"Fortunately for us, EXP themselves are coming on their own," Mrs. Lexi said as she smiled, looking at a swarm of Apvalier gathered above the stadium. They filled the sky, and one by one, they flew down to approach the students. Two of them came directly toward us.
"Mrs. Lexi, what are we supposed to do?" Novelle asked.
"You four will defeat them."
"What? You're not going to help?"
"It's just a bug; you can do this."
"But they're level-10," Novelle murmured as Caelenra patted her to calm her down.
"I want Cerise to pair up with Caelenra, and Rain to team up with Novelle. This may be a challenge for all four of you, but it's a great opportunity to level up your monster. Now, go out there, and beat them!" Mrs. Lexi exclaimed.
Now that I think about it, this is the first time I saw Mrs. Lexi smile; most of the time, she is always calm. Is she a battle junkie like Cerise? It couldn't be. But by the time I realized everybody had already summoned their monster.
"Rain, I understand if this feels like a lot to ask. But, please take care of me?"
"Just relax, okay. We can win this."
"Alright." Novelle took a deep breath and regained her composure as an Apvalier lunged forward, heading straight for Mermaphin and Rallas.
"Rallas, use Lighting Shock!" Novelle commanded.
Rallas concentrated intensely, his body crackling with electric energy. With a piercing cry, he unleashed a sharp bolt of electricity that surged forth in a jagged arc. The brilliant streak of light shot through the sky, but Apvalier, with his agile, effortless, dodged the attack.
As Apvalier maneuvered closer, I commanded Mermaphin to use her Scratch move. Mermaphin dashed forward, sharp claws extended, just as Apvalier noticed her approaching. In a desperate attempt to defend himself, Apvalier shifted to intercept Mermaphin's strike.
Though Apvalier managed to shield himself to some extent, the impact of Mermaphin's Scratch was significant enough to disrupt Apvalier's advance, preventing him from closing the gap between them.
"Rallas, now! Use Thunder Surge!" Novelle commanded.
As Apvalier tries to regain his composure, Rallas unleashes a faint wave of electricity at Apvalier upon his summoner's command, paralyzing him.
"Let's finish him, Novelle. Mermaphin uses Water Shot!" I commanded.
"Alright. Rallas uses Lighting Shock!" Novelle Commanded.
Mermaphin concentrated, drawing her water energy into her mouth until it merged into a brilliant sphere of swirling blue droplets. Meanwhile, Rallas harnessed his inner power, his body crackling with electricity as he transformed into a living spark.
With synchronized precision, they unleashed their energies toward Apvalier, the water ball, and the electric spark hurtling through the air in a dazzling display as they approached from opposite directions.
The aftermath of Rallas' Thunder Surge leaves Apvalier in a state of paralysis, his movements becoming erratic and disjointed. Yet, despite his immobilization, he whirls about with astonishing speed; as he spins around, the wind around him merges into a protective barrier, shielding him from attacks by both Mermaphin and Rallas coming from opposite sides.
I'm amazed, and Novelle clicked her tongue. Meanwhile, Apvalier's sword is glowing; it seems he was about to make his move already. He started swinging his sword swiftly, sending the slash through the air. His Wind Slash is approaching Mermaphin. But as I commanded her to dodge, she dodged it easily.
"Rallas used Lightning Shock," Novelle commanded.
Attacking Apvalier from behind. However, the attack was easily neutralized when Apvalier turned around and faced Rallas, using his shield to protect himself. It's almost as if his red eyes can see 360 degrees.
Novelle whispered to me that she has a plan. She plans to use Rallas as bait to catch his attention, and I believe he will be fine since Rallas is fast and should easily dodge any attacks from Apvalier. She also suggested that Mermaphin should attack Apvalier when she gave us a sign. I agreed to her plan immediately.
"Alright, Rallas, get his attention, use Lightning Shock!" Novelle commanded.
Rallas unleashes his lightning attack once more. Apvalier uses his shield to protect from Rallas' lightning. He has been relentlessly targeting Mermaphin, is now pursuing Rallas, and repeatedly using his Wind Slash to attack him. However, Rallas manages to dodge effortlessly. At the same time, I instructed Mermaphin to keep a distance from Apvalier's line of sight while staying close enough to launch an attack at any moment.
It has been a while since Apvalier keeps attacking Rallas, but every Wind Slash Apvalier released missed its target. Suddenly, Novelle commanded Rallas to strike back with Lightning Shock.
"Rallas, use Lighting Shock!" Novelle commanded.
Rallas had been running away from Apvalier's attack and is now turned around, and charged toward Apvalier, releasing a jagged bolt of electricity against him. After the Rallas attack, Apvalier halted his pursuit, using his shield for protection, and remained still. I thought to myself that this could be a chance.
"Mermaphin, use Scratch!" I commanded.
Mermaphin had kept her distance from Apvalier without his knowing and now charged toward the motionless figure. Her glowing claw raked across Apvalier's back, leaving him bleeding and causing several of his wings to be severed. Because of that, Apvalier fell over to the ground.
"Let's finish this Novelle," I said.
"Yeah, Rallas, uses Lightning Shock!"
"Mermaphin, uses Water Shot!"
Rallas, with crackling cry, unleashed a searing bolt of electricity, while Mermaphin summoned a blue sphere of shimmering water that glistened like a jewel. As they collided with the fallen Apvalier, the air erupted with a deafening explosion, sending shockwaves of light and power shimmering through the battlefield.
"That's really something," Novelle sighed.
"That was a great battle," I said.
"Yeah, I agree. Unlike yesterday's practice, we keep attacking each turn. But this time, just looking at Rallas running around while avoiding Apvalier's attack, makes my heart beat faster."
"Congratulations on your first win in your real battle. That was an amazing battle," Mrs. Lexi said.
"Thank you, Mrs. Lexi," we said simultaneously.
"For now, we are going to wait for them to finish their battle."
***
"I want Cerise to pair up with Caelenra, and Rain to team up with Novelle. This may be a challenge for all four of you, but it's a great opportunity to level up your monster. Now, go out there, and beat them!" Mrs. Lexi exclaimed.
"Are you ready, Caelenra?" Cerise asked.
"Yes!" Caelenra exclaimed.
"Neat."
Apvalier, who is floating in front of them, flies towards Pionfle. His sword started to beam. It seems Apvalier is about to strike, they thought. Cerise and Caelenra are commanding their monster to get closer.
They both run toward Apvalier simultaneously. However, Galguana is slightly faster than Pionfle, helping him to reach Apvalier first. When Galguana finally arrives at Apvalier, Cerise commands him to strike with a Tail Whip.
Apvalier swiftly dodges his strike; the Tail Whip almost hit him. But the time he succeeded in dodging, Pionfle was about to reach him.
"Pionfle, hit him with a Leaf Blade," Caelenra said.
Pionfle focuses her energy, transforming her hand into a razor-sharp blade from a green leaf. As she lunges forward, her makeshift weapon and Apvalier's sword meet hers with a resounding clash. With each strike from Pionfle, Apvalier effortlessly counters her attacks. The two weapons collide in precision and power.
The two of them clash their swords continuously, but neither lands a hit. As a result, both of them jumped backward to avoid each other's attacks.
"Wait, Caelenra, do that again. After that, Galguana will shoot fire from Pionfle's back, and she can move so he can't avoid it," Cerise said.
"Yes, I understand. Pionfle hit him with a Leaf Blade once more!"
Pionfle starts refocusing her hands into a razor-sharp blade of green leaf. She rushed toward the motionless Apvalier. They both clashed their sword once more. But this time, as Cerise plans, Galguana stands not far but not too close to Pionfle's back.
Galguana was gathering his fire energy, shaping it into a fireball, and preparing to shoot it toward Pionfle's back. Just as the fireball was nearing Pionfle, Caelenra shouted for her to move to the side. As expected, the Fire Shot hit Pionfle, but when the smoke cleared, Apvalier appeared with a shield, leaving him unharmed.
"That's not fair!" Cerise snapped, narrowing her eyes.
"Let's do that again, but this time, Galguana shoots him from behind."
"Alright, let's do that."
Pionfle refocused her hands into a razor-sharp blade again. She rushed toward Apvalier once more, and they clashed their swords. But this time, Cerise commanded Galguana to shoot fire at Apvalier from behind.
As the Fire Shot approached Apvalier, he suddenly moved to the side, almost as if he could see behind him. The ball of fire then flew toward Pionfle, resulting in her being thrown onto her back.
"Pionfle!!!" Caelenra shouted. Fire is supposed to be Pionfle's weakness, but after being thrown, Pionfle gradually got back to her feet. Seeing her just got back up already only makes Caelenra more uneasy.
"If you worry that much, you should put her back in the card," Cerise said.
Caelenra paused for a moment, and she said, "No, I shouldn't, she determined to fight again, so we would fight till the end."
"If you say so, but what are we going to do? It's almost as if he could see 360 degrees."
"I have an idea. Galguana can keep shooting at him; meanwhile, Pionfle is going to approach him and attack him with Leaf Blade."
"I don't know, it's too risky, don't you think?"
"---and if none of them work, we're going to keep attacking him."
Cerise paused for a moment before she agreed; seeing Caelenra as if she were a different person fascinated her.
"Alright, Galguana, keep Fire Shot at him!" Cerise commanded.
Galguana concentrated intensely, gathering fiery energy until it swirled into a sphere of flame. With a swift motion, sending the blazing orb hurtling toward Apvalier with tremendous speed. Apvalier protects himself with his shield. As Pionfle rushed toward Apvalier.
The approach of Pionfle made Apvalier cautious, causing him to fly backward in an attempt to distance himself from Pionfle. However, Galguana continued to fire, making movement difficult.
Pionfle just reached him and immediately attacked him with a Leaf Blade. Apvalier already has a hard time against Galguana's Fire Shot, and now with Pionfle attacking, he is struggling to defend against both the Fire Shot and parry the Leaf Blade simultaneously.
Pionfle is effortlessly moving and striking Apvalier amid Galguana's Fire Shot. At one point, Apvalier had his sword arm cut by Pionfle, and then he was struck by Galguana's Fire Shot. he got thrown to the side. Looking at him, still moving, Pionfle immediately cut his head.
"We won," Caelenra said.
"You should be more happier than that," Cerise said. "Since we won because of your reckless plan."
"You're right, I am sorry."
"Why are you apologizing to me? Shouldn't you apologize to your monster? After all, you put her in a dangerous situation."
"Perhaps you're right, I should apologize to Pionfle."
"Well, I should apologize to her too, since my Galguana's Fire Shot accidentally hit her."
"Isn't that also because of my reckless plan, too?"
"Oh yeah, you're right," Cerise said. They both laugh after that. Seeing that they both have already finished their battle, Mrs. Lexi, Novelle, and I approach them. We gave them our congratulations. Mrs. Lexi told us to go meet the healers since the battle had already finished, the same with everybody in the stadium.
[[Mermaphin grew up to Level 6]] [[Rallas grew up to Level 5]] [[Pionfle grew up to Level 5]] [[Galguana grew up to Level 6]]