Chapter 13

"Am I really biting the dust here?" Micheal was moments from giving up. Soon a strong desire to survive built intently in him and instinctively, he created a shield with his blue armor to receive it. The drill pushed Micheal out of the radius and through two buildings. shattering his shield, hitting his chest plate, drilling through it, and making contact with his bare skin. As his leg dragged against the ground while his armor was falling apart, Michael felt powerless. He asked himself why he thought he'd be able to do anything. His back slammed against the wall of another building. His face fell slowly as he looked at the drill pulling blood from him. The drill was about to go deeper into his body when it suddenly stopped and retracted back. Michael fell to his knees. Blood was dripping from his lips and his chest. His eyes were wide open, and his pupils dilated. He held his chest shakingly. At that moment, his life nearly flashed before his eyes.

BACK AT THE field, a brief moment after Edward had shot his drill, James forced himself up and shot a blast at him which he swiped downwards with his left hand. He noticed how weak the blast was. A distraction? he thought. James launched at him with a weakly shaped dagger and aimed for his neck. Edward countered with the staff. The energy chain constricted and the drill head, while smaller, reattached to the staff. James jumped backwards.

"Why didn't you teleport? You could have hit me with a surprise attack just now if you did. " Edward inquired.

"Tch..."

"It's because you can't use it indiscriminately, isn't that right? 10 seconds... That's the time delay before your next teleportation. If you had used it now and missed, you would not be able to utilize it in a pinch with my quick stream of attacks."

"Now that I have all your moves figured out, what will you do now, boy?" He added, laughing hysterically.

“Five times...” James mumbled as he tried to speak out. “It doubles five times to reach the max level. After that, you must wait for a cool-down period.”

"Hoo.. You figured it out? But was it really a wise choice to tell me that? I can now take precautions against it.

"Because... It wouldn't make a difference. I am still... I am still going to be the one to win!" James looked upwards and roared as if to give himself some sense of relief.

"That's fine! Let's put an end to all this right now! Who's going to be the victor in our glorious battle? Whose deduction would be useful? AREN'T YOU EXCITED TO FIND OUT BOY?! " Edward exclaimed as his emerald energy spiralled around him and rose. His armour's blue linings began to glow, and the drill's head began to spin violently.

James wiped his hair backwards. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He looked forward and jerked his right leg backwards, clenched his hands till his veins popped, gritted his teeth, widened his eyes, and dashed at Edward. He felt... no, he knew this was his last chance. He headed towards Edward with that determination. Edward shot the drill at him, and it doubled as it got closer to him.

Everything went silent for James. He created a blast with his left hand, which propelled him rightwards away from the attack.

"1," he said under his breath.

He spun and landed on his feet, lifted his head to see the drill as it changed its direction, doubled again and headed towards him. He blasted the ground to propel himself upwards to dodge it a second time as it drilled deep into the ground.

"2"

It burst out of the ground and doubled again with a loud screeching sound. It tore upwards towards James. He summoned two blades, merged them together, and struck sideways at it. The blade and drill screeched against each other. James managed to shift its direction a bit before his blade shattered and he fell into the dust screen created earlier by his blast.

"3"

"Hiding won't save you, James! This is where it all ends. " Edward bellowed. He saw James dash out of the dust screen at the far end of the field. He pulled down the drill, which doubled to strike at him. As it slammed at James' position, Edward noticed a frame of red energy flowed out. He smiled as he saw James appear in mid-air above him.

"4"

James summoned four swords above himself and merged them into one. He compressed the large, newly formed sword into a thin, fence-type sword. His eyes were full of desperation. His veins were popping from his hands and forehead. The red source energy gathered around him as his jaws clenched and his muscles shook.

Edward smirked. "Smart... But no more teleportation for you. I have got you... Die!" It was as though his thunderous roar sucked up all the sounds in the vicinity. In a flash, the drill doubled and increased its speed as it came into close contact with James. There was a brief silence, their eyes locked, desperation versus pride in the most intense stare-down. A victory was to be granted, a long wish to be fulfilled, and an overwhelming joy filled Edward as the seconds stretched forever...