweight, with barely any coverings, the assassin like armor set shone as golden runes pulsed all over it. The crowns of runes she wore had disappeared, converging into what seemed to be a runic spear, the reason Misao's attack didn't land.
But what made this transformation even more intriguing was the eyewear. A blindfold made of runes completely covered her eyes, but wouldn't this make her one power, clairvoyance, obsolete?
「Senrigan mōdo, Moderu: Shiva」(Future Sight, Model: Shiva)
Although the fairies in the crowd gasped in awe, everyone else wasn't particularly impressed, probably due to the fact that they've never seen a fairy at full power before.
"What's that gonna do?!" Luna squealed, "She's practically naked! She'll be crushed!"
Once again, Reiki chuckled, as if her Queen's chance of winning was set in stone. The other fairies in the crowd all joined in to say one thing, showing their trust in Shiva.
"Why wear armor if you don't plan to get hit?"
Misao took some time to observe Shiva's new form, or Gaia was, rather. Not even he had seen this model of the fairies' Future Sight Mode, since it changes with every Queen.
Nonetheless, he still prompted Misao to attack, only putting a lot more into it than before. With orders now embedded in her mind, Misao roared, quite literally as her dragon force enveloped her body, the energy slashing at the air around her.
Her increased ferocity came out as she attacked once more, this time with a stronger intent to kill as she slashed her scythe. Wind curved around the blade as it drew deathly close to Shiva's neck.
However, the Fairy Queen had seen this coming from a mile away, and therefore had already figured out a way to counter.
She simple jumped backward before spinning her finger, causing the floating spear to follow, parrying Misao's scythe with quite the accuracy as to disrupt her attack. Misao's arm was flung to the side, the power of her own attack deflected.
Both Gaia and Misao were stunned by that move. Sure they knew that clairvoyance was Shiva's main shtick, but seeing her blindfolded may have caused them to underestimate her subconsciously.
Shiva, for the thr first time since this whole thing started, smiled, taunting Gaia as her spear returned to her side.
Gaia, clenching his teeth, growled, making Misao do the same as she lashed out again this time launching consecutive slashes, each one of them either being deflected or dodged completely. Shiva's ability to see into the future seemed to be unmatched.
As the battle went on, the scales seemed to tip more and more over to the side of good. Misao's body was now covered in numerous nicks and even her breathing had quickened slightly.
"I believe it's time I went on the offense," Shiva said before flicking a finger at Misao, sending the rune spear right at her.
It was like a game of cat and mouse with Misao and the spear. She bobbed and weaved, trying to avoid the onslaught of stabs from the spear, only suffering more damage as Shiva could easily chance her attack around once she foresaw where Misao would dodge to.
With each passing moment, Gaia got more and more irritated, to the point where chaotic dark energy started to leak from his body. It got to the point where Gaia finally cracked, releasing a sharp scream as he caused the black tendrils to slither out of Misao's skin once more.
Veins popped in the Diety's arms as he clenched his fists, making Misao double over, writhing in apparent pain. Athena couldn't even intervene in time because as soon as she opened her mouth, Misao released a feral growl; her eyes emitting black fumes as she dashed at Shiva again.
Shiva, still feeling confident, took a calm breath, easily deflecting another punch. But immediately after, utilizing the same force that tossed her back, to launch a kick!
"!!!"
Although unexpected, Shiva still managed to avoid the attack. Misao's attacks seemed to be directly influenced by Gaia's hand movements, each attack being faster and stronger than the last.
Shiva tried her best to dodge and deflect each of the devastating attacks, but eventually, Misao's rising speed caught up to her, trumping her clairvoyant ability.
"Guh!"
Gaia's lips went all the way up to his ears in a menacing grin. Misao's kick connected squarely with Shiva's chin, smashing her rune armor to pieces and sending her rolling across the battleground.
In an instant... the battle was over.
Although Gaia released Misao from his grasp once that attack had connected, her ferocity had already been fed with violence. Misao, gnashing her teeth, stood over the floored Fairy Queen with her scythe at the ready.
Everyone in the crowd held their breath as the incredibly sharp blade drew closer to Shiva's neck, cutting through the skin at a painfully slow pace.
Would Gaia really allow Misao to mindlessly slaughter Shiva?