The Monsters

A few more battles took place then it was time for one of the main battles. The crowd waited then noticed a tornado form in the middle of the battlefield. I watched and smiled. The tornado disappeared and revealed Karasu spinning in the air. She opened her fan and covered a part of her face with it. She flew backwards and landed on the ground.

"Get ready for the next battle! On our left we have the Black Angel Tengu, a monster known for her mastery over the wind and Gale Energy! It is our very own Karasu Raitengu!" Himeko said.

"Right and on the right side, we have a member of the Gray Hounds of the MPT, Rachel Ackerman! Her battlesuit called the Three Hound Wrecker said to be boosted from the power of a different Realm entirely!" Yonaka said.

"Let's get started!" The AI Voice said.

Karasu stomped her feet down quickly and winds began to spiral around her body. She twirled around. "Wind!" She said then created a powerful wind storm.

Rachel grunted as she watched. She couldn't really do much against Karasu as the wind storms blocked any form of progression. Karasu stomped her feet down quickly one by one and twirled around then swiped her fan.

"Kuretsusen!" She bellowed, projecting blades of winds from the wind storm to strike Rachel.

Rachel parried each blade of wind then dashed forward. She dodged a few more blades of wind then readied her blade to strike. She slashed but the illusion had vanished. Rachel turned around and noticed multiple illusions of Karasu surrounding her. The illusions giggled then swarmed around Rachel.

Rachel looked around quickly to try and find the real Karasu. She bellowed and the Sigil on her back shined then she stomped on the ground and a Cerberus made from dark energy emerged from the ground. The Cerberus began to fire beams of energy from its three mouths. The beams hit the illusions and they all disappeared. Rachel noticed Karasu was nowhere to be seen.

Thunder began booming and everyone looked up. Karasu giggled and covered her face with her fan. She raised the fan in the air then a bolt of black lightning crashed down and struck Rachel. An explosion happened and Rachel screamed as she was blasted against a wall.

"Match Over! Karasu Raitengu Wins!" The AI Voice said.

"My my~ I guess I should've held back a bit~" Karasu said and her black wings covered her body then dispersed into black feathers and she disappeared.

"Wow..." One guy said in awe.

"She's so beautiful..." Another said.

"I would love to be with her..." A third said.

"She's taken." I said and closed my eyes.

The three looked at me and felt jealous as they knew that I was the one dating Karasu.

-------

"Our next battle is starting! Now we have a Monster known across Fujitori and now she's been tamed! We have our lovable Slime Monster, Rimuri Asato!" Himeko said and smiled.

A Blob Bear walked onto the battlefield and opened his mouth then Rimuri slid out of his mouth. She was covered in slime then she manipulated the slime to create her spear and grabbed it. She twirled it around and got into her stance and smirked.

"I'm not losing to anyone! I will battle Mae in the Promotion Matches!" Rimuri said.

Bip cheered as she hopped up and down my head. "Rimuri! Rimuri! Rimuri!"

I smiled and crossed my arms. "Hopefully she doesn't go too crazy."

"Her opponent is a mage coming from Yukihori! Her dream was to be a Valkyria but it was crushed because she didn't meet the requirements of having Spirit Energy! We know her as the Blue Oracle, but her name is Rai Hazuka!" Yonaka announced.

Rai looked determined and fixed her mage hat then grabbed her book and her mage robe began to flow as her water aura flowed around her body. "Get prepared...for I will strike you down."

"Let's get started!"

Rai began to fired orbs of water at Rimuri. Rimuri deflected them with her spear then twirled her spear around like a propeller and blocked a water beam. Rimuri dashed toward Rai and summoned a void and ran through it. A void opened above Rai and Rimuri came down with an aerial attack.

Rai looked up and dodged her attack then countered with an upwards blast of water then knocked Rimuri away. Rimuri smirked as her white body turned blue then she thrusted her palm in the air, releasing all her water energy into one blast. Rai was surprised and blocked the blast of water and slid backwards.

Rimuri landed on her feet and her body turned back to normal.

"What was that?" Karasu asked.

"One of Rimuri's abilities as a Slime or Blob. Elemental Adaptation. When she's hit with an elemental attack, her body can quickly adapt to that element giving her the ability to use that element, but she loses that element overtime or like you just saw, immediately if the attack is powerful enough." I explained.

"Not only is she already resistant to Physical Damage because of her nature as a Slime or Blob Monster, but combine that with her Abyss Energy...she's one of the best monsters." Fujin said.

Rimuri dashed toward Rai then started her combo with a low swipe kick. Rai tried to recover, but Rimuri knocked her upwards with her spear then she struck Rai rapidly by twirling her spear. She fired a blast of Abyss Energy at Rai knocking her back to finish the combo. Rai rolled backwards then grunted. She tried to get up, but fell on the ground.

"Match Over! Rimuri Wins!"

The crowd cheered and Rimuri happily waved to the crowd and beamed a smile at them. I smiled at her and was glad she was enjoying her victory.

------

Bachiko walked onto the battlefield and looked at her pocket watch then smirked. She licked her lips and closed her eyes.

~Flashback~

"You promise me you won't kill anyone, right?" I asked.

Bachiko sighed and smiled. She held my arms then kissed my lips gently. She pulled away and nodded. "I'll try not to..."

I blushed and closed my eyes. I let out a soft sigh then smiled. I opened my eyes to look at Bachiko. "If you ever have that need to kill, just kill me. I'll always come back.."

~End of Flashback~

Bachiko smiled then stopped in the battlefield and noticed how silent it had gotten. She didn't mind as it let her know how terrified everyone still was of Bachiko.

"Alright! Our battle is now going to be against the Archon of Time, The Chrono Beast, and the terrifying missing link of the Omnicron Trio, Bachiko Sato!" Himeko said.

"And the unlucky soul to have to face off against her is a woman of pure fighting genius. Born in a family of knights, the self proclaimed Sword Master, Ingrid Saber!" Yonaka said.

Ingrid looked at Bachiko and got into her stance. "Let us battle!"

"Let's get started!"

Ingrid charged at Bachiko and slashed, but Bachiko dodged it without efforts. Ingrid slashed again, but Bachiko dodged it once more. Bachiko jumped backwards and pulled out her pocket watch. She used some of her Personal Time to create a katana with a clock design as the tsuba, or sword guard.

"Infinitum! Sword Activation!" Bachiko said then the roman numerals on the sword guard shined.

"She's just toying with Ingrid. Her monster ability doesn't really seem too effective to me." Fujin said.

"Bachiko has the most abilities out of all Monsters. She has 36 Monster Abilities, 12 for the Pocket Watch and 12 for her Infinitum Mode, and 12 for Chronos." I explained.

"Why would she need so many?" Fujin asked.

"It's because all of her abilities take Personal Time to complete. Each usage of an ability requires her to spend Personal Time, and the more Personal Time she uses the stronger and longer the effect of her ability remains." Melody explained.

"She split her 36 Abilities into Three Categories depending on her weapon. Chronos, her true Monster Weapon. Her Heart allows for Meta Time Manipulation but only when she's at Full Power. Infinitum her main weapon, and she uses to create any weapon using her Chrono Energy, control time, and she uses it to keep track of her Personal Time. Finally, Infinitum Mode. It's only obtainable after spending half of current Personal Time to perform the task. It is her strongest current form as it allows her Infinitum Abilities to become stronger." Melody finished.

Bachiko parried Ingrid then kicked her backward. She slashed down and launched a gear made from Chrono Energy at Ingrid. The gear hit Ingrid then an explosion happened. Ingrid groaned as she was blown away. Ingrid landed on her feet and dashed toward Bachiko.

"Infinitum! Accelerate!" Bachiko said.

Ingrid's body shined blue and she began to run faster and trip because of her sudden speed. She crashed onto the ground and grunted. Ingrid stood up and looked at Bachiko. She ran toward her once again and slashed downward, but Bachiko parried then accelerated her time, allowing herself to slice three times in one motion.

Ingrid fell to her knees and laid on the ground.

"Match Over! Bachiko Wins!"

Bachiko looked down at Ingrid then smirked and walked away. Everyone watched her and I smiled as Bachiko kept her promise to not kill anyone.

-----

There was an intermission between the tournament so everyone could take a break. I went to check up on Mae and Lucia and noticed they were being directed to the cafeteria by one of the nurses so I decided to go to the cafeteria to meet them there.

Once I made it, I noticed them sitting at a table and walked toward them. "Mae, Lucia."

Mae looked at me and smiled. "Yoshida..~"

Lucia looked at me and nodded. "We meet again.."

I sat with them and smiled. "How are you two feeling?"

"I'm doing better. I've finally found the feeling in my body again." Mae answered.

"And I am having a fine recovery. I should be out by tomorrow." Lucia said.

"I see. And you Mae?" I asked.

"I won't be out until the day after, but I should be well enough to fight by then." Mae answered.

I smiled at her and stroked her chin. "I'll help take care of you tomorrow.."

Mae blushed and closed her eyes, leaning into my touch. "It'll be nice if you did.."

The three of us sat and chatted for a bit. The rest of the group found our table and sat with us with the exception of Bachiko who still wasn't fond with anyone in my group other than me and Orimi.

"So all there is left from our group is Orimi and Yae huh?" Rimuri asked.

"Yep." I nodded. I looked at Orimi and gently ruffled her hair. "I know you're gonna do great..~ I believe in you..~"

Orimi giggled softly and leaned against me. "I'm gonna make you and Mama proud...and I'm gonna show everyone that I'm not weak anymore..~"

Fujin, Mae, and Rimuri smiled at her comment. I nodded and I had the most belief in her. If anyone knew Orimi's potential, it was me. I had high hopes for her and will continue to.

------

Naora, Yonaka, Chiziwa, and Himeko sat in the staff lounge and chatted to one another about the tournament so far.

"If anyone's gonna promote, it's gonna be Yoshida. With him acquiring Tranquil State, it will be impossible for anyone to beat him." Himeko said.

"It is to note he just learned it and as you've seen it requires a lot of concentration and a clear mind to maintain. I can also see the stress it has on his body. His physical strength lacks enough oomph to quickly deal with his opponents while in that form." Yonaka said.

"What about Bachiko?" Naora asked.

"I can see her dealing with everyone with ease except Yoshida and Orimi. They are immune to her powers unless she uses Infinitum Mode or Chronos." Chiziwa answered.

"I'm excited to see how this goes..~ Everyone has shown that they have enough strength to even take down the Lotus Council. Seeing how Yoshida and Kanda battled, it's clear that the Lotuses have rivals now. They have to work hard to defeat Yoshida's group." Himeko said.

"Gives me an idea actually..~" Yonaka chuckled.

"Ah shit, she's planning something." Himeko said.

"After tomorrow, I will have the Lotus Council take on five members of Yoshida's Group. That way, we get some redemptions and some rematches~" Yonaka said and giggled.

"Ahh okay, I see the motives. I can get behind that..~" Himeko smiled.

"You two are still wild animals." Naora sighed.

"This is going to be fun to watch..~" Yonaka smirked.

To Be Continued...