After those words left his mouth, Yusei… oddly enough, stood still.
“Uh… aren’t you going to attack?” Zain, weirded out by the situation, asked. Unlike the others, Yusei was on a level of his own, so even if he wanted to, attacking without strategy was a risky move for Zain.
Meanwhile, the shinobi opposite him answered. “Don’t you have a level 6 Boost? Use it first, and then we’ll continue.”
“… Are you serious?”
“Of course,” nodded Yusei. “I had the level 6 Trap, so it’s only natural that you get to use yours.”
“Sounds awfully fair-and-square for a ninja to fight,” Zain smirked at the reasoning from his opponent.
“Before I am a shinobi, I’m also a man,” chuckled Yusei. “And I still haven’t gotten payback since your entrance exam.”
“Petty… But I’m down for that. Let’s rumble, then.”
Zain then dropped the die to the ground. A large puff of smoke ensued, and from within, a bright, golden light emanated. As the smoke settled, floating in the air was no longer a die, but a shining, golden chalice filled with what could only be described as a godly aura.
“Level 6 Boost, Wish Granter…” Yusei mumbled. “A special item that gives you any other item in the game except itself, no matter if it had been used or not…”
The chalice then made its way to Zain, before dissolving itself into his body. Before the young man now appeared a long holographic list of every item possible in the game world, all from Weapons to Boosts and Traps, levels from low to high, and along with them were detailed descriptions and usage for each one.
As his finger scrolled down the list, a certain item caught his eyes, causing him to mumble in surprise:
“This is also here?”
Without any hesitation, Zain touched on the item. A golden light shone through the city once more, and before he knew it, on his body was his Bitleo armor yet again.
“Level 5 Weapon, Nanobot Suit,” continued Zain. “For one minute, negate all incoming damage, while able to deal damage to the opponent with regular attacks…”
“Looks like we both have our best tools in tow,” Yusei, seeing Zain in his suit again, let out an excited grin. Lowering his body to get ready for a rush forward, the ninja held out his knife towards his opponent:
“Shall we get started?”
“I’m always ready.”
As soon as the words were uttered, without fail, both rushed in with their top speed. Yusei opened with a forward slash going up the length of Zain’s torso. However, the latter had paused his advance in time, and, with the ball still on his feet, bounced it into the air for a volley forward.
Yusei had known how terrifying Zain’s Soccer Style was, and so, there was no chance for him to continue letting his opponent do what he wanted. Holding out his knife, the ninja slipped through the volley’s path, but not without attempting to return the favor with another slash of the knife. Although, Zain was not his target this time, as the level 5 Kamaitachi made its way straight to Zain’s ball.
Immediately, the young man realized the situation he was in. Rushing forward, Zain raised his leg just in time to trap and retrieve the ball before Yusei could pop it with his knife. As a result, his foot was cut into a deep wound, but under the effect of his armor, the injury soon healed itself, covering the slash mark with bits of data in a flash.
“Soccer Style’s third weakness,” Yusei let out a smirk. “It depends on the projectile you use, but in its purest form, the soccer ball is not suited to be a weapon. Against a real gun or knife, it will be gone before you know it.”
Zain gritted his teeth in silence. He knew that Yusei was right. One wrong move and his range advantage would be gone. Although his current Nanobot Armor was almost the same as Bitleo in the real world, it still couldn’t completely replicate the real deal, which included the latter’s incredible flexibility to transform into anything within Zain’s imagination.
He could try hand-to-hand combat thanks to his current advantage of invincibility, but Zain knew that Yusei wouldn’t let him. His opponent was much faster than him, and so, he could just wait out the one-minute timer of the armor before retaliating with a swift strike. Zain needed the range advantage to keep up with Yusei’s speed, but it was that speed that prevented him from going for ranged attacks. It was a lose-lose situation.
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“What’s the matter?” His opponent, meanwhile, replied with a taunting chuckle. “Can’t attack anymore? Then allow me!”
A sudden sonic boom blasted through the ground behind the two combatants. Zain was unable to see Yusei at all, not even his blurry figure like the last time they fought. In his mind, the young man knew that the only target feasible was the ball on his feet, but unlike the other instances, even his enhanced thinking and reaction couldn’t save him now.
At this moment, Yusei’s speed had gone past the mark of superhuman level.
Not only did the shinobi slash through the soccer ball with no resistance, but the resulting wind force was also enough to slash through Zain’s entire torso, almost splitting him in half. Not the knife, but the wind pressure from the slash itself, did that kind of damage to Zain. With the protection of his armor still in the allotted time, the young man was saved, but at this point, any advantages he might have had gone to smoke.
“And that’s your only chance against me dealt with,” Yusei, after a second, returned to his original position, swinging his knife around as an extra intimidation tactic. “And now all that’s left is to wait out the timer.”
Before Zain could do anything, he was once again bombarded with knife slashes coming from all directions. None of the attacks dealt any damage, but they were far from pointless. Not only did they lower his vision and reaction time, but the knife assault was also a way for Yusei to hide himself, masking his presence with his incredible speed and relentless pursuit. And not to mention, even if the slashes didn’t lower Zain’s in-game health, they still caused him intense pain, and little by little, his mind would weaken with each successful cut.
Zain was far from the type to give up in front of a seemingly impossible situation. But despite his best effort of swinging his fists randomly around him in hope of a lucky hit, the young man was essentially a sitting duck before Yusei’s barrage. The armor’s timer kept going down, but Zain still couldn’t get a single hit in his opponent.
This is hopeless! The young man gritted his teeth in pain. He’s too fast! I can’t beat him like this! I need…
In this life-or-death case, there was only one solution in Zain’s mind. However, even he himself wasn’t sure if he could pull it off, let alone if it was effective or not.
The Soccer Style that removed the limitations of a ball… Renewed Soccer Style!
Zain attempted to move his foot forward, imitating the action of dribbling. However, without a ball as a guide, the young man’s steps felt clumsy and stiff, completely different from the normal, smooth footwork he was used to.
“Too bad!” Yusei, seeing the slip-up in Zain’s defense, countered with another slash going along his chest, even through the length of both his arms. It was at this moment that Zain also had the last painful realization.
Even if he would be able to do Leo’s Renewed Soccer Style, it wouldn’t be enough. The moves were extremely skillful, yes, but the initial difference in their bodies was just too much to cover, even with masterful footwork.
However, to tell Zain to quit would be the last thing anyone’d do.
If I can’t beat him even with Renewed, then I just need to go further than that! Passing the limitations of the ball… Passing the limitations of a human!
“Renewed? Screw that!” Zain shouted as the suit he wore started to slightly vibrate. Though it didn’t directly show, it was the signal that his suit was about to time out. Once the vibration started, there would be only ten seconds left.
Meanwhile, Zain, still enduring the endless slashes, continued:
“So what if you’re faster than me? My core strength is still much stronger than you!”
It was at that moment that Zain realized the final piece he was missing. His absurd, inhuman strength, the weapon that he hadn’t used ever since he escaped the Infinite Prison, was always there. Since going out to the real world, Zain had learned to control his strength much better than before, in an attempt to not hurt the others around him. However, thanks to that constant restriction on himself, the young man had forgotten how strong he actually was. And strength, in certain specific cases, could equal speed.
Glimpses of Mirai jumping towards him a few minutes before appeared in Zain’s mind. Though it was not actual speed, the propelling force would rival that of a speedster in just a moment. And while Mirai was even stronger than Zain, he could still apply the same thing that he experienced.
But to do that, he would only have one chance. One second to bet his entire life.
All of those thoughts and ideas came to Zain in less than a few seconds. Once he had decided his course of action, Yusei’s knife was right before his face, and his suit was exactly one second away from expiring.
Zain pressed his left foot onto the ground while bending his right knee and leaning his body forward.
One second.
One hit.
“Beyond Soccer Style: One-shot Kill!”
It was a difference of millimeters. Yusei’s knife was almost barely touching Zain’s face, but Zain’s fist had smashed its way onto Yusei’s face. As a result, beneath the ninja’s feet, his final pink heart flickered one last time, turning to a cold, hard black as Yusei disappeared into data.
“Game over!” Booming across the city was the same voice at the beginning of the game. “The winner is team Zain and Mike!”
Once Zain came to, the mechanical tentacles holding onto his limbs were gone, and the rest of his teammates and opponents were in the same state. However, Zain knew that it wasn’t over just yet, as the bet between the two sides came back to his memories.
As if showing off the undeniable proof, from within the room’s walls, the same mechanical voice that saved them from certain doom once again sounded, but this time spelling their doom instead:
“The game has been settled. Initiating bet-fulfillment phase…”