Chapter 23:
A Sour Victory.
DARK HIERARCHY
STILL WITHIN THE ULTRA SPACE...
The air itself felt dry.
The thin line that stretched around Shade's frame released continuous heat waves effortlessly.
Deckra could barely stand, his right leg quivered under the weight of his entire body.
Broken, his left leg was already too far gone.
His right arm, on the other hand, seemed quite credible, his throat ached, scorched. He understood the risks of transferring a card in-between actions, but it was a necessary cost to pull one over a natural monster.
Deckra's wild smile slowly dialed down, his once shiny eyes lost their colours, its light now carried the weight of a ninety-year-old, retired soldier.
The intense wind and air pressure emitted from Shade's aura reached the sky, but it still felt mediocre against the scarring heat he also produced.
Sweat dripped from Deckra's jaw, his white shirt was drenched, clinging to his skin like a tape.
Subtly, on his right hand, a viscous metallic substance, silver in colour, sipped out of his skin, slowly spreading over his fist.
Deckra stayed on his feet despite his critical condition. He didn't raise his arms, nor did he change his unbalanced stance... nothing.
The viscous substance moved like goo, already about to consume his right shoulder. In silence, he conjured another card into his left hand, a gold one. Not for a second did he take his eyes off Shade, or make any significant moves, and for good reason.
Considering Shade's current unstable state, he would likely put up a more pathetic performance than his clone did earlier.
Deckra's lips contracted back into a thin line, 'This is all I can manage right now, I'm really just as pathetic in the end.'
A drop of sweat scraped itself from Deckra's jaw, gliding downwards until it met the hostile embrace of the steaming short grass, steam skimming out of it before it even reached the sweltering earth.
I worked my ass off to get as strong as I am today, but he—
— This bastard got way more powerful without even trying! Damn you!Deckra gnashed his teeth hard against each other, his jaw vibrating vigorously.
At this time, the growing substance on Deckra's palm had extended over his upper body, except his head, without wasting a second, it raced down his legs.
Come at me. I'm not done yet!
↑→↓←↑→
It's been nearly an hour since the battle began, it was way overdue and the first years knew it. Their faces were twisted with retched expressions.
Below the floating stone frame, Dark and Tiger stood, side by side. Tiger had managed to inherit part of Dark's unique space, smiling at the frame like they were pals.
"You should tell your vice to take it easy, you're making Ds look bad. He will definitely focus on you from now on." Tiger sighed as he removed his gaze from the frame, tilting his head sideways to stretch his neck.
"Looking up is so tiring, what a pain." he lamented further, rubbing the back of his neck with his palm.
Dark too brought down his gaze, staring at the light crowd before him.
"Hey Tiger—"
Tiger turned to Dark, his eyes totally blank and completely empty of thought.
"If Shade and Claw were the ones fighting, what do you think the result would be?"
Tiger pumped his lips, as though he was thinking really deeply and hard.
"Shade of course, there's no disputing it," he replied almost in the next second, his voice was steadier, he definitely wasn't joking.
"Then what if it was you up there?.." Dark immediately suggested, still staring at the scanty crowd before him.
"That'll never happen." Tiger faced forward.
"Don't avoid the question."
"It would be very unwise given our fighting styles. The school would never allow it, trust me." Tiger assured with his never-withering smile.
Dark didn't say anything, he had probably picked up his answer from Tiger's round about lament.
"But honestly, if we ever did—" Tiger lowered his eyes.
"Then he'd have to kill me."
Dark felt something or someone holding onto his arm, it felt held down— then the feeling moved over to his legs, yet he didn't turn towards it.
That's right, in a world filled with more than worthy opponents and entities— this guy's never lost a battle before. Too bad he met me.
The edges of Dark's lips curved up, he stared at the crowd with sunken eyes that revealed an addicting glare.
Who knew dying would be so satisfying?
↑→↓←↑→
Back in the Ultra Space, the grand clearing was surprisingly quiet, with only Shade's crackling aura steadily making the environment somehow lively.
With every passing second, Deckra's heartbeat slowed down, his breathing became steadier, and his sight grew sharper.
The viscous substance had taken advantage of the lack of disturbance to reach even further, wrapping itself entirely around Deckra, exempting only his head.
"You shouldn't have just stood there, Shade. Now you've missed the opportunity of a lifetime." Deckra slightly grinned as the viscous substance crawled up his jaw, already swallowing his lower lip.
A muffled ding sound erupted from an unknown but seemingly close point, the sound barely surviving in the scraping roars of Shade's aura.
Deckra launched his left leg back; his stance was finally well-footed and balanced.
"With this silver armour, I should be able to withstand the full weight of his punch for maybe a minute. I need to find a wa—"
Shade vanished, his fire, his presence, his intent– everything was totally gone. Deckra didn't see a glitch like last time. This time, Shade was too fast to leave one behind.
Deckra's leg muscles thickened, he made a calm exhale as he shot glares into the empty field before him.
"Don't underestimate me you shit!" Deckra yelled thrusting forward with great speed.
I'll beat that bastard, I'll destroy him. I'll—
Deckra glanced at the space in front of him, the edges of his vision grew dark and distorted.
Tiiiiiing... his ears rang.
What's happening to me? I feel drained, I need to— stop running.
The air itself felt dry.
The thin line that stretched around Shade's frame released continuous heat waves effortlessly.
Deckra could barely stand, his right leg quivered under the weight of his entire body.
Broken, his left leg was already too far gone.
His right arm, on the other hand, seemed quite credible, his throat ached, scorched. He understood the risks of transferring a card in-between actions, but it was a necessary cost to pull one over a natural monster.
Deckra's wild smile slowly dialed down, his once shiny eyes lost their colours, its light now carried the weight of a ninety-year-old, retired soldier.
The intense wind and air pressure emitted from Shade's aura reached the sky, but it still felt mediocre against the scarring heat he also produced.
Sweat dripped from Deckra's jaw, his white shirt was drenched, clinging to his skin like a tape.
Subtly, on his right hand, a viscous metallic substance, silver in colour, sipped out of his skin, slowly spreading over his fist.
Deckra stayed on his feet despite his critical condition. He didn't raise his arms, nor did he change his unbalanced stance... nothing.
The viscous substance moved like goo, already about to consume his right shoulder. In silence, he conjured another card into his left hand, a gold one. Not for a second did he take his eyes off Shade, or make any significant moves, and for good reason.
Considering Shade's current unstable state, he would likely put up a more pathetic performance than his clone did earlier.
Deckra's lips contracted back into a thin line, 'This is all I can manage right now, I'm really just as pathetic in the end.'
A drop of sweat scraped itself from Deckra's jaw, gliding downwards until it met the hostile embrace of the steaming short grass, steam skimming out of it before it even reached the sweltering earth.
I worked my ass off to get as strong as I am today, but he—
Deckra's eyesight suddenly clashed with Shade's, and his body suddenly felt a lot heavier under Shade's gaze. The demon's spiralling pupils instantly drowned him in.
— This bastard got way more powerful without even trying! Damn you!Deckra gnashed his teeth hard against each other, his jaw vibrating vigorously.
At this time, the growing substance on Deckra's palm had extended over his upper body, except his head, without wasting a second, it raced down his legs.
Come at me. I'm not done yet!
↑→↓←↑→
It's been nearly an hour since the battle began, it was way overdue and the first years knew it. Their faces were twisted with retched expressions.
Below the floating stone frame, Dark and Tiger stood, side by side. Tiger had managed to inherit part of Dark's unique space, smiling at the frame like they were pals.
"You should tell your vice to take it easy, you're making Ds look bad. He will definitely focus on you from now on." Tiger sighed as he removed his gaze from the frame, tilting his head sideways to stretch his neck.
"Looking up is so tiring, what a pain." he lamented further, rubbing the back of his neck with his palm.
Dark too brought down his gaze, staring at the light crowd before him.
"Hey Tiger—"
Tiger turned to Dark, his eyes totally blank and completely empty of thought.
"If Shade and Claw were the ones fighting, what do you think the result would be?"
Tiger pumped his lips, as though he was thinking really deeply and hard.
"Shade of course, there's no disputing it," he replied almost in the next second, his voice was steadier, he definitely wasn't joking.
"Then what if it was you up there?.." Dark immediately suggested, still staring at the scanty crowd before him.
"That'll never happen." Tiger faced forward.
"Don't avoid the question."
"It would be very unwise given our fighting styles. The school would never allow it, trust me." Tiger assured with his never-withering smile.
Dark didn't say anything, he had probably picked up his answer from Tiger's round about lament.
"But honestly, if we ever did—" Tiger lowered his eyes.
"Then he'd have to kill me."
Dark felt something or someone holding onto his arm, it felt held down— then the feeling moved over to his legs, yet he didn't turn towards it.
That's right, in a world filled with more than worthy opponents and entities— this guy's never lost a battle before. Too bad he met me.
The edges of Dark's lips curved up, he stared at the crowd with sunken eyes that revealed an addicting glare.
Who knew dying would be so satisfying?
↑→↓←↑→
Back in the Ultra Space, the grand clearing was surprisingly quiet, with only Shade's crackling aura steadily making the environment somehow lively.
With every passing second, Deckra's heartbeat slowed down, his breathing became steadier, and his sight grew sharper.
The viscous substance had taken advantage of the lack of disturbance to reach even further, wrapping itself entirely around Deckra, exempting only his head.
"You shouldn't have just stood there, Shade. Now you've missed the opportunity of a lifetime." Deckra slightly grinned as the viscous substance crawled up his jaw, already swallowing his lower lip.
A muffled ding sound erupted from an unknown but seemingly close point, the sound barely surviving in the scraping roars of Shade's aura.
Deckra launched his left leg back; his stance was finally well-footed and balanced.
"With this silver armour, I should be able to withstand the full weight of his punch for maybe a minute. I need to find a wa—"
Shade vanished, his fire, his presence, his intent– everything was totally gone. Deckra didn't see a glitch like last time. This time, Shade was too fast to leave one behind.
Deckra's leg muscles thickened, he made a calm exhale as he shot glares into the empty field before him.
"Don't underestimate me you shit!" Deckra yelled thrusting forward with great speed.
I'll beat that bastard, I'll destroy him. I'll—
Deckra glanced at the space in front of him, the edges of his vision grew dark and distorted.
Tiiiiiing... his ears rang.
What's happening to me? I feel drained, I need to— stop running.
he could barely focus his thoughts, his fading vision showcased his feet.
They weren't moving.
"What's hap—"
"This new you doesn't deserve to be blown away like trash. You did well, Deckra." Shade's voice sneaked into his ear, muffled and whispered.
Deckra looked beside him, Shade's face was all he could see, staring in the opposite direction.
Deckra's shoulder touched, more like leaned onto Shade's chest as they barely crossed each other.
"Tsk..." Deckra squeezed Shade's shirt, tightly, desperately. A sharp pain hinted at his abdomen, then it spread.
Shade's right fist formed at Deckra's stomach; it didn't look forced, but gently placed.
After everything, I'm still not match?
"Damn — you." Deckra slumped, unconscious.
Shade held him up firmly, making it seem as though they were both still standing, he faced dead forward with wary eyes.
"I'm sorry you had it this rough."Shade's serene voice came once again,
"Second place is awarded to Shade Naza and in last position is Deckra Solivan. End of bout."
↑→↓←↑→
"Whoa! As expected from the famed future Destroyer!"
"That Deckra guy never stood a chance. It was a one-sided battle till the end! Way to go our heir!"
Praises rained in from all angles of the field, everyone wore bright smiles as they cheered Shade on, without understanding how truly heartbreaking the battle really was for him.
Shade stepped through the portal with Deckra in his arms. He went past Professor Hungman without saying a word; in total silence, he paved through the crowd.
After a while, he stopped, "It would be best if you were the one to take him to the clinic," he faced the twisted face of Ds.
"Huh, what are you talking about weirdo?" Deckra clenched his fists as they shook aggressively.
"That loser's all yours, your cowardly President can take him." Words barely escaped his gnashed teeth as he avoided eye contact.
"Damn, this idiot really made a bad choice." Shade sighed, taking two heavy steps forward, his eyes reflected his inner grief.
"Take him." He said again, a vein stretched across the side of his neck, lava red shining just below his skin.
The crowd around them watched silently, awaiting any next moves, possibly a fight. Stealthily, they backed up, leaving only Shade, Deckra, and his large group in a fairly large, crowd-bound circle.
Both parties didn't budge, though the majority of Ds' group had their heads low, facing the grass.
Ds lowered his shoulder, delivering a deep sigh as he turned away.
"Whatever." He smacked his lips,
"Someone grab him," he said departing.
Deckra smirked, "Seems like you had a great time, was it worth revealing your monster?" he teased before effortlessly forcing a path through the crowd.
Shade handed Deckra over to two students who immediately trailed after Deckra, all while avoiding eye contact with Shade.
Shade's watched beeped, breaking the tense atmosphere. He stared at it, it was a message notification.
It read; "You should get yourself checked up too. I'll meet you later. Dark."
Shade brushed through the crowd but couldn't spot his friend, he was gone.
He sighed,
"C'mon Dark, you shouldn't get scared so easily." He whispered to himself, eyes shallow and brows wrinkled.
"I'm not a monster."
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