Chapter 72: Privet
"...It always used to hurt when my sister and I got our teeth cleaned by the dentist. Will it feel the same for you?"
Even with the uncomfortable pain moving through his body, Jamba still could not help but slightly furrow his eyebrows in confusion as to what Riley was saying. His thoughts, however, were cut short when a weird buzzing and whirring sound whispered in his ears.
The buzz, whistling through the cloud of dust, almost forming a sort of cyclone as the pebbles started spinning and vibrating at a very high speed.
"What… what are you doing?"
"Cleaning your bones, Jamba. For free."
A sharp static then howled in the air, before it was completely overwhelmed by the sound of Jamba's shrieking cries. Jamba quickly tried to retract his extruded bones, but found that he was not able to-- it felt like something was pulling it tight.
And so, the only thing he could do was scream in pain; he could grit his teeth, but the vibrations that were crawling throughout his entire body seemed like it would be enough to crack them.
It was a cold feeling, but at the same time, it was not. It was as if a million needles were being slowly entered through his bones and flesh; only to be taken out and inserted again. The knuckles on his bones and elbows were the only ones that were being ground, but it felt like his entire body was starting to melt.
There was a chill that he could not explain; causing a sharp stinging fever to make even his own skin sensitive from the air… and yet the only thing he could do was scream.
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"Don't be so dramatic, Jamba. You're not going to die from this-- well, that's what my sister told me the first time I went to the dentist."
Jamba could not even think anymore as the pain was slowly causing his vision to fade; but something whispered into his ear that made him not able to do so-- a chuckle.
Even through the shrieking roars coming out from his lungs, he could hear a chuckling whisper into his ear.
He was right. He was absolutely right-- the one in front of him is the One Cursed by God.
"This sound…" Riley then whispered as he tried his best to stop the laughter that was threatening to burst from his mouth. He then turned his head up as he closed his eyes, taking in a long and deep breath as a smile slowly formed on his face,
"...truly wonderful."
And those were the last words Jamba heard before he completely lost consciousness.
"...Oh." And as soon as his cries ceased, the drilling noise also instantly stopped as the stones grinding through Jamba's bones dropped to the ground.
And so, with the ashes of Jamba's bones mixing with the cloud of dust, a blue light emerged from the perimeter of their zone-- signaling the end of the battle.
Realizing this, Riley could not help but let out a long and deep sigh as he dropped Jamba's unconscious body to the ground.
"Well, that didn't last long," Riley then whispered, his words containing a hint of disappointment. Afterwards, he waved his hand, completely blowing the cloud of dust away and allowing those who were watching his match to once again be able to see from the screen they were watching on-- and everyone was watching.
How could they not, when Riley was the last to finish his match? None of them cheered, however; as for the last 30 minutes or so, the only thing they had been hearing were screams-- screams that were enough to resound in the very core of their bones.
They had absolutely no idea what was happening; as the only thing they were hearing were screams and a light buzzing sound, that for some reason, was making their eyes twitch.
"I told you, your brother is fine," Katherine, who was able to hear the beating of Riley's heart, could not help but let out a short but deep sigh as she stood up from her seat. She was about to leave, but as soon as she stepped out from the bleachers, she glanced at Tomoe,
"I'll be one of the judges in the Kata competition tomorrow, Dark Frost. I won't be giving you any advantages just because you're in my class."
"That should be the case, Miss Scarlet Mage," Tomoe only glanced at Katherine before letting out a quiet harrumph.
For a subordinate who can't even kill people, Katherine sure was arrogant, Tomoe thought. The role of First Subordinate should have really been assigned to her and not Katherine.
And what's with that sudden change of hair color? Was she trying to look like Riley?
"Good work, little sister."
Tomoe's thoughts were then disrupted as Hannah patted her on the shoulders a couple of times, "Don't let that hag beat you, she seems adamant in popping my brother's cherry."
"Oh?" Katherine was about to leave, but as soon as she heard Hannah's words, she could not help but stop in her tracks and look at her straight in the eyes,
"What made you think I haven't already?"
"!!!"
"...What!?"
And just like that, the events of the first day of the Festival have come to an end.
***
"Congratulations on moving to the next round, Riley!"
"And you were able to move on as well. As expected of you, American Mega Girl."
"American… Mega Girl?"
A few minutes after the Combat tournament was over, all of the combatants were now asked to rest underground. The Academy's medical staff were also there to see if some of them received any persisting injuries; giving priority to those who had the monitors attached to their legs slightly activated.
"Yes," Riley nodded, "For the duration that the foreign students are here, that is what I shall call you, American Mega Girl."
"W… why? You know what, never mind," Silvie then waved her hand as she sat on the floor beside Riley, "I am more curious as to why your match lasted so long. Did you have a hard time with your opponent?"
"No. I just wanted him to have fun first. It would not be fair if I kil-- if I win without him being able to fight back."
"I… I see."
Riley said it so calmly, but if his opponent was able to hear his words, then he would surely riot. "Speaking of which, who is your opp--"
"Zdravstvuyte."
"Privet."
"..."
"..."
Silvie could not help but blink a couple of times as she accidentally answered the woman that suddenly approached; how could she not, when the woman spoke in a language native to her?
What followed, however, was an awkward silence as she and the woman stared at each other.
"Good afternoon, Russian Mega Girl."
And thankfully, Riley was there to break the silence.
"I see you were also able to beat your opponent, congratulations."
"Thank… you." Russian Mega Girl, aka, Alisa, could not help but slightly squint her eyes as they slowly left Silvie, "I actually also came here to congratulate you."
Hearing Alisa's words, Silvie could not help but also squint her eyes-- wincing from embarrassment. However, this embarrassment did not last long as she realized something.
"You… know Russian, Riley?"
"I do," Riley nodded before gesturing towards Alisa, "And may I introduce you to RFMA's Mega Girl?"
"Mega…" Silvie only whispered as she looked at the woman in front of her, "Your superhero name… is also Mega Girl?"
"And yours too, it seems," Alisa let out a small chuckle as she shook Silvie's hand; and this time, she was speaking in English,
"And how funny that the both of us are also Russian. I'll only be here for a few days, but I hope we get along. Name's Alisa."
"Y… yes," Silvie nodded as she returned Alisa's greeting, "I'm… Silvie," she then whispered.
"You know what else, though?" Alisa then once again chuckled as she released her hand, "I'm also the Mega Student of my Academy-- so I guess we will be meeting each other at the end of the tournament."
"I hope--"
"Don't be so sure of that."
And before Silvie could even return Alisa's playful declaration of war, another voice joined in on their conversation. And judging from the eyes that were slightly being revealed from his red mask, he was Oriental.
"Because none of you...
...might even make it to the finals."