Chapter 103: 102 - Tournament(Part 13)

Point-of-View: Katie Cummins 

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What...what just happened? I know for sure that I attacked after the countdown hit zero...but the announcer just said that I attacked early by three seconds...that can't be right.

Or rather, I didn't want to accept it...I didn't want to accept the fact that I'd lost due to such a trivial detail. Damn it...when did he even inflict me with his illusion? Right from the start? 

When I glanced at the countdown after I finished charging up my lightning blast, I had expected it to be at five seconds, but it had instead been at two seconds, looks like I hadn't been mistaken after all...which means that he definitely activated his illusion before that. 

I took a deep breath to compose myself, as he returned into the Duel Field, his carefree, confident expression now changed to one of cocky, condescending arrogance. 

I really want to wipe that look off of his face...but getting riled up won't do me any good. I need to stay calm and consider my options...I've got less than sixty percent of my XFE left. 

And anything less than forty percent wouldn't be enough to guarantee a win...so even if I win this round, I won't stand a chance in the next round, with less than twenty percent of my total XFE remaining. 

But I don't have any time to think this through, I have to act...and the only option up my sleeve is a repeat of what I tried in round one. I just need to make sure that I don't get fooled by an illusion again. I won't look at the countdown timer, the moment it begins, I'll count it down mentally. 

As my opponent and I took our places in the arena for round two, the announcer declared the start of the countdown, which then began ticking down. I need to make sure I time this perfectly... 

Ten...nine... 

"<Manifestation Overdrive: Dragon>." 

...eight... 

"<Secondary Manifestation: Dragon Lightning>." 

...seven...six...five...four...three... 

Okay, fully charged, two seconds to go...I locked my sights onto my opponent, who didn't like quite as casual as he had been in the previous round...looks like he plans to move out of the way this time. 

...two...one...zero!

The instant the countdown ended, he shot across to his left at top speed, right as I began to fire...in that split second, I almost shifted my aim to my right, when a realization hit me...this has to be an illusion. Standing still would be too risky, which means that he's most likely moving to his right...so I'll shift my aim to the left instead. 

I then fired out the charged out lightning in a powerful, fierce blast, as I shifted my aim to my left, the lightning bursting out of the jaws of my manifestation. And suddenly, what I had assumed was the illusion of my opponent that had run in the opposite direction to the direction in which I fired out my lightning...vanished. 

Yes, I was right! 

And as confirmation, the announcer declared me as the winner of round two a few seconds later, as I spotted my opponent outside the Duel Field, an annoyed look on his face, which gave me immense satisfaction. 

I felt really good right now...I had to make a split second decision right then, and it looks like I made the right decision. But that triumphant feeling was short-lived...because it was now down to the third and final round of the first semi-final, and I didn't have a game plan for myself. 

I've got just a little over fifteen percent of my XFE remaining, not nearly enough to fire a blast that's big enough to be highly unlikely to be dodged. What do I do!? I have no idea what kind of illusions he uses or how many different variations he has in his arsenal...and I won't be able to block or counter, or even see his Anomaly attacks coming. 

Well, there's no point worrying about it, I suppose, I highly doubt that I can come up with a solution in the few seconds before the final round of this match begins. All I can do is try as hard as I can, and if that's not enough, then so be it. 

As my opponent re-entered the Duel Field, I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, keeping my eyes shut as the announcer declared the start of the countdown. 

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From what I've seen of my opponent in his previous matches during this tournament, his illusions seem to only affect his target's vision...so I'll keep my eyes shut till the countdown is over. It's probably a pointless act, but I may as well try something, right? 

"<Primary Manifestation: Tail of the Dragon Head>," I chanted, forming my manifestation as the countdown went below five. 

Is this really as far as I go? I know that I've got a lot of weaknesses and that even making it this far in the tournament is a huge accomplishment...even so, facing the prospect of defeat is...really frustrating. Fine, if I'm going down, I'm not going down without a fight.

As the countdown ended, I opened my eyes and began to dash forward...before halting in confusion as I took in the baffling sight in front of me. My opponent looked like he was all over the place, it looked like a buggy, glitchy video or special effect gone wrong...just really, really bizarre. 

This is...definitely an illusion. No doubt about that, obviously. It looks like this illusion makes the target see the caster glitching all over the place while having no idea where the caster actually is. I quickly began whipping my manifestation all around me, to keep him from getting too close. 

But I can't keep this up forever...I'm low on XFE as it is, and as much as I hate to admit it...all I'm doing right now is delaying the inevitable, simple as that. I felt a rising sense of frustration as my XFE levels went below ten percent, only a matter of time before he gets me now. 

As my frustration bubbled over, I stomped my heel against the ground, accidentally leaking out a small amount of my XFE in a sharp burst as a result, as I lost control of my XFE flow for just an instant...an instant that changed everything. 

Because the next thing I knew, my opponent had stopped glitching all over the place...instead, he was standing still, just outside the range of my manifestation that I was whipping around like a madwoman, with an amused, condescending smirk on his face. 

I...I did it...I broke out of his illusion. I don't know how exactly, but...unfortunately, with the amount of XFE I've got left, I won't be able to attack for long, and that aside, it's all over if he activates another illusion...I need to finish this in one shot, before he realizes that I'm no longer ensnared in his illusion. 

"Take this...," I growled, locking my gaze onto him, a look of alarm appearing in his eyes as he realized what just happened, "<Secondary Manifestation: Dragon Lightning>!" 

He quickly pulled out an X-Blade and sprang away as I fired my lightning at him, putting all my remaining XFE into it...it wasn't the most powerful blast I could muster, but it should be strong enough to-...right as the blast closed in on him, he quickly blocked it with his X-Blade as he jumped off to his left, before letting out an agonizing scream of pain as my lightning struck his right arm and zapped him hard. 

I...I can't fight anymore. I'm...out of...XFE...so I...I feel completely...exhausted. I can barely even...move anymore...let alone...maintain my manifestation. I hate to admit it, but there's no point being stubborn about it...this is as far as I go in this tournament, my last attack failed to teleport my opponent out...and I've got absolutely nothing left in the tank. 

I raised my hand as I collapsed onto one knee and my vision blurred a bit...time to end this... 

"I give-," I began to surrender. 

"Damn it...you little...you little bitch!" Exclaimed my opponent furiously, his eyes bulging with rage as he clutched onto his right arm with a look of agony in his eyes, "I...I'm gonna destroy you, take this, <Activate Anomaly: Nightmare Hellscape>!" 

The next thing I knew...I was in hell. That was the only word that came to mind in describing my surroundings...dead, rotting bodies everywhere, huge insects, monsters, what looked like devils...they were all over the place, as far as the eye could see. And they were drawing closer and closer towards me with every passing second.

It felt like my feet were on fire...I let out a sharp gasp as I turned my gaze downwards, my feet sinking into a puddle of lava, as the monsters all began to surround me-... 

No, I need to snap out of it! Th-this is just an illusion...y-yeah, it's...i-it's just an i-illusion...j-just an-...it's...it's just-...

...s-someone, please...help me! 

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