The Red Hand

Chapter 261 – Chloe v Superbia.

"And there we have it! Hishya commits child abuse by putting a blade to my daughter's throat! Isn't she just awful?" Akagi asked the audience, who seemed to reply with a collective shrug.

{Well fuck you all too!} (Hishya)

"I think allowing a fifteen-year-old child to fight in something like this might be considered bad parenting, but what do I know?" Silfana shrugged.

"In your world, kids took up arms as soon as they could hold a sword." Akagi deadpanned. "Besides, Alice can wipe out cities, so it's fine." Her comment reminded many watching that Alice had done exactly that not long ago.

"That she was able to control a Frost Wyvern was most unexpected. Those beasts tend to be quite aggressive, and even my army only had a few at our disposal." Silfana commented that such a powerful creature was nearly impossible to tame and that for Alice to have done so was impressive.

{Hishya may have acted all tough and in control, but even a Dragon would be affected by that thing's toxin. If she hadn't used its aggression and attitude issues to keep it locked into that breath attack, it could've easily flown around and potentially landed a hit. Wyvern toxin is something that even I wouldn't want to mess with and my kind are very resistant to poisons and other similar effects.} (Silfana)

"It hatched from an egg, so it imprinted on her from birth.” Akagi explained that Alice had basically raised it. “Though as you can see, it can be a bit unruly and is notoriously hard to wake from its slumber." She sighed. "Normally, it won't get out of bed without quite a bit of coaxing, though it does love to fight strong opponents."

{Though in the end, it didn't matter. Hishya is a True Dragon and one that likely eclipses most others of her already powerful race. Sending a being that is essentially a demi-Dragon to fight her was never going to work, especially when Hishya is far too good at fighting for a mere beast's tricks to work against her.} (Akagi)

"Well overall, that was a good battle, but if I'm being entirely honest, the match I'm most looking forward to at the moment is our next one." Silfana said as she took a sip of her water bottle. “The Oni in particular interests me the most.” She'd seen Superbia fight before and was curious to see just how strong she as now, especially against an opponent like Chloe.

"Chloe and Superbia are both excellent fighters, and each excels at their particular niches." Akagi said as she pulled out and lit her Kiseru. “This will be a contest of speed as well as power, and while Superbia is definitely stronger than Chloe, the Oni might find our little kitty's reflexes and fighting style to be a bit much for her.” Since she was taught by Akagi, and raised as a ninja, Chloe was adept at hit and run tactics as well as using her techniques to bridge a gap between her and foes that were more powerful.

"Superbia was part of the team that fought me at Hassan, but my primary opponent was Hishya, so I'm interested in seeing what she can do. I've heard that she routinely ranked high on internal listings." Silfana commented as she took a sip of water. “Her kind were always powerful, and I can tell at a glance that she's probably in the top percent of her species.” Oni were very rare in FWO, and they and their cousins the Kijin were almost never seen outside of their mountain villages.

"If you're referring to one-on-one duels, then Superbia was always ranked in the top five, and there were times when she nipped at the heels of Hishya at number three." Akagi explained the rankings. "At the end of FWO, the last listing went me, Hishya, Superbia, Herlex, and Eris, though to be fair those last three switched around a lot. Herlex performed well where he could keep his distance and use his power in bursts while Eris did best in long drawn-out fights." Player fights were rare, and by the end of FWO it was uncommon for any duels between players to take place.

{Avahn is probably above Eris though, but she was never calculated in official listings since she wasn't part of any major teams.} (Akagi)

"Strange how an assassin managed to out-duel dedicated sword fighters." Silfana side-eyed the Demon. "Shouldn't you have been weak outside of times when you got the jump on people?" She never did understand why a rogue-like Akagi managed to excel so much in single combat.

"Tell me, what happens to an assassin if they miss their kill shot?" Akagi asked as she let out a puff.

"I believe there is a saying in this world about not missing if you go for the king." Silfana answered sarcastically.

"I do prefer to make my strikes quick and clean, and the vast majority of my kills were just that, but there were plenty of times where it was either impossible to take out my target in one shot or it getting into a position to do so was untenable." Akagi continued. "Thus, I modified my kit to allow me to dominate anyone in a situation where we fought alone. Though I could fight larger groups of lower-level opponents if it came down to it."

"I suppose that makes sense." Silfana nodded. "You are the kind of paranoid person who likes her backup plans, so having that kind of skill to fall back on is par for the course."

"Indeed, and while I passed that skill and knowledge on to Chloe, that cat is still more suited for a traditional assassin role than direct combat." Akagi said as Chloe and Superbia entered the arena. "She'll need to break out every trick she has up her sleeve if she wants to defeat Superbia. That Oni is no joke when she gets serious, and Chloe had best not allow herself to get too comfortable lest she find herself with a blade in her chest." Her eyes scanned both fighters, and inside she was excited to see the two go at it.

"Does the teacher not have unwavering faith in her student?" Silfana chuckled. "I figured you'd try and hype her up a bit more."

"Such fluffing is not only pointless but also counterproductive." Akagi said with a serious expression as she continued to analyze both contestants. "At the end of the day, Chloe's success or failure depends on her skill and how well she trained. Out of all those who work under me, she is by far my most capable assassin and the worst thing that could happen is that she gets overconfident in her abilities as that is the moment she dies.” She'd seen more than a few people go out that way in FWO, some of which had been her own targets. “The number one lesson that I taught her is to always assume that you are fighting someone who is faster, smarter, and more powerful than you. That way you never fall into the trap of laziness and ensures that you keep your guard up and wits about you."

{She also inherited my habit of running my mouth and toying with her opponent when she knows she has them outmatched. However, unlike me, she cannot truly know if she overpowers someone to the point that she can afford such luxuries.} (Akagi)

_____________________________________________________________________________

"Cat." Superbia glared at Chloe.

"Oni." Chloe snickered at Superbia.

"I'm glad to see you got through your opening match, though, to be fair, smacking Mika around isn't exactly much of a challenge." Superbia gave her some mocking praise for her easy victory over the Magical Girl.

"As if your opponent was a real challenge either. At least Mika got off some attacks, unlike Mami, who dropped like a sack of potatoes." Chloe retorted.

"I suppose that's true." Superbia said with a shrug. "But before we begin, tell me what's up with the getup?" She asked about Chloe's outfit. The cat was wearing what looked like proper ninja attire, though there was a noticeable set of studded leather armor over top of the cloth and thick gloves covering both arms. "The hood and mask are cute, and the ears on top make it look like pajamas." She snickered.

"This is a modified set of gear that Imperial finished making for me a few weeks ago. I had him outfit this stuff to help me with my job, and so far it's proven quite useful." Chloe said as she flicked and flexed her right hand, showing off the strings between her fingers.

"I hope you don't think that a bit of dental floss will stop me from tearing into you." Superbia said as she slowly drew her blade from its sheathe. "My blade can cut through Dragon hide, so your armor and little strings won't stop my attacks." She figured that Chloe would go down with a few hits due to her role as an assassin.

"Perhaps, but that also assumes that you can hit me with." Chloe grinned as she took both shortswords off her back and spun them around in each hand before grabbing each and holding them in a reverse grip.

"You'd best hope those blades are made out of something better than steel. Otherwise, I'll just carve through them too." Superbia smirked as she stanced up and held her blade horizontally in front of her.

"I suppose you'll find out what they're made of when I soak them in your blood." Chloe replied, showing off one of her fangs.

"Are both contestants ready?" Kira looked between them, sighing as she knew that both were taking this far too seriously.

{Just please don't necessitate my involvement in your little 'spat' please...} (Kira)

"Yes!" (Chloe x Superbia)

"Then... Begin!" Kira signaled the start of the match, and the first one to move was Chloe, who clapped her hands together, creating an inky black darkness from the point of impact that quickly spread out to cover most of the arena.

{Ninja liking darkness, how predictable.} Superbia closed her eyes and reached out with her senses, peering into the completely black surroundings and quickly understanding that this was a far more advanced kind of darkness than a simple smokescreen.

"Since when can Rogues access the Darkness spell?" Superbia laughed dryly. Magical Darkness was a bit different from regular smoke or other similar effects in that ordinary methods of seeing in low light conditions wouldn't work.

{I didn't detect the use of a magic item either, which means that she used her own power to make this stuff.} (Superbia)

"You would do well to dispel your preconceived notions about what I can do." Chloe's voice seemed to come from all around her as she let out a small laugh that echoed into the darkness. "Don't forget..." A blade swung through the darkness in a quick flash, which Superbia managed to easily deflect. "I am a student of the Demon Lord. There is more to me than what you assume, Oni."

{Considering that her attack just now was far faster than I expected and that she seems to be able to see clearly within this Darkness spell, I'd say that she's probably right.} (Superbia)

{Do you want my help?} (???)

{No, I need to beat this cat on my own. If you help this fight will lose its meaning.} (Superbia)

{You always were a silly girl, but fine. I'll be here if you change your mind though.} (???)

"Don't worry, Moonie. We'll get a chance to fight together very soon." Superbia said quietly as her magical detection finally pinned Chloe down, and she leaped forward, her blade clashing with Chloe's two shortswords.

"So, you found me?" Chloe laughed as she disengaged, and the two ran around the darkened arena at high speed, their blades creating brief flickers of light within the Darkness.

*CLINK* *CLANG* *CLINK* *CLANG* *CLINK* *CLANG* *CLINK* *CLANG*

"Perhaps you forgot that I don't need to be able to see you to find you, cat." Superbia laughed as she tried to trip Chloe, who deftly jumped away.

"Fair, but just because you can find me within the Darkness doesn't mean you've nullified my advantages." Chloe's smirk was audible, and Superbia knew that she was right.

{Even if I can detect her there are still limits on what I can do in here. My 'sight' is limited to relatively close range, and there's no telling what other tricks she can pull in this place.} (Superbia)

"We'll see who has the advantage in here!" Superbia laughed as she deflected a few more rapid blows.

"That would beeee, me!" As she said this, Chloe seemingly vanished from Superbia's detection, which caught the Oni off guard.

{Did she move further away?} Superbia continued to scan the Darkened arena, and it was only seconds before one of Chloe's blades came for her throat that she managed to pick up on the cat's presence and move out of the way.

"I see." Superbia clicked her tongue as blood trickled from a small cut on her cheek. She'd managed to evade a finishing blow, but Chloe's sudden appearance was still quick enough to slice her open slightly.

"You've got Dark Step.” Superbia clicked her tongue in irritation as she wiped the blood off her cheek. “That's going to be a massive pain in the ass." Dark Step was an exclusive ability to the Darkness Monk and it allowed instant teleportation between shadows, and in this kind of environment, it effectively meant that Chloe could appear anywhere that Superbia wasn't.

{I knew there was more to this Darkness than just using it to obscure my vision. This stupid cat has basically turned the arena into her own little playground.} (Superbia)

"Good thing for you that Poison isn't allowed. Normally, my blades are coated in some pretty nasty neurotoxin." Chloe snickered from the shadows.

"I've already almost died once to poison, so let's not have that happen again." Superbia sighed recalling her near death at the hands of Gim and Grim. "But still, if you think that simply teleporting around is going to give you the win, then you'll be sorely mistaken."

{I say that, but it's going to be a big problem if she keeps popping in and out of fucking reality all the time. I might need to burn this Darkness away sooner rather than later if she's going to keep teleporting around, but there's always the risk that she's preparing a trap for just such a reaction.} (Superbia)

"It doesn't hurt to try now, does it?" Chloe winked as she began using her shadow movement to make quick strikes at Superbia before ducking back into the shadows.

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

Superbia eventually managed to adapt her detection ability to discern the moment when Chloe emerged from the shadows, but that only gave her just enough time to block. Retaliation was going to be difficult, and with the incredible speed that Chloe could strike and then return to the Darkness the Oni quickly found herself in a disadvantageous position.

"Are you too afraid to fight me directly, cat?" Superbia tried goading her, knowing that Chloe was just as hot-headed as she was at times. "Is being a coward the only thing Akagi taught you? I suppose that makes sense considering she's nothing but a snake who slithers in the darkness herself." She figured that insulting Akagi would be a good way to get a rise out of Chloe, and she was right.

"I'm going to make it so that you have to eat out of a tube for those words!" Chloe got angry with Superbia's comment and dove in recklessly, assuming that the same exchange would continue.

{Now I've got you!} Superbia was hoping that Chloe would take the bait, and the moment she detected the cat moving into the shadows, she plunged her blade into the arena floor and called forth an eruption of Pink Flame that engulfed both the sword and her body. "Oni Fire! Sea of Flames!" As soon as the flames appeared, the Darkness surrounding her was burned away, revealing a confused and startled Chloe who was caught mid-jump as she was ejected from her movement ability.

{NYA?!?} (Chloe)

"What was that about a tube, cat?" Superbia let go of her sword, leaped into the air above Chloe, and performed a spin kick, which slammed the ninja into the ground with a loud and painful thud, cracking the arena floor.

"Ack!" Chloe coughed up a bit of blood as she collided with the arena. She knew that Oni fire could burn away portions of Darkness, but hadn't expected Superbia to basically give up her weapon to attack her like this.

{Dammit! She baited me!} Chloe wasn't one to stay stunned, however, and she quickly rolled over just in time to catch one of Superbia's flaming punches inches above her face.

"Not so tough without a place to hide now, are we?" Superbia smirked as she brought down a second flaming fist, which Chloe caught with her other hand.

In a contest of raw strength, Chloe knew that Superbia had her outclassed, and being pinned to the floor like this was not ideal for someone who relied on high mobility to win her fights.

{NOT GOOD!} (Chloe)

"Don't worry, I'm sure Akagi can fix the burns I'm about to inflict on that dopey little face of yours." Superbia grinned as she put more power into her fists, which grew ever closer to Chloe's face, the flames burning away a few strands of the cat's hair as it got in the way.

{HOT! HOT! HOT!} Chloe quickly tried to find a way out of her predicament. Without her hands, she could only use her legs, and after a bit of wiggling, she managed to bring her right leg underneath Superbia's torso and kicked the Oni into the air, burning herself slightly in the process.

"Ow..." With the chance she was given, Chloe stood up quickly, but rather than slink into the Darkness, she kicked off the arena floor and rocketed toward Superbia. Without her weapon, Chloe figured that the Oni was especially vulnerable and that this would be a good opportunity for some heavy damage.

As Superbia started descending back toward the ground she saw Chloe approaching her at high speed, twin blades at the ready. However, rather than panic, she cracked a smile. "If you think I'm defenseless up here..." Superbia snapped her fingers, causing a brief flicker of pink flame in her right hand which revealed her blade. "Then you truly have no idea what I'm capable of!" With a loud roar and a surge of fire, Superbia kicked off the air and met Chloe's attack head-on. The cat was completely overwhelmed by the amount of power that Superbia was putting out, and the force of their impact sent her flying back into the ground that she'd only escaped moments prior. However, this time, when her back met the arena floor, a plume of pink flame erupted from the contact point between their blades, burning away all the Darkness that covered the stadium.

"AH!!!" Chloe screamed in pain as her body was burned by the Oni fire, and the look on Superbia's face told her that she wasn't about to let up until she surrendered.

"Give up! Before I turn you to cinders, cat!" Superbia yelled as she pinned Chloe to the floor, making sure to trap her legs in a position where they couldn't be used to try the same trick again.

{I'm far too strong for you to weasel your way out of this one, and there's no Darkness for you to teleport to! It's over!} Superbia was sure of her victory and continued pressing downward, hoping to elicit an admission of defeat from her opponent.

{Dammit, Dammit, Dammit!} Chloe swore in her mind as she took more and more damage from the fire. Things didn't look good, and she knew at the rate things were going Akagi would be forced to step in if she refused to yield.

"I... I... I..." Chloe struggled to speak as the flames and Superbia's blade pushed closer.

"You what? You surrender?!?" Superbia said.

"I... I'M NOT DONE YET! SUPREME ABILITY BOOST!" Chloe roared as she activated the special feature of the gauntlets that Akagi had given her. "GET THE HELL OFF ME, ONI!" She screamed as power surged within her body. and with one explosive push, she sent Superbia's sword off to the side with one of her blades as she flicked her offhand weapon, slicing deeply into Superbia's stomach.

"AHHH!" Superbia screamed in pain as she backed off moments before that same blade attempted to dive straight into her stomach.

{What the fuck was that?!?} Superbia had only moments to recover as Chloe quickly got up and continued her pursuit. The cat's entire body was covered in an inky black aura, and her eyes had turned the same orange color as Akagi's own.

"I'm going to tear you apart!" Chloe screamed as Superbia barely managed to block her blades with her own, and the two began a high-speed duel that many in the audience watched with awe. It was well known that Superbia was one of the faster players, and no one expected Chloe to be able to keep up with her in direct combat.

As the two fighters' blades clashed Superbia's wound only got worse, and a steady trail of blood appeared on the arena. Unlike Hishya, the Oni's ability to heal in combat was limited, and her overall vitality was far below that of most other frontline fighters due to her role as DPS.

"Oni Form 32, Fire Shield!" Superbia pushed Chloe back for a moment and managed to cast one of her few defensive options. It placed a relatively tough barrier of pink fire around her, and anyone who touched it would be severely burned, though it didn't last very long.

Chloe knew about this ability, but rather than press an attack she backed off and disengaged her gauntlet's ability which caused the aura to vanish and for her eyes to return to normal. Exhaustion showed on her face, and it was clear that the burns and other wounds that Superbia had inflicted on her during their clashes were taking their toll.

{Dammit! I needed that burst to work. I can't use myaster's power for very long. I'll need to try something else. I just hope that wound from earlier is enough to slow her down.} (Chloe)

"Is she not able to use that for extended periods of time?" Superbia sighed in relief as she activated her healing ability, which stopped the bleeding on her stomach wound. "Thank god. Otherwise, this might've been a real problem."

{But what was that? She called it Supreme Ability Boost, but it looked and felt like Akagi's power. Did that damn Demon do something to her skills?} (Superbia)

{Are you sure you don't want me to help? This looks like it might be a bit much for you.} (Munechika)

"No, I've got this." Superbia shook her head as the fire shield vanished. "She's the one in a worse position. I might not be able to take damage as good as other fighters, but she is even worse in that department. The wounds we've inflicted on each other are bad, but compared to me, Chloe is in far worse shape from that exchange." Superbia figured that Chloe was still a glass cannon no matter what strange skills she had, and that as a former NPC the cat's stats were much lower than her own.

"Are you done strategizing?" Chloe said through a weak laugh, exhaustion and sweat clear on her face. "Because I'm ready for the next round, Oni." She beckoned at her.

"If you don't have that boost, then you and I both know you don't stand a chance against me in a contest of strength." Superbia replied,readying herself to continue.

"If that's true, then just come over here and finish me off." Chloe blew a raspberry.

{She really is Akagi's student, isn't she?} (Munechika)

{Yeah...} (Superbia)

"Fine, I will!" Superbia ran toward the cat, only for Chloe to reach into a small pouch that she had on her waist and throw a bomb toward her. "What?!?" Superbia hadn't expected explosives and stopped moving just before it detonated. The damage was negligible, but the small smokescreen the explosion provided was just enough to allow Chloe the time she needed for her next plan.

"Tah-Dah!" Chloe laughed as Superbia swatted away the smoke with her blade, only for the Oni to be greeted by all sorts of traps and explosives on the ground around her. "How do you like these tricks?"

"Really?" Superbia sighed. "I hope you don't think that something as lame as a bear trap is going to do anything against me?" She noted that most seemed mundane and uninspired.

{These low-level traps won't do anything to me, so what's she playing at?} (Superbia)

"Then why do you look so worried if they aren't able to harm you?" Chloe snickered as she chucked daggers at Superbia, which were easily deflected. "Just come on over here and beat me. That is if you're brave enough!"

{This sneaky fucker... I know what she wants. If I try and charge through that stuff, it's likely to have something in there that will screw me over. Knowing her, one of those small boxes is a teleportation pod. One wrong move and I'll find myself out of bounds, and if I choose to destroy them with a large-scale attack, she'll use the small amount of time that I'm vulnerable to close in and do some damage.} Superbia had run into something similar within FWO as a very annoying monkey boss did something identical.

{I've never seen her fight before, but that definitely sounds like something a ninja trained by Akagi would do when backed into a corner.} (Munechika)

{Come on, Oni. I've got you right where I want to. Just take one step forward, and then I'm going to drive my blade right into your solar plexus. I just hope this works. I'm only going to get one shot to win this thing, and I don't have much energy left. Damn, those flames fucking hurt... Myaster is going to give me such a tongue-lashing for messing up that bad.} (Chloe)

"Get ready, cat." Superbia started walking forward slowly, careful to avoid stepping on any of the traps. "This is where our little game ends." Her eyes pierced through Chloe, and the cat felt a chill run down her spine.

As Superbia walked through the proverbial minefield that Chloe had laid out for her, Chloe clicked a small hidden button on her gauntlet, which caused most of the traps to detonate in a massive explosion.

"Alright, here we go! SUPREME ABILITY BOOST!" Chloe activated her limited skill once again, and blood began flowing from her mouth and ears as she pushed her body to the limit as she flashed forward, closing the distance in mere milliseconds. Her Dark Step ability allowed her to jump into shadows or darkened areas, and the smoke from the blasts was just large enough to get her right on top of Superbia. The Cat was banking on Superbia being even momentarily thrown off by her attack and using that single opening to deliver a finishing blow. However, such a victory was not to be as just as Chloe reappeared within the smoke cloud, a bright pink flash went off, and moments later, as the smoke cleared, there was only the sight of Superbia standing over a clearly unconscious Chloe with the only indication of what happened being a massive cut across the Cat's chest.

"Winner, Superbia!" Kira called the match, and the crowd erupted in cheers.

{Well, you did it. Congrats. I knew you could do it.} (Munechika)

"Yeah... I did it." Superbia smiled as the medical team rushed to heal her and the downed cat. "That was a good fight, Chloe." She put a hand to her chest, where a barely visible incision in her kimono sat just below her breastbone.

{Had I been any slower in using my technique, the cat might've actually won. I just hope this is enough to handle Hishya. At this rate, I'm not sure that even Moonie and I working together will be enough to beat that crazy Dragon.} (Superbia)