A/N: Well readers, it's finally here. You've waited and watched countless exciting fights. But now it is finally time. The final fight of the ALO Tournament. Enjoy.

Yui walked up and stared at Lucifer. The male Imp showed an eager smirk as he stared right back at her. Both of their teams were silent, able to do nothing else other than believe in their team leaders.

"So you're the famous Black Swordswoman." Lucifer said. "I've been looking forward to this."

"Why? Humiliating Shade wasn't enough for you?" Yui asked with a glare.

"Not at all." Lucifer said with a shake of his head. "He was simply too weak. All I'm after is an opponent that can make my blade sing. Someone that can force me to go all out." He grinned as he held out his arms to the sky. "Do you have any idea what it's like in this little fairy tale land where there are so few players that can put up a real fight?"

"Being one of the best players in the game doesn't give you the right to treat others like garbage. You don't even seem to care about your own teammates."

Lucifer let a chuckle escape from him. "You're so naive. This game used to be all about PvP and war between the nine fairy races. Now we live in an era of relative peace where the only competition between fairy races is seen in competitions like this."

"What's so wrong about that? Players of all races working together on quests is what makes this game fun." Yui argued. "Each race has their own special trait and by working as a group, so many things become possible."

"But it's made this game so dull. The rush of battle and the excitement of the battlefield is what brings out a person's fighting instincts to their finest! That's why I entered this tournament! But everyone around me has been too weak to bring out my full power! I want a challenge!"

Yui reached for her two swords. "I can understand wanting a challenge. But you've taken it too far." She unsheathed her two weapons and took her stance. "I'm going to give you the challenge you've been looking for, Lucifer. And I'm going to beat you."

"Give it your best shot, Black Swordswoman."

The audience was waiting for the fight to start with baited breath. This would be the one that decided it all. The winner of the ALO Annual Tournament.

"Is everyone ready for some action?" Haruka asked the crowd, getting a response in the form of a loud and resounding cheer. "Alright then! The final match! Yui versus Lucifer! Begin!"

Yui and Lucifer both charged at each other the instant the match began. As they met in the middle of the ring, their swords skidded across each other, sparks flying as they did so. With her free sword, Yui attempted to slash through Lucifer. Unfortunately, the male Imp had no such plans and managed to push back Yui's sword clashing with his blade and fall back before her other sword could cut him. Yui wasn't willing to let him run however and chased after Lucifer. She attacked with the Double Circular combo, thrusting one of her blades forward followed by an upwards slash from the second.

Lucifer felt Yui's sword stab into his shoulder. As the upwards slash came however, he quickly blocked it with his own sword. Although one of her swords was blocked, Yui wasn't done. She slashed her currently impaled blade through Lucifer's avatar, shaving away a large chunk of his health. Lucifer growled as he watched his health fall, but not before using Yui's close proximity to his advantage by unleashing the four-hit skill Vertical Square. Yui's health took a large hit as she and Lucifer both jumped back to put some distance between each other.

As both of them took a quick moment to catch their breath from the initial clash, a grin came to Lucifer's lips. "Not bad. You might just be the opponent I've been waiting for."

"Then I'll be happy to be the one to put the nail in your coffin."

Both Yui and Lucifer sped back at each other, going in for another attack. As Yui thrusted one of her swords forward, Lucifer brought out his wings and flapped them, flying directly over Yui's head. As he did, he delivered a cut to Yui's shoulder, lowering the female Spriggan's health even further. Yui quickly turned around as Lucifer landed behind her, attacking him with a downwards slash. Lucifer barely managed to bring his sword up to block the attack in time.

Yui continued to push down on Lucifer's sword with her own. The two became deadlocked in a test of strength.

"Go Yui!" Rin cheered from the side. "You can do it!"

"Beat him up, sis!" Strea called out.

Lucifer chuckled as he heard the cheers from Yui's teammates. "It's a shame you're going to end up letting them all down when you lose this."

"That's what you think." Yui growled.

Lucifer finally managed to push Yui back, causing the girl to stumble back. Lucifer raised his blade, the weapon glowing with the light of a sword skill. Yui however was ready for it as she regained her balance and parried the attack, swinging both of her swords up.

"Take this!" Yui yelled as she aimed a thrust at Lucifer's head while having her second sword go for a horizontal slash at his waist. A clean hit with either one would almost assuredly take out all of Lucifer's HP.

'Without two swords, he can't fully block this. And he doesn't have time to dodge.' Yui thought to herself. 'I've got this.'

Everyone widened their eyes in shock as they saw Yui's combo attack. It was almost assuredly her victory. But the crowd gasped in unison as they watched what happened next. Lucifer used his sword to block Yui's slash at his waist. As for the thrust at his head, the Imp used his free hand to push the sword out of the way. The sharp metal cut into his hand, but he managed to avoid having his head stabbed through.

Yui gasped in shock as she watched her combo break apart. Seeing the surprise from her brought a smirk to Lucifer's face as he stabbed his sword through Yui's chest. The female Spriggan cried out in pain as her HP dropped drastically.

"Let's see how you handle this!" Lucifer grinned. He yanked out his sword, only to swing his leg up, hitting Yui's jaw with his boot. Yui was sent flying into the air. As she shook the dizziness out of her head and balanced herself out midair with her wings, she saw Lucifer finish the incantation of a spell.

Naoki widened his eyes in fear. "Is he going to use his healing magic and torture her like he did with Shade?!"

Lilly shook her head. "No, he wouldn't risk it like this. Yui's putting up a close fight with him."

"It's an attack spell!" Luna yelled out. "Yui, look out!"

Yui gasped as a blast of dark energy shot out from Lucifer's palm and flew towards her. The blast hit her and she was sent flying up until her back slammed against the top of the barrier.

"Time to end this!" Lucifer grinned as he shot up with a powerful flap of his wings. He brought his sword back, ready to finish Yui off once he reached her.

As Lucifer swung his sword forward, Yui quickly reacted and moved to the side, barely managing to avoid Lucifer's slash. Lucifer's blade bounced off the barrier, stunning him for a moment due to the power he put behind it.

Not wasting the chance given to her, Yui impaled her sword into Lucifer. "You're right. It is time to end this." she said as she pushed him along with her as she flew down towards the ground at full speed. "And you're the one that's going to lose!"

Lucifer tried to get himself free as he and Yui rocketed down towards the ground. He attempted to shove Yui off him, but the female Spriggan wouldn't give. They crashed into the ground, creating a huge shockwave on impact. Yui jumped out of the cloud of debris that formed and quickly prepared for one final attack to finish her opponent off.

'Should I use it?' Yui asked herself. 'No, I still haven't mastered it yet. I should go with the safer bet. I can't afford to risk this fight on a gamble.'

Yui sped forward with her sword reeled back for a thrust. Her blade lit up with a luminous violet glow. She prepared to attack Lucifer as she made out his image in the debris cloud that was vanishing.

"Mother's Rosario!"

Lucifer gasped as Yui quickly attacked with thrust after thrust, unleashing the eleven-hit sword skill on him. His health fell drastically, going down into the low red area, as he received the first ten hits of the skill. Yui went in for the final strike.

Yui roared as she thrusted her blade forward. "This is the end!" Slowly, her blade got closer and closer to Lucifer's body. But just before it could pierce him, Lucifer quickly brought his sword up, blocking the hit with the blunt side of his weapon. Yui gasped, seeing the tip of her blade only hit the weapon of her opponent.

Lucifer was pushed back several meters from the last hit of Mother's Rosario. But he had managed to save himself from losing all of his HP. He a chuckle escape from him s he grinned at Yui.

"Good. Very good." Lucifer told her. "I've finally found one. A player that can make my blade sing! It's taken so long, but it was well worth it!" He laughed to himself. "This is what I've been looking for! A strong player that can push me to my limits and beyond!"

Yui narrowed her eyes. "Shouldn't you wait until you've won before you start celebrating?"

Lucifer stared at the girl. "My apologies. I wasn't aware you were so eager to lose."

The comment from her opponent made Yui glare at him. She got ready for one final attack. "Bring it."

The players in the audience watched with their breath still as Yui and Lucifer simultaneously sped at each other. Yui swung her right-hand sword simultaneously with Lucifer, the two blades clashing and bouncing back. Yui however still had a free hand and used her left-hand sword for a horizontal slash to cut Lucifer's body in half.

'This is for Team Moonshadow and all of the players you insulted by calling them "weak".' Yui thought to herself.

Lucifer grinned as Yui's blade neared him. The female Spriggan gasped as Lucifer managed to duck out of the way of her slash. Her eyes widened in fear as he closed in near her, reeling his sword back.

"Game over."

The entire crowd watched as Lucifer's sword stabbed through Yui's body. The female Spriggan watched as her HP hit zero and her body dissolved into a remain light. Silence overtook the players in the audience.

Haruka stepped forward and announced the victor to the crowd. "The winner is Lucifer of Team Demise! The champions of this year's ALO Annual Tournament are Team Demise!"

A collection of cheers and boos echoed throughout the crowd at the result of the match. At the side of the ring, Team Demise collectively smirked, as if they knew this would happen from the beginning. On the other side, Yui's teammates frowned in disappointment that they had lost.

"I can't believe it. Yui was beaten." Lilly said.

"And we worked so hard to get this far too." Naoki sighed.

Rin clenched her fist. "Damnit… and after we promised everyone that we'd win and put Team Demise in their place."

In the ring, Yui was revived by the system. The disappointment was painted all over her face. She had let her team down. Despite all her best efforts, she had lost. They had lost. And Team Demise had won.


Up at the higher seats of the arena, the Salamander leader grinned to himself. "This was a good show. Looks like power wins in the end after all."

One of the retainers at his side nodded in agreement. "Indeed."

"Perhaps we could hire those Team Demise players as mercenaries." the leader said to himself. "We could use players like them for-"

The Salamander leader fell silent as he caught sight of something in the corner of his eye. He quickly jumped out of his private chair just as a blade flew at him and stabbed itself into the seat where he was just sitting.

"An assassin!" one of the two retainers exclaimed before both he and his partner moved into guard their leader. "Lord Ignis, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Ignis said as he looked in the direction the blade had come from. "Why don't you show yourself, coward?"

Coming out from the shadows, a hooded player revealed themselves, holding a shortsword in his hand, much like the one that had been thrown at Ignis just moments ago. "As expected of the Salamander leader. Your instincts for battle are sharp."

"Who do you work for? The Sylphs? The Imps?"

"I'm not obliged to answer that." the player said, grinning under his hood. "Now die."


The commotion from the VIP area at the top of the arena gradually caught the attention of all of the players in the stadium.

"An assassin going after the Salamander leader?" Yui asked in disbelief.

"Look! Over there too!" Naoki exclaimed as he pointed to a different VIP room, this one for the Sylphs.

Looking at all of the VIP rooms, each of them had the same situation going on. Assassins going after the leaders of each of the races.

"My goodness! It seems we have a simultaneous attack at each of the race leaders!" Haruka exclaimed. "Assailants have broken into each of the rooms and are currently engaged in battle with them!"

"This was a planned attack." Lilly said with narrow eyes. "They waited for the excitement to be at its peak once the final match ended, then attack while the leaders would be distracted."

"But how can they kill them here?! We're still in the safe zone of the city, aren't we?" Naoki asked.

Luna shook her head. "The arena itself isn't a safe zone. It's designed that way because of the constant battles that go on in the tournament."

"Which means that PKing is fair game here." Lilly realized.

"But why go after all of them?" Strea asked. "There'd have to be one leader pulling the strings, otherwise there'd be no point."

"I can think of two possibilities." Lilly said. "Either multiple race leaders had the same idea, or one of the attacks is a phony to cast suspicion off of them."

"We can figure out the reason later. Right now, we need to put a stop to this." Rin said.

In the corner of her eye, Luna saw a two figures speed at them. "Look out!"

Team Blazing Firestorm saw the two players coming at them and quickly split up. Rin flew at one of them, reeling her fist back. She swung it forward, only for it to be blocked by the hooded player's arm. He quickly grabbed Rin's arm and threw her towards one of the walls of the arena. Rin quickly recovered as she flew back and stopped herself with her wings. She then flew right back at the mystery player.

Looking over by his team, Lucifer saw the same thing happening with two hooded players attacking them. He glanced over to Yui. "I suggest we put our differences aside for the time being and call a truce until this matter is settled. Agreed?"

As much as Yui hated to admit it, Lucifer was right. She gave a silent nod and the two leaders sped in to help their teammates.

Bringing out both her swords, Yui slashed at one of the player's attacking her team. She looked over to Lilly and Naoki. "Go help the race leaders! If any of them die, we'll have a huge incident on our hands!"

The two of them nodded and took off towards the VIP rooms, with Luna transforming into her pixie form and grabbing onto Lilly's shoulder.

Over by Rin, she was trapped in a hand to hand fist fight with her assailant. "You're pretty good."

"You're not half bad yourself." the mystery player replied. "Not many can keep up with me in hand to hand combat."

"Well then, how about you tell me why you're doing all this?"

"Sorry, no can do." he said.

"Oh well." Rin smirked. "Guess I'm just gonna have to beat it out of you." With a swing of her leg, she knocked her opponent off balance. She followed up with a powerful punch that sent her assailant flying back and crashing into the wall by the crowd. The female Salamander cracked her knuckles as she walked forward. "Bad luck for you pal. I'm in a bad mood with my team losing and you seem like the perfect target to let out my rage on."


The leader of the Imp race, Amethyst, swung her sword up and blocked the slash that came from the player currently trying to kill her. They had been able to bypass through her elite guards so easily, paralyze both her retainers, and leave her to fend for herself.

"I don't know who you are, but you're fooling yourself if you think I'm going down easily." Amethyst said as she swung her sword, only for it to be dodged. "I am the leader of the Imps. Do not take me lightly."

The assailant chuckled as he threw a knife at the Imp leader. She recognized it as the same type of throwing knife that had paralyzed her two retainers. Quickly reacting, she swung her sword upwards and deflected the projectile.

As the knife was sent flying, Amethyst smirked to herself. Out of nowhere though, she felt her body go numb. A paralysis icon was seen on her HUD. "What…? How…?" She glanced at her leg and widened her eyes as she saw a knife lodged into it. 'The first one he threw was just a distraction. Damnit…'

Unable to move, Amethyst collapsed onto the floor of the room. Her retainers widened their eyes as the assassin slowly walked up to their leader. "Lady Amethyst!"

"Not happening!" a sudden voice shouted.

The assailant turned their head towards the entrance to the room, only to be greeted with a blow from a sword skill, sending them flying out the room, crashing through the window in the process.

Amethyst widened her eyes at the player that had just saved her life. "You're…"

The player smirked as she looked down at the race leader. "Miku of Team Mighty Five, at your service." She handed a potion for the paralysis to her race leader. "Are you alright, Lady Amethyst."

"Yes, thanks to you." Amethyst said as she drank the potion, regaining movement in her body. "You have my gratitude."

"Don't mention it. It was nothing." Miku grinned. "So who was that guy?"

"I have no idea. I didn't even get a chance to see what race they were from." Amethyst explained.

"I see…" Miku said. "Well the rest of my team and some of our friends should be dealing with the other assailants. This should be all cleaned up soon." The female Imp walked up to the shattered window, looking down at the player she had just blasted out of it. They had fallen into the crowd, lying painfully in the seats. Miku spread her wings and flew down at him. As she neared him, the player quickly cast a spell, clouding the area in a thick smokescreen.

Miku quickly put up her guard as the smokescreen surrounded her. Several seconds passed by before the smoke began to clear. When she could see clearly again, the player was gone without a trace.

"Damnit. They got away." Miku cursed. Looking over at each of the VIP rooms, as well as down by the ring with Team Blazing Firestorm and Team Demise, the situation was the same. Smokescreens were just starting to clear and the group of assassins were all gone.

Haruka blinked in surprise as she looked around the area, seeing it was finally safe again. "W-Well everyone, the assassins seem to have mysteriously disappeared. Everything is safe again."

Yui looked at Rin and Strea. "Are you two alright?"

Both girls nodded their heads. "Yeah, we're fine." Rin said. "But what the heck was that all about?"

"No clue. But it seems like each of the leaders are alive, so whoever those assassins were, their plan failed."

"They sure seemed quick to run once the situation turned against them." Strea said with a grin. "Guess they underestimated us."

"I'm not so sure, Strea." Yui said. In the back of her mind, Yui couldn't help but have a bad feeling about what had just happened.

She just prayed she was worried over nothing.

A/N: Seems there's more to the plot than you guys were expecting, huh? Which race or races are responsible for the mysterious assassination attempt? What will happen next? You'll just have to wait until next week to find out.