. . .
[ Quest : Win the spar against Xenovia Quarta ]
[ Reward : Rank 3 Gacha Ticket ]
. . .
I swiped the notification away, watching it dissolve into pixels of sapphire light that scattered across my vision before vanishing completely.
Xenovia stood with full confidence while waiting for me to bring out whatever weapon I'd been stalling to reveal.
Putting that aside, spar quests had been flooding in lately, with the persistence of a clingy ex-girlfriend.
If I didn't know better, I'd mistake this for a spar system rather than a gacha one.
Without dragging it out further, I pulled on my Cross Tail gloves, letting it slide over my fingers with snapping them into place. The locks clicked home like the reunion between old friends after a long absence.
Cross Tail being my first weapon, I trusted my reflexes and control far more than the demonic sword and spear, I haven't yet shown anyone yet.
Moreover, I wasn't about to sideline my suited weapon, just because I was getting my hands on new ones.
A shame I never got to use it against that immortal bastard. If I did, it would have looked like a fool swinging a blade at flowing water.
Across from me, Xenovia held Excalibur Destruction, that monstrosity of a blade like she was holding a stick, rather than the heap of holy iron.
Her eyes sharpened as she saw me taking a fighting stance.
"I'm ready"
And, that's all she has been waiting to hear.
WHOOOOSH!
She launched forward in an instant, fast enough to scatter the senses of an ordinary human, but not mine. The ground beneath her feet exploded in a spray of dirt and grass, clumps of earth spinning through the air in her wake.
I reshaped my wires in the span of a breath, sculpting them into a katana. The threads interwove, compressed, layered with haki until they turn pure black.
CLAAANG!
The impact screamed through the field like a violent car crash. Sparks erupted where our blades met.
The shockwave rippled through my arm, vibrating bone-deep. My wired katana held for exactly 1.3 seconds before fractures spread across its surface, black lines spreading through the construct like veins of corrupted data.
"The way you drive that thing with so much force behind it..."
I glanced at the fractures crawling along my wired blade, entirely unsurprised. The cracks lengthened, shattering into fragments.
Honestly, it's like watching someone try to hammer a nail with a DragonSlayer.
Effective?
Way too much!
"Honestly, it's impressive"
"Then stop holding back." Her eyes blazed "Show me the power that brought down a high-class devil. Haaa!"
BOOOOOM
What followed next were sword swings that left destruction marks from Excalibur Destruction gouging earth in their wake.
I slipped through the gaps from the each one.
The two weeks I'd spent sharpening my reflexes with Syr paying dividends now.
That potion hadn't just reshaped my appearance, it had elevated my senses and physiology to the level that Xenovia thought she was all along.
She could feel annoyance in every swing that met nothing but wind, the frustration building behind her eyes. Her movements grew sharper, more desperate.
Each missed strike drove her Excalibur deeper into the ground, creating craters that would take the groundskeeper weeks to repair.
Girl got the experience of a horny teenager, overflowing enthusiasm, zero technique. Just swinging that oversized sword around hoping it would evoke pleasure upon the strike.
"What's wrong?"
I caught her blade with my katana and held it there, grinning into her scowl. The wire construct screamed under the pressure, fractures widening to cracks.
"You told me not to hold back, and now it seems you're the one who is holding back"
She gritted her teeth, as she launched a series of attacks which once again, turned out to be useless.
"Don't tell me this is everything you've got?"
Something shifted behind her eyes, the look of someone done being patient, done pretending this was a friendly spar.
KRAAKOOOM
She drew the sword back, muscles coiling like compressed springs. The Excalibur's aura swelled to its peak, a corona of destructive energy that distorted the air around the blade, turning everything beyond it into wavering mirages.
My skin prickled with goosebumps, hair standing on end from the overwhelming power condensing around her weapon.
She hurled herself in the sky with the force that cracked the earth beneath her feet. Then slashed at me with the Excalibur aimed at me, and I smiled as I covered my sword in white glow of Tremor fruit, bringing every bit of shockwave I could muster.
BOOOOOOM!
The shockwave rolled across the field in rings, flattening ground a level below. Dirt erupted outward in a perfect circle, creating a temporary dust storm that turned the world brown and choking.
Xenovia stared at me in utter disbelief.
Surprise, bitch. Turns out 'holy' and 'unbeatable' aren't actually siblings.
"What the—"
I didn't give her the moment to register what just happened.
I surged into the impact, as the Excalibur wrenched free of her grip. Her fingers, cramped from the death-grip she'd maintained, couldn't hold on. The Holy Sword spun away into the distance, before embedding itself in a tree trunk with a meaty thunk that shook branches and scattered birds.
"Gotcha!"
I flung the katana on her face.
She threw her arms up in pure reflex, and that was all the opening I needed. The wires danced around my fingers like I was conducting an invisible orchestra. Wires erupted from every angle like steel vipers responding to a snake charmer, whistling through the air.
They wrapped around her in layers, tightening the instant she fought against them, each struggle drawing the wired cocoon closer until she was locked completely still.
Her body went rigid, arms pinned to her sides, legs bound together.
She tried to thrash, but only managed a few movements before the wires constricted further, responding to resistance like living things.
Her chest heaved against the restraints, each breath a visible struggle.
Until finally—
"I...I acknowledge my...defeat"
SNAP
✧ - - ✧ -
Xenovia said nothing as she wound bandages back around the Excalibur Destruction.
Her silence carried more weight than any retort would have.
Yeah, that's the look of someone whose ego just got dragged behind a truck for three miles.
Irina, however, couldn't contain herself.
She slid over with stars in her eyes, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet like a golden retriever who'd just discovered tennis balls existed. Her twin-tails bobbed with each step. She tugged at the string on her left arm and snapped it into a katana, looking like a more elegant version of the weapon I'd just wielded.
"Motohama-kun! We have the same kind of swords!"
She held it up like a child presenting their most prized possession to a parent. Her smile stretched ear to ear, genuine joy radiating from every pore of her existence.
"It must be fate that our paths crossed!"
She pressed her hands together, drifting happily into her own world while Xenovia strapped her sword to her back and exhaled with restrained frustration. The bandaged Excalibur settled into its harness with a muted thump, on her back and then looked me in my eyes.
"We'll contact you if we require your assistance"
She turned and walked, offering no farewell.
There goes someone who just learned that confidence and competence aren't actually the same thing. Give it a week. She'll either come back stronger or come back more stupid.
Losing a fight stings. Losing one you started cuts far more deeper.
I hoped the lesson would embed itself somewhere useful — in her pride, her preparation, her habit of charging into enemies she hadn't bothered to understand.
But knowing Xenovia, that was wishful thinking. She'd probably spend the next few hours, convincing herself this was just a fluke.
Some people learn from failure, while others just get louder about their excuses.
"Goodbye, Motohama-kun! I hope we see each other soon!"
Irina waved like a wagging tail of an excited puppy. Then she jogged after her friend, and draped an arm over Xenovia's shoulders with the casual intimacy of long friendship.
She murmured something soft, too quiet for me to catch, but Xenovia didn't respond, just kept walking without offering any words.
Then, they were gone.
. . .
[ Quest Completed : Win the spar against Xenovia Quarta ]
[ Reward : Rank 3 Gacha Ticket ]
. . .
As much as I like getting the gacha tickets, I ain't putting myself through any more of the spar quests.
This is going to be the last one.
✧ - - ✧ -
"You're allying with the Church?!"
Kalawarner shot to her feet, her eyes briefly darting towards the room where Asia sat glued to her evening show, some Japanese drama about teenagers solving mysteries through the power of friendship or whatever the hell passed for entertainment these days.
The TV's blue glow spilled into the hallway, accompanied by cheerful theme music that clashed spectacularly with the tension in our living room.
She slowly sank back down, as I continued.
"I've been promised a favor, Kala"
I stretched out in my seat, still unwinding from the spar. My muscles ached in that good way that comes after pushing limits without crossing into injury.
"We've hit the ceiling on what the Underworld has to offer us"
The resources I needed didn't live in the Underworld, not the rare ones, not the things that could push past natural limits into the realm of genuine transformation. The treaty might eventually draw the factions closer, but accessing Heaven's reserves — the things that were genuinely rare, required a demonstration of loyalty in their bad moments.
Besides, if I'm going to get fucked, might as well negotiate the position and get dinner out of it.
"You are one of few people, who knows the ingredients that rebuilt my life essence came from Heaven. Even the Satans can't provide them continuously without offering something equally valuable in return"
Kalawarner nodded slowly, processing this information against her every instinct.
"Like I told you once, these relationships are just interest driven, Kala"
I pushed to my feet and turned toward the kitchen, already thinking about which Rank 3 surprise awaited me. Cross Tail had been the one from Rank 3 if I am not wrong, that alone was enough to keep my expectations somewhere above the floor.
My gacha addiction was showing, but fuck it, everyone needs a vice.
DING-DONG
I'd taken one step when the doorbell rang, interrupting the apartment's ambient noise.
"Who shows up at this ungodly hour?"
The sun had dropped below the horizon hours ago. This wasn't the time for casual visits from the devils or delivery drivers.
I waved off Kalawarner and crossed to the door myself, pulling it open — and stopped.
Out of everyone that I'd expected, he was the last one, to come knocking at my door.
The man stood in the doorway looking entirely at home, both hands loose in his pockets, an expression on his face like he'd just remembered a joke and came up straight here to tell it.
"Yo, Motohama-kun" He grinned, as he patted my shoulder "I hope I'm not crashing into some secret little meeting or anything?"
. . .
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