At a table, Kaito sat with his group. That group had grown since the first time they arrived at this place, with the addition of Kirito, Asuna, and Lala. At first, Sorata and Misaki had also been there, but Sorata had withdrawn during the last rounds, and Misaki, noticing his mood, went with him.
At that moment they were discussing the opponent they would face in the next, and perhaps final, round.
"Speaking of that… why is the final three people instead of just two?" asked Kaito.
"Most likely because they want to award prizes from first to third place, and that is why they want a final of three," answered Kaguya.
"Three is more fun than two," Mashiro added naturally.
"Maybe it is simply tradition. In the universe there are many planets where battles are of three, or even more participants," added Lala.
Everyone looked at her strangely.
"Kaito," Kaguya began, "who is she?"
"I am Lala, Princess of Deviluke," she introduced herself enthusiastically.
"Deviluke? I do not know that place," said Kaguya, confused.
"Do not even try," Kaito intervened, "Deviluke is another planet."
A heavy silence enveloped them, eyes fixed on him.
"A-another planet? Kaito… you must be joking," murmured Kirito, stunned.
Kaito smiled calmly.
"Heh, if that already surprises you, then you do not want to know the rest of her identity."
"Are you an alien?" asked Mashiro, with an uncommon excitement in her voice.
"In fact, you are the aliens to me," Lala answered innocently.
"Assuming this is true… what is an alien doing on Earth?" Kaguya replied, incredulous.
"My father wanted to talk to Kaito," Lala said carelessly.
"Your father?"
"Gid Lucione Deviluke, emperor of the galaxy."
The table fell into stunned silence.
"Ha… ha… by 'galaxy' do you mean…?" Kaguya stammered, not knowing how to react.
"The Milky Way, of course," she answered naturally. Her face lit up suddenly, as if remembering something. "Ah, right! Earth does not know about life on other planets yet, right? I heard you even hide the supernatural."
"The supernatural…?"
"That is enough, Lala," Kaito interrupted her before she continued breaking paradigms, "if you keep going, you will give them a short circuit."
"And about Kaito," Kaguya intervened, staring at him.
"About me?" he asked, puzzled.
"Yes. What are you?"
"I am his new subordinate," Lala announced proudly, pounding her chest and making it bounce with the movement.
Kaguya watched her suspiciously.
"Are you sure she is not crazy and you only brought her into the group because of… her attributes?"
Kaito coughed harshly at the accusation.
"Cough, cough! What are you talking about? I guarantee you she is telling the truth."
Hayasaka leaned into Kaguya's ear and whispered maliciously,
"Miss, you have too much competition. I recommend you hurry."
"Hayasaka! What are you saying?" Kaguya blushed, looking at Kaito to make sure he had not heard. But at that instant he was no longer there… and Hayasaka was gone too.
"It has already begun," Mashiro commented calmly.
---
On the battlefield, the three finalists stood face to face.
Arata was the first to laugh.
"Looks like it will be two against one. Perfect, this way everyone can witness my greatness."
"What am I even doing here?" murmured Hayasaka, feeling out of place.
"You can withdraw if you want. I will handle him," said Kaito. She nodded, ready to leave.
But before she could, Arata appeared in front of her and tried to strike. Hayasaka dodged, leaping back until she reappeared next to Kaito.
"What do you think you are doing?" Kaito asked gravely.
"I cannot let her go. This is my chance to prove my superiority," Arata answered with a mocking smile.
Spiked gauntlets appeared in his hands, and his eyes glowed with a threatening sky-blue light. He lunged at them, but Kaito dodged with inhuman speed and Hayasaka with sharp reflexes.
Kaito counterattacked, but Arata vanished, reappearing unharmed at another point. Hayasaka tried to catch him from behind, but he was waiting for her: he spun and struck with force, almost throwing her out of the arena.
For a moment, Hayasaka's body turned into a shadow, as if trying to merge with it. But Arata, anticipating it, conjured a fiery sphere that consumed all darkness. The flames forced Hayasaka back into her normal form, and before she could react he surprised her, slamming her brutally into the ground. She rose shakily, returning to Kaito's side.
"Lucifer-sama…"
"What is it?"
"His blows… they do not wound me, but they hurt… too much. It feels like he is only playing."
"Do you really think you have time to talk?" Arata roared, launching himself at the spot they had occupied a second earlier and leaving a crater.
Kaito responded by summoning shadowy spheres that surrounded Arata. He could not completely dodge them, but just as they were about to explode, they returned to their original point as if moving backward in time. That way, Arata emerged unscathed.
The exchange became constant, Kaito unable to harm him, Arata unable to hurt Kaito himself… and Hayasaka enduring the worst part. Although she showed no visible wounds, her ragged breathing and the tension on her face revealed the pain.
"Can you endure?" Kaito asked.
"Of course," she replied without hesitation despite everything.
They both attacked with everything: swift shadows, complex spells, illusions. The field was transformed under Kaito's magic, spears of ice fell from the sky, the ground rose into earthen spikes, gusts of air cut like blades, and walls of fire burst around them. Arata dodged them all, stepping a second back in time when necessary.
Finally, everything vanished in an instant, the sky clear as if nothing had happened.
"Hahaha! Nice try," Arata mocked.
"You will not be able to do it many more times," Kaito replied.
"Neither will you," Arata countered, extending a confident hand. "Besides, I no longer need to."
Taking advantage of Kaito's distraction from the recent attack, he grabbed Hayasaka by the neck and slammed her into the ground, making her spit blood.
"Lucifer, number one in the world… let us see if you can save her."
He threw her into the air, and when Kaito leapt to catch her, Arata appeared above and descended with both fists like a hammer.
"Too slow," he laughed.
With the little consciousness she had left, Hayasaka summoned her shadow to attack him. But Arata cloaked his body in flames, burning away every shadow present.
"Aaaahhh!" she screamed, consumed by the pain.
Furious, Kaito condensed a massive wave of water and froze it, launching it at Arata. Arata dodged easily, and when he noticed the ice following him, he reversed it a second back to when it was still water. Of the great wave only a drop grazed him, but that spark was enough: the electric jolt coursing through his body opened a breach. Kaito took advantage and struck him from behind, hurling him into the arena in a smoking crater. However, a second later, Arata reverted unscathed to his previous state.
With Hayasaka in his arms, Kaito kept moving at the center of the arena. Three identical copies of him appeared, scattering to escort her out.
Arata appeared before one.
"I know you are the real one," he growled, launching an attack.
Kaito dodged and returned to the center, the copies regrouping. But in his arms there was nothing. Arata turned sharply toward a corner, where a shadow tried to escape.
Although Arata suddenly appeared there, knowing his destination made it easy for Kaito to predict where he would appear. As soon as he materialized, Kaito greeted him with a perfect blow that made him bleed while Hayasaka descended from the ring.
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