I am the one who will 'Remain'

Chapter 12

Melody keeps an eye on her surroundings for Niobe, but she can't find her, so while she keeps on killing the smoke monsters without end, because the ones that she kills turn to smoke, then after a while, the smoke becomes monsters again, a never-ending cycle. She says,

"Spirit seeing eyes."

Then she sees something moving between the monsters, watching her, like a predator watches his prey, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Melody starts to really think about taking out the Destroyer and ending this fight. But she knows she can't do that either.

"Titan's strength."

"Haste."

"Unlimited stamina."

Then she takes another sword from her space ring, now let's play.

She starts to kill the monsters with double the speed and half the effort. When Niobe sees that, she knows she can't wait anymore; she needs to act, so she joins the fight and appears behind Melody.

With a sword in her hand made from smoke, she slashes toward her back with the sword, but Melody sees her and before the sword makes contact with her back, she accelerates even more and moves with a speed that looks like teleporting, appearing behind Niobe.

"Soul freeze."

Niobe stops for a second, but that second is enough for Melody to hit her with her sword. But Melody is not satisfied, so she says,

"Soul triple damage."

If this sword even scratches Niobe, then she will feel as if she was cut in two. That is for embarrassing me in front of Ark.

She hits Niobe's back with the sword, but as the sword passes through her, Niobe just disappears like smoke in the wind. It wasn't the real Niobe; it was just a distraction.

Just then the whistle blows, and they hear:

"The one minute has ended."

But just then, Niobe appears with a knife next to Melody's neck.

"Very good, Miss Melody. You are strong, and I felt it; you were holding back."

"I am glad that I was able to pass, but I should warn you, don't play around with Ark."

Then she leaves the stage and goes to Ark. The people from the sidelines were screaming 'good fight' and cheering her.

When she reaches Ark, she hears him say:

"Computer the Destroyer would be disappointed in you."

Her cheeks take on a red hue. Stomping with her legs and with an angry look on her face, she says:

"Stop saying that name! I was just young and too powerful for my age to know better. And besides, I don't want to blow our cover; I don't like Plan B."

Ark just looks at her and smiles.

"Ark, why are you smiling like that? What are you planning to do?"

"I will just take her eyes, that are higher than the high heavens, and make her remember her place."

Melody just looks at him as he walks slowly to the arena, feeling a sense of pity for Niobe. But only a little, very little bit.

The people are watching the frail-looking guy walking towards the middle of the arena, and all are thinking, 'He won't last a second in the ring with the White Nightmare.'

Niobe just watches him, her nightmare monsters all behind her, waiting for their master's order.

Ark stops in the middle and watches her with a calm look on his face.

Niobe, for some reason, doesn't like the look on Ark's face. She feels like punching it. But being the old monster that she is, she doesn't let her emotions take control of her. Instead, she sends some monsters in front of her and becomes even more careful.

She feels like something is wrong when she looks into Ark's eyes, but she doesn't know where this feeling is coming from.

The guys on the side are silent, waiting for the start of the match. Then the same guy comes and says,

"Ready...Fight!"

When Niobe hears the start, she becomes invisible immediately and orders the nightmares to attack Ark.

But before she can even finish her thoughts, she sees Ark appearing in front of her. 'What? How did he move so fast? I didn't even see him! Did he really teleported in front of me?' She prepares to block whatever he will throw at her. But Ark, being Ark, doesn't do what she was expecting. She has time just to watch his leg coming at her, and then she feels something that she hasn't felt in her entire life, and will never feel again.

After teleporting in front of her, Ark just watches her for a moment, and then he hits her with his leg directly in her family jewels.

Niobe feels pain down there; she falls to her knees and puts her hands where it hurts. But for her, the pain is the last thing that matters. She doesn't even know what to do or what to think.

'Did he just hit me in my private place?' she asks herself in disbelief while kneeling on the ground.

Ark just watches her from above. He doesn't attack her anymore, and he doesn't have to worry about the monsters anyway, because after the hit, all nightmares disappeared, turning back into smoke and drifting away.

On the sideline, complete silence. The guys are with their mouths open so wide that you could fit a watermelon inside. Their brains aren't working, unable to process what just happened.

Melody is in disbelief that anyone could do something like that to a girl, and in front of an audience, and not even blinking while doing it.

She thinks, 'Yeah, we're dead.'

She looks around her and sees the guys still in shock, not even breathing, just watching the scene on the stage with their eyes wider than tennis balls.

Inside their heads, they see only the kick again and again, but no matter how many times they see it, they can't and won't believe it.

Niobe Megara, the White Nightmare, was hit by a guy under the belt in a fight, directly in her family jewels. And now she is kneeling in front of that guy while holding her crotch. 'Are we in the real world right now? Did we die and go to another dimension?'

Niobe is in an even greater struggle inside her head: how did he even manage to hit me with a physical attack? How can I even look someone in the eyes now? How can I even live now?

Everything is his fault; I WILL KILL HIM!

Niobe raises her head and sees Ark looking down at her. With the same nonchalant face, as if what he did was perfectly fine. No problem for him. Then she hears him say,

"Now this is the right place for your eyes, to look 'UP' when you look at someone, and not always down."

When Niobe hears him and sees the position she has in front of him, something breaks inside her. Then her aura starts to pour out like a wave, a white mixed with black aura that starts to shake the entire pyramid. Niobe Megara, the White Nightmare, at her full power, ready to kill Ark.