Chương 49: Ch. 43 - The Peak of Skill

The nets were launched way above, but they blanketed the three spawn points I could've been in. They descended in a wide area. The blue lights of electricity crackled as they floated downward. I slammed back on the thrusters, the sim balking in protest and slamming my head against the headrest.

"What a first move from the odds on favorite!" said the PA voice.

"That addition from the fifteen seconds was well worth it!" I scurried back to the ground, having not gotten high enough to see her. But she saw me and I had to get anywhere else. I pushed to the right, keeping an eye above me. Plans, thoughts, all of them flooded my brain with an excess of information. If she bee-lined it for me, she'd be on me in about ten seconds. If she flew above and scouted my direction, I'd have about twelve. I shook all the thoughts away. I was piloting on instinct.

I slammed the projection disk against the wall, adding a new button on screen that I'd have to press. I pushed further and further right and forced a stop. It had been ten seconds and she hadn't made a move. Think. She'd be moving to intercept me, knowing I was pushing right. And if I knew that, then she knew that. A weird calm fell around the battlefield. If she knew that. I pulled the thrusters back as hard as I could. Straight through the remnants of the building behind me. I crashed through it.

Debris fell everywhere. It was that frantic, last second movement that didn't have her club land straight on me. She appeared like a mechanized valkyrie from the air, having only gone up when she reached where she guessed I would be. She didn't move as we stared each other down. Right now, I didn't see a Frame. I saw Ania, holding the club in her hand. Her hands changing the grip. Her arms moving gracefully with no wasted effort. The subject of my nightmares. And respect. I asked her once, if she was like me.

If we didn't see the mechs when we dueled. She agreed. She lunged forward, shooting off the ground. I had barely enough time to bring the shield up and riposte her blow. I kicked off only to find the string of rope hooked to my leg. She yanked and pulled me to my back. I hadn't hit the ground when she was already in the air, swinging her club down to me. The shield barely had enough time to between me and the club. I activated the shield and used the half second to unhook the leg.

She danced through the air to avoid the shield and slammed the club onto me anyway. It wasn't full power, but my integrity plummeted to half anyway. Unhooked, I slid across the ground, deactivating the shield to give that half second of space. She kicked it away but not before I could get to my feet, turn a corner and hide in the ruins slamming another disk on the wall. I activated the projection I made earlier as soon as I crossed it. It was the briefest of reprieves.

Sixty percent of my mana went into the missile salvo to pre-load it.

"See, Stefano!" exclaimed Caddie.

"You did survive being within melee distance."

"I ran, Caddie," I said.

"Huge difference." The nets were still hovering over the spawn points. I'd have to go closer to the center to be able to comfortably gain some distance. But she was stalking me. Like a predator out to catch prey. Rubble crashed onto the ground. Then more. She was destroying the cover in her effort to find me. No. Wait. This is Ania we're talking about. She's trying to lure me out. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. I went from cover to cover. Crash.

It sounded distant and not at all like someone hammering away. Almost like it was thrown? I looked up, only to find Ania scanning from the sky. Her club was not in her hands. It was that brief second of hesitation that she needed when she spotted me. She didn't go for her weapon. She launched herself at me. I aimed the rifle, shooting three shots wildly in the air. She dodged each shot like she knew where it was going to be. The lock-on from the missiles wasn't fast enough. She crashed into me as we rolled out.

Her arms and legs were locked onto my arm unit. She twisted and yanked. My integrity bar was screaming and at this rate, I'd be down to zero. I tried aiming the blaster but I didn't have an angle. I grabbed the stasis disk and jammed it on the arm. All motion stopped. I yanked away tearing the arm out. My integrity stopped plummeting. I pushed off, slamming up to get some distance, pushing through the air. She hurried to cover, two shots landing firmly from my blaster as I emptied the mana bar.

I sailed back, keeping up high.

"Ow, Wow!" said the announcer.

"Our underdog scored a couple of hits after firing six shots." My best best was to lure her, somehow, into a trap. If I could lock-in the missiles, I might be able to get her. But she also probably knew I was out of mana. It was replenishing, but I'd have to wait a few seconds to have enough to fire again. And that would be a single shot.

"You've gotten better," said Ania.

"Before, you'd never consider removing a limb like that."

"Was that a compliment?" I asked, holding a stupid grin on my face.

"It can be whatever you want it to be," she said. I couldn't see it, but she was smiling too. She had to be making her way to her weap- "There!" I said aloud.

"Where?" toyed Ania. I snickered as I angled above. Enough mana to fire another shot. She flew low to the ground, angled to extend an arm for her club. I aimed another shot but held off. I had one chance. I waited. She dipped an arm to her weapon. Her hands clasped around it. I fired just as her hand wrapped around the hilt. She twisted in the air, half expecting the shot but already committed to the weapon. It hit her straight and the familiar pop of integrity echoed through the chamber.

There was no more protection for her. Any damage would crumple the metal. A wayward backhand would send chunks flying. No more protection against anything. This was it.

"What a turn of events ladies and gentlemen!" said the announcer.

"Her integrity is completely gone! Are we about to see an underdog story? But I wouldn't count her out! For anyone else, this is curtains!" Ania stared me down, knowing I didn't have mana. She had a few seconds and decided to tie the rope around her club. The lock-on still wasn't registering.

"Caddie," I said.

"I think the missiles were a bad idea." With the rope tied to the club, she looked up one more time and launched towards me. The club dragged behind, slowing her momentum. I pulled back, keeping my distance. The mana bar slowly refilled and I had a shot. I turned, aiming straight at her. She was already dancing in the air and I had to slow, ever so slightly to steady the shot. I fired. She twisted, losing the arm that wasn't attached to the rope.

She swung, arching the club up through the air, giving the rope slack as she positioned herself below. I kept pulling back, but the rope cut off my only escape, being too close to the edge of the map. We had gone a full circle and I we were back to just above where she first attacked me. I dodged the first blow and began locking to her mech. It chirped. Closing in on its center. On Ania. I could taste victory, but I had to control myself. I still had a third of my integrity left. She had none.

I could close the distance, but I didn't trust myself to beat her in close quarters. The club was behind me and the rope was at full extension. The lock-on was getting closer and she was getting desperate. Bang. An explosion behind me sent me flying through the air. Towards Ania. The club, did it?

"She finally plays her hand!" says the announcer.

"The club she picked can send out a shock wave blast!" I was hurtling towards her. I hadn't noticed that she was recalling the rope and club. It moved faster than me through the air. I caught myself. She was turning. I couldn't see the club. WHAM! The sim shook violently. My integrity popped. The club had smashed against my waist, shearing it completely off. I was falling to the ground. Half the thrusters weren't attached. I could only guide where I was falling.

She kicked the club, hurtling it my way, shearing off her own leg unit. My arm shattered and the blaster tumbled to the ground. I had one appendage left. Panicking, I pulled the projection disk and typed in what I wanted it to look like. A moment later, the lights of the screen flickered as I stared at Ania, descending to the ground on one leg. I reached behind me, my mana bar filled for one more shot. The blaster in my hand, I aimed it square at her. She launched the club to my arm, shattering it.

But there was no blaster in my hand. Only the stasis disk I dropped here earlier, still on the ground. She yanked back but couldn't pry it loose. [Locked-on] I fired the missiles at the same time her club retracted to hit me. Smashing me to smithereens.