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Chapter 47: Power Struggle

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Reminiscence #3

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How long have I been acting like a fool now? I can't even remember. Somehow, I think I forgot which one was the real me. The one who was alone or the idiot that plays pranks. It's actually kinda fun. Chief constantly nags me about it though. It's kind of annoying.

I've actually gotten really good at reading peoples faces. Sometimes, I would hide in the trees or bushes and just watch people. Just like now, I can see a boy and a girl much older than me talking to each other. I can't hear what they're saying, but I can tell by their expressions. The guy is trying really hard to impress her, but the girl has this fake smile. She probably wants to leave, but can't find a good opportunity. Ah, she left.

I learned about a lot of different expressions just by watching. Someone who acts nice, but really isn't would put on this fake smile. Completely different from when a real parent smiles when they see their kid. They just hug them and lightly scold them no matter what they do.. I kinda want that..

Lets not think about it. Although, thinking about genuine smiles reminds me of that doctor's kid, . She's different from all the other kids here. When the others finds out I'm adopted they give me this weird look every time I'm near them. Their faces completely give away their thoughts. She doesn't do that though. Whether it was a bully, a friend, or an enemy, she always helps them.

Everyone that walks into her clinic walks out patched up. She always talks about her responsibility as a doctor. She's weird. Everyone makes fun of me, but even though I play a prank on her, she always helps me for some reason. Although, she purposefully pushes down on my wounds sometimes if I come and asked for a band-aid. She's weird, but I think I can get along with her. Chief and the old hag always tell me to get some friends, but I don't want any that act like those kids. Her though... I don't know.

They keep asking me to make some friends, but I just don't know. I've been alone and acted like an idiot for so long, I just don't know if I should. Everyone thinks I'm dumb, but I actually read a lot when I'm alone. I'm pretty smart for a 4-year old. Where would I get a friend? I don't want to make her my first friend though...Oh? There he is.

He's the only other person that doesn't treat me like everyone else. He's pretty smart. I've seen him read a lot of difficult books when he's in the library. The other kids usually do stupid things, but he always leaves them alone. I would pull pranks on him, but the most I ever get out of him is him yelling at me like everyone else. His face isn't fake like everyone else: calm and honest.

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She raised her arms into the air. The area around her arms became charged. Sparks of electricity could be seen dancing around her body.

Scan

From Diane's body, Robin could clearly see a surge of electricity escape. This time, however, it wasn't in the form of bolts, but in a form similar to a giant bubble. The students still in the vicinity raised their defenses to the max. They saw the carnage the previous skill did. As a precaution, Robin and Velvet kept their defenses up.

However, all of their effort was for naught. Diane's skill, Scan, bypassed any defenses. It ignored anything, including the lightning rods for some reason, and enveloped a larger area than her previous skill. This one actually reached other hills as well. Fortunately, there seemed to be no affects on their bodies. It wasn't a skill meant for attacking apparently. In front of Diane, a blue holographic screen popped up. Robin barely heard her voice from where he stood.

"Fifteen level 60 and above, 156 level 50-60's, 308 level 40-50's, and ...so much fucking trash."

The dirty mouth that exposed itself made her usual helpful and caring image seem like a lie. Diane took two fingers and pushed up her glasses. Blue lightning began covering her body. A normal person would have been fried from such exposure, but she looked completely fine.

Lightning Armor

"Well then, lets clean up a bit shall we?"

At her words, the rest of her teammates stepped forward. They had just finished inserting their sticks into the pedestals as well.

"No way." Velvet said in disbelief.

"All of Myriad Four are on the same team?!"

= That is one hell of a coincidence. All four Student Council Members are together. This is not good. =

Diane pointed her arms out in front of her. The electricity began gathering in at her hands. It was obvious to anyone, what was gonna happen next. Velvet hurriedly knelt down to the ground.

Tunnel

"Hurry! Get in!"

Thunder Cannon

All four of them jumped into the hole. It was immediately after Robin landed inside that he heard the roar of thunder above them. The beam that threaten to electrocute anyone in its path past over them.. Cries of pain could be heard. He didn't need to check to know that dozens of students were sinking into the floor around him.

The four of them evacuated to a safe distance inside the tunnel. Nora was carrying a flashlight while leading the way. Velvet closed up the hole behind them to prevent others from following. The group came to a stop when they deemed it was far enough away.

"Ha..Ha..Ha.. That was pretty scary." Sun said. His arms were on his hips as he stared at the ceiling, trying to catch his breath.

"I don't.. ha... even know who she is, ha.. and I can tell she's trouble." Nora commented.

They took a second to catch their breath before Robin spoke up.

"I didn't think they would put them all on the same team. Shouldn't the officials be keeping track of this stuff, so that doesn't happen?"

"No, there's simply too many participants in the prelims. If all four of them are together, nobody is going to be able to take over that hill."

"So what now?" Sun questioned. "We can't exactly go back out there."

"We stick with the original plan." Robin answered.

Velvet nodded her head.

"Right. This is the exact reason why we decided to go with this plan in the first place. No need to be taken out by the strongest now. Save that for the finals. Robin, point us to another location."

Robin looked upwards. Bloodlust was omnidirectional, but it was a natural tendency for Robin to use his eyes.

"There's another hill that isn't too crowded over there. It's also outside the range of Diane's scanning ability thing."

"Good, lets hurry."

This time there was more people on the hill than before. Thankfully, they were much weaker. Robin and his teammates swept through them without much trouble. With another Earth Pit and Hellblaze combo, Velvet finished off about another 50 competitors.

"Ok, now is a good time to make our move. Lets aim for the top." she announced while drinking another elixir.

"Are you sure? There's still a little more than 30 minutes left." Robin said while strangling a girl from behind. The moment she lost conscious, the shield popped up and forced him to let her go.

"Yes, now is around the time people will start to aim for the pedestal. Only freaks like the Myriad Four would try to start their timer from the get go. I also doubt we'll find another hill that has competition this small."

Unfortunately, it seems that somebody else was already occupying the top. Just as the four of them got there, a spray of bullets came their way and stopped them in their tracks. Robin and Sun were able to sidestep the bullets just in time. Velvet protected herself and Nora using a wall of earth.

Standing there was a girl with dark-brown hair. The edge of her hair was seen to be dyed red. Wearing cocoa-colored shirt with a brown corset and a bullet belt to fasten her skin-tight jeans, she strutted forward to greet Velvet.

"Hey there, Velvet. Nice to see you've survived so far."

"Coco.. Was the warning shot really necessary?"

"That was me."

Stepping forward next to the girl named Coco was none other than Osagi. Osagi rested the bottom of his huge shield on the ground next to him.

"Hello there Robin."

"Hey."

Following up behind them were two twin girls who Robin presumed to be their teammates. One wore a red and white outfit and tied her hair in a ponytail. The other had a blue and black outfit on. They both wore a fashionable jacket with the letters R and B inscribed on each jacket respectively.

Osagi Aegis (Lvl 57)HP:1150/1350Aura:1490/1850

Coco Adel(Lvl 67)HP:1400/1500Aura:1950/2050

Carolina Skynda (Lvl 47)HP:905/1150Aura:1800/1800

Vermillion Skynda (Lvl 48)HP:1150/1250Aura:1390/1450

"I see you're aiming for this one too. Sorry, Velvet. This is our turf. Find another one."

"I would love to." she responded.

"However, the situation at the top is probably the same for all the other hills anyway. It's just a question of which one is gonna fight for the top first, and I'd say our best bet is this one."

Coco shook her head in disappointment.

"That's just a shame. And here I wa--"

Aura Limbs

With the creation of his new set of silver limbs, Robin dashed forward towards Osagi. This was for a couple of reasons. Among the four of them, Coco was an unknown factor, and the other two girls were weaker than him. Only Osagi was someone who Robin was certain he could defeat if alone, but if he were to set up his defenses, defeating him in a group battle was much more difficult.

Robin extended the limbs into the sky and swiped downwards on Osagi's head. However, the blow was stopped by his shield. The force was strong enough to cause Osagi to sink into the dirt. Osagi grinned at Robin.

= So you expected that much huh? =

"Don't interrupt me when I'm speaking."

Suddenly, Coco appeared next to Robin, and swung her handbag at him. Robin used his other Aura Limb to block the blow.

-230

= Khh! Strong! =

With strength unlike her slim build, Coco struck Robin and lifted him off his feet. He flew about ten yards before skidding to a stop. Robin found himself flanked by the twins on each side. The girl named Carolina aimed a kick at his face while her sister, Vermillion, swung her red great-sword at his mid-section.

Aura Shield

After stopping their blows, Robin jabbed his fingers at their pressure points. However, the two girls retreated before he could land a hit. Their actions wasn't as if they knew Robin was trying to hit their pressure, but as if it was a part of their strategy. It didn't take long for him to figure out what it was.

With a click of a button, Osagi's shield transformed its bottom half into a tripod in order to support the top half that turned itself into a giant barrel. Coco's handbag performed a similar transformation. The side of the bag popped down and revealed the metal barrel that extended from the inside. The previously slim bag was now a giant minigun. With a whir, the two guns came to life.

"Prepare to die." Coco and Osagi pulled their triggers.

= Oh shit! =

Robin pumped more aura into his Aura Shield as the hundreds of rounds began to fire at him. In order to relieve the stress on the shield, Robin changed the shape of the shield to become a triangular pyramid. The angled sides deflected the bullets, but Robin constantly had to pump aura in order to keep the shield active.

"A little help here guys?" Robin directed his question to his teammates behind him.

"Kinda busy at the moment." Sun replied.

Currently, Sun and Nora were engaged with fighting with the other students behind them. If they were to intervene in the fight, things would only get more difficult.

Protect

A layer of brown aura enveloped his shield and stabilized it. Velvet stepped behind Robin.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Sun and Nora are occupied at the moment. We're going to have to fight them by ourselves."

"Sigh...A minigun and a sentry gun. No wonder they reached the top before us."

"Any ideas?"

"I can take the twins if you can keep Coco and Osagi busy long enough."

Velvet slanted her mouth to one side.

"I can try, but please to be quick about it. I can't survive for long in the open."

"I can take care of that."

From within his inventory, Robin pulled out a couple Smoke Bombs. He handed Velvet them.

"What are these?"

"Watch."

Robin took one and threw it at the ground. The smoke spread around them and hid themselves from Coco and Osagi's vision.

"A smokescreen?" Coco asked.

"It's one of Robin's inventions." Osagi explained. "Be careful of his sneak attacks. He's really skilled, so if you're caught in his traps, it's pretty much over."

"Hm.. fiesty and strong. I like."

Earth Spikes

The ground beneath them rose to impale them. Osagi and Coco jumped to dodge them just in time.

"Careful of the ground." Coco warned. "Velvet is extremely skilled with earth magic."

"Magic? So she's a mage?"

Earth Pit

"Jump!"

Hellblaze

Flames licked the soles of their shoes as the ground beneath them vanished with the rise of flames.

"Velvet with constant smokescreens and the earth for her to command. Your friend's tools has made her an even stronger monster, but so am I."

Echolocation

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The twins were surrounded by black smoke. Even if they wanted to come to Coco and Osagi's aid, they would have to walk blindly into the smoke. From within his cover, Robin used his Aura Limbs to attack from a distance.

"Argh." Carolina grunted with dissatisfaction. She kicked her boots at the silver arm in rage. Her weapons were a form of modified skates that uses Dust to boost her speed, allowing great mobility.

"Come fight us in the open! Aren't you a man?!"

"All's fair in love and war." he responded.

"There you are!!"

Carolina charged forward. In response, both of Robin's Aura Limbs came out of the smoke to attack her, but Vermillion was ready.

Fire Stakes

Two spears of flames formed in the sky and struck both arms, pinning it into the ground. Carolina dashed into the smoke, following the arms of silver.

"Even an animal would understand it after seeing it so many times!" Vermillion said.

Robin tried to disperse his limbs and reform them closer to his body. However, the Fire Stakes was a skill that sealed anything it struck. If he wanted to do anything with those limbs, he would have to manually pull them out of the ground.

"No matter what you do, the limbs are connected to your body!" Carolina said.

She followed the arms to it's source. In the smoke, she could see the outline of a figure. Boosting her speed to the maximum, Carolina did a spin in the air and landed a kick on his temple.

"Yes!" Vermillion shouted.

...or she would have, but that outline was just a hologram of Robin. Her foot slipped through the image and caught nothing but air.

"Wha--! But his limbs are..!!"

The limbs actually came out of holes in the ground. Two holes which each one dug through could be seen. On the floor was a voice recorder and the device which displayed the hologram. However, Carolina noticed this far too late. Robin had already snuck behind the unsuspecting Vermillion who thought they won the fight.

Acupuncture

Over 300 spots on the body lit itself. Robin, in his mind, limited the choices to non-lethal pressure points for suppression and reduced the count to a mere 64. Two on the shoulder, two on the legs, and a finisher right in the middle of her chest.

-45

-42

-44

-49

-30

Robin lifted her with his finger at that single spot. Carolina turned to find her sister hanging limply in the air. With a roar, she charged at Robin. Robin smacked her away with the blunt side of Pantomath. Before Carolina could get back up, Robin used his Aura Limbs to pin her legs to the ground.

With Vermillion unconscious and aura suppressed, Fire Stakes was deactivated, so Robin could once again use them as he pleased. Robin jumped into the air, somersaulting into a front flip and landing an axe kick on Carolina's stomach.

-640

The blue shield popped up for both players. With his targets finished off, Robin turned to help Velvet. He found that she was hiding in one of the tunnels she had created. Coco and Osagi was stalking each of the tunnel entrances.

Echolocation

Coco focused her hearing on the noises inside the tunnels. Combining the skills of Enhance and Detect, she created the skill Echolocation. She opened her eyes behind her aviators.

"10 feet below us. My 7 o'clock!"

Piercing Bullets

Coco aimed downwards while Osagi covered the exits. She fired them into the ground. Thanks to Piercing Bullets, the bullets went through the dirt like cheese. Robin attacked her from the side and successfully redirected her bullets.

"Get off of me!"

Coco kicked Robin in the stomach and he flew off of her. However, that gave Velvet enough time to activate her spell. Thanks to Robin's interference, she didn't have to worry about dodging, and focused on attacking.

Iron Maiden

The ground beneath Coco formed spikes and lifted upwards like a jaw. Before it could snap shut, a yellow glow surrounded Coco's body.

Noble Sacrifice

A flash of yellow light revealed Coco was suddenly switched with Osagi. He had his weapon in shield form. It was split right in the middle and he held each halve facing each side of the jaw.

Iron Skin

Thanks to Iron Skin, the shield and Osagi's body gained a metallic shine to it. The jaw that supposed to crush him was instead broken from being unable to squash him. Velvet jumped out of the hole. She had her outfit torn in multiple spots, and was even bleeding from a few stray bullets.

"Are you ok?" Robin asked.

"I'll be fjine." She replied while drinking an elixir. The wound closed up fast and a scar wasn't even noticeable.

It was now a 2v2 matchup. Coco reloaded her gun, Velvet channeled her aura, and Robin dashed forward with Pantomath in hand. With a click, it became dual-swords. Osagi jumped in front to accept the invitation.

Aura Limbs

Holy Light

A golden light embraced Osagi's body. The wounds on him healed wherever Robin managed to scratch him past his dual-shields. With a click, the edges around the shield revealed blades from within.

Daybreak

Beams of light radiated from every opening on Osagi's body. Robin's body tensed up due to the effect of Osagi's semblance, Daybreak, which stunned all enemies in the vicinity as well as reveal any hidden enemies and traps. Osagi did not waste this opening.

Shield Bash

Osagi's shields began to glow as the aura gathered into his arms to strike Robin down. At this moment, Robin reactivated Bloodlust. Earlier, he had deactivated it in order to sneak up on Coco. Now that he was back in combat, he used it to activate Intimidation. A window popped up in front of Osagi.

You have been Intimidated. Unable to move for 3 seconds.

It was Osagi's turn to freeze up now. With the status of being Intimidated, Robin was able to recuperate and continue his strike, but not before Coco began firing her minigun.

"As if I'd let you!" Velvet shouted out.

Protect

Brown aura enveloped Robin. The protection given to him wasn't enough to last forever thanks to Coco's Piercing Bullets, but it was adequate to protect Robin long enough so he could defeat Osagi. Robin knocked away his defenses with Pantomath, and struck Osagi's pressure points with Aura Limbs. Seeing, Osagi defeated, Coco tried to retreat, but she found her boots stuck in mud.

Swamp

"Aw come on. I just bought these. They're from my favorite designer too."

Nora and Sun just then showed up behind her. The four of them surrounded her and pointed their weapons at her. Coco pouted her lips, turned her weapon back into a handbag, and raised her hand.

"Alright. I admit defeat. Don't tear up my outfit please."

Robin and his teammates inserted their sticks into the pedestals. Coco and her teammates' sticks popped out and then flew away, aiming to return to the necklaces they were attached to.

Timer started! 00:00:07...

Ok sorry about the late update guys. I actually finished the chapter last night, but I couldn't connect my laptop to the internet, so I couldn't upload it. Next chapter will be Monday. Hope you liked it! Rate, comment, enjoy! Thanks for reading!