Light vs. Lightning

Lily made sure Nina was okay before getting up and making her way to the battlefield. I got up and gently grabbed her hand, causing her to look at me. I pulled her back to the sidelines so I could talk to her.

"Before you go out there...you should know this." I said.

"What is it?" Lily asked, slightly squeezing my hand.

"Your Cross. I've noticed that in it's base form it is just a normal cross weapon right?" I asked.

"Mhm!" Lily nodded.

"What if you try to make it into a shield? Or maybe trying to deploy your weapon as a trap? Your weapon needs to make contact for the Mark of Light to activate right?" I asked.

Lily seemed a bit surprised at my suggestion then smiled at me. "My weapon does need to make contact, but how would I go about this?"

"Here's what I'm thinking of..." I said.

Opal watched Lily talk to me and patiently waited. 'Devising a plan...What could he be thinking of..?'

Lily looked at me then tilted her head. "You really think it'll work?"

"It's a gamble since this is something you've never tried before, but if it is executed correctly it should work out perfectly and secure the win." I said.

Lily nodded and smiled. "I trust in your judgement~"

I nodded then let her hand go. "Do your best..~ Win or lose, all that matters to me is that you tried your hardest..~"

Lily giggled softly then nodded once again. "I won't let you down~"

Opal watched as Lily hurried forward with a sense of confidence. "Are you ready now?"

"I am." Lily said then summoned her Cross.

Ms. Ray looked at the two women then nodded her head. "You may begin!"

Lily stared at Opal, seeing if she would make the first move. Opal didn't move as she was watching Lily. Lily inched forward then dashed toward her, transforming her Cross into her Heaven's Sword then slashed at Opal, but Opal quickly unsheathed her sword then parried Lily. Lily grunted then regained her balance then clashed with Opal, entering a blade lock.

Opal managed to push Lily back then used a burst of Lightning Speed to appear behind Lily and exhaled. Multiple delayed slashes hit Lily, making her stumble. Lily held on strong from the barrage of attacks then turned around to look at Opal.

Opal stood up straight then turned around to see Lily still standing. "Still standing huh? Well let's see you stand after this one!"

Opal took a step forward then teleported toward Lily using her lightning then slashed down, landing the slash and knocking Lily away. Lily recovered in the air then noticed Opal above her then groaned as Opal sent her crashing to the ground with a powerful Lightning Infused axe kick. Lily recovered once again then performed a backhand spring to land on her feet.

Lily looked around and noticed Opal teleporting around her then remembered what I said then changed her Cross into a Shield then deployed her shield to block Opal's attack. Opal noticed a marking appear on the shield then stopped her attack and teleported away.

"She's using her famous Bolt Dash to outspeed Lily...if she keeps this up Lily eventually won't even be able to track her." Freya said and smiled at Opal.

Vail watched Lily then crossed his arms. "Something's off. She's still pretty confident, she's got another trick up her sleeve."

"What do you mean..?" Freya asked.

"Just watch, you'll see it." Vail said.

Opal appeared behind Lily, going for a back strike, but Lily managed to dodge the attack then kicked Opal back. She changed her Cross into its original form then deployed the cross. Lily took out my Zodiac Crystal then equipped it onto the cross.

"What?! Isn't that August's Crystal?!" Freya asked. "Is that allowed?!"

"It is allowed as long as they received the item before stepping onto the battlefield. I knew August and Lily were plotting something when I saw him stop her." Vail said.

"Burst Skill: Seraphim Blades!" Lily bellowed and activated her Cross.

Blades of Holy Flames appeared around the cross then were launched into the sky. Opal noticed the burning holy blades raining down then began to use her Bolt Dash to evade the blades then grunted as Lily dashed forward. She swiftly dodged her strike then went for a counter, but Lily deflected her attack then struck her stomach with a clean body blow.

Opal groaned softly and stumbled backwards then looked up. Lily landed a clean right hook then knocked her upwards with an uppercut and used her light to glide backwards. She clasped her hands together then interlocked her fingers.

"Burst Skill: Angelic Fury." Lily said then opened her eyes and pointed toward Opal.

Opal groaned loudly as multiple beams of light crashed down upon her then an explosion happened. Lily lowered her arms then watched as the smoke cleared. She grunted as she noticed a yellow light shining brightly.

"This...is only the beginning. Lightning Topaz, lend me your power!" Opal said then her Yellow Topaz.

Opal bellowed then six orbs of lightning appeared behind her and her eyes shined gold. She transformed into her ascended form and her aura surged powerfully around her body.

Nagini watched and crossed her arms. "A Zodiac Boosted Burst Skill and her full power Burst Skill wasn't enough to take her down. Her endurance isn't even on the level of Vail...yet she endured both powerful skills."

"That's Opal for you. The Lightning Flash is one of her titles, but she goes by Storm Goddess because of her unrivalled usage of the Lightning Element and her being vastly faster than April due to her Bolt Dash." VI said.

"The Storm Goddess? HA! I've seen better Lightning usage from Li—An old acquaintance, but I am impressed. For her level she's pretty good, but based on my current Data... Lily hasn't even reached her limit. Just like Nina, low energy usage with maximum damage output." Nagini said.

"As I am now, you don't have much of a chance against me anymore. You've had a good run, but now it's over!" Opal said then got into her stance.

Lily looked up at the sky then noticed the sun shining brightly. She looked back at her Cross and noticed my Zodiac Crystal shining. 'His Lion's Peridot is resonating with me well, but how can I actually use it beyond obtaining the Fire Element..?'

"You do know she can't awaken your Zodiac Crystal right?" Leona asked.

'If I can use my guardian's Zodiac Crystal, she can use mine.' I said to Leona.

"I can see where you're coming from, but it doesn't work like that. Sephora left that Crystal to you meaning you're currently the rightful owner of the Rainbow Fluorite. The Lion's Peridot belongs to you and is only registered to you. I'm yours, not hers so I can't do much." Leona said.

I smiled and looked at Lily. 'Even so...I know Lily can do this otherwise I wouldn't even have trusted her with something so precious like my own Zodiac Crystal. Like you told me, there's more to a fight than who's stronger.'

Leona looked at me then smirked. "Using my own line against me huh..?~ Alright, hot stuff, let's see if your plan succeeds~"

Lily looked at her Cross then changed it into her sword and grabbed the handle. She took the Zodiac Crystal out of the hilt of the sword then looked at it. "I know I can't do much with this... Leona isn't even my champion, but August believes in me so much that he let me use this. I won't let him down!"

Lily held the Zodiac Crystal to the sky then it shined brightly, resonating with the sun becoming Solar Charged. She equipped the Zodiac Crystal onto her sword then her sword became encased in flames. Opal felt Lily's power level rising and braced herself.

Lily bellowed then dashed toward Opal. Opal dashed toward Lily and slashed, but Lily evaded her attack then watched Opal closely. Lily parried Opal's next attack then notice she teleported backwards.

'Right there!' Lily said then her eyes shined.

Lily raised her sword to the sky then my Zodiac Crystal shined brightly. Lily fired a beam of holy fire at the sky then it dispersed into multiple beams and crashed down toward Opal. Opal watched the beams then began to dodge each of them using her Bolt Dash. As Opal dodged the beams, Lily launched her sword directly at her then warped toward her sword and grabbed the handle, slashing in a circle. Lily landed the slash, knocking Opal back then the Mark of Light appeared on Opal's stomach.

"No! She's marked!" Freya shouted.

"Now is the time to see if Opal has what it takes to counter Lily's Lightspeed Warp." Vail said.

Opal smirked and chuckled softly. "You've marked me...I'm impressed, but that's not gonna be enough!"

I noticed my Zodiac Crystal appear back in my hand then smiled. "Time for Phase Two..."

"Go Lily! Show them what you're made of!" April cheered.

Lily made her Cross disappear then summoned her Gauntlets. She slammed her fists together then her light aura surrounded her body. "I won't lose to you, Opal!"

Opal teleported in front of Lily then slashed, but Lily warped beind Opal then kicked her away then warped in front of Opal. She went for anothet attack, but Opal teleported above Lily and slashed down. Lily dodged the attack then bellowed, using her aura to deal damage to Opal, knocking her in the air.

"Angelic Arts, First Stage: Sacred Hand!" Lily bellowed then palmed Opal's stomach, launching her away with a pulse of light.

Opal grunted as she recovered and landed on her feet. "Burst Skill: Lightning Eruption!"

Opal bellowed and raised her sword to the sky then lightning began to erupt from the ground, striking Lily. Lily groaned as she was electrocuted by a powerful bolt of lightning then fell onto one knee. She softly panted and grunted as she was now paralyzed. Opal fused her six orbs together and went for the finishing blow.

"Burst Skill: Atomic Surge!" Opal bellowed and launched the large orb of lightning toward Lily.

"Lily, get up!" April yelled out.

Lily tried to get up, but lightning crackled around her body, preventing her from doing so.

"Lily! If you win this, I'll take all of you on a shopping spree!" I called out.

Lily grunted then stood up quickly and blocked Opal's Atomic Surge. She grunted louder as she was being pushed away by the attack then began to push back. Lily yelled as she pushed the large orb of lightning back then flung it into the air, panting heavily. The orb of lightning exploded in the air and everyone looked at Lily surprised.

Opal seemed surprised at Lily had deflected her attack. 'No one's ever deflected my attack like that before...All it took was for August to hold a date of shopping over her head for her to muster up the strength needed to deflect it.'

Lily grunted and panted softly then she closed her eyes and began to charge up an attack. 'I am super low on stamina, but I have enough for this attack..'

'Seems like she's getting ready to end this battle. I should do the same.' Opal thought to herself.

"Angelic Arts, Third Stage!" Lily bellowed then her light energy surrounded her hand.

Opal bellowed then fused her six orbs of lightning again, going for another Atomic Surge. "You won't block this attack up close!"

Lily watched Opal dash toward her then her eyes shined brightly. "Godhand Drive!"

Opal and Lily bellowed as they went for an attack at the same time and collided. A bright light shined then a massive explosion happened due to the collision. Everyone watched in awe as both women were blown away, crashing into a wall on either side of the stadium.

Opal reverted to her normal form then her aura disappeared. Lily groaned softly as her aura disappeared. Both women slowly got up and made their way to the middle then had a slight staredown before Opal passed out on the ground. Lily raised her fist in the air, claiming victory before passing out due to exhaustion as well.

"Match over! Lily is the winner and the winning team is Team August!" Ms. Ray said and smiled at my team.

The crowd cheered loudly and chanted 'Team Pride' loudly, celebrating our victory. Even Ms. Ray was pleased that we won after a completely tough battle.

I made my way toward Lily and Opal then gave them both Recovery Capsules, waking them up and healing them. They both looked at me then noticed my smile.

"You both did amazing..~ Opal, what do you say that your squad teams joins forces with us? Together we can do much more since you're already a veteran group in Exzodiac." I suggested and smiled at her.

Opal looked at me then smiled a bit. "I'll have to ask Vail since he's the leader, but knowing him he'll be more than happy to join your side..~"

I smiled then looked at Lily and chuckled softly. Lily giggled a bit and smiled at me happily. I helped them up and heard Archer laughing. Everyone looked over at him and it suddenly got quiet.

Archer looked down at me then his eyes shined. "Good job making it past a bunch of above average mid tiers, loser! After days of fighting...you finally have the chance to challenge the Champion Team!"

I looked up at Archer then my eyes shined. "Archer...The time has finally come and this time things will be different! I'll destroy you, but you'll have to wait."

Archer rose an eyebrow then crossed his arms. "Oh? You're making me wait?"

"Your team practically rules the academy and what they did to me four years ago...I'll make every one of them pay with my bare hands. You, Ken, Noelle, and Robin...be prepared. You especially, Archer." I said.

Archer chuckled as he looked at me. "You better be prepared as well. For our battle, we should be sure to be at our best! Ms. Ray, allow this pathetic only child and I to prepare for our battle. I will tell my dad to push back the tournament a month before graduation. This way, neither side can complain that we didn't have enough time to prepare."

Ms. Ray looked at Archer then looked at me to see if I wanted to go through with it.

I shrugged and crossed my arms. "It doesn't matter to me. When do you want to get this over with?"

"The first of next month. We will meet where we hold our Turf Wars. An open area with no one to distract us. It will be broadcasted so not only will the academy see you lose, but the entirety of Exzodiac will see how much of a fraud you truly are." Archer said.

I looked at Archer then smirked. "Fine by me. Gives me enough time to spend time with my group and Dr. Noxius. The first of March will be the day the entire world sees what I've become. It will be the day, I take down the son of a bastard who barely knows how to run this academy."

Lily gasped and grabbed my arm. "August..! If Headmaster Vinson hears you calling him such a name you're done for!"

I looked at Lily then smiled at her. "I understand he's your uncle, but your family barely knows how to install justice...so who better to tear down this academy than us."

"I agree!" Nagini said then smirked. She crossed her arms and stood up. "If that bastard has a problem, he can take it up with me! It's time that a new Headmaster stepped up because this current one isn't cutting it anymore!"

Ms. Ray looked at Nagini then closed her eyes. "I agree. It hurts me when my own students tell me that they are being bullied and no matter how many times I stop it, more students come up. This academy has a problem...and it needs to be fixed."

Archer scoffed and looked at me. "Keep your eyes peeled, August. Once I beat you again, I'll have you and you're entire squad exiled from MY academy."

I smirked and looked at Archer. "We'll see..."