-Lucy, what the hell is THAT?!- Noah yelled at the woman, who was as dumbfounded as him.
-I...I dunno...! I never expected Terri to have such power!-she answered, her eyes filled with dread.
-Oh, that's a real nice answer, Lucy! You send me here to fight her, but you don't inform she could pull off something like that?!
-Well, excuuuuuse me, princess! I'm not the one who was all like "Buh-uh, I want to fight, Lucy. I want to get rid of my doubts, blah blah blah"! I'm sure you can find a way outta this because, like you begged, I ain't helping you!
-Oh for gods' sake!-he exclaimed, for none of the two had ever seen something like that coming.
Destroying the arena's ceiling and walls as it rose, a giant, dare say, titanic, crude rock sword was pulled out of the ground by Terri. Being easily taller than the ceiling, at several building stories of height and several meters of width, the so called Titan's Sword towered above the young BladeMaster, and with it, a new nightmare for Noah to wish he could wake up from. With half of the arena turned into rubble, the sword was finally hunched over Terri's shoulder, as her arms were rigid with tension as they wrapped around a hilt that was as thick as a tree's log and bulging veins covered her face, Terri let out her ultimate words, like a death sentence.
-You've chosen this fate, Noah Eon! And you shall perish before it!!- and with that, she leaned forward, her feet sinking in the sand as best as she could as she slowed heaved the pillar-like hilt forward. Upwards, the sword began to slowly move forward and, as the hilt kept lowering itself, soon being vertical alongside her frame and slowly tilting downwards, so did the giant weapon, its shadow covering Noah's vicinity. Where did she get such strength to even manage to lift up such a thing, let alone brandish it?!
As its shadow got closer and closer to Noah, he had no choice but to start acting before he'd get dying. He activated the stone springs below his feet and swiftly dove to the side as the sword crashed down on the arena floor,the floor shaking behind him and a tall veil of sand rising up in its wake. Fortunately, Noah was already far away from it. Even if its speed was bigger than he thought, it was nothing when Terri was using the "ELX Sword", so he'd be able to keep avoiding it until---
Suddenly, a force made every inch of his insides recoil as he was rocketed back and smashing against a nearby, in-collapsed wall. He slid off of it and landed on his knees, coughing up a splatter of blood. Was...that a shock wave?! He was so worried about the sheer size of Titan's Sword, that he must've overlooked that detail: even if her speed took a huge toll, that Ultima Soul gave Terri much more reach. So, no matter how far away from the Sword Noah got, there was still a chance that he could be hit by its shock wave. And it was much more powerful than the regular ones to boot! What a fearsome technique!
-I'm not done yet!- Terri's voice reached Noah's ears as he saw her figure slowly pulled the slanted hilt to the side, towards the boy and the Sword slowly moved alongside it as the Sword's side began traveling through the sand, threatening to ram Noah! He had to get away before that battering ram made two new Noahs! He used the springs to propel himself along the wall, then tapped it so that a set of vertical springs rocketed him over the Sword as it was crashing against the wall and returning it to the desert it once came from. While in mid-air, he managed to spot Lucy, who was also doing her best to avoid the Sword's attacks and trying to give herself some distance from the fighters. Well, Lucy, of all people, was nothing to worry about, anyways.
He heard crumbling sounds from above him and as he turned he saw the debris from what remained of the ceiling making their way towards him. He quickly dispatched them with swift strikes from his Blade but he was still airborne, vulnerable as Terri brought the Sword to a halt and began pulling on the hilt, leaning back, making the weapon rise up towards the boy. But with his superior speed, he had more time to change up his actions. He pointed towards the rocks that were still crashing towards him and then an arm coiled around him and pulled him towards its origin point. He stood up atop the falling rock and quickly jumped around the debris, using more springs and arms to make him traverse the danger like he was flying. Soon he reached the half of the arena that had already collapsed and used the last piece of debris to rocket himself in a downwards angle towards Terri, who was still rising up the Sword. But she wouldn't have to time to do it becau---
Noah caught a glimpse of her lips curling into a smirk before she took the hilt and pushing it to the side, still mid-raising and slowly, the Sword started making a circle around Terri, taking up a storm of sand as she spun and spun, with increasingly greater speed. Then, like a professional hammer tosser, she used to momentum of the spin to instantly rise the blade to a vertical angle and quickly let crash down upon the diving Noah!
Even with all his achievements, Noah was still too naive, to think a warrior like Terri wouldn't have a backup plan to every angle Noah attacked her from. He didn't have time to use Tera and so he could only brace himself for impact as he blocked with Warrior's Heart.
His whole world seemed to shake as the giant weapon's shock waves smacked against the boy's Blade and he was quickly projected to the side, landing hard on the sand and rolling on it for what seemed to be forever before he stopped. Luckily, he hadn't been hit with the full power of the Sword again, but the scarlet sand below him told him otherwise. He suddenly felt, very, very tired. His Soul Crash must've run out...He reached his limit...
Did he, after all that bravado...Still lose?
The hot sand was burning into his face as he looked up and saw the Sword hunched over Terri's shoulder again.
-You got lucky twice, but third time's the charm!- she then jumped towards him, even higher than Noah with his springs, while still holding up the Sword and then arched it until the edge was pointed again to him. It was the finish move. If Noah didn't move away, he'd die, no questions asked. His eyes looked for Lucy, but she was nowhere to be seen. Was she also struck by the last attack's shock waves? Then...he was all alone...against Death itself.
He closed his eyes and accepted his fate. He should've listened to Lucy...And now he'd die for such stupid mistake.
-Lucy...guys...I'm...sorry...-he muttered.
*
A"re....really....up...now? Wow, you really....demoralized...fast...huh? Kinda...disappointed...you."
-I've...heard you before...along with that female voice...- Noah answered to the male voice that rung inside his head. The static seemed to have faded off a little bit. Again, words left his mouth without consent. The feeling of the burning sand against his face was gone too. He wasn't in the limbo anymore, but he could feel slipping away towards it.
"Yeah....can say...wherever she goes....go too. Can't....help...fates...linked...afraid..."
-Fates...? Linked...? Just who are you? And that woman too?
"Wouldn't...like...know. If...say it now....brain...fry. Amnesia...screwed up...gotta avoid...too much...In due time...Noah...Eon..."
-What's the point? I'm going to die anyways...
"Oh...be such a wuss...Just get up. She didn't...to save...a coward. If...die...I...too. I...don't...want....that!"
Noah remained silent. He honestly didn't care for following the orders of such a bossy...voice.
"She...last...resource...Warrior's Heart...use...now. Your...last...effort..."
Suddenly the voice became much clearer and much closer to Noah's ear. The tone...it was darker than a moonless night.
"You will get up, Noah Eon. For the sake of my survival, you will defeat this small fry. Like the woman said, you have better things to be doing. Even if it isn't what she wants you to do. But you will get up. Even if I need to give you an extra...push."
The voice then let out a bloodcurdling laugh and Noah suddenly felt the burn of the sun on him again. And with that, the amazing pressure of the Sword coming down of him. He looked up, seeing the instrument of his death getting closer and closer.
"Move! NOW!"
Noah suddenly felt all control of his body being stripped away from him. He felt his legs quickly knell to the ground and his hand summoning Warrior's Heart back to him. Then, just like Terri did, he stuck the Blade on sand. His hand continued to go deeper and deeper until it hit solid ground and was stabbed through it until until even his hand was buried along with it. Then he rose his face towards the oncoming attack and shouted, the voice that left his lips not his own, but something much deeper and powerful that rose to the heavens.
-That excuse for an Ultima Soul is getting on my nerves, T.! You will now see how it's done!
He felt his hand pulling the Blade's handle back towards him, an even stronger, deeper, pressure than the Sword arising along with it. When he pulled the Blade out, he no longer saw the shining silver and the golden heart but now a sword of great size, about the same as the ELX Sword. Like the Titan's Sword, it seemed to be made of rock too, but unlike the rugged design of Terri's attack, it had engraving of ivy and foreign symbols running along it and it gave out a powerful yet soothing feeling to Noah. Warrior's Heart had that trump card hidden all along?
He then felt his legs stand up and point the newfound weapon to the gargantuan weapon directed straight at him.
-This is Tera's heirloom to us BladeMasters: the Gaia's Blade ! And now, Terri, I'm going to smash your face with it!
He felt the ground below him shake and suddenly he was soaring through the air towards the Titan's Sword ! But the shock waves...!
-Your petty excuses for defenses will be rightfully smashed by my superiority! Chew on this, you oversized toothpick!!- he felt himself say again. Whoever that voice was, it was pretty cocky! But, likewise, he felt his arms swing Gaia's Blade in a upwards arc and in a second, the results were there to see: like an ocean being divided in two, a semi-transparent veil rose from the Titan's Sword and was cut in half, quickly overflowing of the rock sword's boundaries, and once out of said limits, they crashed onto the sand with a huge BUM, raising tall waves of sand on either side of the Sword. Did he just destroy the shock waves that the Sword was letting out? So, it was like the rock itself was covered in layers of shock waves! It seemed impressive but after the short work that he (apparently) did, they seemed like child's play.
Then, he felt himself land on top of the Sword like it had turned into a bridge now. Then he felt his lips letting escape a dark, sinister cackle.
-Oh, did you just see what happened?! Your precious strategy was blown away like a candle! I bet you feel real stupid now!- Noah's eyes landed on Terri who had a beyond surprised expression on her face. She was downright terrified.
-And now, on to smashing this excuse for an attack before smashing you!- the voice said before it started sprinting towards Terri, while swinging Gaia's Blade around like a madman, but the results were incredible! Like he was cutting paper, the Blade was smashing through the rock sword while he kept running towards its owner, the blade crumbling behind him.
-Hahahahaha! Like hot butter your toy is cut! This is a proper Ultima Soul! This is "Gaia's Blade Rush"!
Noah ran and ran, possessed by that powerful presence that didn't seem to fear the Order Elite, in fact, mocked her. Whoever that was, he was incredibly powerful, being able to draw out Warrior's Heart power like that, and even achieving an Ultima Soul!
-Smash, smash, smash !!!- he kept shouting, no, chanting as he kept running along the crumbling structure and eventually reaching Terri.
Then, suddenly, Noah felt in control again. The power in his hands was beyond words, but the confusion almost stopped his forward momentum.
"I've helped you now, kiddo, now finish her!"
Noah gulped. He might not have liked the voice's attitude but he did give him an enormous edge on the battle. He nodded and jumped before the ground he stood in crumbled and arched the Blade over him, before swinging it down on Terri.
She grunted, still holding on to the handle and what was left of the Sword . Then, as the Sword kept crumbling, so did the pillar-like hilt of it as Terri reached and grabbed the original handle, as ELX Sword was again on her hands. Seemed like the Titan's Sword was just a rock coating for her Blade. She then arched it behind herself, time seeming to slow down for both of the BladeMasters. Noah noticed the entirety of the Blade being covered with the same veil of shockwaves as the Sword. That was Terri's last-ditch effort, pretty much like Noah's case.
-I'm not done yet! I won't let you have the satisfaction of beating me so easily! Take this, boy!-and then she swung the Blade, both clashing while still airborne.
*
Eldus' staff started shining strongly, illuminating the tunnel in a purple light. He grunted. They were getting closer, as an incredible amount of soul power was being unleash. Then, a few seconds later, the whole tunnel started shaking. What was going on out there?!
After getting his footing back together, he directed the rest of the group forward.
-Keep going! We're getting closer!
He saw everybody nod in understanding and they started running even faster towards the tunnel's exit, which was getting closer and closer...
*
As Noah and Terri's Blades clashed, the shock waves she emitted started dispersing due to Gaia's Blade's power. Due to that, the pieces of the Sword that lied on the ground jumped high into the sky, around the clashing BladeMaster's. Even with that newfound power, Terri was still holding out, which was no surprise, since she had the arm strength to lift up that giant sword in the first place.
Then, after each one of them tried their best to win the clash, the unexpected happened: they were both pushed back by each others' strength, both flying towards the still airborne rubble of the Sword. Noah wasn't counting on a tie, that was for sure. The voice didn't say anything, so it seemed he had to rely on his quick wit again. Terri didn't waste anytime on using the piece of rock she landed on as leverage to jump towards Noah, already arching her Blade for a counterattack.
-You're done now, Eon!-she shouted as she closed in on him
Then, in the face of death, an idea popped in Noah's mind. A determined expression covered his face as he rocketed towards Terri. He switched the Blade over to his left hand and then, surprisingly, swung his right fist towards Terri. But, as they were still too far away from each other, his hand hit nothing but air.
It took instants for them to close in on each other,however. Had Noah mistimed his attack?
A triumphant smile formed on Terri's face.
-A grave miscalculation, kiddo! Now you die---
A trail of saliva and blood erupted from Terri's mouth and nostrils as the rock fist that swiftly made his way from the rubble behind Noah and over his arm made contact with the female BladeMaster's face and sent her crashing towards the destroyed wall from Noah had risen before, her body getting lost among the rocks.
-The only miscalculation here was made by you, letting your guard down against an opponent who already knew your weakness.- Noah said. A giant hand rose from the ground to pick him up before he fell and gently placed him on the sand. He walked towards the rubble and soon saw Lucy's smiling face peeking over the debris with a thumbs-up. It appears as she managed to evade the Sword's rampage without a scratch, unsurprisingly. As to how she did it...a complete mystery.
-Who's naive now, Terri?- he asked, directing an exhausted smile towards the bright blue skies.At the same time, a strange dove with wings grazed black landed in the rubble behind Noah, its tiny eyes locked on the victor, the boy who through sheer strength of heart, felled the Titan.