"I can't find a way to defeat this guy…except… I don't have to defeat him. Only you guys have to…" Mizu muttered, determination hardening his gaze as he stepped forward, his palm outstretched towards Inio Furata.
Inio's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing now? Shooting water out of your palms?"
Mizu's lips curled into a smirk. "Territory."
"Huh?!? No way—" Furata started, but Mizu cut him off with a mocking laugh.
"Yeah, syke. HAHAHA… okay now!" Mizu yelled, his voice a commanding roar.
In perfect synchronization, Gino and Jun slammed their palms into the ground. The earth trembled violently as jagged spikes erupted from the ground, racing towards Furata with lethal intent.
Furata's eyes widened in surprise. "Once again, huh?" He extended his fingers, stretching out his hand to counter the assault. But this time, there was nothing.
"I poured my mana into your vicinity… And there's nothing you can do now with your third-rate Mana Pool," Mizu declared, his voice steady and confident.
"ARGH… But do you know what's the densest source of mana..?" Inio muttered, his voice shaking as blood dripped from his wounds, his face growing pale. He wiped the blood from his arms and legs, gathering it in his palm.
At that moment, the palmful of blood became the densest form of mana within the area.
"Blood Technique: Reverse Needle Sphere." The blood floated above his palm, and spikes shot out of it, forming a spiky Needle Sphere the size of a tennis ball.
He then expanded his arms, the ball of blood gathering seemingly more and more water from the atmosphere and its environment. Even the spikes stopped in its wake.
"Mizu, what now?" Gino's voice was edged with panic.
"Ah, we're fucked… He actually used his blood as mana…" Mizu replied, disbelief and dread mingling in his tone.
They watched in horror as Inio collapsed onto the ground, his uniform darkening from red to a deep, ominous purple. He must have lost too much blood. Yet the Reverse Needle Sphere showed no sign of slowing down, hovering menacingly, its spikes gleaming with deadly intent.
. . .
Jin swung his arm upwards, forming a slice of wind that nicely sliced all incoming wind slices from Yatagarasu aimed at Yonu. However, at that moment… Kazami was looking somewhere else.
'What is that…?'
We all watched in horror as a light red ball of spikes grew larger and larger in the distance.
"Inio is a goner… Yatagarasu, I'll leave here to you." "Kill them all," Yatagarasu commanded, and Kazami nodded before casually setting his fingers on the ground. In an instant, both Kazami and I were launched into the air, but... in different directions!
'What the fuck!' Panic surged through me as I blasted my flames in the opposite direction, struggling to hover while Kazami continued to hurtle through the air.
'Wait… at this rate... he's heading straight for our flag! If he gets there first, we're done for!'
I burst the flames as hard as I possibly could. 'AHHHH!' I screamed, inching closer to him. Just as Kazami started to land, he swung his arms backwards, causing rocks from the ground to displace and float toward him, forming a platform. He landed and immediately jumped again. Spikes formed below the platform and shot down towards Fuji and Yunosuke while Kana made a mad dash for the flag.
"FUJI, YUNOSUKE!! STOP KANA!" I yelled, desperation in my voice as flames burst from beneath her feet, boosting her speed even more.
Every muscle in my body screamed as I pushed my flames to their limit, the air around me crackling with heat.
'AHHHHH!!!!!' I screamed, pushing my flames harder and harder. I reached out, but she was closer to the flag than I was to her.
Please, someone! It can't be ending like this!
"HAH!" Yunosuke roared, swinging his arms up. In a flash, he froze the flag and the stand entirely in an icicle.
"Urgh!" Kana stepped back, but I couldn't stop in time, crashing into her and sending us both rolling onto the ground. 'AH!!' I yelled, trying to coat my fist with flames and punching Kana's face without hesitation. But... nothing. My punch landed like any regular blow.
I barely leaned back in time to dodge her fiery breath. Flipping back, more and more flame shots came flying my way.
"Yonu, hide!" Yunosuke's voice rang out, sharp and urgent. I watched, heart pounding, as he blocked and deflected the barrage of flames with precise, powerful movements.
In a frantic blur of movement, I dashed behind the towering oak, my heart pounding in sync with the chaos unfolding around me. I retrieved the orb that shimmered with an intense, bright orange flame and started to absorb it. Its radiant heat seared the air, a tangible presence of power pulsating within.
Yunosuke, locked in a fierce struggle, battled against Kana's relentless onslaught, her fiery kicks slamming against his wavering shield. Across the tumultuous battleground, Fuji and Kazami clashed with ferocity, but frankly, Fuji did not stand a chance. My eyes darted between them, a silent plea for intervention echoing in the depths of my mind.
With a guttural growl of determination, I raised the orb to eye level, its incandescent glow reflecting the turmoil etched on my face. 'Ack. I need to absorb this fast…' I muttered through gritted teeth, feeling the searing warmth of the orb's brilliance against my palm. The moment's urgency pressed upon me like a weight, each passing second crucial in deciding the outcome of this relentless clash.
'Fuck it,' I forced the orb into my mouth. Sharp burns clawed at my throat, tracing a scorching path down my oesophagus. I gasped, feeling the intense heat spread like wildfire, engulfing every inch of my insides. My stomach churned, a furnace of molten energy roiling within.
Blue hues began to seep from my body, confirming what I had heard about Mana Sight. My breaths grew heavier, now accompanied by wisps of smoke and a hint of fire. Steam rose from my skin. The sharp pain in my muscles intensified with every step, yet everything felt strangely natural.
I glanced back at Kana, but time seemed to slow to a crawl. Flames erupted beneath my feet as I started running. With each stride closer to her, I marvelled at the brightening blue veins in her body, converging towards her palm. She was about to unleash the fire.
'Ack!' I yelled as I forward-kicked her toward Kazami with all my might. Suddenly, time snapped back to normal, and Kana rocketed toward Kazami at unimaginable speed.
Kazami glanced sideways and leapt, twisting his body to dodge Kana entirely. As I watched, Fuji snapped his fingers, conjuring razor-sharp slices of wind that flew toward the airborne Kazami. With a flick of his finger, Kazami caused the dirt to rise and grasp his leg, pulling him back down.
He stomped his foot, thrusting his palms upward, summoning a massive block of earth before him. The wind slices cut halfway into the block but lost their momentum there.
In the meantime, Kana was dumbfounded."What the fuck just happened" She stood up in the lake of water, her breath quickening as she glanced around in disbelief."Idon'tt know either"" I murmured, looking down at my palms. My veins were coursing with that vibrant blue energy, and I could see it leaking out of my body, glowing eerily in the dim light.
Kana turned to Kazami, her voice sharp and urgent, "What happened, Kazami?"
Kazami remained silent, his face a mask of concentration.
Kana stomped her foot in the water, sending ripples across the surface. She struggled, pushing her arms together, her muscles straining as she focused her mana into a tight, pulsing ball. She dropped it into the miniature stream with a determined grunt, causing the water to boil violently.
The steam hissed around her as she climbed out of the lake, her eyes fixed on the turbulent water. She tried to ensure Yunosuke could not use the lake's water in large quantities to overwhelm her. The air crackled with tension, and the heat from the boiling water created an almost suffocating atmosphere. Effectively, that was one person removed from the equation, Yunosuke, but the battle was far from over.
Kazami temporarily looked over to me, his eyes widening in alarm."Oi… what is this? Mana is leaking out of your body… your mana pool is overloaded… your muscles are overheated…wa"
Time slowed down again as I intensified my concentration. I burst towards Kazami, but with a swift flick of his finger, a wall rose before me. I kicked it mid-dash, tripping and stumbling.
Desperation surged through me. I immediately burst flames from my palms to regain my balance and momentum. In that instant, spikes shot out from the ground below. I knew it! If I had fallen, he would've killed me. I dodged to the side, flames trailing from my hands, and surged at him again.
He reacted to every move I made with effortless precision. As expected of someone from one of the four great families. The air between us crackled with tension, each of my attacks countered by his swift, calculated defences. My heart pounded in my chest as I realized how formidable an opponent he was.
Another finger flick, and I pushed off, stepping to the right to dodge the spike on my left. I was close to him now. I leapt and kneed him with all my strength, sending him flying back into the forest in the direction of Ran.
Kana looked at me, her expression a mix of shock and awe.
"What did you do?"
"That is not something I can explain right now. Maybe after the match," I said, glancing at my palms again. The mana leaking out was decreasing, the blue colour fading. The orb's effects were running out. I had to finish this quickly.
In an instant, I was in front of Kana.
"Wha?" she started, but before she could react, I wound up and punched her in the gut, channelling flames through my fist. Her uniform turned from red to purple as she collapsed, unconscious.
"Yonu! What the hell was that?" Fuji yelled, grabbing my shoulders.
"It's the orb! I swallowed the Elemental Orb," I said quickly."But there's no time. It's expiring. I need to help, Captain" I broke free and took off.
. . .
"You have no one else to save you now," Jin said as rings emerged and began rotating around his wrists."Flexing your whole mana pool, huh?" Yatagarasu muttered, starting to doubt himself. He knew his only chance of winning would be exploiting Jin's territory, as he couldn't compete directly. At this point, Yata's mana pool was too low to stand a chance against Jin's.
Then I have to use my superior speed, Yata thought. It was the only way he could win against Jin despite a higher mana pool. With his speed, he could keep up, no matter how much mana he had.
. . .
"ARGH!" Ran groaned, collapsing to the ground. His uniform shifted from red to purple. Jun, Gino, and Mizu stood nearby, bewildered by Ryan's sudden collision with the expanding red sphere they had been fleeing. Before they could react, a newcomer approached at high speed, unfamiliar yet threatening."MANA TECHNIQUE: SPATIAL AWARENESS," Kazami Quon intoned, eyes closed, extending his mana cloud deeper into the forest. The mana map revealed a massive mana ball and the three figures running from it."I'll finish them in one swift move" he, decided, accelerating towards them.
With a flick of his finger, stone slabs erupted from the ground, ensnaring each of the three men in place."HA!"" Kazami exclaimed triumphantly."Too slow", he added quickly, invoking his Mana Zone technique. His palm pressed to the ground, sealing them in an inescapable trap."Gah," Gino cursed as the earth tightened its grip. Jun and Mizu struggled fruitlessly.""This Mana Zone is overwhelming," Jun admitted, resigned."We'll have to rely on the others," Mizu conceded as the encroaching red sphere threatened their demise.
Kazami surveyed them from above, radiating dominance."Earthen Sinkhole", he commanded, slamming his palm down. Instantly, the ground beneath Jin and Yataragasu disappeared.