Chapter 3: Resolution
Pulled his stuck sword with a grunt, Will stared intently at it. Though minuscule, cracks surfaced on its blade from rampant slashes and impacts. From its condition, Will guessed that it would be impossible for each blade to clash with Crow's high-speed fist head on, risking permanent damage. He then checked a bar — visible only to him — and scowled under the avatar's mask.
Variable Armament Linked Interface Advanced Neural Technology System, V.A.L.I.A.N.T. System for short, was the name of the pair of swords/rifles granted by the Accel World avatar creation system. Rather than drawing power directly from Will via his special attack gauge, it possesses its own battery to use its features: emitting beam blade or beam bullet. The pair of weapons, instead of each having separate storage, have a unified pool.
Said pool, represented by the bar under his health gauge, was blank. He could recharge it by using his 50 percent of his special attack gauge, but that would leave him at a dangerous 1-10 percent. Normally, duel avatars only need to worry being unable to use any Special Moves or Abilities if lacking in special attack gauge, but for Will, the special attack gauge had a greater purpose.
If Titanium Will's special attack gauge were zero, the duel avatar would be inoperable. A complete halt of any sort of movement.
His (somewhat) teacher/senior of Brain Burst likened this state to something called Zero Fill. A simple motion is very much a system-granted ability for him. This, combined with V.A.L.I.A.N.T. System and thrusters installed in his frame, made him a high-performance yet power-consuming Duel Avatar.
High risk, high reward, he recited in his heart. He blankly looked above, eyeing the Gallery on top of buildings, distorted yellow sky the backdrop. Any moment now, silver streak would blitz through that sky, rushing for his demise.
Speed was the key, not just in physical state, but in the mind: assessing, deciding, and reacting. All aspects must be fast, faster than him.
Silver Crow was fast, not just his wings, but also in reaction time. But that was it, all of his actions have been on impulse, plans were made as if on the fly… no pun intended. Then again, with wings as his only ability, his approaches were limited.
Both of them could run from the other, drawing out a time-out victory, but that was pointless. First, their health-gauges were near equal, and there was no way Will would bet with such a flimsy odd for him. Second, it was cowardice, he knew he could've had entered a building and forced Crow to an indoor fight, restricting 'Aviation', or just camp at some high storey building and fire another Beam at a secure spot, but where was the fun in that?
Unable to see where his ego led him, he refused to back down. He would show that he was capable to best Crow at close-combat, disregarding the altitude advantage, level difference, or Crow's lightning-speed reaction time. His head was full of arrogance.
So he stood, legs slightly bent, as if preparing for an unseen strike, each arm holding a V.A.L.I.A.N.T. in Sword Form. Brain processed his mind, calculating scenarios and outcomes.
Not one minute passed, Crow's special-attack gauge rapidly fizzled away.
From his hover, the cursor did not change its erratic rotation, meaning Titanium Will had not moved from his landing. With a quick judgment, Haruyuki decided this to be the best way of approach; only when his opponent could not see him this would work.
Twenty metres remaining between him and the cold, hard ground, Haruyuki pointed Silver Crow's arm perpendicular to it. His prediction proved true, as what stood between him and the ground was Will, helmet facing front.
"Haaaaaaaaaaah!" The youthful and determined cry reached Will's ear, but it was too late for him to notice the source. Crow's fist blocked the avatar's full posture, distance a mere ten metre, accelerating at an unfathomable speed for a human to do.
Will jumped sideways at the last second, body inches away from the mighty punch. It was impossible to decelerate at that velocity even with ten silver fins of a wing.
The result was not what Will expected however.
Crow did not crash fist-first to the ground. Instead, one of his wings vibrated at an alarming frequency, his body violently swerved, not once touching the rough surface, facing where Will jumped. He thrust forward once more, boosting the already massive amount of momentum, his right fist leading the charge.
Knowing it was impossible to outrun the silver avatar once his wings were deployed, Will activated thrusters hidden in his feet and forced his way up. He would smoothly vault over the charging avatar, backs facing each other. Unfortunately, it was the gravest mistake he would ever make in the Accelerated World.
Crow opened his fist and grabbed Will's left leg mid-vault.
In that instantaneous moment, the Gallery burst in amazement over the display of dexterity shown by both Burst Linkers and the shocking event it led to.
Will, however, was less than amused, Shiiiiiet… tera unlucky… His dreading mind somehow copied the weird mannerism of a certain skull biker.
Haruyuki's, however, was that of triumph, "Gotcha!" He proudly declared, and flew sky-high, dragging the other metal avatar over his back. Once he reached a certain height, one where the fall damage would wipe out half of the titanium avatar's health gauge, he threw the avatar upward with a powerful overhead swing. Not slipping any chances for recovery, the winged avatar chased the tumbling body like a bird of prey, shards of silver falling from his crumbling upper legs.
In a split second, his fist connected to the titanium avatar's right shoulder-blade, zipping past the metallic body which now spun, few nozzles were severed with sparks blew out, the swords on both hands were surrendered to gravity.
"Grkh!" Will grunted, as if to hold the pain from breaking his concentration. The land, he must reach the surface at once! Risking everything, before the level 4 avatar turned his flight path to him again, he must act. The falling avatar shielded his chest with crossed arms, as if bracing for the inevitable impact. Though there was no one to hear it, some sort of command was spoken by him. By his words, panels that covered his thrusters were split and segmented, revealing the black cylinders. Some gaps in his armor became wider, revealing glossy silver-ish metals bound to the nozzles. Those metals were, in fact, part of Titanium Will's frame. He let out all thrusters in every direction, stopping his revolution and faced the surface again, special attack gauge fizzled by roughly five percent.
Haruyuki, meanwhile, concentrated every bit of his imagination to his wings' movement, and they heeded to his image, the left fins strongly reverberated. Silver Crow changed its direction of flight, redirecting himself to Will who tried to use his verniers to reach the ground. Haruyuki noticed the change in how Will's armor was arranged, but now's not the time to appraise his opponent's appearance.
I won't let you! The silver avatar charged straight once more.
Will had anticipated it. With a slight nudge of his left shoulder and streams of gas from his now open thruster on his back, he skirted to the left, right shoulder slightly grazed by the rushing metal avatar; special attack gauge sunk by a few percent. He continued his descent, however…
A few metres downward, a silver figure rushed between him and the ground, and in split seconds, he saw it closer so he, in reflex, used his jet and dodged sideways; forty percent of the green bar nearby his name remained.
That's it, keep using it! I'll shave off your energy! Now that he knew how Will would react, Haruyuki decided his strategy. The middle-school student would continuously trap his opponent in the air, whittling that metal avatar's gauge using Silver Crow's fearsome speed and his CQC ability. No matter what skill, ability, or Enhanced Armament, Haruyuki truly believed none could match Silver Crow in close quarter, aerial combat.
That belief would soon be challenged, when Titanium WIll's voice reached him.
"Psychic Reactor, maximum output!"
With that command, the level 2 avatar's visible inner frame began to glow brightly. A surprising cosmetic change, but Haruyuki's eyes were fixed onto other place: the HUD.
His special attack gauge… Its increase rate is drastically higher!
The titanium avatar's special-attack gauge was now filled at a pace visible to the naked eye. Whereas before this Haruyuki guessed that it would take five minutes — 300 second — for a regeneration from zero to a hundred percent, now it would need roughly two mi… no, one hundred second, three times faster than before.
But…
"Just because you have more power, it's doesn't mean anything if you're not attacking me!"
The mysterious metal avatar ignored Haruyuki's taunt, and instead dived downward to the ground, thruster outputting at a greater speed and acceleration.
Silver Crow kept his pursuit. Glancing at the HUD, Haruyuki noticed the fluctuation in Titanium Will's special-attack gauge. It was clear that his regenerative ability, after removing some sort of limiter, were able to match or even surpass his thrusters' usage. The Nega Nebulus member observed his own special-attack gauge, reaching sixty percent and kept decreasing. If this bout were prolonged, the middle school student would lose on endurance.
He must end this match in this moment, the moment the level 2 avatar reached the ground, Haruyuki would be enormously disadvantaged. Not only Will could hide in building, Crow's lack of feet meant the middle school freshman was a sitting duck once his wings lost power.
"Ooooooooooh!" Haruyuki cried, mind stretched to the limit, he accelerated further. In seconds, he was inches away from Will. Crow extended his hands forward, hoping to grasp his adversary.
The titanium avatar, however, was a step ahead; Will ignited thrusters on his left, Silver Crow passed through. He balanced himself upright, and focused one leg to the flying avatar below him. The nozzles pointing above lit up; Will dived to the silver avatar with a kick.
Haruyuki noticed and promptly reacted. He shifted Crow's body slightly; Will's dive-kick missed its target. The freshman then rotated the Silver avatar's body with an outstretched hand, his opponent dodged it. Facing the titanium avatar, Silver Crow charged.
This marked their second skirmish.
From the Gallery's point of view, gray and red-ish streaks clashed in the yellow backdrop. Both combatants' gauges fluctuated, Will's gauges the more erratic one. The level 2 avatar's health gauge decreased quicker than the level 4 avatar, yet his special-attack gauge fluctuate from every time the red streak quickened. While Silver Crow's special-attack gauge steadily declined, Titanium Will's alternated between forty five and fifty percent.
Titanium Will's health gauge hovered at thirty five percent, Silver Crow's at forty percent.
Haruyuki held the advantage in the fisticuff, even with two limbs compared to his opponent's four. Silver Crow moved in a much smoother motion than Titanium Will's zigzagged, sharp turn. This, combined with his wings greater acceleration, meant that for every blow Will landed, Crow would hit twice as much.
Will noticed his predicament, cursing his egotistical mind. He lost his composure, and reached to grab the silver avatar. It was a risky and reckless move, but it was one step to his plan.
Whether it worked or not, it would decide the outcome of this match.
Haruyuki reacted and dodged sideways. Quickly, he elbowed the level 2 avatar in the gut. Somehow, the force of the impact managed to blow Will away onto a nearby building. The titanium avatar's frame was halfway embedded to a four-storey building; a glowing metal stuck like a parasite to the concrete it lodged into.
With haste, Haruyuki vibrated Crow's wings at their highest frequency, extended his right hand on front like a spearhead, and zipped straight to his adversary.
"It's over!"
The silver arrow pierced through the titanium layer..
"ARRRRRGH!" A scream echoed throughout the Purgatory stage.
Silver Crow's right arm stabbed through Titanium Will's torso.
Sparks sprayed, blisters of metal flew, and dusts spread.
…
One second passed
…
Two seconds passed.
"Keheheh…."
Someone snickered. It turned into a nasal laughter.
It was Titanium Will
"Hahahahahaha—Ack! Damn, it hurts way more than I expected!" the level 2 Burst Linker spoke with a tone way light-hearted than someone in his situation should sound.
Haruyuki's eyes widened. The announcement for his victory had not arrived; his challenger survived. The middle-schooler tried to pull his arm to no avail; it was stuck — not just to Will's body, but to the building behind as well.
His health gauge now only a sliver from his defeat, the titanium avatar's player formed a wide smirk. His left arm gripped Crow's right arm which was stuck in his torso and possibly some part of the building. His right arm grabbed Crow's green plated face, cold fingers spread around the silver avatar's smooth helmet.
In a weaker and tired voice, Will said, "Looks like…I win."
"Surefire kill…," Will murmured. His special-attack gauge decreased by fifty percent, and it did not increase. Flowing like water, the glow his inner frame converged into his right arm, hand, then the palm which was facing the floating avatar.
An intense light covered Haruyuki's vision.
"Flash Bloom!" Will shouted
Shutting his eyes did nothing. His ears received a high-pitched noise.
Haruyuki's world was dyed white.
Author's Note:
Describing is hard. There, I said it. I have no excuse for this chapter's publication tardiness other than my own schedule and general laziness. Also, choreographing fight in my head was more difficult than I thought, but so long as you, the reader, enjoy it, it was worth it.
Now, I know I said (or wrote?) in the previous Note that this chapter will have some IRL stuff, but I decided to pack it into the next chapter, sort of an epilogue. Expect a certain senpai to give our middle-schooler some pep talk, and maybe you can catch a glimpse of Titanium Will's real identity.
