"War Race, Second Part" (030)

"ENROKONAI CITY," a vast civilization teeming with Duelists vying for the top spot.

The 'Dueling Systems' itself are the most popular pastime in such a setting.

The Dueling Academy is recognized for producing the best Duelists, with newcomers rising through the ranks to become pros! People learn their essentials at this "School," which is filled by thousands of Duelists, but the most current activities are their training sessions, which are scheduled three times a week.

The Academy is made up of people of many races, with the bulk of them being Humans and a small number of them being Half-Demons. Dueling is a part of their traditional training sessions, often known as the 'War Race' or 'Five Versus Five.'

Despite the fact that the world appears to be in a state of chaos, the Dueling is mostly for entertainment, and no one is murdered. (Thanks to the 'Zero Watches' for casting Spiritual Shields.)

And the majority of Duelists are tasked with eliminating the top three Duelists!

- Number 3 on the leaderboard: whose title is "King" and whose true name is Tsuji Rokuro.

Then there's;

- Number 2 on the leaderboard: whose title is "Devil" and whose real name is Sakata Hisako!

And their top tier duelist, the legend himself and Number 1;

"Silver," whose real name is Takei Shigeo, managed to reach the highest ranking between both "King" and "Devil" for a massive amount of Battle Score.

Their championships are a sign of good luck, as none of them have ever lost to lower-tier ranks.

The three champions are known as the "Dueling Masters," and they battle with one another in order to maintain or lose their reign as champions.

- Enrokonai City (Dueling Academy), Tuesday, 9:30 am -

The War Race continued, and Codey appeared to have arrived at the base, but Yumi was waiting for him with a crimson and silver shuriken.

"So there was the situation... At the base, one of you waited..." While his knives squirmed on his belt, Codey groaned. "I'm sure you didn't think we'd leave the base vulnerable for one of you to destroy it?"

"Maybe I did... But no, I'm not so gullible to put my faith in an open field. But I'm confident you're ready for a Duel now." Yumi grinned as Codey held his boomerang by extending his arm forward.

"Let's take a look at what you're made of..." Yumi threw her enormous star at the start of their Duel, which started practically immediately.

Despite the star's incredible speed, Codey swung his left arm forward, conjuring a crimson ring and flinging it forward, which phased straight through the star and into Yumi's arms.

While Yumi believed the assault was worthless, it fooled her, and Codey vanished in a flash, teleporting directly in front of Yumi and doing a front flip, catching Yumi off in surprise.

In the middle of the flip, he raised his leg and slammed his ankle into Yumi, who blocked with both arms crossed, but her Health Bar still dipped a little as she twisted her wrist and grasped Codey's hand.

She threw him over her shoulder and slammed him into the ground before leaping backward and landing on her star, smiling and sitting on her weapon.

"Y'know... I forgot you weren't too knowledgeable about me... Even if I use a projectile, I'm not that bad in close combat... But, since I wasn't expecting it either, let's call it even." Codey walked forward and straightened just as she finished speaking.

While bandaging his right eye, he wiped off his scratches.

"I've been practicing hard on close combat during my days of fighting... I used to think that keeping a safe distance from your opponent was a bad idea since they may approach near at any time."

Yumi verified that after remembering her Spiritual Blade and scratching her nose, she hopped off the hovering star and landed on the floor. "Good... But don't get carried away with your self-assurance; it might be your undoing." And with that, they each took a step forward, hurling their projectiles as they dashed after them.

As they got closer, they each seized their projectiles, collided with them, and then thrust both hands forward, crushing their fists together.

Yumi was catapulted high into the air, shocked, by a tremendous whirlwind that sprang out of nowhere.

"Woah!" She screamed, and Codey quickly crouched with his left leg elevated and grabbed the back of the floor as the wind grew stronger.

He thrust his arm forward, unleashing a yellow aura that was poised to strike Yumi's, Spiritual Shield. Yumi crossed both arms, and her star swiftly spun to the front, receiving the impact while generating a strong whirlwind that propelled her higher into the air.

She instantly extended forward, remembered the star, and spun-throw it with full power after catching it. The star then soared in front of Codey, who immediately stretched one of his arms behind him and swung it forward over his head.

He released a strong yellow aura that formed a translucent barrier and immobilized the star in an instant.

Yumi, however, took advantage of her newfound freedom by crossing both arms, emitting a pink aura, pointing both palms at the other, and charging a tremendous blast.

In the case of her opponent, he stretched his arm near his hip and began to gather crimson energy, which caused his eyes to turn red.

They both immediately launched their assaults, beaming and crashing into one other, producing another tremendous explosion that sent both of them flying in separate directions, slamming into the ground or a wall.

Their Spiritual Blades scattered into particles as a result of the huge explosion, and their Health Bar plummeted to barely 10%.

After being defeated, they rose up and awkwardly examined their Zero Watches. "More than 60% of our Health Bar was destroyed in the explosion... This isn't going to work if one of us scores a critical hit; we're doomed..." But even if that was the case, they both rose up and prepared to fight.

"Wow, this Link Health Bar depletes quickly... huh?" Yumi inquired, a grin on her face. "If it didn't, the War Race might last far longer than 25 minutes... It's just been 5 minutes so far..."

They exchanged looks before smiling.

They weren't permitted to recall their Blades until the end of the round since they were both unarmed. As a result, they had little choice but to rely on their martial arts.

Yumi punched first, allowing Codey to duck beneath it and then send an uppercut, which Yumi managed to block.

She bent her nearest leg and kicked Codey, forcing him to block with his left arm and then be knocked to the side shortly after losing a portion of her health bar.

Both of them punched forward with their fists, and instead of striking her own fist, Codey slid behind her back and kneeled Yumi in the back with full vigor, forcing her to receive a fairly staggering blow that knocked her forward.

Regrettably, her Health Bar stayed at a single percent, giving Codey false hope.

"You're down to your last strike..." With only one hand, Codey lifted his right arm and began to charge up a Demon Bomb.

Yumi forced herself to get up, furious, but as soon as her perspiration spilled onto the floor, her body vanished, and Codey's eyes widened as he realized he'd lost her.

And in a matter of seconds, her head swept over his right hip, and her fist appeared just in front of Codey's stomach as she lunged forward.

"Crap!" Yumi's fist crashed right into the center of Codey's stomach, violently destroyed the shield, and sending him flying backward, at great speed, through the whole middle route with a loud yell.

While Nina did her hardest to keep the base secure, she was horrified when she ducked and saw Codey's body racing over her and crashing into the base with full power, causing the wood to split and knocking Nina back.

Her glasses dropped to the floor, and she hurriedly retrieved them before turning back to sit and examine the base, which looked to have lost vitality.

With it, Codey's wounded corpse slid forward, landing squarely in front of Nina on the floor.

His health bar had dropped to zero, and his Spiritual Shield had been destroyed totally.

"W-What?!" Nina took a deep breath as she saw the damaged figure in front of her.

Codey's symbol broke on the holographic screen, and he was eliminated from the War Race, prompting Tim to take the microphone.

"Team Beta looks to have scored a critical strike on Team Alpha! The center row was completely wiped out, resulting in one of their soldiers falling... There are only four of them left!"

Tim moved back and dropped the microphone, and his Zero Watch rang. He looked at it, and perspiration quickly streamed down his face.

"Arthur, I'm sorry... It's really urgent... Is it possible for you to give me a 5-minute break? I have to go to the restroom."

"You do realize that will reduce your grade, right?"

"Please... just give me a chance this time. I'll be back in five minutes, I swear..."

Arthur sighed after pleading. "Okay, I see what you're saying. But don't squander too much of your time."

"Many thanks..." Tim ran through the door and along the corridor.

"That's not a good thing... We've lost one of our units... And now... we could lose the base if Nina doesn't protect it... Let's hope Nina has the necessary skills..." Shigeru's assault was almost evaded by Ayuka.

- Enrokonai City, Tuesday, 9:42 am -

A crowd had gathered around a Duelist who had defeated 10 Duelists from the Low-Tier to Middle-Tier tiers.

"Hahaha! Someone, please, set a challenge for me! You're all a bunch of knuckleheads!" The guy yelled, grinning and wielding a big hammer.

"What's his name, by the way? Was it Takuya? I don't believe anyone can beat him..." Gulped a lady. "Let's get this party started! Step on up, next weakling!" Takuya screamed as someone pulled forward a Duelist, yet he was trembling.

"So you're the next one to fall prey to my wrath! I'm looking forward to slamming you! In no time, I'll be in the top 50!" Takuya put both hands on his hammer and leaned it forward.

"Get ready for a spanking!"

"W-Wait! Stop! I'm not going to fight you! Please, I'm only the 500th person in line! I implore you, if you win, you won't receive much of a score!" The man was scared as he talked.

"Who cares, crushing you will still be enjoyable... and it's never an issue if I earn a bonus point! I'm going to defeat the Dueling Champion when I beat the top 50th!" The man had a muscular build and a threatening smile.

"Get me out of here!" The scared youngster shouted, but luck was on his side, as a boy in a black hoodie walked out from behind the scene, hiding his head and keeping his hands in his pockets.

Yujiro was the one who nudged the youngster to the side and took his place.

"W-What?" Looking at Yujiro, the scared guy inquired.

"Huh? Is that another ant or some nonsense? So, what are you going to do?" Takuya looked down at Yujiro, puzzled.

Yujiro stood in front of Takuya, staring into his chest, without saying anything.

"How's it going, shorty? Are you on the verge of being beaten up like a baby?" Yujiro, on the other hand, didn't appear to mind.

Takuya stretched forward with his Zero Watch, searching Yujiro's profile.

"Huh... What a cutie... You're not even on the leaderboard? That's ridiculous. I'm sure you won't mind if I win and take some of your Battle Score away, right?!" Takuya chuckled, but Yujiro linked his Zero Watch to Takuya's without hesitation, and the holographic screen emerged.

"You're not wasting your time, silent cow!" Takuya laughed as he raised his hammer far above his head and charged enormous energy into his blade.

"The countdown to the Duel began, and Takuya screamed loudly. "Kid, it's time to begin slapping! If necessary, die!" Takuya threw the hammer down with a full-throated yell, casting a shadow across Yujiro's torso.

However, until a few moments later, there was no movement.

Yujiro stiffened his feet and jumped between the hammer that hit the ground, obliterating the entire ground with a single strike.

And, seeing that Yujiro had been high in the air, it nearly destroyed the entire area of people, and Takuya quickly turned to confront the flying opponent, whose hair waved under the hood.

Yujiro let out a sigh as blue flames appeared around the tip of his foot, increasing the heat, and then elevated his right leg high over his head, frightening Takuya.

"What in the world is he up to?" As a result, the solution to that question came quickly.

Takuya prepared his hammer, which turned out to be worthless, as Yujiro plummeted at amazing speed, and Yujiro gave him a single phrase at that precise moment.

"... Pathetic..." Yujiro crushed his elevated leg, leaning his torso forward, and the floor instantly broke into eight directions, spewing blue flames that forced everyone to flee.

The slam of his sole shattered oblivion, making people feel as if they were in hell, and the erupting flames, reaching extremely high in the air, shaped into a huge explosion, forcing the ground to split into tiny pieces that forcibly bounced them into the air, with Takuya caught ignited, screaming with his body burning.

And in a split second, the raging flames drove Takuya through the air, smashing him against the wall, shattering it, and not just one structure, but the buildings surrounding the event burst through the rubble, creating a tremendous shockwave beneath Yujiro's sole.

The flames continue to rise from a large crater that has been molded into a hole.

And, as a result of the devastation, Yujiro stood in the center, with his full outfit waving, when the final whirlwind blew over the area, causing havoc with electronics.

People who were close to the huge nothingness eventually remained still, their bodies trembling.

"... In a single blow..."

"... he created...

"... a real Hell?!"

When Yujiro silently breathed for the last time, the crowd erupted in applause.

Yujiro began to hear screams all around him but remained uninterested.

The fresh, mysterious, and overpowering Duelist has arrived in Enrokonai... Yujiro, the probable future Dueling Champion who emerged out of nowhere, remains unknown; with his 'Blue Flame' Kineticism, he is probably the biggest opponent our Heroes could face...

Who knows, he could even be able to defeat Alpha, our Hero... or even the Goddess herself...

To be continued...