After Bin’s match, the Legend Fighter finals continued.
Colorful players challenged Johan and Bin with their unique skills and strategies, but all were defeated and eliminated by the two.
With overwhelming fundamentals and cold strategies, Bin achieved victory, while Johan engaged in heated matches, responding to opponents with exceptional prediction abilities.
Like during Tetric, they both advanced to the finals, defeating players in their own unique styles.
The Zephia Coliseum was hotter than ever before the finals, and everyone was speculating who would win, including us.
“Who do you think will win?”
Sabrina asked the group while we watched the matches together.
Jiren fanned himself with a fan bearing Johan’s name and replied, “I think Johan will win. Since Tetric, I’ve felt that Johan is like a bomb; if he gets the momentum, he could obliterate Bin.”
“I think Bin will win. It feels like he has sharpened his skills just to beat Johan. Someone who sharpens their blade is always scary.”
In response to Jiren, Julia seemed to argue. Having lost to Bin once, she appeared to be a fan of his.
“I also think Bin will win. He hasn’t really been hit much so far.”
Unlike Johan, Bin often faced opponents with such a skill gap that he occasionally didn’t take any damage.
Karen based her judgment of victory on such statistics.
“I just feel like Johan will win.”
Conversely, the Master bluntly judged based solely on intuition.
Everyone chimed in, and I turned to Sabrina, who hadn’t spoken yet.
“Sabrina, who do you think will win?”
“I also think Bin will win. I can’t put it into words, but I feel like Bin still has hidden cards up his sleeve.”
I agreed with Sabrina’s statement.
I felt the same vibe from Bin as I did from Johan during the Tetric tournament; he was definitely hiding something.
“Yuren, who do you think will win?”
“I…”
Just as I was about to respond to Sabrina…
Fireworks signaled the start of the final match, and JYJ and Noirin came out, drowning out my words.
The final match of the Legend Fighter tournament was about to begin.
*
Backstage in the player’s waiting room before the Legend Fighter finals, Johan and Bin waited for the finals together, just like during Tetric.
Once again, Bin initiated the conversation.
“Are you going easy on the others again?”
To Bin’s eyes, Johan was also playing lightly this time.
If he played seriously, like Bin, he would have easily won almost perfectly, but that wasn’t the case.
With Bin’s comment, Johan flashed a playful smile.
“You seem to be going light yourself?”
In fact, Johan sensed that Bin was also playing lightly.
The reason was likely the same for both of them.
“I felt someone’s gaze, so I ended up doing it.”
“You too? Same here.”
Both Johan and Bin observed each other’s matches while playing.
They instinctively knew they would meet in the finals, just like during Tetric.
Because of this, they couldn’t show all their skills in the preliminaries.
The moment they revealed even a bit of their strength, their rival would counter it.
“This time, I will definitely win.”
Bin declared his victory, feeling a peculiar friendship with Johan.
Having placed second in the previous Tetric tournament, he exploded with the frustrations and anger he felt back then, vowing to win this time.
Johan smiled gently at Bin’s resolve.
“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself; let’s have fun.”
“You tricky snake…”
Even as Bin clicked his tongue at Johan’s playful grin, he felt no resentment.
If it were anyone else, he’d be furious at being looked down upon, but with Johan, it was different.
Because he was the strongest, as Bin recognized.
“Now, let’s welcome our competitors!”
The one aiming to maintain first place and the one challenging for it, two individuals who recognized each other the most, stepped onto the stage as the finals were about to begin.
*
The arena of Zephia Coliseum at night was brimming with even more people than during the day, all gathered to witness the finals.
On stage, JYJ, wearing red glasses, began the proceedings with an excitement like never before.
The players had already taken their positions, and the interviews were all done.
JYJ announced the start of the finals.
“Then, let’s begin the Legend Fighter tournament finals!!!”
A character selection screen appeared on the massive arena screen.
From the character selection screen, JYJ and Noirin started commentating with excited voices about the thrilling Legend Fighter match.
“Noirin, how do you think the duel between the two players will go?”
“Based on the matches so far, we could say Johan is the attacker and Bin is the defender. So, the match will come down to how Johan can break through Bin’s defense and how Bin can counter Johan’s攻击.”
“The attacking Johan and defending Bin; that really sums them up! Ah! It seems the two players have picked their characters.”
When the characters of both players appeared on the screen, the crowd was swept into excitement again.
“Ah! Johan has chosen Alicia, and Bin has chosen Blanc!!!”
“Great choice by Johan! If it’s Alicia, as shown in the first match, he can ignore Just Guard and go for grapples.”
“And for Bin, who is facing Johan’s Alicia, I can feel his determination to evade all of Johan’s attacks!”
“The strongest shield against the strongest spear!!! Who will the goddess of victory smile upon? The match begins!”
Johan selected Alicia, the character he used in the first round.
And Bin chose Blanc, a character that flits around the air like lightning.
The duel between the black Alicia and the white Blanc began.
『Round 1 Fight』
“From the start, Bin’s Blanc flies through the air at high speed!!!”
“He’s the fastest among all characters, as expected from Blanc!”
Starting with quick jumps, Blanc began his assault.
Alicia tried to predict and evade Blanc’s attacks, but Bin’s Blanc anticipated that too, chaining combos and began to pressure Johan.
『Nyaa!! Nyaa!! Bam!! Nyaa-nyaa!!』
“Blanc doesn’t give Johan a chance to breathe!”
“Johan’s Alicia isn’t getting the opportunity to grab!”
“Indeed, Johan’s Alicia is definitely being forced into a corner.”
Bin’s Blanc repeatedly struck and withdrew, steadily dealing damage to Alicia.
“(This Bin guy is really good!? But…)”
In mere moments, Alicia’s health bar dwindled by half.
Then an opportunity arose.
『Hrah!!! Bang!!!』
“Ah! It connected!!! Johan executed a grab on Bin, catching him when he was off guard!”
“But Johan cannot afford to be careless. He’s consumed too much health!”
As Noirin pointed out, with just one grab from Alicia, it was too late to turn things around given Johan’s current health.
Knowing this, Bin didn’t let up.
With continued attacks from Blanc, Alicia pressed forward.
『Heyaah! Ha! Nyaa!!! Nyaa-nyaa!!』
“Bin’s Blanc is still soaring and won’t touch down!!”
“Johan cannot afford to panic. He must respond calmly.”
But even the great Johan, when faced with such pressure, seemed to get a bit anxious.
He made a mistake on a strong attack, creating an opening that Blanc slipped through.
“Ah! Blanc has launched Alicia!”
“Is Bin going for the finishing combo now!?”
With Blanc’s combo, he could wipe out Johan’s remaining health.
Everyone thought so, and Johan used the technique at that moment.
『Where are you looking?』
“Ah! Just now, it was an illusion from Alicia!!!”
“Johan used an illusion!!! Is he about to turn the tables!?”
Alicia, having caught Blanc from behind through the illusion, could potentially put Blanc in a near-death state with her ultimate move.
Johan used his ultimate without hesitation.
『Prepare to be sent to the Black Forest!』
“Alicia is using her ultimate move!!!”
Everyone anticipated that Alicia’s ultimate would come at this timing.
Yes… even Bin thought so.
『Nyaa-nyaa!!』
“What!? Blanc used his anti-air to dodge Alicia’s ultimate!!!”
“Could it be at this timing!?”
Blanc dodged Alicia’s ultimate with his anti-air, leaving Alicia completely exposed.
Blanc had only one move to execute at this moment.
『Don’t underestimate the cat! Nyaa!!!』
In that instant, the white cat Blanc spun like a blue hedgehog and executed his ultimate move, crashing into Alicia.
“Blanc’s ultimate move hits!!!”
“30%!!! 20%!!! 10%!!!!! Ah! Johan’s Alicia has been taken down!!!! Bin wins!!!!!”
Alicia’s remaining health vanished due to Blanc’s ultimate, and just like that, the game ended.
It was a top-tier battle where both strategized and predicted each other’s moves, and it stood as Bin’s most precious victory in his life.
