The bell rang for the Mock Battles to start. As the Heroes Tournament and Graduation rolls closer, our Mock Battles have been getting more people of the academy to show up. Today's battle was probably the biggest crowd we've gotten to date.
I looked around and smiled. "Heh...Seems like we've got a full house today."
"Yeah and it's kinda making me nervous..~" Lily said and softly giggled.
April looked in the crowd and noticed Nagini sitting in the crowd with her laptop and other equipment. Beside her was Heifer, VI, and Mina. "She's actually watching us."
I looked over and noticed Nagini as well. "Hm... That's more of a reason to impress her and show her what we are made of."
Nina smirked and crossed her arms. "I agree. Plus the Zodiac Champions are watching us as well. We need to put on a good face if we want to secure our spots!"
I looked at my Rainbow Fluorite and watched it shine in my hands. "I want to go first this time. I have to see what this Zodiac Crystal is made of."
"Go for it!~ No one's gonna cheer you on like we will!~" April said and smiled at me.
"No objections here." Nina said.
I smiled and walked forward. As I walked forward I heard a few people cheering my name. I had accumulated a few fans around the academy in the recent days. I looked over at the Demon Hunters then used my senses to scope out the strongest member.
I pointed at the man with blue hair. "You! I wish to challenge you first."
The man looked at me then smiled. He stood up then walked toward me and summoned his lance. He stood on the battlefield and readied himself. "It's an honor to be chosen first by a Zodiac Knight. The name's Vail."
"Vail. You gave me no trouble, but to reach my goal I need to get past you. The Pride needs to win." I said.
Vail pointed his lance at me. "You have your story and we have ours. It's unfortunate that we had to clash, but only one of us can come out victorious."
I looked at Vail then got into my battle stance. 'I know Dr. Noxius said to go all out from the jump, but Vail isn't going all out just yet. I'm just gonna test the waters..'
"Begin!" Ms. Ray called out.
Vail dashed toward me and thrusted his lance at me. I dodged his swift attack then countered with a powerful body blow, knocking him back. He grunted as he slid back then found his footing. He looked up and noticed a barrage of fireballs flying toward him. He twirled his lance in a circle, deflecting my Burning Assault.
I noticed he was blocking my attacks then took a deeper breath to unleash my Blazing Assault. Larger and faster fireballs began to fly toward Vail and he braced himself for the new wave of flames heading toward him. He stabbed the blade of his lance into the ground and a wall of ice rose from the ground, blocking the Blazing Assault.
"Go." Leona said.
I nodded then dashed forward. Vail noticed the barrage ended then sensed powerful energies behind him. He looked back then groaned as I delivered a powerful Lion's Fist to his jaw. I roared and launched him through his wall of ice then he slid on his side on the ground.
"Go August!" A woman cheered from the crowd.
"Yeah! Show him what you're made of!" A guy cheered from the crowd.
I looked at Vail then noticed him standing up with a smile on his face. I got into my stance and sensed an increase in power within him. 'He's powering up...'
Vail bellowed then his aura surged powerfully behind him then icy winds began to blow around the stadium. I noticed a light blue crystal appear in front of him. He grabbed the crystal and began to unleash his power and ascend into a higher form.
I grunted as I guarded myself from the blizzard that was just summoned. 'Leona! Was that Crystal a Zodiac Crystal?!'
"No, it is just a normal Sapphire that he got from the Holy Sapphire Kingdom. That Sapphire seems to boost his power greatly! You're about to see why Nagini told you to not hold back against this group." Leona said.
Vail finished his transformation and opened his eyes as they shined a light blue. The spirit of an ice demon hovered behind him and had his arms crossed.
"This is my Ascended Form. Most will call it a Super Form. I call it the Sapphire Demon Form. I hope you're ready to see what I'm truly made of now!" Vail said.
I grunted as I tried to awaken my Zodiac Power, but Vail appeared in front of me then slashed with his lance. The slash landed and blew me away then Vail's demon began to launch spikes of ice at me. I dodged the icy spikes then ran around the stadium then looked up seeing white clouds blocking the sun.
'His Blizzard Effect is blocking the sun. I can't charge up nor gain any boosts. Tch...What do I do..?' I thought to myself.
"Roar!" April yelled out.
I heard April's voice and looked back at April. I noticed she was yelling for me to roar at the sky. I didn't know what she was planning but I had no other options. I was about to take a deep breath to roar, but Vail dashed toward me and kicked me away.
"Sorry, but I can't allow you to do that." Vail said then pointed his lance at me.
I grunted as I noticed I was being bound down to the ground by ice chains. I looked at my wrists and grunted softly. I tried to break out but couldn't.
"Burst Skill." Vail said then his white and blue aura surrounded his lance then he got into his stance to deliver the final blow. "Wicked Blue Slash!"
I growled and my nails began to slowly turn into claws. I panted and felt my canine teeth growing sharper. I kept trying to break out of the chains and roared loudly, causing a powerful shockwave to knock Vail away and cancel his Burst Skill.
Vail grunted and looked at me, noticing me slowly growing more stronger. He noticed my aura slowly calm down. 'What's going on with him..?'
I took a deep breath than let out a powerful roar at the sky and my roar cleared the skies. The sun beamed down on me and gave me enough strength to break out of Vail's chains. I roared and awakened my Zodiac Power.
The crowd cheered loudly and even Ms. Ray smiled as I awakened my power. April, Lily, and Nina cheered as well.
Vail smiled at me then chuckled. "Not bad..."
"Let's see you keep up now!" I said then dashed forward.
Vail dashed forward and his ice demon threw a swift jab, but I dodged it then knocked Vail upwards with an Upper Lion's Fist. Leona locked onto his weak spots and I began to rapidly strike his weak spots as he was in the air.
"Fly away!" I bellowed and delivered a powerful palm strike to his core.
A pulse of flames launched Vail away and he groaned as he rolled on the ground. He rebounded onto his feet then grunted softly as he fell onto one knee. He stood up and smirked. His aura surged powerfully around his body then he laughed.
I looked at Vail then smirked. "This is starting to get exciting! What's with this guy anyway?!"
"He is a Hero from another world. A world named Mistral. People from that planet are known for their Battle Spirit and their combat abilities. You have the obvious Elemental Disadvantage, but with your Fluorite..." Leona said and looked at me.
I summoned my Rainbow Fluorite then looked at it and began to harness its power. 'Sephora, Mama...I wish to use your power! So sync with me!'
The Rainbow Fluorite began to shine blue, white, purple, and lime green. I grunted as its power began to enter my body. My Z-System beeped and Leona summoned my system in her hand.
[Notice: Unlocked (3)New Abilities!]
[New: Hyper Intuition (Duration 30 minutes, can be upgraded), Flash Precognition (Limit: 10 Usages before Mental Overload, can be upgraded), Healing + Restoration/Self-Restoration (Duration 1hr, can be upgraded)]
"Heh, seems like we're stacked on OP Abilities~ It seems Ophiuchus isn't much of an Offensive Zodiac. It is more of a Support and Technical Zodiac... Because of the sheer power, these abilities have cooldowns." Leona said.
I looked at Vail then smirked. "Well... Let's test them out shall we?"
Vail dashed toward me and bellowed. I dashed toward Vail and lunged toward him, roaring. We clashed and knocked each other back then Vail rushed forward and thrusted his lance at me. I evaded his attack then rushed forward with a swift strike at his weak spot. Vail groaned and stumbled back.
I roared and ran forward and knocked Vail away with a powerful Lion's Fist. Vail rolled backwards then recovered. I looked at Vail then grunted as I noticed his demon held his hands out.
"Burst Skill: Sapphire Storm!" Vail bellowed and pointed his lance at me.
A storm of ice bolts began to ran down toward me. I took a deep breath then used my Blazing Assault to collide with his Sapphire Storm. A large cloud of white fog formed around the battlefield. I grunted as I looked around as I couldn't see Vail and the fog began blocking the sun once again.
Vail walked around and targeted me. He dashed toward me and readied himself to slash. I closed my eyes and had a future vision of Vail's attack then dodged his slash. Vail looked surged then groaned as I struck his stomach. His body turned into ice then shattered, revealing it was just a clone.
'How did he see that attack..? Does it have to do with that Crystal he used..?' Vail thought to himself.
I kept looking around and made sure I was in the clear then used my Flash Precognition again, getting a vision of more attacks coming from all directions. I began dodging the attacks of all of Vail's clones then roared loudly, causing a powerful wind to blow away the fog.
"Just who is this guy?" One of Vail's teammates asked as he watched.
"I don't know, but he's overpowering out leader like he's child's play." Another teammate said as she watched.
Vail dashed toward me and bellowed. He began to rapidly slash at me, but I dodged his attacks then went for a counter attack. He moved his arm down to negate my attack then struck my stomach with his knee. I grunted, stumbling back then blocked his slash with my arm then pushed him back.
"Gotcha." Vail said then snapped his finger and a burst of ice appeared on my wound.
I groaned and held my arm. I grunted and looked at the line of ice along my arm. "What the hell..?"
"Wicked Blue Slash. With that ice on your arm, it'll freeze your nerves rendering your entire arm useless." Vail said and smirked.
I looked at my arm and chuckled. "I knew you'd do that...and here's my counter."
Vail's eyes widened when he noticed my fire clone disappear. 'How did he copy my Clone Technique..?!'
"Zodiac Arts: Leo Flame Burst!" I bellowed from behind him then launched a large fireball at him at blazing speeds.
Vail turned around then blocked my attack and grunted loudly as he was being pushed back. I licked my lips and ran forward just as the large fireball split in two then jumped up.
"Zodiac Arts!" I bellowed and manipulated the fireball. "Infernal Disaster!"
Leona smirked and her tail swayed as she watched me. "So he did learn my technique. It is a weaker version of mine..."
I hurled the fireball toward Vail and he grunted as he tried to get up to dodge, but his body was too weak. I used my Hyper Intuition to manipulate the fireball and disperse it before it hit Vail.
"Are you able to continue?" I asked.
Vail grunted and chuckled softly. He reverted to his normal form. "Nah, I think this is it for me..."
Ms. Ray smiled and nodded. "Match over! August is the winner! One point goes to Team August!"
The crowd cheered and roared, celebrating my victory. I smiled and looked around. I grunted softly as the Rainbow Fluorite exited my body.
Nagini noticed as well and smiled at all the data she collected on me. 'This will top what I achieved back in Yuanxing. That power is simply amazing... August you don't understand what miracle you live in right now...!'
[Notice: Rainbow Fluorite needs to recharge.]
[Recharge Duration: 24:00:00]
"Damn I can only use this once a day huh. No wonder it's only for a case of emergencies." I said then watched the Crystal disappear. I walked over to Vail and helped him up.
Vail smiled and held onto me for support. "Thanks man.."
"Don't mention it..." I said and helped him over to his allies. I looked at his allies then smiled. "Don't worry this is it for me as well for now~"
The woman with dark colored hair scoffed at me and closed her eyes. "Don't get too cocky there, August...You might've beaten our leaders but all the Demon Hunters wield powerful Crystals as well."
I chuckled and walked off. "See ya~"
"God that guy's smug attitude kinda pisses me off...but it is kinda attractive." The woman said and crossed her arms.
Vail looked at her then looked over at me and smiled. "Why don't you impress him? I'm sure if you catch his attention, he'll be more curious about you as well."
"As if! I just said his smugness is a bit attractive. I never said I wanted to date the guy!" The woman barked, blushing at Vail's comment.
Vail chuckled softly then sighed. "They aren't to be underestimated truly. I noticed August didn't go all out until I did and when he goes all out...he goes all out. That second Zodiac Arts he pulled off would've killed me if he didn't stop it."
The woman watched April run out to the battlefield then stood up. "Hmph. The others aren't Zodiacs so one Grand Crystal Boosted Burst Skill will be more than enough to finish them off."
"Like I said, don't—"
"Yeah yeah, I know. Don't underestimate. It's kinda hard not to when you're known as the Ruby Goddess back at home~" The woman said smugly then walked toward the battlefield.
"At least she has the skills to show for her words..." Vail's teammate said.
"I guess..." Vail said and sighed.
The woman looked at April then smirked. "So you're the famous April everyone's talking about huh? Sorry I couldn't make it to your shows, but now I'm here to see it live..~"
"And you're the hot head known as Freya. Glad to know the rumors are all true, all bark and barely any bite~" April taunted and giggled.
Freya grunted and gripped the handle of her sword tightly in her hand. "Tch...You damn Social Butterflies piss me off so much. How about I teach you what an actual certified Celestial Hero looks like!"
April watched Freya get into her stance then put her hair into a ponytail then tapped the tip of her shoe against the ground. She got into her stance then smirked. "Nah, I already got to see it. Now let me show you how The Pride gets down..~"
Ms. Ray looked at both women then nodded. "Begin!"