The Red Hand

Chapter 254 – Shinlua v. Ayame.

"And we have our winner!" Akagi yelled out as the crowd roared. "Zephiria takes down Anle via forcing a surrender, which marks the first time during this event that somebody has bowed out!" She wasn't surprised how things ended, though she didn't expect Elna to make such a potentially lethal mistake like bringing up Spellhauser.

"What the hell happened at the end there?" Superbia asked about why things felt tense right before Elna surrendered. "Zef just disappeared and then sent Nova at Anle." She knew just how powerful that spell was and was confused as to why Zephiria busted it out.

{Something like that is complete overkill, especially against Elna. Had she let that thing fly, it would've killed that idiot for sure.} (Superbia)

"That amount of magic would've killed that woman along with destroying most of the arena." Silfana smirked, she was impressed with Zephirira's ruthlessness. "Part of me wishes that she would've managed to get it off, just to see how things would've gone."

"Let's just say that Anle said something she shouldn't have and that pissed Zef off." Akagi sighed. She was certain that Zephiria was about to nuke the arena, and was moments from intervening to stop it when Elna surrendered.

{How stupid do you have to be to bring Spellhauser up like that? Did you WANT to fucking die you stupid Elf?!?} (Akagi)

"What could she have possibly said that would anger Zef that bad?" Superbia asked. She and Silfana couldn't hear what the contestants were saying from this far away, though Akagi could no problem.

"She brought up Spellhauser." Akagi shook her head, and Superbia instantly understood the problem.

"Ah... That would do it..." Superbia knew that something like that would quickly raise Zephiria's blood pressure.

{What a fucking idiot...} (Superbia)

"What does that Elf have to do with this?" Silfana didn't understand the problem.

"It's a long story, but the long and short of it is that Zephiria and Spellhauser had a history. One that went back before FWO." Akagi sighed as she muted their audio so as to not spread this information to the world. "I don't know everything, but from what Zephiria told me, Spellhauser enjoyed making her miserable and constantly told her that she was worthless."

{She was basically her dedicated bully, and from what she told me it was relentless.} (Akagi)

"The two grew up together, and Spellhauser liked to use Zeph's 'family issues' to berate her, among other things, and it was all around not pleasant." Superbia rolled her eyes as she continued for Akagi. "I won't go any deeper since that's Zef's personal stuff, but I'm not surprised that she nearly went off the deep end if Anle brought that idiot up."

{Elna, of all people, should've known better!} (Superbia)

"That Elf is gone now, isn't she?" Silfana recognized the name as one of the Libra members that Akagi consumed.

"Yeah, I ate her." Akagi nodded. "But that left Zef's issues unanswered since it was an abrupt end to the person she always wanted to inflict payback on."

{I was in such a bad mood that day that I didn't even consider taking her prisoner so that Zef could have her way with her. Oh well.} (Akagi)

"Hmmm." Silfana mused. "I've heard nothing of this before today." She was only tangentially aware of the different players and even then she mostly knew about the most powerful and influential and their abilities, not their personal history.

"That's because we don't like to talk about it." Superbia shook her head as she stood up to leave.

{I always wondered why she never showed up to fight Libra since that would've given her the perfect shot at putting Spellhauser down once and for all. Akagi only ever said that she was busy at that time, but I'm starting to think there's more to it than that.} (Superbia)

"Thank you for your time, Superbia, and please allow me to introduce our next guest, everyone's favorite loli Spirit, Mizumi!" Akagi laughed as the Water Spirit came into the booth.

"Was loli really needed?" Mizumi sighed as she took her seat. She was in her adult form, so she was definitely not a loli at this moment.

"Hey, you're the one who likes running around being cute." Akagi snickered.

"Says the Demon who enjoys flopping about as a cat." Mizumi rolled her eyes. "Anyway, it's good to be here, and hello everyone." She smiled for the cameras.

"I know you're plenty busy with all the changes in Omara, but I'm glad you were able to make time for us." Akagi smiled.

"As if I was going to miss this." Mizumi replied.

{What kind of fool would I be to NOT show up?!? This is basically a unity event where Omara and Earth come together!} (Mizumi)

"I'm surprised that you yourself aren't part of this event." Silfana quipped as she sipped on some tea. "I've heard you are quite powerful, and I can't imagine you being weaker than those explorers." She was interested in seeing what Mizumi could do since she'd never actually seen her fight.

"I'm not a fighter." Mizumi shook her head. "I have been trained in magical arts, and while I'm no slouch in combat, it's not really my thing.” She was more adept at using magic to help people than to fight, and she generally tried to avoid combat where possible.

"It still would've been nice to see you in action." Silfana said. "But that's too bad. I hope the Elf of yours will provide a bit more entertainment than the last Spirit from Omara." She was disappointed though not surprised with the speed of Mami's defeat.

"I don't think you have to worry. Shinlua is probably the most powerful of us all, though she is not actually a Spirit." Mizumi explained that she was a seasoned warrior and ex-adventurer who had centuries of combat experience.

"If I recall correctly, she went toe-to-toe with one of the summoned Heroes that attacked you all." Akagi said as she took a swig from her coffee mug.

"Yes, though she lost." Mizumi sighed.

"Then what hope does she have against these players?" Silfana raised an eyebrow. "If she failed to beat a human summoned to your world, then I dare say that she has no chance against humans given far more power." She was starting to think that Shinlua would be little more than a speed bump for Ayame

"I can't say for sure how the Heroes stack up against the returnees since we never saw their full power, so I don't know what's going to happen." Mizumi shrugged. "All I know is that it is foolish to discount Shinlua. She has centuries of combat experience, and as a member of the Dawn Order, underestimating her is a fast way to die."

"Dawn Order?" Silfana didn't recognize that name, and neither did Akagi.

"It was a small and secretive militant order of Knights on Enoris. Shinlua was part of them, and their primary goal was to defeat the worst evils that existed within our world's shadows." Mizumi explained its purpose. "Each member is an army in their own right, and they only accepted the absolute best into their ranks. Shinlua holds the title of Dawnbringer, which is the Order's second-highest rank, save for the Dawnmaster, which is reserved for the leader of the Order."

{Interesting. That reminds me of a secret order that did something similar in a novel I once read.} (Akagi)

"And they didn't help defend the Spirits?" Akagi asked as Shinlua and Ayame made their way into the arena.

"They did, but they weren't enough to turn the tide once the Heroes arrived, and as far as I'm aware, they've been forced deep underground since they were branded traitors." Mizumi shook her head. "Shinlua feels responsible for what happened to our people and believes that the Dawn Order's failure to stop the death of so many of our people is the single greatest failing of their Order in its history."

{And I can't say that she's wrong either... But what where they suppose to do against Gods and their chosen Heroes?} (Mizumi)

"I see." Silfana hummed in thought. "Then I suppose I'll reserve my judgment, though I'm still not convinced that she can defeat Ayame."

"And I'm confident that she will." Mizumi disagreed. "Shinlua may be weaker in raw strength, but she's smart, and her unique fighting style will likely throw Ayame off guard."

"Now that I think of it, I've never seen Shinlua draw that blade of hers." Akagi commented as the two contestants faced each other in the center of the arena. "Why is that?"

"Because their Order's tenants have a strict code for when a Dawnblade may be drawn from its sheath." Mizumi responded without looking at Akagi. "She's going to make a major exception for this tournament, but ordinarily she won't draw it unless she means to kill whoever she's fighting."

{I suppose she figures that since the Order is basically destroyed and that she's in another world, there can be a bit of flexibility in her rules. She nearly pulled that blade on Onmiyame, and that would've been a huge deal.} (Mizumi)

"Well then, let's see what she can do." Akagi's lips curved into a smile as the battle began.

_____________________________________________________________________________

"So my first opponent will be you." Ayame said as she took both of her swords out of their sheaths. "To be entirely honest, I don't know that much about you other than the fact that you were from that other world. So it looks like I'm going into this fight completely blind." She laughed.

{Though that's a unique kind of fun in its own right.} (Ayame)

"And I don't know much about you, so I'd say we're even." Shinlua smiled. She was wearing a different outfit than her normal dress, and it reminded Ayame of the armor that the Imperial Royal Guard would wear during official ceremonies. The metal was cleanly polished and painted bright white, while the entire set was inlaid with gold trimming that made it seem far too fancy for something like this.

"I hope that armor is more than just for show." Ayame smirked. "Just so you know, I won't be going easy on you just because you're from Omara."

"I assure you..." Shinlua smiled as she drew the longsword from its sheath on her back. "Nothing of mine is just for show." The blade seemed to glow as bright as the sun as she drew it, and for a moment, Ayame found herself blinded by its radiant light.

{Is that blade made from gold?!?} Ayame was stunned by the appearance of Shinlua's sword. Once it stopped glowing, she could see an intricate weaving of runes that ran the length of the golden blade. {No, it feels like it's made from pure Radiant energy! What the hell is that thing?!?}

"May the Dawn Lord guide me during this duel." Shinlua drove the head of the blade into the arena floor and said a small prayer in Elvish before resting both of her hands atop the hilt of the blade. "Now, come!"

"Well, since you insist." Ayame grinned as she moved into position, in the back of her mind she knew this was going to be an intense battle.

"Are both competitors ready?" Kira looked between them.

"Do you even need to ask?" (Shinlua x Ayame)

"Then, begin!" Kira signaled the start of the battle, but unlike the other fights both warriors didn't move a muscle.

"What, not going to charge in straight at me?" Ayame laughed as she eyed up her opponent.

"I'm not foolish enough to approach you recklessly when I have no idea what you're capable of." Shinlua responded flatly.

{If I recall correctly, she is a Barbarian like Eris. Their kind resists physical damage and have extraordinary amounts of strength, and in exchange, they are unable to utilize much magic. Taking her on directly and trading blows with her will likely be a poor idea, which means that I must rely on my techniques to defeat her.} (Shinlua)

"Well, you've at least got a good head on your shoulders." Ayame laughed before glaring at Shinlua. "Too bad it won't matter!" As she spoke, her irises turned red, and her entire body became engulfed in a dark red aura as she screamed loudly. "AHHAHAHAHA! I'm going to enjoy myself! So this is your last chance to surrender! Otherwise, I might get a bit carried away!" Ayame activated her rage, which drove her into a slight high due to the sudden rush of power. Where Eris was an elemental-themed Barbarian, Ayame was one completely focused on power and destruction. The Berserker subclass was devoid of any special magical benefits, but in exchange, it boasted the highest damage output of any Barbarian.

{TIME TO SMASH!} (Ayame)

"I'll decline, but thank you for your concern." Shinlua smirked as she pulled her blade from the ground and held it with both hands. "Now, let's see what you've got!"

"Then it's your funeral!" Ayame screamed as she charged toward Shinlua, both blades at the ready. "Let's see how well that fancy sword and armor can protect you!"

{Not as well as I'd like...} Shinlua figured that taking such power head-on was foolish, so rather than meet the Frenzied Barbarian head-on, she sidestepped, which caused one of Ayame's blades to slam into the arena floor and create a crater.

*BOOM*

"Don't go thinking that I'm slow!" Ayame spun around her left side and swung her off-hand blade toward Shinlua, who parried it before backing away.

{Ohhh yeah, she's got A LOT of power behind each of those hits. It makes the blows that Shiroe Amakusa landed on me look like the punches of a small child...} (Shinlua)

"Running away won't help you!" Ayame kicked off the ground,  causing it to crack beneath her feet as she lunged toward Shinlua. The Elf tried to sidestep once again, figuring that her best bet was to use her maneuverability to keep away from the huge power coming toward her, but unfortunately for her, Ayame wasn't foolish enough to try the same thing twice.

"Got ya!" Ayame stopped short rather than continuing, which surprised Shinlua who'd already begun moving off the the side. Seeing where the Elf was trying to move to, Ayame planted her right foot, twisting it ever so slightly and kicking off the ground and zipping directly toward the vulnerable Shinlua, who barely managed to raise her blade to block the Barbarian's main hand strike.

*BOOM*

The two fighter's swords collided creating a loud shock wave. Shinlua was barely holding back Ayame's strike and was forced to use both hands to hold up her blade.

{It feels like a mountain is trying to hit me!} Shinlua struggled to hold Ayame back, and things only got worse as the Barbarian brought her second weapon to bear, aiming straight for Shinlua's midsection.

"Let's see how well that armor holds up!" Ayame moved in for what could've been a finishing blow, but Shinlua had a trick up her sleeve.

"Warp!" Shinlua called out the name of a spell, and her eyes glowed for a brief movement before she disappeared in a flash, causing Ayame to miss, her blade cutting into nothing.

"Wha?!?" Ayame was taken off guard by the sudden use of magical teleportation but didn't have much time to ask questions as she felt Shinlua's blade slice down her back.

"SHIT!" Ayame screamed as the radiant energy tore through her back. "Fuck off!" She spun around, barely missing Shinlua, who leaped away.

{That did more damage than I expected. I thought her kind resisted all physical damage?} Shinlua's confusion was understandable. The vast majority of Barbarians specced into the feature, which made them resist all damage but mental. However, Ayame was one of the few who chose a different path. She still resisted damage done solely by physical blows, but as Shinlua's blade did something akin to Radiant damage, her resistance was bypassed.

"Fucking teleportation." Ayame growled as she glared at Shinlua. "I always hate those damn magic types that zip around like that." She stomped on the floor, creating a minor tremor. "I hope you don't just intend to play cat and mouse with me while you whittle away my strength because that won't work!"

{That was the idea, yes...} (Shinlua)

"Forgive me, but you have far too much strength for me to hope to best you in proper combat. So what choice do I have but to play these kinds of games?" Shinlua said while raising and pointing her blade at Ayame. "A good warrior knows when they are outmatched, and only a fool fights a battle they cannot hope to win." She then started swiping the air in front and around her position in a rhythm, and to Ayame it looked like she was mocking her with play strikes.

"I'm going to squash you!" Ayame charged toward Shinlua again, but this time before she got close enough, she pulled a javelin out of her inventory and hurled it at Shinlua. It was quickly and easily deflected but left the Elf unable to avoid Ayame's subsequent attacks.

"Now I've got you!" Ayame raised both of her blades, hoping to slash her target with everything she had, but again Shinlua teleported away.

{This bitch!} Ayame cursed the Elf in her head, and as she landed where Shinlua was moments prior, she turned and hurled another javelin at the spot where Shinlua reappeared.

With no time to react due to her short-range teleportation leaving her vulnerable, Shinlua was struck with the projectile which knocked her to the ground, but just as Ayame was about to capitalize on her opponent's vulnerable position, she felt the slash of a blade all over her body and blood began to pour from area's of exposed skin.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!?" Ayame roared. In an instant, she'd taken a huge amount of damage from no discernible attack and it only made her more angry.

{Did she leave some kind of trap?} Ayame looked around the spot where she was standing but found nothing.

"Then, what the fuck-" Ayame paused as she put it together.

{Those slashes! That bitch did something to implant them in the air around me!} She recalled the seemingly useless flourishes from a moment ago and recalled a skill in FWO that could do something similar.

"Well, son of a bitch." Ayame's lips curled into a nasty smile. "I didn't expect her to have something like that, and man, does that fire me up!" She started laughing as she charged back toward the now-standing Shinlua.

{Well, I guess that answers the question of whether such attacks will work on her. Though, now that she's aware of that technique, I doubt it will be as easy to use it again.} Shinlua glanced around the arena and came up with an idea of how to use her ability to her advantage, though she'd need to get both herself and Ayame in the perfect position to pull it off. {I suppose I can try. It's not like I have any hope of winning this thing straight up.}

As she contemplated the best way to win, Ayame approached, and the two began a high-speed chase/clash as they rocketed around the arena, during which Shinlua stealthfully laid down a few delayed slashes, some of which Ayame walked right into.

*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG*

It was too dangerous for Shinlua to fight Ayame head-on, and she figured that over reliance on her magical teleportation would see her swiftly lose. Ayame had already figured out the limitations of such an ability and knew that it was both short-range and left the user vulnerable upon reaching their destination. She was waiting for the Elf to try it again and was prepared to take her down in one swift strike if she attempted to run away.

*WOOSH*

Ayame whiffed a strike which allowed Shinlua to back away and begin launching a barrage of magical blasts that were a mixture of fire and ice toward the Barbarian.

"Hah!" Ayame laughed as she easily deflected/swatted the attacks. "You're going to have to try better than that!" From there, she charged forward, slashing aside the incoming magical attacks with ease.

{THERE!} As soon as she saw Ayame coming toward her, Shinlua backed up, placing herself relatively close to the arena's edge, aimed her hand downward, and froze part of the arena in a thin layer of ice.

{Trying to make me slip off the edge, are you?} Ayame smirked as she continued, undaunted, but Shinlua wasn't just hoping for Ayame to simply slide off and continue with the second part of her plan throwing out her hand to cast a second spell. "DAZE!" A flash of magic flowed from Shinlua's hand and streaked straight toward Ayame. Daze was a type of confusion spell and was meant to leave those struck by it disoriented.

"More magic?!?" Ayame braced herself as she was struck by the attack, and Shinlua expected that in a staggered state, the Barbarian would simply slide off the edge and be disqualified. However, that was not what happened, as Ayame was unaffected by the spell and continued forward, much to Shinlua's surprise.

"What?!?" Shinlua hadn't expected Ayame to ignore her spell, and due to the ice around her, she couldn't easily move.

{What happened?!?} (Shinlua)

As Ayame got in close, she slammed one of her blades into the ground, anchoring herself, while her main hand slammed into Shinlua's hastily risen blade, which sent the Elf flying, blood leaking from her mouth from the shock of the hit.

"Ack!" Shinlua tumbled onto the ground, Ayame's attack having done far more damage than she would've liked.

"Hah!" Ayame smirked as she steadied herself on the ice by using her blade to keep upright. "Were you expecting that magic to do something? Because while I'm raging, mental attacks don't work!" She laughed. "It's why I took Berserker since messing with a Barbarian's mind is the best way to handle us!" Indeed, most Barbarians were completely helpless versus mental attacks, and this immunity was the reason to choose this path over the one that gave blanket resistance to nearly all types of damage or access to elemental damage types. "Now, let's finish this!"

"No, it's already over." Shinlua cocked a smile as she struggled to look up at Ayame.

"What?" Ayame didn't understand what she was talking about, but a moment later, it all became clear as a bright flash momentarily blinded her, followed by an entire section of the stage falling out from under her. She tried to leap up the falling debris to save herself from a ring out, but due to all the ice and the additional well-placed delayed slashes, she found herself flat on her back on the clay floor that surrounded the arena, stunned.

"Winner, Shinlua!" Kira called the match in Shinlua's favor, and the injured Elf staggered over to the edge of the arena, looking down at her bewildered opponent.

"Y-You tricked me?!?" Ayame growled as she stood up. "Dammit! I should've known better than to get near that ice."

{FUCK!} (Ayame)

"It wasn't easy to pull off." Shinlua smiled. "Setting up that many layers of traps took a lot of effort, and there was no guarantee you should fall for any of it. That you were immune to my mental attacks took me by surprise and nearly lost me the match." She hopped down onto the ground and offered Ayame her hand. "That was a good match, and you are truly an amazing fighter."

"Yeah, that was a good fight." Ayame took her hand with a smile. "But I am still salty for losing." She sighed as the crowd cheered in the distance.