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MATCH TWO: BERCULI SYNTHESIS ONE vs BLUE KNIGHT
Credits: Shiramieyuki
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Centoria Cathedral, Eightieth Floor: Bath Grande
Integrity Knight Berculi Synthesis One

"By the Goddess herself! What are you!" Berculi growled. Sparks flew from the intersection between the Time-Piercing Blade and the blue two-handed sword that his opponent wielded.

Berculi Synthesis One had fought a great number of demons, generals, and beasts alike. No foe was too difficult, no task was impossible. With his strength, skill, and the Time-Piercing Sword, there's nothing he can't cut down.

Until they had crossed swords, Berculi fully believed he was unmatched by anything within the Underworld, to say nothing of the Dark Generals.

They broke free from the deadlock - swung heavily - and locked themselves into another deadlock. If there was before, there was no question now that Blue Knight was just as strong as Berculi. He hadn't even had time to use a sword skill, and yet-!

Blue Knight grunted as he shifted his feet and leaned forwards. The Time-Piercing Sword shrieked in protest at being ground down. Surely its Life was falling with a Divine Instrument of equal sharpness being brought against it-

That was it. It was so simple that Berculi thought it absurd for a second, but considered in that instant.

A large yellow jewel was set in the center of Blue Knight's sword. And though every weaponsmith would claim otherwise, having a decoration of any kind within one's personal weapon, besides the sheathe where it was actually necessary, lowered the total Life of the Instrument, rather than increasing it. Such weapons used to be the stay of the early generations of Integrators, until the cost of maintaining them grew too high to spare.

Therefore, all he had to do was break Blue Knight's sword. A unfair and devious method to win, but Berculi had no reservations to spare. All he had to wear was a bathrobe while his adversary was clad from head to toe in reliable armour.

The dark blue blade of the Time-Piercing Sword glowed in affirmation of its master's plan.

"System Call!"

Blue Knight narrowed his eyes as Berculi chanted. His muscles tensed while Berculi rattled off a high-speed chant in a single breath-

"Discharge!"

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MATCH ONE: ALICE SYNTHESIS THIRTY vs BLACK LOTUS
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Centoria Cathedral, Central Plaza
Black Lotus

-This is it!

She couldn't believe it had worked, but it had anyway. As soon as the golden warrior's attacks began to take on a familiar pattern, Lotus forced her hand, literally.

Alice's automatic counter to a thrust was to deflect with a swing to the right. Then she flicked her wrist to bring the blade around, screaming for blood on its return path.

And then she had applied all her focus, concentrating her speed into a single action with no excess movement, bringing the side of her blade into contact with Alice's golden sword.

Sparks had flown and her hand felt cold and hot at the same time. But Lotus bit her lip and continued to concentrate. To move her hand in a circular motion and redirect the attack vector until it was no longer a threat - and it succeeded.

Terminating Sword couldn't instantly sever that blade Alice held, so it was on the same, if not a greater level as her swords. But Guard Reversal - the technique perfected after countless hours of training in the Unlimited Field - need not be matched against a similar level for it to work. All that was required was the strength and skill.

And in her case, a great deal of luck.

BOOM!

The golden blade sank halfway into the cobblestone path. Bits of stone and dust pinged off Black Lotus' armour and irritated her eyes. But this was nothing compared to the secret delight she felt upon catching sight of Alice's expression - her eyes were wide with horror and disbelief. Her gauntleted hand twitched towards her sword's grip.

Bringing up one sword-hand above her shoulder, Lotus bit her tongue in preparation for the final strike.

"Hya-"

"ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"

In that instant, Alice screamed. Lotus' sword tip was mere centimetres from her neck, so close to ending the fight-

FZZZZHH-

A heavenly light opened up from beneath her feet. The earth itself fissured and cracked as though a star itself was born in its depths - and the Fragrant Olive Sword emerged, sunlight blazing from its entire length and radiating pure indignation at being buried before its time.

Almost comically, Black Lotus was tossed in the air like a doll! But the advantage of not having feet, paradoxically, was the ability to twist mid-air and land gracefully on the repulsor jets Lotus relied on to hover off the ground. With a feline grace, Lotus bent low to absorb the 'shock' of landing and stared in horror.

The golden knight, Alice Synthesis Thirty, glared at her with a fiery passion, as though her emotions were one with her sword. Surely her weapon was just an Enhanced Armament, so why would it be able to respond like...?

No, Black Lotus realised, the bond between swordswoman and blade ran far deeper than that.

Lotus' only attachment to her blades stemmed from the realisation that they were the manifestation of her childhood trauma. To unconditionally reject all that approach as surely as the thorns of a blackened, burnt, black rose.

But as the aura from Alice and her golden sword stirred up the air and dust all around her, she radiated an incredible pressure that was in perfect harmony with what she felt from the glowing blade. A pure wish to preserve and protect life itself. An unshakable oath becoming her strength. And most of all, the belief in their ability to fight together as one.

Alice Synthesis Thirty and her golden sword, or as the whispers carried all around them: the «Golden Osmanthus Knight».

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MATCH THREE: ELDRIE SYNTHESIS THIRTY-ONE vs ARDOR MAIDEN
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Royal Rose Sanctuary, Centoria Church
Edlrie Synthesis Thirty-One

Ardor...Maiden.

No woman of this world would dare call herself a maiden, Eldrie scoffed. A maiden was a lady of purity who obeyed the Taboo Index, followed with her Sacred Task, and when she came of age, unconditionally and eternally upholds her vow to the man she marries. Something like the thing that had crossed him, however, bearing a mask with neither mouth nor eyes, and only as tall as his chest, was even less than the lowest-ranking peasant. It is a demon.

But as her red skirt fluttered and danced in the wind, Eldrie's thoughts stumbled and ground to a halt. Even as he readied his sword for a sword skill, preparing to neutralise this 'Ardor Maiden,' something at the back of his mind tugged at his brain urgently.

A red dress, spinning and curling. The child; she was taking her first steps out of the house and into the yard-

Eldrie blinked. Now that he could get a better look at her, he had to concede something, that this 'maiden'...was beautiful. Her upper half was pure white, rivalling even the finest Eastern silks, and though it didn't take away the fact that her mask had nothing else besides her eyes (and they shone with an unearthly light to begin with), the mask itself was exquisitely heart-shaped. For a child, it was adorable.

"Please don't hurt me," Ardor Maiden whimpered, as she turned her bow aside. "Please..."

"I do not mean to hurt you," Eldrie found himself smoothly saying, as though he had always meant to say that. "But... You're a trespasser and must be brought to the Axiom Church for your crime."

Even as he laid down the law, the point of his sword wavered slightly. Just how would the Church deal with Ardor Maiden? Somehow, he found himself concerned, that despite her bizarre appearance, there was something about her that clearly showed she was but a child. If any child couldn't just join the Church as an Apprentice, what chance did this Ardor Maiden stand to survive their punishment?

Something had always bothered Eldrie about the way the Apprentices were treated. Especially the Elevator Operator Servant - despite being a high-class user of aerial elements, even coming close to his own skill level, there was something deeply wrong about being made to operate the Elevator for the rest of her Life's span, wasting all her skill in generating aerial elements for but a single purpose.

A dull ache had begun to throb behind his right eye. It kicked Eldrie out of his train of thought and he realised he had been hesitating for nearly a minute. He straighten his back and cleared his throat, but just as he did so, the being who called herself a maiden asked an unexpected question.

"Mr Knight, are you going to arrest me?"

"That is correct. You have trespassed upon the Royal Garden, and will be brought before the Church for questioning."

"And I'll be locked up, won't I?"

Eldrie swallowed. "Yes," he answered simply. There was no need to reveal anything to her.

"If I'm locked up, then no one will visit me," Ardor Maiden's eyebrows drooped sadly. "It is pointless to perform without an audience."

She clasped her hands and bowed slightly. "May I be allowed to perform one last time, Mr Knight?"

To say Eldrie was stunned was an understatement. It was absolutely audacious for a criminal to request anything like this! Every criminal the Integrity Knights had ever apprehended knew their place and submitted to their authority. But this...demon dared to ask to dance!

And yet, Integrity Knight Eldrie, Synthesis Thirty-One felt that if he had been invited to watch this child dance for what would possibly be the last time in her Life's span, he may as well accept.

"Set aside your bow, demon. You are permitted to dance, but if you so much as string your bow..."

"As you wish, Mr Knight." Ardor Maiden smiled. She concentrated briefly, wondering if she should go along with some simple lines...but if she did too many things at once, her deception might well be exposed. It will be short and simple, and by the time she's finished, the strange knight will have ceased to exist.

Such misfortune the knight had to bear today. Her eyes half-closed, she had already transformed her bow into a hand fan. The air around her wavered, as though subjected to a fierce heat, but she held back her impulse to immediately burn him. She didn't wish to raze the rose garden to ash...

Ardor Maiden looked to the skies, and began to sing.

tbc.

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Hey there! Thought I was dead, didn't ya? Well, I'm still alive, and as long as I still get reviews and requests for matchups, I'll keep going. A story where all the side characters get to shine is just what AW needs!

(Though I'm pretty sure that statement applies to most other series with OP MCs...)

-Tusjecht