Ray tilted his head as he looked to Dion, his voice sounded stressed. "'God Form'?"
Dion nodded as he sat back down onto the bench, placing his head into his hands. "A God and their Champion can combine under the right circumstances..."
He lifted his head and stared back into the field. "They can only combine if the emotions of the god and the Champion are in perfect sync, and they can only stay that way as long as that remains true. It requires an incredible amount of power from the God, and is incredibly hard to maintain, but..."
He took a deep breath.
"It also unleashes the true power of the God inside the Champion..."
Malik footsteps sent shockwaves through the ground, almost unnoticeable to Sachi besides the bobbing of the presence.
"C'mon Sachi! Block this one!"
Malik's grip on his blade was so strong, it almost crushed the handle itself. He swung horizontally against Sachi's body.
'...What the hell is this!?'
The presence grew impossibly large as it began it's attack.
'This is worse than anything I've felt so far... Even Chronos'!'
Instinctively, Sachi ducked to the ground, the sword cleaving just above his head. The attack let out an ear piercing ring throughout the stadium.
A clean slice emerged on the wall directly behind Sachi, several steps away.
'Whatever that was, it'll cut right through my sword and me! I need to think of something else, and fast!'
"What's wrong Sachi!? Still not gonna fight back!?"
Sachi could barely stand back up before Malik pressed him again. The pommel of his sword jutted into Sachi's stomach, dropping him to the ground once more.
Blood began to leak from Sachi's mouth as he attempted to steady himself once more.
His attempt was quickly shut down as Malik placed his foot on top of Sachi, preventing him from moving at all.
Malik smiled, and raised his sword above Sachi once more.
"This is my victory, Sachi."
He drove his sword down.
'Why can't I move!? Move, damnit!!'
The hostile presence drove downward towards Sachi, only to stop right before piercing his skull.
Then suddenly, the presence disappeared.
Malik was thrown onto the ground to the side, and his God was thrown on the opposite side of him.
"What the hell, Valtherion!? We just had him!"
Valtherion stood up. "It's not my fault! You've seen what he's done already! You shouldn't have assumed you already won!"
'...What? Why did it stop? And why is he over there?'
Valtherion shouted. "It doesn't matter, Malik! Hurry up and finish him off!"
Malik stood up and grabbed his sword again. He brushed himself off. "Whatever..."
He glanced to where Sachi was lying.
Except Sachi wasn't there anymore.
"...!? Bastard shouldn't be able to move anymore, where the hell is he!?"
Valtherion's eyes widened. "Malik, turn around!"
Despite his warning, Malik was too late.
[Skill activated: Power Slash]
A clean slice against his neck, completely severing his head from his body. Silence filled the air as the spurt of blood launched from the stub of Malik's neck.
His God shouted.
"No! Malik!!"
His body thud against the ground before turning into a pile of dust, and disappearing within a moment.
"No..."
Valtherion turned to Sachi, his gaze filled with rage. "That was my best Champion yet! He was the first I've achieved God Form with, and now it's all gone!"
He grit his metallic teeth. "Sachihiro Takahashi, if our paths ever cross again, I'll make sure you regret this moment for the rest of your life."
"..."
Valtherion turned away from him, preparing to leave the field. "Silent bastard. Don't get comfortable just yet..."
The announcer's enthusiasm was on full display now. "He's done it! The underdog, the Lesser Champion, and the victor of the tournament: Sachihiro Takahashi!"
The crowd was going wild. They shouted at the top of their lungs for their unexcepted winner, jumping up and down in excitement.
"Sa-chi! Sa-chi! Sa-chi!"
Sachi stood still near the edge of the field.
'...No more hostile presences... Did I do it? Guess I shouldn't let my guard down... but...'
He stumbled backwards, falling onto the ground behind him.
'I'll just keep an eye on my Foresight.'
Lett and Dave were jumping up in down in their seats. "What the hell did I tell you, Dave!? We're gonna be rich!"
Dave's smiled shaped his mustache in the form of a "U". "That guy's crazy! I never would've expected this when we first met him!"
Zephyr showed a slight smile as the announcer confirmed the results. Serendelle moved to stand next to him.
"Aren't you worried about Lyra, Zephyr?"
He stared at Sachi, now laying peacefully in the grass as several guards came to escort him out.
"A little, but I think she picked a good role model. If she wants to be anything like him, no way in hell will that'll kill her."
Serendell giggled. "Well said, Zephyr."
Footsteps pattered behind them as Velocis slung his arm around Serendelle, making her jump a little.
"That guy's nuts! I can't say I've met many Champion's with such an unwavering spirit, so how about we keep teamin' up, huh? My kid is bound to be a great asset to your Champion. Hell, he might even surpass him."
Serendelle laughed awkwardly at his proposal, and brushed his arm off of her. "Let me just ask Sachihiro, first..."
Velocis stepped back, scanning the area. "Speaking of which, actually... They're a team of four, right? Where's the fourth one of us?"
Zephyr shrugged as he stared into the now empty field. "Not sure, apparently he doesn't care to watch his Champion."
Velocis threw his shiny hands above his head. "Strange. Never heard of a god like that before."
Ray was jumping up and down on the bench next to Dion, tugging at his shirt. "C'mon Dion, sing with us! We did it! Sa-chi! Sa-chi!"
Dion wasn't moving, he was dumbfounded at the sight before him.
"He... Won? Even if they didn't hold God Form for very long... He Won!?"
Dion stood up, almost knocking Ray off the bench.
"This guy might be even crazier than I thought..."