2020-2030
A decade full of stories.
A decade full of hardships.
To save the world?
To save what's left?
To hope for a better tomorrow?
To determine the future?
To reach a certain dream?
Here they are...
The strongest of the strongest facing against each other in their prime.
Isval Il Opache, The Wild Card.
Thalamik, The Kaiser of Darkness.
[Artifact War - Climax will begin now!]
Thalamik walked alongside Momoka into the colosseum. Nemain the announcer appeared, opening the door for them. As light shone, it showed two people already inside it. Isval and his apprentice Linon were already there waiting for their opponent.
"Let's go Momoka," Thalamik said with his eyes glowing in fiery blue.
Standing against each other, Linon and Momoka walked forward, locking eyes on one another. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Ms. Fox Lady."
"Hello, Ms. Elf Lady, how have you been faring?"
They walked circling each other in this colosseum where no audience is.
Only Isval, Linon, Thalamik, and Momoka were there.
Thalamik locked eyes with Isval, who was smirking. They both telepathically said, let's not interfere and let them solve this by themselves to see who is stronger.
Then a notification window opened.
[Let the climax stage begin! Fight to survive. Fight till the end!]
[Live or die by the sword. What power do you hold in your hands...?]
[Final Round]
Linon's smirk was the same one Momoka remembered from their fight not long ago—except this time, it didn't reach her eyes. There was something tighter behind it. Wearier. The look of someone who had spent every night since their last match replaying the same loss.
"No crowd to perform for this time," Linon said, drawing her blade. Its magical aura pulsed faintly, hungrier than Momoka remembered it. "Good. I don't need an audience to worry about how brutal I can be."
"Neither do I," Momoka answered, a magical kunai already between her fingers.
Linon moved first, the same opening she used before. Abrupt slashes launched towards where Momoka was standing. But as she reached there, Momoka was nothing more than an afterimage. She had already escaped Linon's advances.
"It would seem you never change how you open your fight," Momoka said. "That's why today is my victory."
Linon's jaw tightened. "Isn't that a premature victory speech?" She came again—faster this time. Relentless slashes of her sword that aimed to put Momoka into her rhythm. Compared to her first fight, Momoka easily parried the attack with her magical kunai.
Sparks of magical energy dissipated as they clashed weapons. Linon was smiling maniacally while Momoka smirked, keeping a cool head.
"You really did improve!" Linon said.
"Or you'd never improve," Momoka said before pushing Linon away, disengaging the clash, and throwing a kunai.
"Zephyr Heaven!" She cast her magic imbued within the kunai. Before even reaching Linon, the kunai exploded into gales of wind, pushing her away from Momoka.
The disengaging strike that Momoka did aimed only at one thing. It's to disrupt Linon's battle rhythm. But, it's not that easy to disrupt her rhythm since Linon's fighting style is aggressive from start to finish.
Linon charged once more with an evil smile as Momoka readied herself to parry the attack.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Her kunai deflected Linon's blade carefully while finding options to evade.
"Doing the same thing over and over again won't get you anywhere," Momoka said while still deflecting Linon's strike.
"Really now?" Linon suddenly emitted dense magical energy as she swept her sword at Momoka.
CLANG!!!!
Momoka parried the blade but the force was too strong that her body was taken aback.
Just then Linon disappeared and managed to do the one thing Momoka previously couldn't counter.
A shock was evident on Momoka's face. Linon had managed to once again capture her tail. To most fox demi-humans, the tail is the body part where they are most sensitive and weak. Hence, this wouldn't end well.
"I got you now!" Linon said before attempting to lift Momoka up and doing the exact same attack as she did on their first fight.
"MOMOKA!" Thalamik said.
Momoka instinctively smiled.
Linon instantly froze, finally realizing what Momoka was doing the entire time. She purposefully breadcrumbed her into thinking that the one she was fighting was the same Momoka who had been defeated by her. Yet she forgot the rules of the game entirely.
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4. The Student's capabilities are increased by 100% based on the stripped power of their Master (this includes spells the Master can use, mana reserves, and other techniques).
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"KAI!!!" Momoka chanted as her body became stronger and denser. Linon, who was still holding onto her tail, was enveloped by it. Her torso was strangled by Momoka's fox tail.
"SHIT!"
"ORAORAORAOAOROAROAOROAORAOROAOROAORA!!!" Momoka threw a relentless barrage of punches at the defenseless Linon. Not finishing there, Momoka launched Linon to the sky with her tail before jumping to the sky. Momoka flew even higher before diving back down, putting pressure on her right foot.
"Heaven Destroyer!" Momoka landed her foot straight into Linon's ribs as they both fell to the arena.
BOOM!
Linon's entire body hit the colosseum floor, creating a crater. Her blood splattered everywhere. As she tried to move her body, she discovered Momoka was no longer there. On top of that, a kunai was planted in her left palm.
"Lightning Heaven"
Sparks of electricity erupted around her.
After the explosion, what was left was Linon's scorched body. She is still conscious but she was crippled. Momoka made sure after that attack Linon couldn't move anymore.
"Well... Done...." she abruptly said. Her breathing came in short, wet gasps.
Momoka stood over her, kunai raised, charged, humming with the last of her lightning kunai.
Silence swallowed the colosseum.
Linon's eyes found hers—not defiant anymore, not mocking. Just tired. "...Go on," she rasped, blood bubbling at the corner of her mouth. Momoka's hand didn't move.
This isn't a tournament. This is a death game.
If I don't do it now, she will turn to dust just like Istar and Nanaya.
Her arm trembled, kunai still lit, still close enough to finish it in half a second.
She looked at Linon's face. Not the smirk from months ago. Not the sneer from the first fight. Just a girl on the ground, breathing wrong, waiting.
I trained for this.
I wanted to be strong enough to defeat her.
But, I never wanted to end her life.
Isval hadn't moved from where he stood. Thalamik hadn't either, though his jaw was tight, his flame guttering low, watching her the way someone watches a friend standing at the edge of something they can't walk back from.
Momoka's grip tightened on the kunai.
It didn't come down.
Momoka stood there, arm shaking, Linon's ragged breathing the only sound in the colosseum, and for the first time since the round began, she didn't know what she was going to do.
"How stupid of you to spare me... Momoka..." Linon said, reaching her arm to her. To her surprise, Momoka grabbed it as she teared up. "I am sorry... It's just that I need to win..."
"It's okay..."
***
After Momoka and Linon's exchange, the sound of laughter erupted.
Maniacal laughter echoed through the empty colosseum.
"HAHAHAHHAA!!!!!! HOW DRAMATIC! Well, guess it's my turn." Isval Il Opache said before stepping forward slowly.
Momoka instantly remembered one of the rules of the game.
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7. The Duel ends when the Student is defeated or killed, or when their Master has no remaining Overlimit uses.
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To which she understood that Isval had yet to use 'Overlimit,' which would mean that in the next 60 seconds, Isval is able to harm Momoka.
"60 seconds won't do you any good, Isval Il Opache."
"Oh? Who said it was 60 seconds." Isval took out a ticket-like item.
"Remember rule 5?"
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5. Each Master who possesses Artifact Fragments may choose to use them for their own advantage. Artifact Fragments can be spent by the Master to buy items from the Colosseum Shop, including instant healing items and other wares.
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"This is a participation ticket. With this I will act as the substitute for Linon to fight against you. Of course, it costs a lot—450 fragments, to be exact." The ticket dissipated.
[Isval has used 'Participation Ticket' substituting his mentee Linon]
[The battle will continue with Isval vs Momoka]
Momoka's eyes twitched looking at Isval, who was sauntering closer and closer to her. She began to rise up and prepare for battle. Isval grew closer and closer until finally, he passed through her.
"What?" Momoka asked, looking at Isval who was turning his back on her. Beyond Isval, Momoka was astonished to see another person holding up a 'Participation Ticket'. "Master..."
"Yo. Fiend Kaiser Thalamik." Isval stopped in front of Thalamik's face.
"With what I did," Isval said, "I've breached the duel. Again, she should've understood by now what it means to walk the path of a Hero—it is life or death. My mentee is now crippled. How do you suppose we are gonna take care of this?"
"Wildcard Isval. I accept your challenge," Thalamik said, as the Participation Ticket he had bought secretly dissipated.
[Thalamik has used 'Participation Ticket' substituting his mentee Momoka]
[The battle will continue with Isval vs Thalamik]
"WOWWW IN A HUGE TWIST! Momoka and Linon, amidst their death battle, are substituted with their own Masters! How will all this unfold ladies and gentlemen." Nemain the announcer said.
Blue magical energy dissipated from both of them like raging dragons clashing onto each other. Thalamik closed his eyes, thinking back on what happened so far. "I will defeat you, Isval Il Opache."
"Do try your best, Kaiser of Darkness!"