The crowd’s cheers had begun to die down, but the tension still hung in the air. The duel was over—Argenti had won. He stood in the arena, sword in hand, his armor battered but his posture still proud.
On the other side, Luocha was gone, carried away by dical staff after a fight that had pushed even him past his limit.
Firefly let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, but her expression remained tight. "That was... too close," she murmured. "Luocha wasn’t fighting like soone who wanted to win—he was fighting like soone testing sothing."
Firefly’s fingers curled into her sleeves.
"I don’t like it."
Kevin crossed his arms, watching the last traces of the fight fade from the battlefield. "Yeah, well, doesn’t really matter now, does it? He lost."
His voice was dry, but there was an edge of contemplation.
"That being said...Sothing felt off..."
"You felt it too?" Yuri instantly asked.
"Felt...too?.." Kevin asked in confusion.
Yuri didn’t say anything back as he rely fell silent.
March 7th grinned, nudging Firefly lightly. "Hey, co on! Argenti won! That’s what matters, right?" She gave a small laugh, but there was a flicker of sothing uncertain in her eyes.
"I an... Luocha being taken out like that feels kind of... weird..." She stopped herself, shaking her head.
Ayaka, however, was watching the path where Luocha had been taken, her brow slightly furrowed. "Even in defeat, his expression never changed. It was as if he already knew this outco... or accepted sothing we don’t understand." She sighed. "This duel may be over, but I doubt this is the end of his role in things."
Yuri remained silent, arms loosely at his sides. His gaze flicked toward Argenti, then back to the empty space where Luocha had been. There was sothing unsettling about all of it, sothing that gnawed at the edges of his thoughts.
Sothing is wrong...
Firefly’s eyes were still on Argenti. She wanted to be relieved. But instead, all she could feel was a quiet unease.
Kevin exhaled through his nose. "Let’s go hit up concessions before the next wave of matches start."
Kevin, Firefly, and Yuri all got up. Ayaka and March on the other hand would both head to their designated areas to prepare for the Top 8 Introductions.
The scent of fried food and sugary snacks filled the air as Kevin, Yuri, Firefly stood near the concession stand, each holding sothing to snack on. The tension from the previous fight had faded sowhat, but the looming Top 8 kept them on edge.
"Where’s Hiko been? I thought she was with us?" Firefly questioned.
"I asked if she could go helm the store since apparently nobody is around. Business keep’s booming and lots of orders keep coming in." Yuri answered quickly.
"Ah...Understandable!" Firefly smiled.
Kevin took a bite of his skewer, speaking between chews. "Alright, let’s be real. Top 8’s gonna be stacked. We’ve got Argenti, who just barely scraped past Luocha, Yanqing, who fights like a machine, and Seele, who’s probably the scariest one left." He gestured with his food. "You ask , she’s the one to beat."
Firefly nodded, though her expression was still thoughtful. "Seele’s speed is insane, and she hits like a truck. But Yanqing’s technique is perfect. If he can keep her at bay, he might actually have a chance." She took a sip of her drink. "And Argenti seems incredible in that Celestial form of his..."
Yuri remained quiet, swirling a drink in his hand as he listened. Finally, he spoke. "It’s not just skill that’ll decide this." His voice was low, contemplative.
"Fights like these are about ntality. Argenti’s already been pushed to his limit. Can he hold out? Seele fights with emotion—if soone throws her off, what then?"
Yuri exhaled.
"Yanqing... I don’t know. He’s sharp, but he’s young. What happens when things don’t go his way?"
Kevin chuckled to himself.
"The reality is that March is gonna beat up everybody and win it!"
"Seeing her or Ayaka win would be so aweso!" Firefly smiled in response.
"You reminded that I need to talk to Clara...I don’t know why she’s participating...
Before anyone could respond, a voice cut through the air.
"Excuse ."
The three turned, and standing before them was a young man with fairly long blonde hair, sharp eyes that seed to gleam with intelligence, and an unsettlingly composed deanor. Standing beside him, slightly behind, was soone far more recognizable.
Robin.
Kevin nearly choked on his drink. "Wait. Wait. No way." He turned fully, eyes lighting up like a kid eting their idol. "Robin? You’re Robin? The Robin?"
Robin smiled, clearly accustod to reactions like this. "I suppose I am."
Kevin pointed at her, then turned to Firefly and Yuri. "You guys don’t get it. Robin is a legend. Her performances are top-tier, her voice—her presence—man, it’s art." He clapped a hand to his forehead. "I can’t believe this...If I tell March she’s gonna scream..."
"Ah!...Robin! It’s nice to see you again!" Firefly shook hands with Robin earnestly.
"YOU BOTH KNOW EACH OTHER?!" Kevin scread.
anwhile, Yuri’s expression had changed. His gaze locked onto the blonde man, and sothing in his eyes flickered—like a mory tugging at the edges of his mind. The longer he looked, the sharper the pain behind his eyes beca.
His head suddenly throbbed. He winced, pressing his fingers against his temple. His vision blurred for a mont, like static creeping into his thoughts.
Who... was this guy?
The blonde man’s eyes briefly flicked toward Yuri, expression unreadable.
"You alright?" Firefly asked, noticing Yuri’s reaction.
"...Yeah." His voice was quiet, strained. But the pain wasn’t fading.
Kevin, too busy still processing Robin’s presence, didn’t notice the tension. "Okay, but why are you guys here? And, uh—" His gaze flicked between them, realization dawning. "Wait. Do you fight?" He pointed at the blonde man.
"Wait...The more I look at you the more I don’t see it...Nevermind..." Kevin waved his hand off.
Robin chuckled, but the blonde man remained silent for a beat before finally speaking.
"No. I’m rely acting as a manager on the behalf of Robin for this event. She’s expected to be performing soon in this event and I’m here to make sure that she is taken care of."
The blonde man’s smile grew.
"After all...If she had to deal with a constant slew of harassnt similar to what you’re doing right now..."
"OKAY LISTEN HERE MAN! I’LL RIP YOUR HAIR OUT AND TURN YOU INTO A BALD FREAK!"
Firefly and Yuri could only stare on in utter disbelief.
"Ah! It truly is not a big deal!" Robin shuffled in her spot as she smiled aloofly.
The blonde-haired man glanced at Robin before looking at the group again.
"Regardless...Both of us should be on our way before we begin to attract too much attention...So people are already looking and that’s quite enough already."
The blonde-haired young man put his hand out.
"Water under the bridge."
Kevin looked at the stretched hand before deciding to shake it.
"Yeah...sure..."
The blonde-haired young man then turned and extended the sa offer towards Yuri.
Yuri looked at the hand briefly before lifting his own hand for a firm handshake-
What are you?
Yuri’s vision instantly clouded as pain filled his head. Yuri instantly withdrew from the handshake as if he was stung.
"Ah! are you okay Yuri?" Firefly instantly glanced at Yuri.
By the ti Yuri looked up the Manager and Robin were already on their way out of the scene.
But not before the blonde-haired young man turned his head to glance back at Yuri.
A visible red mark went down from his eye that was not previously there, as he glanced at Yuri with a sinister smirk.
I’ll be watching.
Reviews
All reviews (0)