Chapter 52 - Deja Vu Spat

“Frame Unit, Awaken!”

The whistle’s sharp blast pierced the air, echoing through the metallic arena as two WAIFUs raised their morphers. In a flash of blinding light, their forms twisted and grew, transforming into towering mechs that shimmered with raw power.

Our opponent WAIFU, a gray-haired first-year from another block, stood across from us, her steely eyes focused and unyielding. At least it promised to be a fair fight—both of us on equal footing in terms of experience. Her transformation completed with a surge of energy, revealing a sleek gray mech adorned with pulsating green circuits that glowed like veins of molten light.

No sooner had her colossal frame settled into its imposing stance than her support unit roared a command, his voice resonating with authority.

“Light Shield, Beam Rifle, Equip!”

With his outstretched hand aglow, cybernetic circles materialized around the gray mech. A metallic shield locked into place on her left arm, gleaming in the artificial light, while a beam rifle shimmered into existence in her right hand, its barrel humming ominously with charged energy.

I snapped my attention to Myrrh, who now stood resplendent in her transformed state—a dazzling white-and-gold Frame Unit. Her mech radiated an aura of determination as her thrusters ignited, propelling her forward with a thunderous roar. Twin streams of blue flame trailed from her legs, illuminating her path like a streaking comet.

The two-hundred-meter gap between Myrrh and her opponent felt like an eternity, every second dragging as the gray mech’s beam rifle swiveled, its muzzle locking onto her advancing form. My pulse quickened. She needed protection, and fast. Without hesitation, I slammed the [Light Shield] option on the Bios interface.

A surge of energy coursed through my arm, blue circuits lighting up like a web of neon veins as the command registered.

“Light Shield, Equip!” I shouted, thrusting my glowing arm toward Myrrh. The circuits along my limb flared brilliantly, and in an instant, a cybernetic circle shimmered into existence on Myrrh’s right hand. A glowing handle materialized within it, which she gripped firmly as the shield took form—a radiant, semi-transparent barrier of light humming with latent power.

But then, as the opponent fired her beam rifle, Myrrh didn’t raise the shield. Instead, she darted into motion, defying expectation. Her white-and-gold frame ducked low, narrowly avoiding the searing green laser. A sharp swerve to the right followed, her thrusters flaring as she twisted mid-air, dodging another beam by a hair’s breadth. Her movements were chaotic yet precise, a reckless dance against death.

“Yaaaah!” Myrrh’s shout echoed through the arena, a rallying cry of determination. She charged forward with blinding speed, her thrusters roaring at full throttle. Then it happened—a beam grazed her left steel shoulder, molten shards of metal cascading like fiery tears as the Frame Unit staggered briefly before surging onward.

With a fluid motion, she closed the distance, bringing the light shield around in a ferocious side slash. The glowing edge cut through the air with a sharp hiss, aimed directly at the opponent’s torso.

“Ghh!” the opponent gasped, bending back just in time to avoid a critical blow. Her rifle wasn’t as lucky—the slash clipped it, sending sparks flying as the weapon was rendered useless, tumbling to the arena floor.

Not missing a beat, Myrrh followed up with a brutal shield bash. She slammed her glowing barrier toward the opponent’s mech with such force that the impact reverberated through the air. But her opponent was ready, raising her own light shield to block the strike. The clash of the two shields sent a shockwave rippling outward. Metal shards erupted from the collision, scattering like shrapnel amidst a cascade of sparks.

The battle hung in tense equilibrium, the sound of grinding steel and crackling energy filling the air as both Frame Units pressed against one another, refusing to yield.

I saw this as an opportunity to arm Myrrh with something devastating—a close-range weapon capable of delivering massive damage. A powerful, brutal strike was exactly what we needed to break the stalemate. My fingers hovered for only a second before pressing the [Buster Sword] option on my holographic HUD. The familiar surge of energy coursed through me, and my left arm flared with glowing blue circuits.

“Buster Sword, Equip!” I commanded, my voice cutting through the noise of the battle.

In perfect synchronization, Myrrh sprang into action. She discarded her shield with a swift, almost disdainful motion and executed a backward dash, her thrusters blazing as she zipped away with astonishing speed. In mere moments, she had widened the gap to a hundred meters, her white-and-gold Frame Unit a blur of motion.

The buster sword materialized in her hands—a colossal weapon of gleaming steel, its edge pulsating faintly with raw energy. Without hesitation, Myrrh hurled it forward with all her might, the blade cutting through the air like a missile.

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“Yah!” Myrrh’s battle cry echoed across the arena as the sword hurtled toward her opponent with incredible force.

The enemy Frame Unit reacted instantly, raising her shield in defense. The clash was explosive. The buster sword smashed into the light shield, its sheer weight and momentum shattering the barrier as if it were glass. Shards of glowing energy scattered in all directions, briefly illuminating the battlefield. The impact forced the opposing Frame Unit into a hasty retreat, thrusters firing to put distance between them.

Though the opponent managed to escape the sword’s devastating trajectory, the move had shifted the dynamic. Now separated by nearly three hundred meters, it was time to change tactics. Myrrh needed precision and range to maintain the upper hand.

I quickly selected the [Beam Rifle] option on my Bios. My left hand ignited once more, circuits flaring as I pointed toward Myrrh.

“Beam Rifle, Equip!” I shouted.

Without hesitation, Myrrh snatched the beam rifle from the cybernetic circle and, instead of taking aim, surged forward with it. Her thrusters roared, propelling her sleek Frame Unit directly toward the opponent, who wasted no time preparing for the clash.

“Laser Sword, Equip!” the opponent’s support unit commanded, his voice sharp and decisive. A brilliant blade of glowing energy materialized in the gray mech’s hands, its edges radiating a dangerous hum.

The two colossal robots closed the gap rapidly, their towering forms looming over the arena as they entered striking range. Myrrh gripped the rifle tightly—not as a firearm, but as a makeshift melee weapon. The opponent, wielding her laser sword with expert precision, swung first, the glowing blade cutting a blazing arc toward Myrrh.

When the two weapons collided, the result was immediate and catastrophic. The laser sword cleaved through the beam rifle effortlessly, the energy crackling as the rifle split in half like molten butter under a searing blade. Sparks and shards of metal erupted from the shattered weapon, followed by a burst of smoke that billowed out, obscuring the view.

But Myrrh saw her moment. With fluid grace and fierce determination, she used the smoke as cover and launched into a counterattack.

“Hiyah!” she roared, her thrusters firing as she drove a powerful steel-plated kick into the opponent Frame Unit’s abdomen. The impact was thunderous, reverberating through the arena. The opponent mech reeled back, its balance faltering as it was sent hurtling across the battlefield. With a heavy crash, it slammed into the ground, the sound echoing like a distant explosion.

Myrrh stood tall, her Frame Unit gleaming under the arena lights, her movements as bold and unpredictable as ever. She was dominating this fight, but I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling tugging at the edges of my mind.

There was something… off.

A sense of déjà vu washed over me, vivid and unsettling. My thoughts flickered back to our first day at Orbital Tech. The way Myrrh wielded her weapons now was unconventional, almost chaotic—not at all aligned with the commands I was inputting. My fingers hadn’t fumbled the controls, and yet her actions felt detached, almost as if she was responding to some unseen force.

“Something’s not right,” I muttered under my breath, my eyes narrowing as I watched her. “What the hell are you trying to do, Myrrh? You could’ve used the weapon properly, and we’d already have this fight in the bag!” I yelled, my voice strained with frustration.

“Shut up, Zaft!” Myrrh snapped back, her voice echoing through the comms. “I’m trying to focus here—don’t ruin my momentum!”

Her tone was sharp, cutting, and laced with an uncharacteristic venom. My chest tightened, a storm of emotions swirling inside me. Was she still mad at me? This didn’t feel like her usual temper. Was it… something else? Are girls on their period really this moody? Or maybe she’s angry at me for some other reason?

At first, I thought it was jealousy—an idea she vehemently denied earlier. But now? Now I wasn’t so sure. Her behavior made no sense, and the growing frustration bubbled over.

“What are you onto, you stubborn, clueless idiot?” I shouted, my voice trembling with both anger and desperation. “I’ve been giving you weapons optimized for every situation, and all you do is toss them away like trash!”

“I don’t need your support!” she roared back, her defiance palpable. “I’ll win this fight on my own!”

“Fine, then! Suit yourself, you ungrateful brat!” My hand slammed down on my smartwatch, deactivating the HUD and cutting the Weaponry Enhancement Engineering Bios System entirely. The interface faded from view, leaving me staring at Myrrh’s mech without a shred of connection. “Fuck this match, fuck this tournament—and fuck you, Myrrh!”

“Fuck you too!” she fired back, her voice crackling with raw fury. “Go ahead, storm off! Run back to your women, you cockroach-brained street thug!”

Her words stung more than I expected, like jagged glass pressed into an open wound. But buried in her rage, I caught a flicker of something else—something almost vulnerable. Jealousy? It finally hit me. She was jealous.

Why, though? I couldn’t piece it together, and frankly, I didn’t care anymore. My patience had worn thin. If she wanted to throw this match, so be it. I was ready to walk away and let her face the consequences.

But then, a cold sensation crept up my spine, prickling the hairs on the back of my neck. A sense of dread washed over me, sharp and unrelenting. I froze, my breath hitching as I turned my gaze toward the source of the unease.

There, across the battlefield, was the opponent’s support unit. Something about him sent a chill deep into my core, an unshakable feeling that this wasn’t just an ordinary fight anymore.

“Radioactive Flamethrower, Equip!” the opponent support unit bellowed, his voice thunderous and filled with confidence. Crimson circuits flared to life along his arm, pulsing with energy as he extended it toward his partner Frame Unit.

In an instant, the opponent Frame Unit materialized a massive, menacing cannon. Its surface gleamed with dark metal, ominously adorned with a glowing radioactive hazard sign that pulsed with a sickly green light. The sheer size of the weapon was staggering, dwarfing anything we’d encountered so far.

I froze for a moment, my mind racing. That cannon… I’d never seen it before. Not for first-year students, at least. This wasn’t a standard-issue weapon—it had to be their WAIFU’s Ultimate. The energy emanating from it felt overwhelming, a palpable threat that seemed to suck the air from the arena.

The weapon’s charging sequence was terrifyingly fast, its core lighting up with an eerie red glow. Then, with a deafening roar, it unleashed a massive wave of flames. The firestorm surged forward, a searing tide of crimson and orange, engulfing everything in its path as it hurtled toward Myrrh.