Rachel kept her grip on her railgun tight, looking around frantically for another sign of Zoe.

  "Aw, you just make it so difficult to not tease you~" Zoe chuckled, enjoying this too much. She pointed her sniper at Rachel once again, lining up the shot.

  "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UUUUP!!!"

  Now, Rachel was screaming while she frantically swung the railgun around, trying to find the source of Zoe's taunting voice.

  "Ooh, getting angry now, are we? That won't do you any good here..."

  Zoe chuckled again, a smirk on her face. She took aim once again...and fired.

  The second shot landed, hitting Rachel on the opposite side of her neck, which caused her to cry out in pain. "AAGGHH!! THAT'S IT, I'M THROUGH WITH YOUR BULLSHIT!!”

  The shot had stunned Rachel and left her more vulnerable. She was now bleeding from both sides of her neck, which did not go unnoticed by Zoe.

  "Oh, poor thing..." Zoe let out a dramatic mock-sorrowful sound, still aiming for a third shot.

  Rachel could feel the effects of the shots, her sight getting blurry and the world spinning slightly, with the adrenaline helping her to endure...for now.

  And Zoe noticed the effects of her last two well-placed shots, and it only fueled her to go for strike three. Smiling, she took aim…

  Rachel was growing desperate, her vision blurring as she was feeling the effects of both shots.

  "Ugh... This isn't go-going as...expected..."

  She tried her best to raise the railgun, but it was becoming increasingly difficult with each passing second.

  "Having trouble?"

  Zoe said, her tone mockingly sweet. She slowly adjusted her scope, lining up the final shot effortlessly.

  "S-SHUT...!"

  Rachel's voice was becoming more slurred as she was losing both blood and consciousness.

  "Oh dear... You really should just surrender, you know."

  Zoe teased once more, finger slowly moving to the trigger.

  "No chance...in...h-hell..."

  Rachel tried to speak firmly, but it was getting quieter and more slurred.

  "Oh well... Your loss."

  And with that, the third shot left the sniper's barrel.

  The bullet zoomed down range, heading straight for where Rachel was just standing... but she dodged out of the way just in the nick of time, the bullet grazing her arm instead.

  "You just c-can't...hit me, can you...?"

  Despite the blood loss, she was still going strong, a determined fire behind her eyes, yet she looked incredibly unsteady on her feet.

  "Hmm, so you managed to avoid that one..."

  Zoe was impressed by Rachel's quick dodge, but still didn't back down.

  Rachel's breathing was heavy and labored, but her eyes were filled with determination.

  "Y-Yeah...i-it was close, but I'm not d-done yet."

  She gripped her railgun, trying to aim around in search of the elusive sniper.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "That's a surprise... I thought you might have given in by now. You're quite stubborn, aren't you?"

  Despite the banter, Zoe still aimed her sniper rifle, waiting for another opportunity to take a shot.

  Rachel ignored her comment, her focus was still solely on finding where Zoe was.

  "I'm...not easy to beat..."

  Blood continued to pour from the open wounds, making it harder to move.

  "Oh, I can see that..."

  From her position, Zoe was watching Rachel try to concentrate, even in her weakened state.

  Rachel stumbled, her legs growing weaker from the blood loss.

  "Ugh..."

  Her vision was getting more blurry with each second, struggling to keep her focus. In a blind attempt, she aimed her railgun at a random wall and fired a large blast at it, hoping Zoe was there as the wall was turned to smithereens.

  The huge blast left a good-sized hole in the maze, dust and debris flying everywhere as a result. But as the debris settled, Zoe was nowhere to be found.

  "Nice try."

  Suddenly, the crackle of Zoe's voice rang out from all around Rachel. It caught the bloodied girl off guard.

  "Wha...!"

  Rachel spun around, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. Her head was getting foggier, causing more confusion and frustration. That frustration led to Rachel haphazardly firing blasts at random. She fired in front of herself, to her side, to her back. Any direction, hoping Zoe somehow gets caught in one of the blasts.

  The blasts caused a lot of damage, destroying a substantial amount of the maze.

  "Hmph, you're getting desperate..."

  Zoe was still nowhere to be seen, but her taunts kept Rachel angry.

  "Shut up...!"

  Rachel fired off a few more shots, trying her best to be strategic, but she was getting more exhausted and losing more blood by the second.

  The blasts sent debris flying in every direction, which did not go unnoticed by Zoe.

  "Are you getting tired yet...?"

  As her taunt left her mouth, she lined up yet another shot.

  Rachel took a few deep breaths, attempting to focus and stay alert. Her body was exhausted, but she refused to back down.

  "Nah... I still got plenty left in me..."

  Her defiant reply masked the exhaustion in her voice.

  Zoe couldn't help but smirk at Rachel's determination. She took the time to reload her sniper rifle, the smirk still on her face.

  "You're a stubborn one, I'll give you that.”

  Rachel's hand trembled on her railgun, holding the weight up was getting more and more difficult with every passing minute.

  "Ugh... You just...make...me..."

  Her breath was slow and labored, but the fire in her eyes still burned bright.

  Zoe took another aim, ready to fire the final shot.

  "Make you what? Finish your sentence, dear…”

  Rachel's grip on her railgun loosened, her body was reaching its limits.

  "M-make me...want to p-prove ya wrong..."

  Her words were a struggle as she tried to keep her focus. Blood continued to trickle down her neck as she tried to get her bearings.

  "Oh, really now?"

  Zoe was intrigued that Rachel was putting up such a battle, it was impressive to her. She continued to aim at her with a smirk.

  "You think you can prove me wrong? You're barely standing on your feet, how will you do that?”

  Rachel took a few more deep breaths, trying to steady herself.

  "I...ain't...done yet..."

  Her words were a struggle, but she still refused to give up as she used the last of her aura reserves to fire one final shot at one of the few remaining walls still standing.

  The blast from the final shot sent a huge amount of debris flying around, which shook the arena and almost threw off Zoe's aim.

  "Wow... You're even more stubborn than I thought."

  She adjusted her scope, once again, with Rachel now in the line of fire. "But it's time I fire...the final shot.”

  Rachel stood tall, bracing herself for the final shot, even as her body shook with pain.

  "Y-You don't...scare me…”

  Zoe's finger was firmly on the trigger now.

  "I don't expect to scare you... I'm just finishing this match…”

  BANG!!!

  Zoe let go, firing the final shot directly toward Rachel.

  The shot landed directly on Rachel's leg as Rachel dropped to the ground with a groan. A pool of blood began to form around her body, with her railgun clattering to the ground beside her.

  "Hmph... Looks like I win..."

  Zoe smirked from her position, watching Rachel lying on the ground in pain.

  Rachel grunted in pain, blood and sweat trickling down her body. She tried to push herself up, but her arms gave out almost immediately, and she collapsed once more. "Ugh..."

  Zoe climbed down the wall of the maze and stood over Rachel, clearly amused at how wounded she was.

  "You gave it a good try... But let's face it, girl, you're done for. There's no hope left.”

  "Fuck...off..." Rachel spat weakly through clenched teeth, attempting to remain defiant despite the pain and blood loss.

  “Aw, but I can't just leave you like this, now can I?” Zoe teased.

  With Rachel down, Marco began the countdown from ten.

  “Ten, nine, eight…!”

  …Fuck it, this shit hurts to much, I quit… Rachel thought with a defeated grunt.

  The count reached zero with Rachel still incapacitated on the floor, with Marco announcing: "Rachel is no longer able to battle! The winner is...ZOE!!!"

  Zoe smirked, victorious.

  "Heh, I knew you'd fall eventually.”

  "I-I...hate you..."

  Rachel's reply was weaker than before, her body starting to shiver from the lost blood. Medics rushed to the arena and put Rachel on a stretcher.

  Zoe watched with a smirk as the medics rolled her out, shaking her head with a victorious smile. She was proud of herself for winning but had to admit that Rachel was a pain in the ass with how stubborn she was.