Rematch

Palmo stood there dumbfounded. It had already been more than a month, yet Cayce's name was still listed in the spot for rank 82. After a month, if the Contractors association hadn't heard from a missing agent, the agent would be presumed dead and removed from the ranking, yet Cayce's name was still there.

Was he still alive? No, that was impossible. They scanned him before they left. He was certainly dead. Maybe... someone took his armor and was masquerading as the 82nd rank.

Palmo smirked at the thought. Since it had been a month, he was allowed to challenge the 82nd rank again. However, it would cost a lot to make the challenge since he was the 82nd rank's last opponent. Consecutive challenges were increasingly expensive.

"It will be well worth it to deface the fraud!"

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[ You have been challenged to a ranked duel ]

The moment Cayce saw the notification, he couldn't help but quietly chuckle to himself.

[ Challenger: 83rd rank <Palmo Genin> ]

[ Defender: 82nd rank <Cayce Tale> ]

[ Victory: +11,500 CP ]

[ Loss: demotion to rank 83 ]

[ Addition: PUBLIC MATCH ]

[ Please select duel arena and time ]

What a hefty chunck of change! Oh? He even paid to make it a public match!

Cayce swept his eyes over the Fallen King's Gladius with a look of satisfaction. His changes were completed and they were beautiful.

[ Armor scan complete ]

[ Configuration ready for simulated combat ]

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[ Time to match start: 5m 00s ]

Countless individuals gathered to watch the duel. The grey-eyed armor wasn't seen very often, as most of his matches weren't public. People gathered in bars while others watched at home on television and many logged into the virtual space to watch from within the simulation. A number of newscasters spoke about Cayce's unique mana color and analyzed whatever information they could find on him.

Within the simulation, the air was frigid and the winds violently threw snow and ice in all directions. The cold sun didn't warm the air, but it did illuminate the frantic snow in the sky above the arena. Smooth glacier slopes formed the ground and hills in this place, and the snowstorm was so intense, you could only see a few meters ahead of yourself.

[ Time to match start: 1m 10s ]

An invisible camera hovered close to Cayce, giving the audience a clear view of the armor. All attention was on that one camera's screen.

The armor could be best described as... ominous.

While Palmo stretched his arms and jumped up and down to keep warm, this armor just stood there in the snowstorm, completely unmoving. The entirety of the armor was a smoky black and was covered in dark grooves. Grey eyes glowed as they stared directly forward. The armor didn't even turn to look at the surroundings. It almost felt like the armor should have been empty...

[ Match start ]

[ Eliminate the enemy ]

Immediately, the grey-eyed armor snapped forward and began to run at an alarming speed. This arena was actually somewhat small compared to the swamp Cayce selected for the previous duel. If he were to sprint straight ahead, the enemy wouldn't have time to hide or prepare.

"The grey-eyed armor jumps to life!" A reporter shouted excitedly. "Who will be the hunter, and who will be the prey?!"

Palmo stood in the same spot with confidence. He was a heavy-defense type, what did he have to fear from this imposter? The grey-eyed armor would only keep the grey eyes as long as it had Cayce's mana stored up. But once it ran out and the new mana cycled through the armor, the color change would be noticed. Palmo smirked quietly to himself.

beep beep

His thoughts were politely interrupted by a notification. The other armor had entered a public comms channel.

...

He wanted to talk? The audience would have access to this channel too. Wouldn't someone notice it wasn't him? How foolish.

Palmo entered the comms channel, "Long time, no see Cayce!"

"..."

Naturally, the audience was given an ear inside the channel, but Cayce remained silent. Palmo decided to taunt the impersonator into hand-to-hand combat.

Palmo slowly turned in a circle, scanning the short distance that was visible through the chaotic snow.

"I know you're close by. Why don't you come out and greet an old-"

As Palmo turned around, he was startled to find the grey-eyed armor standing just behind him. The moment he flinched, the grey-eyed armor suddenly lowered it's stance, grabbed Palmo's arm and performed a beautiful martial arts throw, spinning the heavy armor in an arc over his own body. Palmo's back struck the ground with considerable force, cracking spiderwebs into the ice flooring.

Countless spectators cheered as the first move was made. It should have been difficult to move Palmo's heavy armor, yet he was easily thrown to the ground.

Not wasting a second, Cayce drew a large combat knife in a reverse grip and brutally hacked down on his victim. The blade screeched as it punctured a weak point in the pit of Palmo's right shoulder. Golden sparks burst from the heavy armor, illuminating the surrounding snow. Palmo yelled in pain, and Cayce immediately pulled the blade out and retreated a short distance.

Normally, Cayce would have landed a killing blow, but that would make a boring ending. No doubt, the spectators would appreciate a longer match, even if it were one-sided the whole way through. Besides, the simulation included fairly realistic pain, something he wanted Palmo to feel.

The moment the knife was pulled from his shoulder, Palmo scrambled to get back to his feet. It was an unsightly movement made in panic, but his own appearance quickly became the least of his worries.

Palmo quickly scrambled to a squat and raised both of his shoulder-mounted SMGs. In that moment, a combat knife with a visibly glowing edge flashed through the air. It had been thrown! It made impact with it's target and punctured the compression chamber of the magi-gun over Palmo's left shoulder.

Palmo should have stopped his actions that very moment, but his reaction speed was too slow. Palmo pulled the trigger on the damaged gun.

BOOM!!

Palmo's mistake caused a golden explosion to instantly bloom, tearing the gun to pieces. Steam plumed as the snow surrounding Palmo was instantly vaporized. The spectators were hooked. The heavy armor's golden mana made a beautiful explosion, not unlike fireworks used for celebrations and holidays.

The force threw him to the side, yet he clumsily remained on his feet, his armor's boots clawing roughly through the ice as he slid. When he came to a stop, he tried firing his one remaining SMG, but it had gone dark and no longer moved. It seems the grey-eyed armor had already cut off the mana supply channel with the first stab to his right shoulder. Palmo's magi-guns had both been disabled in a matter of seconds.

The eyes of the two machines met. For a moment, nothing happened. The grey-eyed armor didn't use the high caliber rifle he always kept mounted to his right shoulder. Instead, he slowly circled his opponent. The simulation's cameras captured the scene perfectly. The spectators felt like they were watching a wolf circle an injured bear. At that moment, Cayce finally spoke.

"It's been a while, Palmo. How have you been?"