Final Battle

“Fighters, are you ready?”

“Yes,” we said in unison.

“Let the Duel Commence!”

I launched myself forward. Spells would only slow me down; this fight would be decided up close. She darted back instantly, widening the gap. She knew distance favored her, but I knew sooner or later I’d close it. I caught her just as she turned, my shadow flashing across her face—

“Heaven’s Wrath!”

Damn, at point range, I thought this attack needed to charge.

Negative mana flooded into my hands, shaping a barrier between us. The light crashed against it, searing through the air but refusing to detonate. She wouldn’t risk blowing herself up. That confirmed it: she hadn’t reshaped the spell, and she couldn’t force the explosion this close. She split-stepped and flickered away. I’d already read where she was going to reappear. I burst after her, but she slipped again, reappearing in the air me.

This again, perfect.

Each time she blinked, I threw down another mana platform, springing higher, faster, momentum piling on. I was ready to smash through her before right when I reached a fast enough speed, but then I saw it. A dense orb of radiance swelling in her hands. She wasn’t even bothering to mask the mana output. Why waste that much energy? One ball that heavy would throw her split-stepping rhythm completely off, or cause her to lose a whole bunch of mana.

She flickered, leaving the glowing sphere floating behind.

Shit, too much momentum to stop.

The orb detonated the instant I touched it, mana erupting and swallowing me whole. With no one holding it together, it blew up.

I was forced to heal myself up with malif, way too early on the fight. But I knew that plan must’ve cost her a lot of mana.

“Healing yourself already?” she asked.

“Yeah, you got me real good with that.”

“I had to think of something so the same thing wouldn’t happen again.”

“But I know that cost you a lot of mana.”

“Not as much as you think.”

She started levitating.

Shit, she’s trying to do Angelic Rain, I can’t let her.

I started rushing towards her, but she hit me with a spell.

“Michael’s Spear!”

Mana lances shot down, grazing me, sharper and faster than before. I gritted my teeth and pushed through until I closed the gap. Hand-to-hand was the only way I could compete.

But she wasn’t helpless. Each strike I threw, she blocked or countered. She was switching her attributes on the fly, from lightning to fire or earth. A year ago, she couldn’t even dream of this. Still, I had the edge. Negative mana coated my blows, eating away at her guard. I let her fist slip through, trading damage. Her punch rattled my jaw, but mine sent her flying.

“I didn’t know you could switch attributes like that,” I said, spitting blood.

“Sorry for hiding it.” She smirked despite the bruise on her cheek. “Wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, I’m surprised, alright. But be careful. One slip—”

“Don’t give your enemy advice,” she said.

“Okay, sorry.”

I lunged at her, ready for another attack, but she chose to fire off a blast instead of meeting me head-on this time. I instinctively put up my barrier, and she activated her ability. By this time, I was too close to her already; there was no way she was going to detonate it. Then she split-stepped away, and my barrier glew. It blew up right in my face.

Dammit, a delayed explosion. Maybe she has a lot more control over it than I expected.

“There’s no ned to stall the fight out any longer and hold back. I’m going all out, so you better do the same.”

“You already know I will.”

“Arcane Requiem…Heaven’s Gate.”

Suddenly, a bright light surrounded us, trapping us in some kind of dome.

“Angelic Rain!”

She doesn’t have her ability activated, so I can do the same thing as last time.

Bolts tore down from above. I threw up a small barrier, boom. It exploded instantly.

What the hell, I didn’t even see her activate her ability?

I did another one, which blew up again. All the attacks rained down on me. All I could do was infuse defensive magic onto my skin.

Her voice echoed inside the dome. “This is my requiem. I don’t need to activate my ability anymore. I can command mana itself without thought. That way, I can focus entirely on attacking you!”

I slammed my fist to the ground, negative mana flooding outward. Pebbles rose and spun at my command, ready to launch.

“I won’t let you do that! Heaven’s Wrath!”

No room to evade. No time to think. I poured defense mana into my body, burning every nerve raw, and lunged through. Light ripped into me, but I forced myself forward. Pain became background noise. As soon as I ran through the attack, I knew I was running out of options.

I have to do what I did against Yuno.

I focused negative mana into my body until it burned. I lunged up the attack, taking some of the blast, but I had to ignore the pain; I had to ignore the damage. And when I finally reach her, I let off a bit of mana, expecting it to automatically explode, but it just dispersed. She landed a clean kick on me, sending me to hit the wall of the barrier. As I touched the barrier, I felt it draining mana from my body.

It seems like touching the barrier is similar to her touching me. She can manipulate the mana in a person’s body when someone is touching the barrier.

Then the bottom of my feet exploded, sending me flying towards her. I didn’t expect it, but I had to use this opportunity. She nearly dodged me, but when I reached the opposite side, it exploded again. But right before it exploded, I changed all the negative mana into defensive mana, canceling out any damage done to me. AT the moment, I couldn’t afford to get hurt; my body was too fragile. She knew that the explosion wasn’t benefiting her anymore, so the next time I landed, it didn’t explode. The barrier just absorbed it. But as I looked down, where the barrier absorbed, the color looked darker. It seems like negative magic causes it to be weaker. I crouched down and focused my mana into the barrier, hoping to destroy it.

“Don’t try it! Heaven’s Wrath!”

I leapt to the side, dodging her blast, and landed on the roof of the barrier. Pressing my palms against the glowing surface, I poured more mana into it. The moment I did, she faltered. The stronger my mana burned against the dome, the weaker she became. She was fighting back, using her own mana to hold it together.

Then a sudden surge rippled from her body, malif. She’d healed herself, wiping away the exhaustion. My stomach sank; I wouldn’t last if I didn’t do the same. I forced malif through my veins, my body knitting itself back together just enough to keep moving. The fight turned into a deadly game of cat and mouse. I darted along the dome, striking weak points, while she unleashed volley after volley of spells. I slipped through every strike, though each dodge tore at my body, and each counter hit landed harder than it should have. Slowly but surely, I felt it; I was wearing her down. The cracks were showing.

Finally, she made a mistake. She got too close. My fist connected.

The blow hurled her across the arena, and the dome shattered with her. But the price was steep. My arm split apart with a sickening crack, bone and blood bursting under the strain. I collapsed to the ground, gasping. She staggered back to her feet, trembling, yet somehow still standing. My eyes widened. Yuno himself hadn’t taken that attack. Against him, I couldn’t even move afterward. But against Akiko… I forced myself up, ignoring the ripping pain in my muscles, the scream of torn fibers in my legs as they held my weight.

“I-I’m not going to lose to you!” she shouted, voice breaking.

“I—” I coughed, blood spilling from my lips. She saw her chance. She charged, fist drawn back. I had no time to block. My only choice was to counter and pray I landed first. I funneled regular mana into my limbs, not destructive, just enough to hold me together. I didn’t need raw power. I needed precision.

Her fist came screaming toward my face, faster and faster until suddenly, it slowed. She’d switched attributes. Lightning to fire, a bit too soon. She lost the speed she needed. My punch slammed home. Her body jerked from the impact, then crumpled to the floor. She tried to rise once, twice, but fell back down, face-first.

I got lucky she made that small mistake. I guess because of all her injuries, it made her slip up.

“The winner has been decided. Yakusei is victorious!”

My body swayed, ready to collapse. Then—

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

A slow, deliberate rhythm echoed, cutting through the silence. That presence, I knew it. My stomach turned cold.

Why… why is he here?

From the shadows stepped Vaeltharion, his eyes glinting with amusement.

“Good job on winning this tournament,” he said, his voice carrying a weight that silenced even the crowd.

The world spun and darkness pressed in. And finally, exhaustion took over.