Doomed to Die in 3 Minutes

Getting Serious

“Hack, wheeze, haaahhhkkkuu...kkk…!” I cough and spit out what looks like soot from my throat. I can’t see s**t. It’s all black smoke everywhere II try to look. It stings my eyes. Dammit, I wish I had enough power to use some wind magic to clear it up… as it dissipates I realise all the buildings are untouched. The blast was centralised just where the two women were. Even when going all out in destructive power Agarde made sure no one else would be hurt. I was pretty close to them and I’m not scratched at all. 

Finally, the smoke clears. Agarde is panting looking half dead while Alisa is on her back lying on the ground, with several rips on her bodysuit that weren’t there before. Small bruises and cuts covered her body now as well as burn marks but her face was beaming with delight. Alisa leaps back up to her feet and dusts her body off without a care in the world. “Who are you?” Agarde is visibly shaken. “I’m… just an orphan girl who doesn’t like when people try to take her toys.” The response just vexes Agarde.

“That was a pretty good one. You have any other tricks like that up your sleeve or is playtime over? I’d really like it if you could hang in there for another round.” Agarde lowers her entire body, exhausted from the wonder before her… but then a low humming sound reverberates across my body. My heart beats in time with this sudden rhythm. Pieces of Agarde’s armour fall off one by one until it’s all on the ground and then they get swallowed by a dimensional pocket, lastly, she drops her shield to join them. Agarde was still a rather tall and muscular woman but the armour she wore was clearly much bigger than her, likely moved with magical force like a machine with her as the cockpit and her magic as fuel. She grips her massive sword with both hands. 

She is now free of its constraints but also the defences it offered. “...I’ve got one more.” A last-ditch effort by the lady knight. The air itself feels like it’s crackling, her body is revving up like the engines of a jet fighter, in a few seconds she’ll fire with unmatched momentum. “Saintly Sword: Prospero’s Tempest.” Another sound breaking explosion but this time it’s all hurtling towards just one place or rather one person. I could barely track their movements before but this time I can only see a blur. Blonde hair with a blue cloak and a violet body with red hair. Two phantoms met each other head-on and began to swap slashes, punches, and kicks with each other. The world begins to rumble over and over with each passing second.

I can’t keep up at all. It’s just far too advanced for my eyes and even my mana. I can’t see or sense how the fight is turning out. I can only watch in horror. The weapon in my hand… I don’t think I can make a difference even if I charge it with all but one drop of my life. I wait. I wait until there is a victor. It only took about two minutes but felt like two hours. Alisa is kneeling before the knight. Agarde’s blade rests gently on Alisa’s shoulder. “I… win!” Agarde’s voice would imply anything but, the tone sounding practically defeated.

“I haven’t had fun like that in a long time. So, let me finish it.” Unspeakable horror on the face of Agarde as Alisa bats the sword away with her fist and pulls out something from a portal. It’s a long green coloured metal spear. It immediately made me think of a thorn despite its length. 

“What, did you think I was specialised with martial arts? Nope. This is my forte.” One last exchange. I hear five swings of metal meeting metal followed by a crack. The gigantic bastard sword is broken in half and the spear is but a hair away from the neck of Agarde. The moment it became a real exchange between these two, there was no contest at all.

Over in an instant. An A-Rank only got close to a Hero because she was being humoured for light amusement. Alisa had handicapped herself to fighting with her bare hands and feet so she could drag it out. To show and execute complete and unquestionable domination. 

“I admit defeat.” Agarde bows her head with unexpected grace. Alisa pulls the spear away without hesitation. It was over. “He’s mine, got it…? Well, I do appreciate what you’ve done today so maybe I could be persuaded to lend him to you for a bit…” 

Oh, god, it never ends!