I bolted toward the western platform, where Hikari was getting mobbed by four Phantoms who’d apparently decided teamwork was a valid strategy. Diego had her in a headlock while Kira circled with those shadow tendrils of hers looking for an opening. Two others I didn’t recognize were trying to wrestle her flail away.
Trying being the operative word.
Hikari was grinning like a psychopath.
"This is fun!" she shouted, headbutting Diego hard enough that I heard the crack from twenty yards away.
Diego stumbled back, blood streaming from his nose. "What the hell are you made of?"
"Protein and fighting spirit!" Hikari answered cheerfully, then swung her flail in a wide arc that sent one of the unnad Phantoms flying.
I reached the platform just as Julian appeared from the other side, his golden armor gleaming in the afternoon sun. Of course the pretty boy would ti his entrance for maximum dramatic effect.
Our eyes locked.
"Nakano." His voice dripped with all the warmth of liquid nitrogen.
"Valerius." I gave him my most insufferable smile. "Nice weather we’re having."
His jaw clenched so hard I thought his perfect teeth might crack. "You dare mock here? Now?"
"I dare mock you everywhere. It’s kind of my thing."
Purple energy crackled around his fists as his Quantum Disruption Aspect flared to life. The air around him warped and twisted, reality bending under the pressure of his power.
Fancy.
"I’m going to break you," he promised, his sapphire eyes burning with barely restrained fury. "I’m going to shatter that arrogant smile and show everyone what you really are—a street rat pretending to be a Hunter."
I yawned. Deliberately. Loudly.
His face turned a shade of red that probably required dical attention.
"Are you quite finished?" I asked, examining my nails with exaggerated disinterest. "Because we’ve got a tournant to win, and your monologuing is eating into valuable competition ti."
He charged.
Not the smartest move, but rage makes people stupid. His fist ca at my face wreathed in that purple distortion field, and I could feel the wrongness in the air—his Aspect trying to disrupt my own abilities at the molecular level.
I activated Kinetic Absorption and took the hit.
The impact sent sliding backward across the stone platform, my boots scraping against volcanic rock. Pain exploded through my jaw where his knuckles connected, but imdiately that pain transford into sothing else—raw power flooding through my muscles.
My Strength jumped five percent.
My Agility climbed another five percent.
Julian’s eyes widened as I straightened, rolling my jaw with a satisfying pop. "That all you got?"
"Impossible," he breathed. "My Aspect should have—"
"Should have what? Weakened ? Disrupted my abilities?" I cracked my knuckles, feeling the temporary buffs singing through my system. "Hate to break it to you, but your fancy disruption field can’t touch what you can’t understand."
His face twisted into sothing ugly. "You cheat. You must be using illegal augntations or—"
"Or maybe I’m just better than you." I shrugged. "Wild concept, I know."
He lunged again, this ti his movents sloppy with rage. I sidestepped easily, bringing my bat up in a vicious arc that caught him across the ribs.
The crowd went absolutely feral.
Julian staggered, clutching his side. The Quantum Disruption flickered and died as his concentration shattered.
"How?" he gasped. "How are you this strong? Your file says—"
"My file says a lot of things." I stepped closer, my voice dropping low enough that only he could hear. "Question is, do you really believe everything you read? Or are you just too stupid to see what’s right in front of you?"
His hand shot toward my throat, but I caught his wrist mid-strike. For a mont we were frozen there, locked in a contest of raw strength.
Then I squeezed.
His bones creaked under the pressure, tendons straining as I forced his arm down inch by inch. His face contorted with pain and disbelief.
"Not so tough without your disruption field," I observed conversationally. "Turns out when you strip away the fancy Aspect and expensive training, you’re just another rich kid who’s never had to actually fight for anything."
I shoved him backward, hard. He stumbled, nearly falling off the platform before catching himself.
"This isn’t over," he snarled.
"It never is with you types." I turned my back on him dismissively. "Now run along before I embarrass you more than you’ve already embarrassed yourself."
His breathing turned ragged with fury, but footsteps retreated. Smart choice. The kid learned sothing today after all.
Hikari had dealt with her Phantom problem through the simple expedient of hitting them harder than they could hit her. Her flail dripped with a concerning amount of blood as she waved cheerfully at .
"I got the flag!"
"Yeah, I can see that." I glanced around the arena. The Vipers had secured the southern platform, with Kenjiro standing guard like so kind of bored statue. The northern platform remained contested between Isabelle and a Striker I didn’t recognize. The eastern platform belonged to Raphael, who’d apparently decided scorched earth was a valid defense strategy.
Which left us controlling three of five flags with twenty-two minutes remaining on the clock.
"Skylar, report," I called out through the chaos.
Her voice crackled through the comm unit in my ear. "Center platform secure. Two Vipers tried to take it. They’re currently taking a nap."
"Casualties?"
"They’ll live. Probably."
Good enough.
I jogged toward the northern platform where Isabelle was locked in combat with a tall guy who manipulated stone. The entire platform had transford into a maze of rock formations, with Isabelle weaving through them like a dancer while her spear left green afterimages.
The Striker saw coming and redirected his attack, sending a wave of stone spikes erupting from the ground between us.
I activated Shade Cloak, phasing into shadow form. The spikes passed harmlessly through my incorporeal body as I rematerialized directly in front of him.
His eyes went wide. "What—"
My bat caught him across the temple before he could finish the question. He dropped like a sack of rocks.
Isabelle raised an eyebrow at . "Showing off?"
"Always."
She secured the flag while I kept watch. Three platforms locked down. Two more to defend for... I checked the tir. Nineteen minutes.
Piece of cake.
That’s when things got interesting.
Reyna appeared on the central platform like a bolt of lightning made flesh, her marionettes crackling into existence around her. Skylar barely had ti to dodge before electric fists slamd into the stone where she’d been standing.
"Crap." I started running toward the center. "Isabelle, hold north!"
"Go!"
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