The Red Hand

Chapter 255 – Avahn is Disappointed.

"What an upset!" Akagi roared alongside the crowd. "Shinlua manages to pull off the first victory for a non-returnee in this tournament and does so by using her wits and tactical skill to bridge the gap between her and Ayame's raw power!" She laughed in genuine excitement. "That was a truly brilliant use of the TKO rules to pull off a victory where it may have otherwise been impossible! So lets give it up to Shinlua everyone!" Her call for a cheer only made the crowd go even more crazy.

"I can't believe she actually won." Silfana said quietly.

{I suppose I underestimated her. Not bad, Elf. Not bad at all.} (Silfana)

"I told you that Shinlua was a bit tougher than you expected." Mizumi said with a proud and smug smile on her face.

"Ayame is no slouch in combat, and in raw power there aren't many above her, so defeating her head-on was never going to work." Akagi began commenting on the match. "I'm glad to see that my comment about power not being the be all end all has shown its truth." She was actually worried that raw power would be the only thing this tournament was based around, and was glad to see her concerns were for nothing.

"If power isn't the most important thing, then does that mean we can find a way to defeat you using our brains?" Mizumi asked with a giggle.

"Sadly for you, I have more calculation ability than you could ever hope to match, so defeating me in a tactical sense will never work." Akagi rolled her eyes. "I will have thought of every plan you could conceive up and developed counter to it before it even flickered in your mind as a thought."

"No need to flex so hard, Akagi." Mizumi stuck out her tongue.

"But it's fun!" Akagi snickered. "Not to mention, why would you want to defeat little ol' me?!? I'm the nicest, cutest, cuddliest widdle kitty in all the multiverse! Why would you harm me? MEW!" She gave cute kitty eyes as she pawed at Mizumi who swatted her away.

"Oh, you're something all right." Silfana sighed. "But getting back on track, those delayed attacks that Shinlua used, I feel like I've seen something similar before." She went through her memories but couldn't quite pin down where she'd seen something like it.

{Why do I feel like I've fought somebody who could do that same thing?} (Slifana)

"It wasn't an FWO player skill, I know that much." Akagi shook her head as she rifled through her memories. "Ah! That's right, the Imperial Commander of the Northern Bastion that bordered Galicen! I don't recall his name, but from what I remember he could make it so that his attacks would have a delay similar to what Shinlua did!" She'd never fought him, but had heard some of the stories.

"Oh yes, Rynuldo." Silfana groaned as she finally remembered that technique. "He came down from his post to handle my forces a few times and was always such a pain in the ass."

{He caused me no small amount of headaches...} (Silfana)

"Too much for even you to handle?" Akagi asked with a wily smile.

"More like I was far too busy to deal with him." Silfana replied before turning to Mizumi. "Was that kind of ability common in your world?"

"I don't think so." Mizumi shrugged. "I don't really know much about the distribution of powers and abilities throughout Enoris, but Shinlua isn't the only person I've known to have that ability." She could think of at least three Spirits that she'd seen during her lifetime with a similar power.

"Does it have anything to do with that Dawn Order you mentioned?" Akagi asked.

"No. Apparently, she learned how to do that from her Master. I don't know much more than that, I'm afraid." Mizumi didn't know much about Shinlua's personal life beyond a few basics.

"I see. Then if possible, I would like for her to teach it to me." Silfana's request came as a surprise to both Akagi and Mizumi.

"I... uh... I mean, I can ask, but..." Mizumi never imagined the Vampire Lord herself would want to learn from an Elf.

{You of all people are willing to train UNDER somebody?!?} (Mizumi)

"Why the surprise? I simply wish to attain more power." Silfana replied.

"Yeah, but for you of all people to want to learn from a non-vampire, I have to admit that's surprising." Akagi was similarly surprised. Silfana was always portrayed as haughty, arrogant and extremely domineering. That she would learn from anyone, especially a non-vampire was unexpected.

"Only a fool refuses to learn. The source of knowledge is irrelevant as long it is good information and is beneficial to my goals." Silfana huffed. "I was heir to the Imperial throne, and part of that training was understanding that you will always have something to learn." She'd trained under many masters during her life, some of which weren't vampires.

"Hurrah for pragmatism!" Akagi laughed.

"Aren't you interested in learning it yourself?" Silfana asked.

"Funny that you think I can't do it already." Akagi snickered.

"Ah, right. Sorry, I forgot who I was dealing with." Silfana rolled her eyes.

{Note to self. Add delayed slashing training to list.} (Akagi)

The three commentators continued bickering back and forth as well as discussing the match and a few other topics while the arena was fixed. The damage inflicted by Shinlua was nowhere near as bad as what Mika had done, so it was repaired in short order.

"Alright, thank you for waiting, and we're ready to begin the next match!" Akagi's words caused a cheer from the crowd. "And for this one, our next and final, guest commentator for the day will be the lizard herself, Hishya!" She clapped as Hishya took a seat next to Silfana, something that was not appreciated by either woman.

"Lizard." Silfana greeted her with a sharp tongue.

"Leech." Hishya stuck her nose up at the vampire.

"Look! They're bust buddies!" Akagi laughed.

"We're not friends!" (Silfana x Hishya)

"Look how in sync they are." Akagi continued to laugh. "At this rate, Kana might have to move over."

"I'd end my own life before I-" Silfana stopped herself, realizing that Akagi was just being her usual annoying self and trying to get a rise out of her. "I'm not going to give you want you want, nope." She growled.

{I will not feed you the reaction that you crave, and I will not reward your bad behavior!} (Silfana)

"You're fucking awful, Akagi..." Hishya sighed.

{Are we sure that picking on people isn't the REAL reason that Akagi was created rather than to destroy the world?!?} (Hishya)

"We're all such good friends, aren't we?" Akagi snickered. "But getting past the need for these two to get a room, we've got our next fight coming up between the deranged cat Avahn and the second member of the exploration team, Shisa, who we had on earlier today."

"Yeah, there won't be a 'match' here." Hishya figured that things would be over instantly. "Just have your revival power on standby. Knowing Avahn, that girl might just tear the Oni to pieces."

{It wouldn't be the first time...} (Hishya)

"I think it will be fine." Akagi shrugged. "Avahn knows better than to go completely crazy during this fight."

{Probably...} (Akagi)

"I assume we're all in agreement that there is no way in hell that Oni will last any reasonable length of time in the ring?" Silfana chuckled.

"Yeah... Avahn's regeneration power alone makes her a tough opponent, and my money is on her making it to the finals." Hishya had never fought the Demon cat before but knew more than enough about her abilities to be wary of her. "Not to mention the fact that Shisa's power is far too limted compared to hers, so this will be over quickly."

“Kitty is about to go woosh.” Akagi laughed.

"Somebody told me that the cat is immortal, is that true?" Silfana looked over at Akagi for clarification.

"Immortal, no. Nothing is impossible to kill. It's just that Avahn is very hard to permanently put down." Akagi shook her head. "Not only does she have extremely fast regeneration to the point that cutting her to ribbons isn't guaranteed to end her, but her main gimmick is that she feels no pain and is very resistant to magic."

"She basically she just zombie modes you." Hishya sighed. "If she can't defeat her opponent with sheer power, then she'll just come at you over and over again until you tire out."

{Which is a a pain...} (Hishya)

"That sounds very annoying." Silfana commented that such an ability made her incredibly dangerous.

"It is, but it's not as if she can continue doing so indefinitely." Akagi explained some of the cat's weaknesses. "She still requires magical power for regeneration, and while she has a lot, it's not infinite, and it doesn't regenerate so quickly as to allow for perpetual regeneration."

{Not even I have that kind of power. In theory if you had enough strength you could whittle me down, and since Avahn isn't a Demon Lord that means her 'zombie mode' is even more limited than my own.} (Akagi)

"Yeah, but good luck outlasting her in a contest of stamina." Hishya said. "I'd wager that most people give out long before the crazy cat runs out of regeneration. Let's not forget that she's quite powerful in her own right, and I'd wager that she'd easily give Superbia a run for her money."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Akagi watched as a very nervous Shisa and Avahn entered the arena, ready to fight.

_____________________________________________________________________________

{Why am I even here...} Shisa was regretting all of her life choices after seeing what happened to Mami. The explorers knew that they'd be in way over their heads during this tournament, but to see one of her friends so utterly defeated put things into context. {This one looks fucking psycho too! Her eyes tell me she wants to enjoy cutting off my limbs like some kind of serial killer! I bet she's thinking all sorts of deranged thoughts!}

{I wonder if Ara would like that big fluffy bean bag chair that I saw at the mall yesterday? It was shaped like a giant pink bunny, and I'd bet we could snuggle on it together.} (Avahn)

As the two positioned themselves in the center of the arena, Shisa could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and Avahn's words only served to increase her stress level.

"Hey, you." Avahn called out to her as she swung her Oda over her shoulder.

"Y-Yeah!" Shisa responded with a yelp.

"How do you want me to do it?" Avahn didn't want to hurt the Oni that much, and wanted to see if she wished to be knocked out of the arena or just surrender. "I can do it fast and painless, or we can do things a bit slower. I don't mind either way." She figured that the Oni might want to go out with some grace and was willing to work with her on that.

{IS SHE ASKING ME HOW I WANT TO DIE?!?} Shisa paled and found herself unable to answer due to fear.

{Why is she so freaked out?} (Avahn)

"Are both contestants ready to go?" Kira looked between the two of them, understanding that Shisa was not happy to be here.

"Yup." Avahn said with a yawn.

"S-Sure..." Shisa reluctantly agreed.

"Alright, then... Begin!" Kira signaled the start of the match, but before Avahn could even move, Shisa gave up.

"I SURRENDER!" Shisa screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Oh..." Avahn looked at the Oni disappointed. "I was hoping to have a bit of fun before you gave up..."

"EEE!" Shisa took off running and fled from the arena, leaving both Kira and Avahn looking at each other in confusion.

"What did you do to her?" Kira asked in sheer exasperation.

"I... I don't know?" Avahn titled her head, unsure about what just happened.