The place was enveloped in heavy silence after the storm. Gravel was scattered everywhere, and the walls of the arena were broken, as if it had witnessed a war rather than just training. Dust still hung in the air, and Riichi's body bore the marks of a battle that had nearly killed him.
He sat on a cracked rock, breathing heavily, his hand on his chest, sweat dampening his hair. Natsumi stood beside him, wiping the traces of mana from her palm, watching him with a neutral gaze.
But the calm of the moment did not last long.
"You... you're an idiot in every sense of the word!"
Miko's voice rose like an arrow, sharp, angry, affectionate. She stepped forward quickly, her face flushed, her gaze a mixture of anger and concern.
"Didn't we tell you that the doctor explicitly ordered you not to fight? Didn't he warn you that your mana center is fragile?!"
Reiichi (trying to stand up):
"I had to... If I hadn't confronted him, I wouldn't have been able to—"
Miko (interrupting him):
"Prove yourself? Get yourself even more hurt? Your body isn't a testing ground! What you did was suicide!"
Erika (from behind, in a low voice):
"He's always like this... He doesn't listen to anyone when he thinks he's the only one responsible for everything."
Miko turned to her with a nervous smile, then returned to scolding her in a less harsh tone, as if trying to restrain her tongue for fear of saying too much in front of her.
"Anyway, the important thing now is that you're still breathing. We'll talk about your recklessness later."
Natsumi (yawning sarcastically):
"If that's recklessness, I don't want to see what you call outright suicide."
She laughed lightly, then looked at Miko searchingly:
"It seems that your relationship is... a little complicated, huh?"
Reiichi (with a heavy sigh):
"More than you can imagine."
In a moment of tension, Miko glared at him sharply, as if whispering to him:
"Don't mention anything about Ora in front of Erika."
He nodded silently and changed the subject.
Miko (in a louder voice, to get everyone's attention):
"Well, we detected a large fluctuation in your Mantec, and all communication indicators pointed to imminent danger. So I sent a call signal to Natsumi, and as for us... we ran after you on foot."
Erica (looking at the shattered ground):
"Obviously, you didn't come for a tea party..."
Reiichi smiled faintly, then asked Natsumi:
"Does that mean Ryoko... is finished?"
Natsumi (smiling lightly, then replying sarcastically):
"Don't forget that he's more stubborn than you..."
After that moment, tensions began to ease, and jokes began to surface.
Reiichi (looking at his torn clothes):
"At least I got some new holes in this outfit."
Natsumi (laughing):
"If you put it up for sale as 'Reiichi's original battle costume,' you might find fans willing to pay gold for it."
Erika (winking):
"I'd pay to see him try to sew it up himself."
Miko (sarcastically):
"I'd pay even more to put a stun gun on him every time he thinks about fighting again!"
Everyone burst out laughing, even Reiichi couldn't hold back his smile, despite the pain still in his ribs.
As they talked, Reiichi caught a glimpse of a secretive look between Miko and Natsumi, as if they were sharing a secret... but he ignored it for the moment.
After a few minutes of laughter and jokes, Miko took a deep breath and returned to her serious tone.
Miko:
"Reiichi... Enjoy the peace and quiet while you can, because tomorrow will be different."
Reiichi (surprised):
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Miko:
"College. You have to go back tomorrow. You've been absent too much, and the professors are starting to notice."
Erika:
"Oh, don't tell me you really forgot?!"
Reiichi (with a guilty smile):
"I've been busy... dying sometimes?"
Natsumi:
"What an excuse. I'm sure the administration will love to hear that."
Miko:
"If you don't show up tomorrow, I'll drag you there myself... by your ear."
Reiichi (resigned):
"Yes... yes... I'll be the first one there."
Erica:
"No, you'll be the last one to escape."
Everyone laughed again, but this time there was relief in their laughter... as if something had changed. Something in their hearts had lightened a little. Despite the pain, there was a living pulse within them that would not die.
Suddenly, Erika broke the silence:
"By the way... none of you have told me yet, how was the fight between you two?"
She looked at Ryoko and then at Ryuichi, her smile widening slightly.
"I heard you exchanged a few punches... Was it real or just for show?"
Ryoko smiled eagerly and didn't wait a second before starting to talk:
"For show? No! It was a high-class fight!"
He raised his hand enthusiastically and continued:
"Reiichi... He exceeded all my expectations. I swear I wasn't joking when I called him 'the heir.' He copied my moves and even mimicked my fighting stance perfectly!"
Miko, standing behind him, began to look confused, gazing at Riichi with obvious concern.
Erika raised her eyebrows in surprise:
"Copied... your position? You mean he used the same abilities as you? At the same speed?"
She looked directly at Riichi, her gaze a mixture of suspicion and surprise.
"But wait... isn't your mana center fragile? How were you able to do that? That doesn't seem normal..."
Reiichi froze in place, the words stuck in his throat, unable to find a ready answer, sweat beading on his forehead.
At that moment, Miko quickly intervened, trying to salvage the situation with a firm voice and a feigned tone of sarcasm:
"Oh really? Erika, you believe what Ryoko says? That crazy guy exaggerates everything! Did you know he once said that an ant challenged him on the street?"
Everyone laughed a little, but Ryoko didn't back down, insisting enthusiastically:
"I'm not kidding! He matched me move for move! My techniques, my striking angle, even my breathing timing!"
Erica narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze suggesting that she was beginning to suspect that something was being left unsaid...
But Miko quickly interrupted her, lightly tapping Ryoko on the head:
"Shut up, you blue trumpet, you're going to get us into trouble without even knowing it!"
Ryoko laughed:
"Hey! Calling me a trumpet? At least I look handsome when I fight!"
Natsumi also intervened, trying to ease the tension:
"Oh, Erika, don't pay attention to him... Ryoko sees action in everything, even in making tea."
The tension of the moment gradually melted into light laughter, but Erika's eyes remained fixed on Ryuichi, a look that had not yet faded.
Then she tilted her head and said with a mysterious smile:
"Whatever... I'll keep my eyes on you, heir to the cloned movements."
Reichi smiled nervously, but said nothing.
Ora, who had remained silent all this time, muttered inside Reichi's mind:
"This is getting worse... We're about to reveal my existence to someone we shouldn't."
Reichi (in his mind):
"I know... But thank you for not speaking just now. You saved the situation indirectly."
Ora (jokingly):
"Oh, don't worry... I'm just watching silently, like an evil spirit in a drama series."
The breeze had begun to calm down, and the dust from the previous battle had faded into the horizon, along with a strange feeling of truce between everyone. Reiichi stood up, wiping a spot of blood on his neck, while Miko anxiously checked the time on her smartwatch.
Miko (sighing):
"I think it's time to go back. Tomorrow will be a long day at college, and I don't want to have to explain to the supervisor why Reiichi came in with his pants burned at the knee."
Reiichi smiled slightly, and everyone started to move... but suddenly, Erika stepped forward steadily to the center of the square and said without preamble:
"Ryoko... get off me."
Time stopped for a second.
Ryuichi's eyes widened, Natsumi raised an eyebrow, and Miko turned around very slowly, as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard.
Miko (shocked):
"What? A fight? Now?! Erica, have you gone mad?!"
Natsumi (disapproving):
"Do you realize what you're asking? He just fought! His center of gravity hasn't fully recovered!"
But Erika didn't flinch. She looked directly at Ryoko, her eyes filled with determination, not hatred... but something deeper, a desire to understand... and perhaps to prove herself.
Erica (calmly):
"I saw what Reichi did... and now I want to see just as clearly what Ryoko is hiding beneath all those jokes and boasts."
Ryoko, who had been drinking from a water bottle and expressing boredom with a fake yawn, quietly put the bottle down.
Ryoko (with a slow smile):
"Hmm? Is that... a challenge?"
Miko (angry):
"No, don't start... You were bleeding from your ear half an hour ago!"
But Ryoko, with one step, stepped forward, then flashed his usual smile, that smile that knows no retreat:
"A challenge from a girl with a steady gaze? How can I refuse?"
He slowly turned his shoulder, the sound of his bones cracking with excitement, then pointed lightly at the arena.
"Come on, daughter of mysteries. Show me what you've got."
Reiichi (whispering to Aura):
"Am I... am I dreaming? Who's challenging who now?"
Aura (in a voice inside her head, with a sigh):
"Yes, you're dreaming. A dream called Ryoko."
Erika (seriously):
"I won't use all my strength, I just want to know if you really deserve all this praise."
Then she added with a slight smile:
"And maybe... I just want to know how you'll respond to my first blow."
Complete silence.
Miko put her hand on her forehead and said:
"Oh my God... We're never going to leave here, are we?"
Natsumi (sadly):
"Well... At least let them stay away from the power poles this time."
Then... The wind began to blow again.
All eyes are on Ryoko and Erika as they walk toward the center, surrounded by an aura of intense seriousness... The scene is about to become iconic.
The square falls silent.
Even the leaves on the trees seem to have stopped mid-fall, watching this unique moment from above.
Erika stands at attention, her hands behind her back for a moment, then pulls a black glove out of her jacket pocket and puts it on slowly and calmly.
Ryoko, on the other hand, first began by removing his loud red jacket, then rubbed his neck and opened his mouth in a deliberate yawn... but he closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them, that look that others rarely see appeared—the serious look he hides beneath his madness.
Ryochi (whispering):
"Hmm... His face has changed."
Natsumi (watching closely):
"Ryoko... When he's silent, that's when he's most dangerous."
Miko was biting her lip, watching the situation with obvious tension, but without interfering. It was as if something inside her was saying, "I can't stop this now, even if I wanted to."
Erika (in a low voice):
"I don't want to hurt you. But... if you're not ready, say so now."
Ryoko (with unusual calm):
"Hmm? What if I'm the one who doesn't want to hurt you?"
Silence.
Then... Ryoko spreads his arms, takes a step back, and says with soft sarcasm:
"At least tell me... Do you want a quick fight, a dramatic fight, or maybe a romantic fight?"
Erica (with slight confusion hidden by anger):
"Stop talking like that, we're just going to fight. Focus."
Ora (whispering to Reichi):
"I think this will be fun."
Reichi (whispering):
"I think it will be disastrous."
Then, Ryoko steps forward a little, then suddenly picks up a small stick from the ground—a broken branch—and swings it around like a noble sword.
Ryoko:
"A weapon? No need. My hands will suffice... and a little cunning magic."
Erika opens her palm, and a small mana circle gradually expands, forming crystals around her palm.
Erika (inner voice):
"I want to know... Is your power just an illusion? Or are you hiding something... like Riichi?"
Suddenly, the sound of the wind blows.
Natsumi says:
"The field is starting to react to their energy... The field is changing."
Miko sighs:
"It looks like we won't be leaving tonight... ever."
Then loudly:
"One rule! No one flies this time! The power pole is still burned from Ryoko's last fight!"
Ryoko (laughing):
"I promise, I'll burn something else this time."
Reiichi (sighing):
"Huh... I'm not in a position to stop this, am I?"
Ora:
"Not if you want to see something legendary."
The next moment, Erica takes a step forward.
Ryoko opens her arms as if to welcome a storm.
The confrontation... is about to begin.
The sky seemed clear... too clear.
The silence before the storm seemed to deliberately bow down to what was about to happen.
Erica took up a fighting stance, calm as the surface of a still lake.
Ryoko, on the other hand, stood on one leg, her arms outstretched like a bird about to fly.
Reiichi (whispering):
"He's unpredictable... completely."
Natsumi:
"But despite all that... he's dangerous."
Ryoko suddenly lunges forward... so fast that he kicks up dust without moving a single stone, jumping behind Erika, then appearing in front of her, then above her... then suddenly stopping:
Ryoko (sarcastically):
"Hey, you know what? Your waist is wider than I expected!"
Erica (coldly):
"..."
An air slap.
Erica suddenly flashes to the right, releasing a reflective mana crystal that forms into an air mirror in front of Ryuko.
But he... hits it with a laugh.
The mirror breaks... then multiplies?!
Reiko suddenly steps back.
"Hey! My laughter turned into a wall!?"
Erica (calmly):
"Every intention you attack with, I reshape... and make you see it."
Reiko (with a twisted smile):
"Hmm... So, your techniques aren't just a visual display. That's amazing."
Erica suddenly concentrates her mana, and the mirrors begin to revolve around her like small planets.
Each mirror reflects a different location in the arena, and from each one, a different Erica emerges—a deadly copy.
Ryoko (laughing):
"Oh, copies? So I can talk to more than one of you? Which one would you prefer to marry?"
But one of the copies quickly moves her hand and fires a crystal shard... hitting him squarely on the shoulder.
The laughter... freezes.
Blood flows.
Ryoko falls silent. He stares at the wound, then at Erika. His eyes flash a deep red, for the first time in the fight.
Ryoko (in a low voice):
"...Ah... you hurt me."
The copies disappear, the air suddenly contracts, as if time has stopped for a moment.
One breath from Ryoko... changes the laws of the place.
In a cold, steady voice:
"Erica, it seems you... have touched my heart."
Then silence...
Then suddenly, an explosion of pure white mana wraps around his body like a heavenly scarf.
Miko (mumbles):
"No... He's unleashing his true fighting form."
Natsumi (shouts):
"Get away!!"
Ryuko disappears... then appears right in front of Erika, still smiling, but this time... the smile is soulless.
With a single punch...
He pierces one of the mirrors and reaches Erika's body from behind, without actually passing through it.
Ryuko (whispers):
"All your mirrors only reflect your weakness in front of me."
Erica unleashes flash bombs from all directions, exploding from every angle of reflection, but Ryoko dances between them, moving as if he knows their order in advance.
Then, he strikes the ground with the palm of his hand...
And all the mirrors crack at once.
Erica collapses to her knees, breathing heavily, and the mana fades away around her.
Ryoko (approaching, extending his hand to her):
"A wonderful fighter... but remember, I'm not an opponent who can be easily confined within a frame."
Erica (taking his hand, half angry, half impressed):
"... What are you?"
Ryoko:
"My name is Ryoko... and the rest? You'll love finding out."
Ryuichi whispers to Aura:
"Did you see that?"
Aura (confused):
"Ryoko... isn't from this world."
Ryoko (sarcastically):
"Ah, I thought that was all you had... Don't disappoint me."
Erika (standing up, her eyes flashing):
"What you saw before was just a facade. But don't get too excited... I'm not at full strength."
Ryoko (raising his eyebrow):
"Good... because I wasn't at full strength either."
At that moment... a strange silence fills the arena.
The air compresses... The ground begins to shake...
Erica raises her hand, then gently strikes the ground with her palm...
The sound of breaking glass echoes around them... Then, out of nowhere, dozens of mirrors float into the air, forming a semi-crystalline dome that closes in on them.
Reiichi stares in shock:
"This... is reflective field technology!!"
Miko (worried):
"She doesn't usually use it... only in extreme situations."
Natsumi (swallows her saliva):
"Is Ryoko still joking?"
Inside... everything begins to break inside the dome of mirrors.
The place becomes a dead end... and the reflections don't follow the laws of physics.
Every movement Erika makes comes out of ten places. Every attack cuts through the air at a different angle, breaking the laws beneath it and doubling the damage.
Erika (coldly):
"In this field... even light doesn't trust its place. How about you?"
Ryoko is cut on his leg, scratched on his cheek, and blood drips from his shoulder.
But he doesn't stop.
He doesn't back down.
Instead... he laughs.
Ryoko (whispers):
"This... is interesting."
Then, for the first time... he closes his eyes.
In a very low voice:
"Mirrors reflect form... not substance. But what if... the form disappears?"
A moment of silence, then...
BOOM!
Ryoko releases irregular mana from his entire body, which sweeps through the dome and causes the mirrors to wobble. The mirrors begin to crack.
Reiichi (surprised):
"He's using mana chaos! Something even the field can't predict!"
Erika tries to block him, but the mirrors shatter one after another.
Ryoko appears behind her, then in front of her, then above her, each copy saying something different:
"Your game is interesting."
"But your rules are weak."
"Allow me to shuffle the deck."
Erica pulls a mirror from her heart, a single mirror, black, one she has never used before.
Miko (shouts):
"No! That mirror... the reflection is broken!!"
But it's too late.
Erica points it at Ryoko and says in a trembling voice:
"If you are chaos... then reflect yourself!!"
And then there is a tremendous collision.
A storm of light and shadows,
glass shatters, Mana scatters,
the sky ignites with a dark blue tinged with a strange purple.
The explosion... deafening.
Silence...
Thick dust covers the square, friends run inside, Natsumi screams Erika's name, Miko searches for Ryoko with worried eyes.
Then two shadows appear... walking slowly...
Ryoko, his clothes torn, a deep wound in his chest, smiles faintly.
And Erika... half conscious, leaning on him.
Ryoko (sarcastically, despite the pain):
"You know what? I enjoyed fighting with you... Let's not do it again."
Erika (in a weak voice):
"... The strangest opponent... I've ever met."
Ryuko, breathing heavily, carries Erica, who is leaning on his shoulder, wounded and almost unconscious.
Ryoko (in a faint whisper):
"You were a formidable opponent... I didn't expect all this from you."
Erika doesn't answer, just slowly moves her head... before saying quietly:
"... Ryoko."
Ryoko looks at her... but suddenly senses something unusual.
His shoulder passes through her body...
Erica's eyes melt into small mirrors...
Her body collapses into pieces of broken light...
And scatters as if it... had never existed.
An inner voice echoes around them, Erica's voice... but without a body:
"This technique... is called:
『Mirage Cradle』."
Everyone freezes in place.
Miko opens her eyes in shock, Natsumi falls to her knees, and Reichi utters a silent cry.
Erica (her voice scattered in the air):
"I wanted to see your true abilities, Ryoko...
But I didn't want to fight you with my real body... Not yet."
"This technique creates a completely accurate illusion,
affecting the senses, time, and even mana..."
"I fought inside you... only in your eyes."
Ryoko stares at his hands, stunned:
"... This... is crazy..."
Miko (mutters):
"Even I... didn't realize it. It fooled even my analysis."
Reiichi laughs, a nervous laugh full of surprise:
"And so... you deserve the title: Mirror Witch."
Natsumi (with a trembling voice):
"Does... does that mean we didn't see anything?"
In the middle of the arena... a small mirror forms...
floating in the air, with an ancient Latin inscription on it:
> "Illusio potestatis — The illusion of power."
Then it slowly disappears... leaving everyone in stunned silence.
Ryoko is still standing in the middle of the arena, his eyes following the remnants of the "mirror" that has disappeared...
Then he hears soft footsteps behind him...
Erica quietly emerges from the shadows. This time... it's real.
Erica (in a steady voice):
"What you saw... was just an image."
Ryoko doesn't turn around. His voice is faint, but sincere:
"Even if it was just an image... it defeated me."
Erica stops, her eyes widening slightly.
Ryoko sighs, then turns toward her for the first time, his eyes filled with sincerity:
"I won't make excuses... I couldn't tell the difference between reality and illusion.
The result is the same: you surpassed me."
A brief moment of silence... then Erica speaks quietly, with a touch of pride:
"I am Deputy Commander Sigma, Ryoko.
A deputy commander has no right to be weak...
or even to lose, even in an illusion."
Ryoko smiles a small smile, a mixture of respect and admiration:
"And I... am just Ryoko. Someone who laughs a lot... but never forgets who defeats me."
Erica looks at him, intently this time, as if she is seeing him for the first time.
Then she takes a step closer and extends her hand toward him:
"In the next fight... it won't be an illusion."
Ryoko hesitates for a moment, then shakes her hand lightly and nods his head:
"Promise?"
Erica (with a confident look):
"Promise."
The sky begins to turn red, and the evening breeze blows gently through the trees, as if bidding farewell to a day full of battles and confessions.
Natsumi (stretching):
"I think it's time to go back... Today has been longer than it should have been."
Erica, looking at her tired hands after the battle:
"I agree, tomorrow will be a long day..."
Miko looks at Ryoichi seriously, then sighs:
"And you, stubborn one, tomorrow is your first day of college after a long break. No excuses."
Reiichi (raising his eyebrow):
"Ooooh... Say that again just to make sure I heard you right..."
Ryoko, waving his hand enthusiastically and shouting:
"Since everyone's ready... let me be your free taxi for the day!"
Reiichi (surprised):
"No, no, no, not again, that speed is terrifying!"
Ryoko (with a fake serious face):
"Destination: the home of the fierce scientist Miko.
Speed: the speed of laughter, or the speed of light, whichever is closer."
Before anyone could object...
✨💨💫 "Whoosh!"
In an instant, everyone disappeared in a whirlwind of dust and light.
In a matter of seconds, they all found themselves in the front yard of Miko's house, with astonished faces and messy hair.
Miko (shouting):
"Ryoooooookooooooooooooooooooooooo.....!!!"
Everyone bursts out laughing...
The day ends amid the evening light, a light wave of laughter, and an atmosphere of relief after a long battle.