Xenovia
The air in front of Shinra distorted as a large ornate mirror appeared between us.
The surface of the mirror didn’t reflect a clear image back, and only showed a crude outline of my figure as it shone under the light from my holy blade.
Time seemed to slow as my sword traveled towards it.
I didn’t understand what her Sacred Gear could do, but with how she used it, it was likely a shield or another counter type ability.
Before my strike could land, a symbol appeared in the air just ahead of my blade.
As my sword passed through it, the path of my blade shifted.
My sword still made contact with the mirror and it shattered under my attack.
As it shattered, a burst of energy launched out of the remains of the mirror at me.
At the same time shadows lashed around my waist and ankle, yanking me to the side.
I was torn out of the path of the retaliation and sent spinning to the ground as I was still clipped by part of it.
Yuki had managed to redirect part of my attack and pull me as far enough away that I was only grazed instead of taking it head on.
Pain tore across my ribs and arm.
But it was not enough to remove me from this game.
I skidded across the concrete until I caught myself and pushed myself to one knee.
I hissed in pain as I moved.
Shinra’s eyes widened at the fact that I wasn’t retired, before she turned to the side sharply.
Yuki stood near the edge of the two fights only long enough to be seen.
She held one hand outwards as she had moved close enough to interfere.
She had broken her concealment and Yura was already moving towards her.
Yuki glanced at her and disappeared as she Misstepped away before Yura’s attack could land on her.
Shinra clicked her tongue, frustration finally breaking through her composure.
“Her presence here will make our fight much more complicated.”
I forced myself to stand again, shifting my weight experimentally.
The wound burned when I moved, but I would still be able to fight.
Yuuto called from my left, as she backed away from her opponents.
“Swap back to the original pairings!”
“Understood!”
We shifted again.
Yuuto had realized the same thing I had.
It was a bad match up against both of the counter abilities that our opponents had, but Yura’s ability wouldn’t send an attack back at me.
I faced off against Meguri again.
Yura stood next to her rather than behind her this time.
She was recovering from the earlier attack Yuki had landed on her, but the damage she received was obvious.
Her movements had lost some of their earlier fluidity.
It was a good thing for me, as I had been injured as well.
Meguri’s eyes darted once to the darkness between two parked cars.
She had seen something, or thought she had.
Yura saw her reaction and immediately changed her position.
She placed herself between the area Meguri had reacted to and Meguri herself.
I smiled at their change in positioning.
Yuki was splitting their attention as well now.
They would have to focus on both of us at the same time.
I pressed forward.
Meguri brought her sword up and met me with more desperation than before.
We were both injured, but she had to watch her back and sides, whereas both of my enemies were right in front of me.
Yura moved to rain down punches on me as she assisted Meguri.
But each time she moved towards me, a flash of silver fur, or a glimpse of purple eyes would appear at the edges of the light near our fight.
Then Yura would react and pull back to protect her and Meguri from any ranged attacks.
But Yuki wasn’t just visually distracting them.
Tendrils of shadow would move across the floor and try to ensure them.
Cursed symbols would appear near them and cause them to trip over themselves or over correct when they moved.
Yuki wasn’t directly attacking them, but she was antagonizing them enough that they weren’t able to solely focus on me.
And I was able to punish them for it.
I pushed Meguri hard.
Each time Yura would try and counter my attacks I had room to pull back.
This continued until Yura moved to support Meguri against my attack and then hesitated when a figure stepped out of the shadow near the far row of cars.
Yuki stood on the edge of the shadows.
One of her hands was raised and a spell was already forming in it.
Yura broke away from me at once, and quickly rushed towards Yuki.
She probably wanted to try and take the opportunity presented to her to engage Yuki and stop her from freely pressuring them.
That was a mistake.
Yuki didn’t move or react as Yura swung a fist at her.
Yura’s punch passed through her and the illusionary Yuki began to fade.
That was when a spell flew in from a different angle and struck Meguri from behind.
She cried out in pain as she dropped her sword.
I took the opportunity presented to bring my sword down on her.
I would not be stopped from defeating my opponent a third time.
Ascalon cut and the enemy knight fell.
The announcement came over the battlefield at once.
[Sona Sitri-sama’s [Knight] retires.]
Yura turned back toward me looking shocked, then her expression quickly turned into anger at the loss of her teammate.
Shinra looked over from her fight with Yuuto.
Her expression tightened as she saw the retirement light fading away from where her allie had been.
Yuuto pressed her attack harder on her at that moment, not giving her a single breath to reorganize.
The enemy [Rook], Yura, was glaring at me after I had defeated her comrade.
The dim light of the parking garage was bright enough to still see her and Yuuto facing the enemy [Queen], but Yuki was still out of sight.
Yura glanced around at the parked cars and pillars just past the edges of the light.
Without having to worry about my attack being countered by Yura’s reversal ability, I was able to strike down our first opponent.
We now had a number advantage.
Yuki would be able to help Yuuto or I finish off our opponent, and then we could focus on the last enemy.
My shoulder and side still burned from the earlier attack I took from Shinra’s Sacred Gear.
It was a decent blow, but the damage was light enough to ignore without too much issue.
I would deal with the pain later.
For now, I still had Ascalon in hand and two enemies in front of me.
Shinra Tsubaki and Tsubasa Yura.
The enemy [Queen] and [Rook].
Shinra’s composure had not broken, she still looked calm, but seemed more wary of engaging us than she had before.
Yura looked shaken.
Meguri’s retirement had rattled her, and the uncertainty created by Yuki still hiding nearby put her on edge.
She would glance away from me every few seconds to check her surroundings for movement.
I reset my stance and moved toward Yura again.
Yuuto was still crossing blades with Shirna.
Shinra was fighting much more defensively and was angling herself back towards Yura.
Perhaps she thought that if the two of them fought together they would be harder for us to pick off.
But it also made it so that Yuuto and I could fight together against them.
I pushed forward and attacked Yura.
She dodged and deflected my attacks as she quickly lost ground.
When another tendril of shadow snaked around one of her legs and caused her to fall managed to use her reversal ability again on my sword, changing a blow that would have taken her down, into a deep cut onto the arm she used to shield herself.
She quickly pushed me back and scrambled to her feet before Yuki’s Shadow Briar could pin her to the ground.
Shinra and Yura ended up side by side facing Yuuto and I.
For a moment the four of us faced each other without moving.
Then another announcement came.
[Sona Sitri-sama’s [Pawn] retires.]
Grayfia’s voice sounded deafening in the quiet garage.
After the announcement I could only hear the sound of breathing as we each stared each other down.
With that announcement, both of Kaichou’s [Pawns] had been defeated.
That only left both of the [Bishops] and the [King] as opponents, besides the ones we were currently facing.
Issei and Koneko were advancing.
Our side was about to break through.
Things might not be going to Buchou’s plan, but we were winning the match.
Shinra clearly understood the same thing.
“Tsubasa-san, we need to escape,” Shinra said.
She still sounded calm despite the situation.
“But they took—“ Yura started to speak before she was cut off by Shinra.
“I understand that you’re upset about Tomoe-san, but us being defeated here won’t help Kaichou. We need to fall back and regroup.”
Yura looked like she wanted to protest, but instead looked away while clicking her tongue.
“They’re going to run,” I said.
“I heard.” Yuuto said, giving a short nod. “We won’t let them.”
We stepped forward towards them, ready to pursue if they ran.
The two of them each took a step back before turning and running.
Shinra went left, intending to use the support pillars and the parked cars as cover.
If she broke our line of sight, it would be much easier for her to slip away.
Yura moved the opposite way.
She broke to the left, trying to head straight down the middle of the aisle where it would be easy for her to duck behind any of the cars.
She clearly intended to split us apart to chase both of them, even if her route wasn’t as good to escape with.
Normally it would be a decent plan.
It would force Yuuto and I to each focus, pick one to chase, or only chase one enemy and let the other go.
But Yuki was still here, and she wasn’t tired from fighting due to sitting out the first half of our battle.
That was part of Buchou’s plan.
Yuki could be a serious threat in a fight, but she lacked longevity without a healer nearby.
Yuuto and I surged forward to give chase immediately.
We only made it a few steps and our fleeing opponents had only managed to run a few feet when the air between the two of them warped as Yuki appeared.
Her appearance was so sudden and jarring that I nearly stopped running.
Both Shinra and Yura’s heads turned to her as they tried to escape.
Her arm came up and aimed straight at Shinra.
A spell began to form in her hand.
Shinra reacted instantly.
“[Mirror Alice!]”
The ornate mirror appeared again between them.
Shinra had stopped as she summoned her Sacred Gear to counter Yuki’s spell.
But Yuki let the spell fade instead of firing it.
Yura had looked back at Shinra as she summoned her Sacred Gear.
Because of that she didn’t notice the cluster of shadows waiting to ensnare her.
Her eyes went wide as her legs snagged on the tendrils of Yuki’s Shadow Briar, and she went crashing to the floor.
Shinra’s [Mirror Alice] faded as she watched Yura fall.
She had a bitter look on her face as she turned and ran, leaving her comrade behind.
I was surprised at how quickly she had made the decision to abandon her teammate, even if it made the most sense to do during their retreat.
I stopped as I looked between the downed [Rook] and the fleeing [Queen].
Yuuto stopped a few steps ahead of me.
“Go after the [Queen]!” Yuki shouted to us. “I’ll handle the [Rook]!”
Yura was struggling to get up as the mass of shadowy limbs pinned her arms and legs.
“Right!” Yuuto shouted as she began to chase after Shinra, who was quickly building distance between us.
Yura tore one of her arms free of her restraints.
Yuki lifted both hands and fired two Baleful Bolts at her as she began to get up.
Yura let out a cry of pain but continued to rise and then lunge at Yuki,
Yuki ducked under the wide swing sent at her and fired another spell into Yura’s side as she backed away from her.
Yura stumbled before turning back to face Yuki and get into a proper fighting stance.
But her movements were already starting to grow sluggish from the wounds Yuki was inflicting upon her.
“Xenovia-san, go!” Yuki said, after realizing I hadn't left yet. “I’ll finish this quickly and then catch up!”
After her initial glance at me, Yuki’s eyes didn't leave her opponent.
Realizing that I had been wasting time, I gave a nod and quickly followed after Yuuto.
I ran through the parking garage after Shinra and Yuuto.
I turned the corner that they had already disappeared around and saw Yuuto quickly gaining on Shinra
She was moving quickly toward the nearest entrance to the mall as she fled from Yuuto.
As Yuuto got into range to attack, Shinra threw an arm back and launched a hail of demonic bullets at her.
Yuuto was forced to slow her pursuit as she deflected some of the attacks.
Shinra began to pull ahead again as one of the doors leading to the mall came into view.
I caught up to Yuuto and sent a slash of holy energy from my sword at the fleeing [Queen].
“[Mirror Alice!]” She shouted once again as she summoned her Sacred Gear to reflect the attack.
When the mirror formed this time, the glass was already covered in cracks and portions of the frame were damaged.
It still reflected the attack as it broke it, but it looked as if Shinra wouldn’t be able to use her Sacred Gear again, for at least for a while
The reflected attack came back as a horizontal slash towards us.
Yuuto slid under the attack while I swung Ascalon, cutting through it.
I caught up to Yuuto and we both sped up to catch our prey.
We continued after Shinra, but she was quickly approaching the exit, and if she entered the mall it would be much harder to keep sight of her.
Grayfia’s voice rang out again then.
[Sona Sitri-sama’s [Rook] retires.]
I grinned as I gathered more holy energy from Durandal around my blade.
Yuki had finished off her enemy, just like she said she would.
Now Yuuto and I would take out the opposing [Queen] before she could escape.
I reared back the sword.
I planted my front foot and used my momentum from running to pivot and send a massive slash of holy energy forward.
It wasn’t anywhere near what I could produce with Durandal, but it would be enough to defeat our opponent.
Yuuto continued forward, following my slash that quickly caught up to Shinra.
She looked back and showed a flash of panic before firing a spell at a pillar Yuuto was about to pass.
A magic circle lit up on the pillar before a larger circle appeared on the ground.
They had placed a trap in case they needed to retreat.
Without Yuki present, we had missed it before it was too late.
And Yuuto was near the center of the circle when it appeared.
“Yuuto!” I shouted as I began to run forward again, trying to reach her.
“[Sword Birth]!” Yuuto shouted as she drove her sword into the floor.
Swords began to quickly sprout out of the ground around her, forming a hasty barrier moments before the magic circle activated.
The circle flashed once before there was a large explosion.
I put an arm in front of my face to shield myself.
I was forced back by the shockwave and the car alarms around me began to go off.
When I lowered my arm I saw a large section of the parking garage had been scorched and a few cars had been destroyed.
I realized that I hadn’t heard any retirement announcements and I rushed forward into the smoke.
As I ran to where Yuuto had been I heard footsteps behind me.
“What happened? Where’s Yuuto-san?!” Yuki shouted as she caught up to me.
“Shira-senpai activated a trap and Yuuto was caught in it.” I explained as we reached where I had last seen Yuuto.
There were fading fragments of her [Sword Birth] blades scattered everywhere.
Then I saw her lying in a small, relatively untouched patch of ground.
Yuki and I ran forward and I knelt next to her and rolled her onto her side.
Yuuto groaned as she was moved.
She opened her eyes and blinked a few times before moving her hand up to her ear.
Her left ear was bleeding.
Her left arm was also burned and bleeding.
Other than those injuries, she seemed to have escaped mostly unscathed.
She sat up with another small groan.
“Are you alright Xenovia?” She asked.
“I think that I should be asking you that, Yuuto,” I replied. “Though considering you haven't retired, I’m guessing you'll say you're fine.”
“You’re right. I’ll just need a moment before I can move again.”
“You found bandages during the strategy period, right? Give them to me.” Yuki said.
Yuuto nodded and summoned a roll of gauze and other basic medical supplies that she had gathered earlier.
Yuki began to treat the injuries to her arm.
“What happened to Shinra-san?” Yuki asked as she worked.
I glanced over to the door that she had been heading for before the trap detonated.
There was a long gash in the concrete next to the doorway and the door had been knocked off of its hinges.
Whether Shinra had done that, my attack had, or the explosion did, I didn’t know.
“She escaped into the mall. I sent a large attack at her, but she seemed to have avoided it.” I replied.
I was frustrated that I had missed multiple opportunities to take out a valuable piece of our opponents team.
“It’s fine, we will just have to follow Buchou’s plan and rejoin the rest of our team.” Yuuto said as she stood.
Normally someone would have told her to rest or wait here longer until she recovered.
But both Yuki and I knew that Yuuto would not sit still while she could still fight in this match.
I don’t think that any of us three would agree to pull ourselves back from the fight.
So the three of us went over to the entrance of the mall.
As we passed through the doorway, we immediately noticed the blood spilled across the ground.
It looked like my attack had landed.
There was a large amount of blood spilled, but Shinra had not been declared defeated, unless I missed the announcement in the explosion.
Yuki crouched down to inspect something.
She stood holding a broken vial.
I realized what it was immediately.
“Sona-Kaichou gave Shinra-senpai her team’s Phoenix Tears.” Yuuto said. “That’s why she was able to survive Xenovai’s attack.”
That made me feel less bitter about failing to defeat her.
And now we knew that the enemy team had already used their one healing item.
“The blood leaves the beginning of a trail before it ends. It looks like Shinra-san is heading for the center of the mall. That’s where Buchou and the others were heading.” Yuki said.
“She must be heading to regroup with her team. That means they are going to be facing the rest of us. If we hurry we can catch them from behind as they fight!” Yuuto said.
“Then let’s hurry.” I said as I began to move.
Yuuto and Yuki immediately followed after me.
The three of us would chase after Shinra.
We would rejoin the rest of the peerage as they faced down the remainder of our enemies.
And then we would finish this game.
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