Magical energy pulsated through the wires, traveling towards Kisai’s body. Wait, that wasn’t Lilith’s doing. It was all of the hero’s own magic. Explosions ripped through his body but he emerged from it unscathed. He held Lilith’s wire in both hands before tossing them to the floor. Great, what kind trickery did the magic user pull off this time?
“You used my blood!” Lilith touched her bloody cheek.
“You’re close but not quite right,” Kisai said, redirecting her wires back at the woman.
Lilith’s own wires wrapped around her, dropping the leader down to the ground. He formed a magical dagger, stabbing it into the woman’s left shoulder. Kisai snapped his fingers, triggering explosions. The energy from them were absorbed into his blade. He fired a bolt of magic at his blade, redirecting all of the gathered magic into the woman’s body. Lilith, free from her wires now, clutched her head in pain. She screamed, and explosions occurred one after another, filling the entire battlefield. A thick smoke obscured the battle area. When it cleared, Kyoi and Yui reappeared. Lilith yanked the blade out of her shoulder, tossing it to the ground. Kyoi threw Yui into Lilith before checking up on Kisai.
“You want to tell me where Kyoi and Yui went?” I inhaled some of the remaining smoke, coughing multiple times.
“They entered a reflection of their current battlefield. Consider it a world inside the mirror itself. In there, Yui asserts greater control, manipulating the area. Because it was formed from this world, any strain occurring here can destabilize that one,” Tess explained.
So that’s why Kisai caused all of those explosions. Magical circles formed on the ceiling, walls, and floor. Yui glanced over at Lilith with a worried expression. Kisai and Kyoi rushed towards them as more and more circles appeared. Just what were their intentions?
Icicles rained down on Lilith and Yui from the ceiling. The projectiles stopped midway in their descent, suspended in the air. Oh, Lilith’s wires were more versatile than I originally thought. She created a series of linking wires, catching the icicles, which now bounced around. Eventually, the icicles split up into chunks, flying at the two upper ranked heroes. Kyoi destroyed them with her flaming blade, incinerating the wires above her. Kisai stared at the incoming chunks and disintegrated them back into base magical particles. He redirected the magic into a new magical sword, charging the weapon up.
The ground rumbled and then an earthquake struck the battlefield. The magical circles on the ground glowed brighter, and eventually merged together, shooting a beam of light into the ceiling. Lilith, walking on top of a wire, tossed Yui up into the air. Her second-in-command swung around on a suspended wire, avoiding the broken ground. Kyoi shot miniature red orbs at Yui and set her wire ablaze. A mirror appeared underneath the woman and she appeared on the ceiling. Kisai hurled chunks of the broken ground at Lilith. She blocked his attacks with her wires, but couldn’t redirect them back at the man. Kisai shattered the chunks into smaller pieces, which slipped through Lilith’s defenses. One struck Lilith’s forehead, leaving a huge bruise.
Yui dropped down, protecting her leader from the remaining chunks of rock. Kyoi shattered her mirrors with swift kicks. Kisai leaped over her, jamming his sword into the ground. He squeezed the hilt of his sword as Kyoi tapped the magical circles on the wall. It sucked Kisai and Kyoi into the wall as the magical energy stored inside the blade was released. All of Lilith’s wires disappeared and both women were sent flying to the opposite wall. Lilith slumped downward, a huge welt on the back of her head. Yui recovered faster than her ally and charged towards the wall. She slammed her palms into the magical circles, dispelling them. Whoa, I didn’t know she possessed those kinds of skills!
Kyoi and Kisai tumbled out from the wall. Yui sparred with Kyoi, landing a solid punch on the woman’s stomach. Kyoi caught her fist on the next punch, twisting her arm back, and then tossed her to the ground. The hero followed up with multiple stomps on Yui’s hand before pulling back her fingers. Yui slammed the ground with her left hand in pain and eventually escaped, kicking Kyoi away. Meanwhile, Kisai slammed his palm into Lilith’s back, disrupting her magic flow. I suspected he planted a “virus” as well, but couldn’t determine what it was.
Yui glanced over at Lilith but Kyoi’s punch redirected her focus. The second-in-command countered with a swift jab of her own, connecting with Kyoi’s jaw. This was crazy! This was one of the rare times someone actually matched up with Kyoi. Yui rolled away from Kyoi’s stomp, grabbing the woman’s right ankle. She turned her over and swung her into the wall. Kyoi pushed off against the wall, freeing herself. The number two ranked hero then flipped backwards, landing on Yui’s back. What an amazing display of athleticism and strength! Yui groaned, rolling around on the floor. Kyoi suddenly ducked as thin wires appeared above her head. Kisai was now on the floor, blinking lights surrounding him. Uh, what the hell happened when I wasn’t paying attention?
“Tess, mind filling me in?” I leaned in for a closer view.
“Jin couldn’t avoid her complex trip wires and finally triggered one of them. Lilith placed her mines around him. Any movement or magic will trigger her wires, setting off the mines,” Tess revealed, a thoughtful expression on her face.
“Mines? I thought Jen was the only one who could do that,” I recalled.
“Many of our powers overlap. Although they share similarities, the execution and uses differ. Lilith’s mines, unlike Jen’s, trigger with the slightest of movements or magic use near it. Jen’s requires direct contact with the mine itself,” Tess elaborated, pointing out how Kisai remained prone.
This was a tough situation for the magic user. However, it was Kisai, and he always thought outside of the box. Yui suddenly bent over, clutching her chest. Her magic levels surged, increasing at an irregular rate. Kyoi stood back, not taking advantage of the situation. Lilith rushed over, attempting to calm her ally down. Yui slapped her leader away as mirrors appeared throughout the area. One appeared near Kisai. Of course, this was all his doing. He stepped out from the mirror, escaping his precarious situation.
“You set this all up before!” Lilith realized, twisting wires around in her hand.
“Feng!” the man shouted, spinning the mirror around.
Kyoi sprinted around the battlefield, adjusting all the available mirrors. I didn’t understand their intentions besides setting up for a big attack. Yui, kneeling on the ground, collapsed face first. Lilith’s eyes darted around, unable to halt the number two hero’s movements. Kisai hoisted Yui up and tossed her into a nearby mirror. Lilith detonated explosions near him but Kyoi shielded the man with a defensive barrier. The hero swept Lilith’s feet, knocking her to the ground. A magical circle appeared beneath the leader, trapping her inside it. Kyoi stabbed her blade into the outer edge of the circle and a ring of fire appeared. Lilith placed her hand on the ground, muttering incantations, but nothing changed. She shouted out in frustration before dropping to her knees. Like Yui, her magic levels intensified, and multiple layers of wires appeared around her. Ten seconds of explosions struck her, all of it contained within the magical circle.
“Is it over?” I glanced over at Tess as Lilith remained motionless on the ground.
“Their victory is secured. Only one more matter remains unfinished,” the Gatekeeper answered, referring to Yui’s fate.
Lilith’s second-in-command exited from a mirror near the seats. Upon her exit, all of the mirrors shattered, shards of glass scattered throughout the area. Kisai snapped his fingers and all the glass converged into one large, sharp triangular piece. Yui coughed out blood when she stood back up. She glanced upward, finally noticing the threat above her. It crashed into her head horizontally, but instead of breaking apart into smaller pieces of glass, triggered a series of large explosions. Flames engulfed her body.
“Lilith and Yui are unable to continue. Feng and Jin win!” Tess declared, leaping down into the battlefield.
Kisai doused Yui in water, extinguishing the flames, and lifted the woman up. He led her over to Tess, who placed her onto a makeshift cot. Kyoi dispelled her magical circle and her flames vanished too. Lilith stumbled around, unsteady on her feet. Kyoi offered her shoulder, escorting the leader over to the Gatekeeper. While Tess inspected Yui, Kyoi grabbed a medical kit, patching Lilith up. Still strange seeing her show compassion.
“Did you enjoy the battle?” Kisai vaulted into the seats, sitting next to me.
“It’s always interesting to see you partner up with Kyoi. You guys are just too good. What did you do to Yui at the end there?” I watched him bandage up his hand.
“Just bounced her around in the mirrors, exact same thing she did to us,” he answered.
Tess finished her examination of Yui. Her condition didn’t appear too bad. The Gatekeeper called Kisai down, waving at him. He rejoined everyone, talking mainly with Tess and Kyoi. Yui and Lilith sat on the ground, dejected looks on their faces. I couldn’t blame them, especially after sustaining so much damage.
I walked down the steps, hoping to speak with the two woman. Before I could step onto the field, Lionel arrived in a golf cart. He stopped the vehicle near Lilith and Yui, stepping out. This was a surprise. He assisted his team members into it before driving off without a word. Really? At this point, I was cursed with the worse luck.
“Too bad Tomo. Lionel came in and swooped them away like a dashing knight,” Kyoi joked, accepting a bottle of water from Tess.
“I saw. I didn’t even know there were cars like that here. Don’t tell me that’s just something they keep around!” I leaned on the railing, shaking my head.
“There’s a golf range actually. I’ve never gone there though. I should check it out when I have the chance,” Kisai revealed, biting into an energy bar.
“This place is crazy. You’re telling me there’s practice fields, a state of the art laboratory, and entertainment amenities?” I couldn’t understand why there were so many things present.
“Yep, it’s how it’s suppose to be, right?” Kisai grinned, swinging his hip around.
Tess went over her grades with the two before dismissing them. I anticipated a summary of their battle, but she didn’t look in my direction until both heroes departed. Was this her way of telling me to discover the intricacies on my own? I didn’t mind but she usually was much more upfront about stuff like this. I sat down in my seat again, waiting for the next match.
