Class-8's tactic was to besiege Class-1. To be precise, they'd have Lacritta and Reglam at the frontline as their defense, and lure the Class-1 for them to catch them in pincer from left and right.
They'd required Pala and Ester to jump ahead of others to kickstart their plan. rt had seen Zephyr's way of handling the situation, and among them, Pala and Ester would always be dispatched ahead to clear up their path. Of course, Karua's absence was within his prediction as well.
So, as soon he saw the two girls, he imdiately directed his classmates to halt Pala and Ester's advances, and slowly corner them toward Class-8's direcion. anwhile, Class-1 would try to join up with them. Class-8's next step would be to let them approach toward their centre, and once they're at the designated spot, the other units with Lacritta and Reglam would circle behind them.
That said, if it was their plan, then they still had a long way to catch up with them.
"—«Quad Shield of Aegis»! «Cover Shield»!"
"Wh, what?! Did the shield just split up—gaaahh!"
"Kuh, what an oversight. To think my attack would be prevented!"
Sierra had her autonomous shield split into four, and controlled them to block «Shota Hero» and «Warrior»'s attacks. She also had leeway to deliver a counterattack. Then, when were crouched in pain—
"Tch, then I will just use my heavier attacks! —«Upper Stance»! «Longsword - Magnolia»!"
"You're wide open. Unique skill «Twin Swallow Flip»!"
"Gaaahhh!"
«Warrior» tried to break the situation with one of his ultimate techniques, however Rika countered, sending him flying like a cannonball.
"You'd a nice plan, rt! But you would need much more than that to stop us! «Holy Sword»!"
"Huhh!?"
Zephyr begins with unleashing his 4th order skill at its max power. Though they were within siege, there was no panic in Class-1's mbers' faces. But Class-8 continued to push through, for this was their do-or-die mont. rt raised his voice for everyone to hear.
"Everyone, you're free to use your unique skills! Bring out your best now, or you may never get the chance again!"
And then began the gallore of unique skills. rt's move was so unexpected it even brought a slight crack on Zephyr's confidence.
"Tch, are we down to a unique skill's showdown now? But we're not going to lose! Everyone, fight them with your unique! Unique skill «Brave Heart»!"
There had never been a unique skill's showdown in the «Dungeon Activity», and that's where Zephyr's surprise stemd from. After all, unique skills were their final trump card. Because of the might they possessed, it was impossible to enact unique skill onslaught simultaneously during the group battle. And even beyond that, since unique skills affect one's combat pattern, this would also destroy team's coordination, and unlink their formation.
In contrast, the sa disadvantage was minimal in reality as individuals could assess the situation and ti their unique skill for maximum efficiency. This would also eliminate the problem of random elents, thus keeping the coordination. And the biggest buff plus point was of no consequence; since they were throwing everything to wind, they'd no need to worry about the aftermath.
Facing the unfamiliar tactic, Zephyr, too, didn't hold back. The only disadvantage for him, though, was their current placent. Class-8 had encircled them from their flanks, which ant Class-1 had to be mindful of every direction.
"Unique skill—«Apocalypse»!"
"Co on, you know you will need more than that! Unique skill—«Brave Slash»! And... I got you!"
"W-what nonsense?! You brushed away the apocalypse?!"
There was no doubt rt's unique skill possessed an extre threat. So, Zephyr set his target on him, and parried off the «Apocalypse». rt's face displayed a myriad of expressions, but the most prominent one had to be, "What the hell? Since when can one do this with a sword?!!"
But, that was the extent Zephyr could achieve when both ends clashed like a deluge. The two incurs heavy damage indiscriminately.
"Ah, what a pity-desu~."
It started with the elimination of Pala. Though a tank, her speciality lay in evasion, however with the unique skills raining so haphazardous, she was left with little to no room for maneuvers. Soon, she went down.
"Ack, we're damned!"
"Sachi, carry on with our hopes!"
Next, Emi and Yuuka of Harmonic Trio t their demise. The chaos, however, continued to expand.
"I found her! Target their healer, bring down Misato!"
"Gotcha! Unique skill—«Thunder Avatar»!"
"Let's do it together! Unique skill—«I'm Hero No.1»!"
"Wahh. Give a break, rt-sama! Unique skill—«Sanctuary»! «Reflection»! «Barb Barrier»! Eh, whaa—kyaaa!?"
The fangs sunk into Misato this ti. Perhaps because she was the healer, sohow, almost everyone had set their eyes on her. Misato tried to fight back by overlaying multiple barriers, but every single one of them were reduced to dust by rain of spells, kicking her out of the match.
Class-8 wasn't without losses. They'd lost seven of their mbers, including Warrior and Commander. They sacrificed much, but it wasn't without their stellar gain. They'd brought their blood of «Eden»! The audience erupted in cheers from their seats.
Zephyr had decided he would settle the final act with a bang, aiming for an adrenaline filled clash. The audience were clearly liking the climax.
As the clash continued, Zephyr soon noticed a problem. Their healing was lagging behind! With the elimination of Misato and Emi, their healers, they're gradually losing their ground. But even then, they'd «Saintess» Lana. At present she was two squares away—just where the Class-1 had been a while ago. And that distance should be nothing with the «White Throne». Yet, he didn't see any healing.
He imdiately turned behind, gazing in Lana's direction, and found her in a skirmish against three students. Shizu had been by her side, putting everything she could do to protect her master, and that had been causing the delay.
"An ambush?! You really are playing all cards, eh, rt!"
It was clear rt's goal was to cut the pivotal healer of Class-1, Lana. Though, much of Zephyr's astonishnt erged from the asures rt took. The skirmish had already resulted in 7 of Class-8's elimination, leaving only 6 of them. There's no way he would've ignored the changes if rt tried to move half of their force. Then where did they co from? ...The only plausible reason was the base's defense squad. He should've brought out every last of his cards in this final clash. Conversely, this also left Class-8's base vulnerable.
"Mm, so you saw I was going for you, instead of your base, and decided to pull your every mber, huh!"
"Obviously, I need to pull that much if I want to have a shot against Class-1! I an, we have more chances if we flail our hands here, than hoping for a silver of our force to repel your tide!"
Zephyr's expression seed apart in a soft smile when he heard rt's response. He had truly grasped Class-1 by their nerves. But, could it turn the tide for him? Perhaps not, for Lana and Shizu weren't to be underestimated.
Lana, especially, would not go down so easily, even if she faced three opponents at once. Promptly, Zephyr directed a certain soone's gaze to Lana's situation.
"Ester! Lana is under attack. Help her out!"
"What?! Soone dared to?! I am leaving right away!"
"Hey, we're still here! «Twin Lightning Flash»!"
"You would've to defeat first! «Justice of—"
"Get out of my way! Unique skill—«Princess Knight's Awakening»! «Full Drive»! «Long Thrust»! «Triple Strike»! «Long Thrust»! «Precision Thrust»! «Long Thrust»! «Triple Thrust»! «Legion Thrust»! «Long Thrust»! «Precise Thrust»! «Quick Strike»! «Raging Spear War Dance»!"
"Wha—? N, no, hold oooooooorrrgh!"
"Huh, disappeared?! I-impossible, what the hell!"
"Grh, Just wait for , Lana-sama! «Overdrive»! Lana-samaaaa!!"
«Thunder Wolf» and «Shota Hero» braved themselves to confront—well, or they tried to, but within 10 seconds, they're sent out of the match by Ester's relentless assault. She was like a blur at that mont, her figure passing through like a raging wind, uprooting anyone that tried to stand in the way, and, at the end, she unhesitatingly drove away to save Lana. One could only pray for the three brave souls ambushing Lana.
"......"
"......"
The storm called Ester had been so intense even Zephyr and rt had no word to describe. Anyway, at least Lana's survival is guaranteed. Zephyr thought, and turned to face rt. There was sothing he had to tell him.
"rt! Your tactics were impressive."
"So you say, but neither of them could stop you."
"Co now, it was bound to happen. We're just overleveled, no?"
"Mm, can't refute that. Though I do feel we could've done better. Alright, you're accompanying later for a reflection eting, Zephyr."
"Sure, let's do that."
The two's conversation ended there. rt pointed his wand in Zephyr's direction.
If he's open to chat, he must be trying to stall for more ti. Zephyr thought, realising rt's goal was to wait for his unique skill's cooldown. It brought joy to his face. After all, he was fond of such honest-to-god confrontation, never giving up until the last breath.
At the end, Class-8 was left with 4 mbers; rt, Noel, Lacritta, and Reglam. The others t a wipeout.
On the other hand, Class-1 lost one more mber—«Shadow» girl. While Lana, Ester and Shizu were engaging against ambush troops, so they're effectively left with 7—no, 6 mbers. They still had 7th mber, Alan, but he had been called off to not take off his clothes, so he had moved to the rearguard of the team, making signature poses.
With that, it was clear Class-1 had the ironclad advantage.
"Man, I am impressed you also managed to bring down our numbers. I believe it's quite a feat."
"Isn't it because you went for a blind charge attack? And then, here are we, having lost 9... nevermind, it's apparent the other wouldn't make it out. You've effectively eliminated 12 of us."
"Ester's quite the force after all. But... I believe the effect of her unique skill should've ended. ...Why are people still hurling like they don't have any weight?"
Zephyr hurled a glance in Lana's direction, and sure enough, the team of Lana, Ester, and Shizu had turned the table on ambushers. It was... quite a spectacle to watch. Since they're a step away from finalising the match, neither of them hold back.
It was evident nothing could tip victory from Lana's side. Still, what if Lana sohow face an elimination... ugh, no. No one knew what Shizu and Ester would do. Co on, win for us! Zephyr silently rooted for team mbers.
"Well, I guess your unique skill should be ready to use, eh?"
"......It is. This is the last mber of our effort. Zephyr, entertain once."
"Okay, just what I want!"
After sharing one last exchange, the two stepped backward, toward their remaining mbers, and prepared to bring the curtain down on a long drawn battle.
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