Chapter 274: Chapter 273 – Fury

“Today’s final matchup proves to be an exciting one!” the Fiddler cried. “In one corner, we have Ghost, our reigning leader with his impressive win streak of thirty matches. Everyone who has ever faced him has been humiliated, unable to land even a scratch on this man. With his mysterious techniques, he has rolled through the competition. We’ll see how long that lasts.”

The crowd cheered and did a few chants, the Fiddler waiting a moment before settling them down.

“In the other corner is a rising up and comer,” he said. “With a win streak of fifteen battles, she has proven herself among the top of the challengers here. Her astounding flexibility in her use of weapons and magic has made her a tough opponent to handle, but can she be the first challenger to land a hit against our reigning leader?”

Again, the crowd roared and the Fiddler shushed them with a wave of his hand. 

“Let’s see what the weapon of choice for this match is going to be.”

The familiar flash of light flared up in the air as runes were written. The weapon for the round was to be halberds. Two of them materialized in the air and dropped down towards each of the challengers. Yuki grabbed hers, her eyes not moving from her enemy. 

The urge to rush down and begin to lay waste to Ghost built within her, but a greater sense of caution clamped down on it. Going right at the man wouldn’t be helpful anyway. She needed to wait for Sophie and whatever her plan was. In the meantime, she would poke at Ghost. She’ll pretend that she was trying to strike him while Sophie did her thing. Then she’ll strike.

As the crowd began to shout the countdown, Yuki readied herself, tightening her grip on the staff of the halberd. She didn’t infuse her mana into it just yet. That would come later. Ghost stood nonchalantly in his corner, his unchanging face betraying no emotion.

“FIGHT!” the crowd roared. 

Yuki pushed off against the ground and ran forward using only her innate strength. The air pressed on her face, her eyes narrowing to stop the wind from irritating them. Ghost started the match by walking forward at a normal pace.

When Ghost was within striking distance, Yuki thrusted out with her halberd, using the point as a spear. It passed through Ghost as every other attack ever made against him did. Yuki kept the point floating within the Ghost’s body and wiggled it about. 

Ghost looked down at the metal point moving about in his body and frowned a bit. He gave Yuki a quizzical look that Yuki responded with a small shrug. She continued for a few more seconds before pulling back. 

“You know. I’m happy to wait,” Yuki said. “If you don’t want to attack me, I’ll be more than happy to do the same.”

Ghost said nothing in reply. His eyes flickered towards the box where the Fiddler was watching from. Then his hands moved, but not to attack. He pointed at his throat and shook his head. Yuki didn’t understand what he was trying to say.

“You can’t speak?” Yuki guessed. Ghost nodded. “Oh.”

Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t recall a time that Ghost had ever said anything. He always stood silently, watching his opponents and the Fiddler with the same expression everyday.

That still didn’t change what Yuki needed to do.

Ghost put a hand out and gestured toward Yuki to come and strike him. It seemed that nothing Yuki could say would get Ghost to attack. 

“Why can’t you attack me?” Yuki asked. Ghost shrugged. He signaled to Yuki again. “This mute thing can be quite annoying, can’t it.”

He nodded and signaled again. Yuki sighed.

“Fine. But I won’t be able to touch you right now,” Yuki said. Ghost tilted his head. “I will, soon. I’ll be able to touch you. Then kill you.”

The reaction Yuki got from that dumbfounded her. For the first time, Ghost showed the hints of an emotion. His eyes seemed to brighten from Yuki's words and he gave her a nod. Then he tapped his wrist as if he was tapping a watch.

“When?” He nodded. “Preferably today.”

Ghost lit up again and began to move his hands, but they froze midair along with every part of his body. The arena seemed to freeze with him, the sounds of the crowd silencing and the wind stopping. Yuki looked around, searching for the source of whatever had happened. When her eyes went to the spectator’s box, she saw that even the Fiddler was frozen in place.

“We don’t have much time,” Sophie said behind him. 

Yuki spun around and let out a sigh of relief. 

“Oh, so this is you,” she said. “We’re starting the back up plan then?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll keep this simple. I will momentarily take control of your body,” Sophie said. “During that time, I will channel the magic for you and set it up. Then I will hand control back, and you can enact your will as to what will be affected in that area.”

“Oh, that sounds simple enough. Why couldn’t you tell me this earlier?”  Yuki asked. 

“I didn’t want to distract you from your training,” she replied. “I didn’t want you to try and convince me to try something else.”

“Why would I want to convince you?” 

“Yuki. Do you know what I am?” Sophie asked. “I’m not alive, technically. I don’t have a physical body anymore. So what am I?”

“A spirit?” Yuki said.

“Close. I’m a collection of magical energy that makes up a sort of pseudo-spirit. In this form, I have no real soul. Only energy. Now, what does that have to do with why I didn’t want to tell you about my plan? In order for me to take control of your body, I need to remove myself from your mana dimension and create a physical manifestation. Then I need your permission before I can take control. All of that requires me to expend energy. Energy that I have finite amounts of.”

Yuki didn’t understand what Sophie was saying. 

“Yuki. This will require everything I have,” Sophie softly. “All the energy that makes up my fake spirit.”

It all clicked together. Yuki’s heart sank as she realised what Sophie was going to do. She was going to expend everything she had in order to ensure that Yuki won this fight. Then she would disappear. Forever. 

“No.”

“This is the only way,” Sophie said with a sad smile.

“No. There has to be another.”

“If there was, I would have gone there.”

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“Can’t you take my mana?” Yuki said. 

“I can’t control mana that isn’t my own. I’m already using your mana to do the spell by controlling your body,” Sophie explained. “Just manifesting myself and taking control uses up everything.”

Yuki’s mind raced as she tried to come up with alternative solutions, but nothing came to mind. There was no way to win and keep Sophie here. 

“You can’t forfeit the match,” Sophie said. Yuki shut her mouth. “That would undo all of our work. Don’t you want to see them again?”

“But I don’t want to lose you,” Yuki said, covering her face. “There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t. Don’t feel bad. I was never really alive. This is just a memory of who I was. Just an image. I’m not real.”

“You’re real to me,” Yuki whispered. “I can’t do this. I can’t.”

“You must,” Sophie said. “I won’t let you do anything otherwise. Do it for them. Don’t hold out for something that was never real. Hurry. We don’t have much time.”

“I can’t,” Yuki choked out. 

Arms wrapped around her as Sophie embraced her. Then she whispered into Yuki’s ears.

“Do you want to see them?” 

“I do, but—”

“That’s all I need,” she said. 

She dissolved into thin air and merged with Yuki’s body, a sensation like water washing over her skin enveloping Yuki. Then her body began to move by its own will. It was an odd experience, being a third person in her own skin. She could feel every sensation, but couldn’t control even her own eyes. 

‘Watch carefully,’ Sophie’s voice whispered in her head. ‘Watch and learn how to do this, so that later, you can save yourself from anything.’

Time unfroze around Yuki and the roars of the crowd crashed down onto her ears. Ghost resumed his hand gestures, putting a hand to his chest and telling Yuki to come and attack once again. But now, Yuki didn’t reply. She couldn’t reply. 

Her hands went out and her mouth opened as she recited the spell that she had said so many times before that it had etched itself into her memory. A circle appeared beneath her, large enough to surround Ghost as well. 

Then came something that Yuki had never been able to do before. Her mind, guided by Sophie, began to imagine herself as a goddess, ruling over everything within that circle. She spoke to the spirits of the wind, telling them her orders. The wind responded, Yuki seeing them for what they were for the first time. The wind was a collective of spirits all belonging to a being. They obeyed that being and that being lent them to Yuki now.

And just like that, the air came under her control, every last piece of it was hers to command. 

‘I hope that was enough,’ Sophie said. ‘It’s time for me to say goodbye. I’ll see you. In another life.’

‘No,’ Yuki begged. ‘No, don’t go. Don’t leave me.’

But no matter how much she begged, she couldn’t stop Sophie as she began to dissipate. When she left Yuki’s body, it was as if something else had been taken away as well. She felt cold. So cold.

‘This is because of me,’ she thought. ‘I couldn’t master this. So she had to die to save me. This is all because of me.’

Why. Why couldn’t she learn faster. Why did she have to be so stupid. 

‘Why did I have to learn?’

She remembered why. It was because of that man standing in front of her. No. Not just him. Everyone here. And one person in particular. One person that stood watching on in enjoyment. He didn’t care that Sophie had just died. Or Jesse. 

“I hate him,” Yuki growled. “Hate him. Hate. I’m going to fucking kill him. I don’t care anymore. I will destroy all of this.”

Something shattered within her, a subconscious pact she had created. A pact with herself that held back herself from getting carried away by her emotions. Waves of flame washed over her, filling the void that Sophie had left. Flames that grew and grew from the fuel that Yuki gave it until it became a blazing inferno. 

“Death,” she chanted. “I will have it.”

She unleashed a roar that shook the ground as a ghostly aura surrounded her body. Her teeth grew into fangs and scales began covering her skin. She grasped the halberd with hands whose fingers had become talons.

Then she looked up and found Ghost who was touching his throat, mouth open in shock. When their eyes met, he stepped back but smiled softly.

“Finally,” he said, his voice gentle like the wind. “Someone that can kill me. Do it. Please. I don’t like being a tool.”

Yuki only growled in response. 

“I’m whole again. For the first time in decades,” Ghost said. “He was right. I would be able to find someone that could end me. Do it.”

It mattered not what Ghost said. She was going to end him anyway. She didn’t need his permission. 

In a blink of an eye, she closed the gap between her and Ghost and thrusted the halberd into his chest. He let out a gasp, but didn’t struggle as he looked down at the weapon with a satisfied smile. 

“You, I will end swiftly,” Yuki rumbled. “Though you deserve more pain, it wouldn’t be worth my time. I have a new target.”

Ghost said nothing as he fell to the ground, that smile frozen on his face as his body slowly dissolved into the wind. Yuki grabbed the weapon that stuck out from his chest and slammed it down into the ground, the halberd sinking into the dirt up until the middle of its handle. 

She looked up and glared at the spectator’s box where her target was. She could see him so clearly. Every nail on his fingers, the hair on his head, the threads of his suit, everything. She memorized it all so that he couldn’t possibly ever hide from her.

‘Just you wait,’ she thought, a grin spreading across her face that was anything but happy. 

She had never felt so hot yet so cold before in her life. It felt nice. It felt right. 

‘Just you wait.’