Sphinx nodded and made a run for it. "Best of luck to you, Luna!"
"No! Come back here, you coward!" Christina shouted angrily. She was prepared to run after Sphinx, but Luna locked her in place with continuous attacks. "Luna! I wonder how Astrid's face will look if I badly injure you."
Suddenly, the castle speakers were on. "Ehem. Is this thing on? Can you guys even hear me? Ah, whatever. You are listening to Frisk Radio. Let's listen to some sick beats approved by yours truly, the handsome Frisk! This is dedicated to all you lovely ladies, hostages and rescuers alike. No dedication for the evil people cause you guys suck." Club music started playing.
"What the hell is this?" Christina was taken aback by the sudden hijacking of their announcement system.
Luna smirked. She thought Frisk's choice of music wasn't bad. "I could get used to this."
Suddenly, Frisk's voice came back on again. "Oh yeah. I almost forgot. I made a new channel on MeTube. Subscribe to FriskiePie!"
Christina ignored the announcement and charged forward with her sword. Luna instinctively blocked it. The force was strong enough to almost knock Luna off-balance, but she remained sturdy with the stance Tank taught her before. Christina continued pushing her sword down, wanting to display her great strength. Luna carried on blocking.
"Let's settle this once and for all, Christina," said Luna. Christina had broken her confidence before from all the comparison, but she wasn't going to let that happen again this time. Win or lose, she'd always believe in herself and her capabilities.
"Fine. I guess we'll have to fight each other to show you that I will always be one step ahead of you," replied Christina. "You'll never get to my level, Luna. I worked hard for this. I trained everyday to make sure that I will always stay on top of every knight. Now, I am powerful!"
"Is that why you joined the enemy? To stay on top of everyone?"
Christina gave an amused laugh. "The leader offered me a place in his group and promised that I would become powerful. More powerful than almost all the players in Aries. He certainly fulfilled his promise. With his hacks and my natural combat abilities, I can take down any knight. That includes you."
"We'll have to see about that."
The two exchanged a few blows, all of which were blocked. From those few attacks, Luna could tell that Christina was certainly faster and hit harder even if they had the same hack advantage. Christina probably trained daily, just like she said.
"So you also resorted to using hacks?" Christina smirked. She could tell that Luna's stats had been enhanced. Otherwise, Luna would've already fallen. It was impossible for a regular player to withstand her blows. "You're like me then. In the end, you're in search of power."
"I'm not like you." Luna glared.
Luna did a quick Ground Break on the floor. The impact shook the whole castle and made a hole on the floor. Christina was able to do a timely dodge roll to avoid falling into the hole that led to the hallway on the floor below them.
"Why else would you resort to hacking if not to gain power?" asked Christina as she did a counterattack, borrowing the assassin's skill Moon Slash, a fast blade attack composed of two consecutive slashes.
Luna barely dodged the attack and was pushed back. "There's more to power, Christina. What's the point of being powerful if you don't have anything or anyone to protect?"
"I have myself to protect. I'm tired of being weak and helpless. No one came to help when I needed someone. Not even my own family! I can only rely on myself in this world."
Luna almost felt some sympathy for her, but Christina was busy trying to seriously kill her, so she didn't have time to feel for her enemy.
Christina turned invisible. Suddenly, slashes came from different directions. Luna was unable to dodge all of them. It was hard to predict which way Christina would attack. Luna was about to turn herself invisible too, but something stopped her.
No. She would not resort to the same tactics as Christina.
When there was an opening, Luna closed her eyes. The slashes continued, but Luna used her instincts to listen to the sounds of the moving blade. With this, she was able to parry better. Once she had the hang of it, she did a quick counterattack after parrying. This made Christina pull back.
Luna opened her eyes again. She unwrapped a cloth from her hand and tied it around the cut on her arm while keeping an eye on her enemy.
Christina circled around Luna like a predator eyeing its prey. "Is Astrid here too? I'll go after her after I'm done with you."
"Who knows?" Luna kept her eyes locked on Christina.
Without warning, Christina did a floor sweep using her sword. Luna was able to react quickly by jumping up in the air. She held her shield close and made a lunge at Christina before landing back on the ground. Almost immediately, they were locked in an intense sword fight.
"You never considered Amelie as a friend, did you?" Luna asked.
"Amelie was weak and gullible. She made a good friend, always giving me what I asked for," replied Christina.
Christina picked up a nearby flower vase and threw it at Luna. While being distracted, Luna felt her opponent's full weight landing on her. Luna was punched a few times on the face before she used her knee to jerk Christina forward and make her face collide with the shield. Luna threw her opponent off her and got up.
"Your definition of friendship is messed up," Luna said while repositioning herself.
"In this world, Luna, friends aren't always reliable. They betray you. Didn't Amelie betray you herself? She sided with me instead of you," replied Christina.
Christina leapt all the way up. She was meters above Luna when she borrowed the assassin's ultimate skill, Backstab. Luna thought it was time to borrow a skill too. Right before Christina's attack hit her, Luna used the crusader skill Mirror Shield, reflecting all of the damage received.
"What!?" Christina was caught unaware and suffered the full blow of her own attack. She intended to end Luna as soon as possible, but she didn't expect the opposite to happen. She staggered from the counterattack. "You... So you can use... other skills too, huh?"
Luna shrugged. "I was hoping for a clean fight without using skills from other classes, but I guess that's not possible with you."
"No! I will not lose to you!" Christina shouted angrily. "I'm clearly the better one!"
"Girl, to be honest, you're definitely strong, but your attitude is just terrible."
The speakers were suddenly on. "Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with Luna on this one."
"Shut up!" Christina shouted at the speakers.
Luna raised her sword. "You get to be the first to try my new skill." She thrust her sword into the floor and a burst of energy destroyed almost everything in front of her. The hole on the floor became even bigger, sending the staggering Christina falling to the floor below.
Christina lost all strength after she collided with the floor. Getting up was too painful. She had no choice but to stare at the ceiling and contemplate with the remaining amount of consciousness she had left. She hated to admit it, but Luna won this round.