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A Hero Tale {Complete}

Mikey let Jeff talk, lost in his own little world. None of this was his fault? Was that true? How much of what'd happened could have been avoided if his fate didn't cross with Jenso's back in Feralda? He closed his eyes and nodded unconsciously to what Jeff was saying, while faking a smile. "We'll do it together. Until the end, we'll fight," He said, half-heatedly. "If you'll excuse me..." Mikey stood up and sped his way out of the training room, clearly upset by the whole situation. As he left, a feeling of dread lingered. What was he hiding?

---

~ End Of Chapter 154 ~

A Hero Tale {Complete}

"Yeah. Yeah, I hope so," Mikey croaked. The room fell silent for a bit. Mikey looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry about Sheira, Jeff. This entire thing, all of the shit we're going through, I'm sorry for all of it," He finally blurted.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

"It's fine. If you hadn't set it up, I probably would have been able to dodge it, even if only by the skin of my teeth. You've learned well these past few days." Mikey looked down at his hands and shook his head. "I might've stand a chance against any of you in a one-on-one bout before all of this, but now that you're all getting used to your power... Hah! Not so much. That kind of power is worlds beyond what I'm capable of."

A Hero Tale {Complete}

~ Chapter 154 ~

_{Isn't That Something!}

Mikey reached into his pocket after him and Jeff decided to seat themselves at the end of the arena. "Come now," Mikey complained as he pulled a power pill to his mouth. After swallowing it, his injury began to heal slowly, and he felt his energy returning to him. "That was pretty focused. I don't think I've ever come anywhere close to that level of density with my water."

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Mikey waited patiently for Jeff to get close, but it never happened. Without his sight, the only way he could read Jeff's moves were with his water field. As soon as Jeff fired his attack, Mikey rose his left hand instinctively to block, even though he didn't know where it was coming from. But, as soon as the focused beam closed in, Mikey's bubble barrier shattered, and his shoulder reeled backwards. The man's entire body was pushed against the ground by the force of the attack. With a loud 'whap', Mikey bounced backwards and let his head fall, dispelling his sage form and sighing loudly. "W-Well," He stammered, "Didn't see that one coming..."

---

~ End Of Chapter 153 ~

A Hero Tale {Complete}

The disruption of arcane energy turned Mikey's spears to mush in an instant, forcing him to react quickly. As the light from above went off however, he was momentarily blinded. He staggered back, and reoriented himself on both legs, and his body let out a thin mist, as if the attack and flinched his entire armour, peeling a layer off and sending it into the air around him. He reached up with his right hand and wiped his eyes vigorously, trying to regain his vision. It looked like he was stunned for a moment.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Unfortunately, the 4 liquid lances that Mikey fired were now hovering in the air behind Jeff. Despite their intense speed, and fast shape, none of them ended up crashing into the wall behind him. Mikey cursed when Jeff noticed, but didn't change his plan up at all. The large spear exploded, launching tiny water pellets towards Jeff, while also creating a thick fog behind him to conceal the remaining spears. Mikey extended his left arm upwards and launched another liquid lance from within his shield towards the clone above him, while firing yet another at Jeff from his right hand.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Mikey rose his barrier arm and aimed his hand at Jeff. He breathed deeply, and fired yet another liquid lance in his direction. But, this one seemed much longer, and slower, with a more brilliant glow to it. Otherwise, he kept an eye on the clone that headed for the ceiling.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Mikey didn't budge. As Jeff prepared his attack, he fired a third lance at him, and waited for the orbs to converge on his position. At the last moment, his body pulsed outwards, expanding into what looked like a projection of his battle bubble, and negating the four wind-spheres with its explosive design. Mikey's battle bubble had its weaknesses despite being a pretty tight defence. It made him slow, costed quite a bit of energy to sustain, and could be popped with focused attacks when it came out. But this new technique didn't have any those weaknesses, despite requiring faster energy output to activate. His burst bubble retained defensive resolution, but could also deflect attacks, be used offensively, and be activated in a blink of an eye. Of course, it still had one crucial weakness, but he wasn't about to go shouting it across the battlefield. Mikey fired a fourth lance at Jeff right after his burst bubble concluded, fading into a subtle spray of water and energy, aimed to lead him if he attempted to move.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Mikey didn't let Jeff prepare anything. As the wind sage dodged and began to overcharge his equipment, Mikey began to shift the water in his hand again, firing another Liquid Lance towards Jeff while maintaining his ground.