Season 5: Chapter 62. The Legendary Ultimate (3)
"Kill them!"
"Keep us alive!"
Trading kills back and forth, the four-versus-four ground battle continued. In Survival mode, one-for-one or two-for-two exchanges didn't decide much. The dead would just revive and go again. In the late game, a fight could drag on considerably. Ultimately, only two methods could break this deadlock.
First was the Shadow.
[The Abyss Shadow will descend shortly!]
The Shadow in Survival mode often decided who had the advantage. This time, Almond’s team was at a disadvantage. The Shadow began falling behind their formation, forcing them to make an uncomfortable push into enemy territory.
The enemies knew this perfectly well. They could just keep slowly backing up and poking. Only one card to play remained.
LetMeTank kept looking up and calling out, "Please... do something!"
The enormous Phoenix spreading its wings of fire in the crimson sky made for a terrifying sight. Against that, Almond looked like an impossibly small human throwing himself into the fire like a moth.
"If Almond beats Popcorn, we have a chance. Otherwise..."
Under the red sky stood David and Goliath, straight out of mythology.
— Wow...
— What
— Orders?
— Incredible
— We're cooked
This battle made the viewers' chests tighten with reverence.
Out of nowhere, Bubblegum pressed his hands together and murmured, "This... this too is the Lord’s grace..."
Choco Shroom echoed immediately, "This too is the Lord’s grace..."
"This too..." Even BornToB joined in.
LetMeTank had no idea what was happening.
‘What does that even mean?! These unhinged people.’
She didn't know who the Lord was, or why it was somehow the Lord’s grace when the fight wasn't even over yet. She had no idea about any of it, but her own hands somehow clasped together without meaning to.
"This... this too is the Lord’s grace... or whatever..."
— lmaooooo "or whatever" lmao
— lmaooo
— She has no idea what she's saying lmao
— "Lord’s grace or whatever" lmaooo
— It's "This too is the Lord's grace, blessed be"
She didn't know what it meant, but all she could do right now was pray. With Almond gone, breaking through the path that Popcorn's team was blocking with three tanks and one carry was simply impossible.
‘That said, the odds up there don't look great either.’
Which was exactly why they prayed. They literally needed a miracle. Almond was talented, but beating an ultimate skill enhanced by a legendary rune? The pilot on the other side was a world-class player. This wasn’t a casual compliment thrown around, but genuinely someone who had stood at the top of the world.
Was this a winnable fight? Probably not. A miracle would have to happen.
"Wait?!"
LetMeTank’s eyes went wide when Almond started landing hits. Six blades surrounded Popcorn simultaneously.
Flash!
Almond just flashed straight in and landed a clean hit.
Slaaaaaash!
Two more flashes occurred in rapid succession. He delivered an energy strike with each blade.
Whoooosh!
[HP: 32%]
Popcorn's health dropped sharply. Legendary ultimate skill or not, being airborne seemed to make him considerably more vulnerable to damage.
— Whoa what
— He actually hit that??
— What
— Insane......
— He's legitimately elite~ lmao
‘He flashed using five of the six blades and landed every single hit.’
One more cycle and he would actually finish Popcorn off in the air.
‘But the last one is too obvious now.’
Almond had to set up the next play instead of pushing further.
"No... don't!"
Flash!
Almond used the last blade on a Flash anyway.
Whoooosh!
Popcorn was waiting and unleashed everything. Almond simply endured and swung.
Whoooosh!
— Pure brawler energy lmao
— Whoa lmao
— He figures his health is lower, is that it?
— The Phoenix damage is no joke, insane
— Was that calculated?
Taking the Phoenix's fire point-blank multiplied the incoming damage. Almond ate all the damage that would have spread across multiple angles at once. Of course, he had no idea. How could he? He'd never seen this before.
"Wait. That damage. Is that really the Phoenix?"
He wondered the same thing himself.
— That's the Phoenix, yes
— Yeah that's the Phoenix lmao
— Whoa lmao
— What is this
At this point, it was what it was. Almond just swung his blade.
[HP: 19%]
That brought Popcorn's health down even more.
"Wh-what?"
"Is, is this what an alpha is?"
"That's... genuinely incredible."
Everyone was in awe of Almond's pure aggression. His brawler approach, taking hits while swinging back, made hearts race in every man across every era.
— lmaooooo
— What are these people doing?
— They just gave up fighting each other lmao
— The enemy team staring up at the sky is so funny lmao
The audience below muttered among themselves.
"Wh-what's going to happen here?"
Both Almond and Popcorn were well below half health.
"Almond's ultimate skill ended...!"
Four blades vanished, leaving only two. His Flash frequency would drop dramatically. From Popcorn's perspective, the opponent just became several times easier to deal with.
"Th-that doesn't mean anything!" LetMeTank exclaimed, all worked up. "If it's the Smart Young Man! You never know!"
— ?
— ??
— lmaooooooo
— She got there eventually lmaooo
— LetMeTank has been brainwashed...
Nobody knew, not a single person. Not Almond, not Popcorn, nobody expected this fight to end the way it did. Those two had been clashing like mythological figures under a crimson sky.
"Huh?"
"Wait?"
They suddenly vanished.
‘What is that?’
Boom!
An enormous tentacle erupted up. Rising from deep underground, it shot so high that it nearly blotted out the sky. Its instant speed made it seem as if it had always been there, like one just somehow failed to notice it before. It swept toward them both like swatting a fly.
LetMeTank's mouth fell open. Two contractors instantly vanished beneath the red sky.
Crash!
As the tentacle intercepted them, the main body revealed itself above the surface. A massive creature burst from the dark violet abyss sand. It swallowed the blazing bird and Almond whole.
Gulp.
[Abyss Kraken → LazySoldier]
[Abyss Kraken → Popcorn]
— ?
— ...?
— lmaooooo
— Huh?
— These two... even their exit was art.
— What the heck, that scared me
— Whoa
— lmaooo
— Survival mode is actually amazing lmaooo
"Right. The K-Kraken!" LetMeTank finally understood. "The cursed Kraken has arrived! Those people robbed the Vault!"
"A Kraken?"
"Huh? What was that..."
The rest of them found out immediately. The ground erupted in patches of red and purple.
Crash crash crash!
Tentacles and arms surged up through dense white foam.
"Wh-whaaat?!"
The earth overturned, and enormous coral formations collapsed.
— What
— Wow
— So this is what it looks like in person lmao
— That's the thing that woke up when they robbed the Vault
— Ah...
— Natural disaster lmao
Crash!
Popcorn's side took the first hit. Perhaps because they had robbed the Vault.
[The Abyss Kraken is on a massacre!]
‘We're done. Almond died... we're done...’
LetMeTank's mind went blank. She couldn't think straight for a moment. Unexpectedly, in a situation like this, Bubblegum reacted first.
"W-we have to break through right now, don't we!?"
"What?"
"I'm gooooing!"
He didn't wait for anyone's opinion. He just charged.
[Iron Ball Barrage!]
Kreeeeee!
He rapidly transformed into a metal ball and launched toward the enemy.
"L-let's go! I think we can! While the Kraken is doing its thing!"
Choco Shroom followed, hurling bombs. "Even if Almond is dead! We have to survive!"
"Wait, what about all that my lord business you were doing a moment ago..."
"You have to be alive to do that!"
Choco Shroom and BornToB ran forward with everything they had. The Shadow was closing in from behind. They had no other choice.
[You have been consumed by the Abyss Shadow!]
The Shadow had already arrived.
[Breathing with the Abyss Gills!]
[Time remaining: 15 seconds]
The buff from the Abyss Shark was all that kept them alive, but even that only gave them fifteen seconds at most.
"R-right, we have to survive so we can bring back the Lord!" LetMeTank started running, leaving behind Almond’s rune spirit that was presumably floating around.
— lmaooooooo
— lmaooooo
— lmao fr
— Just revive him~
— But this is basically the finals, can they actually revive him??
— Almond gets to spectate lmaooo
— Team Almond without Almond.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The Shadow overtook everything. Popcorn's team, without the Abyss Shark’s buff, went from being at a disadvantage to facing a catastrophe.
"D-damn!"
"We're done!"
Bubblegum activated Iron Ball’s ultimate skill.
CRASH!
Popcorn's team went flying in every direction. Already unable to breathe, the Shadow swallowed them.
"Wh-what?! A K-Kraken!!!"
CRASH!
The Kraken's enormous leg swept through and ended them.
[Team Eliminated!]
Popcorn's team was out.
— Nationalist Popcorn is out...
— Wow
— The independence fighter ending...
— lmaooooo in the end lmao
— Failed to hold back the Almond Era...
— The Almond Era could only be stopped by an atomic bomb lmao
Like a miracle, Popcorn's team was eliminated.
[Time remaining: 3 seconds]
The Abyss Gills had three seconds left.
"Runes! Grab the runes!"
LetMeTank doggedly farmed the runes off the enemy corpses while sprinting all the way to the Shadow's edge.
— lmaooooo
— A frugal Master player
— This is it
— Who even takes the runes now lmao
— The guy who ate all the runes died. Can someone else even use them?
Bubblegum was already rolling out of the Shadow zone. "W-we made it!"
Team Almond had survived without Almond. They had lived, condemned to wander the Abyss.
[Remaining players: 9/50]
[Remaining teams: 2/10]
Only two teams remained, Team Almond without Almond and one more unknown team.
***
Click.
The capsule door opened.
Popcorn stepped out, scratching his head. "Ah~ I should've done better. Almond's combat ability is insane~."
He came out grinning, then stopped dead as if he'd suddenly seized up.
Brrr...
Choi Sa-Rang was staring at him.
"Wh-what? Why?"
"If you're going to do it, do it properly."
"I did do it properly."
"Don't make me laugh." She turned back around.
Her monitor replayed the footage of the fight against Almond on repeat.
"It was my first time with that legendary rune."
"Fair enough."
"And I had no idea what the Phoenix did."
"I mean, how would you? It was your first time."
Popcorn felt aggrieved. He'd just casually tried Survival mode for his first placement match. How was he supposed to know what a legendary rune did to an ultimate skill?
"Okay. I'll give you that. The other side didn't know either." Sa-Rang nodded and conceded the point. "But you also acted like Almond was completely new to you. Like you'd never seen him before."
"Hm?" Popcorn couldn't believe it. "It basically was the first time. We've never had a proper match. How was I supposed to..."
"Is that right? But it looked like you weren't exactly new to him."
Popcorn went quiet at that. The easy glimmer in his eyes went cold when he thought of the genuine fire in Almond's eyes.
‘That's true.’
Almond had known everything about Popcorn's style of play. Popcorn sat with the memory for a moment, then smiled again.
"But shouldn't you be rooting for us to lose?"
"Yes."
"Then why are you like this? We lost. That's good."
Sa-Rang rested her chin in her hand, focused on the screen. "You lose in practice and win in the real thing, but I'm irritated because you didn't bring your best. You won't even give me proper training data."
Popcorn was at a loss for words.
‘She was that serious about it?’
Choi Sa-Rang kept going. "Almond still has gaps. There's a loose bolt somewhere that needs refining. You ruined all the data. Everything is just half-baked~."
"Since when do I do things half-baked?"
"The first match at Worlds too. The first game was half-baked~."
"That wasn't half-baked. Most people would call what I had there nerves."
"Really?" She turned to look at him, and their eyes met. "Were you nervous this time too?"
"...!"
