The battles raged on and the crowd cheered loudly. I enjoyed watching these battles as it got me pumped for my battle against Kanda. I looked at the brackets to see who was next and noticed it was Mae.
"Alright! Our next battle will be one for the books! We have the woman who is always borderline emotionless! The Ex-MHF member, Mae Ara!" Himeko announced.
Mae walked out onto the stadium with her new battlesuit called Snow White. She wore a white bodysuit with golden gauntlets and her outfit emitted an icy aura around her body. She carried a broadsword in her hand named Glacial Point. It was a frost encased broadsword of ice crafted from a rare block of ice only found in the Second Sakura District created from a shrine beast named Rizum and his parter Miko Haile. Himeko helped Mae build the battlesuit and the Weapon Key.
"Snow White is a special battlesuit specializing in Ice Damage, High Attack, Burst Attack, and offers Kinetic Energy Manipulation due to the power of Sigils made from Otherworldly Creatures!" Himeko said.
"And her opponent is a woman hailing from the Nagakami Kingdom, Lucia Shinigami!" Yonaka said.
Lucia had fair skin, black hair with white strands, a deep orange eye on her left eye and a light red eye on her right eye. She wore a white coat, a black skirt with black leggings and shoes, and wore a red scarf. She carried a tachi in her hand and got into her stance.
"Her battlesuit is called the Crimson Lotus, offering High Attack, High Speed, Fire Damage, and a passive ability that boosts her attack with each successful attack! Her Weapon Key is named Abyss Lotus which offers her Fire and Dark Elemental Damage. She's a part of a well known faction of the MPT known as the Lotus Council!" Yonaka said.
"Lotus Council?" I asked.
"It's a team with five members. Lucia Shinigami, Kanda Shihi, Leo Anderson, Viera Tokoma, and an Android created from an unknown organization named Alisa." Melody answered.
"Let's get started!" The AI Voice said.
Lucia wasted no time and immediately propelled herself toward Mae. Mae watched her then dodged her first slash then countered with a strike to her stomach using the handle of her sword then hit her with a shoulder strike, knocking her away. Mae followed up with a slash in which Lucia blocked then Lucia looped her sword around Mae's and slashed at her. Mae ducked under the slash and hit her with a spinning sweep kick into a breakdancing kick then rolled backwards.
Lucia grunted as she fell on the ground and slowly stood up. Mae stood up as well then the two dashed toward each other and clashed repetitively then Lucia countered Mae with a roundhouse kick then struck her with a slash on her stomach. Her sword shined, growing stronger. Mae parried her next slash then the two slashed at the same time, stopping at each other's necks.
"Whoa, they are evenly matched.." Rimuri said as she watched.
"Yeah. It's honestly impressive." Karasu nodded.
Lucia jumped backwards then smirked. "You're pretty good! For an Ex-Member of the MHF, your skills are not half bad...but as the Leader of the Lotus Council, you haven't seen anything just yet. It's time to show you the power of Abyss Lotus."
Mae stared at Lucia and kept her emotionless expression then got into her stance. "Rebuttal. You have yet to see the power of my battlesuit yet. I've only shown you my physical capabilities. Now it's time to show you what Snow White can actually do.."
Mae's icy aura surged powerfully around her body then her Sigil shined brightly. She slashed downward and released three kinetic cutting waves at Lucia. Lucia was a bit surprised then dodged the first two and parried the third and dark aura surrounded her blade then she dashed toward Mae.
Mae used her Kinetic Energy to propel herself toward Lucia and delivered a monstrous kick to her stomach. Lucia's eyes widened then she coughed blood and was blown away into a wall. Mae dashed toward Lucia and slashed in a cross motion, releasing two icy cutting waves at Lucia.
Lucia opened her eyes and got up then dodged them both and propelled herself toward Mae. She bellowed and slashed at Mae, overpowering her then she slashed upwards, knocking Mae upwards. She watched Mae fall down then grabbed her leg and spun her around them slammed Mae on the ground. Mae grunted loudly as she hit the ground. Lucia was about to stomp on Mae, but Mae perfectly dodged it, creating a small field of Kinetic Energy which slowed Lucia down.
Everyone watched the battle and the crowd was cheering and roaring. Orimi and Fujin cheered loudly for Mae. Himeko watched and smirked. Bachiko watched from a distance and her eyes shined.
Lucia and Mae clashed rapidly then Mae shifted her body weight and focused her kinetic energy into the lower half of her body then vanished. Lucia was surprised then groaned when Mae struck her from behind then Mae sliced through Lucia and a barrage of delayed ice slashes struck her. Lucia grunted as she noticed frost forming on her arms and legs.
"This is the power of Snow White! The ability to inflict Hyperthermia with her use of Kinetic Energy to boost her speed in levels beyond Peak Human!" Himeko announced.
Lucia grunted lightly then her fiery aura surged around her body, melting the frost and she went into her awakening then dashed toward Mae at blazing speeds. Mae looked at Lucia then grunted as she blocked her first slash then lost her balance. Lucia struck Mae on her stomach with her sword and bellowed.
"Crimson Hurricane!" Lucia bellowed and slashed in a circle rapidly, striking Mae with rapid succession and boosting her strength more and more. She formed a fiery omnidirectional wave that hit Mae.
Mae groaned as she was blown away. She rolled backwards and recovered on one knee. She tried to stand up, but fell back on one knee. She panted and grunted as she was burned.
"Mae can't seem to get up after that powerful Crimson Boosted Crimson Hurricane! Is this the end for Mae?" Yonaka said as she watched.
"Lucia! Lucia! Lucia!" The crowd cheered and chanted.
"This could be it for your girlfriend." Melody said.
"No. It isn't." I said as I watched Mae. I smiled and stood up. "Mae! Get up! You've fought against Rimuri and went toe to toe with her! Are you really going to let Lucia give you a hard time?!"
Mae heard my voice and closed her eyes. 'Every successful attack boosts her attack power by 1% and that Crimson Hurricane boosted her attack by at least 40%. I can't do much..'
"Mae!" Rimuri yelled. "Don't you ever give up now! The only one who can defeat you is me! I won't accept that you were defeated by anyone else! I want to fight you in the Promotion Matches, so get up and fight!"
Mae heard Rimuri's voice and smiled a bit. "Yoshida...Rimuri. I don't believe in the power of friendship or anything like that, but I do want to fight you as well.."
Mae stood up slowly and grunted as the burning she felt caused her to stumble. She was really low on stamina and she knew it.
"I only have enough stamina...for one last attack." Mae said then stomped her foot down and bellowed. Her icy aura grew even stronger and she focused all of her Kinetic Energy throughout her entire body. Her eyes shined and her sword shined as well.
"What's this?! Mae has awakened 100% of her Battlesuit's power for one strike! Her aura levels- GAH!!" Himeko groaned as her scanner beeped and had a short fuse, causing it to blow up.
"All this concentration, she's showing us why she was known as the White Devil of the MHF!" Yonaka said excitedly.
'She's going all out for this attack. I will too..' Lucia said then her aura surged powerfully around her body and red lightning crackled around her body. 'One dodge...All I have to do is dodge once! And I win!'
"Go! Mae!" Rimuri bellowed.
'I won't let them down! I won't let Yoshida down! I won't let Rimuri down!' Mae thought to herself.
~Flashback~
Rimuri pointed her spear at Mae then smiled. She lowered her spear and held her hand out toward Mae. "I win."
Mae looked up at Rimuri then smiled a bit and took her hand then stood up. "Yeah, next time you won't. Just wait for Snow White to be finished. That's when our true battle will start."
"Yeah? Well I'll be waiting to see you in the Promotion Matches! Me and you! You better not lose to anyone else! As your best friend, I hereby call you my official Rival for Yoshida's true love and to see who's the strongest!" Rimuri smiled.
Mae let out a tiny laugh and nodded. "Yeah. Best friend and Rival."
~End of Flashback~
"I won't lose! I made a promise! Snow White! If you are sentient as Himeko says these Battlesuits are, listen to my call! Awaken! These Rank F students are no joke! I need to be in the top! So please! Help me now!" Mae bellowed and propelled herself toward Lucia then roared.
'One dodge! Just one!' Lucia thought to herself then propelled herself toward Mae and roared.
Snow White began to shine a bit and the Sigil on the back of Mae's battlesuit shined as well. Mae felt the power coursing through her veins and it was so intense, her body began to freeze. Blood began to form in her eyes and pour from her nose. The kinetic energy around Mae was boosted to beyond normal levels.
Mae and Lucia bellowed and Lucia noticed Mae was moving too fast for her to dodge.
'Dammit! Alright then! I'll just use my strongest move!' Lucia through together.
"Crimson Overdrive!" Lucia bellowed and all the boosts she accumulated went into her sword.
"You're finished!" Mae bellowed.
They clashed then a massive explosion happened and a protective barrier formed around the battlefield to prevent the spectators from getting hit. Everyone watched in shock and the crowd was silent. Himeko stood up and her eyes widened.
The smoke cleared and Lucia was seen falling first. Mae gave a slight smile then fell to her knees and fell on the ground.
"Battle over! Mae wins by technicality!" The AI Voice said.
The crowd was in awe. Both women were on the ground, passed out due to exhaustion. I felt Mae's energy and noticed her life force was at an all time low. I vaulted over the rails and hurried over to Mae and Lucia to check up on them.
"We need a Medic for both ladies!" I called out.
The crowd was worried now and two Medic Units hurried onto the battlefield to retrieve Mae and Lucia.
-------
Mae rested in the infirmary and hooked up to a machine that would replenish her life force. I watched over her with Rimuri, Fujin, and Orimi. She soon grunted and opened her eyes then looked at us.
"You're awake!" Rimuri said and grabbed her hand. "You won!"
Mae looked at Rimuri and smiled then closed her eyes. "I did huh...I can't even feel my nerves. My body feels so numb."
I looked at Mae and gently rubbed her hair. "Take a good rest..~ You deserve it..~"
Mae looked at me and smiled a bit. She nodded then gently pulled me down and kissed my lips. I kissed back gently then pulled away. She closed her eyes and rested.
Kenda looked at Lucia and crossed his arms. "It was a close match...but in the end luck played a part in this. Those new guys...they seem really lucky huh."
Lucia closed her eyes. "It was a miscalculation on my end. It wasn't luck. It was me being careless and not finishing the fight before it got this bad."
"Call it whatever you'd like. I refuse to believe you lost against someone like that white haired prick." Kenda said.
I heard him and looked over to Kenda. I noticed he had a lean, muscular build with a square chiseled jawline. He had messy brunette hair and amber colored eyes. He wore a black martial arts gi with a red martial arts belt tied around his waist.
"She's not a prick. She's my girlfriend and she won fair and square!" I said toward Kenda.
Kenda looked over at me. He glared and stared at me. "Yoshida Asato. The Human Monster. We are next up in this tournament and in our battle, I will embarrass you and avenge Lucia."
"Oh really? I would love to see that happen." I said.
Fujin held my shoulder and I looked at him. He shook his head. "Save it for the battle."
I nodded and looked at Kenda. "I refuse to lose to you. When our battle starts, I will show you what Yan Mei taught me."
Kenda scoffed. He walked off. "We'll see.."
I watched him and looked over at Lucia who was sitting up.
She stared at me then closed her eyes. "Sorry about him...The Lotus Council has been undefeated for some time so he doesn't take losses too well."
"It's fine. You rest well." I said then turned away.
"Yoshida." Lucia called out to me.
I looked at her. "Yeah?"
"Thanks for calling the medics...I appreciate it a lot." Lucia said.
I smiled at her then shook my head. "It's no issue. Now rest."
She nodded and laid back down. The others watched me walk out the infirmary. Kenda was on my mind because of what he said about Mae. I wasn't going to let it slide. I was ready to destroy him.
To Be Continued....