Artemis Final...
They were putting much effort into offense, trying to force Neptune to unleash his Attack function. On the other hand, Neptune managed to prove that he is tougher than expected.
Naoki: " according to my calculations, Neptune is in advantage when it comes to balance. If I keep dodging and attacking, chances are 98% they're going to lose. Go! Neptune!"
The hammer swayed down, tackling KeQing and making her halt, losing balance. One kick from Neptune pushed her to the near end of the crater.
Zenon and Magna Orthus lunged at the same time, trying to corner the infected LBX. They started exchanging blows and Naoki was calmly dodging their attacks and answering with his owns.
Aya: " he is bound to use it any time soon!"
Kämpfer's boosters kicked in and he thrusted his sword out at the enemy. Neptune ducked under Zenon's hammer and blocked Aya's ambush. He quickly backed and he readied himself for the attack.
Naoki: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Nova Wave!"
Neptune tapped the hilt of the hammer down on the ground, summoning forth a light blue energy. It was infused within the hammer as he held it above him, spinning it in circles before slashing downwards, and a wave of blue energy came lashing at the other robots.
A cloud of smoke rose up as the attack hit, but as soon as it faded, it revealed both Magna Orthus and Kämpfer who took on the duty of protecting the other two LBXs.
Zenon: " why you..."
Kämpfer: " you're already damaged. Get anymore worse and we're done for."
Magna Orthus: " we're still able to move don't worry about us!"
Lillia tightened her grasp on her CCM.
Lillia: " waste no time! Attack him!"
" Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Starward sword!"
KeQing was wrapped by purple lightning before she infused it with her sword then dashing forward. She blended with the shadow of her lightning sword as she sprinted and then dealt thunder speed strikes to Neptune, leaving after images around as she moved about. Neptune backed when she finally stopped, trembling on his feet and with multiple scratches on his armor.
Naoki: " no, no that can't be! That's not possible! Such moves on a low gravity!"
He quickly scrolled through his tablet, trying to find any data about KeQing that could explain those moves.
" Attack Function: Catastrophe Drive!"
Magna Orthus cloned to three as he made it to the startled Neptune, slashing at him trice and causing a huge explosion to erupt. Neptune hardly managed to halt and regain balance. Sparks were flying out of his form at the great amount of damage her got.
Neptune: " Naoki! I need you to do something!"
The blunette was clasping his tablet tightly in his hands.
Naoki: " it can't be, he shouldn't be able to move swiftly like that! Are you telling me all the data that I've gathered has no meaning!"
" You're talking more than you're playing!"
" There is nothing fun with this move!"
" This tactic is very complicated Naoki! We can't do this anymore!"
He clasped his tablet tightly as they turned their backs on him and walked away.
Naoki: " I just wanted to help. I just wanted to make you win easily."
He held up his tablet, looking down at his reflection on it.
Naoki: " are my ways wrong?"
Feeling betrayed and hurt, he lashed at the only thing in his hand, his tablet, throwing it violently on the ground its screen cracked. He looked down at the broken device that held all of his work and inwardly started regretting what he did. At that moment, a red L mark appeared in front of him on the broken screen.
" You feel lonely, you feel betrayed. Do you want to prove your ways are right?"
Naoki had his eyes narrowed at that.
Naoki: " Neptune !"
The LBX tightened his grip of the hammer as he lunged on them. KeQing and Magna Orthus leaped back.
Muraku: " Jin-san!"
Jin: " leave it to me! Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Majin No Ichigeki!"
Zenon gathered energy in his hammer as he floated up. The shadow of a huge robot shaped behind him before they both swayed down their hammers on Neptune.
Neptune was pushed down and hit the ground.
Naoki's eyes widened at that.
Naoki: " it can't be, it should have been me. Even if my researches about them weren't completed, Neptune should have been the winner. But why..."
Kämpfer took his spot and his cannons aimed at the robot falling on the ground.
Kämpfer: " there is no sure thing in battles."
Aya: " there is always a way to turn the table. Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Giga Destroyer!"
Two blue balls manifested in front of the cannons as they charged energy before they shot the large Laser beams through them, which made them enlarge in width. The two beams struck Neptune straight, causing a huge explosion that formed a blue dome of light.
Neptune broke over immediately, armor all damaged. Naoki sank to his knees as the tablet showed the words Break Over.
MC : " Break Over! The first to leave us is Naoki!"
Naoki: " that can't be... Why..."
He looked up when Jin's shadow was casted down on him.
Jin: " you've focused more on numbers than your skills as a player. Gathering intel is a strategy, but it's not all that LBX battle revolves about. There is more to it than you could have imagined."
Naoki: " more to it..."
" This is not fun..."
" We can't work together like this..."
His eyes then hid behind the glistening of his lenses as a weak smiled manifested on his face.
Naoki: " I see now... There was something more important than winning right..."
Two guards approached him from behind.
" We need you to follow us, Minamo Naoki."
Without looking up, he stood to his feet and followed the two guards as they led him away...
Bechir: " alright. Thanks for your hard work. Make sure he tells you everything he knows. And bear in mind you're dealing with a kid."
He ended the call after he made sure the one causing trouble at the final of Artemis was secured and looked back at the TV.
Bechir: " good job Aya."
All the students in the hall started murmuring among each other at the sudden turn of events, not that they understood the reason behind it anyway.
Kagetora: " there was really an imposter within Artemis."
Haruki: " thankfully they managed to contain the situation and there was no serious damage."
Gregory: " they were four against one. It will be a shame if they had lost to that infected LBX."
Takuya: " well done everyone."
It was just then when he was able to take a breath of relief. It felt like if he had been holding back his breath for the whole competition. Hikaru and the others smiled in satisfaction. Kirino walked in then with a smile across the face.
Kirino: " president, we've confirmed that Minamo Naoki was taken into custody."
Takuya: " thanks for informing me. Now everyone at Artemis should be fine."
Gendou: " thanks to their hard work."
Yuuta: " but there were other chosen players who lend us their help."
Takuya: " true, they both seemed so strong."
Val Diver: " you reckon they would join us?"
Takuya: " that remains to be seen. As of now..."
His eyes flickered back to the TV screen...
Back in Artemis, just a few minutes after Naoki was taken away, they were allowed to resume the battle. They all took their places and grabbed tightly onto their CCMs.
Aya: " it's the final round guys!"
Lillia: " we may have worked together a moment ago, but remember that we have come this far because we each wanted to be the strongest in the world."
Muraku: " true."
Jin: " there is no holding back then."
There was a moment of ultimate silence in the diorama while the LBXs were readying themselves to make their first moves. Their AIs withdrawing as to allow their players a fair battle. It just took a split of second for the silence to completely shutter as they all lunged at the same time.
KeQing covered herself with the blue lightning as she aimed for Zenon. He quickly blocked the swing of her sword and pushed her away before turning around to block Muraku who tried to sneak on him from behind. All of them then pulled back as Aya launched her Laser cannons. KeQing sped up toward Kämpfer.
Lillia: " how can she fire those cannons without knocking her LBX away!"
Kämpfer pulled his saber beam and both LBXs got into a duel, exchanging slashes and thrusts.
Muraku: " don't forget about our existence!"
Magna Orthus fell down on them, forcing them to back as he swayed down his sword in between them. Then he quickly whirled around, his sword clinking with KeQing's.
Zenon lunged on Kämpfer, swinging his hammer. Kämpfer tried his best to dodge the hammer while looking for an opening to strike.
MC : " they're not holding back! Attacking each other fiercely !"
Magna Orthus pushed away KeQing before swaying his sword at Kämpfer and Zenon. The later backed, but the former used his saber beam to intercept the attack and they each put his weight on his sword, trying hard to cut each other down.
Jin: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Impact Kaiser!"
Zenon smacked down the hammer on the ground, creating a huge energy wave. All three LBXs were pushed down at that.
Aya: " now you've done it! Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Giga Destroyer!"
The huge laser beams were launched. The other LBXs tried their hardest to avoid it and the huge explosion that came after. Suddenly, the cannons soon had sparks flying out of them.
Aya: " did I overuse them?!"
KeQing rushed forward towards the black unit.
Lillia: " your trump card is no more available!"
Kämpfer span around his saber beam before it clashed with KeQing's which was covered with electricity.
Aya: " I'm not one to back when my ultimate weapon is taken down!"
Lillia: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Starward Sword!"
Her sword absorbed the lightning as she lunged forward, almost disappearing within her lightning. Kämpfer flung his arms in front of him to protect himself from the multiple slashes of KeQing. When she stopped, Kämpfer had deep cracks on his arms, sending sparks out of them.
Aya: " you've done it now!"
The cannons detached themselves as Kämpfer reached to his second saber beam.
Aya : " go!"
The robot dashed with a high speed, slashing at KeQing. The swords clashed with sparks flying out each time they came into contact. Then Magna Orthus was pushed their way, pulling them back.
Lillia: " Tsk!"
Kämpfer quickly rushed backwards and grabbed one of his cannons, aiming it at Zenon. The purple unit sprinted forward, ducking beneath the Laser beam before knocking away the cannon with a swing of his hammer. The impact was strong enough to make it explode.
KeQing and Magna Orthus rushed towards them before Kämpfer and KeQing pulled aside as they got even more fierce within their attacks.
Aya: " I'm almost out of HP!"
Lillia: " I have one more try! Hissatsu Function!"
Kämpfer headed again to the last Cannon.
Aya: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Starward Sword!"
" Attack Function: Laser Cutter!"
Both LBXs moved forward with their attack functions and a bright explosion broke in the middle of the diorama. Magna Orthus and Zenon stopped their duel to take a look at what was happening. One moment, KeQing and Kämpfer stood there, the second one, they both keeled on the ground, breaking over while at that.
MC: " Break over! Lillia and Aya! Out!"
Aya and Lillia stood wide eyed at their CCMs before quickly retrieving their units.
Yosra: " damn it! I knew you shouldn't be the one to go!"
Yu Zhang: " Lillia."
The two women pulled back from the arena, leaving the whole field to both Jin and Muraku.
Jin: " all is left are us now. Don't hold back."
Muraku: " I won't. Jin-san, I'm aiming to win this battle."
Magna Orthus and Zenon rushed towards each other, the hammer was swung down but Magna Orthus used his shield to protect himself. Pushing away Zenon's hammer, he swung his sword to his left leg, the one that was damaged previously. Zenon pulled back, his leg slightly shaking.
Jin: " Tsk."
Muraku's LBX lunged forward. Zenon barely managed to defend himself against his fast strikes.
Kazu: " Jin is pushed back!"
Wataru: " go! Muraku-senpai!"
Elie: " don't you lose! Jin!"
Jin narrowed his eyes as he quickly typed something on his CCM. Zenon's visors glowed as he pulled back.
Muraku: " not letting you run away!"
Magna Orthus chased after the other unit, attacking it nonstop. Zenon kept brushing away his attacks using his hammer before their weapons locked.
MC: " Both players are set on winning and are giving it all!"
Zenon and Magna Orthus exchanged quick blows.
Muraku: " to be able to battle you this way, it's an honor, Jin-san."
Jin: " same here. You're really strong, Muraku."
Elie blinked as they both smirked widely at each other.
Elie: " they're both the same aren't they."
She said with a wide smile on her face.
Zenon finally managed to overpower Magna Orthus and tossed him away, making him lose balance for a second. It was all Jin needed, his eyes widened instantly.
Jin: " Now! Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Ground Wall!"
Zenon was already by Magna Orthus, he smacked the hammer on the ground, gathering enough energy within it before redirecting it to hit the other LBX. It was a split of second, Magna Orthus was thrown back and broke over.
Muraku had his eyes wide in shock at that while Jin barely let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
MC: " Break Over! It's decided! This year's Artemis winner! The strongest LBX player in the world! The Split Second Killer Emperor! Kaidou Jin!"
Jin's picture was broadcasted on all of the screens along with the golden word ' winner'.
Jin's mind took a moment to take in the new information. He had made it and won the final royal battle.
Muraku: " Jin-san..."
Jin looked down at the boy who walked over to him with a satisfied smile.
Muraku: " thanks for not holding back. I'm really glad that I've fought against the Split Second Killer Emperor on such a stage."
He stack his hand out. Jin nodded with a smile.
Jin: " and it's not everyday that I get to see the Violet Devil's skills up close like that."
He held Muraku's hand and shook it, both satisfied with their battle.
Aya: " it was an amazing battle you showed us."
She told them as they came off the arena.
Muraku: " Same for you two. You were very strong as well. Things may have gone a different way if it wasn't for the infected LBX."
Aya: "don't sweat over that."
Lillia: " aside from that, it was fun, battling with you all."
Muraku: " true."
Ban: " thanks for your hard work, all of you."
The others quickly caught up with them.
Muraku: " Ban-san, everyone."
Arata had a pissed off face.
Arata: " I wish I was the one to battle Jin-san. That was not fair, Muraku you had a lot of fun!"
Evangeline : " anyway, congrats, Jin."
Jin: " it's not like I've come this far on my own. Don't forget that I'm tagged with Ban-kun. Plus, I received the help of everyone back at the royal battle."
Lillia: " nevertheless, that won't change the fact that your performance was admirable."
Elie: " Onii-chan, Jin, it's almost time to receive the prize. Get that Driver and let's finish our journey."
Lillia and Aya blinked at that before looking at each other.
Lillia: " what are they talking about?"
Aya: " have no idea."
Jessica: " I will explain things to you later. There is a lot we need to talk about with you after all."
The two woman inclined their heads in confusion but nevertheless nodded.
It wasn't too long after that, both Ban and Jin were called to get their prize.
MC : " ladies and gentlemen, here we're to celebrate those who had arrived so far and earned the name of the strongest Players! Both Yamano Ban and Kaidou Jin!"
The MC held his hand at the said men and they approached him. A black haired woman who stood by his side passed down the small box of glass that she was holding to them.
MC : " alright! Do you have any special words for this!"
He said pointing the mic to them. Ban exchanged looks with Jin and he then took the mic.
Ban: " we couldn't have reached this far if it wasn't for both our friends and our LBXs. We had been through hardship after another but we managed to overcome them together. And Artemis was yet just another obstacle. There is still a long way for us. But as long as we trust each other and have faith in LBXs, there is nothing that we can't do."
MC : " that's very touching! So, any words about what's happening in the world right now?"
Ban frowned as he thought for a while.
Ban: " LBXs are merely getting used again by the wrong guys. I believe they're not at fault in anything. Just as my friend said, the one to blame isn't the LBX, but the one operating it. However, as long as we don't give up on them, there is nothing to fear. As long as we have LBXs, this world will be safe once again!"
Elie hardly concealed a chuckle at her brother's speech.
MC: " Thanks for your words!"
The white haired male kept watching as the MC mumbled around. He had a mischievous smirk on his face.
Knight: " show us then, what your LBX is capable of, Yamano Ban."
MC: " then now-"
He was cut off by a mysterious sound. Everyone whirled their heads around as to try and find the source. The muffled sounds became clearer, Ban and the other players frowned their brows at the familiar sounds.
Ban: " this is..."
Jin: " thrusters!"
His eyes widened upon the realization of the situation and his hand flew off to his CCM.
Soon, thousands of LBXs floated above the open roof of the stadium, weapons in hands. Mumbles and cries of panic escaped the people as they stumbled to find a way out.
Lillia: " how did they!"
Aya: " they sneaked them during the matches!"
Kämpfer: " they're a whole lot!"
The swarm of LBXs started shooting around, making the people more disturbed. A few of them dashed towards Jin and Ban, but were soon blocked by Zenon and Odin.
Zenon: " they're after the driver!"
Odin: " hold to it tightly!"
They yelled out before getting dragged into a fight with two other LBXs.
Yu Zhang: " Lillia! Watch out!"
KeQing span on instant and blocked a blow directed at her player.
Lillia: " thanks for the warning!"
Yosra: " I know we can't be much of help, but at least we are able to back them up a bit. Konoichi!"
Yu Zhang: " good thinking! Xiao!"
Both LBXs launched as to support those who started fighting already. Up in the seats, the mess became less. One look was enough for them to see Krutz, Ma, the Alexander Sister and more LBX players fighting off.
Aya: " there is something else we should do."
She turned to Ban and the others.
Aya: " Yosra, Lillia, Yu Zhang and I are going to help evacuate the crowd."
Jessica: " alright! We're going to push off those rampaging LBXs!"
Aya nodded at her before shifting her look to the other three and sprinted away to help with evacuating everyone.
Dot Phasor shot down some of those who were proceeding at a high speed towards them.
Dot Phasor: " they're so much!"
Wataru: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Jet Striker!"
The jet form of Odin M smacked the LBXs proceeding towards Dot Phasor.
Wataru: " I'll back you up!"
Momona: " thanks!"
The evacuation process was going smoothly. Aya and the others managed to help everyone there to safety with their LBXs and friends keeping the infected LBXs away from them.
Lillia: " we're done here!"
Aya: " good. Yosra! Yu Zhang! Get back as well! Krutz and the others too you should evacuate!"
Ma: " and leave you to fight alone!?"
Lillia stepped forward.
Lillia: " our LBXs are prepared to fight those enhanced ones, but yours are not. You've already received enough amount of damage. Get back before any of you gets hurt."
They all seemed reluctant. They didn't like the idea of the others fighting on their own while they step back into safety.
Yu Zhang: " alright then."
He spoke calmly.
Krutz: " Oi! Are you serious!"
He looked back at him and their eyes locked.
Yu Zhang: " it's painful to say nonetheless. But it's true. We're just being a burden for them at this rate. We better give them space so they can fight without worrying about our safety."
Jasmine: " but..."
Yu Zhang: " an LBX player should know their limits as well. And we have to acknowledge, we can't take part in this battle."
He then shifted his look to Lillia.
Yu Zhang: " I trust everyone's safety to you."
Lillia smiled confidently and nodded her head. Yu Zhang returned her smile before pulling back. Eventually one by one, the others followed after him as he left the stadium, wishing good luck for those engaged into the battle.
Ran: " uh, everyone..."
At her call, everyone looked up from their CCMs to find themselves surrounded by men in black suits.
Ruri: " oh crap!"
Ranger: " we'll take care of the LBXs! Master, make sure everyone stays safe!"
Ken: " alright!"
He said taking a fighting position and punching the first man who tried to capture him.
Ruri as well managed to swiftly dodge her attacker before wrapping her hands around his arm and crashing him hardly on the ground.
Lillia was no less, easily knocking those who surrounded her and Aya by a simple smack on the back of the neck. Aya's eyes sparkled.
Aya: " Awesome!"
Lillia: " had martial art classes as basic lessons during school."
Arata: " Muraku, duck!"
Muraku: " wha-woah!"
He quickly lowered his head when he saw a kick from Arata heading his way. The red head managed to knock out the man behind his friend when he hit him under the chin.
The black haired boy looked at the man laying down unconscious.
Muraku: " remind me not to make you angry."
Arata smiled before lowering his head to dodge an LBX that came flying above him.
Ban: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Gungnir!"
The swarming wave of orange energy pierced through that LBX.
Evangeline: " we've managed to take down half of them!"
Touko: " but the other half is still putting a good fight!"
Mirai: " be careful! Never lower your defense!"
She said taking down an LBX sneaking on Hiro.
Hiro: " woah! Thanks nee-chan!"
Queen and Jeanne D rained their bullets down at their enemies, reducing their number.
Yuuya: " we have to finish them off!"
Ban gave Hiro a meaningful look.
Ban: " Hiro! Armor change !"
The blunette nodded his head with a serious air. Both Perseus and Odin were covered within orange and blue light before shape shifting.
" Ikaros Zero!"
" Ikaros Force!"
Ban: " Hiro!"
Hiro: " weapon form!"
Soon, Ikaros Force's form morphed into a lance. It was grabbed tightly by Ikaros Zero.
Ikaros Zero: " Now!"
Ban: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack Function: Meteor Breaker!"
Ikaros Zero lunged forward with the lance held up before hitting his target, causing a line of explosions as he passed by.
Ban: " Switch! Weapon Form!"
Ikaros Zero's form disappeared into two swords as Ikaros Force gripped them.
Hiro: " Hissatsu Function!"
" Attack function: 00 Sword!"
Ikaros Force whirled around, slicing multiple times at his opponents. Multiple explosions broke behind the blue and white unit as his visors glowed.
Momona and Wataru gapped their mouths at them as they performed their attacks.
Wataru: " amazing!"
Momona nodded her head with sparkling eyes as most LBXs were taken down.
" Enough!"
A swarm of Orions flew in, lead by a Proto-I. They soon had taken the situation into hand and surrounded the remaining infected LBXs.
Jack Gelato walked inside the stadium with the rest of the Fire Sweet members, all wearing their helmets and some of them were holding up their weapons, daring anyone to move. At that the remaining men in black suits held their hands up in defeat.
Jack took off his helmet and strolled off to Ban and the others.
Ban: " lieutenant Gelato!"
Jack: " thanks for all your hard work. You've contained the situation well. I feel ashamed to see we couldn't make it in time."
Jessica: " how did you..."
Jack: " we've been informed that something may happen, so we had our men stationed nearby. Not too near though to not alert them."
Mirai: " but who informed you?"
By that time, all the men who were there were caught by the Fire Sweet, handcuffed and lead out.
Jack: " the head of the Tunisian branch of Dream Future."
Aya: " Baba. He was already skeptical about this Artemis. It's natural of him. I need to thank him."
Jack: " anyway, can you give us some details of what happened. Kaios, you know the procedure so it will be helpful if you are to come with us."
Jessica: " sure. I'll see you guys outside then."
And she followed after him...
