59TH GEAR - SWITCHY WITCHY
59TH GEAR - SWITCHY WITCHY
As soon as the whistle was blown, Vincent immediately took a step forward and blasted at almost lightspeed!
"Photon Accel!" White light contrails followed Vincent's feet as he rushed towards the 2nd Checkpoint Tower!
"Shadow Accel!" Lilith had a slightly late start, and even though her shoes are enhanced by dark energy, the gap is starting to widen! The difference in speed is just too big that their distance against other is already at a hundred meters!
"Whoa! Vincent is super duper fast! He's awesome!" Flu's blue eyes twinkled.
"That was a good move for Vincent. He is widening the gap between them so that he will be out of range of the Aether Switch spell the moment he touches the 2nd Checkpoint Tower." I said.
"He must have taken note of that one during Flu's match yesterday," Ericka said.
"Definitely," I muttered. "Since Vincent is a Speedster, he will turn this Speed Battle into a drag race."
The gap was already 200 meters when Vincent approached the 2nd Checkpoint Tower and touched it!
Beep!
Point for Vincent, at 1:0!
"Nice one, Vince!" I immediately cried. Since Vincent has already touched the Checkpoint Tower first, it means that Lilith's standard deadlock plan has been thwarted! Lilith can no longer do her dirty tactics now, and she is at a disadvantageous start!
Vincent created a teleporter sword and stabbed it next to the Checkpoint Tower. Then he reactivated his Photon Accel to rush to the 3rd Checkpoint!
Swoosh!
The photon streak continues to grow on speed, while the shadow contrail remains to be stagnant. Lilith is neither speeding up nor slowing down. She is just running at her own pace.
But there is a catch. Lilith's navigator, Gaylord is just calmly watching the battle.
It takes no genius to conclude that they might be planning something.
Beep!
Point for Vincent, at 2:0!
Vincent has already touched the 3rd Checkpoint Tower! He also manifested a teleporter sword and stabbed it next to the said tower, then he bolted forward towards the next Checkpoint!
Meanwhile, Lilith has finally reached the 2nd Checkpoint Tower. She swiftly slapped it with her sharp-clawed hands to score a point.
Beep!
Point for Lilith, at 2:1!
Right after Lilith got a score from touching the Checkpoint Tower, she immediately yielded and went straight to the center of the Triangle. With this yield, Lilith will be shifting her playstyle into a Striker Class Speedmage.
But why is she going towards the center? Is she going to do what I think?
Dark energy swarmed and swirled around Lilith's feet as she stood still and made a T-pose! A black magical circle with the same formula as a Shadow Trampoline emerged on the ground where she stood.
"Shadow Serpent!"
Lilith jumped thirty meters in height as a tendril shadow kept holding onto her feet. Her dark claws aimed to strike Vincent who is focused on getting to the 1st Checkpoint Tower! The witch is like a cobra attacking an unaware prey!
In the nick of time, Vincent unleashed the mana he is focusing on his brain.
"Dodge Instinct."
In a simple sidestep, Vincent has evaded Lilith's strike!
The shadow tendril then pulled Lilith back to the huge Shadow Trampoline at the center of the Triangle. Then Lilith sprung forth once again, attempting another strike to the back!
"Whoops!" Vincent teasingly uttered as he slides to the right to avoid another assault.
At this moment, Vincent was already close to the 1st Checkpoint Tower. He dashed towards it while creating another teleporter sword from his hand. After five seconds, he finally reached a score!
Beep!
Point for Vincent, at 3:1!
Vincent smiled childishly as he stabbed the ground with his third teleporter sword. Since all the Checkpoint Towers have been secured by teleporter swords, there is only one thing left to do to finish this match.
Vincent raised his hand with his fingers giving a ninja seal, and his blue eyes glinted like a comet. With a whisper, he chanted:
"Omnitouch."
At that moment, I saw Lilith's grin. Faint, but I still saw it in a split second. This is where I felt a freezing chill all over my body. There was a sudden jolt of goosebumps that crawled on my skin.
Vincent teleported to the 2nd Checkpoint Tower and touched it!
Beep!
Point for Vincent, at 4:1!
Vincent once against teleported, this time at the 3rd Checkpoint Tower! But before he was able to touch it-
"Switch." Lilith smiled so wide that she showed her terrifying canine-like fangs.
In an instant, Vincent and Lilith swapped positions! Lilith immediately swiped her witch claws toward the 3rd Checkpoint Tower, giving her a score!
Beep!
Point for Lilith, at 4:2!
"What was that!?" Vincent's navigator Justine exclaimed through his mic.
Vincent gritted. "That was a perfectly-timed trap."
"Never mind that, big bro! Teleport to it once again and touch the 3rd Checkpoint Tower!"
Vincent nodded, and then he unleashed a ninja seal once again to teleport! He immediately appeared back at the 3rd Checkpoint Tower, but Lilith was already waiting there!
"Hyaah!" Lilith swung her arms to repel Vincent!
Bzzzzt!
Their magical barriers collided, making Vincent launch away from the 3rd Checkpoint Tower!
"Guh!" Vincent cried as he got back to his feet and rushed towards the target checkpoint. He readied his ninja seal once again.
I saw Vincent's plan. He is going to charge head-on towards the 3rd Checkpoint Tower and touch it, but if the opponent is planning on blocking him like what happened in Flu's match, then he will use teleport and either strike Lilith's back or touch the tower. Or maybe he can do both.
However…
"Shadow Step." Lilith dashed away at super speed and went behind the 3rd Checkpoint Tower!
"Big bro, touch the Checkpoint!" Justine shouted.
Vincent reached out, ready to touch the 3rd Checkpoint Tower, but then-
"Aether Switch!"
Lilith has once again swapped positions with Vincent! Because of this, Vincent touched nothing but air! And to make matters worse, the Photon Accel's build-up of speed was shifted to Lilith, giving her an almost lightspeed dash!
"Feral Blink Strike!" Lilith created werewolf-like claws using shadow energy and used it as her additional limb. With a blink of an eye, she teleported right behind the Speedmage Champion! She struck Vincent's back with the left, then the right feral claw followed up with another strike!
Beep! Beep!
Two dark magical circle point indicators manifested, indicating Lilith's consecutive scores!
Two points for Lilith, now at 4:4!
"What the!" Vincent uttered a cry as he launched away towards the north of the Triangle! "That damn switchy witchy! It's too annoying!"
The tables have turned. The momentum has shifted in favor of Lilith in just a matter of seconds.
I can see Justine's terror when he saw that the score has already turned into a draw. We can also see the audience's fear in the air. All of us are in despair as we saw the Speedmage Champion get bested and outwitted by the witch.
Lilith is not finished yet! She is preparing for another boost with her Shadow Accel!
"Dodge Instinct!" Vincent activated in the nick of time.
Lilith tried to strike Vincent, but the Teleporter just made simple leans and sidesteps to avoid the incoming assault. Seeing that all attacks are unfruitful, Lilith's navigator Gaylord advised her.
"Forget doing another combo, Lilith. Go to the next Checkpoint Tower."
"Heh!" Lilith boosted away in chase of the 1st Checkpoint Tower.
"I won't let you!" Vincent boosted with his Photon Accel, rapidly stalking the fleeing witch!
"Big bro, touch the 3rd Checkpoint Tower while you're at it!" Justine said.
It was sound advice as the 3rd Checkpoint Tower is now a free point. Lilith has now completely abandoned it, which is quite weird considering her play style.
Beep!
Vincent has finally touched the 3rd Checkpoint Tower!
Point for Vincent, at 5:4!
The Speedmage Champion looked at the line leading towards the 1st Checkpoint Tower. Lilith is already halfway towards it; even with Photon Accel, it would be too late to catch up. His only way to get ahead is to use his teleport, so he gave a ninja hand seal once again and vanished.
"Switch!"
When Vincent popped up next to the 1st Checkpoint Tower, Lilith used Aether Switch to swap places again! As a result, Lilith was the one who made it to the 1st Checkpoint Tower first! She nonchalantly tapped the tower to score a point!
Beep!
Point for Lilith, now draw at 5:5!
"That damn Aether Switch again!" Vincent roared as he surged forward with his white contrail streaks following his feet! He reached out his hand, trying to strike the opponent's back, but then-
"Switch!"
As Vincent and Lilith swapped places for the nth time, Vincent once again struck nothing but air. However, Lilith has prepared for another counterattack!
"Feral Blink Strike!"
It was the same tactic. Lilith used her short-ranged teleport spell to immediately appear at Vincent's back and struck him two times with her shadow claws, creating two black magical circle point indicators!
Beep! Beep!
Double Points for Lilith, now at the lead at 5:7!
Right after the witch took the lead, she backflipped and stood tall on the Checkpoint Tower. She crossed her arms, puffing out her bountiful breast, and then looked at the troubled Speedmage Champion with her menacing gold-and-crimson-eyed glare.
"Ara ara, this battle is over now, Vincent the Teleporter~"