As soon as Filiel recast the Hardwalls we rushed to recover the time Dawn and Oster took up. With our great speed my 25 credits were still reachable. But before that, I’m sure Oster will try to get in the way. The plan? Take initiative and attack him first.

Whenever a platform burst, it made noticeable noise. Yet it couldn’t compare to the deafening sound of Oster’s ability. Sounded like a heavy chainsaw. He was using it to clear obstacles. But with all that noise, he gave away his location.

I landed on a pad. And this time, it didn’t propel me forwards. The platform was a solid slab of forcefield.

“We’ll be stealthy from now on. He won’t hear us approaching.”

I nodded. “I’ll bait him out. You get to the goal.”

“Are you sure?”

“Confidently sure.”

“Then we’ll have to separate. May I give you a head start?” She summoned two different sets of platforms.

I took a path separated from Filiel. That yellowish path didn’t give me a boost anymore. However, high ground was still high ground. The slippery leaf detritus didn’t bother me. Nor the occasional rock or dead tree. Running, I got ahead of Oster who couldn’t hear my footsteps.

His face filled with shock once he saw me jump in front of him. At a safe distance of course.

“You! What did you do to Dawn? There’s no way…”

I scratched the back of my head. “She’s out. Stone cold.”

He surveilled the environment for my Vanguard.

“Defeating the other girl cost me Filiel. I’m here to avenge her.” Due to the distance between us Oster didn’t notice my face twitching. Otherwise he would spot my bluff.

“So, the weakling is alone by himself. Good news.”

Colorful orbs appeared floating around Oster. They became thinner and longer, in the shape of blades. But his smile looked more razor sharp than any knife I’ve known. Oster knew he had a psychopath-tier ability. The blades orbiting him began spinning at high speed. A human blender with him as the axis of rotation. It whirred loudly. In seconds, his move cleared the trees around him. Stumps were all that remained grounded.

I exhaled slowly. Trust him. Trust that he will follow the rules and not murder you.

He shot some of his blades at me. I ducked them, thanks to the large distance. Oster couldn’t guide his razors outside of his narrow area of influence. Once out, they were dummy projectiles. But if one of them landed, I would be disabled. I really didn’t want to end like Dawn did. I’m not proud of that sentence, considering I caused the KO.

I ran avoiding the projectiles as best as I could. Each time a shot hit a tree or soil, dirt or wood shrapnel scratched my legs, arms, or face. Anything not protected by the athletic wear I carried. And it wasn’t because Oster’s aim was off. He devised that method to damage me without infringing on the ‘no lethal injuries’ rule.

How much longer? I didn’t take any detours. I was sure of being on route towards the finishing line. But I wasn’t sure I would reach it. Neither was I sure I wanted to sacrifice myself so Filiel would win for us. Whatever Oster planned on doing with me, it would be worse than what my team did to Dawn.

That day, I figured I wasn’t that unathletic. By the powers of Adrenaline and Cortisol, my full potential surged. I took cover from the fire, behind a sturdy pine. My nails shoved the dead leaves aside and I took the soil with my hands, pressing it into a tight ball.

“Take this!” The dirt ball flew towards him.

Oster only saw a blur coming at him and sliced it apart. Exactly like I wanted. The ball exploded. Dirt blasted in all directions, splattering his face with grime. He rubbed his eyes a whole lot. That only caused him more discomfort.

Do I flee? Do I keep throwing things at him? I dirtied his face on a whim. Something I came up while fleeing. I didn’t have a follow up.

With his shirt, he cleaned himself. “That was low. You played me dirty.”

“Heck I did. I’m an otherwise defenseless Support. You are basically bullying me around. Swinging ESP blades at an average person. Not fair.”

“I won’t fall twice for same trap.” A pair of blades landed on his hands. He impacted them, producing sparks.

Great, he can grab them. I better restart running.

I tried to flee again, but I had cooled off. I couldn’t reach the same speed. Oster outputted the best sprint I had seen of him.

“I’ll stab you myself! You won’t die. But you’ll beg for it!”

If I hadn’t stopped, my dumb legs wouldn’t have failed. Oster began to get dangerously close. “Filiel!”

I’m not one to pray. But I needed her to come. Faith drove me to empty my lungs on shouting her name. Oster became angrier after realizing I had played him. The sudden materialization of a translucent panel caught him. He smacked against the solid wall.

“Up here!” Her voice called from the sky. There she was, on a platform hovering over the treetops. “Can you reapply the buff?”

She lost the Burst Counter. Something regarding distance, Advisor?

‘Yes. The upgrades under Party Influence are not permanent. They’ll disappear if the beneficiary gets out of range. Reapplying…’

“Should be done!”

She made a landing pad to absorb the blow. Akin to landing on a trampoline. “I’ve got news.” The wall separating us came apart at her will. “Hey Oster! As you already saw, I did some air reconnaissance.”

“Argh!” I could understand his reason for being salty. He had actually believed Dawn took Filiel down. He tried attacking from range but refrained after recalling Filiel made that useless.

She clasped her hands. “The competition is really lousy today. They are stuck fighting far away. Desmond’s outputting a fireworks show. I guess I could spare you a few minutes.”

Oster didn’t wait for her to end speaking. He engaged in close combat, using his whole array of blades. Filiel simply parried them by placing a wall right next to him. “Stop placing your damn things on my face!”

Filiel smirked and I copied her expression. Until Oster used a new trick. He stopped slashing at the walls mindlessly. Instead, he grinded open the force field. Thus, breaking my illusions of Filiel being an impenetrable fort. She placed multiple new walls. From there on, it turned into a stalemate.

This fight lost its sense of direction. Like this, it’s never finishing on time. To further remind me on how time was essential, an explosion blasted in the distance. The person Filiel mentioned earlier. I considered what would happen if our team fled the battle. Oster would probably pester me for life.

A second explosion sounded. This one came from Oster, who stepped into a Burst Counter floor trap. Exactly like Dawn did. Freefalling, Oster exploited his immunity to his own ability to correct his landing. He had taken Filiel by surprise and landed a hit on her.

“So…students at Class A bleed red like everyone else. I wish I could take a picture.” He pointed at her wounded forearm.

“Filiel are you OK?”

“Minor scratch!” She covered the wound with her other hand. After she retired it, a small barrier covered it.

At this point, the two had become bitter rivals. A far call from what I saw in the morning. Who would defeat the other with attrition? I was eager to find out. But time was running short. Besides, I grew tired of standing there like a third wheel.

There should be something around here…The trees had become victims of collateral damage. I sighted a long branch that Oster had almost cut. After twirling and pulling it, it came off. Gripping it like a spear, I charged into battle.

While Oster had his ESP blades focused on cutting down a Hardwall, I thrusted at his ribs with my crude weapon. He fell over. Enough time for me to sidestep him and get to Filiel. “Hold that arm over your head and let’s just get out of here!” I grabbed her healthy arm and pulled her with me. “Fighting was wrong. It’s supposed to be a race.”

I could tell she didn’t like missing the chance to put him down. But she also agreed with me. She took too long. Must be something that happens when a pair of tanks fight. They don’t have ways of ending the fight promptly.

Since Filiel got wounded, it was best not to shake her too much by using the Burst Counter Run technique. What followed was a horrid stretch of running while supporting my teammate. Accompanied by not too distant sounds of explosions and violence. Luckily, Oster seemed caught up in that mess. We had exited just in time.

These words feel wrong, but I was ecstatic to see the damned fog wall. A clearing separated the forest and the barrier. Professor Alan was waiting.