Boy Meets Ai

Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Five minutes had past. If people were having trouble keeping up before, it was nigh impossible now. The two combatants were mere blurs of red and blue as they clashed around the dark dimension. The spectacle was more of a light show than a fight.

Gabriel clapped enthusiastically. "This is truly amazing. I am always astounded to see how far you players can push the system!"

"This is a pure contest of speed. They're almost evenly matched." Ogun chimed in.

Oaklee cheered her comrade on, knowing full well she couldn't hear her. "Come on Shino! Blitz that creep!"

The deadly light show came to a halt as the samurai and the monk collided. Shinobu swung her sword down and Aramais had caught it between his hands.

"What's the matter?! You're slowing down human!" His eyes were wide as he taunted her.

Shinobu's grin persisted. "Sorry, I've been having such a good time, I didn't want it to end."

They vanished from sight once again, accelerating further. Each strike that Shinobu made, got her closer to her goal. They clashed again and again! Zooming around each other, the two were deadlocked in a duel to the death. The Ai wasn't making it easier on her, but an opening slowly emerged. He had the same weakness that all Ai had. Pattern. Shinobu began to recognize it as they fought. All she had to do was anticipate it, then make it work to her advantage.

There!

The samurai kicked off her back foot so hard that the ground cracked, plunging forward with her katana outstretched. It was aimed right at Aramais' head. At the last moment, he ducked the blade, watching it slide past him along with the rest of Shinobu. It wasn't until he saw her smile, that he realized she was not aiming for him. Higanbana's ability deactivated as she lunged past him, and the world lit back up as they rejoined everyone back in the coliseum. The samurai rocketed forward towards her true target. Thomas couldn't even blink before the sword pierced his chest.

"NOOOOO!" Aramais howled as he spun around.

He became a literal bolt of lightning to close the distance in an instant, but Shinobu had anticipated this as well. She disengaged, dodging the savage strike. Aramais spun out, falling to the ground. The Ai's contempt faded into anguish as he looked up at Thomas. The blood trickled from the skull mask, staining its teeth. It was a gory sight. The wound went straight through, leaving a gaping hole in the boy's chest. He had already begun to close the wound with a cure spell, but it wasn't something he could easily recover from.

Aramais was unhinged. The sight made him sick to his stomach.

Kill her. Erase her. You failed! Erase her.

His body surged with power. He would make her pay. Aramais felt his consciousness spreading. The same way it had many times before.

Make her hurt. Make her beg!

The Ai's mind moved toward her like unseen tendrils, looking for a way into her systems. All he needed to do was short out her pain receptors for the briefest of moments. Her mind wouldn't be able to handle it. When he was done with her, she'd be nothing but a hollow shell. The code of the game began to unravel in front of him. He could see into her settings. As Aramais pushed his way into her code, he felt a sudden jolt. It was as if he was being repelled by something. Or someone. This had never happened before! He couldn't hack her!

Why?!

"Looks like my cooldown reset."

Snapping out of it, Aramais realized what was about to happen. Dread overcame him as he saw the spider lily spread across Thomas' torso. The monk zoomed toward Shinobu, trying to get a hand on her before she could reach his companion, but he was too late. She was gone and so was Thomas.