Ava stood at the edge of the battlefield, her crimson aura glowing under the emerald sky. Her scythe rested in her grip, sharp and steady.
Two boys faced her.
One with barely any HP left, Kai, still trembling with only 5 health.
The other was Jax, with the avatar Eryndor, sword in hand, eyes burning with strange calm.
But Ava's mind wasn't on them at first. She was still replaying the battle she had fought earlier.
The clash with Princess Celestia.
The frost mage had been strong, far stronger than the average student. Ava still remembered the way her words twisted from rage into that eerie smile. "We will meet at the Academy."
They weren't friendly words. They were a promise. A threat.
Ava's lips curved faintly. 'She was tough, but not tough enough. Still… that one will be trouble later.'
Her gaze shifted back to the present. Her scythe tilted down.
She muttered under her breath. "How boring. I thought Starlight Academy would finally give me amusement. But two boys standing in front of me? One about to collapse, and one with a stupid character. Tssk."
Her crimson scythe gleamed. She lunged forward suddenly.
Kai's eyes bulged. "Ahhh! N-no!" He froze as the blade came for him, panic flooding his face.
But before it could cut him down, another blade clashed against it.
Clang!
Jax's longsword blocked the crimson scythe. Sparks shot between them. Their faces were only inches apart now, eyes locked, blades pushing against each other.
Ava smiled, teeth flashing. "Without even using your skills, you're impressive. Looks like you've trained far too long with that weapon."
Jax's eyes narrowed. He thought silently. 'How do I tell her… back in my world, I cleared entire lobbies with just a sword or even a gun. I could do it with my non-dominant hand if I wanted.'
But he stayed silent.
Then Ava's lips curved sharper. "Crimson Slash."
Her scythe glowed. Smoke-like energy wrapped around the blade. She swung, striking into his shoulder.
Jax hissed, clenching his teeth. His HP bar dropped.
[HP: 300 → 250]
The crimson aura devoured part of his health directly, sucking more from his bar.
[HP: 250 → 200]
Jax's eyes narrowed. 'So it eats my HP as well. A swordsman like me fighting a melee reaper like her… that's unfair.'
He grit his teeth, readying his blade again.
The fight turned brutal. Ava's scythe was faster, heavier, with longer reach. Every swing forced Jax to step back. Every slash nearly caught him. His sword couldn't break through her defense.
Clang! Clang! Sparks lit the battlefield again and again.
She pressed him like a storm. He saw no opening.
But then Jax noticed something. The scythe's reach—too wide, too sweeping. If he could draw her attack out, just slightly…
He lunged forward suddenly, pretending to expose himself. Ava's eyes gleamed. She swung immediately.
But in that moment, Jax's offhand flicked. A small pebble from the dirt flew straight at her face.
She blinked. "Tssk!" Her stance shifted for half a second.
And that was all he needed.
He darted under her scythe's arc, slipping into the gap. His sword tapped her side. Flowing Strike.
Ava's body jerked. Her HP bar dipped. But she smirked. She hadn't even tried to defend.
Because while he struck, she unleashed her Crimson Slash again. His HP plunged.
[HP: 200 → 155]
Her bar barely moved. It recovered slightly, feeding off his health.
Jax scowled. 'So she can trade hits and still come out ahead. Annoying.'
The fight dragged on, neither able to land a killing blow. Sword and scythe clashed endlessly.
Sparks burned across the broken ground. The air shook with every strike.
Ava laughed lightly. "Psshh… I never expected to have a match like this."
Jax smirked. "Neither did I. My opponents usually disappoint me. When the match starts I hope this fight would finally entertain me."
Her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by when the match starts?"
He smirked darker. "You'll see."
Their weapons clashed again. Ava pushed him back, her scythe spinning fast.
He dodged and countered, his blade darting. Their duel looked like veterans crossing steel, no wasted motion, no hesitation.
But Ava's strikes ate at him constantly. Each clash drained his HP more. She was playing him like a game, pushing him step by step into exhaustion.
Then Jax's genius sparked. He faked a stumble, then slashed at her opening. The strike cut into her side. Her HP dipped to 1000.
She didn't flinch. Instead, her scythe swept low, catching his leg lightly. His HP crashed down to 11.
The crowd watching through the system gasped. It looked like the end.
Ava smiled, lifting her weapon. "It's over."
But Jax's voice cut sharp. "You were asking earlier what I meant when I said the real match hasn't started. This… is what I meant."
He raised his sword. And then, to everyone's shock, he stabbed himself.
He knew his basic attack does 10 damage, he had tried it in the fight with Zoe.
Clench.
His HP dropped to 1.
Ava's eyes widened. "What…?"
The buff exploded. His speed surged beyond human. His attack power roared to insane levels.
Jax adjusted his shoulders, his eyes glowing wild. Then he ran.
No—he vanished. His body blurred, moving so fast it looked like teleportation.
Ava's instincts screamed. She raised her scythe, blocking the strike just in time. But the power shook her arms violently. The vibration ran through her bones.
Then came another strike. And another. And another.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Her HP bar fell, bit by bit.
[HP: 1000 → 500]
Jax laughed, wild. "Psshh! Come on! Weren't you saying something earlier? At this rate, I'll have to put you at the bottom of my opponent list. You're not entertaining at all. Come on! Show me something!"
Ava's face twisted in rage. "You bastard… fine!"
She switched fully to offense. Her scythe blurred, arcs of crimson light slicing at every angle. Jax's sword met it blow for blow. Sparks flew high, lighting the battlefield like fireworks.
The grass around them burned, glowing orange. It was a fight of monsters, a clash that looked like two veterans dueling to the death.
But Ava's HP dropped again. 400. Then 300. His relentless buff crushed her defenses.
She smirked suddenly, even as she staggered. "You're strong. But you're sloppy. You're healing, aren't you? Your buff is fading. The higher your HP, the weaker you'll become."
Jax's eyes narrowed. She was right. His bar was recovering from passive regen. The buff weakened. Their fight returned to even ground.
His smirk returned. He stepped back suddenly, then stabbed himself again. His HP returned to 1.
His aura burst once more.
But Ava only smiled. "Not this time. I won't fall for that trap again."
Ava's scythe glowed like molten blood. Her aura thickened, pressing down on the field like a storm. She whispered with a smirk, "Requiem → Sacrifice HP for massive wave."
The ground split. Crimson energy erupted, spreading into a tidal wave of blood light. The sky itself trembled.
Jax's eyes sharpened instantly. 'Shit… her ultimate. I know this skill. It's one of the most broken mechanics in the game.'
The wave expanded wider, stretching out with unstoppable force.
The system flashed in his vision:
[Requiem Activated]
[Condition: Continuous HP Sacrifice until target eliminated or user HP = 0]
[Range: Twice the remaining zone radius]
[Effect: Opponent with lower HP cannot outlast wave]
Jax clenched his jaw. His HP was only 1. Ava's bar still stood tall, glowing strong even as it started draining.
'That means… the moment she activated it, she guaranteed the win. It's impossible to dodge. Impossible to escape. My 1 HP won't survive a single touch. She's literally feeding her own life into the wave until one of us dies.'
Ava laughed as the crimson tide surged closer. Her bar ticked down slowly, steady, but still far higher than his.
"It's over," she said coldly. "You lasted longer than I expected, but against Requiem, no one stands. I was playing before. Now I've decided. You fall here."
The wave roared, ripping apart the battlefield. Kai stood in shock, his voice trembling. "B-buddy! This is bad! That skill… it covers the whole field! You can't run from it!"
Jax's smirk twisted. His voice cut sharp. "Lesson three. Never say 'game over' until it's actually over."
He sprinted away, his body a blur.
The crimson tide kept up, matching him. Its range was exactly as he remembered: twice the zone left. No matter how far he ran, the wave stayed on him.
Ava chuckled, her eyes glowing. "Psshh. Run all you want. A dumb boy like you doesn't even understand.
Requiem is inevitable.
As long as my HP is higher, you can't survive. The wave won't stop until it devours you or until I collapse. And looking at our bars… you'll be the one first."
Her health still sat high, draining slowly into the blood tide, but compared to his single sliver it was enough to crush him.
Jax's feet pounded the broken ground.
Dust sprayed behind him as the wave loomed closer, swallowing stone, swallowing the grass, everything in sight. His teeth clenched. Sweat dripped.
He muttered, "Don't mistake a lion stepping back for fear. It's only preparing for the strike."
Ava's smirk flickered for a second.
The crimson wave was seconds away. Her scythe glowed, feeding it more power. "Swallow him! Haha!"
Kai's voice cracked from far away. "Buddy! You can't beat that! It's impossible!"
But Jax didn't slow. His aura surged, his speed climbing higher. He wasn't running to escape. He was running for something else.
The wave expanded again, red light crashing forward, almost touching him. Ava's HP ticked lower, but still steady, still enough.
She whispered with cruel delight, "Fall already, boy. It's inevitable."
And then—just as the blood tide reached to engulf him—Jax did something so insane it shocked everyone.
Ava's eyes widened. Kai gasped, jaw dropping.
What Jax did next left the battlefield speechless.