The Void Above - Chapter 7

As the three reached the Main Stadium of Building B, they came to see a noticeboard the size of a billboard. Gray read it aloud to the other two.

"'The combat examination will be held in bracket form, with each contestant going through multiple battles until there is only one winner. Acceptance into CMA will not be based on whether or not victory was achieved, but performance.' So it doesn't matter if we win, we just need to show them we can fight."

The realization was reassuring to Kichirou, who still didn't know how to fight with a weapon. Victoria, on the other hand, didn't seem fazed by the information at all. 

"It doesn't matter, we're sure to both win and do well regardless."

Kichirou and Gray were shocked by the sudden change from Victoria's normal, cheery personality to the cold, lifeless voice she used just then. Kichirou felt awkward by the sudden dip in mood.

"Y-yeah…"

Just then, they walked into the main stadium, through a series of different gates and doors, and were greeted by the sight of a huge crowd of different people seated in the viewing area, which made Gray question just how plausible this whole thing could be.

"There's so many people… are we sure they can do all this today?"

As if in response to his question, a loud voice came over through an intercom system.

"Good morning, everyone! To expedite this process, the exams will take place in separate, smaller facilities, so as to allow multiple matches to occur at once. Check the noticeboard for your name, and please make your way to your assigned sub-stadium."

Gray nodded his head with arms folded.

"So that's how they're gonna make this whole thing work out."

Gray, Victoria, and Kichirou walked over to the noticeboard they saw outside previously, through a huge crowd of people who were trying to do the same thing they were. Eventually, after enough "excuse me!"'s and "sorry!"'s they made their way to an area from which they could see their assigned stadium. Victoria clasped her hands together before talking.

"It looks like we're all in the same stadium, let's go over to 5."

The trio made their way over to sub-stadium 5, and took their seats. On a giant, Jumbotron-esque, screen, the bracket order was displayed. Victoria was up first!

"Alright guys, it looks like I'm up first. I'll see you all later."

Victoria strolled down through the seating area, and into a field where she saw a man in black formal attire standing there, waiting for her.

"Hello, ma'am. Your corner is this way. Please come back with a nonlethal version of the weapon you're holding, and you can begin whenever you're ready."

Victoria walked back into an archway and was greeted by what could only be called an armory. Weapons of all kinds were exhibited in small displays they floated in, ready to be grabbed. Different types of armor lined the walls, everything ranging from a knight's suit of armor, to what Victoria could only call a normal set of clothing. She walked to the back, where the less technologically advanced, melee weapons lay.

"Haaah, alright."

Begrudgingly, she picked up a wooden sword and tested it's handling.

"Everything feels fine, but…"

She shot a look down at the katana on her hip and took a deep breath.

"It'll be alright. Just this once."

Victoria walked back out onto the battlefield, taking her spot in the corner across from her opponent, untying her katana from her hip before placing it on the ground in the corner. She steadied herself, and Kichirou and Gray recognized her in the corner, and Gray pointed her out

"Hey, isn't that her in the left corner?"

Kichirou looked over to her side, before looking back towards her opponent. It appeared to be a man with a professional, yet nervous look in his eyes, a handgun at his side. The aesthetic of the gun, though, revealed it to be something of a different caliber. In contrast, Victoria's serene, calm appearance with her hands on the hilt of her sword made her appear as if this were something she was used to by now. 

"Before we begin, know that there are recovery pods on standby, should either of you emerge from this battle injured. Now, begin!"

Immediately, the man on the other end began to walk to the side, while Victoria made her way to the center of the field, the wooden sword now at her hip in place of her usual blade. It wasn't long before the man fired a shot.

Bang!

Instead of bullets, though, the gun shot shockwaves, powerful enough to be felt by Kichirou in the crowd

"Damn!"

Victoria stabbed her sword as far as she could into the ground and took a knee. Her brown hair whipped in the air due to the extremely fast winds, but she stood steadfast. The shockwave generated by the gun eventually dissipated, and Victoria knew this was her chance.

'Now!'

Almost in an instant, Victoria closed the distance between her and her opponent throwing out a quick slash towards the man's head.

Fwoom!

The man narrowly dodged the blow by leaning backward, using the opportunity to get off his feet and throw a kick while he was flipping through the air. Victoria moved out of the way by moving her head to the left, delivering a kick of her own, which was blocked by her opponent just before it could reach his head, frustrating Victoria.

'Fuck!'

The two exchanged blows for quite a while, before the man finally found the perfect opening.

Bang!

'Shit!'

In the nick of time, Victoria barely managed to dodge the radius of the attack by leaping to her left, covering almost 4 meters! 

"It's time I finish this…"

Just then, Kichirou felt quite hot.

"What's up with the heating, is it just me?"

Kichirou saw everyone getting a bit uncomfortable, and finally, he looked back down to the stadium.

'What's going on…'

Victoria's clothes started to burn off, revealing a metal exo-skeleton-type suit underneath. Oddly enough, the sword she'd left off in her starting corner also erupted into flames, though she wasn't able to use it at the moment. Her opponent, feeling outclassed, began to doubt the very situation he was in.

"What the hell…?"

With a singular slash to the chest using her wooden sword, the man was defeated. The sound of cracking bones was heard throughout the stadium, and a shrill scream echoed through the arena. 

"Ahhhhh!!!"

The referee waved his hand in the air, blowing his whistle before shouting.

"V-Victoria Alvarez is the winner!"

Victoria helped the man she'd defeated get up onto the stretcher to be escorted to one of the recovery pods. Making sure he was okay, Victoria left the man to be on his own, walking back to her corner to grab her sword before going back up into the stadiums to reconvene with Gray and Kichirou. Suddenly, an uproar ensued.

"I'll drop out!"

"Me too!"

"I can't do that!"

Swaths of people left the arena, leaving only 32 people left to compete. The proctor for the combat examination, a grizzled-looking older man spoke.

"Well, that makes things a lot easier. Next up are Kichirou Suzuki and Johnathan Smith. Both of you will go through the same process. Please come down and enter the back room to prepare. 

Kichirou made his way down to the arena, and eventually into the armory.

"Wow, there's a lot of stuff here."

There were many kinds of weapons. Bladed, ranged, and even mixes of both were stored in that small armory, but one thing caught Kichirou's eye.

"What's this?"

There, with the armors, lay a white coat with a black accent, accompanied by a black pair of pants. Quickly drawing the symbol, Kichirou enhanced his perceptive abilities and tested the sturdiness of the cloak.

"It feels a lot sturdier than what I have on right now… May as well put it on, it could help."

Kichirou quickly got changed, pulling up the pants and pulling his arms through the sleeves of the coat. 

"It doesn't quite fit… Well, whatever."

Kichirou felt ready. He already had the gloves gifted to him by Jane, and those worked just fine in his opinion. He walked through the door to the outside and finally saw the face of his opponent. Dressed in all-black and carrying twin daggers, his opponent, John Smith looked incredibly distinctive.

'What is he? Some kind of protagonist?'

"Begin!"

Kichirou was caught off guard by both the signal to start and the wooden pocket knife flying at his face from across the field. Kichirou just barely managed to deflect the wood version of a pocket knife with his hand and finally readied himself for battle. Jonathan, not leaving any room for Kichirou to breathe, used the projectile to immediately close the distance between the two of them, slashing at the left side of Kichirou's neck with a wooden blade. After catching the blade with his right hand, instead of backing up, Kichirou ducked into John, throwing a punch into his gut with the left.

"Gah!-"

John was clearly shaken by the blow, however, Kichirou was even more shaken.

'A metal plate!'

The boy was clearly wearing some sort of defensive plating underneath his shirt, and though it was completely legal, Kichirou still felt somewhat cheated by the development.

"Goddamnit, if you're gonna do stuff like that, at least let me know so I can copy you!"

John was confused by the comment.

"Why would I tell you-"

Before the boy could finish his sentence, he was caught off guard by a punch straight to the chin, knocking him out cold.

"Stay on your toes. Why would I even need to know your secrets, it's so obvious there's nothing protecting your face, so that's where I'll aim.

Kichirou felt a sense of pride in his ability to defeat his first opponent with such ease.

'I mean, yeah, it wasn't as flashy as Victoria's fight, but it was easy enough to make me feel strong. I didn't even have to draw the symbol or focus the energy.'

The referee power-walked over to Kichirou before raising his hand into the air.

"The victor is Kichirou Suzuki!"

Kichirou walked back to his seat in the crowd, just in time to hear the announcements for the next match come over the speaker system.

"Next up, Gray Wish and Angelina Abbas!"

Gray walked down the steps, and entered the arena.

"I wonder what my opponent is like…"

Gray loaded his weapon as he entered the arena.

"I don't need to gear up, I have everything I need right here."

Gray patted the gun holstered at his hip.

"Well then… Begin!"

Gray drew his gun and fired a shot nearly as soon as the match started.

Bang!

 Angelina, with barely enough time to react to the shot, whipped out a hard-light shield and blocked the shot. However, the second the bullet hit her shield, it exploded into a cloud of smoke big enough to cover the entire battlefield, catching Angelina completely off guard.

"What the hell!?"

Gray moved with silent footsteps through the smoke, pulling a mask over his face so as not to inhale the smoke. Angelina, however, was not so well equipped.

"Coff! Coff!"

Angelina's closed eyes, and Gray's silent steps made Gray nearly imperceptible to Angelina, and as the smoke cleared, Gray revealed himself to be standing right behind Angelina, his gun pointed at the back of her head.

"It's over, Angelina. Surrender before this has to get ugly."

Angelina raised her hands in the air.

"I give up."

The referee walked over to Gray, and rose his hand up in the air.

"Gray Wish, the Victor!"

All three of the trio had won their first matches, and confidence was at an all time high, but would things stay that way as time went on?