“How peculiar...”Zessica blinked at the sudden change in surrounding. She was sure she had been in the hospital in Stabs arms, Phoenix and Caterpillar worried for her health and Zatch approving her to go. She was just smiling back at Zatch too, so why was she here in some... white nothingness? Why was she weightless, feather light yet trapped here? Her oxygen tank was gone too, along with the tubes...but she was breathing easier right now. In fact, she never felt her body feel this good.

For the first time in her life, she felt like she could do something, anything without the worry of being sick later. If this was what she had to look forward to for the rest of her life, she supposed it wasn’t all that bad. If her selection of choices grows thin, if pills and medicine can do nothing to free her, this is what she would choose. However, there was something else she needed to worry about wasn’t there? Something that needs to be looked into first.

“I didn’t expect you to come to me Oliver, since you are after all part of the core.” Zessica turned to find the guy with the infamous Pikachu hoodie concealing most of his face. However, a sad smile was spread across his face. Even though Zessica could see his lips, she could tell he was having mixed feelings about seeing her. As if he missed her after being away for so long, but the short girl did not recall anything about being friends with him. Then again, he was in that picture in the same orphanage now was he not?

“Well since I don’t have a body, this is pretty much a permanent spawning point for me. If you are wondering whether you are dead then nope, you are still alive.” Zessica sighed in relief because that possibility was in her mind. After all, when Oliver said this area was a spawning point, she had immediately thought that she too had died, considering that Oliver was also dead... in an alive sort of way. The undead sort of way but without the rotten fleshes. Oh God, Arma must have rubbed off her somehow.

“So why am I here? Where is here?” Zessica asked curiously, scanning around to find that they were the only one present in the room. Now that she had a better view of the surroundings, she could see there were dozens of gears grinding over each other, all rotating in either clockwise or anticlockwise rotation, all of them in perfect harmony and synchronisation.

“W-well... I am not pretty sure what to call it myself. For me, it’s just some place that frequently changes scenery. As for why you are here, it’s because I wanna help you with the Declaration of War. I’ll help you get in Final Trial...” Both of Zessica’s eyebrows perked up in interest at Oliver’s answer.

“What brought this about?”

“Hmm... I don’t really know why but I just wanna help. Isn’t that a good reason enough?” Oliver grinned broadly to which Zessica observed carefully. Seeing there was no trickery behind that smile, Zessica softened slightly before smiling back.

“Sure, if you say so.” Oliver shrugged lightly, when without warning, he flicked his finger on her forehead, hard. Zessica’s head snapped back from the force and shock before she winced and glared witheringly at the Pikachu hoodie wearing guy.

 “What-

All of a sudden, Oliver pushed her backwards, cutting off her words. They were still lingering in her mouth when the image of him faded. She felt her stomach drop when she felt the sensation of free falling. It felt like she was going down a roller coaster at a dangerous speed. The air was caught in her throat and she knew she was panicking because her heart was beating erratically on her chest. She felt her heart almost stop when darkness surrounded her vision, leaving her with black nothingness.

The tall lad didn’t know where he was at but he knew that he was very far distant from the others. He couldn’t hear the battle cries and clashes between the two female players even echoing through the maze, unless they got separated again. Once or twice, he almost fell straight into very skilfully disguised pits in which he was able to catch himself at the last minute. It was after that, a catastrophic chain of traps started to unfold before him.

He wasn’t sure how many minutes have passed when he barely escaped an area where the walls of the labyrinth started closing towards him with spikes on them like the cliché traps he often saw in movies. He didn’t know how much precious time had been wasted when he accidently triggered another trap which sent raining bombs scattering all over the stadium. Now, he didn’t know whether one of the female players won and was fighting Euphino at the very second.

“Augh!” Arma finally bellowed in irritation, slamming his fist one of the walls. He wasn’t surprise like he should have when it actually left a dent on it. No, he was far too aggravated to care. He knew that if he continued to get lost through this maze, he would end up draining all of the remaining energy and will power he had left to fight Euphino and end the stupid Declaration of War once and for all.

“...You are not capable of protecting Zessica from danger. You even harm her” Euphino’s words taunted him, the very words that was uttered back in the past. Just by remembering it, the smirk he had, it all made Arma feel sick. So he punched the wall again, leaving a bigger dent on it than it already was.

“As I said before, a monster like you can’t protect someone. You will end up killing her instead. So I suggest you to break all ties with her as soon as possible” Another punch, a larger dent. This hardly eases the frustration and pain because there was nothing in the world strong enough to deal with the heavy doses of reality. He already knew that he was a monster, possessing the core of the AI within him to the point that he could perform powerful things. However, why couldn’t he defeat him? Why couldn’t he beat that guy alone and get the whole thing done over with? Why?

“Wh-What? What’s with that huge thunder cloud? No way! Is there a trap for tornadoes?!” A female voice rang out. Arma vaguely recognised the voice as Sabriel, the female host who had been recently accompanying Zero. Startled at what she said, he looked up and indeed saw dark disdainful clouds accumulating in one area. It was swirling around; causing a whirlpool in the sky and the brunette wondered whether this was one of the traps being triggered.

Even Sophie and Ophelia who were still battling against each other stopped at their tracks to see what was up. More grey clouds gathered and the blue sky quickly turned dark and dull, threatening to have a storm. Sophie leaped back and landed on a separate platform, staring at the core of the whirlpool while wondering whether or not that thing was a result from one of them triggering another trap. However, she felt strange staring at the whirlpool. She could feel a strange pulsating sensation coming from there and was taken aback when Ophelia started cackling in laughter.

“AHAHAHA! SO THE QUEEN OF DEMISE FINALLY MADE HER APPEARANCE!” Ophelia yelled maniacally, awed by the scenery before them. Her guard was completely down but the silver haired girl made no attempt to use this to her advantage. She was more bothered with what the Rising Star Prodigy said when light started emanating from the core of the whirlpool.

It shone brightly, gaining in intensity and as if it couldn’t hold it anymore, a supernova like reaction occurred, showers of glittery dust ploughing down from the sky. In the midst of it all, a small figure with casual clothes was descending from the sky and the green sparks engulfing the body made it obvious who that person was. 

“Zessica?!” Everyone except Ophelia cried out simultaneously, unable to suppress the shock from displaying from their faces. On cue, as if uttering her name activated it, Sophie felt the promising surge of power emanating from the small girl. It was the same amount of power Arma had back at the bus stop, when he foresaw the future in which Zessica was poisoned by a present from Ophelia. However, this power felt different, powerful yet different.

Everyone watched in mystification as Zessica twisted around so she was falling face down on the world below, raised her arms wide open as if she was embracing the opportunity of death when both Arma and Sophie felt the power seemingly burst out of the younger girl’s body and took physical form. Thin metallic like energy waves came out of her and surrounded her whole body from everyone’s view but it didn’t stop her from diving down. Arma stared at the metallic like energy waves; its surface seemed so flexible and smooth it even had the ability to even reflect.

Once the energy waves stopped shielding her from everyone’s eyes, Sophie, Euphino and Arma gasped to find she was no longer wearing her casual attire. The short girl was back to wearing her Exoskeleton, green vines decorating all over her torso, arms and legs. A green circle with weird writings emerged from view and Arma would have sworn Zessica’s fall slowed down before she landed on the disk gracefully on two feet, the energy waves still hovering around her like air before disappearing into tiny pixels.

“Wh-What’s this? Another p-player has arrived in the Final Trial?!” Zero’s incredulous voice boomed through the stadium and cries of disbelief from the audience echoed through the walls of the labyrinth. If Arma wasn’t so shocked with the sudden development, he would have flown straight to Zessica to check whether she was alright. Even Sophie and Euphino was frozen on the spot, unable to believe that the girl who was supposed to be back in the hospital was with them right this moment. It was Ophelia who was grinning wickedly at the short girl.

For a long moment, no one moved, no one made a sound and no one dared to even breathe for that could disrupt their concentration on what was happening at hand. There seemed to be some heavy discussion back in the Center. A while later, Zero’s perplexed and baffled voice once again boomed through the stadium, leaving everyone in shock with what he had to say.

“It seems this new player is indeed Armageddon’s Teammate Zessica. We had a word from the Boss that you are not supposed to be in the Final Trial since you failed to show up.” Zessica placed one hand on her hip and leaned most of her weight on her left foot, unperturbed with what Zero said. She seemed like she was about to retort something smart when Zero continued on, not yet finished with what he was saying.

“However, seeing that you were one of the unfortunate players who had a virus attack three days ago, the Boss agrees you to play only on one condition. You have only five minutes to make your mark.” Arma’s grey eyes widened so much, he almost felt them popping out of their sockets as the host stated this. Five minutes?! What can she do in the span of five minutes?! Why was she even here anyway?! Wasn’t she supposed to be resting in the hospital?! There was no way she could have recovered this quickly! Even Tear said that she needed at least two weeks to recover.

“Alright, five minutes” Zessica spoke, accepting it casually. All four players flinched in surprise at her answer. Any normal person would have been panicking and wondering what on the virtual world they could do in five minutes but Zessica on the other hand, seemed confident. Arma knew that inside that devious mind of hers, she had a plan. There was no other explanation at why she seemed so composed.

“A-alright? Uhmm...okay!...? You may now...uh... resume fighting!” Zero spoke uneasily, very much perturbed with what was going on. If one were to read his mind, he was wondering whether the Blessed Combat Trials this year was just as bizarre as it has been when it began.

On cue, Ophelia struck Sophie again, who was overwhelmed with the sudden blow and was forced to leap back. She had been distracted with the grand entrance; she had momentarily forgotten her priorities. With a quick glance up, Sophie almost hesitated when she saw Zessica was nowhere in sight, probably doing her thing by being invisible before she blocked another one of Ophelia’s blackened claws.

By then, the silver haired girl was getting tired. Her limbs were feeling like lead and her attacks were getting weaker. Ophelia on the other hand didn’t seem to be fatigued at all. She still have the same amount of energy to counter while Sophie had to force herself to even keep up with the Rising Star’s pace. This was not going to be an easy match. It was a good thing she chose to wear contacts that day.

Meanwhile, Arma stayed rooted on the spot. He was about to soar through the sky to catch up to Zessica but when he was about to do just that, the short girl had vanished out of sight. He wondered whether she saw him and whether he should wait till she comes up or should he just move forward to try finding her instead. Then again... trying to even look for her was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“My, my, Arma...you really are in a pinch huh?” Arma almost cursed when his heart almost leaped out of his chest. Scowling, he turned up to find the short girl already caught up to him, sitting on a wall with a laid back smile.

“Why are you here? You are supposed to be resting back at the hospital!” Arma cried out as Zessica’s smile turned into an amused on.

“I should be but I am not because you are in a tight fix. No matter what you do, you can’t figure out Euphino’s Major... but I have. If you want to win this Declaration of War you need me on this. I was the one who accepted it anyway and he didn’t specifically say that you should be the one fighting him alone. As long as that applies I can help. After all, that’s what partners are for right?”

At that moment, Arma was about to retort something back and possibly even try to send her back but he was struck back with what she told him. Everything she said was true and logical. As much as he wanted to deny everything Zessica stated out simply, Arma couldn’t help but sigh and give in. He chuckled lightly, unable to believe that he always continuously succumbed to her in almost everything. She was the brains after all and Arma could only fulfil the part that she can’t do it on her own, the action.

“So what’s his Major?” Arma queried, getting down to business. He had only five minutes of help coming from his ill partner.

“I can’t tell you in case he hears us. All I need you to fly just above these walls and about twenty to thirty feet away from him. I am going hold him down and when I give you the signal; I need you to fire something powerful. Doesn’t matter if its electric beam or fire or whatnot, it has to be something that would pin him down.”

Arma did not get most of what she said since she explained so little to him. However, he understood some things in what she instructed. The distance and wait for the signal. He was about to verbalise that he understood and that he would do so right away only to find that she was already gone, surprising him for the umpteenth time that day. Arma felt several sweat beads trickling down from his forehead, trying hard to comprehend that this was actually happening.

Sucking in a deep breath, Arma activated his wings for the second time that day and didn’t hesitate when he soared across the sky. Doing as he was told, he hovered only a few inches above the wall, scanning for the curly haired boy while trying to make himself invisible against the fight between two strong female players at hand.

Even though Feyone was not present, Sophie had eventually resorted in using her blade against Ophelia’s claws which struck her ruthlessly. No matter how many times Sophie managed to cut her or injure her, Ophelia always managed to heal herself at the last second, proving to be an ultimate threat.

Swallowing his heart with guilt, Arma flew away from the two and easily found Euphino who was having both hands on his hips, grinning broadly at Arma, almost inviting the tall lad to come close and have a close confrontation. Arma won’t deny the temptation to punch that smirk off his face was great, but he remained approximately twenty feet away from him, still in the air.

“What’s this? Chickening out even though Zessica came?” Euphino taunted while Arma tried desperately to tune his annoying voice out. He would not give in and he would not get close to this bastard. The words ‘don’t listen to him’ kept chanting in his mind like an ongoing mantra. Just to add the resistance, Arma clenched both of his fists and smirked awkwardly at Euphino, who was getting amused by the second.

The next few seconds was ultimate torture. Euphino kept taunting and mocking him with ridiculous names in which Arma would gladly make this guy meet his personal fist. Still, Arma stood his ground, or more accurately, the sky as Euphino’s endless taunts continued. It was then Arma’s turn to get amused when the curly haired boy was starting to get irritated and impatient with what the tall lad was doing. He then started yelling out ridiculous names at him to which would have made Arma snap ten minutes ago but Arma found himself enjoying Euphino’s frustration for once. Don’t tell him that this was Zessica’s plan?

“Peekaboo~” A small childish voice drifted to their ears, making a cold shudder run through their spine. Euphino turned to attack the owner of the voice but was startled to find there was no one there. However, once he turned back again, Zessica was there, right in front of him with a sweet yet mischievous smile on her face. She was so close, Euphino yelped and squeaked at the same time before letting his knees buckle under him and beck pedal away with all fingers and thumbs. Arma didn’t hold back the laughter then which quickly earned him a glowering glance from Euphino.

“I would love to play but time isn’t my friend at the moment.” Zessica stated politely before snapping her fingers. On cue, her emerald stone started sparking out furious amount of electricity, astounding him both when Euphino thought the dirt path started to feel gooey.

Turning his attention towards it, he swore loudly when it was actually melting and was acting like a quicksand, sinking him in slightly before solidifying, literally pinning him to the ground. Even the walls were turning molten before the substances slowly floated and hovered around Zessica, displaying her level of control of her Major to the extreme. She allowed it to hover around her like air, before rearranging its molecules in the shape of spikes. Arma’s laughter was cut off by this and he couldn’t suppress the quiver when he recalled his showdown with Alois. For a small guy who was lost and absentminded, his smokes and violin was the real deal.

Without any show of mercy or hesitation, Zessica snapped her hand forward, encouraging the spikes to aim at the trapped curly haired boy. Arma saw the blood from Euphino’s face drain then, because he too blanched at the sudden development. Zessica had already done so much by trapping Euphino around her little finger when Arma could barely keep up with his blurring speed. To that, Arma can’t help but think she was amazing.

However, it was right at that moment Euphino realised that he was in the biggest pinch of his life. He already pieced together that Zessica had found out the secret behind his Major was because Arma still kept his distance from him. It was exactly that distance that kept him out of his radar to have everything under his control. Right now, Zessica was daring him to use it before the tall lad because once he uses it; Arma would witness it instead of experiencing it and would find out his Major too. Still, with his life on the line, Euphino gave in and closed his eyes tightly before activating his Major.

At that moment, Arma didn’t know what happened until something erupted from Euphino. It was a small glittery like sphere that could fit into the palm of a child’s hand. However, around half a second later, Arma flew back unconsciously when the sphere grew in size, effortlessly covering twenty meters, just barely capturing Arma inside. Realising this was the reason why Zessica had instructed him to keep his distance; Arma quickly flew back when the sphere became too close but stopped when it halted its growing phase.

Inside, the spikes that were just zooming in with impossible speed was now moving in slow motion. At first, Arma thought Euphino frozen everyone’s movements because everything was so still inside the sphere. Even Zessica looked still and rigid, like a statue. The only one who moved in normal speed was Euphino, who by the way, was trying to wriggle out of the dirt that pinned him on the ground. Arma must have looked pretty silly due to shock because as soon as Euphino saw his face, he grinned sadistically.

“Awww, little Arma finally saw my secret. Looks like I can’t fool around anymore~” To this, Arma’s shocked expression was quickly turned into a smug grim appearance.

“What are you going to do now Arma? If you step into my sphere you will be slowed down too and there would be nothing you could do to stop me. ”

“Says the guy who got his butt kicked by a girl.” Arma snapped back, realising his temper was already frayed. He didn’t know what to make of it at first glance but seeing how the spikes were moving ever so slowly, he too figured it out. It made sense why Euphino had been so quick, even quicker than he should be. It was because Arma was the one who was moving slow. He had the Major that could make his surroundings move slower while he moves at normal speed, acting like he was faster than he is to the victim’s eyes. No wonder many people didn’t even realise this but how did something this minuscule was noticed by Zessica?

“What are you going to do now Arma? If you step inside my sphere then you will be moving slowly too. I can keep this sphere up for hours and I will have all the time in the world to get out of this mess.” Euphino sneered, purposely trying to egg the tall lad on. As much as the brunette wanted to dive right in and beat Euphino to a pulp, he refrained himself from doing so. Still, what Euphino said was true. How was he going to get in without being affected? He could use his Major...or more accurately, his gift which can only be triggered through his Major and a reflection. Now where in the labyrinth would he find something just like that?!

“Unfortunately I only have a minute left to play.” Both boys froze and turned their attention towards the small figure in question and yelped in surprise when Zessica was leaning against a wall, showered with electricity and just a few feet away from the faint blue sphere. Arma was left speechless while Euphino was muttering unintelligible words under his breath, his eyes widened to saucers and his face paled to white sheet. Arma, unable to digest this, turned his attention towards the small figure inside the sphere, which by the way, wasn’t moving at all. Why was there another Zessica outside the sphere?!

“I am hurt Euphino, I thought you said you knew better than an acquaintance to know the difference between an illusion self and my real self. To think you even raised my hopes up a bit.” Zessica feigned hurt even though Arma could tell she was trying not to smirk at Euphino’s bewildered and priceless face. Euphino’s jaw went open and shut before opening again. He was more blown away than the tall lad and was now completely frozen on the spot. Arma on the other hand, saw her in another sense of admiration. It wasn’t every day that he saw Zessica make an illusion of herself and then use it to control substances to her own free will.

...Wait...doesn’t that mean that she used both of her Major and Minor simultaneously?...!

Arma stared flabbergasted at the young girl who was glancing up at him. She was twirling something in her right hand which was definitely not there a moment ago. He couldn’t believe it. Had she finally managed to succeed to do the impossible? When Zessica flashed him a warm smile, he was more or less aghast when she pointed that very thing in her hand at him. It was a pistol and before he could respond, she fired it without a second thought.

Arma almost felt his heart leap out of his chest once more when he realised that it wasn’t a bullet that appeared out of the gun. No, it was anything but that. Shards of mirrors were scattered everywhere, floating to where he was and surrounding him. In a way, the way the fragmented mirrors were dispersed out, the way the light of day struck on the smooth surfaces it was almost beautiful.

As Arma saw his own reflection among the tiny broken mirrors, his eyes turned hollow as well as empty and raw power ignited inside of him, Zessica smiled in triumph as she stared at the ground. Her feet were already disappearing, indicating her time to play in the Final Trial was up. Even the clone that was in Euphino’s sphere was slowly fading away to nothingness.

“Why Zessica? For that monster?” Zessica turned her attention towards Euphino who was smiling too, albeit in the borderline of amusement and nervousness. However, she could see the sincerity in his eyes to know that the word ‘monster’ was nothing but a light insult, nothing deep. Zessica giggled lightly as Arma brought his hands closer together, not exactly touching at the finger tips as a ball of raw energy conjured between the hands.

“Remember the time you asked about the Declaration of War? You were saying something like ‘what do you say?...Monster?’” Zessica asked gently, perking one of Euphino’s eyebrows up in interest. By then, the ball of energy was no sparking out flames and electricity, its size growing to three feet wide and the colour shifting to electric blue.

“I remember, you accepted it afterwards. So why did you?” By then, Zessica’s body up to her shoulders were gone as she turned to smile sweetly to the boy trapped within the ground.

“Because you addressed the bet towards a monster. A lot of people had mistaken Arma as a monster but I don’t think so. I accepted the bet because even if he was a monster, then I am too.” As she said this, she disappeared completely along with the illusion and the spikes. However, Euphino was still trapped by submerged within the ground as Arma fired. The curly haired lad wasn’t a tad bit surprised that the beam shattered his sphere completely; not at all slowing down once it went through.

He watched as the beam rapidly moving towards him with a mere bored expression; the temperature of the surroundings increasing uncomfortably. Since he couldn’t move and was immobilized thanks to the little mischief maker, Euphino did the most Euphino thing to do. He smirked at the beam, defying against its threats and allowed it to engulf him whole.

As the beam struck the player, Arma was overwhelmed at the amount of force that quickly took over afterwards. It was like the tall lad had accidently fired a bomb because the next second, a mushroom explosion took place and a ring of pure force sent Arma flying helplessly backwards, covering over thousands of miles like the wall cannon earlier. He landed roughly against a wall and groaned when the explosion subsided.

Standing up proved to be a problem when every bone in his body, especially the back felt like it was crushed. For a moment, he stumbled endlessly, before resorting to crawl on the dirt path. Phase one of his plan had been complete, even though having Zessica to take part for only five minutes were not part of it. Still, now that he thought about it, it was pretty difficult to soak up the fact that they had took down Euphino, who had bamboozled many players to this day, in just five minutes. They really can do the impossible together huh? This thought made him chuckle.

Now it was time to take the final phase of the plan. Fifteen minutes of testing his sore limbs just to check he didn’t dislocate or broken any bones, Arma sluggishly started walking through the maze after trying but failing to use his wings again. He must have rammed on that wall a bit too hard because every time he tried to conjure his jet like flat wings, it appears only for a second before withering up and fade away.

God knows how long those two had been clashing each other but Arma was completely blown away the fact that their battle cry still echoed through the labyrinth. Jogging towards the source of the noises, barely missing a pitfall trap and a few more snares, Arma turned to a corner and was amazed with what he saw. He wasn’t all too surprised that Sophie looked battered and worse for wear, no insult intended there. She was covered with cuts and some parts of her skin were blemished in poison. She had Feyone’s sword in hand yet due to the exhaustion and fatigue, her grip on the blade made it shake feverishly.

However, he was even more aghast to find even Ophelia was at the same boat. She still had her trademark evil grin on her lips but one could tell that she too, was at her limit. She had several cuts here and there too and it seemed to be healing at a much slower rate. Sophie must have been worthy of Ophelia’s opponent because the slow speed of healing must be due to the result of overusing her Minor too much. The silver haired girl must have put up a big fight if Ophelia was this cornered.

Both of them were glaring at each other, both of them possibly equally tired and void of strength yet none of them dared to give the finishing blow. Arma’s presence of the core of the AI inside of him must her perked because in the next moment, both pair of tired eyes settled over to him, one of them smirked even broader.

“Heheh... the knight in shining armour finally came to party...” Arma gulped nothing but air as he recalled what Zatch commented of his plan in which he shared with him three days ago. He had said it was solid with the risks minimized but a bit of a sacrifice. Here goes nothing.

“Sorry but I am not here to party...” Ophelia continued to smirk but slowly melted it away to a frown when Arma said it in a serious tone. Even Sophie was gaping at him at the moment, probably guessing his plan and intentions already.

“I withdraw.” Arma spoke, his voice brimming with confidence. He then smiled, realising he never felt more weight in his chest lift up ever more than this moment right here. The remaining players on the other hand, seemed to disagree.

“...What?!” Ophelia snapped dryly, as if Arma had told them an incredibly stupid and lame joke. Arma would have fished his hands in his pockets if the Exoskeletons had them so he simply smiled innocently at the two befuddled girls.

“I said I withdraw.”

“Why?” Sophie asked almost calmly but the hint of puzzlement in her voice gave away her shock. Arma scratched the back of his head awkwardly, trying to find the right words to convey his feelings of this before realising he too was tired. With a wave of dismissal, he decided to rather wing it instead.

“It’s because it’s not necessary. I don’t find any reason to find the players who I am supposed to work together with once we get to the real Blessed Combat with the other six regions of this world. Also, it’s evident that without Zessica, I don’t have a chance with facing both of you. She might disagree but today, it just showed how much I needed her to even defeat Euphino to get rid of the Declaration of War over with. Team Twenty-Three just isn’t complete without her” Silence, till Ophelia spoke.

“So you are just throwing this whole thing away, because she isn’t with you?!” Ophelia almost yelled, unable to hold back her shock from exaggerating. Arma chuckled lightly before raising his hands up in surrender.

“Well that’s one way to put it. I honestly don’t think I can have a showdown with you two alone. Even if you are weakened and exhausted from fighting all day I have a feeling both of you can knock me out in five seconds flat.”

“So you are just gonna ruin your chance in probably being first place of Wind Crest?” Sophie asked meekly, for once understanding the why Ophelia was reacting this badly towards this. However, that didn’t mean she didn’t understand why Arma would choose to withdraw either. It was just that, not many people would be so sincere over someone to go this far.

“Pretty much. My real aim is to be number one in Blessed Combat overall, not Wind Crest...so...yea...” The tension between the three players deflated like a punctured balloon then. No one uttered a word, two of them too dumbstruck to do so. After a couple of trademark imaginary cricket noises later, Ophelia’s teeth clenched together as well as her fist before she started kicking a wall that was closest to her.

“Shut up! Shut up! You are not the boss of me! Just shut the hell up and go rot in hell!” Ophelia yelled, eventually punching the wall where more dents occurred. Sophie and Arma watched her in shock as she basically threw a tantrum. Both of them wondered whether she was yelling at the brunette, or the voices that were in her head.

Both seemed likely because the next moment, she turned and glared at both of them, her eyes seeping with venom that Arma shuddered lightly. She then pointed an accusing finger at them before crushing it back to a fist. She then flung both arms in the air as if asking the AI whether it was messing with her or not.

“Ah to hell with this! I quit! This is going far too long and it’s too boring! I quit ya hear me?! I withdraw!” Ophelia yelled, her voice ringing as the whole world who heard this beck pedal away in shock. The bolt from the blue only grew when Ophelia turned towards Sophie, pointing that accusing finger at her again before she awkwardly yelled the next part out.

“You win princess, but never again next time!” Sophie blinked her perplexed pink eyes in astonishment as both players watch Ophelia furiously stomped over and disappeared at the next corner. Arma would have followed if it weren’t for that threatening dark aura hanging over her like a miserable gloomy thunder cloud.

“...So is it over?...”Sophie asked, eventually lowering her guard but still perplexed with what just happened. Arma, who was reflecting her expressions nodded hesitantly before beaming at her warmly.

“It’s over.”

Author's note: I think I rewrote this chapter four times in a row and I am extremly exhausted. I hardly got any sleep so there will be mistakes in this chapter. Please notify me if you find then. The next one is going to be the last/epiloge chapter so stay tuned then xD ;)

Oh and don't forget to vote!