Chains Of Pride

While everyone was talking at the same time offering their own take on the situation, the fight never stopped, picking up where it left off.

Lanzo was following up on the slash he let loose on the Captain's back. He was no longer holding back, that last hit from the Tamashi left his blood boiling and unable to do so.

The Temporal Gate was vibrating in an almost otherworldly way, providing Lanzo with an endless supply of power. Divinus Plasma? God Code's speed, its strength, Chrono's Carriage knew no bounds!

"C'mon Tamashi, if this blade lands, then it's the end of our fight, give me something to remember you by, hahaha!!" Lanzo's cackle could be heard loud and clear even under the crowd who was roaring to the beat of their match.

However, Lanzo would soon regret that he didn't pay more attention to the Captain's actions instead of blindly rushing in. As in the moment he caught up to the shooting Inferno, his eyes widened in fear and realisation.

"Say goodbye to Inferno Lanzo! This will be the last time you get to see it!" Captain Magenai expected for Lanzo to catch up, and under this premise bet everything on this last attack.

The minute Lanzo came into view with that accursed divine blade, a smile decorated the Captain's features, not that anyone could see. This smile, however, did not stay for long, before a mighty bellow escaped the Captain's lips.

"Infernal Funeral!!"

When these words echoed out, the audience froze in place, their eyes widened in amazement at the below proceedings.

The Armis known as Inferno that was next to broken, sealed in ruin from Lanzo's last slash, started to radiate a dazzling light. It exuded a blinding red glow, seemingly intent on granting the battered Armis its lost splendour, but for only just a moment.

A magnificent pillar of light then shot up from where the Armis was, stretching all the way as if reaching for the clouds. Though, it would be more accurate to call it a pillar of fire, strangely akin to a kings entombment tower.

This humbling scene caused everyone's breath to be stuck in their throats, it was incomparably beautiful.

However, the tomb quickly began to crumble, its time all but lost. A deafening explosion jolted the senses, the blazing eruption quickly spread outwards from the base. Rapidly approaching the stands of the audience, it knew no obstruction, all was dust in its path.

All the digiums present began to fret, this was no sequence, this was an all-out war. There was a skirmish, a battle of generals, and now someone decided to drop a goddamn nuke in the middle, which it didn't seem anything was able to stop.

"…What troublesome children we have 'sigh' activate the barrier." A sonorous voice echoed out in the highest stand. The voice was heard throughout the arena, the top brass of the academy …actually spoke, this was a first.

A whirring sound began to resound, and before the sweeping discharge could touch them, a dome of light spread from key points around the arena, covering the entirety of the terrain. The blast pounded upon the shield, but to everyone's surprise, the paper-thin light shield, only shook slightly, but otherwise, it held up perfectly against that disastrous explosion.

When the blast had run its course and began to die down, the shield had finally let up. The terrain was oddly quiet, and there was a thick cloud of dust that blanketed the area, no one was able to make heads or tails of anything below.

Many digiums were there, of the two opposing academies. Cheering loudly before, their heads now hung low. Obviously grief-stricken over the fact that both Lanzo and Tamashi might have died down there, buried beneath the aftermath of their own battle

A rock suddenly came loose, tumbling down, bringing others with it. A bright glow suddenly came shining through the debris and ruin that littered the terrain. Everyone's gaze was locked in the direction of the light.

"Ugh damn it Tamashi, you're something else, you don't wanna lose, so you wanted to kill me, is that it?" Who else could it be Setamaru Lanzo, surrounding him was a glowing energy shield. In his hands, to the gasp of everyone else, he held the charred body of Tamashi.

Surprisingly the body twitched, but only so slightly, "…So I still lost, huh …Well then champ, I guess you win this one then." Tamashi's voice was feeble, the body badly burnt. This was to be expected as the Captain fought against an Armis that could execute moves fueled by an inexhaustible power.

'Sighs.'

The glow of the shield dimmed, and he started walking, exiting the terrain. "Don't talk Tamashi, you might be alive, but you're far from okay. Jut hold on, I'll carry you to the transport unit, so it can take you to our medical ward.

Lanzo looked up above where he saw the frightened figure of the hiding Faricee Cexi. Poor girl barely had the time to provide any bit of commentary, the proceedings of this fight escaped the scope of any battle before it.

Most of her fights were spent getting away from the terrain so that she could remain out of reach of the explosions. The only news reported were of combatants falling out, though nobody was listening as the fight was captivating all on its own.

When he saw her, his helmet receded so that his eyes locked with the frightened commentator, after which he offered a subtle nod. Letting her know that everything was fine and that Tamashi …is alive.

He was aware that the sombre mood of the arena was because of the charred body in his ends. So he needed to let everyone that what he held in his arms was not a corpse but a body.

She took note of the message almost immediately and reacted appropriately. "Ladies and gentleman, I have just received news that the opposing team Reiger's Captain Megani Tamashi, though in critical condition, is alive and well!"

She continued on as the platform lowered, to mark the end of it, one of the most heated battles ever witnessed. "With that said, we can properly say the winner of this Engage sequence is Cendo Academy! I mark this sequence disengaged!"

When she said this, the entire crowd erupted into thunderous cheers. It was deafening and didn't seem as if it was going to end any time soon, whether it was merely because Cendo Academy won, or because Magenai Tamashi was okay, one couldn't be too sure. Maybe it was a bit of both, even the attendees in the high stands couldn't help but release their reserved applause as well.

When Lanzo saw this, he released a slight smile and continued to walk with the wounded Tamashi in hand.

Lanzo didn't care about any of this, he just kept on walking. He sent away the bots approaching to take the Captain off-field away so that he could do it. Lanzo believed he could afford the Captain this much honour at least.

"You know it's funny, we've fought for years, and yet I have never seen your actual face. You always kept that damn helmet on, and now when your Armis is finally destroyed, you do this to your body so I can't tell what you're supposed to look like."

Lanzo voiced his thoughts as he walked on, blocking out the cheers as he moved.

"…I-" Tamashi was about to reply but was stopped short by Lanzo.

"Stop trying to talk already bruh, that wasn't for you to respond to, just me rambling. You can tell me when you're healed."

He soon disappeared when he entered the tunnels, heading outside the Arena and move towards the Medic Ward using God's Code, it wouldn't take him long to arrive and leave him in the hands of Minayatsu Ayuki, the life fairy.

Usually, combatants weren't allowed to wear their Armis outside the Arena. However, no one stopped him this time around, whether it was because he just won, or because he walked off a nuke better than a bad hangover no one could tell.

The waiting room for Team Proelius …

"Alright, let's head out and meet up with the idiot and tell him to take off God's Code and to give me my damn Temporal Gate." Gero only offered that comment before he turned around to exit the room.

"You must be pretty happy right now, probably a lot of data in that one fight alone so you can perfect the Temporal Gate." Kia turned around to follow after him with a smile on his face.

Gero retorted, "Like you're one to talk, you're telling me you're not glad to see your Divinus Plasma blade in action? Still, it's good we made the decision to keep the fact that we engineered them under wraps for now. If you don't mind me asking, why a blade though? It's not mainstream you know?"

"Oh, huh, it was…just a-"

Gero realised he asked a question he shouldn't have, so he just dropped it. However, his expression suddenly changed, and he looked around with great alarm!

Kia, who only just stepped out of the novre room, noticed the change in Gero's demeanour and went on high guard. "What is it is someone there?!"

"I-I'm not sure, I felt a cold aura, something dark watching me, watching us." It disappeared nearly the moment I sensed it and reacted, or maybe it was just my imagination I don't know" Gero explained what he felt, trying not to sound too crazy as he did.

"Hhmm, lemme give you a bit of advice. When you feel your gut instinct stop dropping subtle instincts, and instead takes a 2 x 4 to the side of your head, maybe listen to what it says and let's get out of here.

When they left, a dark shadowy figure appeared in the hallway beside the waiting room. It made no sound only disappearing once its mission was more or less completed.

Somewhere really high …

"C'mon, we need to move, something disgusting is slithering around the Academy. We need to weed it out." Shepherd Hide from where he stood, eyed a specific high-stand room as he spoke.

"So it's in there? You think he noticed us?" Vizio asked all trace of playfulness long gone.

"Doesn't matter, he should be smart enough to know that this Academy is not somewhere he can come and go as he pleases. After this, when those three learn, they're not safe, and we...clean up. we're grabbing the brats." The shepherd solemnly answered.

"Isn't this too risky Takeshi? One mistake and one of them could die you know." Vizio stated, though she wasn't particularly attached to them, she didn't want to put them in danger.

"Don't worry about it, I won't even need to summon my construct for this. Besides, when I ascended sometime ago, I haven't had a chance to break in my new powers yet, since I've stepped into this domain, might as well give em something to strive for, that is, if they survive." His expression didn't change, but the killing intent somehow changed him, as if, he was a demon.

Viz's expression changed when she heard this, "Takeshi!"

He waved her off when he heard the slight anxiety in his voice, "It was a joke, they will survive, no one can kill those who I want to live."

"Now, let's offer our condolences to the man we shall kill."