Aria turned to him! “It’s elementary, Dear Wataru! Since mental sparring is at the core of Payblading, it’s a battle of information!” she proudly explained! “I always keep an eye on the school news to make sure I know every embarrassing detail about these kids!”
“Aren’t you embarrassed? You’re seventeen,” Résistance coldly countered.
Aria seemed completely unmoved. “Ohohoho, it’s no use, Résistance! I will never lose focus during a Payblade match, no matter what anyone says to me! I have no shame!”
Such incredible mental strength! This was definitely the Aria we’ve come to know and love! Storm’s Payblade clashed with Aria’s, and was blown back to the edge of the Arena!
“That was close!” Storm muttered, cold sweat dripping down his face! “If my Payblade flies out of the Arena, I’ll lose on the spot...!”
Somehow, it seemed like his buck teeth had lost their glow!
Aria cackled! “Ohohohohohohohoho! Give it up, Storm! You’re just a child, after all! You don’t stand a chance against a grown woman like me!”
“Wh-Who should we root for!?” Wataru asked!
Résistance considered the question for a moment. “I’m beginning to think that Aria should lose.”
“...I agree!!”
Wataru and Résistance decided to root for Storm! Aria’s status as our main heroine no longer meant anything!!
“Go get her, Storm!!!”
“You got this, Storm! You can do this!”
“W-Wataru!? Résistance!? Why have you betrayed me!?” Not even Aria could conceal her total dismay at this shocking twist!
“Betrayed...?” Wataru asked.
“Don’t you get it, Aria? You’re totally the villain here!” Résistance yelled back!
Hearing them, Storm tightened his fists in determination! “S-So many people are rooting for me...! I can’t lose... not yet! Not now!!!”
Lest we forget, they were still standing in the middle of the Toys ‘B’ We store! Please, Dear Readers, refrain from shouting inside any store!
“Rrragggghhhh!!! Here goes!!!” Storm roared! “Super Payblade Mode!!!!!”
At that instant, his buck teeth began shining brightly once more! His teeth glowed brighter and brighter until... the light turned gold!
Fllllllasssshhhh!!!
“Wh-What the!? The kid’s teeth turned gold all of a sudden!!”
“What’s going on!?”
Wataru and Résistance couldn’t conceal their astonishment!
Aria explained this time, making a face as if she was biting into a lemon! “That’s Storm’s secret attack, ‘Super Payblade Mode!’ It’s an incredible move where he pours all of his magic into his buck-teeth to make them glow with a golden light!”
“What???”
“So!?”
“My buckteeth are my one defining personality trait as a Payblader! By making them shine like gold, I boost my mental energy, my vibe, to ten times its normal amount!” Storm explained, restlessly wiggling his protruding teeth! In short, it seemed that he got really hyped!
Résistance turned to Wataru with a serious expression! “I see... Wataru, since mental energy is the cornerstone of Payblading, ‘hyping himself up’ may be a formidable move.”
Immediately, Storm’s Deadly White Tiger V began gaining momentum, spinning faster and faster! It glided across the Arena at incredible speed, and crashed right into Aria’s Payblade at the center! A dull, metallic clang like the clashing of swords echoed through the store! Storm’s top, spinning a little faster than Aria’s, took its place in the center of the stadium, as Aria’s Payblade was pushed to the edge!
“Impressive, Storm!” Despite being in a bit of a pinch, Aria wore a confident smile!
Storm found the smile suspicious! “What!?”
“I have... an ace up my sleeve!” Aria produced a green leaf from her pocket! “Let me explain. This is a Rainbow Herb used to create potions! Just one bite of this, and all of my stress will disappear, and I’ll see the world in a whole new light!”
“What the...!? How’d you get an herb like that, Aria!?” Storm implored!
“Ohohoho, my parents are doctors. It was a piece of cake!” Aria explained proudly! She popped the Rainbow Herb into her mouth and chewed on it! “Oh, hell yeah!” she shrieked! “Now we’re talking!!!!!”
Instantly, Aria entered an unnatural high, and a rainbow-colored aura began to emanate from her body!
“Hey, Aria!” Wataru was confused! “Hey! Is that, like... Are you sure about this!?!?!?” Even this novel has to draw the line somewhere!
“Don’t worry, Wataru. Rainbow Herbs are completely safe,” Résistance calmly explained! “Aria’s magic is much more effective at healing than they are, but Rainbow Herbs have alcohol-like properties. Eating one would give you a little rush.”
“O-Okay! So what’s that rainbow aura around her!?”
“Placebo.”
“That’s all because of a trick on her mind!?!?”
Ordinarily, the Rainbow Herb wouldn’t possibly have that kind of effect! But being absolutely off her rocker was Aria’s defining trait! I wouldn’t put it past her to start shooting out rainbows if she thought she was able to!!
“Aaaaagghhhh! This is the final battle, Storm!” Aria shouted, her pupils disconcertingly wide!
Her Justice Blade Mk-II spun faster!
“Bring it on, Aria!”
Storm wasn’t backing down! With his buck teeth glowing gold, he awaited the attack!
“Wh-What’s going to happen!?!?”
“It’s anyone’s game, now...!”
Wataru and Résistance watched intently! Time seemed to slow for the maximum dramatic effect! At last, the two Payblades collided in the center of the Arena!!
Graghraggagggagararkakkarkagkakrkkkagakrk!!!!!!!!!
The metallic sound was heard again, and sparks spewed from the quaking Arena!! It was top-versus-top! The players’ minds were colliding along with them!! The victor of this fight would be the Payblader with the better vibe!!!
“Rrrraaagggghhhh!!!” Storm shouted!
“Yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!” Aria shouted back!
“Excuse me!” interrupted a Toys ‘B’ We store associate! “Please keep your voices down inside the store.”
Even with Payblade Arenas built into their foundations, the Toys ‘B’ We corporate policy did not allow for their customers to make such a ruckus! At that instant, Storm’s Payblade was shot out of the stadium with a particularly loud clang and flew straight into the associate’s gut at the murderous velocity of 200 km/h!
“Hrgagrgghhhhh!!!” The associate groaned!
Wataru rushed over to him! “A-Are you all right!?!?”
This was no joke!
Meanwhile, Aria and Storm stared out at each other after their hardcore battle!
“You got me, Aria! It’s amazing that you could get that hyped just from a placebo! When I grow up, I want to be anything but like you!”
“I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment, but that was a good match, Storm!”
They shook hands! They had both come down from their highs! Storm’s teeth no longer glowed, and Aria wasn’t emitting any rainbow auras!
“Hey, Aria! Come heal this poor sales associate!!” Wataru shouted, holding the man who was foaming at the mouth!
“Oh, coming!” Aria quickly approached the associate and healed him with her magic!
At the end of the day, it was Aria and her placebo effect that won her the Payblade battle!
“Banned...?”
“Yes. I’m begging you. Please, never come back.”
A few minutes had passed since the conclusion of the Payblade battle. Wataru, Aria, Résistance, and Storm were brought to the simple office in the back of the Toys ‘B’ We by the same associate who had been knocked out earlier. The office was very neatly organized, and was empty save for the five of them. The associate had sat down in the chair and immediately told the group that they were banned.
“Now, wait a minute! Why are we banned!?” Aria angrily demanded.
“Your commotion intruded on the shopping experiences of the other customers in the store,” the associate calmly countered.
“What gives you the power to ban us, anyway!?” Storm said, flustered.
“I’m the manager here, so I do,” answered the manager, who had been fooling us all into thinking he was a mere sales floor worker!
“We’re clearly in the wrong here!” Wataru said! “Let’s just walk away!!”
“Wataru’s right. Calm down, you two,” Résistance added.
Aria gritted her teeth in anger and growled. Storm, sitting beside her, pulled his Deadly White Tiger V out of his pocket.
“Hey, manager! My name’s Storm! If you want to ban us, you gotta battle me, first!”
“Storm! There’s no way that’s going to work!!” Wataru said.
“If you win, we won’t ever show our faces here again! But if I win...”
“Then no one is banned.” The manager finished Storm’s sentence with a confident smile.
“...What!? You accept!?!?” Wataru asked!
“Yes, of course,” answered the manager! “It’s funny, isn’t it? That he would think he could challenge me, the manager of a Toys ‘B’ We, the holy ground of Payblades...” He reached into his pocket and reverentially produced a Payblade! Much to their surprise, this Payblade glowed with a purple, ominous light!!!
A bead of cold sweat dripped down Aria’s face. “Th-That’s... Darkness Mad Fang GX!! The super-rare Payblade only available as a limited edition three years ago!!”
The manager chuckled. “Correct. Storm, Aria... You can fight me two against one. You still won’t stand a chance.”
“You’re on!” Aria shouted, yanking her own Payblade out of her pocket.
“Hm. Interesting. I’ll keep a close eye on this battle.” Even Résistance, who had remained the level-headed one throughout the series, couldn’t conceal her excitement.
“Wh-What is this world...!?!?!?” Wataru couldn’t help but wonder out loud. Wataru Ito, the man who stopped a truck and ended up in another world! This fantasy world was still full of mysteries waiting to be discovered!!