Chapter 8: Unrestrained

With her shinai ignited, Asumi leapt over Taichi and came down on Natsu in a blaze of fire. He dodged effortlessly, slipping right by her; but she didn’t let him go. With rapid swings, the pressure was kept on Natsu, and during this period, Meguri managed to reach Taichi, tapping his shoulder to unfreeze him.

His strength was slowly being restored by the properties of the mat, but his mind was spiraling.

Why? Why didn’t my aspect work?!

As soon as Taichi regained mobility, Meguri broke off and bolted toward the flag. She nearly made it before Natsu appeared at her side, swinging his shinai, being barely blocked by Meguri’s quick reaction. He was now allowed to enter the flag’s restricted area. A single strike put an end to Asumi’s offensive onslaught by freezing her.

Meguri snatched the flag and sprinted away, lightning flickering under her feet leaving behind a trail of stars behind her, but a bolt of lightning slammed in front of her, cutting her off. She just barely managed to pivot to dodge it.

“Hayato, get Asumi!” Meguri yelled.

Taichi grunted, forcing his legs to run. He tapped Asumi’s shoulder as an aura of fire radiated from her body immediately. She released a torrent of flames at Natsu, but it was quickly snuffed out by Natsu’s own equal-strength attack.

Meguri managed to flash right behind Natsu, but Natsu countered this by sending a pulse of electricity out in all directions, knocking Meguri back. It didn’t freeze them, but her health bar did take a hit.

“Did you really think that numbers would be enough to beat me?” Natsu asked, stepping forward. “You guys-”

Meguri managed to snap behind him and swung her shinai, landing a hit on his back, but it hardly accounted for anything. Natsu turned back around and swatted her away with his shinai, freezing her.

Asumi scanned the battlefield, trying to find any path to victory. Meguri was barely able to outmaneuver Natsu even with her speed, and Taichi is only able to match Natsu when his own aspect is active.

Why was it not active?

Taichi sprinted toward Meguri to unfreeze her, but Natsu raised his sword, flames building in the air above him.

Asumi’s eyes flicked rapidly, mind racing. Shooting a blast at Natsu wouldn’t buy Taichi enough time to reach Meguri. If Taichi got hit by Natsu, Asumi would be the only offensive force standing. The defensive end had rank #3 leading the squadron, but even so, the wind aspect floaters had their hands full with defense.

If Meguri and Taichi got immobilized, the game was as good as over.

She shut her eyes as fire built up at her fingertip. Her mind was brought back to the duel between Natsu and Taichi – the first time she ever saw Natsu pushed so close to the edge.

Her mind raced.

What created that flip in momentum? Where was the turning point?

She raised her finger, pointing at Taichi as a compressed ball of fire aimed at him.

“The turning point…” she muttered.

As Natsu fired, she fired too.

Her blast was faster.

The two blasts converged upon Taichi from different directions. He jumped backward, attempting to dodge both of them, but he had just been sprinting toward Meguri. He couldn’t change direction quickly enough. The recoil from the turnaround made his arrowhead pendant flip into the air, shimmering in the spotlight of the arena.

Asumi smiled knowingly – her blast hit the pendant right on the chain, making it fall.

Before Taichi could do anything about it, Natsu’s blast hit him… and nothing happened.

His body flared with light as mana exuded from his body. He clenched his fist. He wasn’t frozen. He wasn’t hurt. His health bar didn’t move.

“I get it now,” Taichi said, looking down at his fallen pendant, then to Asumi. “You and Natsu figured it out before me.”

He lunged forward, tagged Meguri, and barely raised his shinai in time to block Natsu’s swing, parrying it. Meguri sprang back to life, darting behind Natsu and landing another clean hit.

The three of them regrouped, flag in hand, facing Natsu together.

Natsu tried to blow them away with another electric shockwave, but Asumi and Meguri hid behind Taichi, letting his nullification swallow the blast. Then Taichi charged.

With the flag in hand, Meguri tore across the field.

Team A’s defense stood in her way, but they couldn’t manage to catch her lightning-fast, small, nimble body. Water and earth barriers formed too slowly to stop her. Lightning rained down, scorching the mat near her feet, but she managed to dodge it just barely. In that act, however, another sorcerer managed to slam a wave of water into her from the side, freezing her.

Natsu took a heavy hit from Taichi after putting all of his energy into the bolt to stop Meguri, causing his health to sink below half – the same level as Taichi’s.

“Help Isshiki,” Taichi said, glancing at Asumi while keeping Natsu in his sights. “I’ve got Natsu.”

Natsu’s grin widened, sharp and furious. “You’ve got me, huh?”

Asumi bolted. Natsu fired to intercept, but Taichi jumped into the blast – his aspect dissolving it instantly, and pressed the attack.

“Go!” Taichi yelled.

Asumi plunged into the crowd, parrying shinais and blasting them away with blooms of fire. Water evaporated, earth shattered, and wind rose away as everybody failed to leave a scratch on her. She reached Meguri and grabbed the flag, and stared down the seemingly endless defensive line.

Meanwhile, Taichi engaged Natsu to the best of his ability. Their blades collided in bursts of sound, strikes so fast they blurred. Taichi focused entirely on defense, turning every hit aside, refusing to give Natsu even a sliver of opening. The moment Natsu’s attention moved toward Asumi or Meguri, Taichi would switch to offense and make sure that he didn’t get the opportunity to attack them.

With each strike Taichi attempted, Natsu became more infuriated, being forced to block. His brain churned in agony, wondering what exactly could be done to beat somebody he can’t use his aspect on. Then… a shock of lightning appeared in his eyes as a smirk formed across his face.

His tempo suddenly surged.

With speed many times faster than before, Natsu struck Taichi, forcing him to just barely dodge instead of parrying. Natsu rushed forward again, leaving a trail of lightning behind him as he swung his shinai, which Taichi just barely managed to block.

Meguri looked back, her eyes widening.

“That’s… my technique,” Meguri whispered.

Her eyes tightened as she continued pushing forward, increasing her speed as much as she could to make it through.

“Please hold on, Taichi!” Asumi yelled.

Taichi grunted with every blow he blocked. His muscles screamed in pain with each and every movement he made. His health bar continued to sink, and he couldn’t find an opportunity to transition to offense anymore, but he didn’t give in. He hadn’t gotten hit yet, and he couldn’t afford to let it happen.

Natsu stomped his foot on the ground, sending a wave of fiery lightning to break the space beneath Taichi’s feet. The ground became unstable, and Natsu kept flowing more magic energy through the floor. Taichi kept nullifying it, but the effect it had on the floor remained. He couldn’t stand there any longer. He began falling to the ground, sweat dripping from his forehead, as his legs finally gave in. In that moment, he realized that his entire body was already exhausted. It was over. He never stood a chance, even if he managed to keep his footing. Taichi felt his arms finally give up as he closed his eyes, feeling his back meet the ground. It was only a matter of time before Natsu’s shinai met him.

In a roar across the arena, Kodaka’s voice echoed.

“Game over!”