Present Day: March 5th 2093.
Colony: New-Tokyo; Shibuya Ruins.
6:50 pm GMT+8
"Code! What is the likelihood of Takashi beating the Centrial?" Hiromi said with an anxious voice.
< Less than five percent Hiromi. >
"Less than five percent?!" Hiromi exclaimed. "I figured it would turn out this way, but…"
< Based on my observations; it is highly unlikely that code #00345 Takashi Dazai will not last much longer with the Centrial on the offensive. >
"Well, in that case, Code, I need you to…"
***
The surrounding air suddenly got five times heavier. Takashi could tell his movements were getting sluggish. His heart was racing from excitement and fear. The Centrial's aura, alone, was enough to intimidate him. He could tell she was finally getting serious.
'Am I afraid?' Takashi thought, as he looked at his trembling hands. 'No, it can't be… I'd be no different from Hiromi if I was.' His heart was racing and his breathing got sharper from fear and excitement.
The Centrial's eyes radiated bloodlust and power. She maintained a condescending image of casual superiority as she said;
"My name is Aria. Know this, of the humans who have heard my name, none have lived to tell the tale."
Aria had heightened senses. She could see as clear as day, even in the dark. Her eyesight, sense of smell and hearing were at least dozens of times better than that of humans.
She could pick up the subtleties of every motion Takashi made with relative ease. From his throbbing heart; to the slow shallow breaths he took, and even the minute movements he made when his muscles twitched slightly—she could see it all!
"Are you afraid, human?" She asked. "You should be. My race exists in a domain your kind can only ever dream of reaching!"
When the hood Aria wore came off, Takashi noticed she had no armor underneath, as he had earlier assumed. The sound of metal meeting metal that he had heard earlier on when his blade met her neck; made him assume she had a Full Body Armor* on.
*Typically, Centrial warriors wore armor made from elements that weren't native to earth. These elements were unlike anything the humans had ever seen.
Before colonies came into being, the humans had killed some of the Centrials as well, but the price they had to pay was far too great. Hundreds died at a time, just one of the Centrials.
And even when they killed one, they couldn't use any of the Centrials' weapons or armor. This was because their technology responded to Centrial DNA only.
That is why the invention of Core-Energy was the first step towards forming a resistance.*
***
< ⚠ Warning ⚠ >
< Time Limit Reached. >
< Phasing Blade Skill Inactive. >
< Boosts: 4 >
A message suddenly appeared before Takashi. He was so caught up in the Centrial's taunts that he forgot all about the Time Limit.
"Damn already?!" He exclaimed.
*Besides being limited by the number of boosts a user had, certain skills had a time limit that determined how long they could last for. Skills that were given time limits by the Academy were deemed; either too powerful or having unknown potential. Thus their use had to be limited. This was an absolute rule, which even the most powerful among the humans had to abide by.*
"I have four boosts left. That means I can use Phasing blade and Kinetic Vision one more time." Takashi thought. "But what about the remaining boost?"
As Takashi thought about that, the blades on his daggers flickered, as if incapable of maintaining a physical form.
"I see how your skill works now. No wonder you caught me off guard. It seems you can make the blade of your weapon invisible." The Centrial said nonchalantly. "However, now that I know how it works, I won't let you touch me again, not even once!"
Takashi let out a slight grin as he noticed she had not yet figured out how his Phasing Blade skill worked entirely.
'No. There has to be more to it than that.' Hiromi thought. 'I clearly remember she guarded against his attack earlier, but still got hurt. What are you hiding, Takashi?'
Aria took out her inventory. It was a disk shaped levitating panel with dozens of weapons on it. Swords, projectile weapons, Spear-Heads… She had it all. Her choice of weapon, however, was a peculiar one, a Lasso. It seemed metallic, yet fluid-like. She wrapped one end of it around her arm, and the other was dangling on the railings of the roof.
"Shall we begin?" She asked. Her scarlet-red eyes cold as ice.
Aria waited for Takashi to make his move. He, however, wasn't sure of what Aria's abilities were; as she had only used weapons and her physical strength up to that point. So he took a gamble to see how she would react. Hoping he could get a glimpse of her abilities.
"Level 1 Sword Katana!"
< Boosts: - 1>
< Boosts: 4 —> 3 >
He took out the best level 1 sword he had from his inventory. Knowing fighting her from an extensive range would be at his disadvantage; as her lasso could easily reach him. Takashi would try to get as close as possible and then attack.
He took a deep breath, and then calmed his breathing, and dashed forward. Aria quickly sent her Lasso flying at him, but his Kinetic Vision* was still active, so he could easily evade the attack and got within range of her.
*Kinetic Vision; a skill that improved Takashi's eye and body coordination. He could easily synchronize his movements to react to react to even the slightest of changes to his environment.
This skill had a Time Limit of ten minutes. And although that seemed fairly reasonable, the amount of strain and burden his eyes were under was unimaginable. If used successively for prolonged periods, he risked going blind.*
"Power Boost Level 1!" Takashi yelled, as he got within range of her.
< Boosts: - 1 >
< Boosts: 3 —> 2 >
The Power-Boost, combined with his brute strength, enabled him to generate power that was quite high tier. Because Aria's left side was wide open and completely unguarded; Takashi aimed for the right spot. As the Katana met her body, it snapped in half almost instantly. And the distinct sound of metal meeting metal echoed yet again—his attack failed.
"What the hell?!" Takashi exclaimed.
Soon after, Aira's Lasso came in from behind and wrapped around Takashi's neck. Propelling him forward and hitting one of the large generators on the roof with a loud bang. The impact had so much force behind it; sending sparks flying as his body met the old generator, almost unhinging it.
"Ughgh!" Takashi groaned in agony as he spat out blood. The impact broke a few of his bones instantly, and he was bleeding profusely.
"Takashi!!" Hiromi exclaimed.
"Stay… back you… WEAKLING!!!" Takashi said with great difficulty as he struggled to breathe; with the Lasso tightly around his neck. "I… Don't need your… PITY!!"
Aria then pulled Takashi towards herself again and kept tossing him back and forth like a rag doll. He broke his left arm and right leg amid the relentless pummeling and was almost unconscious as he lay at her feet.
"You're still conscious after that?" She asked. "I suppose I'll have to soil my hands with your blood!"
Raising her arm and clenching her fist; a metallic-like silver coating covered Aria's skin. It seemed she had the ability to harden any part of her body at will.
"Is… that why my attack… from earlier failed?!" Takashi asked with pain still apparent on his face as he winced.
"One must never reveal their trump card unless assured of victory code #00345." She replied.
"Funny… I was about to say… the same to you." Takashi said with a grin on his face. "Offensive-Boost Level 2 Phasing-Blade!!"
< Boosts: - 2 >
< Boosts: 2 —> 0 >