Chapter 105: 104 - Tournament(Part 15)

Alright, here we go, round two...I need to try and win this fight without letting it go to a third round...I've got a bit over sixty percent of my XFE left, so I can't afford to let this match drag on for too long. 

However, the same goes for her...her XFE capacity is likely to be similar to mine, so if I can force her to use her copied manifestations more than she'd prefer to, that'd make a huge difference. 

That said, I'd rather not let this become a contest of endurance as far as XFE is concerned, I'd definitely prefer to win this fight right here in the second round of the match. 

Too bad I'm down to one X-Blade, but whatever, I'll make do with it. My Square Blaster is still on cooldown, which is about five minutes, so I probably won't be able to use it this round.

I then drew out my remaining X-Blade handle as the countdown began, while Sakura watched me like a hawk...huh, I think she's especially staring at my mouth. Oh, I get it, she's looking for any movements in my lips to predict when I'll activate my Anomaly powers. 

But it's no use, that's a pointless exercise...because I can now chant inaudibly with barely any movement in my lips or throat. It's not perfect yet, but it's more than good enough to be undetectable from a distance. She's just wasting her time. 

I activated my X-Blade and prepared to attack as the countdown reached three...two...one! I shot forward at top speed the instant it ended, as Sakura activated her arms manifestation and broke up a couple of chunks of the floor and flung them at me with rapid spins, which I evaded and countered with a couple of shots fired from my X-Blasters, which she blocked with one of her energy arms. 

Tch, the XFE of that manifestation is too thick for my bullets to penetrate, and her reaction time is pretty good, she's using those arms and blocking my energy bullets fairly well. She then tore up another chunk of the arena and flung it with immense force and spin, sending it rapidly whirling towards me like a frisbee...a deadly, killer frisbee. 

But I didn't change my course or slow down, instead focusing on it and activating Cut just in time, the chunk of concrete vanishing right before it could crush me. I then focused a few meters above Sakura and activated Paste, adjusting it so that the momentum that had carried the chunk of concrete forward towards me was now pointing downwards, straight at her. 

Right as it reappeared, she realized what was happening with a look of alarm in her eyes and reacted just in time, as she crossed her arms above herself and manifested energy shields above the already-manifested arms, and a square energy wall above those. 

The large chunk struck and broke through the top of her defenses, shattering the wall and shields and heavily cracking the arms, before she gritted her teeth and let out a determined yell as she swung her arms out with all her strength, managing to knock it away, before her eyes widened in alarm...because I was right above her. 

The moment I made the chunk of floor reappear above her, I teleported myself above it, so that if she dodged or deflected it, I'd have a clear opening to strike. 

As I dropped down towards her, I swung my blade down at her, which she quickly responded hastily by springing back and trying to get out of the way, but she couldn't fully evade it, as the tip of my energy blade hit her shoulder and cut through, leaving a shallow yet long slash straight down from her right shoulder, as she let out a sharp cry of pain. 

I took a quick step back as she swung her foot up at me, evading her kick-...or not, because suddenly, I was being sent flying back with a heavy impact on my midsection, crashing onto the ground and skidding away painfully...ow. How did she-...?

Oh, now I see...she must have loosened her shoe when she swung her foot up at me, so that when she formed her stilt manifestation from the bottom of her foot, it wouldn't strike me directly and would instead hit me with her shoe in between, meaning that it wouldn't dissipate since it wasn't making direct contact with me. 

Damn...I have to admit, that was well played. And also, really hurt, I feel like I need to hurl right now, that was some impact. I got back on my face with a grimace, pondering my next move...when she suddenly formed the wind cannons manifestation and fired out a couple of wind blasts at the ground near me. 

I evaded by using Cut and Paste to teleport myself out of the way, before zipping towards her at top speed, firing out a couple of shots from my X-Blasters as I did, which she blocked with the wind cannons. 

She then dissipated the manifestation and replaced it with...one arm manifestation on her right arm and a wind cannon manifestation on her left arm. What's she planning? Doesn't matter, it won't change the final outcome...I refuse to lose. 

I teleported myself again, reappearing behind her. As I drove my X-Blade towards her back, she quickly spun around and just about managed to get her energy arm in the way and block my thrust, before firing a wind blast straight down at the ground, kicking up a dust cloud and blinding me. 

Crap, not good, I've lost sight of her! I shot across to the left to get out of smokescreen, and the instant I emerged from the cloud, she was waiting for me, hovering right above the plume of dust with wings manifested on her back. 

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In her arm manifestation was a bunch of small chunks of debris...and her other arm, the wind cannon, was pointed at the palmful of debris...which was pointed at me. Uh-oh. 

"<Activate Anomaly, Tier Three:...->!" I began, but I was too slow...right before I began the activation chant, she'd already fired the wind blast, propelling the debris in her other hand straight at me like a barrage of rapid bullets, which reached me before I could react, and the next thing I knew, I was outside the Duel Field...damn it, it's going to go down to the third round, after all. 

Still...towards the end, she maintained her manifestations for longer than she usually does, normally she always dissipates them after a couple of seconds, probably to avoid burning through XFE too quickly. And the look on her face confirms it, she was looking a bit worn out...she's running low on XFE. 

Meanwhile, I hadn't used that much of my own XFE in that round, just a bit over fifteen percent, so I've still got a good forty percent or so left. Still...I definitely can't afford to take her lightly in the deciding round of this match, regardless of what her current XFE levels are at, I fully expect her to put up one hell of a fight in round three... 

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Point-of-View: Yugi Suzuki

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Hm, I think that should be enough healing for now. I exited the Healing Pod with a sigh, glancing at the screen in the infirmary, which was showing the ongoing match. 

Tch, I went the whole tournament without needing to be healed even once, to think that a student would be able to deal so much damage to me...I'd understand if it were another Anomaly, but not a damned Prodigy. My right arm feels more or less back to normal now, I could barely even lift it after her lightning struck it, that little bitch. 

But that wasn't the main reason why I needed healing...the stronger my illusions are, the greater the toll it takes on me. And that last illusion I used took a lot out of me...I never thought I'd actually have to resort to it in this tournament. 

It's not something I can use more than once a day...well, technically speaking, I can, but it's just ridiculously painful to do so. I'd have preferred to have at least saved it for the final-...oh, wait, never mind. 

Even if I hadn't used it in the semi-final, it wouldn't have been an option in the final...because no matter what happens in the second semi-final, it won't change the fact that my opponent will also be an Anomaly, so my powers are going to be useless in the next match. 

If I had to pick, I'd rather face the girl...her hand to hand combat is fairly average, while the guy with the glasses is, admittedly, quite skilled in that regard. On top of that, his accuracy with those X-Blasters is ridiculously good...I'd say I'm better at wielding X-Blades than he is, but other than that, I can't deny that his physical skills are better than or at least on par with my own. 

If that wasn't enough, I have no idea what his Anomaly powers are exactly, but that teleporting ability looks like it's going to be a huge pain...since it's not an ability that targets the user's opponent, it's an option that can be used against other Anomalies, which is what's happening in this semi-final match. 

Oh, well, it doesn't matter...at the end of the day, I'll be the one to win, I plan to make sure of that. Now, then...looks like they've each won one round of the semi-final, and it's down to the third round for the tiebreaker...let's see who my next opponent is, shall we? 

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