60TH GEAR - CONCLUSION AND RESIGNATION

Cold sweat ran down on Vincent’s face and nape. He tried to wipe it off using his sleeve, but sweat droplets kept on popping up. He gritted and clenched his fists. He is probably thinking about what shall be done in this situation.

The audience is in shock at this turn of events. Nobody is saying a word. Almost everyone in the arena is a fan of Vincent the Teleporter, so they are quite scared that the reigning Speedmage Champion will lose.

The score is 5:7, with Lilith having the upper hand. There is one minute left before the whistle is blown.

Everybody was frowning, especially me who cheers for my old friend. Ericka is gritting her teeth, and Cruzo is already biting his nails instead of his nachos. We are kept at the edges of our seats, having been forced to see the true terror of the witch.

However…

There is only one person who watched this battle with a smile on her face.

It was Flu.

“Awesome! Lilith is really awesome!” Flu pumped her fists. Her sapphire eyes twinkled in amazement. She is the only one who appreciates the playstyle of the witch.

I want to call out to her, maybe slap her back to reality and take her out of this lunatic trance. Only a person without the right mind would smile at this sudden turn of events, but I guess Flu was already crazy to begin with.

Or maybe she is just embracing the way Lilith conducts her Speed Battles.

My focus went back to the Triangle when my Mystic Glasses detected a rapid spike of mana in the air.

“Raaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Vincent screamed out loud as he charged up mana from the atmosphere. He is compressing an absurd amount of it to his body, and his heart. Vincent’s blue eyes sparked and glinted as he chanted his last resort spell.

“Land of Swords, come forth!”

An Alternate Reality Field was made in the arena. Thousands of swords are scattered all around the Triangle, and there are a few thousand more floating up in the air. All of the swords are made out of his mana, and he can teleport to each of them at will.

“Ara ara, you have finally taken me seriously, Vincent the Teleporter.” Lilith remained to be unfazed by this sudden change as she is still smiling with provocation.

“If touching the Checkpoint Towers is not the way to win, then I will have to strike your back as many times as I want!” Vincent raised his hand with a ninja seal and then whispered. “I am… omnipresent!”

Vincent teleported back and forth on his thousands of swords. He is now creating teleporter afterimage clones of himself.

Ericka gulped. This is the speed spell that ended her Speed Battle against Vincent back in the 2nd Round. This spell is almost unbreakable due to its nature being an Alternate Reality, and the thousands of teleporter clones made it impossible to escape. No matter where you go, no matter what you do, Vincent will catch you.

Lilith may counter one strike if she uses her Aether Switch spell. But how many times should she swap positions with a clone? Hundreds? Thousands? Ten thousands? Unless you are a divine magus with an unlimited supply of mana and ridiculously fast lips to cast it, there is no way she can switch out of this.

“Omnidirectional Strike!”

Thousands of Vincent clones rushed towards the witch who is just standing right on top of a Checkpoint Tower; their hands reaching out in all directions! North, south, east, west, up, and down- there is no escape!

But Lilith has no plans of escaping. She touched her cheek with a smile, and then her golden eye flashed a dark light.

“Gravity Field.”

Reality shattered.

The Land of Swords immediately disintegrated into a dark void of the abyss. Even the floating swords vanished in an instant. Lilith has rewritten the Alternate Reality that Vincent made. The floor now looked like it was made out of a solid flat black hole.

“Impossible! Another Alternate Reality spell?” Justine the navigator cried.

“Heh!” The navigator Gaylord Draculus chuckled. “It is a well-known principle that an Alternate Reality spell can be overwritten by another, more powerful Alternate Reality spell. Lilith’s Divine Eyes can easily destroy a puny alternate world such as the Land of Swords.”

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“Guuuuh!” Thousands of Vincent Clones cried as they fell on the floor and seemed to be pinned down by an unstoppable force! One by one, the teleporter clones vanished until only the real Vincent was left stuck on the ground!

“Big bro!” Justine cried.

“Gravity Field has an effect of duplicating the pulling force of a black hole that even light cannot escape. Everything in that Triangle will be sucked by the ground, except the caster of the spell." Gaylord Draculus proudly explained.

On the other hand, Lilith Nighshade gave a menacing smile.

"This fight is… over.”

Fweeeeeeet!

The whistle was blown.

The Gravity Field vanished.

The match is over.

Nobody uttered a word.

Vincent slowly went to his knees. I couldn’t make of his facial expressions as I can only see the back of his head. Meanwhile, Lilith has the same menacing smile on her face, staring at how adorable the dethroned Speedmage Champion looks.

The referee finally entered the Triangle, and the emcee broke the silence of the arena.

“The winner… and the Regional Speedmage Tournament Champion… is Lilith Nightshade!”

<>

I did not care about the closing ceremony of the Regional Speedmage Tournament. I decided to go home right after the Speed Battle ended. I was frustrated with the results even though Lilith made it a good fight for once.

I wanted to see Vincent, but I just felt like it was better not to. It might be best if I get a conversation with him after a few days. He must be upset and frustrated with the results of the match.

Having nothing to do in the arena, I decided to wander off on my own.

And for some reason, Flu tailed me. I only realized that she's following me when we boarded the train almost an hour ago.

I find ourselves walking at the Eastern Beachside, with the setting sun’s light brushing through our skin. Flu is jollily balancing on top of the beach wall, while I just continued looking at the ground while daydreaming, and my hands are in my pockets while I walk to make me look cool.

I am contemplating the frustrating turn of events in the tournament when Flu suddenly opened up a conversation.

“Lilith is awesome, isn’t it, Coach?”

“As a matter of fact… yeah. I cannot deny that she was amazing during that Championship Match.” I sighed in defeat.

“Vincent is also awesome. Captain Liri is awesome too. I pray that they do well in the Nationals.” Flu softly said.

“Who’s Captain Liri?” I tilted my head.

“Jeez! She’s one of the super duper awesome Speedmage Captains of the Cool Escape Guild!” Flu pouted. “And she won the bronze medal!”

Oh, right, I remembered that she was the Cool Escape Captain whom we haven’t had a match yet. I’ve never met her in person, but it seems Flu has already taken a liking to her back in the joint training camp. Well, Flu just loves everything, so everybody is her best friend.

Maybe I’m just too antisocial and aloof that I don’t notice the people around me.

“Man, the Speedmages in the Tournaments are awesome. They are the opposite of me, which is a complete failure. Tahahahaha…” Flu gave a fake dumb laugh.

I did not speak.

There was a strong gust of wind coming from the ocean. Flu tucked her dress so that her panty won’t be shown, but I saw it anyway. It’s her fault for walking on top of the beach wall while I’m just below her. I don’t think she noticed me peeking though.

“Hup!” Flu jumped towards the other side of the beach wall and then looked at me. “Hey, Coach.”

“What is it?”

“Come here. I want to talk to you about something.” Flu said with a smile on her face.

I went around the beach wall and followed Flu who is leading the way. The soft white sand gave out our footsteps, and the coconut trees waved at the two of us. When we finally reached the edge of the beach which is a meter away from the water, Flu turned to me with a smile.

Her fingers reached out her bag and then showed me a familiar book to me. It was the Speedmage Tactics guide she borrowed.

“I’m sorry, Coach. I couldn’t be the Speedmage Champion. I am returning it to you, okay?” Flu said with a consistent smile.

“No, you keep that. I have no use for it already.” I said as I pushed her hand.

“Then give it to someone else. Maybe Prez can be a Speedmage Champion for you. She went toe-to-toe with Mister Vincent, after all.”

I clenched my fists. My lips are shaking. My blood is boiling because of the anger swelling up in me. But I still kept my cool. I only expressed my anger in the form of a stare.

“Why?” I asked. “Is it because you lost yesterday that you are losing heart?”

Flu shook her head and maintained her smile.

“I just thought that I cannot fulfill my promise to you. I am a failure after all, tahahaha…”

“...Are you quitting the club?”

Flu shook her head once again, her smile slowly fading.

“I still love Speed Battles. But I realized that I am not as amazing as Lilith, Vincent, or even Prez. I still have so much to learn, and I was being stupid and naive for making a promise to you. I was just carried away when I beat Captain Tezza on our first day. I let their praises go on my head and I went delusional that I have what it takes to be the Speedmage Champion.”

“Don’t blame yourself. It was my fault too that you lost the match against Lilith. If only I had thought of a strategy back then, you would have fought Vincent in the Finals.”

“No, It was my fault, Jonathan. You are so awesome. You did your best to coach me. The problem is me. I did my best too, but it was never enough. I was born a failure, and I will continue to be that way. That is why I want you to find someone better than me. I’m sorry.”

Flu said all those words with a smile on her face, but tears are welling up in her eyes. She is like a person who is saying farewell to a loved one, trying to suppress her sadness by showing a bright happy face.

I wanted to be angry… no, I am angry. But I do not want to show it to her. If I shout at her while she is self-loathing, she might self-destruct completely.

I’d never really thought about it until now, but… back when I first met Fluonessia, I fell in love at first sight. Her cheerful tone and stupid antics drew me in. Being with her is like going to a circus that brightened up my mundane days. But above all… she was the one who re-sparked my childhood dreams to become the Speedmage Champion.

“U-Um, Jonathan?” Flu tilted her head.

I fall silent, unable to think what I have to say. But I know what I have to do.

I will return what she has given to me. I’ll let it go, like releasing a dove to soar up in the skies. I no longer have any regrets.

I took the book with my hand and then bowed. “Thank you.”

“Yes!” Flu just smiled like she usually does, except that tears are flowing out of her eyes.

That one word conveys a lot of her feelings. Her frustrations with herself, her self-loathing pressure on her heart, and her doubts in her mind. It was a sign of resignation; a word of utter defeat.

I returned the same smile at her…

…

And then smacked the book right on her face!