(GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION! Well! This is going to be the last one of the year and well, this is obviously going to be much longer than the normal BLACK Chapters. I have to say this, This is going to be easily the largest and longest BLACK I have written ever. Even I do not know how much I am going to write, I know that I am going to make this chapter the best I have ever written. Unfortunately, this means I have to skip a month of Lore Explaination at this moment to make this possible. Do not worry, I will make sure to get back as soon as I can.
Another reason why I also choose to write the chapter's foreword at this point rather than the normal below is because of this chapter's length. As I have said before when I was writing one of my most emotional chapter of a previous work I have done, BlazBlue: Academic Surge, Sometimes I get caught up with my imagination and it roams around freely. After it does so, I begin to get invested into it and sooner or later, the chapter becomes longer than expected. And since this was going to be the last chapter of the year, I decided to write this especially long for everyone to enjoy reading, Make sure you spend time with your close ones and I also hope you all enjoy my longest work yet.
NOW! I hope you all are excited to see what is going to happen in this next BLACK! I shall say this, Happy Advanced New Years and I hope you all have a good 2015. I also hope that everyone will be able to have a great 2016 as well! The delays are over! And now everyone, the Final BLACK Chapter of 2015! ENJOY!)
Bold = English conversations
Bold+Italics = Japanese conversations
BLACK 9
Previously on the last BLACK Rebellion Chapter, A chance offer to do a class much more advanced than the one they were used to has brought two people together for a showdown that people had expected...But not in a manner like this. One side, The challenger, Knight Yoake, The latest student to arrive in the Academy and a potential forerunner in the years to come. The person he's challenging? Sora Minakaze himself, who the teachers consider is too powerful even for the third year students. In the arena only known as the Sleeping Forest, These two people have no idea what is awaiting it's dark surroundings as we continue on the next BLACK with interest
7 PM drew a lot closer than what most people would have thought that day. From what was 1.45PM when the challenge was issued to the current time of 7, the students were surprised that they could even eat that fast. Unlike the normal events where this took place within the compounds of the arena, the sleeping forest was literally set in the 6th Level of Torifune. The 6th level was famous for housing a multitude of things as well as having multiple unknown dangers that loomed within it.
Situated right in the level was the Sleeping Forest, the easiest of the three advanced arenas but not by much.
"So...This your first time wandering the woods at night?" Makoto asked Sora as he was taking point along side Marcus and Chikacho. They were their own small group away from everyone else due to Sora wanting to see what the forest like by himself before the people obscured the view. "No...A lot of missions were held at night along the woods." Sora replied as Makoto sighed a little bit, she had expected that for an answer but still couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment inside her heart. Why did she even feel like that in the first place she wondered.
"What kind of missions though? The usual that you did?" Makoto asked as her curiosity was genuine. Marcus and Chikacho were still reluctant to speak about the way the Black Lotus ran their missions to a civillian, Sora on the other hand wasn't as he looked at her with a shaking of his head. "Not really...we did a lot of spying missions and demolition jobs. Surprisingly. We saved the normal missions for when it's approaching dawn so that we can try to catch people off guard." Sora explained as Makoto nodded her head.
She had to admit, she was always interested in the way how three teens essentially in one of the most dangerous jobs she ever heard of, lived out that life with what seemed to be relative ease to the untrained eye. What interested her about the job wasn't the pay that when she heard it the first time, nearly shat herself on the spot, wasn't the ridiculous times that you were expected to work at, wasn't even the bland food that she swore was actually baby food, it was the people that could do this kind of work in general.
"In all honesty though...I wouldn't mind working in a mercenary group if the food sounded more apetizing." Makoto said as Sora's eyes immediately sharpen. "I will never allow you to join such an organisation...Anything but the Black Lotus or Mercenary work is off limits." Sora warned but Makoto shrugged. "Geez man...It's on my mind, not something I would choose to do in a hearbeat. I would like to do more recon though." Makoto said as Sora wondered in his mind what could fit this.
"You mean something like the inteligence department in the NOL?" Marcus said as Makoto nodded her head at that. "Yeah! Something like that!" Makoto said in surprise as Chikacho thought about it. "That is a reasonable idea, Inteligence means you don't need to fight unless absolutely necessary and that is rare." Chikacho said as Makoto shook her head. "It's not like I dont' want to fight...I just find it interesting you know, being able to gather info from right the nose of the enemy all, stealth like a ninja." Makoto said as she tried to do a ninja pose.
Her hands were sticking out in a typical and very cliqued manner, her middle and index fingers together as her other fingers crossed with each other. "I know...It looks cliqued." Makoto confessed as Chikacho shook her head in disbelief. "Ninjas don't do stuff like that...We are swift and do whatever it takes." Chikacho said before realizing what she was describing. "Wait...You're a ninja Chikacho!? An Actual Ninja!?" Makoto's eyes then began to glitter as she stared at Chikacho for a bit. All the Kunoichi could do was pull up her scarf to hide the blush that was growing on it.
"Will you please accept me as your diciple Ninja Master." Makoto begged as she got to her knees and lowered her head. "No." Chikacho plainly said as she just walked off, leaving Makoto in her position as she clenched her fists. "Dammit...So close." she said as Marcus sweatdropped at that. "W-W-What kind of close were you aiming for Makoto?" he said, stuttering at the beginning. Sora could help but smile a little bit, "Well...Still getting over that stammering habit Marcus?" Sora wondered as he looked at him wide eyed. "I-I-I D-D-Dont..." Marcus stopped himself mid sentence as he silently accepted defeat, speeding up his pace to catch up to Chikacho to avoid having to listen to his stammering conversation anymore.
"Wow...he sure is the shy kind huh." Makoto said as Sora looked at her a bit surprised. "If you're wondering how I know, it's simple, he stammers a lot, hides behind people when nervous and his tail is sticking out." Makoto said as she pointed to the fact that the fox beastkin's tail was already trying to go in between his legs which was enough information for Sora to have. "Your eyes are still as sharp as ever to notice that. He's been trying to hide that fact ever since he started calling me Nii-san." Sora said as Makoto giggled a little bit.
Looking at the sight of his two comrades, Sora couldn't help but feel something tug on his heart as Makoto noticed his face and read it like a book. "You missed them didn't you." Makoto said as Sora could only muster a nod as they soon arrive at the Sleeping Forest. The forest itself didn't stand out much from the normal forest, in fact, people could mistake the Sleeping Forest to be just a natural part of the 6th floor. That was the brilliance of building this arena, not only did it give a feeling of obscurity, it was also away from civilisation, meaning nobody except the class would know this was going to be held.
"Hey look, there's the other students now." Makoto noted as she pointed her finger at the path that they were walking on. Behind them was the Coach as he escorted the class alongside Estella and Seifer. Amongst the group was Knight, brandishing a special sling bag that was as long as him. "Woah...that must be some ammunition he might be packing there." Makoto said surprised while whistling at that. Sora himself was impressed that Knight had even brought something customized for his own use.
"I see you are ready for whatever is going to happen Knight." Sora said, walking towards him as their eyes locked for a moment. Knight looked at Sora's kit which didn't have much to be honest. "And you look like the same as you were in class. Going in there with just your arm blades?" Knight wondered as Sora shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know what they are going to give us, so might as well stick to what I know." Sora said as Knight could respect that.
"I guess with that kind of reasoning, your logic is sound." Knight said as Coach got in between the two of them. "Alright you two, the time for conversation is over." Coach said as he tapped them in the shoulder. They didn't want to delay the fight any longer as they nodded. Estella and Seifer then approached the boys as Seifer tapped Sora's shoulder. "Come with me, I shall take you to your entrance." Seifer said as Estella did the same with Knight. The two of them looked at each other as Knight raised his hand politely, "I should say good luck to you. That is the only nice thing I can do for you in this battle." Knight said as he raised his hand some more.
Sora stared at the hand for a moment, the scales that was around it make it seem inhuman. "Sorry...No handshakes." Sora said, making Knight retract his hand slowly. "At least until the match is over, that's the nicest thing I can offer for you." Sora then said as he lowered his head in slight respect before allowing Seifer to take him to his starting position. Knight couldn't help but smirk a little bit at that. Muttering something to himself with that smirk, Knight soon followed Estella as everyone looked at the coach with a curiosity that was brimming with questions.
Noel: Ummm...Mister Coach?
Coach: Ahhh, yes Miss Vermillion?
Noel: Where is Miss Emma and Mr Seifer taking them?
Coach: They are being taken to their starting positions in the sleeping forest.
Tsubaki: Starting Positions? You mean they don't face each other right away?
Coach: No, the purpose of Advanced Battle Class is to see how people react to certain high stressed scenarios presented to them by us. We are not interested in seeing how powerful or strong you are, we are now going to examine other crucial traits that normal Battle Class would not bring up.
Hunter: Interesting...But why make a class to address this when you can do the same thing with normal battle class.
Coach had to admit, they do have a good point. Why create a class seperate from the normal curriculum when it could be taught in the other classes. Well, luckily for him, there was an answer for that. "To be honest, we could, but none of the classes could properly simulate the stakes we need to push people forward...it's one thing to be able to fight, it's another to know how to apply knowledge to the battlefield." everyone had to admit, after hearing something like that, they could understand the reason why they would create such a class now.
"Right...I should escort everyone to the viewing section of this arena." Coach said as he began to lead the class to the observation point. As he did so, Seifer and Sora were enjoying their stroll through the forest. The night made the scenery seem almost magical, the moon light shining over the forest and plants creating a unique appearance. "This sure is something to look at huh..." Sora said as Seifer noted what he had said. "Nature undisturbed is a unique sight ain't it?" Seifer replied as Sora smiled secretly. He had to admit, this was something he rarely saw when he was travelling around the world.
"I guess so..." Sora said as soon, they approached the entrance. The entrance to the sleeping forest was rather unique, as instead of a traditional entrance, it look like nature had made it for them. Trees overlayed with each other, circling around each other as it formed an archway of trees and roots. This couldn't be replicated in any way else, it was truly a one of a kind appearance. "Right...we have arrived at the entrance." Seifer said as he placed the sack that he was carrying on the ground. Sora didn't pay attention to that as he never realized that Seifer was carrying a sack in the first place.
'God dammit me...you got to be sharper than that.' Sora said, mentally facepalming himself at his own oversight. Seifer didn't notice the slight groan on his face as he looked back at him. "Let me ask you one question Mr Minakaze... Why are you so willing to accept this challenge in the first place?" Seifer asked as Sora looked at him with a bit of a questioned look. "Are you seeking to prove that you are the strongest in the school? If so, I think you have achieved your goal a long time ago." Seifer said as his mind thought a little bit. He had to admit, Sora was someone of little interest to him, he had no ars magus potential despite being able to use what he had heard was such a powerful Ars magus. If it wasn't for that fact, he wouldn't have entertained this battle in the first place.
'In the end, I just want to see this Ars Magus for myself and disect it's true power.' Seifer noted in his mind as Sora cleared his throat. "I have no interest in being the strongest...that title is fickle and weak." Sora retorted which didn't surprise Seifer. People who say that are always seeking power, always wanting more of it, whether it be for personal gain or for the sake of others, power was the only thing people truly wanted. "But aren't you interested in protecting everything that is close to you?" Seifer said, striking a chord within Sora's heart.
Protecting everything that was close to him... That was something he had always wondered. Could he really do that as his current self? Clenching his fists, Sora's mind thought for a moment, but his face spoke first. "So you are interesting in protecting what's close to you." Seifer said, just by looking at Sora's face he knew his answer. Sora still continued to think though as he knew his reason was not that simple...or was it. "I...don't really know myself. I just know I am not seeking power in any way." Sora said as Seifer sighed a little bit.
"Maybe you can find your answer someday, just keep in mind what I had just told you." Seifer said as he patted his shoulder. "Just wait here, you will be notified when you are allowed to enter the dome." Seifer said as he began to walk away. As he did so, Sora noticed that he left behind the pack that he carried with him. "Sir...You left this." Sora said as he held it to show it to Seifer. "That is yours, what you need will be inside." Seifer said as he continued walking after giving Sora a respectful bow. As soon as he disappeared from view, Sora couldn't help but wonder what was with that guy as he picked up the pack to begin looking through it.
Inside the pack was rather empty except for a few items. The most obvious one was a gas mask that had a special ars filter installed into it. Besides that, there was a spare ars filter and a note. Continuing his investigations inside the bag, he found a small camera which he figured was important as he pinned it on his small poncho. Nothing else was inside the bag upon further investigation as he finally picked up the note. Clearing his throat, he began to read the instructions printed on it.
As Sora did so, Coach escorted the class to a special part of the Sleeping Forest, it's observation post. Instead of the normal stands or bleachers present in the arena, multiple artificial trees with special elevators built in them were there. On the very top was a the usual leaves and canopy cover. "If you all will please choose an observation post to see, since you all are at least a small class, I will allow you to choose which observation post you all wish to see from." Coach said as everyone went into their small groups and soon, everyone took an observation post.
Noel, Tsubaki, Hunter, Mai, Cajun, Shiori, Marcus and Chikacho all took an observation post of their own. Marcus and Chikacho would have chosen a different post if it wasn't for Makoto's persistence. "I wonder why they need to make it looks so Elaborate though. They could have kept it simple." Makoto wondered as soon, the elevator stopped and everyone got off. The observation post was clear from any place to sit as it was just a glass dome that gave everyone a bird's eye view of the entire Sleeping Forest.
"Maybe that's why." Hunter answered as everyone looked around the glass dome. It was scary at first as Makoto soon realized how far up she was and how dark everything else is. "Woah...This is very high..." Makoto said as she slowed down her footsteps. Noel was just as terrified as she clung tightly onto Hunter. "W-We aren't going to fall...right?" Noel asked as Hunter held her tighter. "Do not worry Mistress, I will make sure to break your fall when that happens." Hunter said in reassurance to his lady but that only made things worse. "I don't want to fall now!" Noel said, literally hopping onto Hunter's arms out of instinct.
"Ahehehe...I guess it's normal to be terrified of something this tall." Tsubaki said as she stood still, not wanting to show her legs buckling under the shaking pressure of knowing that she is high up in the air. Mai and Cajun were alright about it but they didn't like how high up they were. Shiori felt indifferent about it as she was still her normal self. Marcus on the other hand was crawling on the ground out of instinct. "What on Earth are you doing Marcus, you're making yourself look pitiful." Chikacho said to his face, standing on the glass with her normal strict self.
"S-Sorry...You know how much Heights sends alarms in my head." Marcus said as he slowly stood up, shaking like a leaf in the process. After having enough time acclimate themselves on the observation point. The Coach appeared in a screen protected by an Ars Seal. "Alright...now that you have acclimated to the viewing spot, I expect everyone to observe the class quietly and keep their comments to a minimum." Coach said as soon, Estella and Seifer appeared on separate Ars Seals.
"We shall now begin the explanation on how this scenario will play out for everyone right now." Estella said as in the coach's ars seal, the map of the sleeping forest appeared with Sora and Knight's locations highlighted by their portraits on the screen. "Both Sora and Knight are going to start from these two points on the screen, when we signal them through an alarm we will play, their mission will begin." Estella said as everyone became mildly surprised at the mention of a mission. "Please hold your questions until we finished explaining. I am sure you all have the patience to do so." Seifer said in a calm voice as Estella continued.
"In Advanced Battle Class, besides defeating your opponent, we also give you alternative ways of achieving victory." Estella said as Seifer took over. "This is to empasize the importance of completing an objective over defeating as many opponents as possible. In war, only the smartest and most cunning will win." Seifer said as Coach soon reappeared in a place where the map was not obscured. "The Sleeping Forest is the most basic of the advanced arenas because of it's straightforward layout. That said, it's missions are also some of the easiest." Coach said as everyone anxiously waited for the mission to be told to them.
"In this scenario, Both Sora and Knight are NOL Scouts trying to deliver information about the enemy back to their respective squadrons. The information is held on a camera that we have provided them with." Estella said as she held the small pin camera on her fingers with a delicate touch. "However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the squad can only arrive in 3 hours, so their main objective is to hold out for 3 hours within the sleeping forest then extract by any means." Estella said as this soon caused an small discussion within the multiple observation domes.
"3 hours? That sounds long..." Makoto whispered as the coach cleared his throat. "There is a couple of twists though. Firstly, If either Sora and Knight manage to retrieve either one's camera's, they will be allowed to leave the arena regardless of how much time remains." As soon as Coach said that, the discussions became a bit louder. "So that means...if either of them is able to retrieve the other's own camera...Then they can win without having to wait out the full 3 hours!" Mai said as if a lightning bolt struck her head.
"If that's the case, then wouldn't the wiser option be to try to wait out the 3 hours? There's no point expending too much energy trying to steal each other's cameras when you can hide for 3 hours away from the opponent and get away." Hunter said, bringing up a legitimate point. If someone could hide away from the opponent and patiently wait for 3 hours. They could win without ever engaging against the opponent. "That is some wise thinking Hunter Long... No wonder you are one to watch." Seifer spoke, impressed as Hunter kept humble and lowered his head.
"However nothing is what it seems, the Sleeping Forest Possess a unique aspect that makes the strategy you propose near impossible to accomplish." Seifer said, mildly surprising Hunter as he had been expecting some sort of twist. Coach cleared his throat as he soon presented the map that told the entire story. "The Sleeping Forest has it's name because it is a unique part of the forest. The entire forest is covered with Seithr Fog." Coach said as immediately, this sent alarms to the students. "Wait, Isn't Seithr Fog the same kind of Fog found below the surface!?" Tsubaki said in shock as the teachers nodded.
"It is not uncommon to hear about stories where seithr manages to leak to the top, creating these sort of spots in the first place. Current technology doesn't allow us to progress to these levels without risking harm due to the massive amount of Seithr present. However we have developed enough to allow us to survive these leaks." Seifer explained as everyone couldn't believe that the Sleeping Forest had such a trick to it. "We have provided the both of them with a Gas Mask that is modified to handle Seithr filters on them. They have also been provided with a single filter just in case their own runs out." Estella said as everyone realized what this meant.
"So this means... that a confrontation is absolutely necessary...Not to just survive, but to win as well." Shiori said with a semi serious voice as she had to admit, this was rather difficult even for her. The average person can only withstand a certain amount of seithr in their body before the effects of Seithr Poisoning take place. "So... It's much more vital to retrieve the camera from the opponent and retreat the forest." Tsubaki predicted as everyone then saw live feed of both Sora and Knight on the screen as the coach cleared his throat. "You all will get to see the battle occur, as well as how these two act." Coach said as Sora kept the note while Knight held onto his.
"They know that the moment they hear the horn, they are to run into the sleeping forest and from there, we can monitor where they go." Coach said as Makoto became nervous. Marcus and Chikacho were also nervous but in a different way as Makoto noticed. "Are you both...actually nervous?" She asked as Chikacho and Marcus looked at her a bit surprised. "Of course we would be naturally worried for our friend, regardless of whether or not he can take care of himself out there. It's just normal ain't it?" Chikacho said as Marcus just nodded, not sure how he should put it into words. "In a way... What Chikacho said is true." Marcus finally said as Makoto was pleasantly surprised.
"Are you starting to warm up to me Marcus?" Makoto wondered as Marcus didn't say anything for a bit. He then nodded as that made Makoto smile, "I'm glad you finally warmed up, I was wondering when you would stop being a nervous wreck around me." Makoto said as Marcus scratched his head, looking away in the process. As this conversation occurred, Sora clenched his fist tightly around his chest. He wasn't having a heart attack but he could feel the nerves trying to get to him.
The tapping of his foot on the ground matched the beating of his heart on his chest. The intensity of the unknown would get to anybody as he wondered what was awaiting him inside. "What kind of place is the Sleeping Forest...What is it like?" Sora wondered loudly as he heard a small alarm ring all over the forest. As soon as it rung though, Sora immediately went in out of pure instinct as that was the beginning of the mission in general.
All that Sora knew about his mission was the camera on his poncho right now contained sensitive information that Knight would want back. He had to survive for at least 3 hours within the Sleeping Forest before he is allowed to leave. The other way he can win is for him to either take out Knight via knockout or stealing his camera and running away as well. That was the simple part...The difficult part was now greeting him at the moment.
It was the distinct smell of Seithr and the fog associated with it. It had no odor that could be discernible through the human nose but he could immediately feel the effects of breathing it into his body. Quickly going for the Seithr gas mask, Sora soon had it secured on his face as the raspy sounds of his breathing were the only thing he could hear throughout the forest. The second issue was the reduced visible light present to him. A flashlight was not presented to him and he couldn't make a light source with Ars Magus due to his body's...Unique properties with various other kinds of ars magus.
He knew of this unique trait ever since he joined the Black Lotus as he decided to try forming a light source out of curiosity. Concentrating on his hand, he began to form an Ars Magus Seal that started off rather shaky and small. Gripping his hands tightly, it soon proved to be useless as it suddenly backfired and poofed on his hand. 'Well... That sucks.' Sora thought as he really was hoping that he would have had some sort of control other than that pathetic display of casting. 'I guess I really am just a one trick pony in a way...That sounds weird.' Sora thought once again as he began to try and find a source of light he could use.
It was then he struck gold when he noticed what appeared to be glowing moss on a tree. Walking up to it and taking it slowly, Sora exposed it to the moon light and soon it's small glow became a bright light. 'Thank you Seithr Moss.' Sora thought as he began to walk a certain direction. His mind was calculating what are the possibilities that may happen right now as he checked his supplies to be safe. The main priority he had was to make sure the Camera was close to him at all times as he fiddled with it on his Poncho. One rule was that it had to be on him at all times and couldn't hide it somewhere in the forest.
'I got to be careful with this thing if I have to fight Knight...one touch and it's going to get wrecked.' Sora thought as he knew Knight would have one of his own. He then decided to check the Note for more clues as he looked at the back of it. Illuminating it with the Seithr moss on it, he couldn't even get a single image to appear on it. 'So it really is a blank page...Then this will be useless for me right now.' Sora thought as he shoved it onto his cargo pant's pocket and zipped it up tightly. The final thing he had to check was the spare seithr filter he received.
Finding a spot where he could take a small stop, Sora stabbed the moss covered stick at the ground and made it similar to a lamp. The light it produced was slowly fading as it was hidden from the trees, Making Sora speed up his inspection. The seithr filter was the standard issue for most NOL soldiers, designed to hold in the filter but would quickly drain if the solder did too much physical strain. If used minimally, it would last for the full 3 hours but since Knight probably doesn't know that, he will go agressive on him, which would cut the time to a drastic 30 minutes at best. And this applied to the both of them.
'Dammit...This is going to get really dicey real quick.' Sora thought in semi frustration as he decided to keep moving, grabbing the stick and reilluminating it once more. As he walked, He began to try and note what was around his surroundings, something that would give him a good idea of where he was currently as he soon approached what felt was a crossroad. "Damn...there's two ways to go from here." Sora said to himself, staring at his two options. One of these options is surely going to make him meet Knight Faster and with the way this match is going to happen, he would like to delay it.
'I barely know that guy's fighting style...and he's probably got a weapon I haven't seen yet. Meanwhile he already has saw me fight at least once against two people which gives him a clear idea of what I can do...' Sora thought as he felt the deck being stacked against him right now. If that wasn't bad enough, he wasn't going to need to decide any longer as soon, his senses kicked in and immediately he leapt forward into the first crossroad. As soon as he did, he turned around only to hear a loud crash and a tree being felled by such an impact.
'What the hell!?' Sora's senses immediately kicked in as he had left his only light source behind. Soon, he began to see a person clearly as he was holding what appeared to be a jousting lance that was used by Medieval Knights on horseback. It had a very distinct runic look to it as the runes resembled more like dragon scales laid on top of each other rather than actual sealing runes as the dim silver chrome of it made it feel just as ancient. Just like another item he had the pleasure...or displeasure of seeing a month back. 'Another weapon that looks like a dragon in motif? What on earth is going on.' Sora thought as he soon managed to see the person who was using such a weapon.
His entire posture was different, it wasn't as relaxed as before and seemed much more violent. His gas mask hid his face but his eyes felt like they were trying to see within him. If that wasn't enough to let him know who was attacking him currently, his red hair was a dead giveaway. Without thinking another word or sentence, Sora just began to run, not out of fear but out of necessity. Holding the pack tightly on his body, Sora soon began to dash away from the scene as Knight began to home in on his target.
'I am not letting you escape...' Knight thought as he pointed his lance at Sora's direction. Soon, the scales around it began to break apart as they circled around the tip and concentrate their energy into what seemed like a small burning fire. Raising it to aim and taking up posture, Knight soon exploded with energy, literally thrusting it with all of his might through the way Sora took. The fireball grew in size as soon, Sora saw it coming for him in a rapid speed and took cover. What happened next seemed to be like a horror show for him.
The fireball crashed onto some trees and exploded, the residual heat blasted past Sora as he could literally felt it's attempts to burn him to a crisp. "Let flames consume you..." A voice spoke as Sora immediately snapped out of his shock and looked back at Knight who stabbed his lance on the ground. "That was a warning shot...Next time I will make sure I hit my mark." Knight said as Sora knew he didn't have time to waste at that moment and began to run once more. As he did so, everyone couldn't help but gasp at the sight of such power in front of them right now.
"That Knight person...He must be as strong as Makoto...No...Maybe he's even stronger." Cajun said as Shiori and Mai got curious at what she had said. "Think about it, that tree he stabbed with his lance immediately fell...it didn't get pulverized but instead sliced through cleanly. If he was fighting barehanded then he might have been able to do the same thing." Cajun theorized but that theory was going to get a solid backing with a comment made by someone who nobody expected. "H...He is just as strong as Makoto." that person meekly said as everyone's eyes soon went to that person.
"What do you mean by that Marcus?" Makoto asked as Marcus shrieked a little bit and was about to retreat but stood his ground "W..Well...The lance he was using looks like it's very heavy...the kind that would require two hands." Marcus explained as it began to make sense in their minds. The lance knight was using was actually much larger than most normal lances. It was also a jousting lance and though you can use it with one hand, that was traditionally on Horseback. Using it on the ground is even more difficult due to the massive length it usually is.
"So that means...he really is just as strong as Makoto." Hunter noted as Tsubaki and Noel began to feel a sense of worry despite not being in danger. "But what about that flame ars magus. That is much more destructive than any other fire type Ars magus I have ever seen!" Noel said a bit panicked as Hunter kept quiet at that. His mind began to wonder what was going to happen next as Sora himself couldn't believe his luck as he took cover. 'What's with me and these dragon weapons that can use Fire Ars Magus.' Sora thought in his mind as the coincidences were rather big.
He couldn't be thinking at this moment as he decided the best course of action would be to start running really fast. His feet would not stop as he soon found himself on the run, Running with his life on the line, Sora began to check on the sack. As soon as he ran he stopped as he found his bag having one large hole where his hand was sticking out at that moment. His eyes soon dart to where he was previously standing as what remained was a Gas Mask filter that was heavily charred to a crisp.
'My Spare Seithr Filter...SHIT.' Sora swore in his mind as he tossed the pack on the ground and continued to run. Knight approached the area where the burnt Seithr Filter was as he held it on his hands. "Guess it's a matter of time now." Knight said to himself as he tossed the now useless filter to the side. As he did so, everyone realized the situation that Sora was going to deal with at that moment.
"So that means... The only way for Sora to achieve victory now...Is to steal Knight's Camera and escape!?" Marcus said with growing horror as Makoto herself began to panic. "Woah wait a minute! You're trying to tell me he has to win against a guy who is not only as strong as me, but also wields what is the equivilent of a cannon in his hands!?" Makoto shouted as Hunter himself had to admit, if he was ever in such a position, he would most likely crumble from the stress that it provides.
"What would he be doing right now in this situation." Tsubaki said as everyone went quiet to see what was going to happen next. Having to keep on the move was rather detrimental in this scenario for Sora. He had to find a place to hide right now, otherwise he would not be able to maintain enough of his Seithr Ars Filter's limited time. 'Hide...I need to stabilize my breathing and figure something out as well.' Sora thought as he found a nice hiding spot he could take. It was high on top of a canopy and was shrouded in darkness. If needed, he could just jump off and make his escape then.
All he had to do was remain silent, that was it. This cover was foolproof, nobody would think to look up. The best part is that he can get the jump on Knight if needed and get a first strike. 'Come on Knight...come over here so I can see you.' Sora thought as he readied in his right arm one of his arm blades. Silence was the key and the least possible amount of movement he could make would be the best option. His eyes began to scan the forest floor for any possible movement that could be made anywhere.
Suddenly a rustling in the bushes entered Sora's ears, sending him in high alert. His head began to move left and right, looking for the source of that sound. He soon found his target in the form of Knight, slowly walking through the forest floor with his note on his hand. 'Why is he holding his note? That has nothing on it.' Sora thought as Knight applied a little bit of Ars magus onto the seemingly harmless piece of paper. Before he knew it, he suddenly felt a pulse hit his body which caused him to lose his footing and accidentally snap a twig with his free hand.
"There you are." Knight said, quickly thrusting his lance upwards, extending it's already ridiculous reach to even further heights to strike Sora with it's fire. Unable to stabilize himself, Sora soon found himself getting struck at the left shoulder, causing his camera to drop from his poncho. Knight retracted his thrusting stance to catch the camera but Sora would not allow him. Using his inhuman like speed, Sora dashed forward in high speed and forced knight to guard his attack. As he did so, Sora spun his body around for a quick second, making the camera land on his pocket in the most integral of times.
Knight soon forced him off with a powerful push, making Sora land on the ground in an awkward position and causing him to tumble in the process. Knight soon leapt in the air and thrusted to the ground with all of his might as Sora rolled out of the way. The move was enough to penetrate the very ground, digging his lance deep into the ground, giving Sora his chance to escape as he did so in a very daring manner.
Instead of running back like what most people would have done, Sora ran for Knight instead. Using his arm blade, Sora swung at Knight which he retaliated by doing a barrier with his free arm. Pushing Sora back, Knight soon raised his lance with the barrier acting like a large shield. "You should have picked the opposite way." Knight said seriously as he stood his ground for a brief moment. He then lunged forward, slamming with the shield first forcing Sora to go the opposite way Knight's lance was and slice with his arm blade in a wide motion.
Knight was not going to let him get his way that easily as he used the pommel of the lance to slam right into the arm blade, causing a dent on it which actually snapped it in half much to Sora's shock. He could not recover from his shock fast enough to not get smacked in the face with the barrier as he recoiled hard. He had to admit, due to the dome provided to most of the combatants in normal battle class, it had dulled his sense of pain as he felt like his face was burning up. The pain that he knew was supposed to be there was now coming back to him as he noticed Knight trying to reach for his pant's pocket which contained the camera.
Reacting out of instinct, Sora use his broken arm blade's handle and slapped it out of the way to protect the item. Raising his leg, he launched a kick to the chest which Knight blocked with ease. What he didn't expect was the kick to send him sliding on the ground without him realizing. As he did, Sora quickly took off, finally running off in the direction that he should have taken in the first place. "COME BACK HERE!" Knight yelled as he pointed his lance at Sora once more, releasing a volley of fireballs his way. Closing his eyes, Sora soon did a sudden turn and blasted himself towards Knight again, dodging all the fireballs in the process.
"If you want me...COME GET ME!" Sora yelled back, blasting himself forward even more as Knight could see a literal silver line follow Sora's back. His brilliant yellow Left eye showed determination to see through anything, regardless of how crazy the idea was. Knight had to admit, he was impressed with this courage...But, "That will not be enough to stop me!" Knight said as he raised his lance and thrusted with great force once more. The moment he did that, Sora saw his opportunity to counter attack as he began to lean his left shoulder.
As Knight's lance approached Sora, his shoulder slowly began to align with it as Knight could see a small hole had formed through it. The moment Knight realized what Sora was trying to do, he could only watch in shock as the tip of Knight's lance began to enter through the hole on Sora's left shoulder. 'HE'S USING THE HOLE I MADE ON HIS LEFT SHOULDER TO BRING HIMSELF CLOSER WITHOUT GIVING ME A CHANCE TO REACT!' Knight thought in shock as Sora's left shoulder soon entered through and was slowly encountering resistance when it began to reach the thicker portion of Knight's lance.
This was where Sora wanted to be, this was his chance to cause damage. Raising his right knee, he fired it forward, delivering a devestating kick to Knight's jaw. To prevent the lance from ripping apart his entire shoulder via bisection, Sora angled himself to follow the direction of the lance, slipping out of the lance's tip and crashing onto the ground as Knight crashed on the ground as well, causing him to drop his pack. Taking this as his chance, Sora snatched Knight's sack and stole something from it before running away once more. This time away from sight.
As Knight managed to stand up from the shock of what he had just seen. The manuever Sora Minakaze had done not only took massive amounts of guts, it also takes a massive amounts of skill at the same time. 'What is with this guy...he may not be as strong as me, but his skill is just overwhelming.' Knight thought as he took a deep breath and stood up, he then checked his pack only to realize what was missing. 'The Camera...!? HE TOOK THE CAMERA!' Knight immediately realized as he held the note in his hands. As soon as he did, he saw that the note he was holding was greatly crumpled, rendering the ars magus placed on it near unusable for someone like him.
As the developments grew for Knight, all the Cameras were on Knight himself as people were beginning to register what was going on with the match. "W-What's going on? I...I don't understand what's going on." Noel said in pure confusion as nobody in the room could blame her. What they had seen was just a few seconds but so much happened in between that the lines were greatly blurred in the process. "I would like to know that answer too Noel...Just what is going on?" Tsubaki said as Coach noticed the confusion that the various students were having.
"They are just as confused as we are, we may need to rewind the tape for now." Coach said as Estella and Seifer agreed to that logic. "Alright Class, we understand that everyone is as confused as we are about what happened after Sora and Knight clashed for those few moments. So we shall rewind the tape and slow down the footage to help us see." Coach said as the footage from before was displayed, "Now, we shall slow it down from here." Coach said as soon, everyone began to see the chain of events that both Knight and Sora experienced, from Sora's crazy manuever against Knight's thrust, to his kick on Knight's chin without causing even more damage on his shoulder.
Everyone stared at the results of what they had seen, "That...is something Sora would do." Chikacho said quietly to Marcus and Makoto as Marcus nodded his head at that. "Wait...Sora's a risk taker? I didn't know that..." Makoto said as Marcus shook his head. "He never takes risks...He calls them dangerous opportunities." Marcus explained as Makoto scratched her head. She really couldn't believe she was hearing that as she cleared her throat.
Makoto: Dangerous Opportunities? Isn't that Risk in general?
Chikacho: That is correct Miss Makoto, You can say that Risk and Dangerous Opportunities are one of the same, the difference is how it is used.
Makoto: How it's used? You mean how it's applied in a fight?
Marcus: Yeah... Sora never takes Risks in general. He will never do anything that always guarantee a negative reaction, thus the risk.
Chikacho: We noticed that he never acts rashly... He is always thinking...always keeping his brain on the move. He may be a great fighter, but his mind is sharp.
Makoto:...I noticed that too, he doesn't seem to be the type to make irrational decisions without a reason...So why call what he does Dangerous Opportunities rather than Risks?
As Makoto finished her sentence, Marcus and Chikacho took a deep breath as Marcus looked at her semi-seriously. "We call them Dangerous Opportunities because...He always looks for a chance to do damage, always looking for the greatest amount of bang in the least amount of steps, even if it causes his body a great amount of damage." Marcus said as everything slowly began to make sense in her mind, everything about Sora from the tactics he used to the fighting style he adapts all focus on one thing, speed rather than power which allows him to force people to reveal their powerful weapons and tactics right at the spot, allowing him to observe their movements and plan accordingly.
"Is...Is this the key to Sora's somehow overwhelming power against people in the academy?!" Makoto whispered as Marcus and Chikacho kept quiet. "We...Don't really know about it ourselves. He's pretty much an enigma in general and that is what we can gather by ourselves in general." Chikacho said as Makoto was surprised to hear that. "But yours actually comes the closest to what we have in mind... Maybe it's because he's opened up to you the most?" Marcus wondered as Makoto scratched her head. "But you guys know him longer than I do." She said as Chikacho shook her head. "No amount of time between people would allow one's heart to open up. It's the connection between people that makes it possible" Chikacho explained as Makoto kept quiet and stared at the footage.
As they did so, They noticed Sora stealing something from Knight's pack before taking off, prompting the teachers to stop the image there. Zooming in on the stolen item, It was much to their surprise, Knight's Ars Filter. "Knight's Ars Filter? Why would he steal that when he had his chance to take the Camera instead?" Seifer wondered as the others were unsure of Sora's decision at that moment. Meanwhile, Sora was busy trying to remove his ars filter on the gas mask. He had to take a deep breath to avoid inhaling any of the seithr laced air.
He knew that Seithr would be dangerous to breathe in large amounts so one deep breath was all the amount of breathing he would allow. After installing the new filter, Sora discarded the now depleted ars filter to the ground as he exhaled before wearing the mask once more. 'Good lord... that was too close. Any longer I might have start inhaling seithr.' Sora thought as he knew of the dangers of the seithr inhalation. He may have Seithr in his blood, that doesn't mean he could really breathe in Seithr like Kakas...
Or could he? His mind began to wonder about the possibility of that being true. The temptation began to flow in his head as he had not yet secure the gas mask on his head. He then heard footsteps as he guessed Knight was now trying to track him. 'Good thing I swapped his note with mine...Now he doesn't have that annoying sonar Ars Magus anymore.'this was important as he cannot be detected by Knight anymore. All he could rely was his sight and with the current position of the moon, that would be difficult.
'Right...time to wage war.' Sora thought as he soon faded into the darkness. Knight held his lance close to his body, pointed forward as his senses were in full alert. His footsteps were small and cautious, his stance made him look like he was ready to pop out at any slight change. His eyes darted left and right, scanning the various scenery without a single bead of sweat dropping down his face. All he could think at that moment was where the enemy was waiting and where they will appear as he took deep breaths.
'Where are you hiding Minakaze...' Knight thought as he found himself in a rather unique disadvantage. He was in the middle of a dark forest that obscured his view of most things which his opponent is going to take advantage. He would create a source of light but his opponent is fast and would react at the sight of such a thing with sheer force and brutality. He felt like he was the hunter, looking for a prey that not only stayed elusive, it was also sharpening it's fangs for a devestating attack right at him.
Sora meanwhile hid carefully in the shadows, taking small steps to prevent making too much noise. This was a crucial detail as he was down a weapon and it lacked the range Knight's lance had. If that wasn't enough, he also used fire ars magus which had the capability to do explosions wiht it's sheer force. Making a wrong move here will not only cost him life, it will also cost him a few limbs in the process. To worsen his chances, he has a major wound at his left shoulder that he didn't want to strain as it was literally aching all over. He would have it healed right now but it wouldn't be quick enough unfortunately.
Both foes knew their odds and were using them to their maximum. Knight with his superior weapon and physical health advantage while Sora had speed on his side as well as the environment to play with. No mistakes could be made by either of them, everything they did must not only made sense, it must be in a way hard to counter against. Sora was waiting for Knight to move a little bit more, looking at his prize, Knight's pack. Inside was the camera that he needed to retrieve before...
"1 HOUR HAS PASSED...2 HOURS REMAIN..." A voice announced, alerting the two of how much time they really did have left to do what they needed to do. Deciding to make the first move, Knight sets his lance's tip alight with it's fire and pointed it forward. Soon, it began to spew out more fire, spreading around the ground. It then creating multiple paths of flame, each heading to a specific tree as Sora immediately realized what Knight was trying to do.
'Shit...he's going to burn down this forest just to get to me...And the seithr's literally fuelling it!' Sora thought as soon the flames, connected with the canopy of the trees and fueled by seithr, began to set ablaze the sleeping forest like a raging fire. Everyone was shocked with the use of this tactic as the flame was visible through the glass dome. "That is just... Knight's willing to risk trapping himself in that flame just to bring Sora out!" Tsubaki said as the intensity of the flames could be felt even from the safety of the dome.
"This is a rather risky gamble he is willing to take...By burning away the only cover Sora has to hide from him, he will be able to spot him. But if he fights too long inside that fire it will start having damaging consequences to him." Cajun noted as Mai looked at the sight and something struck in her head. "Wait a minute...the Sleeping Forest has heavy concentrations of Seithr within it...What happens to it?" Mai asked as everyone's began to widen even further. They know of the power that Ars Magus possesses even in a low Seithr environment, but with such a massive amount readily available, it's near untapped potential is now brimming to a firestorm as Sora felt the heat emitted by this flame.
'SHIT! It's burning me while I am still wearing clothes.' Sora thought as he could hear his shoulder wound literally sear with a sickening sound. Holding it, he suddenly saw two eyes dart his direction as he went low to dodge a lightning fast thrust made at his direction. His heart began to race as his feet soon took over and started running at one direction. He didn't want to stop, he couldn't stop as he soon found another plume of explosive fire coming right at him. Having no choice but to go forward, Sora took the direct hit, raising his arms to guard as the fire was strong enough to send him crashing through a burning tree.
Sora had never felt such an impact before, his body smacked the tree so hard it created a sickening sound of flesh and bark. He wanted to scream but all of the air was forced out of his breath at the same time. He knew well know, this was the power of Ars Magus under high Seithr environments. "You will burn...Burn for what you have done." The voice spoke once more as Sora stood up and noticed a flame slowly collecting up his pants, prompting him to quickly pat himself to extinguish the flame before dropping on the ground and rolling.
It soon became clear that the fire was beginning to spread too much, as the Sleeping Forest for the first time began to awaken. It's trees were viciously getting consumed by flames, relentless fire that greedily ate at the seithr rich environment and becoming bigger in the process. "Coach! This is becoming too dangerous! I say that we should stop this right now before that fire becomes uncontrollable!" Estella said, raising her arms in worry as Coach himself knew of the risks. The problem wasn't with him...it was with another individual.
Seifer: I say we continue with the exercise, they seem very capable so far.
Estella: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING!? THESE ARE STUDENTS NOT SOLDIERS OF WAR!
Seifer: They will become soldiers of the NOL Someday am I right? Then why delay what they have already been preparing for this entire time.
Estella: I am not delaying this dammit! I am stopping this from becoming a massive shitstorm!
Seifer: Oh you worry too much, I am sure they will do fine.
Estella: ! FINE!? Just how can you call yourself a lecturer of the Academy with such a cold demeanor of our students!
Seifer: Cold Demeanor? I am not cold on them, I merely trust that they are performing to the best of their abilities that is all.
Coach knew that if these two went on longer, then it might just get messy in general. "How about this, we will give them a 10 minute warning right now, if the match becomes too dangerous due to those flames, we will call off the timer and immediately allow them to extract." Coach said as Estella and Seifer looked at him with shock in Estella's eyes and Intrigue in Seifer's. Unlike the both of them, Coach knew when to compromise. He wanted to see the full potential of his students realized but not have them injure themselves so needlessly in the process.
Seifer kept quiet, weighing the option given to him. "That...sounds like a reasonable offer to me, What about you Miss Emma? This sounds more reasonable doesn't it?" Seifer asked, extending his hand for a handshake of understanding as she gritted her teeth a little bit. She felt very uneased about this as she reluctantly shook his hand. "If any of those two gets injured, you better be willing to keep your promise from before...Am I clear." She said, nearly crushing Seifer's hand as she said so.
"...I will never break a promise I made." Seifer said, releasing his hand from Estella's tight grip. As the uneasy agreement came, The announcement began to make a sound that echoed throughout the Sleeping Forest, alerting both Sora and Knight. "ATTENTION...A 10 MINUTE TIMER HAS BEEN ACTIVATED FOR COMBATANTS TO LEAVE THE SLEEPING FOREST. WHEN 10 MINUTES PASS, YOU MAY LEAVE THE SLEEPING FOREST. I REPEAT, YOU MAY LEAVE THE SLEEPING FOR AFTER 10 MINUTES." The announcer said as both Knight and Sora went into overdrive.
'That means no more holding back.' Sora thought as he had been conversing his ars filter's limited supply to outlast Knight's overusage of his. But now that he no longer has to wait for 2 hours but 10 minutes to do what he needs to do, Sora took a deep breath as Knight could feel the seriousness emitting straight from his body. Sora then dashed forward nearly vanishing in the process which caught Knight off guard as he finally was going to experience Sora in his attacking state. 'Calm down...he only has his right arm, his attacking power is limited and all he can do is move fast. That's all.' Knight thought but he couldn't help but believe that assumption was going to be proven wrong in a very painful way.
Sora first started off with a quick blow to his left knee, staggering him to the ground. As he slowly kneeled on the ground, Knight felt a strong kick aimed for his face as he soon began to slide on the ground. As he did so, Sora chased after him with a relentless fury that he had never felt before. Jumping on the air, Sora quickly did a special kick as he aimed for Knight's chest. "Abare u~indoshia!" Sora yelled as he soon blasted forward with his right leg taking charge. The kick was sucessful as Knight could feel the impact of the kick literally forcing all of the wind out of his lungs.
Sora however wasn't done with him yet as he grabbed Knight's collar and stood him up forcibly. Without even giving him time to even inhale a single ounce of air, Sora used his knee once more to this time strike him where he least expected it, The groin. The pain Knight felt as his manhood was struck was excruciating for him, even as a dragon beastkin as it sent near deabilitating lightning to his entire body. As his hands instinctively retreated for his groin, Sora grabbed his now vulnerable head with his Right thumb extended extended.
With a light touch, Sora's thumb landed on a point near Knight's right eye and struck it. Even if it wasn't a direct rake to Knight's eyes, Sora still managed to land a blow that rendered him unable to see from that eye as they soon sank like iron. Knight has had endured pain before, but this was just beyond pain. With a fury that overpowered all of his sense of pain, Knight clenched his fist and landed a blow to Sora's stomach, causing him to vomit blood from the sheer force, sending him reeling to a burning tree and smashing right through.
As Knight slowly recovered, his knees tried to buckle under the pressure and his right eye refused to open no matter how much he tried. He felt shaky as his left eye twitched with fury, cheap tricks are something that anger him greatly as he ran forward his fist ready to punch. As he did so, Sora stood up as Knight's anger overtook his judgement. "SORA!" Knight yelled as he grabbed his lance which fell from his hands. The scales of the lance began to split apart once more as soon, flames engulged the lance, turning it into a blazing red.
Sora readied his right fist and postured himself in a weird manner. His right fist was forwards while his Left was behind him. His feet were firm on the ground, his left more forward than his right as the pose threw Knight off a bit but didn't change his attack. "TAKE THIS!" Knight screamed as his lance soon sprouted out flame wings from the intense heat they were producing and rocketed him forward without hesistating. Sora didn't budge at the sight as they approached his direction wtih a speed that no person could move on their own normally. To Sora's eyes eyes, they told him it was impossible, but his body said otherwise.
In what seemed to be a split second, Sora thrusted his right fist towards the lance. As he did so, he quickly changed his wrist's motion into a slap and literally slapped the lance away from his body to the ground right in front of his feet. The power wasn't enough however as it grazed his Seithr Filter in the process, piercing right through it and ripping it out of his face. Ignoring what had just happened right at his face, Sora painfully raised his left fist which had the broken arm blade from before ready in it's hand.
"Eat this." Sora calmly said as he thrusted the broken piece right into Knight's shoulder, leaving it there. As he did so, Sora launched one accurate kick at Knight's chest, enough to seperate him from his lance as it spewed out flames without control. Without the Seithr Filter, the gas mask was essentially useless now as his vision was heavily impaired. Sora knows of the danger of breathing in Smoke produced by fire but had to take the chance if he wants to finish this match now. Grabbing the back of his mask, Sora forcibly ripped it off, shocking everyone in the viewing arena.
"5 MINUTES REMAIN!" Everyone heard as Makoto, Marcus and Chikacho stared at the screen with worry in their eyes. "Sora has no more filters...he has to end this now." Marcus said with his hands clenched tightly as Chikacho nodded at his words. Noel and Tsubaki also shared their concern despite not knowing Sora very well. Mai, Cajun and Shiori couldn't put anything they wished to say in words as the sight was just enough to explain everything they needed to say. Hunter himself was watching this entire battle with not only interest, but with anxiety as he wanted to know more about Sora and this fight was beginning to fuel that interest. 'How is he able to fight the way he does...the movements he makes and the brazen plans he makes...How are you doing it Sora.' Hunter wondered.
Sora couldn't keep this fight from going on for too long, the smoke entering his nose was telling him that. The whispers of the fire were slowly creeping up to his conciousness, whispers that not only berate him, but want to consume him as well. If that wasn't bad enough, he was already breathing in Seithr which in such heavy concentrations would kill a person like him in 5 minutes if he didn't act fast. He didn't know what will happen if he used his Drive now, but with Knight staggered on the ground this was his only shot.
Closing his eyes, he began to focus as the Silver Ars Seal began to emerge from his back. Releasing it once more into his body, he felt even more energy entering into him for some reason as he clenched his body trying to control it. Dropping to his knees, he didn't know why he was feeling like this as a cold sweat broke out around him. Knight stood up, seeing this as his chance to attack as he ran for him. Without saying a word, Knight tossed his fist directly at Sora, aimed at his face with full strength.
Sora's face met with Knight's fist but didn't budge one bit, in fact, his face remained calm as he suddenly vanished from the attack. Knight knew what he was dealing with as he stood his ground. This was his first time experiencing this move, havng seen it only once so this was something new for him to deal with. That wasn't going to help him though as he got swept off his feet, tripping to the ground in the process as he looked around for the direction of the attack. Another attack then soon arrived, crashing right at his belly and slicing through like a sword slice, making him hold his stomach in pain.
Sora began to deliver a series of punches at direct weak points all over Knight's body, seemingly overwhelming Knight's senses as he struggled to block against said attacks. Having had enough of this nonsence, Knight slammed his fists to the ground, creathing a crater in the process. Sora however jumped fast enough to dodge said attack and grabbed the now exposed collar. "You're finished." Sora quietly said as he quickly tossed Knight into the air, barely floating up to the air. Blasting forward, Sora began to chain a series of attacks that allowed the both of them to ascend to the sky, leaving Knight as the vulnerable person as Knight formed a barrier as his last resort.
"BARRIER BURST!" Knight yelled as he blasted the barrier, shattering it and forcing Sora away from him, giving him time to recover in the air while Sora descended. The moment Sora's body touched the ground though, he immediately recovered and blasted forward, surprising everyone who was watching the scene. Deciding to finally end all of this, Sora readied his left leg for the finishing move. Seeing the move, Knight raised his fist to clash with Sora's, knowing that this clash was unavoidable in the end.
"Wairudo..." Sora yelled as he swung his kick. The kick was strong enough to not only deflect Knight's attempt to clash, it also managed to slice through his entire chest, exposing his chest. Leaning his back, Sora's right arm began to charge with energy as his silver eyes located Knight's face. "Harikēn !" The right fist soon crashed onto Knight's face, literally sending shockwaves all over it. The force of it was enough to begin sending Knight crashing to the ground. However Sora wasn't done as he saw something past him quickly in his mind.
"SOUL SHIFT!" Sora soon began to retract his entire body quickly, nearly appearing as an apparation as he soon began to build energy on his fists that only Hunter and Makoto could instantly recognised. "That move! He's going to use the move that won him the match against Jin-Sempai!" Makoto yelled as soon the Announcer blared. "10 MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED! ESCAPE IS NOW POSSIBLE!" As soon as it said that, Everyone's attention became focused at what Sora was performing as he built energy at both of his fists.
His right held in all of the energy with ease, his left however struggled greatly due to the wounds he suffered. 'Hold on to me just a bit longer...THIS WILL END IT!' Sora thought as he raised his right fist. "DEN!" Since the move started from the air, Sora decided to change the move's starting position from the normal uppercut, to a devastating heel kick to the chest. Knight could feel the impact of the attack as Sora raised his right fist. "RI!" Soon, the first hurricane fist went for Knight's chest, slamming it hard and began to spin on his chest, causing him to spin violently.
Sora knew this move had to hit. Knight knew that this attack would mean his defeat. The both of them had accepted that fact. What they didn't want to accept was that this match was going to end so soon. For Sora though, he was going to end it now. "Sō!" The pain was like a wildfire all around as Sora forced his left fist to land on the other tornado, literally blasting Knight away from Sora. As it did so, the flames from the forest began to collect around him and surround him, creating a windy trail of fire that was pretty to see.
The flames burned everything that was on it's path as Knight feel all the way to the observation domes. Soon, he found himself making a devestating thud to the ground that was hard enough to completely shatter his gas mask, finally exposing his now pained face as he saw the fire slam right at his body. Sora on the other hand, expended all of the energy he had to perform the attack as he slowly reverted back to his normal self, crashing to the ground in an ungraceful manner. Everyone remained quiet at that moment, Nobody dared say a word to the sight they just got to witness what was one of the most shocking things they have ever seen. A winner still had to be announced though and a winner will be announced by Coach of all people.
"The Winner is...KNIGHT YOAKE!" Coach said, surprising everyone as Knight himself began to stand up. He looked rather unfazed by the attack as everyone could just stare in shock. "Knight not only held his ground for 10 minutes...He was the first person to escape." Coach explained as Marcus could only watch in shock. "S-S-So...Nii-san..." Marcus stuttered as he realized Sora had just given Knight the victory by doing that move. Chikacho couldn't believe that actually happened as Knight clenched his fist and slowly walked back to the Sleeping Forest.
Since the match was finally over, Knight decided to cast a Seithr barrier on himself which allowed him to breathe normally. The disadvantage something like this would have had on the match was the obvious outline present around him, making him glow in the process. Hunter noticed Knight's face as he collected his lance and continued walking. "Knight...doesn't feel the same way." Hunter noted as Knight soon made his way to Sora who was heavily panting on the ground. Knight's eyes locked on Sora's form as he stabbed the lance on the ground and sat down his level.
"I only won because of a technicality...but this battle is your victory." Knight said as he lowered his head in frustration. He had a lot of things to feel frustrated about but couldn't bring it up to himself to show it visibly. Sora slowly tried to stand up but failed as his legs finally gave out on him. "Technicality or actual...At this point, I would have lost...this is your win." Sora said, accepting his defeat without hesistation. This puzzled Knight as he cleared his throat.
Knight: Why do you accept defeat so easily? Your now perfect battle record is now stained.
Sora: Perfect battle record?...To be honest, I don't care for that.
Knight: H-Huh...Are you trying to say that you gave me the win on purpose!?
Sora: Maybe I did? So what?
Knight: ! Don't try to insult me! Are you trying to say you were holding back!?
Sora: And if I was holding back?
Knight: Don't you desire to fight someone at your full...
Sora: No... I don't desire to fight someone at full strength...that doesn't matter to me. The reason why I did the move I did was to take out the fire. You just happened to be the way to do so... My winds protected you from the main brunt of the fire didn't they?
Knight: ! I...They did...I would have been burned without those winds. No matter how much you try to spin it...I lost on the higher ground in the end.
Knight couldn't believe he found the courage to say those words. To admit for once that he was given a win rather than the other way around was surprising. What was even more surprising was Sora raising his hand from the ground. "Like I said before... Save the formalties for after a match... You were a great opponent." Sora said as he closed his eyes gently. Knight was reluctant to say a word but bowed his head in respect. "Thank you for the match...I learned a lot... Can we have another match someday?" Knight asked as Sora just nodded his head from the ground. Seeing the kind gestured oftered to him, Knight took the hand of Sora before hoisting him on his shoulder. "Let me help you back... as respect for the match you gave me." Knight politely asked as Sora obliged.
As Knight and Sora slowly made their way back to safety, Seifer was watching the scene in amazement and shock. He couldn't believe what he saw, a moment of Ars Magus and suddenly a near flash like being appeared. "Well...is your curiosity satisfied?" Estella asked as Seifer continued to watch the scene. He was trying to figure out the secret to this ability, it was not only as magnificent to witness, he wanted to know what it could do, the potentials this possessed and why it was being used by a person who cannot use Ars Magus. "It hasn't...My curiosity has grown even more." Seifer said as he stood up and went to the elevator, his curiosity now fully peaked. 'I will know everything about you...Sora Minakaze...No matter the cost.' Seifer thought as the elevator closed.
Meanwhile Hunter was feeling something different. The fight he watched not only made him become even more wary about Sora, It managed to spark something within him. It was a deep curiosity, a curiosity for a person that nearly killed him twice in one month. He didn't know what he should do, he wanted to know more about Sora but knew how dangerous of a person he really is. "Is something wrong Hunter?" Noel asked as Hunter looked at her surprised. Noel's eyes looked at his for a moment as he shook his head and smiled back.
"It's nothing wrong Noel...Nothing wrong at all..."
1st May 2196
Last Known Time: 20.10 hours