Saber's mind raced with thoughts. So I really have no chance against her? No, I still have a chance. If I keep using dash, she'll not be able to catch me hence, making her entire offense boost is useless.
Sydney flicked her finger, and Saber braced himself. Here it comes, THE ICE SHARDS!
A huge blizzard wave appeared before him. What! he thought.
Zara observed from the stands. "She can control that amount of quantity this early on?"
Glenn nodded. "She does have great potential."
"So are you giving up hope?" Zara asked.
Glenn giggled, "Of course not!" He adjusted his glasses. "Because I know what would happen."
Saber dashed sideways, but his leg froze. SHIT! A big ice shard headed straight for his face. The shard exploded, leaving fog traces. Saber dashed through but slipped.
Zara remarked, "He sure is fast."
Saber's slide stopped in front of Sydney. "I've had enough of your immaturity," she said, raising her hand. Ice exploded, sending Saber flying back in the distance.
Sydney unleashed another blizzard wave. Saber dashed and slipped, quickly digging his sword into the ice ground. The blizzard passed, freezing his arm holding the sword stuck in the ground.
Sydney taunted, "You start to take stupid decisions when stressed out."
Is that so? Saber thought as he front-flipped, cracking the ice. "Then what do you think about…" he swung the frozen sword at her, "...this!"
Shards flew towards Sydney, widening her eyes. She quickly formed a shield with her hands, but the shards cut her cheek, elbow, and thigh, causing her to kneel on one knee.
Saber appeared in front of her, about to pierce her, but she grabbed his sword-wielding hand, freezing his fist. "You PESK!" she shouted, aura accumulating in her other hand. She swung her hand, intending to touch his stomach, but sliced his shoulder instead. Saber's entire right arm froze.
Sydney punched and threw Saber. As he was in the air, she grabbed his neck and slammed him on the ground. She slammed him again, and Saber vomited blood.
Zara exclaimed, "This isn't a match anymore." She turned to Glenn. "Aren't you gonna stop her?"
Sydney slammed Saber again. Glenn replied, "The match isn't over yet. I want to see how far she'll go. And don't worry, the most that can happen is he'll get his back cracked, but we have the doctors, right?"
"So you're just gonna let him suffer like this?" Zara asked.
Sydney slammed Saber again, making him vomit blood. "This isn't you, Glenn Graves!" Zara protested.
"Just... shut up," Glenn said, his eyes focused on the match.
Sydney slammed Saber again and tossed him behind her. Saber didn't move. The referee raised his hand. "And St—"
Sydney turned to the referee, "What's wrong?"
The referee stuttered, "And…"
Just as I thought, he's just another stepping stone, Sydney mused.
"Continue!" the referee declared.
"What? Why?" Sydney asked in disbelief.
Saber, shaking and panting, replied, "Because I... haven't... lost yet..."
Zara was in disbelief, "What! You have to stop this! This is madness!"
"Just chill and watch," Glenn said. "You'll get your answer."
Saber, with scribbled eyes, taunted, "What's wrong... Can't fight... anymore...?"
Sydney warned, "This is suicide, you know it right?"
All my life, I've lived in fear and suffered in pain. I kept on crying... But it never felt so good seeing someone getting pissed off even when you're completely powerless. I'm gonna make her go full berserk and lose her goddamn mind! Saber thought. Wiping blood from his mouth with his hand, he continued, This is what you wanted right, God? Then so be it... I'm gonna become a punching bag so tough that the punchers are gonna cry holding their hands.
Sydney overlapped with Riya in Saber's mind.
So it's Riya this time, huh? he thought, flashing back to a memory in a storage room.
The stench of cheap cologne and malice hung thick in the air. Riya, her face contorted in disgust, lashed out, her pointed boot connecting with Arush's chin. "Eww! Stay away from me!" she spat, sending him sprawling.
He hit the grimy floor, a whimper escaping his lips. Before he could even register the pain, a hand, sharp and cruel, gripped his hair, yanking his head back. "Where's the lunch?" The voice, belonging to a girl named Jessica, was a low growl. She slammed his head against the floor, the impact echoing through the desolate space. "Didn't we say not to return to your stable if you failed to bring the food?" A brutal kick landed in his stomach, stealing his breath. "Damn it! Are thirty rolls TOO much to ask for?"
Riya, her voice laced with a cruel amusement, intervened. "Calm down, Jessica." Arush, his vision blurring, looked up, struggling to focus. "OYE!" she sneered, her eyes glittering with sadistic pleasure. "I'm in the mood to see a pole dance, so start stripping." Laughter erupted from the surrounding girls, a chorus of cruel delight.
"Your parents are pathetic," one girl jeered.
"You swine!" another added, her voice dripping with contempt.
In the depths of his mind, a flicker of something long dormant stirred. Saber's mind, usually a quiet observer, replayed the scene. He saw a discarded branch, thin and brittle. At that time… a surge of rage, hot and raw, pulsed through him. If I would have gathered some courage… He imagined himself grabbing the stick, the rough bark digging into his palm. Then…
He pictured himself leaping, the branch arcing through the air, aimed directly at Riya's eye. A scream ripped through his imagined scene, the sound a twisted symphony of his long-suppressed fury. I did it! A ghost of a smile touched his lips. I did it.
The illusion shattered, replaced by the reality of the shocked faces around him, the wide, disbelieving eyes of the principal. Then, his attention was drawn to Sydney, a figure of icy composure. The left eye armor of her visor shattered, revealing an eye widened in… something. Perfect, Saber's mind whispered, a cold, calculating edge to his thoughts. According to my plan, now she'll start going off—
The plan crumbled. Sydney moved with a speed that defied comprehension. A fist slammed into Saber's face, the force sending a jolt of pain through his skull. He was grabbed by the leg, slammed against the ground, the impact cracking the ice beneath him. Then, he was hurled against a wall, the breath knocked from his lungs.
She's too damn fast! his mind screamed. Sydney's relentless assault continued, punches hammering against him, each blow a testament to her brutal efficiency. Saber managed to deflect a strike, his elbow connecting with her head, sending her crashing into the wall, leaving a gaping hole.
He scrambled away, dashing along the wall, but Sydney was relentless. Ice shards sliced through the air, cutting his knee, sending him crashing to the ground. She was on him in an instant, but he managed to roll away, the ground shattering beneath them.
Finally, made some distance, he thought, his breath ragged. She's trying to do something. Why not continuously attack me?
"Are you…" Sydney's voice cut through his thoughts.
"What?" he managed to gasp.
"Are you going to keep getting beaten by me?" she taunted. "Do you like being hit by a woman? Are you a masochist?"
"'Woman,' you say?" Saber wiped the blood from his mouth. "Actually, the country where I come from favors only women, so you see… I'm a 'feminist' by force. And speaking of 'being hit by a woman…'" His eyes flickered with a dark intensity. "Didn't your mother beat you when you were a child?"
Sydney's eyes narrowed, her voice a low growl. "Don't bring my family into this."
This is bad, Saber's mind warned. My plan is backfiring. She's well-trained, determined. And my fatigue levels are skyrocketing. Maybe I can—
His eyes widened. A snowflake, delicate and cold, drifted down. A snowflake? He looked around, seeing more of them, scattered through the air. How are these snowflakes here? No, WHEN were these here?
He breathed, and a snowflake entered his nose, the fatigue counter in his mind ticking upward. I see now. These flakes are what's making me tired faster. A flashback flickered through his mind – a gust of wind, the snowflakes spreading, unseen. So I had no chance to begin with. This match was already decided, huh?
He fell to his knees, his sword clattering to the ground. Sydney launched a blizzard, encasing him in ice.
"You have no hope of winning now," she said, her voice cold. "Might as well give up."
Ah, hope, his mind echoed. The most manipulative word in this world, which does nothing other than giving people the motivation to suffer longer. I had a hope too. To become strong, so no one can bully me ever. But in the end… I'm a failure once again.
"You're a failed one," Sydney's voice echoed, joined by the phantom voices of Riya.
I know I'm… The Failure in the History of Mankind.
Zara watched, her heart aching. "He lost all hope. He's scared now."
I understand it clearly now, Saber's mind whispered. It's clear as glass. I can see it all clearly now. A tear rolled down his cheek. That I indeed am a…
Sophie closed her eyes, turning away in fear.
Glenn, his eyes fixed on the scene, spoke, his voice low and deliberate. "Do you know motivation, Zara?"
"The drive that compels a person to take action," she recited, her voice flat.
"Those are straight from the books, bookworm," Glenn said, a hint of disgust in his voice. "It is the boost of dopamine that changes the brain's perspective for a short period, giving the capabilities which can sometimes be named as 'inhumane.'"
"That means the same," Zara insisted.
"Alright, can you tell me what triggers it?"
"Instincts, mindset, beliefs, and need for betterment."
"It's only one."
"Impossible—"
"Where do these bunch of pieces lie?"
Zara's eyes widened. "Its… human emotions."
"Love, hate, hope, joy, guilt, pride, despair, and other emotions are the keys to open the door where all the treasures are kept in a hidden chamber which we call 'Limits,' and the reward for opening it is the bottomless potential nature can provide. And do you know what one of the main key elements includes in this?"
"What?"
"Fear."
A tear fell onto the hilt of Saber's sword, and the core began to shake. Blue flames erupted from the hilt, sparks flying.
"I don't believe it!" the announcer's voice boomed. "Is it really happening? Or am I dreaming?"
"Is this real? Two burst awakenings in the same match?" Zara gasped.
"What the hell is this?" Sydney demanded.
"This match is not taking any chance to end, is it?" the King chuckled.
"I don't believe it either, my lord," the principal stammered.
"Saber… is this really you?" Sophie whispered.
"What is happening here?" a spectator cried.
"Surprise after surprise!" another exclaimed.
"This has to be one of the best match records in the books!"
"Is this… what you've been waiting for? Another awakening?" Zara asked.
"You know? People call individuals entering into Burst form the 'Awakened' ones, but there's an actual name for it," Glenn said, his voice laced with anticipation. "A Surge Break."
Saber emerged from the blue flames, his body encased in blue armor, his voice a low, guttural growl. "…FOOL!"