'If I know Screecher as well as I do, he's probably hiding out in an obvious place with his doll while also having easy access to a sneak attack as soon as I enter whatever room he is in. I can't charge in or wait like I usually would, so I guess it's time to actually try.' Buffer thought to himself with a frown before he sighed, running his fingers through his hair before reaching for his collar.
Taking it off, he smirked as he put it in his pants' pocket before rolling his neck, bouncing on the balls of his feet as the ground under him trembled from the impacts released with each jump.
"Okay, then. First off, time to find that invisible bastard." Buffer muttered with a smirk as he began walking down the first hallway, his eyes flickering to and fro as he kept a look out for any hints.
"Hello~" Buffer's eyes widened and he pushed himself into one of the rooms closest to him as he heard Screecher's voice echoing from the end of the hallway, keeping his breathing calm, steady & silent as his eyes were focused for any type of noise.
"Too slow." A voice whispered in his ears and he quickly flexed his entire body before using his Double Impact, flipping away as he heard a grunt & a crash behind him.
Spinning around, he wasn't surprised to see Screecher crouched on the ground, the man turning to spit out a glob of blood before he smirked at his foe.
"Voice projection. Should have known that you would have something like that up your sleeve." Buffer said with a smirk and Screecher chuckled as they both stood up, shrugging his shoulders.
"It's not that hard to do, especially in a confined space like this castle. Now, why don't you say you and I talk this out?"
"No, I prefer using my fists." Buffer said as he raised his clenched fists, to which Screecher just sighed as he shook his head.
"Well, no one can say that I didn't try the peaceful route." The mage said with a smirk before Buffer's eyes widened as he felt a blow smashing into his chest, unable to catch his breath as his head snapped back from another attack before he stomped on the ground & unleashed a second impact to force himself through a wall & back into the hallway.
'W-What?!' Buffer thought with wide eyes as he watched the Screecher in the room disappear with a wave before dozens more appeared around him as soon as he landed, barely ducking under the punch of one of them.
Spinning to lash out with a roundhouse, his eyes widened as his foot went right through the smirking clone's head, wheezing as a blow impacted his back and sent him rolling across the floor.
Quickly catching his breath, Buffer punched the ground & unleashed a second impact, sending himself flipping over the clones before he turned & ran at full speed back to the entrance room.
'I can't fight him here! I need open space or else it would be the same as just handing him the win!' Buffer thought as he dove into the entrance room, rolling across the ground & picking up a table before roaring as he threw it as hard as he could into the hallway.
"Twin Impact!" The table went from fast to supersonic as it tore through the air, crashing into the roof of the hallway & bringing it crumbling down onto the entrance.
"Not yet." Buffer muttered softly with a frown as he kept his guard up, slowly turning around to keep track of everything before he frowned as he heard a soft whistle coming from everywhere.
"First Lullaby: Song of the Restless." Screecher's voice came from everywhere and Buffer's eyes widened as the ground around him began to crack, watching in shock as decayed hands with black nails ripped through.
'…What the fuck?' Eric thought in shock as he blinked, looking at how literal groaning zombies were crawling out of the ground before slowly turning to the shocked Leo.
"So…everyone is seeing this, right?" He asked, nodding as Leo nodded slowly before sighing.
What the hell did he sign up for?
'Are they made out of his sounds? No, perhaps illusions? God, this is why I hate having to fight technician-type mages.' Buffer cursed in his mind as he ran up the stairs towards the guild master's office, not turning back as he heard the zombies rushing after him.
Reaching the top, he wasn't surprised to already see more zombies running towards him, taking a deep breath before he charged head first into the horde.
However, he grinned as he saw the zombies swinging at him and felt nothing, charging through the crowd through the railing before grunting as he leapt, unleashing another impact to sent him flying up towards the rafters.
Gripping the closest one, he flipped around before pushing off just as he heard something crashing into the rafters, pushing off the nearest one & smirking as he saw a footprint being indented into it before frowning as the zombies on the ground disappeared & reappeared within the rafters.
'Damnit. Almost had him with that one. Time for the next plan.' Buffer thought with a sigh as he stretched his arms out to the side, taking a deep breath before smirking as he leapt off.
"Divergent Clash!" Buffer roared as he flipped through the air before unleashing an absurd amount of ethernano and crashing fist first into the ground, the resulting impact unleashing a shock wave that blew away the zombies in the main entrance room before he grinned as he unleashed his second impact.
Instantly, the entire castle shook as the roof came crashing down, Screecher's eyes widening from his invisibility as he looked up at the rubble before looking down & cursing to see Buffer using the falling rubble as platforms.
"Found you, bastard!" Buffer exclaimed with a grin as he rushed towards Screecher with his entire body coated in a light blue aura, which made the Sonic mage curse as he saw how his sonic was making the dust around him turn invisible.
'Ten seconds! With how fast we're moving, that's how much I have before the last of the rubble falls!' Buffer thought with determination as he flipped through the air and unleashed a roundhouse heel kick, Screecher easily blocking the kick & using the force to push himself onto another rock.
Quickly running after him, Buffer unleashed a flurry of fist that Screecher swiftly parried, the mage pushing away the rubble under them & making Buffer stumble just enough for him to land a quick jab into his throat.
Not leaving an opportunity to pass him by, Screecher snapped out with a hook kick to try & grab Buffer only for his eyes to widen as Buffer caught his leg while still coughing, Screecher now releasing his own wheeze as a fist smashed into his back before another impact sent him flipping ass over kettle through a giant chunk of the ceiling & through a wall.
'Now!' Buffer thought as he spun around and kicked a piece of the rubble at the closed door of the guild master's office, landing on another piece before pushing off of it & through the hole in the wall.
Quickly looking around as soon as he landed, Buffer grinned as he saw the dust near the door turning invisible as soon as it got close to the ground, pulling his fist back before slamming it into the ground.
Watching with a happy grin as the invisibility was dispelled to reveal the doll with a now gaping hole in its chest, he smirked as he turned towards the windows before leaping at it.
"Let us congratulate Screecher on his win!" Buffer blinked at the blue sky above him, seeing Screecher sitting besides him as well as Eric & Leo giving him looks of pity.
"W-What the hell…?"
"When you destroyed the castle with that large shockwave. You destroyed the doll in the process, but Screecher put you in another illusion and then grabbed you in a full nelson for the three count." Leo explained, making Buffer's eyes widen as he flew to sit upright & turned to look at Screecher, who gave him an apologetic smile & shrug.
"You did get out as soon as I finished the three count and gave me a nasty kick to my side. I think you bruised a few ribs." Screecher said with a chuckle before wincing as he held his right side, Buffer looking at the light blue bruise before sighing as he laid back down.
"I suppose it was my defeat." Buffer muttered with a defeated chuckle before grunting in surprise as a hand slapped him across the chest.
"None of that shit. I'm pretty sure if I was against Leo or Eric, I would have lost just like how if any of them were up against you, it wouldn't have been such a cheating match. You did good despite how stacked the odds were against you."
"Doesn't mean I can't whine." Buffer grumbled, making Screecher roll his eyes and the other two shake their heads before Leo & Eric looked up as Guy cleared his throat.
"Eric, Leo, let's go. It's time for your turn."
"Well, good luck & congratulations to the victor." Eric said with a smile as he held out a hand, Leo smiling as he grasped the hand & shook it firmly with a nod.
"Of course, it's going to be me." Leo said with a smirk as he turned & picked up the doll from Guy, making Eric chuckle as he watched the man walking into the castle while Guy began the minute count down.
'Oh? We'll see about that.'
"That's one minute. Are you ready?" Eric didn't even look at Guy as he nodded, his Heavenly Vision perfectly focused on Leo in the main entrance & the doll in the rafters above him before he deactivated his eyes & tied his blindfold back around them.
"Uh, are you sure about that?" Guy asked and Eric smiled as he nodded before he began walking towards the entrance.
"Of course. They make it too easy." Eric said, smirking at Guy's chuckle before he took a deep breath as he felt his ethernano rushing with glee throughout his entire body.
"I see this is going to be a bit more upfront than the first match." Eric spoke with a smirk as he walked through the open doors of the entrance hall, Leo letting out a chuckle as he shrugged.
"We both are men that liked to finish our battles as swiftly as possible, so I didn't wish to waste time with trickery & deceit. Besides, I wished to see if I could not ask you to forfeit before the actual battle begins."
"We both know what my answer is going to be." Eric said with a raised eyebrow, making Leo chuckle as he nodded.
"Of course. Like I said, I did wish to try the peaceful route first, but I guess we're going the more violent route, then." Leo said with a smile as he clapped his hands together and created a golden cage of light around Eric before his eyes widened as the cage was shattered.
"Did you forget that I have Gravity Magic? Warping your light is, while complex, a bit easier than I expected."
"I would have believed you if you said you crushed it with intense gravity, but there is no way you are capable of warping my special light." Leo spoke with a frown as he snapped his fingers, a shield of light forming behind him just as a wave of gravity tried to slam into his back.
"I can say your senses are far better than one would expect." Eric said and Leo frowned at that as the shield behind him twisted & condensed to cover his entire body as he raised his fists in a basic stance.
'On the one hand, I could lose my chance for a good fight if I engage him in a brawl, but on the other hand, I don't particularly care for a promotion. Although, Flare would probably kick my ass if I kept playing around. Argh, why can't I just have a battle where I can go all-out?' Eric groaned as he shook his head, Leo blinking as he reached up to his blindfold.
"Sorry about this, man, but if I don't win, my flatmate is going to kick my ass for being lazy." Eric apologized with a smile as he undid his blindfold and took it off, the air around him shifting as he opened his eyes & looked at Leo.
The next instance, Leo gave a silent gasp as he was forced face first into the ground, failing to push himself up and gritting his teeth as the gravity around him grew more & more intense with each second.
Quickly creating a shield all around him, Leo growled as he forced himself to his feet before letting out a gasp as he along with his bubble was lifted into the air before being repeatedly slammed into the ground.
"Don't try and fight it. You can keep on struggling, but I just have to increase the crushing force and your body won't be able to keep up." Eric warned him as he stopped smacking Leo into the ground before inverting his own gravity, floating up to the rafters as he clenched his fist & crushed the dummy doll along with its golden cage into a ball.
'Oh?' Eric thought with a smirk as he saw the golden cage slowly forming around him, looking down at the clenched fists of Leo inside his bubble before he took a deep breath and unleashed his full ethernano.
"Gravito Secret Art: Black Coffin." A silence hung in the air as the atmosphere turned cold, the castle walls warping & Leo only getting a moment to blink before the world went black.
"What the fuck?!" Eric heard Goldmine exclaim as a black box of gravity covered him and Leo along with the castle for a second before he quickly dispelled it, watching as Leo collapsed to the ground with his eyes rolled back and the castle caving inwards.
'Shit!' Eric cursed as he dove towards Leo's unconscious body, quickly grabbing him before spinning and throwing the man away from the danger zone, easily weaving around the falling rubble & landing in front of the stunned crowd before catching Leo in a bridal carry.
"Uh…sorry about the castle." Eric said to the still silent Goldmine with an apologetic smile as he put Leo down, knocking the master out of his shock as he stared at Eric before letting out a sigh.
"I swear, you try and put the kid up against someone and he goes ahead & destroys an entire castle with no worries for the environment around him. What the fuck was I thinking recruiting him? Was I high?"
"Is…he going to be okay?" Eric asked as he turned to Guy, blinking as the mage just stared at him before he sighed as he shook his head.
"I really need to start charging for this because why the hell do you need to destroy an entire castle to take out one guy? You're just supposed to take him out and then run, not destroy the castle and then run." Eric just watched the man stomp towards the rubble before turning back to the crowd.
"Can anyone else tell me what's wrong?"
"Master, this is heavily unfair and I'm the one saying that." Bacchus said with a frown as he watched Flare, Eric, Leo, Rocker and Nobarly sitting in the corner of the guild hall, Goldmine sighing as Guy and Warcry nodded in agreement.
"While I would usually disagree with Bacchus, this time he's speaking the truth. Anyone put against Eric is going to lose and even if we take into account Screecher's illusions in the final round, Eric will still win just by crushing him into the ground with the plan we had for the final round."
"I know, but what can I do? Any challenge I come with is just going to end with him winning the round."
"I have something in mind." Warcry chimed in, which made the other three turn to him as Goldmine raised an eyebrow.
"What have you concocted in your mind?"
"Well, what if we exclude Eric from the final round?"
"And what? Disqualify him for destroying the castle?" Goldmine asked sarcastically, which made Warcry snort.
"No, we put Screecher & Nobarly fight against each other for the S-Class Promotion. However, we let Eric fight against someone else for his S-Class Promotion."
"Ah, I see. Give someone who has already lost the chance to get that promotion instead." Goldmine spoke with a smirk before frowning as Warcry chuckled and shook his head.
"Not exactly. We need him to fight against someone who can both take his blows and return them with ease."
"Me?" Guy asked and Warcry just smirked as he turned to their last member, both Guy and Goldmine turning to stare at Bacchus who was taking deep gulps from his gourd before he noticed the three staring at him.
"W-What?" Bacchus slurred, which made Warcry grin as he turned to Goldmine who looked between the two men before he sighed.
"Guy. Get ready because in two days, you're going to be worked overtime."