NOVEL NEXT Episode LXXVI:The Last and Not The Least
Kiyoshi summoned his special move, Shadow Shredder, followed by an attempt to activate his Ultra Move. However, his energy reserves failed him and both of his specials fizzled out. He dropped to one knee, gasping for breath. Lionel watched him with a smirk on his face. "You clearly need more training," he remarked.
"But how did you manage it?" Kiyoshi asked between ragged breaths.
"I was busy training extensively with Jax while you and Felix were indulging in sleep!" Lionel retorted loudly.
"I was exhausted after all the fried rice I had for dinner," Kiyoshi defended himself.
"Excuses won't help us win," Lionel said dismissively as he walked away, "We better hurry up and join the others; we don't want to be late for our match against X-J-8."
Meanwhile, Jax was seen meditating until a haunting image of his village ablaze on that fateful night when the Korichi family showed up invaded his thoughts. He snapped open his eyes and took deep calming breaths. "I sense something ominous approaching, Tethyus," he murmured.
"I feel it too," Tethyus agreed solemnly. With a determined look on his face, Jax rose to his feet and jogged towards the beach venue where Lionel and Kiyoshi were waiting.
"Are you guys ready for the match?" Jax asked as he joined them.
"What kind of question is that? Of course we're ready! I've been itching for a fight since I woke up!" Kiyoshi declared enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I'm ready too but we have to stay alert; these opponents are unknown entities just like our last adversaries," Lionel warned them.
"Understood," Jax and Kiyoshi acknowledged in unison before Kiyoshi suddenly asked about Felix's whereabouts.
"No clue," Lionel and Jax replied, scratching the back of their heads in unison.
Meanwhile, Felix and Scarlet were sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean, their hands entwined. "I love this view," Felix remarked as the breeze ruffled his hair.
"I love it too," Scarlet agreed before suddenly pushing Felix to the ground.
Felix was taken aback by her sudden aggression. "What are you doing?" he asked uncomfortably.
"I want you to stay here with me forever," she declared ominously.
"I wish I could, but I have a match soon," Felix tried to explain but she didn't seem to hear him and pinned him down onto the ground.
"Scarlet, I like you but I have to leave; my team is probably waiting for me at the ring." But she remained unresponsive and just laughed eerily. That's when Felix noticed something strange about her eyes. "She's being controlled by someone," he realized aloud.
"You'll have to make her take a swim," Mudar suggested reluctantly. With an apologetic look on his face, Felix kicked Scarlet off the cliff into the ocean below. He peeked over the edge of the cliff just in time to see an enraged Scarlet swimming around.
"The next time I see you, Felix, you're dead!" she yelled up at him.
With a gulp of fear, Felix dashed through the trees towards the beach venue where Kiyoshi, Jax and Lionel were waiting beside Platform D2 while Team X-J-8 waited on the other side.
"What's taking them so long?" one of them wondered aloud in a robotic voice as The Ref checked his watch impatiently.
"Team Mystic Force has five more minutes until disqualification due to missing a member," The Ref announced sternly.
"Where are you, Felix?" Kiyoshi muttered anxiously as they watched Felix dash out from between trees and leap over a log before he disappeared into the crowd of fighters.
"Two minutes left," The Ref warned as Felix jumped over a group of fighters blocking his path to the beach venue.
"One minute left," The Ref called out just as Felix arrived at Platform D2, panting heavily.
"I'm so sorry I'm late; Scarlet and I lost track of time," he apologized breathlessly.
"So, this is your final member?" The Ref asked Lionel who confirmed it with a nod.
The match was about to begin. The wheel of condition spun and landed on two vs two. "Each team must choose two members to represent them in the fight," The Ref announced.
Kiyoshi volunteered immediately while Jax agreed to accompany him. "You're still recovering from the last match, Lionel, and Felix is out of breath so it'll have to be Kiyoshi and me," Jax announced confidently.
"Good luck, guys!" Felix wished them as they all put their fists together in the center before stepping onto the hard sand platform.
"Which one of you is going down first?" a fighter taunted them in a robotic voice.
"Why are you predicting your own future?" Kiyoshi retorted cheekily earning him an annoyed glare from XJ3 and XJ4, intelligent AI fighters known for their ability to read opponents' moves and devise counter-moves against them.
With that, they all bowed at The Ref and then at each other signalling the start of the match.
XJ3 and XJ4 lunged at Jax and Kiyoshi. XJ3 struck Jax with a punch before delivering a swift kick to Kiyoshi's gut. XJ4 mirrored his actions, but in reverse order. Both Jax and Kiyoshi crumpled to the ground.
"Ouch!" exclaimed Kiyoshi.
"They're as fast as AI," remarked Jax to Tethyus, "I can't predict their moves."
Lionel squinted at the opponents, attempting to find a weakness. "They don't have spirit guardians," he noted to Zebeon.
"I wonder if it's because they're superhuman AI," mused Zebeon.
Kiyoshi sprang back up, charging at XJ4, only for XJ3 to intercept him with an explosive uppercut. The force propelled Kiyoshi skyward while XJ3's fist remained lodged in him.
"Hold on, I thought weapons were prohibited in this tournament," protested Felix.
"It's not a weapon; it's an arm," clarified the referee. Felix scowled in confusion and frustration.
"Lightning wave!" cried out Jax, releasing a surge of static electricity that narrowly missed XJ3’s leg before fizzling out.
"Darn it." muttered Jax under his breath.
Then XJ4 launched a volley of energy blasts from his arm like a cannon. All except one missed their target; the lone blast hit Jax squarely in the side causing him to groan in pain as he clutched his side.
Meanwhile, still ascending into the air, Kiyoshi managed to rip off XJ3’s arm from its body. Now free-falling back down towards earth, he decided to toss the detached limb back towards its owner who was also plummeting downwards. However, XJ3 deftly dodged the falling arm which detonated just before hitting the sand below. Kiyoshi was about to land back-first, but Jax sprinted towards him and caught him just in time.
"Thanks!" Kiyoshi expressed his gratitude.
"No problem," responded Jax with a thumbs-up gesture, only for their moment of respite to be interrupted by another blast from XJ4. Kiyoshi darted forward, shielding them both from the attack. His guard held firm, absorbing the impact without breaking.
Seizing this opportunity, Jax rushed at XJ4 with a lightning punch that dented the AI's metal head upon impact. However, XJ4 swiftly retaliated by punching Jax in the gut, sending him flying back towards Kiyoshi.
"These AI are really tough," grumbled Jax as he rose to his feet clutching his stomach.
"Well, they are made of unbreakable steel," pointed out Kiyoshi.
"Maybe we should focus our attacks on one of them at a time," suggested Jax.
"I like that idea," agreed Kiyoshi.
As they both charged at XJ4 together, XJ3 swooped in and grabbed Jax. Distracted by this sudden development, Kiyoshi didn't notice XJ4 preparing another orange energy blast aimed right at his face. He barely managed to dodge it in time before shouting out "Special Move: Shadow Shredder!" His speed increased dramatically as he charged straight at XJ4 who tried to dodge but was too late; Kiyoshi began to slice him into pieces.
"But he's in pieces," protested Kiyoshi when the referee failed to declare their victory.
"He's still moving so he hasn't fainted yet," replied The Referee causing Kiyoshi’s jaw to drop in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Jax and XJ3 were locked in an intense exchange of punches, each blocking the other's attacks perfectly. Then Jax threw another lightning punch into XJ3’s chest, creating a dent that deepened with each successive hit until it finally became a hole. XJ3 fell back, skidding on the hard sand as Jax took a moment to catch his breath.
"I don’t get it," said Kiyoshi as he ran over to Jax, "we knock them down and they aren't getting up, but the referee isn't calling it."
"Stay on your guard," cautioned Jax, "anything can happen." And he was right. The scattered pieces of XJ3 and XJ4 began moving towards each other like magnets before combining into one entity: UXJ34.
"I did not see that coming," admitted Kiyoshi, scratching his head in confusion.
"I warned you. But now it should be easier to fight them," said Jax confidently.
However, their combined attacks had no effect on UXJ34 who responded by stomping the ground causing a violent earthquake that sent both Jax and Kiyoshi tumbling around helplessly. The once hard sand dissolved into soft grains under the force of UXJ34's continuous stomps. Then suddenly, UXJ34 stopped stomping and grabbed both of them by their gi before laughing menacingly.
"Ready?" asked Jax once they regained consciousness.
Both nodded at each other before turning their attention back to the AI.
"Collaboration Move: Shadow Lightning Punch!" they yelled in unison. A blue lightning aura enveloped Jax’s left arm while a purple shadow aura shrouded Kiyoshi’s right arm. Their fists clashed in mid-air, the impact sending UXJ34's metallic head reeling with such force that he was knocked out of the ring and into unconsciousness. "Well, XJ33 and XJ34 are both down for the count, which means Mystical Force advances to the top sixteen," came the announcement. Lionel and Felix leapt up in excitement, rushing over to congratulate Jax and Kiyoshi.
"Great work, guys!" Felix said, offering a thumbs-up.
Kiyoshi shrugged nonchalantly. "It wasn't anything special; we knew we had to combine our strength to overcome them, just as they tried with us."
"But we almost passed out from that weird earthquake," Jax added.
"Why do you always have to focus on the negatives? We won," Kiyoshi retorted.
"I'm just stating facts," Jax shot back.
Kiyoshi rolled his eyes at Jax before his stomach rumbled loudly. "Seems like I'm getting hungry." Laughter erupted among them all as they left the platform and headed towards the beach café for a meal.
Later that night...
Sensei Yuriko materialized in the center of the large top sixteen platforms. She chanted a curse over the entire platform ominously declaring, "They will endure torment without realizing their lives hang in balance." The platform pulsed with an eerie purple light that rippled outward. With a loud cackle echoing through the air, she vanished into thin air.