-Chapter 20-

Illusion or Delusion?

I looked serious and determined to fight my next opponent; Emerald. "Let's get this over with!"

"Uuuh, aren't you wanted to get into the fun as soon as possible?" Emerald asked jokingly.

"Just shut up and let's begin already." I growled back, receiving a smirk from her. I went for the attack first, but she blocked the attack. Our weapon grated as each of our own blade touched with another. We slashed and sliced against one another with our respective weapon.

She jumped away from me, landing on one tower of trashes, but then jumped into the forest of towers of trashes. I went after her and I knew what she was doing.

I was now searching around for her as I kept my eyes not blinking for even a second. Suddenly, someone came from me behind.

I waved my sword at whoever it was, and surprised that person.

"Woah! Ellix, calm down! It's just me, Yang!" The said person exclaimed.

I stared at her as she stared and gave me that warm smile I know and love….that was when I switched to my Gatling gun mode and began shooting her. Her body faded away when I did.

"Typical." I whispered. "Come out, Emerald! Your Semblance will not work on me!"

She attacked me behind and gave me a painful cut on my back with one of her sickles. I gasped when she did. I spun to see her, but I missed her as she continued to hide somewhere, watching me as she was probably mocking me by now.

I decided to take off my jacket, revealing a sleeveless gray shirt (thanks to her, I have a big rip on the back of the shirt). I closed my eyes quietly as I listened to my ears and Aura for my eyes. The winds blew over me when I picked up a sense.

I created an afterimage myself by evading her attack very quickly, surprising her in the result.

"What the!?" She gasped. I opened my eyes and I grabbed one of her arms. "Huh!?"

I smirked a bit when I caught her and threw her as strongly as possible. I threw her at a good distance away out of the forest of the towers of trashes. I came out, too as she skidded on the ground, but used her sickles to cause friction in order for her stop skidding.

She got up, looking very frustrating.

"Ellix!" Yang yelled, looking a bit relieved.

I glanced at her and smiled a bit before I turned back to Emerald with serious expression.

"Sorry, Emerald, but your Semblance won't help you here." I informed her. "I was trained for one month in a place called Dusky Maze Forest. You may have heard about it. If you haven't, it is a famous dense forest, more like a jungle. Whoever goes in there get lost because they see illusions, reflecting his or her inner fear, and eventually they go nut until they get attacked by a Grimm and get killed by one or they killed themselves in other ways. My mind has gotten used to facing my fear so much that I can tell the difference between what's real or not in my perception. In other words, your illusion tactics won't be useless against me."

She grit, but then smirked. "You really have gotten stronger. In fact, I think you're like the first person who came to realize my Semblance is to manipulate perception! However, I don't have to necessarily use my Semblance to beat you."

"True." I nodded in agreement. "Let's just see if you can actually do it without your Semblance. By the way, I've not activated my Semblance in this fight, and yet I am using it."

She gritted more furiously as she launched herself to attack. I did the same as we collided. We met eye to eye as our weapon, my gauntlets in their sword mode and her sickles grated each other, making even some sparks when our weapon touched each other through our respective attack.

I activated my gloves to create my swords into ice swords. Cinder noticed the change as I struck my swords at my opponent. Emerald blocked my two swords, but unfortunately, her sickles instantly froze, including her hands.

"What!?" She gasped. While she was distracted, I kicked right into her stomach with charged air.

"Kyaaaahh!" She screamed as she flew up, smashing into a pile of trashes.

"Damn…you…" She growled before she fainted in defeat.

"Two down, two more to go." I thought aloud.

"Alright, go Ellix!" Ruby cheered.

"You're doing fine!" Weiss yelled in encouraging manner.

"Yeah boy! Go and make them pay!" Yang cheered.

"You can do it, Ellix!" Blake cheered.

Cinder was clenching her hands with distasteful face, but sighed and brought herself back to her calm demeanor.

"I thought your second fight will last a bit longer, but I can clearly see that Emerald was no match for you, like Mercury." Cinder spoke. "Alas, you have two more fights and to be honest, I am quite excited if you can manage through one more fight before I come in and play."

I faced to Cinder and just smirked in response. "Just wait and see, Cinder. Your time will be up very soon."

"I look forward to it, but now you must deal with my third fighter." Cinder said. "Neo, if you would please."

The short girl in the pink, white, and brown dress walked and presented to me as she bowed. I did the same.

"So, now I have to face the silent, but deadly one." I said as Neo smirked to that. "And for this fight, I will just fight with my gauntlets. No transformation to other forms of weapon, but just my gauntlets because…this one go to Yang."

"Ellix…" Yang said with a blush until tears of joy dripped down from her eyes and sniffed a little. "Go and get her!"

I winked at her before I turned back to Neo. We stared at each other for 10 seconds, which felt like ages although. I attacked first with my fist ready. I punched and hit her, but she shattered into pieces.

"Knew it." I thought before I quickly spun myself and caught her kick with my gauntlet before she laid any damages on me.

Her face frowned a bit when I did as she used her other foot. I let go of her and somersaulted to evade her other foot. She presented the end of her umbrella and used the gun barrel as she shot bullets at me. I continued somersaulted to evade the bullet, and when I landed on my hands for the third time, I pushed myself with air pumped out from my gauntlets.

While I was upside-down in midair, I shot fireballs at the little girl by punching my fists, aiming at her while in midair. She quickly opened her umbrella to protect herself from the incoming fireballs.

I landed back to the ground on my feet and struck back at her. While she put her umbrella back behind her head, I was already in front of her, catching her by the surprise and gave her a soft pad, right below her chest.

"Air Palm!" I shouted. Powerful air pumped out from my palm, causing her to fly off. Her umbrella got broken as she slammed into a tower of trashes, just like how I did with Mercury.

Fortunately for her, her small body didn't badge the tower of trashes, so it didn't cause to fall over her. She was perfectly stuck on the wall.

"Uuuh, ahh." She said before she fainted.

The girls awed before they cheered.

"Ellix, you are just freaky amazing!" Ruby cheered.

"I can't believe it…he defeated Neo!" Weiss looked a bit disbelieved with a smile.

"YEAH! You taught that little bitch what you are made of! Way to go, my honey-bun!" Yang cheered.

Blake just grinned to my victory, but soon, changed her facial expression when she saw my current state.

I panted deeply to catch some air, but I also feel exhausted from fighting three people in a row.

"Ellix…he is at his limit." Blake stated.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Blake?" Yang asked. "Ellix has beaten three people in a row! He will definitely defeat Cinder and save the day!"

"Yeah, but…" She was interrupted when Cinder gave me a round of applause.

"Well, well, well. Congratulations, Ellix. You actually defeated all three of my fighters." Cinder said as she stood up and approached me. "Now, it is time for you to face the final stage."

"Whoopie doo for me." I said, although a bit weakly. "Let's just get this over with, but just as a reminder, when I win, you release my team and we can go home safely while you take your teammates, and let us never see you guys again."

"Yes, but when I win, you tell me what I need and…I kill you and your friends here in the pile of trash!" Cinder stated as her right eye changed to a flaming orange color.

"Hey, that wasn't part of the deal!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Weiss, shut up! And don't worry! Ellix got this!" Yang said. "Hey Blake, what were you saying back then?"

"Ellix…he is at his edge. I don't think he has enough Aura to continue in fighting." Blake said with worried expression.

"What!?" The other three girls said in unison.

"Your Fanus friend is right, you know, but it is your deal. You are the one who wanted to do this, but if you want to, you can just say give up here, give me the code, and kill you in exchange for your friends' freedom. What do you think?" Cinder suggested.

"Hell no I will fall to that. I rather die in trying to save my friends rather than give up to a cruel, evil person like you!" I argued.

"Ellix…" Yang sighed, looking very worried now.

"Well then, let's begin our long-awaited fight. I've been waiting for this moment for over a year. Ever since I was arrested, there was no other day where I never thought about you. Now, you will pay for the suffering and humiliation for what you have done to me, and after I achieved my revenge, I will kill your friends here and hunt down the power that I solely desire!"

"In your dream, Cinder! I won't let you win!" I yelled as I got into my battle pose for one last time.