"Phantasm" (020)

- Enrokonai City, Thursday, 11:13 am -

Tim landed on the ground, sliding and drifting back with his hand cut when he rapidly rose one of his soles and twisted it behind the other leg, twisting to the side when fast swiping his right arm forward.

When he burst forth hot flames that repeatedly sparked out and went unleashing themselves forward upon the swing, the blade appeared from transparency.

However, Tim's opponent, who was the Third Greatest Student in that High School, wasn't a joke to deal with, and Tim appeared to be losing.

While the brawl raged in the center of the street, the remaining students and civilians appeared to be preoccupied with shopping, while some had cameras and phones pointed at them.

And just as Tim expected his Fire Slash to land, Alpha bowed forward, stiffened her sword grip, and sprinted forward, using her major power, the Sword Spirit, and while her blade went cutting through Tim's flames and blowing to the side, nearly hitting people, our Hero came to a halt.

Alpha ran forward, disappearing in a dark blue spirit that pierced through Tim's body, causing him to experience severe pain, and in the twinkling of an eye, Alpha stood behind him, twisting her sword and cutting her back.

Tim sliced back in the senses, but Alpha's sword phased through Tim's, making him unsure of her. ("I can't figure out how her ability works!") Tim then observed a blue dark slash slamming into his face and pummeled him in the air and on the ground as he slammed his back into the hard ground.

"Of course, Alpha's efforts to maintain her rank have been pretty successful; I'm surprised she's still number three in the entire school," yawned a girl who appeared to be quite fatigued.

Tim raised his torso to stare forward while staring at his opponent, and as soon as they exchanged glances, Alpha reached near her hip and began charging up an energy core, her right eye lighting red.

"What the hell is she up to now?" Tim asked as he drew his blade closer to the flames, which were still burning out. "I've been witnessing Tim getting beaten up like crazy the previous few weeks; wonder why he's constantly losing?" exclaimed Codey, eating into his ice cream.

When Alpha spoke, the dark blue wind continued to wrap around her hand and hip. "Quick-Draw Wind," as it's known. Her sword began cutting forward with its point, and a thin dark blue and sharp wave erupted, piercing Tim's chest and forcing an activation.

The final hit of the attack generated a spiral explosion that covered Tim's torso and caused a massive whirlwind when it blew to the side.

Alpha turned her sword, pointing the hilt behind her back, and re-scabbarding it in her larger scabbard. Our Hero slumped onto his knee, feeling terribly weak and barely comprehending how Alpha's ability works, while the holographic screen boosted Alpha's overall score.

"There's another loss. I'm starting to lose hope in Tim." When Tim's mouth appeared to be shaking from sadness and contempt for himself, Codey sat down and ordered the next ice cream.

"What the hell is going on here? Except for Elliot, I've been foolish enough to lose every duel since I arrived in this damn reality, and even then, I was surrounded at a likely loss. What's wrong with me, I can't seem to grasp anything! Plus, in this combat, I've only used my major Element!"

"If you want to improve, maybe make your way up to the upper class, because you don't have the abilities to place among the top 10 duelists in this school." Several others approached Alpha at the same time, attempting to obtain her autograph or photograph, but she politely declined and ignored them all.

"Work my way up to the top ten. Tsch, whoever indicated that was my goal in this situation was wrong." Tim shook his sword and stared at it. "You don't believe I'm good enough, do you?" Those words halted Alpha in her tracks, and she turned to face him, her palm resting on one of her scabbards.

"I used to think of dueling as a harmless pastime. And this is the only manner I've ever dueled since entering the World of Zero. This is, I assume, the beginning, but... if you think I'm weak, you're incorrect."

People began to stare at Tim, slightly perplexed as to where he was heading.

"In fact, a loss is a loss. But, whenever I dueled, whether I won or lost, I always offered credit to my opponent, but you simply called your opponent weak. You've said it before, but this is the final time you'll say it."

As he said this, Tim opened his mouth, producing a cloud of steam, and the blade he was holding immediately roared out, burning like madness, growing and spreading itself through the wind, while the orange lost all of its colors.

"I've been using powers that were given to me as a result of training all this time, but now I see why. Isn't it true that the power you possess was acquired through training? Everyone else got their abilities from power, but I had to work for them, which is radically different than what you all have."

"So, I thought about it, and there's only one way for me to accept it as a skill... By making my own!" When his eyes flashed, the colorless fire altered dramatically, and a powerful mixture of black and blue began to emit itself out, but instead of being fire, it appeared to be as cold as it could possibly be, merely resembling fire, when black and blue whips began to explode out of the earth.

When Alpha quietly clenched her face and ready her blade, it began to form unusual material, this time a smooth aura and a disastrous breeze, blowing the stalls away and sending people in directions, slamming them against walls.

With the ground vibrating and the whips slamming against the walls, Tim continued to breathe out the silky vapor of his aura. "What's the matter with him, man?! Does he have to go so far when he's already lost the duel?!" Elliot questioned as he pushed forward, yelling to avoid being blown away. "Don't bother asking me. If he keeps going, I'm sure this area will be decimated!" Codey screamed, helpless at the same time.

Tim pushed the bursting sword in front of his chest, his jaws shaking even more furious, as the aura-like vapor grew stronger and wilder, with the atmosphere of heat entirely shifting and the fissures in the ground producing more vibrations.

"You'd best give credit to every other Duelist after that." Tim exhaled quietly, then promptly opened his eyes and slashed the blade from the front of his chest to the very back of his body, when the smooth energy vibrated in response to the sword's movement, causing it to slam into the walls in a vortex-like shape.

The dark atmosphere immediately shredded everything, including the ground, walls, stalls, signs, and even the windows of the buildings, cutting and shattering the larger parts of bodies into tiny plates, as well as blowing Alpha back through the air and into the wall while Tim's blade hung behind his belt, held in his palm.

"Tormenting Phantasm..."

He sounded vicious and ruthless when he said that powerful term and his body was positioned differently.

His sole appeared to be producing phantasms of whip-like aura with the sword behind him, his left foot in front of the other, and his gaze forward when the final effect happened.

The storming phantasm vanished as the building in the distance, which stood behind Tim, suffered a large sideways cut, forcing it to divide into several pieces, which then fell down to the side and smashed, wreaking destruction.

Tim turned around and turned his back to the others who stared at them as the blade vanished and he gently reached into his pockets, smiling proudly but satisfied at the same time.

He looked back over his shoulder, perplexed, but then smiled. "I'm hoping we can duel soon. You won this time, but you can bet that I'll win next time." Tim walked in the opposite direction after speaking.

When Codey gulped, his companions were startled and terrified. "Phantasm? I'd never heard of such skill before, and it shouldn't exist." Iva spoke after ascertaining that such a power does not exist.

"Do you believe he developed his own abilities utilizing the materials he had access to?" Alpha appeared to be seated on the floor with one of his knees elevated and her arm rested against it while they conversed.

When Alpha turned away and sighed, she stood up and straightened her scabbard, and without saying anything further, she proceeded through the shattered houses, leaving the others puzzled and scratched.

"Whoa! That's a tough one!" Sachi laughed, despite his brother's solemn demeanor. "Of course, you feel psyched up every time you see a Non-human event," Mototsune claimed to have kept his drink in perfect condition and without spilling it. "How did you do it, yo?"

"Do what?"

"To keeping the drink perfect?" Mototsune smiled as Sachi expressed his curiosity. "It's a trade secret."

- Enrokonai City, Friday, 13:00: am -

Tim remained motionless, his gaze fixed on his open palm, where the Phantasm was being unleashed.

"It turns out that making things isn't all that difficult." The aura dissipated effortlessly as Tim closed his palm and swung it to the side, and Tim was quickly reading every description of the Duelists on this academy.

"She was correct. Defeating the classmates will serve as a quick warm-up for me, and according to the map, one of those duelists should be nearby." Finally, he noticed the youngster, who was standing motionless and signing autographs for free.

"Thank you so much, and good luck!" Tim soon appeared in front of the boy, smiling. "You've come for my autograph, haven't you? Just give me something to sign and I'll be happy..." Tim reached out with his hand exactly two seconds later, and something appeared to be written.

"Huh? I challenge you to a duel. What is the price? Why would I want to duel you in the first place?"

Tim sighed and vaporized the paper with Phantasm. "I only need to warm up before several duels, and because you were the closest, I figured you'd do me a favor and combat with me. Isn't this supposed to be the city where Duelists battle all the time? So, how about a few rounds?"

"I see a Duelist who is on the lookout for new challenges. It appeals to me. So, let it be; I accept your challenge and am prepared to fight."

"Perfect, just don't be a knucklehead and misjudge me, okay?" When the Dueling began, it was decided that the duel would commence, and as usual, random people began to appear, record, and photograph the duels.

When Tim released the Phantasmic Aura, he moved his right hand to his chest height. "Huh? Is that supposed to be some sort of ability I had no idea existed?" But there was no time to waste, the duelist who appeared amazed by Tim's ability, the battle was about to begin, and it would begin right off the back.

Tim carefully raised his arm as he let out the Phantasm, which continued to wave up into the air, creating uneasy feelings.

"That... Ability, it appears to be so pure, but it is also overflowing with rage, even feeling so... horrible..." However, when Tim leaned forward and took a simple stride, the Phantasm that continued to hover in the air was quickly absorbed by Tim's palm.

Tim appeared in front of the duelist, clutching his sword and seeing Tim's wrathful blue eyes, glowing, and just seconds after, Tim's body pierced through the duelist's chest, blasting a shock throughout his body, where Tim then followed assaulting from behind.

"You've already been defeated." Tim swiped the blade from the front to the back, instilling terror in the duelist as a wrath-filled wave of Phantasm swept over the area, exploding and obliterating every single physique in its path, even pushing some people out of the way.

And before long, the duelist who accepted Tim's challenge collapsed to the ground and passed out.

Tim seemed pleased as he swung the blade to the side, causing it to vanish. "I suppose there's always time for some minor destruction." Tim then walked away, leaving the duelist and the knocked-back people on the floor.

To be continued...