Boy Meets Ai

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

The finalists stood in a line under the coliseum. They could hear thunderous applause just past the gates to the arena. The audience was filling the seats, ready to see the spectacle. They watched as the Archon materialized to address the crowd.

"We will now be drawing for the first bout."

The angel held out his hand. A white box appeared, falling gently into his open palm. With the other hand, he reached in and pulled out two folded slips of parchment. Seiko held his breath. Gabriel looked down at all of them again before unfurling the paper. A delighted look spread over his face.

"Ah, this first match is sure to get the blood pumping. I am excited to see how these two competitors will face off!" The archon clapped his hands together. "Let's get this show on the road shall we!"

Another bright flash of light and Seiko was transported once again. Reddish gold sunlight filtered in through the coliseum windows. The roar of the crowd deafened him. It took him a moment to realize where he was. The contestants stood beneath a small canopy that sat between the stands and the center stage. The stage itself was a square measuring a good 100 feet across. The stone tiles were precisely cut to form a grid and divided into quadrants by dark blue shimmering lines. Standing in the center was Gabriel. He had his hands raised to signal for quiet. On either side of him were the first two combatants. The fiery mage and his Ai stood on the archon's right. Seiko remembered his name from the leaderboard. "Honey Badger". On Gabriel's left was Shinobu. He and Oaklee hollered and cheered for their friend. The samurai didn't seem nervous at all despite being at the center of a stadium full of hollering people. Her black armor shone with a violet hue as the sunset rays scattered across the scales.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Casters and Fighters! Welcome to the first match of Soul and Steel!!"

The Archon roused the crowd into an even bigger frenzy with his words.

"Our first two combatants proved their worth in the preliminaries. Who will stand victorious when the dust has settled?! Let's find out together!"

Screams and cheers ripped through the air.

"Without Further ado, Let the match..."

Shinobu crouched into a battle stance, hand on her blade. The mage faced her coolly, his Ai moving to stand between them.

"Begin!"

Honey Badger was a burner mage. As soon as the match started, He raised his hands into the air. They turned black and charred as orange flames began to spout from them like wildflowers. The magical inferno exploded from his fingertips as he unleashed a volley of fire bolts in an arc towards Shinobu. The literal fire storm rained down on her from every direction. With one fluid motion, she drew her blade, slicing through the air and the onslaught. The fire dissipated in the wake of her Iaijutsu. Shinobu wasted no time, rushing the two opponents, her blade poised to pierce the burner's chest. As soon as she was in range to strike though, a projectile flew out from one of the Ai's bronze Gauntlets.

A frickin rocket?!

She rolled to the side, barely dodging it. The blast caused by its impact, sprayed rubble and dust over her. The rocket had left a decent sized crater where she had been standing. Shinobu moved to attack again but stopped, seeing metal plating starting to form around the Ai. The bronze pieces slid out from his back in sections, fitting together around his body. Shinobu tried to strike before he was completely covered but he was too fast. Powerful jets of air burst from holes in the armor, boosting him out of harms way. When the transformation was complete, the Ai was covered from head to toe in a suit of advanced looking armor. The eye slits glowed a bright red with arcane power. Watching from the canopy, Seiko recognized the Ai's abilities to belong to the Inventor. It was a powerful mage subclass that focused mostly on defense and crowd control. They could craft weapons that no other class could wield and on top of that, had access to Arcane Armor. A high tech, mechanized suit that enhanced all their stats and abilities. Players that used the subclass were the quintessence of a tank.