Chapter 7.
Saint steps down to the arena, nods at Beretta. Ayce steps down calmly, with his eyes closed.
"Ready?" Beretta asks,
Before Saint can respond, Ayce interrupts him.
"Did you hug your loved ones before this?" Saint looks at him confused,
"What?" Saint asks.
"Did you eat your favorite meal? Did you listen to your favorite song? Are you cherishing these last moments?" Ayce asks calmly and composed,
Saint clenches his jaw and gets in fighting position.
(Saint's inner monologue: Getting weird vibes from this dude… He's ranked highly, so he's surely got an ability unlocked…)
"Begin!" Beretta announces swiftly
Saint feels nervous, a drop of sweat drips down on the side of his head as he anticipates Ayce's first move.
"You're not attacking?" Ayce asks calmly, with the same bored expression on his face,
Saint stays silent, but starts approaching Ayce slowly with his fighting stance.
He throws a straight jab at Ayce, but Ayce just lets it hit him, not fazed.
"What?" Saint frowns in confusion,
He attacks Ayce once again, but Ayce still isn't reacting or showing vulnerability.
"Is that all?" Ayce asks nonchalantly, "Well then" He does a one-handed hand sign,
"Salem Style: Bear's Interlude"
Saint jumps back in fear, but it's too late, he looks around and notices he's not at the arena anymore, he's in his backyard.
"W-what?" Saint whispers confused,
A woman comes out to his backyard, her long dark hair and bright sundress matching the weather outside.
"Who are you?" Saint asks as he gets in fighting position once again,
The woman chuckles, "You must not remember me… I guess that's my fault."
The sunny weather suddenly turns gray, starting to rain, the woman suddenly looking disheveled and in a traumatic state,
"You KILLED ME" The woman screams angrily,
Saint walks back confused and hurt, "I-I don't understand…"
"Of course you don't! You're a mistake! You shouldn't be here… He wouldn't want this" The woman says in agony, there's blood on her hands, she holds Saint by the shoulders and shakes him.
"I hate you" she says, a tear falls down on Saint's cheek, he doesn't understand what's going on… but it's hurting him mentally, he can't comprehend this.
Meanwhile, Ari is watching from the sidelines in shock, he sees Saint paralyzed and just standing there. While Ayce is revving up his hand filled with Mana in a blade stance, ready to cut Saint down.
(Ari's inner monologue: Why is he just standing there?) Ari gets up from his seat and watches more intently, Saint's eyes are fully white.
Up in Oshoku's lounge, him, Taiho and the Reiki Five are watching the match,
"What a brilliant technique" Oshoku says as he takes a sip of his wine,
"Indeed, it would be the perfect technique to shut down someone like Saint. Knowing his bloodline" Taiho says,
On the roof of the arena, Hazu is sitting and watching the match alone in secret.
"An Illusion technique? And they want this guy to join us? Pfft!" Hazu leans back on the roof and just takes in the sun instead of watching.
Back down to the fight, Ayce is revving up.
(Ayce's inner monologue: I'm ending this in one blow. He's probably broken by now. May The Three be with you.)
Everybody in Oshoku's lounge are watching, Oshoku asks Alys, the second strongest in Reiki Five...
"Alys… how would you escape this technique?"
Alys eyes light up, "Well, um… it's quite simple sir. I would figure out that I'm trapped in a fake world and simply… well… break it?" Alys giggles nervously,
Oshoku chuckles with Alys,
"I'll take that explanation. It seems like Saint isn't as special as we thought, Taiho." Oshoku takes another sip of his wine,
"Perhaps you're right, even if his Mana was red, it was foolish of us to think he'd live up to Carmelo's legacy." Taiho responds,
"Carmelo?" One of the Reiki Five asks,
Oshoku glares at Taiho annoyed, before responding calmly.
"Yes, Carmelo. Saint is his son."
The Reiki Five all look at each other surprised,
"Well, then I wouldn't count him out." One of them responds confidently.
Ayce finishes controlling his Mana to his hand and finally strikes Saint in the neck. Slashing it open. Saint wakes up from his nightmare,
Saint looks at his hands and there's no blood anymore, he finds himself back at the fighting arena before falling unconsciously.
"Winner, Ay-" Beretta announces before he gets interrupted. Beretta's eyes widen in shock and the arena gasp at the scene in front of them, there's red Mana leaking and flowing out of Saint's cut.
Beretta turns around and tells Ayce, "Continue"
Saint flies up to his feet, still bloody.
"Yo." he says while his injured neck is healing,
"I don't know what's going on. But I feel power surging through my veins"
Oshoku gets nervous. Alys notices this and asks, "Everything alright?"
"Taiho. This isn't a limiter break, right?"
"Correct" Everyone in Oshoku's lounge is looking at Saint in complete shock.
Hazu feels the Mana erupt in the arena, he gets up only to see Saint's Mana completely surround him.
"Red? Like Carmelo" Hazu starts smiling,
Ayce repeats his Bear's Interlude to throw Saint off balance, but it's no use.
"Illusion tricks are dirty" Saint says tauntingly,
Before speed blitzing behind Ayce, he starts holding Ayce in a strong standing chokehold,
Ayce gets nervous and starts panicking and forcefully is trying to remove Saint's arms, but it's futile, Ayce feels his eyes going dark and his neck burning up
"Saint, killing is not allowed." Beretta says professionally,
Saint laughs manically, not like him at all, before saying, "Then stop the fight"
Meanwhile, Ayce is squirming and panicking, kicking the air,
Saint just holds it tighter,
Beretta forcefully steps up and removes Saint's hold on Ayce with ease,
Ayce falls to his knees, holding his throat and coughing up.
"Continue"
Saint speed blitzes with the intent to kick Ayce in the back of the head, but suddenly Ayce is gone,
Ayce is at the far left of the arena, "Salem Style: CREWL! Murder Technique"