The Red Hand

Chapter 249 – Alice v. Eris.

"What an opening match!" Akagi exclaimed alongside the roaring crowd. "Give it up for Hishya and Tiball for delivering an explosive opening to the Tournament! We could feel their power from all the way up here, and it was an absolutely amazing show of skill and power!" As she said this, the crowd went nuts, and it let out a deafening roar as people screamed and yelled.

{Well if there was any worry about our little show here being boring, then I think its safe to say it went out the window.} (Akagi)

"I'll admit I never expected Tiball to unleash such an extreme amount of power." Silfana commented on his nova attack. "That burst from his Paladin Smite was incredible, and even I wouldn't want to take that head-on. So I suppose I should congratulate Hishya for taking that blow and winning."

{That stupid Dragon's scales must be as thick as her head if she took that on and survived!} (Silfana)

"That strike was impressive, but their final clash after he unleashed his limit removal was even more intense.” Shinlua was aware of just how powerful and dehiblitating that skill was. “The amount of energy radiating from him was unbelievable." She continued. "That he was able to back Hishya into such an unfavorable position even if he ultimately lost was unexpected, to say the least." Shinlua knew just how powerful the Dragon was, so seeing her so injured had come as a surprise, as she figured that only Halifax could match Hishya in power.

{I guess that means the other returnees really aren't something we should discount. Just because Hishya is Hishya, that doesn't mean the others are any less impressive.} (Shinlua)

"A big part of why that all worked was because Hishya held back at the start." Akagi sighed. "I knew she'd gotten arrogant after defeating Serval and unlocking all of her power, but I suppose she was even worse than expected. But at least she seems that this match beat that out of her." She laughed.

{That damn fool could've lost right then and there if she wasn't careful. I knew just how much power Tiball could stack in his blows, but the end result was still a bit surprising. While I would have no problem taking even his final blow head-on, Hishya might struggle even if she was completely fresh.} (Akagi)

"Are they going to be ok?" Shinlua asked about their injuries. "They were both quite injured. Can your team handle something like that quickly?"

"Ah, don't worry about it." Akagi waved off her concern. "We'll pump 'em full of magic and potions, and they'll be right as rain." She'd gotten Mimi and Kaori to create a few full elixirs for this event, so there was little chance that even severely injured contestants would be out for long.

"Even though that's bad for you?" Shinlua knew that relying on magic and potions to heal wasn't good or the body.

"Don't worry about the small stuff." Akagi ignored her concern. "But ladies and gentlemen please give us a few moments. We need to repair the arena and get everything in place, and then we'll get to the next battle!"

While the Arena was being repaired by a group of Akagi's clan members, she and the other two women discussed the fight in a bit more detail, going over some of the interesting moments, diagnosing what went right and wrong, and some general speculation about future matchups.

"Alright Shinlua, thank you for joining us up here and I can't wait to see you in action." Akagi shook her hand as the Elf went down into the arena below. There would be a cycling of the guest commentator after each match, and the next one up was someone quite close to Eris.

"Hey, everybody!" Ayame smiled as she took a seat. "How's it going? I bet you all can't wait to see my wife get her ass kicked since I know I can't!" She snickered.

"Welcome aboard, Ayame. It's nice to have you up here with us for this fight." Akagi introduced her. "Although, as the spouse of one of the next contestants, shouldn't you be cheering her on?"

"Nah, it's much more fun to tear her down and pick on her like this." Ayame gave a cheeky grin.

{See, I'm not the only person who likes picking on their family!} (Akagi)

"Ah, that's right, you did the same thing when we were taking bets on Hishya and Eris's little spar earlier." Akagi nodded.

"I imagine you act like this because you're actually quite confident in her ability." Silfana said.

"Maybe." Ayame shrugged. "Though it is nice to see her get tossed around a bit." She winked.

"Ah yes, the joys of marriage." Silfana sighed. "I've seen it many times over the centuries. How often one's own partner can be their biggest cheerleader or the one who seeks their downfall the most."

"Though I think in your case, that second part usually doesn't come from some cute and endearing part of the relationship." Akagi said. "But before we get sidetracked talking about Silfana's abysmal and empty love life, let's introduce the next contestants!" Her words caused a cheer as Alice and Eris entered the arena. "Our first fighter is none other than the cutest little girl in the entire world, Alice! And no, I'm not biased because she's my daughter, it's just facts people!" Akagi laughed as everyone cheered. "As a summoner, she relies more on the use of her creatures and creations to fight more than her own innate power. In FWO they were generally seen as quite weak and it was proven over and over again that they fared poorly in single combat, so how will she do against one of the best melee players?"

{Likely not well given what I know about the two of them.} (Silfana)

"And our second fighter is Eris! As the former head of Shining Blade, she was widely regarded as one of the best players in FWO, and many placed her quite high on our internal rankings. Her specialty is abusing polearm reach properties and as a Barbarian, she can easily take a lot of hits without stopping!" Akagi introduced Eris, to much fanfare.

"So then, the question will be if your little girl can summon enough fodder to tire her out." Silfana figured that was the best way for Alice to win. "I know little of Alice's combat ability, but from what you told me before she is quite adept at controlling her summons."

{She never took part in the battle against me and I only ever saw reports about her. Apparently she can control a large number of summons at once and she even has a few powerful ones.} (Silfana)

"Alice can get pretty scary when goes all out and from what I recall in game, she's got quite a large arsenal of puppets and other creations." Ayame had only seen her fight a few times but knew the stories. "Eris is good at taking down tons of low-level enemies, so I don't think Alice would try and wear her down that way." She shook her head. "I've only seen Alice fight a few times before she left the Assault Team, so my knowledge about her isn't great, but I think this battle will be a bit more interesting than many would believe."

{At the very least, I doubt Eris can just waltz through this one easily.} (Ayame)

"Oh? You don't think Eris is just going to take her down no problem?" Akagi asked.

"You know better than all of us that Alice isn't one to go down easily." Ayame replied without looking at her. "Especially with you watching her."

"KICK HER ASS, ALICE!" Akagi yelled down to her. "DO IT FOR MAMA!"

"I see you are a non-biased commentator." Silfana rolled her eyes.

"Now, when did I ever claim to be?" Akagi laughed.

_____________________________________________________________________________

"Fighting a kid, even one like you really doesn't sit right with me." Eris sighed as she slammed the butt of her glaive into the ground. "Any chance you could call it quits? I'll give you a snack." She laughed.

"No chance. Mama is watching, and I don't want to disappoint her." Alice shook her head. "But more than that, I want to show everyone how much stronger I've gotten since last time!" She hadn't fought with other players since her time in FWO, and she always felt like she had something to prove to those who were older than her.

"I thought so." Eris shrugged. "But at least this way I can't get yelled at for smacking you around a bit. Just do me a favor and tap out if things start getting bad. I don't need you sticking things out just for pride."

"I could say the same to you." Alice giggled. "You're acting like this will be easy, but I can assure you that it will be anything but."

"I never assume any fight will be easy." Eris replied. "I just know that summoners, even you, don't take well to these kinds of engagements."

{Though you are Akagi's daughter. Adopted or not, there's no way in hell that Demon didn't supercharge you over the last three years.} (Eris)

"Are the contestants ready?" Kira looked between them.

"Ready!" (Eris x Alice)

"Then... BEGIN!" Kira signaled the start of the match and instantly Eris leaped forward, activating her rage. She knew that Alice would be weakest at the start of the match, and Eris knew better than to let a summoner start pulling out its arsenal of creatures.

"Sorry Alice, but I'm not waiting around!" Eris roared as she closed in, but just before she managed to bring her weapon down upon the small girl she was stopped dead in her tracks.

*CLANG*

"What the fuck?!?" Eris yelled in confusion as her glaive was stopped by a small thin black cane.

"My apologies madam, but I cannot allow you to bring harm to Lady Alice." A butler-like man with a frog's head was behind the unexpected block, and his formal and businesslike tone caught Eris off guard.

{AGAIN, WHAT THE FUCK?!?} (Eris)

"Thanks for the save, Sir Froggington." Alice giggled as she started to back away slowly.

"It is no trouble at all, and please do forgive me for being 0.64 seconds late with my arrival, My Lady." Sir Froggington apologized for his inexcusable tardiness.

{I must be getting slow in my old age. To be even that late is a stain on my record as a butler.} (Sir Froggington)

"Get the hell out of my way, Toad!" Eris put more power into her strike but was surprised by the resilience of the frog man.

{What is this guy?!?} (Eris)

"I am a frog, not a toad, and you'd do well to remember that." Sir Froggington scolded her. "Now, if you'd kindly stop your attack and allow My Lady to swiftly defeat you, that would be most smashing."

{HE HAS AN ENGLISH ACCENT! I HATE HATE HIM EVEN MORE NOW! FUCK YOU AKAGI! I KNOW YOU MADE THIS THING, DIDN'T YOU?!?} (Eris)

"I'm going to run right through you and turn you into roadkill!" Eris roared as she allowed her rage-induced fury to boil over and her body erupted with white hot flames.

For his part, Sir Froggington saw that he was at a power disadvantage, and instead focused on buying time for Alice to prepare herself.

{Defenders may be strong, but they're not immovable!} (Eris)

One of the most common types of summons, defenders did exactly what one would expect, they defended their master. While they were entirely incapable of doing any offensive action sans tripping or shoving, they more than made up for this weakness by being extremely resistant to damage. Sir Froggington was by no means capable of resisting Eris forever, but for a few moments, he could bring the raging Barbarian to a halt.

"Thanks Sir Froggington!" Alice said as she spun around in circles. "Now, let's get to work, Goosey!" She scattered blue dust onto the ground around her, which began to glow, and a moment later, a giant portal opened in the air above her, out from which a large Goose appeared.

*HONK!*

The large Canadian Goose swooped down toward Alice, who leaped onto its back and flew into the air.

{Dammnit! Her getting airborne is going to be annoying!} (Eris)

"Now that Goosey is here let's bring out his friends! Sharky, Bitey, Screechy, Hairy, get out here!" Alice called out to her next set of summons, and around Eris, a number of swirling purple portals appeared.

*WOOF!* *CLICK-CLACK* *OOK!* *RAWR!*

{Oh shit!} Eris instantly found herself surrounded by a group of summoned monsters consisting of a large monkey, a flying shark, a huge wolf and a massive spider.

"I hope you don't think such weak creatures can beat me!" Eris roared as she pushed Sir Foggington off balance and disengaged from him to attack the new summons. "I HATE FUCKING SPIDERS!" She screamed as she smashed the head of the eight-legged creature with her Glaive. "DIE!"

*HISS!* Hairy the spider hissed as he was struck, and he swung his pedipalps and other appendages at Eris in an attempt to push her away.

"Not today, bitch!" Eris said as she deflected one of its legs and smashed another one, drawing blood. “Spiders can burn in hell!”

"Screechy, use Boomblast!" Alice issued orders to the monkey who unhinged its jaw and unleashed a high-pitched scream at Eris.

*EEEEEE!*

"AH!" Eris felt no pain as she was assaulted with the noise due to her rage, but the sudden increase in volume threw her off balance and caused her to flinch just as Bitey the wolf pounced at her.

"AWOOO!" Bitey chomped onto her right arm and tackled her to the floor. Due to her armor and resistance, he did no damage, but it was still annoying.

"Get the fuck off me, dog!" Eris maneuvered her foot into its abdomen and kicked with all her might, sending the pup flying into the air.

“AWOOOOOOOOOO!” Bitey screeched as he was launched into the air.

"Hairy, catch him!" Alice told the spider to use its web to grab the wolf and bring it down safely, which it did swiftly. "Sharkey, its time! Use your cannon!" She then looked at the large flying shark and ordered it to begin shooting its lasers.

"RAWR!" Sharkey obliged and opened its mouth, charging up a large amount of energy within before unleashing a red blast toward Eris.

{ITS SHOOTS FUCKING LASERS?!?} Eris rolled out of the way just in time, avoiding the laser blast that cut into and melted the arena.

"Darn, she got out of the way." Alice clicked her tongue. "Sharkey, try again. This time don't miss! I want her nice and melted! Ku, Ku, Ku!” Her evil cackle gave Eris the idea that Alice was really taking after her adoptive mother.

{ARE YOU TRYING TO FUCKING KILL ME?!?} (Eris)

As Sharkey and the other summons unleashed their devastating and annoying combo attack, Eris's irritation finally reached a breaking point.

"ENOUGH!" Eris screamed as her entire body erupted in flames. "I'm dealing with these idiots, and then you are going down, Alice!" She flashed forward faster than Alice had expected, and with one swing of her gave she smashed both Hairy and Bitey with her glaive, causing both creatures to take massive damage and disappear as purple particles. "Now that just leaves the fucking shark and the monkey!" She turned toward the screeching monkey who was continually blasting her with its voice.

"Shut the fuck up!" Eris hurled her glaive at Screechy, who failed to dodge the high-speed projectile and took it head-on, dying instantly. "Thank god!" She huffed as she summoned her glaive back to her hand. "Now that just leaves you!"

Eris turned toward the flying shark and locked eyes with it before summoning a new weapon in her left hand. It was a javelin, one that glowed blue and was surrounded by crackling lightning. "I've never had fried shark before, but I guess there's a first time for everything!" As soon as she'd lined things up, Eris used all of her strength and threw the javelin at the shark. As it hurled in the air, the sound of lightning striking could be heard and the weapon transformed into a bolt of lightning that reminded many onlookers of Zeus's signature weapon from myth.

*RAWR?*

Sharkey was unable to get out of the way in time and was stuck by the flying javelin which exploded on impact and let loose another blast of thunder as it made contact, destroying the final summon instantly.

"How'd you like that!" Eris laughed as the javelin returned to her side. “No more fucking lasers!”

{When did she get a Javelin of Returning Lightning?!?} Alice had never seen this weapon in Eris's inventory before. {Was this something from the dungeon? Mama really should've warned me... Though I suspect she didn't just to see how well I'd do.}

"I guess that means I can't just fly up here and camp you out." Alice sighed.

"NOPE!" Eris yelled as she hurled the javelin at the flying goose who desperately tried to get out of the way.

*HONK!*

"Goosey, get out of the way!" Alice commanded her summon to move, but as each time Eris missed the weapon simply returned to her, it was only matter of time until Goosey was hit head-on. "Goosey!"

Alice cried out as her summon was struck and her entire body was electrified from the blast. A moment later she and Goosey began to plummet toward the arena, right into Eris' reach.

{I need to do something!} Alice used the brief moment she had before impact to channel more magic power into her right hand and just before she hit the ground, her entire body was encased in a thick black slime protecting her from the fall.

"I've got you now!" Seeing that Alice was now completely vulnerable, Eris zipped forward intending to strike her down and finish the match, but she once again found herself stopped by Sir Froggington.

"Do try and remember that I am still here." The frog butler stopped her with his cane. "You may have defeated Sir Goosey and his companions, but you have yet to best me." He wasn't going to be easy to be rid of and she knew that.

"Get the hell out of my way! Greater Ability Boost!" Eris activated the special ability of her gauntlets, deciding to go all out to secure the win.

{Oh, she has that too...} (Alice)

Activating her multiplier, Eris swiftly overpowered Sir Froggington and knocked him out of the way. "Now you're mine!" With the defender out of the way, there was nothing between Alice and Eris, but the young girl had prepared for this beforehand.

"Now!" Alice yelled out, and just as Eris was about to bring her weapon down on her, the black slime that stuck to her body leaped forward and onto Eris.

{What?!?} (Eris)

"Hold her down!" Alice ordered the slime to restrain the Barbarian, and that's what it did. As it grappled her, it expanded to cover most of her body, and its writhing mass made it almost impossible to move.

{This thing better not try anything funny!} (Eris)

"Get the hell off me!" Eris tried as hard as she could to remove the slime, and while her raging flames seemed to be having an effect, she wasn't quick enough to stop Alice from bringing out her next group of summons.

"Time for the band to play! Start singing, Sir Froggington!" Alice gave her orders as she chucked a bunch of paper drawings on the floor around her.

"And sing I shall!" Sir Froggington teleported next to her and began to sing and dance as the different strips of paper began to grow into a variety of different creatures. In total, there were ten members of the band, each with different instruments and weapons, and they looked something akin to wooden toy soldiers.

"Now the frog sings?!?" Eris growled as she let out a blast of flame scattering the slime in all directions. "Well, the only music I want to hear is the one they'll play at your funeral, toad!"

"And I again remind you that I am a Frog, not a toad." Sir Froggington said as he continued to sing. As a defender, he wasn't able to attack much, but nothing was stopping Alice from strapping him with buffing abilities and turning him into something akin to a Bard.

“I'll just have to shove that instrument where the sun doesn't shine then!” Eris hissed as she moved toward the band.

"You can try, Eris, but it's too late!" Alice cackled. "The Band has arrived, and the fat lady has already warmed up her vocal cords! Hit it, boys!" She snapped her fingers, and the different toy soldiers all began playing a very well-known American song.

"How is a little music going to- Ack!" Eris cried out in pain, which surprised her. "What?!? How did I just feel that?!?" As she spoke, Eris noticed that blood was coming out of her mouth.

{HOW?!? I should be resistant to all damage, and rage shouldn't allow me to feel pain!} (Eris)

"A raging Barbarian of your class is resistant to all damage except that which is direct at the mind." Alice laughed as she tapped the side of her head. "And my friends here are playing music that does exactly that!" Bards were only a partially implemented class in FWO and were due to be added fully in later patch. There was a few different kinds of bardic abilities, but most were quite weak or simply for flavor. However, there were summons that could tap into bardic abilities that players didn't have access to and Alice had gotten a hold of a few during the games runtime.

{We've been preparing for this type of performance for a while since it was always possible to get paired against an opponent who resists physical damage. Now keep up the beat and melt her brains!} (Alice)

{FUCK! I forgot about that part since psychic or mental attacks were so rare in FWO!} Eris struggled to stay on her feet as the music and Sir Froggington's singing voice grew louder. As the frog started moon walking and using its cane as a microphone to sing, Eris started to get woozy. Without her resistance, her resilience was significantly reduced, and it wouldn't be long until she went down.

{It's attacking the mind, so I doubt that poking out my eardrums would stop it. I need to think fast. Otherwise, I'm going to wind up losing in the first round!} (Eris)

"God dammit!" Eris decided that she had little choice than to use her other hidden ability, one that she'd been hoping to save for later in the tournament. However, she figured that with defeat imminent she had no choice but to use it now, lest she lose without ever getting the chance to use it. "Skywalker Boots, Grant me flight!" She clicked the heels of her shoes together which caused them to sprout tiny translucent wings on them, and a moment later she kicked off the ground and leaped toward the band, hoping that they weren't very tough.

{What?!?} Alice hadn't expected this turn of events. Her puppets' performance should've drastically weakened Eris by this point, and there should've been no way for her to move quickly enough to reach the performers before they could back away.

"Move!" Alice tried to order her puppets to disengage, but it was once again too late to issue her commands. The Skywalker boots were another item the Barbarian had gotten in Akagi's dungeon, and their primary feature was to grant an extraordinarily fast flight speed. Since Alice hadn't accounted for items providing a form of movement this meant that Eris, while disorientated and hurt, could move much faster than expected.

"TURN THAT FUCKING MUSIC OFF!" Eris screamed as she brought her glaive down on one of the puppets, which weakened the performance enough for her to start bouncing between the different musicians.

*SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH*

After a few moments, the Barbarian's rampage subsides and the ten puppets and their instruments were smashed into pieces.

"Oh, thank god." Eris let out a deep breath. She may have destroyed the puppets, but that didn't mean things were smooth sailing. “Peace and quiet...”

*HACK!* *COUGH*

However, things were not all well for her, as she spat up blood and still felt like crap. Her body had taken huge damage during the musical attack and her mouth and ears were bleeding profusely.

{I have to give it to the girl. This was far harder and more fun than expected. I honestly don't know if I can win this with these injuries, but I need to try. All I need to do is get one good shot in and she's done, if I could only get that stupid toad out of the way.} (Eris)

"Now, then." Eris lifted her glaive and pointed it at Sir Froggington who stood between her and Alice. "You're next!" She zipped forward and clashed with the defender again.

"I'm impressed that you managed to escape my lady's carefully prepared trap." Sir Froggington smiled. "I must admit that you have been an interesting challenge, and you've earned my respect. However..." He pushed her back slightly. "I cannot allow you to harm my master, so prepare to lose."

{I've got one chance here. If I can just knock him out of the way, that will give me a clear shot to Alice. I can see from the sweat on her brow and some labored breathing that she's down on MP from all those summons, so I doubt she's got the energy for much more.} Eris looked around the field and saw noting but smashed puppets and black goo from the exploded slime. The only thing standing between her and victory was Sir Froggington, and she calculated that she had just enough reserve energy to get past him.

After taking a moment to psych herself up, Eris bounced on the balls of her feet as she activated another one of her abilities. "Second Wind!" As she yelled some of her visual injuries disappeared and she regained a bit of color in her face. Second Wind was exactly what one would expect and it gave a minor healing to martial classes which could be used during combat. "Now, get ready to lose Alice!" With her newly regained vigor, Eris leaped toward Sir Froggington again, but this time rather than attack him the moment she got close enough she slammed the butt of her glaive into the ground and vaulted over top of the frog as if she were in a pole vaulting competition.

{YES!} Eris cheered internally as she cleared the frog defender twirled her glaive in her hand and redirected it downward toward Alice. At the angle she was heading in, the Barbarian would make a direct collision with the young girl, and it was so fast that neither Alice or Sir Froggington could react in time to stop her. {Sorry kid. This is gonna hurt like hell, but I'm sure Akagi will fix you up good!}

As the glaive careened toward Alice, Sir Froggington let out a desperate cry. His teleport ability relied on Alice's magic and with how little she had left he couldn't use it. Standing helplessly, he could only watch in horror as his master was about to be crushed by the mighty weapon. While Alice looked upwards in horror as she realized that there was nothing that she could do to save herself, so as if via reflex she cried out to the one person who could save her.

"KITTY HELP!" Alice cried out for the kitty, and a moment later a black form appeared in front of her taking the shape of Catkagi.

{WHAT?!?} (Eris)

Seeing what looked like Akagi in front of her caused Eris to momentarily flinch and slow her attack as she turned her head slightly to look up at the viewing booth where the Demon should've been. Akagi had already agreed that she wouldn't interfere with matches unless it was needed to preserve life or otherwise end things if a participant wouldn't surrender, but Eris didn't know how true to her word the Demon would be regarding her daughter.

As the Barbarian looked up at the booth, she was shocked to see Akagi still in her seat and laughing hysterically, and only at that moment did she realize the whole thing had been a ruse. The moment Eris returned her full attention to Alice, the Catkagi's form melted away revealing its true identity as the black slime from before.

{Didn't I destroy that earlier?!?} Eris's attack had indeed scattered the creature, but contrary to her expectations it wasn't destroyed. Alice had carefully prepared a backup plan in case she was caught off guard and the slime was ordered to remain dormant in its scattered state until the perfect moment.

"NOW!" Alice yelled, and the slime's different scattered parts jutted from the arena floor toward Eris and impaled her across the body just as she was about to bring her glaive down on Alice.

"Ack!" Eris's momentum was halted as the myriad of spikes penetrated her body, though they all avoided vital organs. "You tricked me!" She said as she spat out blood while suspended in the air. "You used the threat of Akagi to..."

{To get me to freak...} (Eris)

"Well, I am the daughter of the Demon Lord, one of the most cunning and deceitful beings to ever exist." Alice smirked. "It shouldn't be a surprise that some of those tendencies rubbed off on me." She giggled.

"Fair... point..." Eris laughed painfully. "Aw hell... I give up. You win." With those words, the Barbarian blacked out, and the crowd went wild as the second match of the tournament concluded in an upset that few predicted.