[3rd person Pov]
"Silence! We mustn't allow a setback like this to cripple us!"
The gods sitting around the table all quieted down when Prometheus finally took control of the situation. This was just one of the many meetings that had been held since Theia went into slumber, and similarly to the previous ones, a lot of the gods had a hard time calming down.
And who could blame them when their biggest source of divinity was now inactive, unable to distribute the divinity given to her?
Because that was one of the roles given to the ruling god, to make sure that all of the other gods got enough divinity to not whither away. Not only that, but it was once again time to fend off the demon invasion, and as this time was much different than before, no one could predict how the mortals would fare without divine intervention.
Continuing on, the old fire god knew that the worst thing they could do was to lose their calm, as it would undoubtedly lead to their doom. "Though the ruling god Theia is in slumber, that doesn't mean we are helpless. Firstly, for the ones who have found a mortal to declare their apostle, I believe it necessary to give them their trial as soon as possible."
Raisin his head, making the arm of his lab coat slide down a bit, Asclepius wasn't as keen on his suggestion, "Weren't you the one who said we shouldn't act recklessly? If we do this, and it turns out the mortal is corrupted, wouldn't that set us back even more?"
"Caution is a pleasure only to be enjoyed by those with leisure, and that, we do not have anymore. Now, secondly..."
"I object. Though I agree that you shouldn't drag your feet, there's no point in acting like a fool."
A smooth voice flowed through the room, and before long, another god had invited himself to the meeting, an individual that none of the other gods wanted to show up. Standing proudly in his gray suit, his white mask hiding the face that not a single one of the gods present had seen.
"You...!"
"Jack, calm down!"
Just as the ice god was about to stand up and release his frustrations on the masked god, Prometheus quickly stopped him, as he was the oldest of the new generation. Which meant that he knew the crux of the situation now that Loki had appeared.
"Loki! Is this your doing?!"
Though he tried to remain calm, the fire god himself couldn't quite keep it together, as it all looked too perfect to me a mere coincidence. "Hohoho! Are you accusing me of putting the ruling god to slumber? You should watch your tongue, you fake god of fire, as if you say too much, there is no doubt that the strands might intervene."
"What is your purpose in coming here...?"
A surge of black matter emerged from the body of the trickster god, as he casually sat down in the chair he conjured, one leg over the other.
"That's simple. As the last of the ancients, I am here to fix this mess. And you all, my dear junior gods, are going to listen to my decrees. For that is the responsibility as well as the privilege given to me by the strands of fate."
****
[Zero's Pov]
The matches had continued without a hitch, and two of the next set of matches had already been concluded.
Caroline had fought hard against Akane's beasts, but in the end, it was a matter of an extremely poor matchup. Even if she was quite agile, she could never find an opening to end the match by firing an arrow at Akane.
Then, Robert once again showed the difference in power against Gomerick, who was still using spells recklessly as if not quite understanding the dynamics of fighting. His theoretical sense was not far from superb, in relation to the spells he had in his toolbox, but when it came to fighting, he wasn't nearly as proficient.
In the end, Robert had used a hit-and-run tactic long enough for the mage to run out of mana, which inevitably translated into his defeat.
Now, however, was a match that I was insanely excited for, while at the same time thinking it was such a shame that they wouldn't get to see each other later in the tournament.
"Stella Klein versus Thomas Everstone!"
The tanker versus the beastlike Thomas, a fight between defense and offense. If it weren't for the fact that I wanted both of them to meet in the finals, my heart would probably beat a little bit faster when thinking about it. Now, that wasn't the case.
Then, as we watched the contenders shake hands, Dr. Smith opened his mouth, "Hey, Zero. Who do you think will win?"
For me, it was a hard question to answer. In this fight, Stella had to make sure to block every and all attacks that Thomas launched. If she didn't, there was no way the man wouldn't make full use of an opening with his insane mobility.
That being said, if my gut feeling about what Manual Stella was using was right, there was no way to tell what would happen. The applications of being able to manipulate space were just too many to know what she would come up with.
To be honest, it was kind of a shame that she wasn't a mage, as it felt obvious that such a skill would cost a lot of mana, and even if she had a large mana pool, a lot of it would be used on the enhancement of her body.
With them both walking back to their starting points and taking out their weapons, I knew there was no longer any point in thinking about the answer.
"To be honest, I have no idea."
"5,4,3,2,1, fight!"
****
[Stella's Pov]
"5,4,3,2,1, fight!"
Raising my shield with a smile, I prepared myself to stand up against the barrage of fists that was certain to come. And just like I thought, the big man didn't hesitate in sprinting forward, eager to make contact with me.
It didn't take long until we were in both our optimal ranges, and the big man raised his fist.
*Bam!*
"Guh!"
It was a heavy attack, but it was still nowhere close to the dragon lady that I had sparred against last weekend.
So, bending my knees and bouncing back, I pushed Thomas back and quickly slashed with my word.
Seeing my sword aimed at his neck, he used the same move as he did against Mr. Brown.
Bending his back, he not only dodged my sword but managed to counterattack with a kick as he launched himself using his hands on the ground as levers.
Just before his foot was about to hit my chin, I activated my skill.
'[Forced Movement!]'
*Bam!*
Though I had to take a step back because of the force of his kick, my shield had successfully protected me from getting knocked out.
Fixing his posture, Thomas gently smiled at me, as we both knew that this was where the fight would start for real, with us having finished our 'introductions'.
*Bam! Bam! Bam!*
This time, Thomas wasn't getting a feel for how sturdy I was, instead launching a number of punches and kicks to try and pressure me, while at the same time not wanting to make himself open for another counterattack.
And sadly, his strategy was working wonders. While I only had to use my skill for about a fourth of his attacks, it was still enough to drain my mana quickly. Adding to that, every time I tried to slash him with my sword, he just twisted his body inhumanly to dodge.
*BOM!*
"Argh!"
A huge punch landed on my shield once again, making my arm go numb from the impact. 'Shit... I can't win like this.'
My first instinct was to use the other skill I had, but after the fight with Robert, I knew it would be careless.
*BAM!*
Another huge hit came in, as Thomas was now fully intent on draining whatever mana I had left, which would undoubtedly lead to my defeat. 'Think, Stella, think!'
Yet, there was nothing that I could come up with. In the end, it looked like I was staring down the end of a dark alley, where I had no other way to go. 'Fuck! If it wasn't for this cursed Manual! If only I had a normal shield-based Manual as my Main Manual I might be able to do more!'
Unfortunately, life wasn't so kind to randomly create a miracle, as Thomas' gauntlet started shining in bright orange.
"[Penetrating Fist]!"
*BOOM!*
"Kaah!"
Even though I blocked the attack with my shield, I was still sent flying through the air, my mana-drained body unable to withstand the power behind his punch. The next thing I knew, I saw a huge metal gauntlet coming, and then everything turned black for a second.
A moment later, I was standing beside my homeroom teacher and Mr. Brown, and with a heavy heart, I had to accept the host's words that rang out in the arena.
"The winner is Thomas Everstone!"