Mono tried to swing his whip at Raten, but he outstretched his hand, activating the Video Stasis again, freezing the whip mid-air, freezing it in place.
The whip looked as if it was a striking snake that had suddenly become paralyzed.
Raten then held out his other hand.
Instantly, water began to form in his palm.
Raten smirked. It was a good idea for him to copy the Water Ability from that second-year Tsukuru had knocked out before he came over to help Quinn.
Raten shot out a pressurized blast of water at Mono.
One of the best parts of the Copy Ability was that he could combine MC cells. Tsukuru's Level 2 Video Ability plus that second-year's Level 4 Water Ability meant he could use either as a Level 6 Ability.
Mono gritted his teeth in annoyance.
He was being held there captive by his own weapon, frozen in the air by Raten's Skill, holding him there like an anchor.
He could always let go of the whip and avoid the attack, but this whip was an Advanced-Tier Beast Weapon.
And seeing how it was being held in the air by Raten's Skill, there was a very real possibility that he could just bring the whip towards him the second Mono let go.
Mono's eye twitched.
'Shit!' He thought. 'Guess I'll just have to use THAT!'
Mono held out his free hand.
Instantly, particles of light began to form in his hand.
Quinn's and Raten's eyes both widened in surprise, as another whip emerged.
However, one was different.
It was glowing yellow in color, appearing to be made out of some sort of strange energy rather than solid material.
It lashed around wildly even though Mono's hand remained perfectly still.
The whip looked more like a living creature, lashing out like a snake, rather than a weapon.
Instantly, Quinn realized what it was.
"A Soul Weapon!" He exclaimed.
Hearing it, Mono smirked.
"That's right!" Mono replied.
"Let me show you the difference between you first-years and us second-years!"
Back with Tsukuru, Layla, and Erin, they watched the fight from the sidelines.
The fight with their batch of second-years had long since concluded.
Due to a combination of Erin and Tsukuru's switching out his Pawn Grade Harpie for his much strongerElite PawnGrade Haunted Knight, the two had made quick work of the three second-years.
"So he has one after all, huh." Erin replied.
It was more a statement than a question.
Layla stared at the whip.
They could all feel the energy coming off of it.
"So that's a 'Soul Weapon', huh?" She asked.
It was her first time seeing one.
"Technically, it's an 'Item Type' Soul Weapon." Tsukuru replied.
Instantly, both Layla and Erin turned to him.
"There's more than one kind?" Layla asked.
Tsukuru nodded.
"Soul Weapons fall into one of two classifications, 'Item Types' and 'Enhancement Types'." He explained.
Due to his whole family being military on his father's side, he was…more knowledgeable than most in the major population.
"Item Types take the form of some physical object. It can be a weapon, like Mono's, or even armor. Enhancement Types, on the other hand, can be just about anything."
Tsukuru's eyes narrowed.
"A person can develop either an Item Type or an Enhancement Type Soul Weapon, though every member of my family has had an Enhancement Type."
Layla gulped, and made a break for it, running towards Quinn.
"Layla!" Tsukuru yelled, holding his arm stretched out in an attempt to stop her.
Seeing her run off, he let out a long groan.
He then ran off after her, leaving Erin by herself.
The two of them soon reached Quinn, each standing on either side of him.
Layla leaned in close to Quinn.
"Do you need blood?" She whispered.
Quinn looked at her, and smiled.
"No, I'm fine." He replied. "I'm not in any danger, so don't worry about it. I don't want to reveal anything in front of all these people."
Layla nodded.
"I understand." She replied.
She then turned, and looked at Vorden.
"Your friend. I hate to admit it, but he's strong."
Hearing this, Quinn smiled.
"Yeah." He agreed.
After looking at Vorden now and seeing how he fought so skillfully as if he had done it a hundred times before, and he was was even using two Abilities effortlessly,
Quinn realized that there wasn't much he actually knew about Vorden, and that Vorden probably had his own secrets that he was hiding, similar to himself.
And, instead of escaping when he was free and running away, Vorden had decided to come help.
In the future, Quinn would be sure to repay the kindness.
As Raten continued to hold the whip in his Video Stasis Skill, he felt a constant drain on his body, or to be more specific, on his Mutant Cells.
Raten grit his teeth in exertion.
'Holding this whip in place is draining my MC like a sink drain…' He muttered.
He had no choice, if he didn't let go, the Skill would eventually completely drain his remaining MC.
The aura of glitching pixels faded.
Mono's smile grew, as he felt the strain on his arm begin to slack.
"Finally!" He yelled, pulling the whip back to his side.
Raten narrowed his eyes, seeing that Mono now had two whips at his side.
"Just lovely." He muttered in annoyance.
Mono swung his arm holding his Soul Weapon at Raten, swinging it at lightning speed.
Raten held his arm out, and attempted to use Video Stasis on it.
However, the Skill proved useless.
It seemed that just like with the Telekinesis Skill, Tsukuru's Skill could only affect solid objects, not energy-based constructs.
Raten grit his teeth.
"Plan B, then!" He replied, holding up his other hand.
A wall of water appeared in front of Raten, attempting to slow the whip down.
However, instead of getting slowed down by the water, Mono's Soul Weapon suddenly grew in length, wrapping around Vorden's arm.
Mono smirked, and pulled him forward, dragging him through the air.
"Vorden!" Tsukuru and Quinn both yelled.
Mono then lashed his other whip out, wrapping it around Raten's arm, as well.
Mono then uncurled his Soul Weapon from around Raten's arm.
Mono then swung the whip down on Raten's back, it lashing against his back.
Raten tried to roll on the ground to avoid the lashes, but the whip seemed to be following him, predicting where he would roll next.
'This damn whip!' Raten though in annoyance. 'It's predicting my movements!'
Raten opened his other hand, and activated Tsukuru's Video Creation Skill.
The sound of electronic interference could be heard, and pixels began to appear in his hand.
The pixels clustered together into the shape of a sword.
There was a flash of light.
When it faded, Raten was now holding a sword.
Seeing it, Mono smirked.
"Oh?" He asked, swinging his arm back to perform another lash. "And just what are you going to do with that?"
Rather than attacking Mono, Raten used the sword to slice his arm clean off at the bicep, right where Mono's whip had been holding it.
The whip was no longer attached to his body.
But at the same time, neither was his arm.
Blood began gushing from the wound.
It seemed Tsukuru's Video Stasis Skill didn't work on liquids.
Also, Raten had been lashed several times, his back now covered in blood.
"Damn you!" Raten spat at Mono. "If only this body wasn't so hurt from before! Now, you've gone and done it! You think a Soul Weapon is enough to stop us?! Think again!"
In the dark room within Vorden's mind, Raten turned back in the chair towards the back of the room.
"Hey, Sil!" He yelled. "You're up! Give this shit hell!"