CHAPTER 143 - ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF STRENGTH
The Championship's Ultimate Grail is just within our reach!
With the Cyber Seraphim's shield gone, the opponent Gladiator will have a slimmer choice to avoid Rayne's supersonic arrows! He can only dodge those attacks or trust his holy armor to reduce the damage. Everything now falls under the plan!
"Rayne, let's finish this battle! Aim for Irida!" I pumped my fist.
"Wilco!" Rayne in her Cyber Fairy Queen form ascended to the skies and readied her next set of Striker Wing Swords. With a swift flick of her hand aiming at the opponent Kaiser, the makeshift arrows followed, blasting through the wind barrier with supersonic might!
"Irida!" Arth cried out loud. He flew forward, getting in between his trusted Kaiser and the raging supersonic projectiles.
A powerful dust smoke was created as soon as the impact was made. Her Gladiator completely saved Irida, but now a portion of the Cyber Seraphim's armor was shredded. He is now missing elbow and shoulder armor, as well as knee plates and armored boots.
"One more! Keep on attacking Irida!" I cried out loud.
The Cyber Fairy Queen heard my command. She flicked her hand once again. And again. And again. Each time she made that gesture, supersonic swords went to them like bullets. The Cyber Seraphim can only parry one sword projectile, but the other two would hit him!
"Arth!" Irida held her chest and cried.
"It's okay, Irida," Arth said, his smile finally visible. Because of Rayne's relentless attacks, half of his holy helmet has already been torn to shreds. He now wears half as much armor as before.
"I… I believe in you." Irida cried. "But please believe in me too."
"I will." Arth nodded. And then he glared at the floating Fairy Queen who was about to unleash her next barrage of supersonic arrows.
"Striker Wing! Striker Wing Sword!" Rayne reloaded herself with her so-called bullets. But before she could unleash another volley of shots, she was taken aback by the sudden development.
Cybernetic circuits glowed on Irida's arm, and this energy flowed through her shoulder, neck, and finally her face. Her eyes unleashed an emerald glare, giving me goosebumps just by witnessing its light.
"W-What is that!?" Rayne muttered.
I have no idea about that either. But I remembered Ryan Radar's precaution. He said that the Numbered Kaisers have the power to strengthen their Gladiators just by overriding the system. It may be cheating, but not everyone knows about this ability by the Numbered Kaisers.
The energy in Irida Nanahara's body started to diminish, but on the other hand, Arth's energy was getting more radioactive. There is this blue glowing aura flowing around his body.
"Gladiator Hyper Mode Set!" Irida shouted out loud. "Get her, Arth!"
"Will do!"
With the Kaiser's proclamation, the Cyber Seraphim spread out its wings which are now at least three times as big as before. He boosted forward with twice the speed as his normal, but Rayne can still fire a few shots before she gets chased down!
"Haaah!" Rayne unleashed a fury of supersonic arrows, but before it could hit, the enlarged holy wings of the Seraphim shielded its main body!
As a result of those impacts, Arth's three wings were destroyed. But it was a necessary sacrifice just to get in close to his opponent!
"Hraaaaaah!" Arth shouted out loud as he smashed his sword at the Cyber Fairy Queen.
In the nick of time, Rayne managed to grab onto the two Striker Sword Wings and did an X-block with her blades! However, the force of the impact was so powerful that the two Gladiators were launched in opposite directions!
"Kyaah!" Rayne was the one who crashed into the ground. Another hole was created in the soil because of the crash, but my Gladiatrix seemed to hold on. Her fairy queen dress is now in tatters though, giving her the same amount of damage sustained as the enemy.
I saw that Arth was quickly able to recover in midair, and then he changed the trajectory of his flight in just a short amount of time! She is going for the kill against my Gladiatrix!
"Rayne, watch out!" I cried out loud.
"Kuh!" Rayne spread out her arms, and all six Striker Wing Swords pointed at the surging enemy.
"Raaaaaaaah!" The Cyber Seraphim swiped his sword, and it glowed with mysterious blue energy! His transformation also faded as he dived down!
Judging from Arth's condition, this will be his final attack. He has sacrificed the energy of his transformation for this one last clash!
As soon as the opponent was at the point blank range, Rayne unleashed all her arrows at once!
"Haaah!"
Another blast was made, but this time it had the biggest intensity out of all the Gladiator Battles in this Battle Fiesta. It was so powerful that it shook the stadium, making everyone mistake it for a medium-intensity earthquake.
It took ten seconds before the smoke faded. And there, we realized the outcome of the match between Arth and Rayne.
They are both lying on the ground. Their energy is depleted. Their battle dresses are in tatters. Their skins were full of bruises. And their eyes, devoid of consciousness.
I clenched my fists. I want to call out Rayne's name, but my gut feeling says that I shouldn't. She has fought bravely to the end. She's tired of fighting battles. As her fiance, as her lover, and as her Kaiser, I don't want to jeopardize her health just for the sake of my dream.
This battle has gone long enough.
However, my opponent was thinking of the opposite. Irida is weeping, her tears crawling out of her eyes. She knew how much her Gladiator had sacrificed and endured for her. That is why she wanted to win.
"Arth, get up!"
Slowly but surely, the scarred Cyber Paladin stood up. He dragged his feet and walked like a zombie, while the remains of his hanging armor made a clank with each of his steps.
The opponent Gladiator is going after me. I smiled, knowing that this was the end.
"I acknowledge your strength. I shall grant you… your freedom."
After saying those words, I was met with a punch on my right cheek.