Chapter 2: Gathering of Wizards
10:37 AM (Japan Time), Thursday June the 29th…
"… Grrr! Eat this! Mad Vulcan 3!"
"Uo~h!"
War Rock shot several machinegun shots to a run-of-the-mill Wizard and he fell into the ground, beaten.
"Hah! That was worth the boring time I had yesterday afternoon." War Rock grinned.
"You have to hand me 1 Wizard Point as we'd staked." Subaru told the elementary school student.
"O.K. I knew I stood no chance against someone so famous, anyway. But it was fun." The student shrugged.
Subaru nodded and walked away while inputting the bar code into the Hunter – VG so as to register his victory: an email soon appeared onscreen:
"… "Congratulations on gathering 12 Wizards Points. You are classified for the finals. Come to Roppondo Hills 7th District and ask for the "Pub" to one man who will be waiting close to the bus stand. Show him the Wizard Points so that you will be told the place. You have until PM 7:00 to get there. Yours sincerely, the organizing committee." … We did it! We got into the finals!" Subaru grinned.
"Heh, heh! So? Who will we meet there?" War Rock asked: he was floating behind Subaru's right shoulder and peeking into the Hunter – VG's holographic screen.
"Hum… Well… There's that unknown participant who got there by yesterday, Tsukasa – kun, Akatsuki - san, Gino – kun, Misora – chan and I insofar… We're still missing two persons to fill all of the gaps." Subaru counted with his fingers and frowned.
"The Dynamic Duo!"
"Who?"
"Brad Shad and Stigma Man!"
"Blood Shadow and Sigma – san? Nope. They're not taking part into the tournament, ya know."
"Then Mr. Universe!"
"Of course not…"
"Hikaru!"
"Hikaru? We'd learnt of that time ago if Kuroban had sent him to stage some ruckus."
"Hyde!"
"Hyde ain't involved: he's playing "phantom thief" in Austria." Subaru corrected with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Wha~t… And I wanted to slice that silly hat!"
"We'll get a chance someday."
"Then I'll go announce the nature of the S – T – G triangle!"
"Chut! Shaddup!" Subaru gasped and nervously looked around as if checking no – one had heard that.
"The newest item in the news…!"
"SHUT UP…!" Subaru hissed.
"Heh, heh, heh. Scary, scary~!" He joked.
"GRTJXTF! We'll settle this later, you!"
"You ruffian!" War Rock laughed.
"I give up!" Subaru groaned.
"Mwah, hah, hah. 100 points for the great me~!"
Is he never gonna learn to keep the trap shut?
12:44 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Yo! Guys. What's up?"
"Blood – kun! I did it! I also gathered 12 WPs!"
"Congrats, Tsukasa – kun!"
"Thanks, Blood – kun!"
"Mwah, hah, hah. Brad Shad's plottin' somethin'?"
"Blood Shadow. And I'm not "plotting" anything, Sigma."
Tsukasa had encountered the guy named Blood Shadow.
Blood Shadow looked rather similar to Rock Man but with several design alternations to him: his main color of choice was red.
He sported black shades and a flock of messy reddish hair came out from behind the helmet given how it only covered the face and the front of the head: his ear-pads had two purple "V" letters drawn inside of them.
His armor had the purple letters "BS" engraved on the chest area while his legs were colored black and had two red stripes running down the legs' sides in a parallel manner.
His right forearm was covered by a device colored red coupled with a piece of it which was colored transparent red: a small indentation near the wrist had the same "BS" initials engraved there: and, where the hand would be, a large double-barreled shotgun emerged instead.
"Stigma Man shows up!"
"You're named "Sigma"…"
Sigma was about two meters tall and was colored jet black: a red spheroid could be seen set on his chest area and it seemed to be missing the armor over its mass.
His face had two red eyes and one shone brighter than the other: two horns, one of which was almost erased, were set on both sides of his head and added a "demonic" look to him.
Green data flows moved around his body and he held a massive black and green sword in his right hand which he was currently aiming at the floor in lazy manner.
"Mwah, hah, hah. So? What's that talk of the "triangle" which War Rock tells me?"
"Nothing. Just a prank. He thinks you're a nitwit."
"Wha~t? The great me, a nitwit? I'm gonna have him swallow those words back! War Rock!" He grumbled.
He ran off and both of them sighed in relief: Tsukasa suddenly seemed to get dizzy and had to lean against the left wall while clutching his knees: Blood Shadow gasped but Tsukasa seemed to recover.
"D-don't worry… I've been walking all across TK City so I'm still tired and haven't had a moment to rest yet…"
"Don't push it. The medics say you've recovered, true, yet your case was somewhat out of the ordinary. If you feel like your legs ache then pull a halt to it and rest: I hope you have somewhere to sit at wherever the finals are at." Blood Shadow advised.
"T-thanks for the advice…! I'm gonna go… nap for a while… And maybe I should have a painkiller too…" He muttered.
He walked down the corridor and stopped in front of a door labeled "FUTABA TSUKASA" which he opened: he directed a smile at Blood Shadow and closed the door: Blood Shadow looked concerned given how he brought the left hand to his chin.
"Tsukasa – kun… I know it must feel good for you to be able to stand and properly walk again but… don't overdo it. I need to warn Dr. Lartes, he'll know how to advise him…" He muttered.
"… Oi! Where did my Hunter – VG go to and what's this note saying "taken off by Mr. Big Bang"?" Sigma's voice rang out.
Lovely. Sir Omega got back and he's gonna troll us all day long! As if things weren't mad enough!
18:25 PM (Japan Time)…
"… That man must be the one…"
"Sure thing… You look cool with that wig and those contacts, Subaru – kun! Tee, heh, heh."
"Huh… Well… Yeah, I guess… That disguise isn't half bad, though, Misora –chan…"
"Mwah, hah, hah. A proposal?"
"Pororon! No way."
Subaru (having a silver-haired wig on plus blue contacts and sporting jeans, a tropical t-shirt and sunglasses plus sneakers) was talking with Misora (having her disguise on as well) as they spotted a man on his 30s wearing a black cap with the word "pub" on it close by: War Rock made a joke and Harp didn't like it.
"Shut up already!" Subaru hissed.
"Yeah. Shut the beak."
War Rock grumbled under his breath and both then approached the man after checking that no – one was looking.
"Where's the pub?" Both asked.
"Here! Are you two finalists? May I see your Wizard Points?"
Both of them showed the twelve physical Wizard Points and the man scanned their barcodes with a Hunter – VG he carried: their profiles popped out and it showed twelve round red spots immediately below the name.
"Perfect! Here you have your ID cards. You're finalists 3 and 4." The man told them as he handed them two blue and white ID cards with the words "WIZARD CITY" and a number written on them.
"Where is the place?" Subaru asked.
"Do you see that big stadium under construction? Over there!"
"Thank you very much." Misora thanked.
"Good afternoon."
They both headed towards them and entered the main round arena where two men in business suits and on their 30s were awaiting.
"Welcome. May we see your ID cards?" One of them politely asked after greeting them.
They both displayed them and the man checked them before handing them back.
"Excellent. You will find the other finalists on those benches over there, so you may head there." The same man indicated.
Both walked towards one bench and spotted Akatsuki playing a pinball game with his Hunter – VG and Acid was floating nearby.
"Akatsuki – san, sir! You made it, sir."
"It was obvious, wasn't it?"
"Heh, heh! As far as I can see I'm the first one. The early guy from yesterday didn't come yet."
"Who else will be coming?" Subaru wondered aloud.
"That'd be us! Presto."
"Piano."
"Stormy!"
"Milestone!"
Kiboyama, Tsukasa, Storm and Miles headed over them while laughing at their own mottos.
"Hey! Tsukasa – kun and Gino – kun, you made it!" Subaru greeted.
"Hello, Akatsuki – san and Misora – chan. You two made it, too. We're numbers 5 & 6 respectively." Tsukasa greeted them with a broad smile on his face.
"It was intense! My last guy was the diehard type." Kiboyama told Subaru.
"He sure was." Miles agreed on it.
"G-good evening, everyone…"
"Don't be so nervous."
Utagai and Cygnus headed towards them: he carried the card with the number "7" on it and looked rather nervous.
"By all the…! Cygnus! Ye have made it this far?" War Rock was totally impressed.
"I sure did." Cygnus calmly replied.
"Cygnus has always been a strong one, after all…" Harp commented with a hint of amusement.
"We're still missing numbers 1 and 8… There's still half an hour left so there's ample time." Akatsuki commented with a smile
"Someone mentioned me?" An unknown voice asked in a jovial tone from close by.
A guy came in through one of the entrances.
He was about Subaru and his friends' age and appealed as being around a meter and sixty tall: his skin was teal and so was his hair: it grew until it almost reached the base of his neck and his eyes irises' were of a sea blue color.
He sported jeans, boots and a purplish sleeveless vest with three pairs of golden buttons connected by golden chains: it was somewhat short, so a bit of skin between the waist and the lower torso was visible.
He also wore two pairs of golden bracelets around his wrists to complete his outfit.
Additionally, he carried a sports bag like everyone else.
"Good evening. I'm Shinnai Nick. Nice to meet all of you." He introduced himself: his voice was soft and didn't seem too grown up.
"So! You're the person who made it to the finals so fast?" Subaru asked.
"Indeed. My Wizard and my combos made a good work together… Let me present you to Wotan." Nick announced.
Wotan's main body was shaped like an inverted-cone and the choice of colors for it was orange accompanied with black stripes.
His face was protected by a face-guard shaped like a gas mask filter and reddish shades covered his eyes.
His shoulders were encompassed by bulky spheroids colored green with brown stripes: his arms ended in five claw-fingers colored purple and which shone with a creepy purple halo.
The lower part of his body had the hover system built into it.
"You'll have to excuse him: he's not much of a talker." Nick apologized while scratching the back of his head.
"Thus we're left with Number 8…" Misora commented.
"Attention, please…" One of the businessmen called for their attention.
They all walked towards the two of them and stood close to them.
"Ahem. It's a quarter to seven. While we wait for the last contestant to show up we'll announce something: this place isn't the real stage for the final battles." The same man admitted.
"I'd guessed so." Akatsuki grinned.
"The true stage is about to appear." The other announced.
The sound of heavy engines was heard and a large black-metallic-colored craft shaped like a cone with wings appeared over them: the thing was about the same width of the field they were currently standing at.
"This is the true stage: the Wizard Ship!" One of the men announced.
The craft landed and everyone looked at its totally aerodynamic and aesthetic form as a small hatch opened and a retractable ramp was lowered.
"Alright. All of the contestants have an individual cabin and they're numbered, so, without any more prologues..." One of them announced.
"Please come inside: we will depart in ten minutes' time." The second man announced.
Everyone stepped in and headed for their individual cabins which unlocked using their ID cards.
"Let's see…" Subaru muttered.
He stepped into his cabin: it included a bed, a fridge, a table and two armchairs and included an adjacent bathroom plus three portholes to look out.
"Whoa! And this whole cabin is just for me… They're very kind!" Subaru exclaimed.
"Heh! You'd rather preferred they'd allowed ya to share one with Misora, eh, Subari~?" War Rock teased.
"That's enough, War Rock!" Subaru complained.
"Or, rather, to bring Gino and Tsukasa to play "triangle"… Like ya have been doing for a while… Heh, heh, heh."
"ENOUGH!"
"Subaru? What's wrong?" Akatsuki called out from the outside.
"Ah! Eh… War Rock is being nosy again, sir!"
"Oi, War Rock! That's enough! Ya wanna brawl? I'll make mincemeat of ya in the tournament!"
"Mwah, hah, hah. Come, Acid Disaster!"
"Acid Ace!" He corrected with a groan.
"Moon Ace is in my side! Mwah, hah, hah, hah!"
"SSSHHH!" Misora, Akatsuki, Subaru, Utagai, Kiboyama and Tsukasa hissed.
"Mwah, hah, hah, hah!"
18:50 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Hmmm? Someone's coming… Oh! Look. I think we have the 8th contestant at last."
"Good!"
The two men spotted a person clad in a black cloak, cap and sunglasses heading towards them at a quick pace: he slowed down and stopped in front of the ramp.
"Are you Contestant Number 8?" One of the men asked.
The newcomer merely took the ID card out and the staff man checked it to make sure it was correct.
"Perfect. Please come inside: we're about to depart." The man instructed to the newcomer.
The newcomer nodded and climbed inside: he immediately gasped and hid to the left side of the corridor entrance to then peek in: the group from before was standing in the entrance of Subaru's room and apparently discussing with him.
"We're telling you to be quiet! Porororon!"
"Where's your honor?" Miles questioned.
"Rather, will you shut up?" Storm grumbled.
"You are bothersome." Acid drily told him.
"You get way too excited." Cygnus scolded.
"Mwah, hah, hah. The stormy weather and the milestone wanna try to stop the great me~?" War Rock laughed.
"Boss? Yeah, it's me, sir. See, regarding…" Subaru began saying.
"Uo~h! Don't call the guy, don't call the guy! I'll shut up! I don't wanna be locked in the server another two months!"
The newcomer formed a grin and chuckled under his breath…
18:56 PM (Japan Time)…
"… I feel nervous. I dunno why."
Nick had sat down on his cabin's armchair and leaned his elbows on the table so as to lean his nose over his intercrossed hands: he had closed his eyes and seemed to be reflecting before he opened them again and he narrowed them.
"Perhaps… Nah. What am I thinking? I never drink. Then, why do I feel like I have gaps on my memories?
He then sighed and looked out at the landscape: the full moon was clearly visible.
"Full moon… Every time I see it, I freak out and I know the reason…" He muttered with a hint of fear on his voice.
He folded his arms and closed his eyes again while he kept on looking out at the landscape.
"… Ugh. No, I don't wanna think of that… Let's try to think of something else… Huh… What strategy should I use? I dunno the order of battles in the finals… And everyone has different types, so… Guess I'll have to keep on with the current one…" He muttered.
He looked at the window's reflection and gasped: his door had been opened by a narrow margin and a figure could be seen looking inside so he whipped around and ran for the door only to find no – one there and the corridor empty.
"… My imagination…? Lights playing tricks on me, guess… Really… I'm turning paranoid." He frowned.
He shrugged and turned around to get inside of his room while shutting the door: he didn't spot Number 8 looking out through a gap on his own room's door while displaying calm and maybe surprise: he closed the door and the corridor became deserted: Nick didn't realize it.
Well! Gotta focus if I wanna get into the Best 4! I won't hold back but I'll play fair, too! Let's go all out!
20:11 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Attention to all contestants: please come into the main lobby so that the order of the Round of 8 battles can be decided." One of the staff announced via the P.A. system.
The contestants came out and headed into a wide square-shaped metallic room which had some tables with served food on it: the mysterious Number 8 was leaning against a column in a rather hidden corner so no – one except Nick seemed to notice his presence: Nick looked surprised for a split second but then looked elsewhere so as to not to let the others realize it.
That guy… Why does he give me such vibes?
A bingo machine had been installed atop a slightly elevated platform and there were eight numbered spheres inside of it: one of the staff men was standing besides the machine.
"The order will be decided by this machine at random. The rest of the battles won't be decided until one of the battles is over. Before that, though, do enjoy this supper." The staff man instructed.
Everyone began eating and chatting: again, only Nick seemed to realize where Number 8 was because the others had seemingly forgotten that he was onboard to begin with.
That guy…! I'm sure I'm the only one who's noticed him.
Number 8 seemed to notice that Nick was discreetly looking towards him and he made a smug smile: Nick kept a serious face and then walked towards Subaru.
"By the way! Nick – kun… What's your strategy?" Subaru asked him.
"Huh? Ah! I combine attack and defense. I start off with combined combo attacks and then use Wotan's Special Ability to poison my enemy. I then entered defensive mode and wait until the poison wipes out the enemy's HP. That's how I was able to win so quickly and get into the finals yesterday."
"Interesting strategy." Subaru commented.
However, Misora seemed to react to something in the conversation: she slowly looked over her right shoulder to Nick and Subaru with a suspicious look.
"What's wrong, Misora?" Akatsuki asked her.
"Huh… Nothing, sir. I was just wondering if I'd be able to fend off against such a strategy if Nick – kun was to be my opponent." Misora improvised with an innocent smile.
"Uh! I'd have trouble with it, too. I better start thinking of something to do about it right now…" Akatsuki admitted.
"… Say, Tsukasa – kun…"
"What's up, Gino – kun?"
Kiboyama and Tsukasa were talking in an animated way: Kiboyama turned serious and glanced towards the spot where Number 8 was at.
"Do you know who that man is?" Kiboyama asked him.
"What man…? Huh? Is that the 8th contestant?" Tsukasa frowned and then spotted him.
Again, Number 8 merely put up a smug smile and then looked elsewhere: both Kiboyama and Tsukasa looked puzzled and Kiboyama was frowning.
"I have a feeling… I feel like I knew him from somewhere… But I can't place the where and when…" Kiboyama muttered in a low tone.
"Is that so? Intriguing." Tsukasa looked quite surprised.
"… Forget it, please…"
"If you say so…"
"W-will I really be alright, Cygnus?" Utagai asked him yet again.
"Jeez. You will be alright. I am the one who must fight. It's not like we used to do." Cygnus grumbled.
"Attention, please! We're going to announce the order of battles." The staff announced.
The machine was booted up and the spheres floated inside of the bingo machine so one sphere came out: it had the number 3.
"Contestant Number 3: Hoshikawa Subaru VS…" The staff man trailed off: he was waiting for the next sphere.
The sphere having the number 5 came out next.
"… Contestant Number 5: Kiboyama Gino!" The staff man finished announcing.
"Wow! It's like I'd wished for! I'm going to face Subaru – kun!" Kiboyama exclaimed.
None of them spotted Number 8 looking displeased for a split second but then resuming his smug smile.
"The rest of the contestants may look on by climbing into the 2nd floor and checking out the stage." The second staff man announced.
Everyone (except Number 8, who went off on his own without anyone noticing the fact) headed out of the room and climbed some metallic stairs into a wide large room where a small rectangular platform had been set: some TV cameras were installed at different angles and there were also several sets of spotlights to help illuminate the arena.
"The rules are the same as in the Battle Royale. No Mega or Giga – Class Battle Cards are allowed. You may just use one Special Ability once in the whole Battle. The Folder limit is 30 Battle Cards and the time limit is 30 minutes." The staff man announced while Subaru and Gino assumed their posts.
"Go all out, Subaru – kun! I won't let you hold back!"
"Alright! That's my style, too, Gino – kun!"
"Combatants: assume position! Wizards: materialize! On my signal! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…!"