108TH GEAR - THE FINAL VILLAIN IS FLUONESSIA ALL ALONG

Thankfully, the effects of the poisonous croquette have no long-lasting damage to our stomachs. All it did to us is to make the acids inside our tummies rumble and create some bubbles, resulting in farts. Unlike what happened at the first Joint Training Camp, the tragedy Flu and I suffered is not that severe.

So after thirty minutes of medical examination, we were just given some potions to calm our stomachs down. We were discharged almost immediately, and there is still time to continue our date.

We decided to stop by a local cafe and we had sweet green herbal tea to help us relax. We ordered some biscuits and mixed them with our leftover chocolate chip cookies and made it a light after-lunch meal.

“Phew!” Flu gave a relieved sigh as she held her tummy. “I thought our after-tournament date would be a disaster, good thing the croquettes have a much weaker effect.”

“Never hire Useless Prez as your cooking coach again,” I said coldly.

“R-Right. I’m sorry.” Flu bowed.

I took a sip of my hot green tea and looked at the transparent glass wall. I saw a kid walking her German shepherd dog on the snowy road. Flu saw it too, and she can’t help but have her eyes glitter.

“That’s a cute dog! It reminds me of Goku!” Flu said.

“Oh, Goku. Your dog, right.” I said. I almost forgot that Flu named her dog after her favorite anime character.

“Oh! Oh!” Flu immediately grabbed her magic phone from Hammerspace, and then she started to search for something. “Hey, hey, Jonathan! You need to see this!”

Flu immediately showed me a picture of three puppies that looked like labradors. They are colored brown, white, and black respectively. They are displayed exquisitely in a big coffee mug, their paws peeking out, and their faces all looking at the camera while panting. Seriously, labradors remind me of different shades of coffee.

“Wow. You have three new pups?”

“Yes!” Flu adorably smiled. “My father gave it to me as a gift for winning the National Speedmage Tournament!”

“Wow. Your parents must have loved you now.” I said.

“Right, right!” Flu nodded happily. With enthusiasm, she pointed at the dogs and introduced me to them. “This brown one is Luffy! And this white one is Naruto! Last, but not the least, the black one is Ichigo!”

“You named them from the Big Three of the anime industry.” I cringed.

“Of course! But that’s not the only reason why I named them in that order!” Flu said.

“Oh? What is the other reason?”

“You see, my father works in a magical experimentation lab that is focused on animals. When I taught my father how to inject and replicate mana circuits using the Mana Link Synchron spell, they started doing it to animals too.”

“So basically, you tried using Mana Link Synchron on me before they ever tried it on guinea pigs and puppies.” I cried.

“Let me finish first!” Flu eagerly said. “Mana Link Synchron is completely safe, and it was proven to work on dogs too! They can use spells just like human mages!”

“Oh?” I asked. “So what spells did the puppies cast?”

“Unlike people who can chant, the puppies can only use magic at random and it also depends on their subconscious intentions and desire. For example, the puppy Luffy cast a spell that makes his body parts elongate.”

“W-What?”

“That’s not the crazy part! For the puppy Naruto, he was able to make clones of himself!” Flu pumped her fists.

“Nani!?”

“And last but not least, puppy Ichigo can turn into a ghost and a skull mask would appear on his face!”

“What the heck!?” I cried.

“Crazy, huh?” Flu smirked proudly. “They are my proud new puppies, and they are all so cuuuuute!”

It was crazy. I can’t believe Flu’s weeb virus was even caught by the puppies. I think this animal experimentation can blow in the magicnet as a creepypasta. Or worse, those poor puppies may end up locked up in a facility that secures, contain, and protect SCPs.

“They may all be insane, but they are no match for my old dog Goku.” Flu immediately followed up.

“You used Mana Link Synchron on Goku too!?” I gasped.

“Y-Yeah. But the results are amazing… kinda. Tehehehe.” Flu scratched her head.

“So, what did Goku do when you used Mana Link Synchron on him?”

“He… blew up a faraway planet,” Flu mumbled.

“Blew up a planet!?” I hollered.

“A laser beam came out of his mouth when he tried to bark. Good thing it was directed to the skies.” Flu said dejectedly, her blue eyes devoid of life.

“F-Flu… I suggest you stop using Mana Link Synchron on animals.”

“Tahaha! I no longer use it on Goku. And Mana Link Synchron is now forbidden on animals. That spell is now exclusive for your use only.” Flu immediately shifted to her common happy face.

Mana Link Synchron is now exclusively for me, huh? I remember the first time she shared her magical circuits with me. Because of that spell, I was finally able to run like a Speedmage. That was also the spell that made me piece together the feeling I have for Flu. It is safe to say that the day she used that spell on me was the happiest moment of my life.

“Which brings me back to your earlier question, Jonathan.” Flu pressed her face forward and rested it on her hands. Her alluring blue eyes stared at my very soul, and her adorable smile gave me a secure feeling with a hint of mystery.

“What is it? Oh, about your challenge.” I said.

“To become a Speedmage Champion, you will have to beat one yourself,” Flu said in a strong feminine voice.

“To become a Speedmage Champion?” I repeated her words, just with a question mark at the end.

“Jonathan, your childhood dream is to become a Speedmage Champion, right? I will grant it to you, but you will have to earn it first.” Flu said with confidence.

I immediately pieced together what Flu is thinking. She knows my inner frustrations of being magicless. Slowly but surely, she has led me to this point, bringing me to the place I once yearned for when I was a kid.

I stayed silent for a second and gulped. I was finally able to unleash the words that Flu wanted to hear ever since she became the champion.

“I will have to beat you,” I said.

“That’s right! This story is not about me. It’s all about you!”

“Are you breaking the fourth wall right now?”

“Huh? What are you talking about? You’re writing about our journey to become the Speedmage Champion, right? So it is just proper to end it once you have beaten me.”

“O-Oh, okay.”

Flu’s eyes gave a powerful glint. I saw it once again, the flames of thrill in her eyes. It’s the same glare all her opponents see whenever they face her. Normally, seeing this determined gaze is a positive thing. But now that she has challenged me to become my opponent, I would say that this is quite terrifying.

“I am the main villain in your story, Jonathan! I am the final boss! And your story will not end unless you defeat the National Speedmage Champion! Tahahahahahaha!”

“Uh…” I gritted.

I don’t know how to react at this point. I don’t know if I should feel scared because of her aura, be thrilled since I will be playing against her, or be in love because she looks so adorably threatening right now.

“So! We should lay out the rules of our bout. I will use Mana Link Synchron on you so that you can use speed spells. I will grant you 50% of my total mana capacity, and have you replicate all of my experiences as a Speedmage!”

“Whoa, whoa there. Why are you going to share your experience with me?” I asked.

“Well, it’s because you might not be able to use some of the speed spells. You need to learn the proper intonation, hand or feet movement, and even the wordless chants of some spells. Besides, most of the spells are the ones I trained with you during our nightly sessions. It’s just fair to share my knowledge with you.” Flu reasoned out with a smile.

“Oh, okay. If that floats your boat…” I said.

“We will have the same rules as the official Speed Battles! Twelve minutes of non-stop racing and chasing around, and an overtime sudden-death match if we end up having a draw! Oh, we need to have our navigators too! Is Sir Cruzo and Prez enough?”

“Yeah, but I suggest that they refrain from giving any advice. Useless Prez is much smarter than Cruzo. So let’s just have them update only about our positions during the match.” I said.

“Okay! So who will you pick as a navigator?”

“Cruzo,” I answered almost immediately. “I don’t want Useless Prez trash-talking in my head during our match.”

“That’s decided then! I will go with Prez as my navigator!” Flu said as she pumped her fists.

“Where will we have this Final Speed Battle?” I asked.

“Let’s rent the Grand Arena!” Flu hopped eagerly. “I have saved money to rent the whole arena just for one day!”

“Let’s just split the expenses in half,” I said. “I would feel bad if you paid for the whole thing.”

“Tahahaha! Now we’re talking like a real husband and wife, doing split spending and stuff. I would like to do laundry and taxes with you too, Jonathan~” Flu said.

“Don’t stray off-course.” I did a soft karate chop on top of her head.

“Uwuuuu!” Flu cried.

“So, when will we have this match?”

Flu happily showed her three raised fingers. “Three days!”

“Three days it is, then,” I said.

“Yaaaaaaay! I’m so excited for this Speed Battle! Finally, I get to have a real match with you!” Flu squealed. “This may not be an official match, but do your best to defeat me! I will not hold back!”

“Will do, Flu!” I said with a satisfied smile.

Do you know who’s more excited than Flu? Me! This may normally be against the rule of Speed Battles, but I will finally have a match with the Speedmage Champion and the person I love!

“This will be awesome!” I raised my arms in the air, fully imitating Flu’s usual gesture.