121st Adversary: The Gamer Vs The Beast

The Senior Division Combat field. There was a huge crowd gathered around the field and on the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. Everyone was looking at two persons standing in the middle of the field. These two were the nervous Ace and the smiling Kaido.

Let's rewind a bit to explain the reason for this situation.

It started when Kaido approached Miko's group as they were leaving the cafeteria. He pointed at Ace and said-

"I want to have a match with you."

Ace naturally became confused. He started to look around as if to see who Kaido was talking to. After seeing that no one was behind him he pointed at himself.

"Me?"

Kaido nodded.

"Yes, I want to have a match with you, Ace."

"Hahaha!"

Ace started laughing and walked up to Kaido and patted his shoulder.

"I think there's some kind of mistake, Kaido."

He pointed at Miko.

"He's the dragon, not me. I'm a mere human."

Kaido shook his head.

"I'm not mistaken."

He looked at Miko.

"While it's true that I would like to fight Miko as a fellow beast, my current target is you."

"Hahaha. I never knew you were a comedian. Why would you want to fight me?"

"You're Miko's #1 Apostle, right? I thought that I would understand what kind of person he was by looking at the people around him."

Kaido smiled.

"If you're his #1 then you're the one who can represent him the best."

(Shit!)

Ace shouted in his head. He quickly realized that he had dug his own grave with all his bragging about being Miko's #1. Now he had a beast in human skin knocking at his door.

"This is interesting."

"?!"

Ace's body flinched when he heard Miko's voice from behind him. He quickly turned around because he had a bad feeling.

"Heh."

As he expected, there was a huge smile on Miko's face.

"Alright, he'll do it."

And thus we've arrived at our current situation.

"Kaido wanted to use Ace to gauge your strength, so you've decided to do the same."

Luka looked at Miko who was smiling from ear to ear.

"And you're being entertained by Ace's discomfort. You're a real sadist aren't you?"

"I never said I wasn't."

"But don't you think this is too much? What if Ace gets hurt?"

The smile immediately dropped from Miko's face.

"You're underestimating Ace too much."

Miko looked around and could basically tell what everyone was thinking.

"Kaido is gonna wreck that guy."

"It's not just you, everyone here is. Look at those two."

Following Miko's gaze Luka looked at Sora and Hina. They both looked calm and even had a small smile on their face.

"Ace may act like the class clown but his strength isn't something to laugh at. It wouldn't be a surprise if he's able to beat any of the Dragon Stars. Us included."

Luka was surprised to hear that and the confidence Miko had his in eyes. But-

"He looks pretty tense out there."

Just like she said, Ace looked tense and it was obvious to everyone there.

"Hahaha! He's scared!"

"I can't blame him. I would be shaking in my boots if I was suddenly challenged by a Dragon Star."

"I heard that guy has been in a lot of fights since he arrived. All involved hitting on girls with boyfriends. Maybe Kaido wanted to discipline him."

Such talk came from the crowd.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Ace is a strange guy. He has to set his mind in certain ways to function properly. He's currently in dating game mode, I just need to reset him."

"…I'm sorry. Come again?"

Miko ignored Luka and looked at Sora. Sora nodded and then shouted.

"Ace, that guy is totally treating you like a side character!"

"Hm?"

Hearing Sora, Ace's body flinched.

"He's treating you like a mini-boss who he needs to beat to fight Miko, who's the real boss. In other words, he's looking down on you!"

Ace clenched his fists.

"Now that I think about it, he's right."

Ace pointed at Kaido with anger burning in his eyes.

"How dare you treat me like a random mob character, you scaly son of bitch?!"

"See? He's ready to go."

Miko said.

"….I see that he has quite the ego."

Luka said.

"Now time for the finishing touches."

Miko walked up to Kana and whispered in her ear.

"Huh?"

"Can you do it?"

Kana looked at him for a bit and then nodded. She placed her hand over her mouth and shouted.

"Ace!"

"Kana?"

Ace who was shaking with anger looked back at Kana, who was blushing.

"I-If you win, I'll be your girlfriend!"

"Wha?!"

Luka was shocked by what Miko made Kana say. Miko just smiled while everyone else was shocked.

"...…."

Ace stood there with a straight face without moving a muscle.

"Nothing's happening."

Kana said.

"Give it a minute."

Said Hina.

"Girlfriend? Such a cute elf?"

"Eh?"

This time it was Kaido who was confused.

"Are you crying?"

*BAM!*

Suddenly a tremendous amount of power erupted from Ace's body. It covered the entire field and even made the audience feel like it was hard to breathe.

"Having an elf girlfriend is every fantasy gamer's dream."

Ace turned and faced Kaido.

"I'm sorry, but I'm about to get serious."

Kaido's eyes widened and then started laughing.

"Hahaha! That's great. Let's get started."

Kaido took off his jacket and threw it to the side.

*Ding!*

The sound of a bell resound through the area for all to hear. This was the signal to start the battle.

*Bam!*

Kaido moved with an explosive speed.

"Leg Boost!"

Ace's legs started glowing and grew in size. He poured power into his legs and leaped back.

"My instincts are telling me that a head-on confrontation wouldn't be wise."

His enter body was quickly engulfed by a green light and his appearance changed.

"Character Change: Archer!"

When the light disappeared, Ace appeared wearing a close-fitted sleeveless top, baggy pants, and sandals. His entire outfit screamed "lightness". His hair had also grown and was now tied in a ponytail.

"Huh?"

Kaido was confused by the sudden change of appearance.

"Wait, it's not just appearance. He's like a completely different person."

He noticed that Ace's muscles were smaller and his body was leaner. He couldn't understand what was going on.

"...."

Ace silently stretched his hand to the side and a green and brown bow appeared in his hand.

"He's going to fight Kaido with arrows?"

"Is he insane? Kaido has the best defense in the academy and has immense physical abilities. Arrows can't hurt him."

Ace pulled the bow's string and three arrows made with green light appeared.

"If it's a long-distance fight you want. I'm afraid that won't work."

Kaido took one step and cut the distance between him and Ace in an instant. He threw a punch.

"Hm?"

However, his punch only hit air.

"Speed Boost."

He looked up and saw Ace already 50 meters away from him and aiming his bow at him.

"It won't do a thing."

Someone said in the audience as they watch Ace fire his arrows.

*Boom!*

A large explosion suddenly devoured Kaido.

"Wha?! He can produce such powerful arrows?!"

"..."

Ace silently loaded his arrows again while making sure to keep his distance.

"That wasn't bad."

"?!"

Before he knew it, Kaido was standing in front of him with his shirt burnt.

"My turn now."

*Bam!*

Kaido threw a fast punch at Ace. He used his right arm to block it to prevent taking damage to his vitals.

"Ugh?!"

Ace was blown back dozens of feet in the air with his right bent out of shape.

"Yeah! I knew Kaido wasn't down!"

"He can't handle a Dragon Star!"

Cheers came from the crowd.

"Talk about power. That punch would've easily fractured my arms."

Miko said.

"Kaido's main weapons are his abnormal physical abilities and weight."

Luka said.

"Weight?"

"Yes. Kaido is incredibly heavy despite how he looks. Also, he can manipulate his weight while maintaining his usual speed, thus giving his attacks immense force behind them. That punch just now probably had the same force as a car moving 80 km/h and suddenly crashing into a concrete wall."

"Damn."

Meanwhile, Ace twisted his body in the air and landed on the ground.

"I was right not to fight head-on."

He started looking at his bent-up arm.

"You're wide open."

Kaido once again appeared in front of him and was throwing another punch.

"Equip."

Ace swung his glowing good arm at Kaido's head.

*Bam!*

Kaido was blown to the side after being hit by an overwhelming green light. Ace brought his arm back to his side. A crossbow was on it.

"I was never open, idiot."

He looked to his side.

"But I have to admit, you're a pretty tough bastard."

He saw Kaido standing with smoke coming off the side of his head. When the smoke cleared there wasn't a mark on him.

"Normally, your head would be blown cleaned off after taking an attack like that, you monster."

"Hahaha…..You have a really interesting power. I can't tell what you'll do next."

"Trust me."

Cracking sounds came from Ace's bent-up arm, as it fixed itself.

"You've seen nothing yet."

The two moved at the same time. Ace continued to fire arrows while keeping his distance. Kaido didn't avoid them and destroyed them with fast punches while he chased after Ace.

"As things are, Kaido will win."

Luka said.

"Ace has many cards up his sleeves. But as it stands he's going to need to start using Special Moves and Finishers."

Sora said.

"What do you mean?"

"Ace is a living game character. So naturally, that like every game character, he'll have his own unique skill sets and special moves, right?"

Ace jumped in the air and released his bow. It turned into green light particles.

"Equip: Dragon Bow."

He stretched both hands in front of him and a much larger bow appeared in his hands. This bow had a Chinese dragon design.

"Weapon Boost: Apostle Edition!"

"Roar!"

A dragon roar came from the bow. It started glowing and giving off a monstrous presence, all while his Apostle Crest was glowing.

"Woah!"

Everyone looked up in the sky and saw an azure dragon dancing around Ace's bow. Ace pulled the bowstring and aimed at Kaido.

"Finisher:…"

Everyone saw a dragon head appearing like an arrowhead.

"Dragon Shot!"

A green and azure dragon was fired from the bow. It charged down at Kaido, who had a huge smile on his face.

*BOOM!*

The dragon crashed into the earth causing a deafening sound and hurricane-like winds. Those close to the combat field had to fight hard in order to not get blown away.

"Such power!"

Luka was one of them fighting against the powerful winds.

"Hahahaha! That's my #1 Apostle!"

Miko was laughing proudly even though he too was battling the wind.

"ROAR!"

Suddenly a deafening roar shook the air. Everyone then saw the dragon's head being pushed back. Kaido stood there lifting the dragon out of a crater it had forced him into.

"Damn!"

Miko couldn't help but shout.

"Ohhhh!"

Kaido roared and deflect the dragon back into the air with his bare hands. The dragon flew past Ace who was in a daze as it disappeared.

"...….."

Silence enveloped the area. Everyone saw how powerful Ace's attack was. Not many had the confidence to say that they could survive it. Yet, Kaido forced it back with his bare hands. If that wasn't a testimony to his strength then what was?

None was more shocked than Ace himself.

"…..He stopped my strongest arrow barehanded?"

He looked and saw Kaido with a huge smile on his face. It was at that moment that something snapped inside him.

*Crack!*

He clenched his teeth so hard that they started to crack.

"Boost Cancel."

He was covered with green light and then returned to his normal form.

"Character Change:…."

"?!"

Kaido who was on the ground suddenly felt a cold chill go up his spine. He didn't know why but all of his instincts were shouting for him to get ready for a life and death battle. He saw black static started dancing around Ace's body while he looked down on him with a frosty gaze.

"The atmosphere around him changed…"

Ace looked down on Kaido and opened his mouth.

"That's enough!"

However, someone else shouted before he could. When everyone looked, it was someone they knew very well.

"Principal Matters."

The principal walked onto the field with his hands behind his back.

"I allowed a simple spar and that's it. If this continues both side will suffer serious damage. As such, I'm putting an end to it."

He looked at Kaido, who relaxed his body and nodded. Ace landed on the ground and looked at the principal with a frown. He glanced at Kaido before turning his back to the two of them. He headed towards Miko and the others.

Kaido looked at him a little before walking away.

"Just a little more and I would've peeled away that mask he's wearing."

Kaido smiled and left the field. Nearby, Zora was watching him and Ace with complicated expressions. The principal looked at Kaido and then Ace and thought.

(Kaido is one thing, but that boy is dangerous. He was about to blow this place away, killing countless students.)

The principal then glance at Miko who was also looking at him.

"Monsters attracts monsters, I guess."

"Ace, are you alright?"

Hina asked him when he came over.

"Yeah. That guy was as much of a beast as I expected. I didn't know what I would do if the principal hadn't stepped in."

Ace said with a laugh.

"Kaido is strong, but you weren't bad either."

Miko wrapped his hand around his neck.

"But too bad. You didn't win, so you don't get Kana as your girlfriend."

"Yeah…Too bad."

Ace laughed but everyone around him were looking at him funnily. They all knew Ace was about to do something really dangerous and that he was the reason why the principal stepped in. Everyone had to readjust their evaluation of Ace in their minds.

That's when Sora walked up to him and whispered in his ear.

"Did you forget that character series was forbidden? The next time you try to use it and put everyone and yourself in danger, I'll break every bone in your body. That's the duty I was left with as your big brother."

Ace smiled and said-

"Don't worry. It won't happen again."