"AIR BLAST!"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM*

"GUUUUHHHHH!"

Akio and Akira were back in the simulator area they used to train in.

Right now, they seem to be standing on a simulated ice rink.

Akira was wearing a black a-shirt and red tracksuit pants, while Akio wore a dark gray long sleeve shirt that had a large opening for the collar.

Akira was holding his ground while using a shield he spawned on his right forearm to block Akio's air blast.

*Crack*

'Shit!', Akira thought.

*ssswwpp*

Akira immediately made himself slip while the shield he held cracked and broke into pieces.

*BAM*

"GAH!"

He fell on the ground and hit his head, while Akio slowly stopped using his airblast.

"Damn, that hurts.", said Akira while rubbing the back of his head.

"Haaah. You should be more careful, bro. I told you it's slippery.", Akio replied after sighing.

"Well, I asked for this in the first place."

"You did, and you're doing a terrible job at it."

They were trying to test Akira's shields durability and how much damage it can hold.

It seemed to have become a little stronger, withstanding the damage of hard rock, but still not enough to defend against metal attacks for long.

"Are you sure we should be doing this? You should just rest up, bro. You just fought again earlier. You'd probably collapse if you wear yourself down too much", Akio warned him with a concerned expression.

"You saw how it is, right? How I still haven't got the hang for this ability."

______________________________________

["And next are the our two contenders, Kagayaku Eiji from the Savior class 1-3 and Ishikawa Akira from the support class 1-2!", States announced.

Akira and Eiji came out the same way as they did yesterday.

"And at the opposing end, are Keiichi Tanaka from the Savior class 1-6 and Jirou Miura from the Support class 1-8.", States continued.

From the other side came two plain faced figures, one has brown hair and the other had silver hair.

______________________________________

"SABER HAND!", the silver haired guy, Keiichi Tanaka shouted as he was about to strike down his blade-like hand on Eiji.

"NO, YOU FUCKING DON'T!", Akira shouted as he rushed between them.

*TAAANG*

He used a shield he had on his forearm to block the blade.

Eiji, seeing his chance, ran away from a distance.

"Hehehe, slippery!", the brown haired guy, Jirou Miura snickered as he ran towards them and put his hand beneath Akira.

*swwwwpp*

"SHIT!", Akira shouted as he slipped down.

*CRACK*

'My shield!'

He fell to the ground as the back of his head smacked to it.

His shield broke into pieces as Keiichi aimed his saber at Akira.

"THIS IS THE END!", Keiichi shouted as he targetted his saber at Akira.

Meanwhile, Jirou quickly dashed towards Eiji.

"Lightning!", Eiji chanted.

"Tch-"

Keiichi quickly jumped out of the way to avoid his lightning.

"Huh?"

He didn't notice though, that Akira spawned a shield at the place his feet should have landed in.

"CRAP!", he shouted as he tripped on Akira's shield.

Akira saw this and quickly stood up.

*BAAM*

"GAAH!", the saber hand guy grunted as he fell to the ground.

Akira quickly spawned another shield on his right hand.

"TAKE THIS!", Akira shouted

*BAAAAAAMMMM*

He quickly smashed the Keiichi's head rendering him unconscious.

'Now, about the other guy.', Akira thought as he turned to check at Eiji.

He quickly made an incredulous expression as he what was happening.

""GGGAAAAAHHH!!!"", Eiji and Jirou screamed as lightning came out from Eiji.

He was halfway into slipping to the ground when he decided to use his lightning.

*TUUUGG*

*TUUUGG*

Both Eiji and the Jirou fell to the ground with circles for their eyes.

'...This idiot.', Akira thought.

"Kagayaku Eiji and Ishikawa Akira wins!"]

______________________________________

"I had a hard time fighting that saber dude, especially since he crushed my shield easily.", Akira nagged as he sat down.

"Well, at least that wasn't as bad as your other match.", Akio reminded.

"That, huh?"

______________________________________

["Here are our contenders Kondo Fumiko from the Savior class 1-2 and Sakai Shiro from the Support class 1-9.", States announced.

A curly black haired plain faced girl and a green ponytailed head plain faced guy came out.

"And at the opposing end, are Kagayaku Eiji from the Savior class 1-3 and Ishikawa Akira from the Support class 1-2." States continued.

From the entrance, came out Akira and Eiji.

______________________________________

"Star rain!", Fumiko shouted as a barrage of hologram like colorful stars came shooting out of her right palm.

She was stood in the middle of the arena shooting towards Akira and Eiji, who were busy trying to avoid her stars.

She was spinning in a way to keep her focus on her arm as she shot her stars.

Akira and Eiji were running towards the side, trying to find a way for Eiji to stop and charge his lightning.

'Shit! There's no end to her attacks! We need to get her to stop shooting!'

Akira quickly spawned a shield on his right hand.

*swwwooosshh*

Akira quickly threw that shield he had at Fumiko.

*TANG!*

...but before it could reach her, it was blocked by Shiro's shield.

He had a large circular shield, much like to a gladiators.

While running they started discussing some things.

"We're kind of like them, aren't we?", Eiji told Akira with an amused smile.

"You say that shit everytime we fight anyone!", Akira retorted with annoyance.

"So what do we do now?", Eiji asked with a carefree expression.

"We have no choice but to have a close ranged battle.", Akira suggested.

"Guess, there's no other way, huh?"

The two started running in a diagonal manner, trying to close in their enemies.

The guy, Shiro, saw this and stood up to defend her with his shield.

"Here you go!" Akira quickly threw a shield at Eiji.

"Thanks!", he replied as he took the shield and covered his right hand with it.

Akira quickly spawned other shield on his right hand and held it, planning to use it as a bashing weapon.

"HYYYAAAAAHH!", Akira screamed out as he ran towards Shiro.

Shiro quickly prepared himself by blocking with the round shield.

Fumiko, seeing this turned towards them and planned to shoot stars towards Akira, but before she could-

"LIGHTNING!", Eiji shouted as lightning came out from his hand and shot at Fumiko.

The enemies were shocked to see Eiji shooting his lightning when they didn't see him charge it.

'We used that shield to cover his palm, with that, they wouldn't know he was charging his lightning.', Akira thought.

Shiro turned to Fumiko, to see that she was unconscious.

"NOW, ALL THAT'S LEFT IS YOU!", Akira shouted as he aimed to bash Shiro with his back turned.

*CRACK*

He quickly, blocked it though with his own shield, causing Akira's shield to break.

'S-shit!'

"LIGHTNING!"

"GAAAAHHH!!", Shiro screamed as he got struck.

*tug*

He then fell down on the ground unconscious.

"Kagayaku Eiji and Ishikawa Akira wins!"]

______________________________________

"My shield broke down easily. I thought his shield would've been weaker, but I guess I shouldn't just underestimate others easily like that.", said Akira, while reminiscing what happened.

".... You know, bro...", Akio called on him.

"Remember the last time we came here, when I told you about how your ability glows and how you were doing it wrong?", Akio asked.

"Yeah, what about it?", Akira replied to him with a question.

"Did you ever use that advice of mine?", Akio questioned him.

"Oh, yeah... About tha-"

'...I forgot... I was able to create that claw equipment thanks to his advice, but I wasn't sure if I should tell him about...'

"I'm not really here to ask you if you're hiding anything from me, but from the looks of what you've been doing, you always seem like you're more confident than before.", Akio told him.

"What do you mean?", Akira replied with a confused tone.

"The way you go at every fight you did the last few days, you had this aura with you... As if, you had some special attack, a hidden weapon... As if you had an ace up your sleeve you haven't played yet.", Akio told him.

Akira's eyes slightly widen hearing him say this.

'He's my brother, alright. He'll obviously notice when I'm hiding something from him...'

"I-it's nothing, Akio. You know me. I'm just overly confident all the time. Don't sweat it."

"..."

'Knowing bro, he would immediately curse me and ridicule me if I said something far from the truth. Guess he really did keep something in there.', Akio thought.

"If you really don't want to tell me, then I'm fine with it. I'm not here to meddle with your affairs.", Akio told Akira.

Hearing this, Akira felt a bit relieved.

"Still, I want to see you get stronger. Even with your strength right now, your shields are still not as powerful as it should be.", Akio continued.

"What do you want me to do?", Akira asked.

"Remember that advice I gave you? Well, why don't you use it on your shields? Focus on getting that power out on your defense. If you could at least increase it's thickness, then maybe you'd get further from where you are now.", explained Akio.

"... Yeah...", Akira replied while scratching his head.

"Like what we discussed back then, you're still focused on quantity...

Imagine trying to block a meteor with a number of wooden walls.

As much as it might be a bit helpful, it wouldn't defend you as much, as a diamond wall would.", Akio continued.

"If you could create a harder, thicker shield, instead of spawning a number of it, you might get a better chance at winning.", he finished.

"..."

'As much as I'd like to praise Akio about his ideas... I can't really do it...'

[Back when I tried spawning another claw on my left arm, I also tried using that ability I use for my shield.

I stood in front of the mirror and spawned a shield, I gave it my all to improve it, but the same thing happened again.

I just agitated with pain.

I couldn't do it.]

'Why does that happen though? I don't understand...'

"By the way, did your partner recover completely after your first battle? Or is he just conserving energy for the bigger matches?", Akio asked.

"... What?", Akira asked him with a confused expression.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No... What do you mean recover? He wasn't even hit once.", Akira asked.

"Oh, I didn't mean physical injuries, I was talking about his energy."

"... Well, he did use a pretty large scale-"

Akira's eyes widen as he realized something.

'... Back then, Eiji was lying on the next bed from mine...'

"That huge lightning was used by a first year student, he probably didn't have that much energy yet. You probably didn't notice it, but...

He probably collapsed after he brought you to the clinic."

'Wait... Then that means...!'

The figure of Megumi and Koka after they both passed out from their battle flashed in Akira's eyes.

'The reason why I couldn't do it, and that pain came swimming down on me when I tried to...was because...'

"You still lack the energy.", Akio suddenly mentioned.

"How do you-"

"We live in the same house, bro. I heard you screaming in pain a few days ago."

"Then...does that mean..."

"The reason the new skill you're trying out doesn't work, is because you still lack the energy.", Akio told him without tact.

"You can't be fucking serious? Aren't you basically telling me-"

"You have to fight with what you have now. That's what I'm telling you."

Akira's eyes turned into anguish as he heard these words coming out of Akio's mouth.

'WHAT!? FUCKING HELL!? I CAN'T GET STRONGER?'

["Start!", States continued.

"That's why I-"

Ken and Ude was just about to put their fists up and punch the air to gather forced Ken would manipulate to fight Kazuki and Jun, when suddenly.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM*

A strong ear ripping sound was heard and a large burst of air flooded the arena.]

[Akira was suddenly struck by Kazuki's both hands but he used his right shield to protect against it.

He was struggling below his hands as the area beneath him suddenly crashed down as if a small hole was made because of the strong force Kazuki was dealing.

'SHIT! I CAN'T ESCAPE!'

Akira kept struggling while blocking with his shield against the hands when suddenly...

Akira's shield broke...]

[Takumi had large and deep looking bruises on his body and he was covered in bandages and had casts on right arm and leg.

Gorou also looked the same and had his hair seemingly forcibly torn, but with both of his legs casted instead.]

'With the way I am now...

...

...THERE'S NO FUCKIN WAY I COULD BEAT INOUE!', Akira thought with an expression filled with anger.

'He struck down Ken and Takumi with ease, he broke my shield without much effort, he fought with a B class villain and left unscathed... The only reason I was able to stand up to him during the group battles is with pink girl's ability...! With the way I am now... I can't-'

"Bro.", Akio called onto Akira.

Akira noticing him, decided to act natural as to not worry him.

"Something wrong?"

"... I don't really have much advice I could give you now...since I don't really have a support based ability, but I still want you to know... I believe you can win.", Akio told Akira without losing conviction.

'Even if he might have been the top Savior student of his generation... In the end, he is still my brother.'

"Guess I just have to take your word then.", Akira replied to him.

Akira then picked himself back up and stood straight.

'I'll just have to face him head on, no matter how weak I am compared to him.', he thought as to relieve himself.

"Before we leave, can I give you a simple reminder?", Akio asked.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I hope you haven't forgetten. Using shields isn't your only ability."

______________________________________

"You had a good time with your girlfriend, right? Did mom give you two some dating advice?", Akira teased Akio.

"Yeah, yeah. You can start messing with me after you explain to me in detail what you meant about you 'leering at Ana'", Akio asked with a bright smile, but with an intimidating tone.

They were walking back the countryside on their way home.

After training for a while, they decided to get some food from a convenience store and head back home.

"That's...uh...you know. That's nothing you have to worry about."

"That's plenty enough for me to worry about! Don't you-"

"Wait."

As the two argued, Akira suddenly decided to stop Akio when he noticed someone in front of their house.

"Eiji?", Akira called onto the person who was standing there, browsing your phone.

"Hmmm... Ah, heya, Akirababy!", Eiji called to him.

He was wearing what seems to be a blue green sweater, headphones with stars as the brand logo, jeans and sneakers.

"RISING UPPERCUT!",

"WHA-"

*BAAAAMM*

"GAH!"

Akira quickly shouted and punched Eiji, causing him to fall to the ground.

He fell on a somewhat half leaning posture, with his hands behind his back pushing his torso up.

"Ouch, what the hell was that for?"

"I said don't call me shit like that!"

"Oh come on, can't I show a little affection?"

"Affection my ass."

Eiji seemed amused and laughed while rubbing the back of his head.

"So why did he come here for?", Akio approached them.

"Well, actually..."

______________________________________

"What...?", Akira asked with confusion.

They were in the living room of their house discussing some stuff with Eiji when Akira suddenly spouted his confusion.

Eiji sat on the couch while holding his phone on his right hand.

Akira was sat on a couch turned to the side facing him.

"I said there might be a really small chance we can win tomorrow's fight.", Eiji explained.

"... Why are you giving up now? Aren't you just-"

"I'm not giving this up. I just came to tell you how much we have to put in our fight tomorrow.", Eiji told Akira with a serious expression.

"... I don't understand. We're not fighting Inoue and your classmate yet, there's no way it could be that hard-"

"You've seen them fight, our next enemies. They might not seem to shoulder powerful earth shaking abilities, but there's no doubt that their strengths are unrivaled."

"Who-"

Suddenly, Eiji pushed his smartphone and opened up a video.

"I'm talking about them."

A video of two female students bringing down their enemies was shown.

"Hime Aoki and Ouji Hikoaka, also known the fairy tale princesses.", Eiji explained.

"'Fairy tale princesses? What kind of lame name is that?' is probably what you're thinking now, right?", Eiji asked before Akira could speak.

"Uhhh....well, yeah..."

"You better not underestimate them, especially since they're probably the team we're most disadvantaged with.", Eiji explained.

"Why-"

Akira kept watching the video.

"Team Hime Aoki and Ouji Hikoaka wins!">>

In a span of a few seconds, the two quickly won their match as if they didn't even sweat.

"You noticed it too, right? Their abilities are simple, hair manipulation and the ability to summon a white horse, but the reason they have a huge advantage over us is because-"

"Mobility.", Akira answered for Eiji.

"Our worst nightmare.", Eiji explained.

"We've fought countless of other students and they usually have abilities that have to be done while standing still, or with only a few movements. Melee fighters, laser shooters, all of them aren't a threat to us, unless..."

"They gain an advantage when it comes to mobility.", Akira replied.

"That's the gist of it."

To most people who saw this conversation, they'd be confused to why Akira and Eiji are so worried that their enemy has an advantage when it comes to mobility, but there's a reason why they're worrying so much about it.

"I can't use my lightning unless I stand still.", Eiji reminded Akira.

"And with their ability, I would be forced to keep moving endlessly. They wouldn't have to stop to charge their attacks, or reaffirm their position, since mobility is their main weapon.", he continued.

"So in this case scenario, our biggest threat..."

"Is Ouji Hikoaka, the support student.", Eiji finished Akira's sentence.

'Our battles usually end up with Eiji using his lightning to shock our enemies. Without his ability, we would have a huge disadvantage.', Akira thought.

'Dammit! Even before we encounter Inoue, we're already facing problems like this. How can I face him when we don't even have a ways of winning against-'

"Hey, can I butt in for a moment?", Akio asked them.

Akira thought he had gone up to his room to give them privacy, but it turns out he was listening in their conversation as well.

"Oh, Akiochi! Got some suggestions you want to pop in as well."

"You're a savior student, right? And your ability is impact based, so I think I might be able to train you a thing or two on how to use your ability.", he explained.

Akira slightly widened his eyes then showed a determined face after hearing this.

'That's right, unlike me, Akio could actually give Eiji more of a lecture since they're both of the same ability types. Maybe we could win this with his help!'

"That's impossible though.", Eiji replied with disappointment while pointing his finger on his cheek.

"What? Why?", Akira asked with confusion.

"Because the battle is tomorrow, did you forget?", Eiji reminded him.

"There's no way he'd be able to train me now. Especially since the simulators in school are closed.", Eiji continued.

"Actually...", Akira told him while scratching the back of his head.

"Should we go back again?", Akio asked with a wry smile.

"Huh? What are you guys-"

______________________________________

"WHAT...!?", Eiji shouted with shock.

"Tone down your voice. Well, we don't have anyone to wake here, but just don't shout so loudly.", Akio reprimanded him.

"HOW- WHA-?", Eiji was greatly confused with the situation.

They were inside the simulator again.

The one where they trained earlier.

"Yeah, I was like that the first time I came here as well.", Akira commented.

"W-wait...don't tell me...? You're the last year's...?", Eiji asked while stuttering.

"Uhhhh, let's just not talk about that, okay?", Akio asked him as well.

"Yeah, let's just get on with it.", Akira nudged him.

"...but- he's the last year's champ-"

"Just get on the training.", Akira told him off.

"You're just gonna brush it off like that?", Eiji asked with confusion.

""Yeah."", both of them answered.

"EHHHH??"

______________________________________

"Welcome back everyone! I'm your lovely host, States, here to bring you the merry in our action packed matches!

So these past few days, there have been a lots of eliminations. Disqualified contestants, defeated contestants, and some who have quit halfway, but have no fear, because the cheer is still here! There are still 8 pairs left in this match! Who will advance to the final round? That's what we are trying to find out!", States announced.

In the Class 1-2's audience seats are the now a more cheery bunch.

Keima, Takumi, Tomo and Ken are now sitting back in there.

Although the three injured still have bandages on them, they're starting to get healthier bit by bit.

Most of Class 1-2 is there now, the only exception was Kazuki Inoue.

No one expected him to come as well, especially with the bad reputation he precedes with.

"Haaaah.", Akira yawned as he stretched his arms.

"You seem tired, Akira-sama.", Ai commented on his behavior.

"Maybe you're turning into Izanagi, hehehe.", Kami teased Akira from his seat.

"Give me a break. I worked hard last night for this battle, you know? I won't be backing down here.", Akira responded to him while turning his torso to Kami's seat's direction.

"Truthfully, I couldn't really see you guys winning the next battle.", Sora commented.

"Yoshida-san!", Ai pouted while turning at her direction.

Megumi and Koka seem to be a bit annoyed by her words as well.

"I'm just trying to be real here. With the handicap you guys have, there's no way you could win this battle.", Sora continued.

"If your partner could maybe use his lightning shot while moving, that would be a different case though.", Sora explained.

Akira slightly grinned at this statement.

"Let's just see what happens."

______________________________________

"And at the opposing side is savior class 1-6's Yoko Shiki and support class 1-2's Avaron Fujimoto.", States announced.

From the other side, there was a dark gray haired tan boy and a short black haired girl.

"Match Start!"

As soon as the match started Yoko Shiki, who was wearing female night armor immediately bowed to the ground and placed her palms on it.

*BBBRRRRRRRRRRRR*

The arena floor started to crack as it slowly vibrated and made creases and holes on it.

"Yoko Kishi, one of Savior class 1-1's top candidate.", Eiko told Akira from behind him.

"Yeah, she sure does-"

Akira wanted to reply to her, but noticed something weird again.

"Huh, where did Yurei go? Wasn't he here earlier?", Akira asked Eiko.

"He actually went away once States sensei came announcing the contestants.", Eiko answered with a wry smile.

"Huh."

'He's been mostly absent in the tournament matches lately. Didn't he listen when Sir Knight told us that the class should stay together to watch all the tournaments for our attendance?', Akira thought.

["Isn't it better if they just let pairs sit with each other and not with their classes?", Akira asked Eiji.

This was back when he was training Eiji to target better with his lightning.

Back in the forest, simulated by the school's simulator area was Akira and Eiji wearing their tracksuits.

"That would help us make strategies better.", Eiji told him.

"...but there has been lots of cases that proved that it was a bad idea. They used to let pairs sit in the audience and it didn't really worked well.", he continued.

"What do you mean?", Akira asked with confusion.

"... Well, the prize money is really a whole lot, and the benefits weigh that even more. Because of that, some of the partners in the pasts's competition tried cheating their opponents by doing stuff like...poisoning them stealthily in the audience seats, some even started fights and some even intimidated others to get them all riled up causing their disqualification.", Eiji explained.

"A hell of a 'savior' training academy this is.", Akira replied to him.]

'I shouldn't sweat it too much, and just focus on the battle.', Akira thought.

______________________________________

"Team Yoko Kishi and Fujimoto Avaron wins!", States announced.

"Guess miss second place is really aiming for the gold, huh?", Akira commented.

"Goodluck to you two!", from Akira's left side, he heard Megumi's cheery voice filled with enthusiasm.

Koka and Ai stood up as they plan to leave the audience seats.

Koka showed an annoyed face at Megumi, while Ai just looked nervous.

"You guys don't hurt each other too much, okay?", Megumi told them as she scooted next to Akira.

Ai was sitting next to Akira, and next was Megumi and Koka.

This was a privilege Megumi and Koka decided her since she was brave enough to confess to Akira, but they still wanted to sit next to him.

Since Kou won the fight for Koka when they faced against Megumi and Chou, Koka now was given a ticket to continue fighting in the tournament.

And now, she's facing against a really close friend of hers, Ai.

This meant, both Ai and Koka needed to stand up to head to the arena, leaving a free space next to Akira for Megumi to sit on.

"I'll be cheering for you two, so go ahead and give it your best shot!", Megumi told them with a bright smile.

"Megu...!", Koka called her name with an irritated expression.

______________________________________

"Wow, the two really are fighting, huh? This doesn't feel like this is as big of a deal as the fight between you two though.", Akira commented.

"W-well, the outcome to this battle is pretty obvious now anyways. E-even if me and Chou won, w-we wouldn't have a chance against them.", Megumi replied to Akira.

"....Uh...yeah... By the way, aren't you a bit too close?", Akira asked Megumi.

Megumi was sat knee to knee with Akira.

There was lots of free space due to Koka and Ai leaving their seats, but for some reason, she wasn't using that free space and decided to huddle close to Akira.

"Ah...r-really? Ehehe... S-sorry about that..", Megumi replied to Akira with a nervous expression.

She was twiddling her fingers and looking at the ground blushing for some reason.

'Why's she...'

"Oh yeah, come to think of it... It's been so long since we spoke with each other without the other two, right?", Akira mentioned.

Megumi, suddenly lowered her head more and started to get redder for some reason.

"Did I say something-"

"Akira...", suddenly, Izanagi, who's usually sleepy and bored all the time, sat straight and tapped Akira shoulder.

"What is it?", Akira asked him with confusion.

Izanagi just shook his head as if trying to tell him to not do what he just did.

"What?", Akira asked with a very confused tone.

"Team Shikaku Tamiko and Abe Ai wins!"

Akira turned back to the arena, just to realize the battle was already over.

Koka and Kou, were both laying on the ground unconscious while spilling white foam from their mouths.

Ai was slightly shaking with fear, while Tamiko kept a deadpan face seeing both of their opponents fall down.

"...Her ability really is brutal..", Akira commented with slight fear.

"You can say that again.", Sora commented from her seat.

"The next pair is one of the most powerful ones we've ever seen and doesn't seem like they plan on losing anytime soon. Here comes Taiho Jun from Savior class 1-5 and Inoue Kazuki from support class 1-2!", States announced.

Akira, hearing this, suddenly turned his full attention towards the arena.

'Inoue!'

From there, can out the two.

Jun Taiho coming out with a menacing smile, while Kazuki just walked out with a serious expression.

"And at the other corner, is a pair of twins that seem to showcase strength that could level even their father, Hong Huoki from the Savior class 1-1 and Hong Shuiki from the support class 1-1!", States announced.

From the entrance, came out a girl with a hair ball tassel and a guy with a ponytail.

'Those guys...

They were really powerful...'

["YIN!"

"YANG!"

Two hologram like figures suddenly came from them and walked out.

A blue colored samurai came from the guy, while a red colored archer came from the girl.

Both of these figures were wearing traditional Japanese soldier armor.

These two figures ran towards the coming enemies.

""Strike!"", the two ordered as they kept their posture without opening their eyes.

The archer quickly fired a shining red arrow, while the samurai slashed from afar and launched a blue wind.

The lanky guy was striked by the blue wind and quickly paralyzed into ice.

The fat guy was hit by the red arrow and was shot by a burning fire.

"Team Hong Huoki and Hong Shuiki wins the match!"]

'Their matches after were easily done without them using much effort. They might actually have a chance against Inoue and his partner.', Akira thought.

"So, you are Kazuki Inoue, am I right?", Hong Huoki asked Kazuki from the distance.

"...", Kazuki took notice of him, but didn't reply.

"We have heard about your past, and about what happened to your father. We know it might have been tragic to you, but it doesn't excuse any of your rash actions.", Hong Shuiki told him as well.

Kazuki, hearing this, glared at the two, but said nothing.

"Heh, you guys seem like you're all talk, but losers like you two need to learn your place.", Jun butted in and insulted the twins.

"You two are not a stable team, with a little bit of intimidation, your brittle teamwork will come crumbling down.", Hong Huoki replied, ignoring Jun's insults.

"What? You're just gonna ignore what I said? Can't say anything against me, dumbass? You both are just all bark and no bite.", Jun insulted them again.

"Your arrogance and his short-tempered personality will be the downfall of you both.", Hong Shuiki replied, ignoring Jun's insults once more.

"Heh. Seems like somebody's got a stick up their ass.", Jun insulted them yet again.

"Ummm...should we start?", States ask them, feeling nervous watching their intimidating conversations.

"A battle between the quick winners, huh? Do you think they have a chance against Inoue?", Sora asked Izanagi, who was still laying on his lap.

"It's true, Inoue does have a short temper, and...that Taiho guy...does have an arrogant attitude...but...", Izanagi replied to Sora's statement.

'Do they have a plan to use against Inoue? With his current strength, it's almost impossible to...'

"Match....

Start!"

As soon as States announced the start of the match, Jun quickly turned his right arm into a cannon.

Kazuki quickly pointed his palm towards Jun's cannon arm.

While they did this, the Hong twins closed their eyes and stood straight with a praying pose.

Suddenly, a small cannon ball, that came out of Jun's cannon arm, inflated into a gigantic cannon ball.

The cannon ball was rapidly shot towards the Hong twins.

"YIN!"

"YANG!"

Quickly though, before it could hit, the two holographic warriors, a red ancient samurai, and a blue ancient archer, showed up in front of Hong Huoki and Shuiki.

""STRIKE!""

The samurai, immediately slashed his sword, shooting a large force of a slice made out of fire.

The archer, immediately shot an arrow with her bow; the arrow was wade of ice, and was leaving cold air in it's path.

*PPPPSPSSSSHSHHH*

The flaming slash quickly sliced the gigantic cannon ball on the right side, while the ice arrow turned the left side into ice and fell to the ground.

"We already know your attack, Taiho-san and Inoue-san, it's futile-"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM*

Suddenly, another large cannonball shot out right after the first shot.

"TCH-", Hong Shuiki clicked her tongue.

""STRIKE!""

Suddenly, as their flame slash and ice arrow hit the cannonball...

*BOOOOMMM*

Another cannonball suddenly pushed the second cannonball and rapidly closed in on the two.

"YOU-!", Hong Huoki screamed as the cannonball approached them.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM*

"GGGAAAAAHHH!!"

"AUUUUGGGHH!!!"

The cannonball struck them towards the arena walls.

*TUUG*

The cannonballs then quickly shrunk as the Hong twins fell down to the ground.

"... T-team Taiho Jun and Inoue Kazuki wins the match!", States announced.

"What? Th-there Was More?"

"I thought that first cannonball was their strongest attack, but if they can keep shooting gigantic cannonballs like that..."

"Th-the Hong twins lost?"

"N-no way!"

Some audience cheered for the win, but most of them were a bit terrified and intimidated by the two's presence.

"Are they really just first years?"

"That ability is insane...!"

Kazuki Inoue and Jun Taiho won their matches as quick and simple as that.

A shot of that gigantic cannonball and most of their enemies were done for.

Most people who watched their fights thought that they kept using their strongest attacks first...but if they could repeatedly do it...

"There's no way someone could win against that!", an audience member near Class 1-2 commented.

'Inoue...'

["I don't know what your father said to you, or what happened that forced you to do that to my father, but..."]

["I'm the one who's gonna kill you!"]

'He's much stronger than anyone could ever ask for...', Akira thought.

He turned his sights towards the bodies of the Hong twins.

'Even strong fighters like them weren't a match...'

'I...'

"Akira-sama, it's your turn!", Ai called on him.

"... Oh... Yeah, I'm going.", Akira replied while coming back to reality.

Megumi and Ai looked at Akira with a worried expression as he walked away.

______________________________________

"Heya! You ready for this, Akiramon?", Eiji asked Akira while showing two peace signs to him.

"What are you excited about? Didn't you just watch the last match?", Akira asked him with a bit of an annoyed tone.

"Hmmm...?", Eiji just brushed his question off.

They were before the entrance of the arena preparing themselves for their battle.

"Actually, I'm supposed to be the one to ask you that question...

Are you ready, Eiji?", Akira asked while calming himself down.

"We're winning this.", Eiji replied with enthusiasm.

'If even this fucker could act this calm, I might as well keep my worries away for now...', Akira thought.

"From the left side, is Kagayaku Eiji, from savior class 1-4 and Ishikawa Akira from support class 1-2!", States announced.

Akira and Eiji came out of the arena.

Akira had a more confident expression than he used to show, although some of the audience still boo him.

"Get off the stage, damn pervert!"

"Kill yourself!"

"You don't deserve to be there!"

A few audience members booed him.

'Guess my name's never gonna clear up, is it?' thought Akira.

"And from the other side, is savior class 1-4's Aoki Hime and support class 1-5's Ouji Hikoaka."

The beautiful blond curly haired girl, and the brown short haired handsome looking girl came out of the entrance.

"Heh, they sure do love your presence, Akiratan!", Eiji told him with a bright smile.

"Shut the fuck up, Eiji.", Akira replied to him with a slightly annoyed expression.

"How barbaric.", Aoki Hime suddenly butted in their conversation.

"I knew illiterate cave dwellers like you have mouths that spout nothing good!", she continued.

"What the hell is your problem?", Akira asked her with a confused irritated expression.

"Hime-sama. It's no use trying to convince this perverted man, let's just leave them to their devices." Ouji reprimanded Home while slightly bowing to her.

"No, I will not be silenced! This man needs to be taught his lesson!"

'Why the hell is every person I fight always this crazy lunatic who absolutely despises me?', Akira thought with an irritated incredulous expression.

"I've heard all about you! All the things the people say! You're a disgusting pervert who does nothing but lewdness for his daily rituals!", Hime continued.

"The fuck are you talking about!?", Akira asked her feeling confused.

"Hime-sama-"

"You... Not only did you shamelessly manipulate a girl to do your bidding! Y-you you're a pervert who likes tying up women and doing l-l-lewd stuff to them!"

"What are you-"

"Seriously? This guy doesn't really stop being scummy, doesn't he?"

"Man, he's messed up."

"This lecherous little-"

The audience started whispering to themselves after hearing her words.

"What!? I didn't-"

"You also like making th-th-them crawl around naked...and...and y-y-you do those sorts of perverted things-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU DELUSIONAL BITCH!"

"Hime-sama, please calm down.", Ouji reprimanded her again.

'W-what the hell is up with this girl? What's wrong with her?'

Akira took a step forward hoping to talk closer to them, but...

"I don't know what is up with you but I-"

"GET AWAY, YOU PERVERT!"

"What is-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME! I MIGHT GET PREGNANT!"

""""...""""

Suddenly, silence came upon the whole arena, including the audience.

Everyone showed an incredulous expression.

"H-Hime-sama...please stop.", Ouji, who seem to be trying to cover her embarassment, tried reprimanding her again.

"No, Ouji! I won't be silenced! If I touch him I might get pregnant, so-"

"Hime-sama, you don't get pregnant by just 'touching him'..."

"What!? What do you mean...?"

"Seems like princess here needs to go back to highschool health class.", Akira told them.

"Y-you-!"

"Hime-sama.", Ouji called on her.

"If you want to teach him a lesson so much, let's do it during this fight. Winning against them will surely show them how we stand differently from people like them.", she continued.

"Oh, so you're also one to talk.", Akira intimidated them.

"If you really want to prove to everyone how scummy I am, how about we make a wager?", Akira asked them.

"What is it that you like?", Ouji replied with a question.

"Simple. If you guys win, I'll admit that I'm some perverted brute who did all the shit you're talking about.", Akira explained to them.

"And if we win, you'll be forced to tell everyone you know how those rumors of me are wrong.", he continued.

"Sounds like a great deal, except how do we make sure you'll follow the rule you just spouted.", Ouji asked him.

"You could just beat me up till I'm forced to obey you, right? In this arena, unless you try to kill us, you can beat us to a pulp.", Akira answered.

"Muuu~ Making bets without my opinion, that's really awful of you Akira-hafu.", Eiji teased him while pouting and crossing his arms.

"He says he's okay with it.", Akira told them.

"What about you Hime-sama? Are you okay with taking the bet?", Ouji asked Hime.

"I guess I have no choice now, don't I? I'll make sure to beat some sense into that miniscule brain of his.", Hime answered.

"Ummm... Should we start now?", States asked, with a wry smile.

""Do it."", Akira and Ouji both said at the same time.

Akira showed a confident smile, while Ouji showed an elegant bow.

"Match...

Start!"

Immediately after States announced the start of the match, Akira quickly spawned two shields.

"Here!"

He threw one to Eiji, to which he caught and placed on his forearm.

Akira crouched down in front of Eiji as he charged up lightning on his right palm.

"Ludius!", Ouji called out, as a white unicorn was summoned.

Hime and Ouji quickly rode the horse with Ouji in the front.

"This is the end, you scum!", Hime called them out with a beautiful, yet threatening glare.

"TAKE THIS!", Eiji quickly shouted as he shot out lightning from his right palm, pointed towards Home and Ouji's direction.

*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*

The lightning quickly traveled through the air, but before it could hit the two girls.

*NEEIIGHH*, the horse voiced as it jumped to the side and avoided it.

["So in this case scenario, our biggest threat..."

"Is Ouji Hikoaka, the support student.", Eiji finished Akira's sentence.]

"Hmph!", Hime grinned as they avoided the lightning.

"Without movement, you're never gonna beat us! Ahahahahaha!", Hime laughed with confidence.

*TUG!*, suddenly...

*NEIGHH!*

"WHAT IS-"

Hime and Ouji suddenly noticed it...

"A shield...!?"

"Heh.", Akira grinned.

As the unicorn gallopped close to Akira's and Eiji's position, Akira suddenly spawned a shield before their horse, causing it to trip.

*BAAAMM*

"GUH!"

"AUGH!"

The two girls fell as the horse flipped over.

"TAKE THIS!", suddenly Eiji struck out a second lightning shot to Ouji and Hime's direction.

"NEIGHH!", before it could hit them though, the unicorn suddenly pushed itself up and blocked the lightning.

"LUDIUS!", Ouji called the unicorn out in shock.

"NNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAA!!!", the unicorn shrieked in pain.

Akira's and Eiji's eyes were wide as they saw this as well.

The unicorn quickly fell unconscious.

'Th-that was brutal...', Akira thought.

"Ludius...", Ouji cried as she held the unicorn's body.

"Sh-she isn't dead, right? Why are you guys so-", Eiji asked with a slightly guilty expression.

"YOU!", Hime called Akira and Eiji out.

Shocked, they turn at her and felt even more intimidated.

"Th-that's-"

Hime's hair suddenly grew really long and pushed her up in the air, making it seem like she's floating.

"I was fine with you hurting me...but to hurt such a pure gentle creature...! You bastards-!"

Hime's face was somehow...

...really terrifying...

She was angry in a sense that wasn't just slight scorn...

She looked like she was prepared to kill someone...

"Holy shit!"

Her hair grew massive and made her float making her seem like a witch from the old folktales.

"YOU HEATHENS SHALL PAY!", she screamed as her hair strands became creepy hair feet that made her move towards them.

Her bangs suddenly turned into a large spear, making her look like a she had a horn.

That spear was lashed towards Eiji's direction.

"RUN!"

*BOOOOMMM*

Quickly, Eiji and Akira jumped away and avoided the hair spear that aimed at them.

Akira quickly spawned shields on their backs to further their defense.

'Her name made her sound like a princess, but damn does she seem more like a witch!', Akira thought while running away.

*BOOOM*

*BOOOMM*

*BOOOOOOM*

Her hair spear kept targeting where Eiji ran to while she followed them while floating due to her hair pushing her up.

"EIJI, WHEN THE HELL ARE YOU-"

"WE CAN'T DO IT NOW!", Eiji shouted at Akira.

"Tch-", Akira clicked his tongue as they ran.

"HIYAAA!"

*TSSSSSSSSSK*

"CRAP!"

"GAAAAHHH!!"

Suddenly, Hime's hair spear finally struck at Eiji's back... More specifically, it pierced through Akira's shield and slightly pierced his back.

*BAAAAAAMMMM*

The force pushed Eiji forward, making him smash on the ground.

He quickly turned to his front while half leaning on the floor with his palms behind him pushing his torso forward.

"SHIT!", Akira shouted.

"YOU WILL PAY!", Hime, quickly closed onto Eiji, while aiming for her hair spear at him.

Suddenly, Akira showed a determined face.

"DO IT!"

Eiji suddenly blasted lightning on his palms pushing him up.

"YOU IMBECILE!", Hime shouted as she turned her other bangs into spears, aiming at Eiji who was charging towards her.

'I can do this!', Eiji thought.

["You can't use your lightning without moving?" Akio asked Eiji.

"Yeah, it's sort of the main reason why it'll be a hard fight for us.", Eiji explained.

They were in the simulator area, discussing their plans during the tournament and what could they do to fight against their enemies.

"Whenever I lose concentration, I accidentally zap myself and everyone around me.", Eiji continued.

"...So you still haven't figured it out, huh? You should have been taking in consideration how you use your ability before claiming your weaknesses as permanent.", Akio told him.

"What do you mean?", Eiji asked.

"The reason you zap yourself and everyone near you is simple...

Imagine your body a fusebox and a couple of wires.", Akio asked him.

"Doesn't sound too sexy, but sure, what about it?"

"Whenever you release your lightning, you cut a wire open and shoot lightning from it.

...but when you're not careful, you accidentally cut all the wires, electricuting even the fuse box itself."

"What?", Eiji asked Akio with confusion.

"... To put it simply, he's telling you, the reason you zap yourself is because if you lose concentration you use your ability in all pores available in your body.", Akira explained.

"...but why-"

"Movement means you exert effort in your other muscles, tricking your body into thinking you were trying to release your ability in all those places. Your limbs, your legs, your torso, your head, it acts as if you told it to use it in all those places. The shock then directly interferes even to the energy's core... The human heart, causing you to shock even yourself.", Akio further explained.

Eiji's eyes slightly widened, then he nodded.

'So my body was reacting in that sense...'

"How do I make it so sudden movements won't make me shoot lightning through my whole body?", Eiji asked.

"Actually that's too hard for you now. Since you can only concentrate on one part of your body at a time, you won't be able to do it."

Eiji, hearing this felt a bit disappointed.

"... Does that mean that... We don't even have a chance in standing against-"

"There is...something else I could teach you...that might come as a surprise to your enemies."

Eiji's eyes slightly glittered of hope hearing this.

"What do I need to do?", Eiji asked.

"... Well, first of all, you can control how much lightning you release right?"

"Yeah..."

"This is what you should do-"]

Eiji was posing like he was about to kick Hime in the face.

He had his arms placed on his shoulders as if he was a in a coffin.

"What's he doing?"

"Doesn't he understand that kicking her in the face won't just bring her down like that?"

The audience whispered to each other.

Tamiko, who was seated next to her classmates, immediately stood up seeing this.

"LIGHTNING EDGE!"

The audience eyes widened as they saw it.

A pointed lightning strike covered Eiji's feet as he struck Hime.

*BAAAAAAMMMM*

*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*

"AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGHH!", Hime screamed.

"Th-that's-"

"No way..."

"It's-"

The audience spoke with surprise.

["WIND EDGE!"

*PHHSHHH BAM!*

"GWAAAAHHH!"

Akio charged and kicked Akira with his hand forming a mini tornado and his feet forming a blade made of wind underneath.

*BAM*

Akira was pushed all the way through the hallways and crashed at the stairway to the rooftop.]

'That's Akio's move.', Akira thought with a confident smile.

["You'll need to make your body limp and focus all the energy at the tip of your attack, whether it be using your fists, or your feet, using that ability will pierce and zap your enemies to their defeat.", Akio explained.

"You still can't learn how to move your whole body while using that ability, but if you can make yourself concentrate on one part without your own movement, you'll have a big chance of doing it.", he continued.]

"That's the last year's champion's move!"

"That move's from that other Ishikawa guy, right?"

"Come to think of it, that's he's brother."

"There's no way Akio's brother would be such a pervert."

"That was amazing."

"I can't believe it."

The audience started chatting with each other.

Hime, fell to the ground and fainted as she shivered from the electricity.

'That just leaves-'

"I forfeit.", Ouji tells them with a bow.

"Ummm... Team Kagayaku Eiji and Ishikawa Akira wins!"

Suddenly, cheers from the audience were heard.

"Man, that guy was so strong! I wish I could team up with him! I'll be a great support!"

"A move like the last year's first year champion, huh? Can't say I'm not impressed."

"That was so awesome!"

The audience were cheering louder than they ever used to be.

"Eiji...", Tamiko looked at Eiji with her still deadpan face, but her lips slightly lifted a smile.

"You sure you're okay with that? That was-"

*BAAM*

"GAH!"

Akira was about to tease Ouji, but before he could finish, she suddenly punched his stomach.

"That's for calling Hime-sama a bitch earlier.", she told Akira.

"...You girls are crazy.", Akira said while holding his stomach in pain.

"Don't worry, we'll do our end of the deal. I know that you aren't the pervert Hime-sama says anyways.", Ouji explained.

"Yeah, thanks for that."

"Besides... I wouldn't want her to fight those two..."

Akira's eyes slightly widened.

'Yeah...now that we won...it would mean we're one step closer to fighting with Inoue...'

"What about-"

"Don't worry about Ludius, she's okay now..."

Akira turned to where the unicorn was earlier to see that it was not there anymore.

'Did she...

...intentionally...?'

"If I wanted to, we would've beaten you."

"Do you really think you can handle us both yourself?", Akira asked her with a mocking expression.

"...

...I wish you the best of luck...to your next fight.", Ouji told Akira while bowing.

"Wait, you-"

"Akira...", Eiji called Akira from behind.

He was lying down the floor with blood on his head.

"What happened!?"

"I fell down...and hit my head...", Eiji told him with a pained expression.

Akira's eyes widened as he saw this.

["If I wanted to, we would've beaten you."]

'She just-', Akira thought while turning towards his back.

There, he saw Ouji holding Home in her arms and walking out towards the arena.

'No... I shouldn't worry about that now...'

Akira lifted Eiji on his shoulders and started walking away to the exit.

"Due to the next match being the semifinals and with less contestants being required to announce, I will now state all the matchings in the next round!", States announced.

Akira didn't seem to mind it much and decided to bring Eiji to the clinic first.

'They're announcing it now, huh? Well, there has been so many contestants the past few days that they decided to just post it in the saviorwatch website. Now, they could finally announce the pairings one by one.', thought Akira.

'...Come to think of it, there were only few pairings today right? ... Wouldn't that mean that it's possible that-'

"The first match would be between Shikaku Tamiko of Savior class 1-4 and Abe Ai of support class 1-2 versus Yoko Kishi of Savior class 1-6 and Fujimoto Avaron of Savior class 1-2!", States announced.

Akira hearing this...suddenly slowed down his footsteps.

'... If they're fighting against each other... Then that means...the only one left is-'

"The last match for tomorrow would be between Kagayaku Eiji of Savior class 1-4 and Ishikawa Akira of support class 1-2 versus Taiho Jun of Savior class 1-5 and...

Inoue Kazuki of support class 1-2."

Akira quickly stopped on his tracks and widened his eyes.

'Inoue...'

End of Chapter 23

______________________________________