47TH GEAR - I WANT TO ZIGZAG TOO!
“Wooow! That was awesome!”
Flu’s blue eyes glittered in amazement upon witnessing an oriental magic dragon go at full speed ahead.
“This is not the time to appreciate your opponent, Flu!” I scolded her through the mic.
“I-I know! But I’m just amazed to see an awesome speed spell I’ve never seen before!” Flu said.
“That’s what makes official Speed Battles a thrilling experience. You will never know what speed spells they will be using, so it is full of surprises.” I said with a smile, then I shifted back to business. “Now step up and touch that Checkpoint Tower!”
“R-Roger that, Coach!” Flu answered.
After three seconds, Flu managed to touch the 2nd Checkpoint Tower, scoring her first point in this tournament!
Beep!
Point for Fluonessia, at 1:1!
“Now go to the center of the Triangle and aim for a clear shot!”
“R-Right!” Flu nodded as she yielded chasing the 3rd Checkpoint Tower. She went to the very center point of the Triangle and waited for the opponent.
We are doing the Phoenix Arrow strategy we practiced during the joint training camp. This strategy works best if the opponent only focuses on touching the Checkpoint Towers, so we can safely say that this is an anti-Speedster tactic.
However, Flu’s aim using the Phoenix Arrow has greatly improved ever since that camp. If she can time it correctly, she wouldn’t need to create a second or third Air Trampolines to compensate. And it will be much cheaper in her mana consumption too.
Flu was finally in position, at the very center of the Triangle. Her head is locked onto the raging oriental dragon that has been running at the speed of sound.
“Flu, for better aim, try going for him after he touches the 3rd Checkpoint Tower! He will definitely slow down after he changes directions!”
“Yes, Coach!” Flu nodded as her blue eyes gave a glint.
Kiryu with his Dragon Drive spell continued to rush until he touched the 3rd Checkpoint Tower!
Beep!
Point for Kiryu, at 1:2!
As soon as the dragon drifted to change directions, I saw an opportunity for an attack!
“Now!” I shouted out loud.
Flu jumped and created an Air Trampoline in midair, and then she stepped on it while enhancing her feet with fire magic! The Air Trampoline bent like a bowstring, and then launched the pink-haired Speedmage at full speed!
“Phoenix Arrow!”
“Phoenix Arrow, inbound! Evade it at all cost, Kiryu!” The opponent navigator called out to her Speedmage.
Flu was coming from the blind side of the dragon, but thanks to his navigator, he already know what to do in this specific situation.
“Dragon Tail!” Kiryu shouted, and the energy dragon he was driving turned around in a quick loop! Kiryu’s frontal magical barrier collided with Flu’s, and now they are both launched away from the Checkpoint Tower!
“Kyah!” Flu cried, but she immediately recovered in midair. “O-One more time!”
The pink-haired Speedmage created an Air Trampoline and stepped on it with both feet, ready to combo the opponent with another Phoenix Arrow that has a much closer distance! At this rate, Flu’s speed will be doubled!
“Kiryu, get away from there and focus on rushing the Checkpoint Tower!” The opponent’s navigator said.
“Got it!” Kiryu kicked the ground with the full force of flames, and then the energy dragon around him started creating more flames! “Dragon Dance!”
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The energy dragon surrounding Kiryu started to boost in a zigzag manner while maintaining the same velocity! Kiryu is even jumping up and down which made the dragon look like a slippery eel slithering away from a predator!
It will be almost impossible for Flu to hit her Phoenix Arrow with such speed and unpredictability!
Swoosh!
“Eh!?” Flu muttered as she managed to miss striking Kiryu from the back and only ended up hitting nothing but air!
They successfully avoided Flu’s Phoenix Arrow, and now Flu does not know where the enemy is!
“Eh? Eh? Eeeeh!?” Flu cried as she looked left and right. “Where is he!?”
“He’s already rushing to the 1st Checkpoint Tower!” I cried out loud. “Forget chasing after him. Try making a shortcut and ambush him before the 2nd Checkpoint Tower!”
“R-Roger that, Coach!” Flu answered back.
I gritted. Our special tactic against Speedsters will not work against an enemy as unpredictable as Kiryu. If we stick to our Phoenix Arrow plan, Flu will just exhaust her mana. It is way different when we fought Captain Haruka Firangel because she was retaliating while she runs. Kiryu Kisaragi is different- he prefers to completely run away and turn it into a battle of race while completely avoiding any direct contact.
Beep!
Kiryu has touched the 1st Checkpoint Tower, and now he is leading at 1:3!
Flu managed to get into position right in front of the 2nd Checkpoint Tower. Her eyes are fixated on Kiryu who is running with his oriental dragon aura!
“Kiryu, use Dragon Dance to discombobulate the opponent.” The blonde navigator opponent said.
“Got it.” Kiryu enhanced his dragon aura once again and then ran in a zigzag manner! “Dragon Dance!”
Dragon Dance is a spell that makes the caster do unpredictable movements. He is like a slippery snake swimming in a twisty manner which will likely slip through Flu if she did not take action.
There’s roughly three hundred meter gap between both Speedmages. He will be dashing on Flu’s way after a few seconds.
Flu gave an adorable smile before talking in admiration of her opponent.
“Dragon Dance is really amazing.”
“You won’t be able to catch him if you stick to your conventional playstyle,” I said. “Do you have any plan for that?”
“I don’t.” Flu shook her head. “But I want to zigzag just like him, in my way.”
I smiled back. Having no plan and saying that stupid reply is Flu’s way of doing things. This is Fluonessia Asahime we’re talking about, and her love for Speed Battles will just bring a solution on its own.
“Go have a blast then,” I said.
“Roger that, Coach!” Flu gave a dazzling smile.
She spread out her arms and poured mana on her fingers. Then, with Wind Accel, she started to run backward until her back touched the 2nd Checkpoint Tower. All of a sudden, the entire line went glowing as several Air Trampolines manifested on both left and right sides!
How many Air Trampolines are there!? More than ten! More than twenty!? She spent so much mana just to create those magical circles! What is she planning!?
“Fluonessia Asahime, taking off!”
Flu gave a determined smile as she ran towards the first Air Trampoline to the right, then she bounced to the Air Trampoline to the left, then to another on her right, then to another to her left!
“Left! Right! Left! Right! Left! Right!” Flu spoke out of her mind as she jumped from one trampoline to another!
Just like the energy oriental dragon does its high-speed zigzag running, Flu has created her way to do a high-speed zigzag by bouncing between Air Trampolines left and right! But since Air Trampolines double the speed whenever they are used, Flu is getting the upper hand in terms of agility!
Fire red contrail streaks and pink wind contrail streaks zigzagged at their full speed until both Speedmages crash into each other!
Boom!
That was a loud repel effect coming from the magical barriers! Both Speedmages were launched in the opposite direction, but Flu regained her control a split second faster! She created another Air Trampoline, and enhanced her feet with flame magic!
“Phoenix Arrow!”
“Kiryu, Phoenix Arrow Incoming!” The blonde woman navigator said.
“Shit!” Kiryu regained his foot on the ground and then created another dragon aura and spun around! “Dragon Tail!”
However, the Dragon Tail did not deflect anybody. It only hit nothing but air!
It turns out that the Phoenix Arrow is not aiming to strike Kiryu but at the opponents’ overhead! Flu was already able to create another Air Trampoline, and now this time it is aimed toward Kiryu’s back!
“What the-” Kiryu could not react fast. He did not even have the opportunity to run or to turn around to protect his back.
“Yaaaaah!” Flu cried as she dashed downward to strike Kiryu from the rear!
Beep!
A pink magical circle point indicator manifested, and now it gave a point for Flu at 2:3!
“Guhhh!” Kiryu groaned as he was launched away due to the magical barrier’s repel effect. When he turned around, he saw that Flu is zigzagging with numerous Air Trampolines as her platform! “Shit!”.
Zoom!
Flu just passed through the disoriented Kiryu, and then made another Air Trampoline strike from the back!
Beep!
Another point for Fluonessia, tied at 3:3!
“Graaaaah!” Kiryu roared in frustration as he was launched again by the repelling effect. He wanted to catch his breath, but he must escape this situation first!
However, Flu will not let him blink, as she readied another Air Trampoline to dive recklessly towards his direction!
“Phoenix Arrow!” Flu once again launched herself into the air.
“Dragon Tail!” Kiryu created another dragon aura and turned around to deflect anything approaching him!
However, the Dragon Tail did not hit anything but air once again!
“Where is she!?” Kiryu cried as he looked upwards, but Flu is not there. He looked behind his back, but the pink-haired Speedmage cannot be found!
“On your left!” The beautiful blonde navigator advised Kiryu.
But it was too late as Flu was already rushing towards his position with another Phoenix Arrow!
“Yaaaaah!” Flu cried as she swiftly struck the opponent’s back!
Beep!
A pink magical circle point indicator manifested, indicating Flu’s additional point! It is now 4:3, with Flu on the lead!
“Good work, Flu! Keep on engaging him in a tag fight!” I gave my final advice to her.
“Okay!” Flu gave me a wide grin as she rushed toward the enemy once again!