As Arthur and Hikaru walked into the arena, Arthur especially noticed all the vandalism that had happened throughout the years. He was a bit saddened by the way such a beautiful building could fall prey to such things, but that wasn’t his main concern right now.

Besides feeling sorrow for the arena, a bigger question plagued his mind, to which he soon got an answer to. As they walked through a narrow tunnel, they reached the exit soon enough, revealing in front of them a large space.

All around them where seats, where the spectators would previously watch the monumental fights. There were some people sat here and there. Students, teenagers, and the sorts. He didn’t really pay them much attention, after all, this was a popular site to hang out in.

No, what he paid attention to was Aliza and Belle currently in front of the two.

They were quite a ways away, simply chatting to each other, probably still unaware of Arthur’s and Hikaru’s arrival.

“So? What do you want?”,

Arthur shouted across the arena.

This not only grabbed the two female’s attention, but any onlookers from high up in the seats.

Aliza turned to face the duo and a smile appeared on her face.

“Great! You’ve finally made it!”,

“What’s this all about Aliza?”,

“We’re going to have a Match”,

“Huh?”,

Arthur was visibly shocked. Not only him but Hikaru and the before mentioned onlookers.

“It’ll be Belle and I versus you and Hikaru”,

“What? You called us out here for that?”,

“Yep”,

She replied gleefully,

“I’m going home”,

Arthur said as he turned around.

Before he even had a chance to take a full step towards the exit of the arena, something black crashed next to him. Hikaru and Belle, were visibly worried and scared, but Arthur remained still.

The black thing that crashed, was one of Cinzeira’s tails. As Arthur turned back to face his sister, he noticed her A.I., manifested and ready to fight.

“You will battle us, Arthur. That’s not a choice”,

Aliza’s voice wasn’t cheerful but commanding. Much like her words stated, she wasn’t going to give him an option of backing down or just simply leaving. Arthur realised this. His sister could be quite ‘insistent’.

So, Arthur sighed and spoke.

“What are the rules then?”,

“Like I said, you two versus us two. A.I. only. And to make sure we don’t suffer any consequences; we won’t kill each other’s A.I. When an A.I. has been downed or utters the word ‘Defeat’, then that A.I. and its Host are out”,

Arthur looked at Aliza intensely. He knew why those rules in particular were her choice. While Aliza wasn’t all that keen on a simple friendly fight, she had already seen the damage it done to her family.

Arthur agreed with her there. He didn’t want anyone else to forget him. Especially not his best friend and his sister.

He turned to Hikaru.

“You down for this?”,

“Hell yeah! I want that rematch!”,

Hikaru stated with a wad of confidence.

Arthur smiled and turned back to his sister.

“Alright! You’re on!”,

Hikaru and Arthur got into position. The 4 stood about 50 metres apart. Arthur and Hikaru stood in front of one exit while Belle and Aliza stood at another. Each duo was separated by about 3 metres from each other. Cinzeira was already out, so she made her way to Aliza’s front.

Opposite her was Hikaru, who grinned slightly and joined his hands.

“Hariel!”,

With a golden bolt of lightning, coming from the sky, Hariel crashed to the sandy ground, emerging himself in front of his Master and sending a shockwave throughout the arena.

Arthur stared as Hariel made his entrance but then, a thought came up. He looked at his sister.

“Hey Aliza, how’s Belle’s A.I. going to fit?”,

“Huh?”,

“That’s right!”,

Hikaru shouted, remembering the ice dragon’s size.

“We’ll all be crushed if it appears in the arena”,

Aliza simply smiled and looked at Belle.

Belle smiled back before clapping her hands.

“Cryocide!”,

Suddenly the ground around Belle froze. Leaving behind just a small circle in which she stood on, outside of it, throughout the entire arena, the sand froze over with ice as it spread at an incredible rate. As it got to Arthur, Hikaru and Aliza, the ice formed under their feet without actually harming them.

As the arena turned into an icy scape, a loud roar was heard from all around them. The three of them, being Hikaru, Arthur and Aliza, remembered that sound down to the detail. Their memories still rocked and shook from it.

However, instead of a giant ice dragon appearing, something else took shape in front of Belle.

Rising from the ground, appeared to rise a soldier. A figure dawning armour as blue as the ice itself.

It stood about the same height as Hariel, just a tad bit shorter at 7 foot. It was humanoid in shape, arms, legs, a head, standing like a human too, only it wasn’t one. It possessed the body of a dragon, only in human form.

Its majestic icy body was now made up of ocean blue scales.

He dawned an armour that to put simply, looked as if made of ice. A helmet reminiscent of the Spartans, full plated body armour as if it were a Britannian Knight. The armour also possessed a cape, a darker blue in colour, fluttering for a while before straightening itself down.

On its thighs, knees and feet, sharp armour pieces took their place, only covering the front of each leg, leaving the rear exposed for movement. On its hands, a weapon.

He held it with two hands, unsurprising really. It was a battle axe. The shaft of the weapon appeared to be a black metal of sorts, with some blue highlights here and there. At one point though, was a giant axe head. Similar to a woodcutter’s axe, it was a pure hunk of metal, only it glowed blue in colour, as it’s engraved metallic surface was hit with the burning sunlight above.

As his full materialistic self became known, the ice in the ground started to disappear into nothingness. Arthur and Hikaru couldn’t help but become entranced. This was not what they were expecting.

“It… changed forms?”,

Arthur whispered to himself.

“All the Cides have the ability to”,

Guinevere informed him from within his head.

“He may not be in his Dragon form Arthur, but I can promise you, he’s still just as powerful”,

Arthur took a second.

“Wait a minute… do you know him as well?”,

“Of course. He used to be my brother-in-law”,

“Used to be your bro— BROTHER IN LAW!?”,

Arthur shouted in surprise.

The other three’s attention focused on him, confused as to what he was shouting about.

“Hey, Art? Are you going to sum—“,

Hikaru tried to get a word in, but Arthur interrupted him.

“Give me a second! I think I just discovered something I never wanted to”,

He then focused inside his mind.

(You were married!?),

He thought, hoping Guin would be able to hear. She did and responded.

“Indeed. To his older brother”,

(Isn’t that something you might want to tell me?),

“Why? Does it affect you in any way?”,

“Huh—“,

Arthur paused.

She was right. Why did he care? This wasn’t his business and Guin wasn’t any different for him knowing this information. In fact, it was a useless detail that none cared for, between the two.

“Are you going to Manifest me?”,

(No. I have a better idea…),

Arthur thought with a smile internally growing.

He turned back to the trio, still waiting for his move. Arthur simply smiled and called Guin’s name.

“Guinevere”,

The black smoke once again appeared in the ground and from it, Guin emerged. Her beautiful, majestic figure made itself known to the four of them. She emerged with her giant talons in her hands, the black substance surrounding her body, made spikes around her right shoulder and left thigh.

The Relinquished Armoury dangled from the chain attached to her physical body. The horns like a headpiece shined in the sun and yet absorbing any light it touched. This was Hikaru’s second time seeing her, it was Aliza’s third, but to Belle, this was her first time.

She had her eyes in awe as she looked at Arthur’s A.I. Guin’s beauty was enough to make Belle blush slightly.

As Guin fully presented herself, Aliza had a sudden suspicious thought come over her head.

Before she could think about it anymore, she noticed Arthur approaching her and whispering something to Guin’s right ear. Guin smiled in response as Arthur made his way back.

“I guess we’re all ready!”,

Arthur shouted.

From the seats to Arthur’s left, a few youngsters were hanging out.

“Yo, Tanaka, check this out. A duel”,

One of the guys said out loud, attracting another male’s attention.

The man he spoke to possessed red hair, similar to the colour of blood. It was ruffled and wavy and had reasonable length. His eyes shined a similar colour, as they averted themselves to the four in the arena.

“Ho~ what have we here?”,

He turned slightly in his seat to fully face the area below. He looked at the A.I.s with intensity in his eyes.

There were another 3 guys around him, smoking, drinking and just generally hanging out.

“A battle? Did they have a falling out?”,

One of the guys asked.

“Those look like some strong A.I. Good looking ones too”,

Another spoke out.

The man who spoke first, approached the red-haired man.

“What are you thinking?”,

Tanaka simply smiled with his eyes still fixated on the arena.

“I think we’ve got a good show to watch”,

The four of them in the arena, suddenly realised. Kids and adults alike started to show themselves all throughout the seats, ready to watch the spectacle about to happen.

“Seems we’ve got ourselves a crowd”,

Hikaru muttered aloud.

“Alright let’s begin on 3”,

Hearing Aliza’s words, Belle, Arthur and Hikaru prepares themselves for a fight.

“3!”,

She shouted

“2!”,

“1!!”,

“Go—“,

Before Aliza could finish, Guinevere took the first move.

*ring ring*

*ring ring*

“Hello?”,

Alexander answered his phone.

He was relaxing in his home, watching tv.

The voice on the other side said something that must have caught his attention greatly, because he sat up with an immense joyous smile in his face.

“I’ll be right there!”,

Guinevere appeared to fly at Cryocide, talons raised ready to attack.

She raised her right hand, ready to take the first strike, but Cryocide responded. He took a stance and with a single wave of his left arm, swung the battle axe horizontally. From that swing, an arc of blue light emerged, heading straight for Guin.

She immediately reacted and raised her talons to protect herself, just as the arc attack hit her. What happened next, left Arthur in shock. Guin, at an incredible speed, was sent flying backwards, smashing into the wall and creating a hole, just behind Arthur.

He even had almost no time to react. He stood, as a small tear of worry, ran down his face. He stared at Cryocide with both amazement and anger.

(All that power… in one swing!?),

The small crowd they gathered moaned in excitement and followed up with cheers. Even Aliza and Hikaru stood in amazement, at just how powerful Cryocide seemed.

Arthur looked back to see Guin emerging from the hole, she herself created. As her talons grabbed part of the broken wall, to pull herself up, she put too much power into the rock, cracking it as she stood.

“Oi, oi, oi, oi! What was that swing just now!?”,

She cleared the rubble of her shoulders and she spoke with a deadly grin.

Arthur calmed himself down and focused.

“Guin, are you alright?”,

“Oh~ yeah~. I’m itching to go back at it!”,

“Then go. You’ll have no restrictions from me!”,

“Yes, Master~!!”,

She screamed as her talons grew bigger and she laughed herself at Cryocide.

Belle suddenly swung her hand as to order her A.I.

“Bring her down Cryo!”,

Cryocide stomped the ground. As the ground shook, a wave of ice suddenly materialised, getting progressively bigger and faster, heading towards Guinevere.

Guinevere laughed at the attack, thinking it was a joke. She raised her talons and smashed the ice in front of her, flying past the destroyed attack.

“Come on, Cryocide! WHY ARE YOU HOLDING BACK!?”,

She shouted, antagonising him.

They began exchanging attacks, evades, and feints. However, while Arthur and Belle were wholly focused on their fight, they’re attention was suddenly halted from said fight, as they saw something golden flying past them, hitting the wall to their side.

As the thing crashed into the wall, much like Guin before it, it made a hole in the wall, further damaging the building. As they took a few seconds and blinks to understand what happened, their ears were suddenly attacked by a voice.

“WAAAAHHHHH~~~~!!!!!”,

They both turned to the person to Arthur’s right.

Hikaru simply stood there with a shocked look and his hands raised on his head, as if in disbelief to what happened.

“You shouldn’t keep your eyes off a foe, Hikaru. Do you want to get beaten again?”,

Aliza spoke out.

Arthur and Belle then realised what happened. While Hikaru was undoubtedly focused on their fight, he forgot he had an enemy in front of him. Cinzeira must have smashed Hariel to the side, to give Hikaru a clear message. He wasn’t a spectator.

However, instead of still standing in shock, Hikaru smiled and pounded his heart.

“Ha~ unlike last time Miss Hyuga, we’ve trained!”,

“Ho~”,

Aliza grinned as if to ask for proof.

“Hariel. Get up already! Sleeping is for later! Get to work!”,

A loud moan and roar emerged from the hole the Spirit made before smashing another hole and emerging from the wall, flying straight at Cinzeira. Cinzeira raised her tails to block the incoming attack, but it wasn’t enough.

Hariel smashed past Cinzeira’s tails and hit her straight in her chest, sending her flying towards a wall this time. However, unlike the unexpected Hariel, Cinzeira recovered immediately, landing on her fours around the seating area, before screeching at Hariel, like a war-cry.

The red rings around her paws and tails began to glow sharply. She bowed her head as of charging up, before quickly raising it. She opened her fox-like mouth and with explosive speed, a giant flamethrower of black flames emerged from within.

The attack was fast and powerful, giving only enough time to Hariel to slightly block it. He raised his arms, hoping it would be enough, but then Hikaru noticed. The black flames weren’t normal.

They were sticking to Hariel’s golden skin.

“Hariel! Get out of there!”,

Obeying his Master, Hariel extended his wings and began flying upwards. He gives in the air, still damaged from the attack. The black flames stuck to his arms burned further and further into his gold like skin.

“Heal yourself!”,

Hikaru commanded.

A golden light, much like Arthur saw before around Hikaru, covered Hariel, and within seconds, he was back to his strong and majestic self.

Back to Belle and Arthur, the fight between Guin and Cryo was still in deadlock. Attacks were exchanged, both had suffered a few blows, but Guin finally was able to pay back that last attack Cryocide hit her with.

She raised her talons and feinted an attack. When Cryo went to defend, she disappeared into the black smoke and re-emerged behind him, smashing him in the back and sending him flying.

What she wasn’t expecting, was how Cryocide recovered so quickly. Sure, he tumbled and rolled a few metres, but he quickly got his balance and stance back, thanks to his axe.

While Guinevere didn’t show any sign of being frustrated that her attack didn’t do much, she got angrier and angrier seeing one tiny detail about Cryocide. He wasn’t in pain, he wasn’t moaning or even thinking of backing down, but instead, he was smiling.

“IVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!”,

She shouted raising The Relinquished Armoury to her hands.

“RELINQUISHED ARMOURY, DEMON’S SERIES, NUMBER 4, THE IMPALER!”,

Out of nowhere, hundreds upon hundreds of red giant spikes, emerged from the ground, and made their way towards Cryocide. Much like his attack from before, as the attack got further and further closer, it grew in both size and speed.

Cryocide stabbed his battle axe into the ground, before using it as a prop to launch himself high in the air. However, Guin wasn’t going to waste a moment like that.

“RELINQUISHED ARMOURY, MAGUS SERIES, NUMBER 5, GUNGNIR!”,

Next to Guinevere, a giant bolt of white lighting began to create itself. It grew and grew in size, before finally, being ready to launch. The bolt was about the size of a double decker bus, but Guin grabbed hold of it with her giant talons.

She pulled her arm back, and putting all her power into it, she launched the javelin like bolt of lightning, straight at her foe.

As the bolt crackled through the air, as it flew with immense speed only comparable to a fighter jet, it grew closer and closer to Cryocide, and he appeared to have no way out. However, Belle’s sudden shout proved otherwise.

“Cryocide, Memory Gauge, Hell Frozen Over!”,

A bright blue flash covered the arena. The 4 fighters and all their spectators closed their eyes from the sheer brightness. Arthur, even with his eyes closed, still could see that bright blue hue penetrating the skin of his eyelids.

As the bright colour diminished slowly, Arthur and the rest, slowly began opening their eyes, hesitant in case the light hadn’t truly disappeared. However, as they did, they’re eyes were met with a bright colour, just not the one they were expecting.

While initially hesitant, Arthur now had his eyes burst open in shock. The sandy floor, the rocky arena, the golden and tan colours of the entire area around them, were nowhere to be seen.

What Arthur, Hikaru, Belle and Aliza were looking at, in total disbelief, shock and possibly even fear, was the result of Cryocide’s attack.

The entire arena had turned to ice. The sand, the rock, the glass, everything. Everything had frozen over. The beautiful glittering of the sun striking down on the shiny frozen water, made the arena look like a glacial palace.

Like the Great Antarctic Continent had suddenly just manifested here, in the middle of Japan. But however beautiful it may have seemed, Arthur took a different thought to it.

(Incredible… it’s just… incredible… the swing, now this?),

He didn’t care for how gorgeous the arena may have appeared, he cared for the fact that, that single attack, was able to freeze everything around him. But his fascination soon ended as he noticed what the attack had done.

Gungnir, The Lightning Rod, was stopped. It had frozen in place, by a spike of ice which hit it, emerging from the ground below it, stopping the great lance from hitting its foe.

And still, this wasn’t what attracted his full attention.

It was Guin.

She, much like her thrown weapon, was covered in ice. No, more accurately, it’s as if she became ice. The blacks, the reds and the whites were no longer seen from her formidable figure. No colour whatsoever, except for one, the semi translucent blue.

It’s as if a perfect ice carving was made and took her place. However, Arthur didn’t exactly have much time to think about it.

“Smash her down!”,

Shouted Belle,

Cryocide crashed to the icy ground, sending huge lumps of frozen water everywhere, in all directions. He landed right next to his battle axe, just as he wanted. He hurriedly picked it up and with a single step, launched himself at Guin.

Arthur raised his hand as if he was about to do something, but quickly stopped himself short, ordering himself.

(Not yet… not yet…),

Cryocide was a single meter away.

(Not yet…),

Half a meter.

(Not yet!),

A mere 10 centimetres.

Arthur raised his head and hand, about to shout the order he’d been holding back. However, before his words could be released from his mouth, something else happened.

“HARIEL!!”,

The quick scream of the A.I.’s name was called, causing Cryocide to adjust his concentration away from Guin for just a split of a second.

Good thing he did.

Advancing on his right side, at a tremendous speed and shouting a gargoyled roar, was Hariel. Cryocide raised his weapon just in time, as Hariel smashed into him with all his power.

Cryo held back as much as he could, but still, Hariel put so much strength behind that single attack, it sent Cryo sliding across the ground, regaining balance just a few millimetres away from the wall.

As the A.I. calmed himself after receiving such a blow, he stared at Hariel. The golden angel like Manifestation wasn’t himself. His wings were twitching, his arms holding themselves back, even his eyes and brows were shaking.

This wasn’t fear, it was anger.

“Hariel! Don’t let him get any closer!”,

“YES, MY MASTER!”,

He shouted back, attacking Cryocide once again.

Arthur looked at the two fighting it out but averted his eyes suddenly to Hikaru. His friend gave him a single signal. A nod.

Arthur understood it all too well.

(Go for it!),

That’s what Hikaru said with no words ever being spoken.

Arthur smiled and began running towards the two A.I. still attacking each other.

As Aliza saw her brother running, she instantly acted.

“Cinzeira, don’t let him any closer!”,

She knew not what his plan was, but she felt weird about it. In fact, she’s had this weird feeling ever since she saw Arthur whispering to Guinevere, way before the fight began.

Cinzeira’s rings began glowing once again, and not long after, a giant flamethrower of black flames headed themselves towards Arthur.

Arthur stared at them as he ran. The heat had already reached him and yet they were still so far away. But suddenly, his sight of the flames was blocked, by something shiny. Hariel, had moved to Arthur’s side, prepared to take the attack for him.

“Hariel, Shield Up!”,

The A.I.’s left wing suddenly moved over the left part of his body. With his right hand, he grabbed hold of the wing, ripping it out of his own back. The wing suddenly changed shape, morphing together like molten metal.

The beautiful silver wing transformed into a shield.

The shield was silver, much like the wing before. It was circular, about 2 meters in diameter. In the centre of the shield, there was a star, or more accurately, the sun. As Hariel held it up to block the incoming attack, the sun appeared to spin ever so slightly, and suddenly, out came bursting energy.

A golden and red aura began appearing around the shield, increasing its size twice over. Whereas before it only covered the torso of the Spirit, it now covered his entire being and anything, or anyone, behind it.

The black flames attacked the shield, hitting it with force but Hariel kept his guard and stance. He put all his power into blocking the attack. As the flames hit the sun like image, they appeared to become absorbed by said image.

This in turn, caused the aura around the shield to grow further and further.

Aliza quickly realised what was happening and ordered Cinzeira to stop her attack.

(Why didn’t he use something like that on our first duel!?),

She thought to herself, looking at Hikaru and Hariel.

However, this wasn’t the time to think, it was time for action.

Arthur kept running, soon reaching next to Cryocide. The A.I. froze, unknowing what to do. Belle wasn’t giving any orders either as her mind froze. She couldn’t comprehend what was happening and nothing, but questions ran through her mind.

(What’s he doing? Does he plan on fighting himself?),

Cryocide stared at Arthur. Arthur stared back. Arthur gave him a smile before running past him and heading towards Guinevere. Cryocide simply watching him go, but quickly turned to Belle.

“BELLE! YOUR ORDER?”,

He screamed.

She looked around, confused, unknowing what to do, but she caught a glimpse of Aliza to her left. Aliza simply nodded, much like Hikaru had done with Arthur. This was to simply tell Belle, that it was okay.

Belle took a deep breath and confidence filled her heart. Placing a strong expression, she commanded.

“Stop him Cryo! At all costs!”,

Cryocide lifted his axe and with a single step, just like before, launched himself at Arthur. But, before he could reach him, he was impacted at the right side of his head, sending him flying towards the wall.

Hariel now stood where Cryocide once did, shield still raised after smacking the Spirit with it. Arthur kept running. However, the intensity around the arena suddenly came to a halt as Aliza shouted with all her power.

This wasn’t a normal shout either, she put emphasis into her voice, sounding powerful and prideful and making sure all her opponents to hear every syllable.

“Cinzeira! First Tail!”,

Once those words made their way to Arthur’s ears, his eyes shot open before sharpening back down.

(She’s actually going to use them!?),

Cinzeira looked up at the sky, closing her eyes. The rings around her paws, tails and neck began glowing. An immense pressure feel upon everybody in the arena, fighters and spectators alike. It was like the air itself began to shake and vibrate.

Soon though, it all calmed itself, but with it, came a change. One of Cinzeira’s demonic black flaming tails, was different.

They no longer resembled fire but a genuine fur tail. The red ring around it had now turned blue in colour, glowing a simple and calming hue.

When Arthur saw this, he screamed as if his life depended on it.

“HIKARU! TELL HARIEL NOT TO MOVE!!”,

“What—“,

Hikaru was confused as to why Arthur screamed such a thing, but soon became clear.

Hariel turned to face Cinzeira and prepared to attack.

“Hariel! Stop!”,

Hikaru commanded.

However, the A.I. didn’t listen. Hariel crouched, taking a stance to run at Cinzeira, and before long, with all his power into his legs, sprinted towards the still and calm fox.

“Hariel, stop!”,

Arthur shouted.

“Don’t move dammit!”,

Hikaru shouted as well.

“WHAT’S WRONG MASTER! SHES RIGHT THER—“,

Before he could even finish his sentence, Hariel followed the order that both had given him, only, it wasn’t of his own volition.

Cinzeira was looking down at Hariel. Her eyes now glowed a blue similar to the ring on her white tail. The gaze and glare she gave was enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine, but to Hariel, this was worse.

His golden and majestic body, his godlike shield, his silver wing still left over, everything. Everything lost its colour and was replaced by a rocky texture. He was unmoving, not even a single twitch emerged from him, not even his voice was heard.

“Hey… Hariel?”,

Hikaru asked in shock as he stumbled close to his Spirit’s side.

Hikaru rested a hand on his A.I.’s right leg. The hard and cold feeling of the golden body was no longer. It now felt gritty and rough, just like the rock he had turned to.

The spectators at this point were as amazed and entertained as one could be. The fights so far had been spectacular and pleasing to their senses, but this also marked a point where they began to understand.

“Guess it’s over…”,

Tanaka said to himself with a quiet tone.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that”,

Somebody else commented, approaching the group of youngsters.