"What a match this is turning out to be, ladies and gentlemen! It now comes down to the final round of the match, winner takes all! The countdown begins...now!" Exclaimed the announcer, as Nikolai and I re-entered the Duel Field and took our places.

The crowd was cheering enthusiastically, pumped up by the close contest. But I could barely hear them, I was focusing on the opponent in front of my, considering my options.

​​

I then took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, easing my nerves and calming myself down, as I focused my concentration...I've used up more than half my XFE already, maybe I should have let him defeat me in the second round the moment my shoulder got dislocated, I still had more than sixty percent at that point-...no, that's not the line of thinking I need to adopt.

Fact is, my opponent's a highly skilled fighter, and he's got a significantly greater amount of experience than I do, there's certainly no denying that...and my shoulder still feels kinda off, even after pushing it back into place, not to mention that each time I move, my crackled ribs send waves of pain through my torso, it hurts like crazy.

Meanwhile, my opponent has hardly suffered any damage at all, certainly nothing major, his current state is a lot better than mine...yeah, I probably can't defeat this guy in my current state, he'd be a challenge even if I was at my best...that is, if I'm only using my normal skills...

I picked up the X-Blade handle I'd dropped during the last round, before activating them and bracing myself, the countdown ticking down to three...two...one!

As soon as the countdown ended, Nikolai shot towards me with his wind blasts, rapidly closing the gap. I didn't move, until the moment he got within my reach, I then swiftly swung both my blades outwards, which he evaded by blasting himself up...this trick again, is he gonna land in front of me...or behind me?

Doesn't matter. Because I was waiting for this move...and the instant he evaded my double outward slashes, I swiftly changed my grip and drove my blades straight up above me, to which he quickly reacted by blasting himself further up, my blades grazing his shoulders as he shot straight up.

He's been firing off those wind blasts non-stop for all three rounds now, just how much XFE does this guy have, anyway!?

I fired a couple of shots at him from my X-Blasters, which he continued to evade expertly...if this comes down to a battle of attrition, that'll work in his favor, he definitely has a lot more XFE than I do, and that aside, as much as I hate to admit it...his movements and reaction time are sharper than mine are, and I'm currently not at a hundred percent...there's only one way I can defeat him.

I sprang back as he fired a couple of wind blasts down at me, narrowly evading them as I mulled over the option I was considering...am I really going to do it right here and now?

You know what, yeah...yeah, I am. And you know what else...against an opponent like this, I think I'm fine with it...yeah, I'm going to remember this fight for a long time.

I then selected myself and my left X-Blade, activating Cut as I continued evading his wind blasts. The moment I evaded his next blast, I cocked my left wrist back and then flicked it in his direction, sending the blade spinning towards him...but missing and whizzing past his right. Now, then...

"."

The instant I finished the activation chant...I swapped places with the blade I flung at him, finding myself in the air, behind him.

"What!?" He exclaimed in surprise, his gaze shifting towards me.

"You should feel honored, you're the first person to force me to use my powers!" I remarked, as I fired a couple of shots at him.

He quickly blasted himself away with his wind blasts, one of my bullets grazing his neck as he evaded taking any direct hits. He was able to react to that? I was right to choose to use my Anomaly powers...

I quickly selected myself again, this time activating Copy, before activating Paste to form a clone, as I began to plummet. The instant the clone formed, I made it grab my wrist, twist itself and spin around to generate momentum, and then throw me right towards my opponent.

I then undid the clone to restore the XFE it cost to create it, but before I reached my opponent, he blasted himself away...just as I expected. The instant he fired out a wind blast to zip off to the side, I reacted to his movements and swiftly took aim and fired.

He began to cross his arms defensively, but this time, he was too slow, having had no time to react at all. The fact that he even started to raise his defense was seriously impressive...but it's not enough.

The bullet reached his throat before he could get his arm cannons in the way, and he got teleported out. As I began to fall back down, I quickly locked my sights on the X-Blade handle that was on the ground, the one I'd swapped places with earlier to slip behind Nikolai while he was airborne.

I then selected it and myself, and then activated Cut and Paste as quickly as possible, switching right as I was about five meters away from the ground. My X-Blade handle, which had taken my place, then fell onto the ground and skidded away.

As I walked over to pick it up, what I'd just done began to sink in...huh, that's it, just like that, my powers are no longer a secret. But of all the ways I could have chosen to reveal them...I think this one was pretty good. Also, both the audience and the announcer were completely stunned silent right now.

Well, uh...this is awkward. I picked up my X-Blade handle and put it away, before taking a deep breath and heading out of the Duel Field, keeping my gaze lowered...seriously, this is so fucking awkward, it's way too silent.

"Er, the winner of the third quarter-final is...Kilzachs Light!" Declared the announcer, though there was a hint of bewilderment in his tone.

I entered the corridor leading to the waiting room, as confused, scattered applause and murmurs began to echo out from the audience. I then reached and opened the door of the waiting room, walking in and shutting it behind me.

"Dude, you really did it! You finally revealed your true powers!" Exclaimed Sakura with a grin.

"That was cool," Chimed in Katie, her expression blank as usual.

"Oh, uh...thanks."

"Also, how'd you get up in the air like that? Can you walk on air when you freeze time or something?" Inquired Sakura curiously.

Huh? Oh, she's assuming that I used Tier Two. But I didn't, of course, and she should know that...after all, if I had frozen time, she wouldn't have been affected, and she'd have seen me 'walk on air' or whatever she's imagining I did. Also, speaking of Tiers...I just revealed my powers in front of a huge crowd, and yet, I didn't unlock a new power. The Unlock Conditions for my powers really are bullshit.

"Good question, who knows, am I right?" I replied dryly.

"You don't gotta be a dick about it, you know," She huffed indignantly.

"Well, if there's one thing you should know about me, is that I don't like revealing too much about myself, and that goes double for my powers," I pointed out with a shrug.

"Fair enough, I guess," She relented with a wry smile, before adding with a frown as she glanced at the screen, "Also, what's taking so long, it's my turn, hurry up and call me up already!"

"Guess they're having trouble processing what they just saw," I remarked, putting on a jokingly arrogant tone, "And why wouldn't they, am I right?"

"Your voice sort of sounds like that Tairo guy," Said Katie.

"Well, yeah, where do you think I got the inspiration from?" I replied with a grin, as the announcer finally snapped out of it and called out the participants of the fourth quarter-final.

"It's about time! Alright, time to make history and ensure that three of top four spots are gonna be taken by us students!" Declared Sakura confidently, as she headed out the waiting room, looking pumped up.

"She sure is enthusiastic, huh?" I remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think it's because of your fight. She looked really motivated after you won," Replied Katie.

"Oh...well, glad to be such an inspiration," I remarked in that mock arrogant voice again.

"...are you going to keep doing that?" She inquired, her forehead creasing slightly.

"...no, sorry, I'll stop now," I replied sheepishly.

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