Manuela's fight with Bolívar gave me the chance to crawl toward the bleachers once more. My ankle was killing me, but at least the pain kept me aware of my situation. If I managed to hide long enough, I knew the system would give me a chance to plan a counterattack—but surrounded by gunfire and with my ankle on the verge of snapping, I could barely move on all fours across the sand.
"Calm down," I thought as I kept crawling.
—You won't hide!
A man in peasant clothes and a charro hat, with an iconic mustache, planted himself in the center of the coliseum: Emiliano Zapata. A golden glow lit him up. The moment I saw him, the system itself reacted; [Search V] updated, and before my eyes the first of its five edges was revealed.
—"A star…!" —I shouted.
A commanding aura wrapped around him, and from the ground—almost as if materializing from luminous particles—a horse appeared: a beautiful stallion with a white mark on its forehead. Zapata mounted it in a single leap.
—"Ace of Golds."
I quickly opened the information displayed on the screen:
[Legacy – "Ace of Golds"][The summoner becomes immune to all projectiles while riding in a straight line. The invulnerability is canceled if they change direction or dismount.]
"So this is a star."
That power Gerónimo had tried so hard to teach me about—the ultimate manifestation of a participant's history. I couldn't help but be awed by the light show and the stallion charging toward me.
José Martí, in the distance, hidden among the bleachers, issued orders calmly, as if he had assumed the same role I played.
—Zapata! Finish Sucre before he uses his star! —he commanded.
"Star?"
What was he talking about? From his words, I understood that he didn't have anything as good as mine, since Antonio had no star. But that gave me an opening.
Zapata changed direction as he shouted back:
—Don't yell at me, bastard!
Without hesitation, Zapata charged at Sucre. In his ignorance, Sucre began firing at the horse; just like before, the bullets veered off in opposite directions, repelled by the wind swirling around the animal.
"Thank you, dear Antonio, for being the sacrifice I needed."
I used the confusion to reach the bleachers with a frog-like leap. The pain in my ankle was unbearable. With one eye half-open, I brought up the system. [Search V] couldn't give me an escape route; in the current situation, my team would be crushed by Bolívar's.
—Damn it, damn it, damn it, think…
I muttered as I hurriedly opened the nodes. The 20k credits from Aries had already been added; I could level up, but that alone wouldn't get me out of this mess. Unless… The next two nodes of [Search] shared a single requirement: "Level 2."
I didn't have much time to think. If I did nothing, I'd die anyway. I inhaled, exhaled, and pressed the button.
The message appeared instantly:
[Cost: 5k CN, Level Up!][Level 2 reached: All statistics improve relative to previous level-up actions. Effort Points: 8 points.][ATK +1 / DEF +2 / SPD +3 / PRE +3 / SYS +1]
I didn't stop to admire the points. Almost as if the system read my mind, a faint chime of light highlighted a specific node.
With trembling hands, before I could regret it, I bought the second-node ability:
[Pause / Requirement: Level 2 / Cost: 15k CN][The system stops for 10 seconds. No one can move, but allies and the user may communicate during this period, and they gain a 2-second mobility window over their opponents. The higher the level of Pause, the longer the mobility window.Usable once per match.]
"But this is cheating."
I knew exactly what to do. This was our last chance.
Zapata gave Sucre no quarter, closing the distance relentlessly. Bolívar raised his saber for a decisive blow against a nearly disarmed Manuela.
—Pause I! —I shouted.
Zapata turned to look at me, pulling on his horse's reins. Bolívar froze mid-swing—and then everything stopped. Zapata's horse hung suspended in midair, Bolívar's blade halted inches from Manuela, even the sweat on my forehead seemed to float, motionless.
Time was completely frozen, and a red timer on my system began counting down from ten.
I had no time to waste. My mind raced, and in less than two seconds I had a counterattack plan mapped out thanks to [Search V].
—Listen to me! —I said through the system.
—Kid, this is your call… —Antonio began.
—I don't have time! Just listen: Zapata is only invulnerable when charging in a straight line. When I shouted just now, he turned toward me. This is your only chance. Sucre—shoot him, bite him, do something.
—Count on me, kid.
—Manuela—both of you will have exactly two seconds to disarm your opponents. If we fail, it's over.
—Two seconds? Ha. I only needed one —Manuela replied, resolute.
When eight seconds remained, the timer turned blue. Time resumed for us, and I gave the order.
Sucre reacted first. Within the two-second window, he jumped to the right and lined up a shot straight at the rider. When time fully returned, Zapata pulled the reins to turn toward the already-fired shot. The attack struck the revolutionary square in the chest, dropping him to the ground.
Manuela, releasing a fierce cry, used her own two-second window and drove her bayonet forward with all her strength into the still-frozen Bolívar.
—I'm sorry, my love. We'll talk about this later —Manuela said, as Bolívar, with a weary smile, accepted the shot from his beloved.
Both Rank Bronze participants were defeated.
José Martí simply raised his hands.
—I surrender —he said solemnly.
The system vibrated with an echo like fireworks.
[GREAT VICTORY – BLACK TEAM: +20k CN]