Chapter Twelve: Near The Final Challenge
White's POV
The trees rattled and shook tremendously as the grass swayed and danced to the harsh winds of the early morning. Shallow chattering filled the air, talking about exciting battles from the last few days that got them excited. Today, in a couple of hours, is our battle. The final battle that'll prove our worth to the princesses and to get us one step closer towards our goal.
Me, Frost, Black, Res, Chaos, Melody and Phase stood to the far right of the wooden stage which was in the shape of a trapezium, completely polished down and sanded to as smooth as ice. The sun shone brightly behind us, just above the mountains far behind as we stared down at our fellow colleagues with confident smiles. In the middle of the stage, was non other than Coal himself standing behind a slender black pole which held a microphone up to his face. I have very vague memories about him, but I do remember frost plunging a sword into his chest.
He looked proud and completely easy-going, wearing his black school buttoned up shirt and black trousers, his blonde spiky hair resembling daggers made of gold. About three quarters of the school are in love with him. Thankfully, I'm the twenty five percent that can repel him. After all, I have Frost.
Far down, all the way to the left of the stage, were our opponents who had stunning confidence shimmering out of them. Sino, their leader, cradled a large, light green sniper rifle in her arms which attracted many eyes to her side. Trying to get favourites before the battle starts, eh. I don't know what they're planning at... Do they get some kind of an advantage?
The people that stood beside her shoulder to shoulder, were her proud, cheerful-looking team mates. Yellow, Blue, Red, Orange and Purple... A deadly good combination. Especially with Purple, or should I say VORTEX being the Maiden of Wisdom. With her brains and the fluid complex combination of their powers combined, we have little to no chance of winning if this turns out to be an all out brawl. Frost has to limit himself greatly in order to hide his identity. Tho, I'm not certain if he will but it'll be best if he did. The public already knows that Frost is in this island somewhere and think that HE'S a SHE. It's even harder when they all know that WE know exactly where he is... And for some strange reason... The people aren't angered, but instead, thankful? I don't understand humans sometimes...
A stiff silence swept across the grassy plains with a cold gust of air gently brushing against the sharp tips of the razor sharp, light green grass which caused it to dance freely. It choked us. Both our group and Sino's. It twisted and strained us of oxygen as anticipation and anxiety began to eat us away with every passing second that felt like years. Then, Coal took in a deep breath of air through his mouth, filling in his lungs with as much air as possible before exhaling through his nose and cleared his throat. The silence shattered immensely. It was like a glass panel was dropped and left to infinitely shatter until even the atoms were destroyed...
"Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present to you the final challenge between Melody's team and Sino's!", Coal cried out win enthusiasm into the microphone which was immediately answered by the massive crowd that were filled to the brim with excitement and adrenaline, screaming out at the top of their lungs. "This is the moment you've all been waiting for! Let's give a round of applause to both these teams for making it so far!".
"WOHO!", The crowd cheered and began to clap frantically, making my face flush a little in embarrassment. I hate large crowds like these.
"So noisy", Frost complained from the right of me with a depressed sigh as their claps slowly softened. "My ears are ringing".
"I feel you man. My ears want to explode", Chaos muttered in agony, making Res and Black giggle childishly right before Coal continued his announcement.
"First thing's first! The battlefield! Last night you all had a vote to choose one of the five listed arenas where the grand final would take place!"... Here it comes... "It will be held right here in our very school grounds!"... My jaw dropped and my eyes widened to what he just said... H-Here?! But- "And the game will be One Or All!".
The crowd immediately screamed in excitement and joy as Frost and Chaos grunted to the insanely high decibels that threatened their very hearing. One Or All... Dammit. The game's in their favour. It's an all out battle but with one person sitting out from each side who can only come in either when their entire team is unable to continue fighting OR they defeat the opposing team. No doubt Frost is going to sit out... We can't have him revealing his identity on accident. All the more reason we need to win. If we lose, it's a six on one against Frost. If we win, then it's six on one in our favour. We better not screw this up!
"Screw that. A One For All challenge is basically a one on five if we're up against them with a team like ours", Black complained, barely audible to the continuous cheers and claps of the crowd that echoed freely. "We can only have two of our own weapons equipped at all times and using magic WITHOUT a weapon is illegal in this challenge! Such a strain!".
"Tell me about it. I won't be able to heal you guys", I managed to hear Res sigh. "Nor will White be able to throw down barriers against their attacks. We're not going to win".
"I'll take note of that", Frost said. "What's the catalyst?".
"Complete areal bombardment with combined magic", Res answered... Is... Is she psychic or something?! Then again... That's probably the easiest way for them to take us out... Dammit... Without a shield, let alone a barrier we won't be able to withstand a bombardment like that! We're even fighting on a flat battlefield! Ack! It all comes down to Frost having to save us at the very end!
Frost's POV
"Sino! Come to the microphone and tell our lovely crowd what weapons you're going to be using!", Coal cried as the audience began to whistle and clap relentlessly hard. Eh... I looked over to my left, eyeing Sino who slowly walked up to the microphone at the centre of the stage. With every step, the crowd got quieter and quieter until she stood right at the microphone stand, tightly holding into her sniper rifle in her arms close to her chest and spoke.
"This and a machine pistol", Was what she said. A machine pistol, eh. I wonder what her fighting style will be.
"Next! Yellow!", Coal cried. The audience didn't react vocally, but instead, with their faces. The amount of excitement shown brought their faces is uncanny and unsettling.
Yellow walked up to the middle of the stage as Sino walked down to her group, both smiling brightly. In between her fingers, were shiny golden knives that reflected the early morning sun in a mesmerising manner. That's right. Yellow's focuses on hand-to-hand combat.
"My two daggers", She said and winked to the audience before happily walking back.
"Red!".
Red walked to the middle of the stage completely unarmed. So you don't need to show your weapons. You can just mention them...
"Two shields", Was her answer before heading back somewhat timidly. Haha. How cute.
"Orange!".
Slowly, she began to walk up, shaking a little with stage fright. Once she was behind the mic, she spoke shyly.
"J-Just my Bombard"... Bombard? That must be her special weapon... That name hints it's uses.
"Blue!", Coal cried which caused Orange to jolt in fright, almost screaming which caused the crowd to laugh at her. I felt kinda sorry for her. She reminds me of myself a LONG time ago before I joined the Games.
"C'mon Orange", Blue sighed, shaking her head left and right which caused her long, elegant DARK blue hair to bounce in a fascinating manner. Huh? I remember her hair being LIGHT blue... "It's alright".
"Y-Yep", Orange mumbled before walking back to the others. It's hard to describe their hair styles from this distance. Blue's hair looks like it's tied up into a long razor sharp pony tail that reached down to her thighs.
"My Blue Luster and my Marumasa!", She said loudly into the mic, gazing at us with a dreaded smile plastered across her face. Blue... When was the first time I met her? Oh... Haha. That time when she tried to kill me. And Red was my opponent the next day... Tho she had a different weapon... It was... A rocket launcher?
"Finally, Purple!"... Vortex. A Maiden and a Colour. One of a kind. Just like Star.
As Blue began to walk away, Vortex walked up towards the centre of the stage collectively, smiling softly and eyeing our team with her light purple eyes that held infinite knowledge. A formidable foe with a heavy weakness. If she takes a direct hit, then it's over for her. Knowledge is her strength. Strength is her weakness. If... That makes sense.
"Vortex... Depending on what she's going to use, we might have a chance", Melody said in a concerned tone of voice as we watched Vortex stand behind the microphone confidently and take in a deep breath of air before finally, speaking...
"Lightning Rod", She said humbly. "Nothing else".
"Yep, we lose", Melody sighed frustratedly.
"Now! For Melody's team! Melody! You're up first!", Coal exclaimed as Vortex walked back... Hmm... I wonder how I'm going to introduce myself. I have plans for this match. Big ones. This'll be my first big movement. I'll just claim two swords only. Nothing less and nothing more.
"Let's get this rolling", Melody cleared her throat.
White's POV
I'm so relieved... For a second there I thought that he was going to yell out his name. Good. He still wants to lay low for as long as possible.
I stood in the midst of the light green, young grassy plains with Melody, Black, Chaos and Res by my side, all holding our weapons in a defensive position as we waited for the battle
to commence. Frost sat far to the right with Phase, just in front of the terribly loud crowd that cheered us on. Our chances of winning are second to non since we don't have at for defence. Res can't fight so it'll be a four on five. But that doesn't matter as long as we do our best.
Anxiously, I watched the other team stand a good fifty meters away from us with their weapons out and ready to take us on at full force. These guys want to be the Princesses's team just as much as we do. Argh!
Frost's POV
Let the games begin! At once, a loud, medieval horn was blown which ignited the crowd to frantically scream and yell out in enthusiasm from right behind me, causing me to cringe and watch White and the others hold their ground as Yellow and Red made a full charge towards them. Haha! This is is going to be great!
Phase's POV
The battle is going to start soon... If Frost is right, this will be over in just under five minutes...
Frost's POV
"That's a smart strategy", Phase hummed to the right of me as we watched the battle commence from a good thirty meters away from where we sat on the light green grassy field. "They have two as an attacking force while another two provide supporting fire from the back with one backup player".
"But that won't stop us", I chimed in with a smile as White immediately clashed with Red, causing a strong shock wave to emit and blast fine ribbons of grass into the air as the crowd went wild. "Not when I have you by my side".
"You idiot. Don't make misunderstand", Phase mumbled in a timid manner, taking in a shallow breath before releasing a soft sigh which was almost impossible to hear due to the screams of excitement emitting from right behind. "Be careful with what you say around girls", She warned. Haha.
Black's POV
Yellow lunged straight towards me with unmatched lightning speed, both her blades held far behind her by the sides, causing me to grip tightly onto the black, rubbery handle and hold the tip of the blade just in front of my face, levelled to my eyes.
Once she was a good metre away from me, I pushed forward, slapping the sharp edge of my sword against her daggers that immediately reacted to my movements, blocking my attack which created a brilliant show of blue, red and yellow firework to shoot out. The crowd screamed with joy and excitement, inducing some adrenaline into my very bloodstream which I used to send a devastating leg swipe with my right foot.
As expected, she sensed it and sprung herself into the air, breaking free of the clash as I took a small step back and transformed my sword into a glowing, pulsating black cannon that wrapped itself around my right arm all the way to just below my elbow.
"Check", I said with a devilish grin to Yellow who's eyes widened a tenfold in utter shock to how easily she fell for my trap. Haha. No matter how fast or strong you are, if you're stuck in mid air then you're done for. Especially at this range with my Night's Melody!
Pulling down the trigger that my right index finger was wrapped around from within the weapon, an instant light blue ball of compressed, extremely dangerous energy was fired with one hell of a loud supersonic boom which muffled my ears greatly and caused the grass around us to explode and flung right into the air. Haha! Goodbye Yellow!
"DISQUALIFIED! BLACK IS OUT!", Coal cried out at the top of his lungs from the left side of the battlefield, causing my eyes to widen in pure horror as realisation slapped me across the face with a metal bullet... Almost literally...
Sino managed to fire a bullet at my ball of energy before it could make it halfway to the frightened Yellow who thought her life was going to end. Ack... Dammit.
My ball imploded with the bullet, rupturing the time and space within it's vicinity before completely compressing itself into a tiny black ball that exploded into nothingness... That would've killed her. I feel so bad for her.
"Sorry! Are you ok?!", I immediately cried, completely concerned about Yellow's health as she landed back down on the grass with a soft, small smile and slightly teary eyes that shredded my soul.
"Y-Yeah. That was too close... Don't ever do that again, please. I really thought I was going to die there", She said meekly. Ack...
"I'm sorry... Here", I said, making my sword disappear into nothingness as I approached her and wrapped my arms around her warm body. She squirmed a little, probably embarrassed by the fact that the whole SCHOOL is watching us and letting out 'Aww's'. Hehe. "But don't think you've just won yet"...
"Why's that?", She asked.
"You'll find out soon enough".
White's POV
This is- Argh! Sino and Blue won't let me move! Their attacks are more than just- Ouch!
I grit my teeth, trying to keep a steady grip on my pale, sturdy blade as they fired countless bullets at my sword, destroying every opportunity of attacking Red who didn't stop throwing punches at me. I let her, knowing that if I retaliate then it's a bullet to my stomach... This is hard without the freedom of magic! Dammit!... This is my loss right here... It's all up to Melody and Chaos right now.
Melody's POV
NOPE! I got down on my knees the moment Yellow and Red both decided to gang up on me and dropped my crystal bow to the side.
"Eh?", Yellow blankly said with confusion.
"I SURRENDER!", I cried, staring down at the light green grass that up close resembled knives. I can't win without fucking magic! I can't even draw arrows!
"Ah... Then... Chaos?", Red asked as scrunching approached from up ahead.
"We surrender", Chaos sighed... That Chaos... Why the fuck is he surrendering?! He can still fight, can't he?! "Without your magic, you won't be able to withstand my attacks. Sorry"... CHAOS! You- ARGH!
"Chaos! What the hell are you doing?! It'll all be up to Syringe!", I yelled angrily, pulling my head up to see him standing in between Red and Yellow with a small smile cross his face.
"Don't think I don't know that. Besides, he knew this would happen", Chaos immediately replied.
"Syringe? You mean that guy who wears the black eyepatch?", Yellow hummed curiously.
"That's the one", Chaos sighed.
"Haha! You guys are going to lose then! There's no hope left if it's only him against us!", Yellow laughed... I smiled, almost chuckling before pulling myself up from the ground and taking a slow step back. Frost will beat them. I know it.
Frost's POV
"We didn't lose by an areal attack?", Res asked no one in particular as she and the others walked up towards me with small smiles of hope, except for her. I blinked, exhaling out the carbon dioxide within my lungs and walked towards them with my own smile which made White turn a gentle red.
"Something I did must've changed the outcome", I stated, staring into her light blue eyes that were filled with disappointment due to the fact that she did NOTHING to help the team. It's not her fault. Using your own magic isn't allowed...
"I guess", She sighed, walking right past me to the left as the crowd silently watched us from behind, muttering with one another about the battle and about me particularly. "Do your best", I managed to hear her which made me chuckle.
"Sorry. Not being able to use magic isn't as easy as it sounds", White hummed in a slightly frustrated tone of voice as she and the others passed me all at once, forcing my smile to broaden.
"No problem", I replied and blinked, taking in a deep breath of the cool, graceful air that pleasantly filled my lungs to the brim, fuelling my body with pure oxygen. Haha! "Phase", I exhaled out the carbon dioxide, looking down to my right at Phase who stared up at me with her adorable light blue eyes that had fire flickering wildly within. "Let's do this", I said confidently and began walking up towards the battlefield where all six of them stood, holding their weapons neutrally. My footsteps were loud and sounded like a plastic bag being ravaged as smaller, quieter ones mimicked, just to my right.
Her long, beautiful light blue hair trailed behind majestically and shone in the morning sun, making me smile and have a strong urge to pat her head. But I resisted and looked forward, focusing on the six who stood there in a rather inviting manner. I bet they'll try to get me to surrender. Haha! They can keep dreaming!
"Which sword are you going to use?", Phase asked me innocently as chants emitted from the crowd behind, progressively getting louder and louder with every step I took that got me closer.
I blinked, looking back down at her with a warm smile and answered. "Exzera".
"Exzera? What kind of sword is that?", She immediately asked me, widening her adorable light blue eyes slightly which shone like gems in the morning sun.
"You'll see", I said, feeling adrenaline begin to pump through my narrow veins all over my body. I can't wait to go against these guys! Haha, this will be fun!
"Hmm. I heard of that sword before, but I can't put my finger on it", She hummed curiously as I looked back up and stared at my opponents who stared back at me from roughly twenty metres away. Estimated fifteen seconds till we're within the fight zone.
With every step we took within these final seconds, the adrenaline running through my veins became more and more viscous, ramping increasing my pure lust for battle. What I'm about to do, is definitely going to give myself away. The moment I pull out this blade and Phase manifests it, I'll be renown as Frost Richtofen.
Yellow took a few steps forward with her hands curled into fists of pain, both wielding a vicious golden dagger that reflected the morning light in a memorable manner which got me to smile warmly and Phase to let out a small grunt. It's almost time.
She stood confidently before us, ready to pounce on us the moment we enter the battle zone. Once we were a metre away, I stopped and heard the crowd from far behind start to cheer me on and clap as hard and as loud as they could. Haha!
"Back down and you won't get hurt", Yellow stated in a vicious manner, pulling her right hand up in front of her face with the tip if the dagger pointing right at my face.
I honestly almost laughed. She knows how to joke! Ahaha! The seriousness in her tone and facial expression makes it even funnier!
"I beg the differ", Phase replied sharply... Haha! I can't wait to see the look on her face when she finally finds out who I am!
