Agshulkaal || Vanity
Reginald || Yoona
Dian || Whistle
Gala || Mordeki
Bounty || Ave
"These are our dueling partners." Ag crossed his arms with a boisterous grin. "Who's first?"
"Fuck yeah!" Reggie yelled standing up. "I've always wanted to fight a gnoll; those giant man eating mutts!"
Yoona took quiet offense from being compared to her more barbaric kin, even if indirectly, and she wasn't going to stand for it. "Yoona is also ready to fight!"
"Then it seems we have our first match. We are allowed access to the palace armory, so feel free to grab what you need." Ag stated while getting the board out of the way.
Reggie grabbed his trident while Yoona grabbed her spell book. "I have everything I need."
"As does Yoona."
There was a slow excitement filling the team. Reggie and Yoona's determined enthusiasm was infectious. A few were already placing bets.
The duo stepped into the dirt field while Ag gave his final announcement. "To keep this all fair, we'll let the participants of each duel set the rules of engagement."
"What do you say Yoona? First strike? First blood? Knockout?"
"Knockout!" Yoona yelled. An unfamiliar anger in her voice.
Reggie prepped himself with his trident ready. "If this was about that gnoll comment, it was nothing personal. Your kind is a serious problem in my world."
"Yoona is not a problem! Yoona isn't like her kind and refuses to be grouped with them!" She shouted. The hairs on her body raising to full height; reminding everyone that there was a beast under the disarmingly wholesome exterior.
"Wow. You are making me seem like an asshole."
"Reggie. Is. Asshole."
"Are you just going to take that Reggie?" Whistle yelled.
"Kick his ass, Yoona!" Gala joined in.
They then high five'd each other; celebrating their roles as instigators.
Reggie and Yoona took a fighting stance. Though they were allies, they were not friends, and both were ready to draw blood.
Reggie's trident poised to strike while wisps of mana seeped from Yoona's fingertips. His sweat soaked into the soil while her book floated gently aside her. On Ag's mark, the match began.
Reggie went on the offensive; sprinting forward into a thrusting stab. Yoona stood firm. She was confident in her glyph armor to repel his strike, and it did. A concentrated gust of air blasted him a foot back, stumbling him.
She took the initiative. Multi colored runes formed in her hands. A volley of fire balls, ice shards, and stone chunks was sent flying in his direction.
He got up just in time to dodge the fireball, and catch the ice with his trident, but not in time for the stone colliding with his chest.
The team let out several noises of awe as they watched Reggie bounce across the field; a trail of dust following him. He thought fast and jabbed his trident into the ground to stop his momentum and give him a chance to rebound.
"Fucking spell casters!" He muttered to himself. "Lady, I know you're upset with me, but I could use a little help!"
There was a sudden shimmer of watery reluctance around him.
"Fine, I'll apologize. But after the fight!"
The team paused in slight confusion as Reggie argued to himself, but Dian took this time to seat herself behind Gala. This caused it's own kind of pause from Whistle who didn't know if he should stay or go.
The battle continued either way as Reggie charged forward flickering like a ghost. "Poltergeist!" He shouted, before kicking up some dirt. The loose gravel inside suddenly shot out in bursts, whittling away at Yoona's defenses until stone struck her flesh.
She thought fast, and slammed a green rune into the ground. A wall of stone rose from the dirt and gave her cover as she prepared a few more spells.
"No use hiding Yoona! I know you're there!" Reggie taunted.
"Yoona not hiding! Yoona improvising!" She shouted back.
"Pfft." Reggie scoffed before kicking up more dirt, launching even more gravel at breakneck speeds into the stone wall.
As her cover got pounded above her, Yoona focused on another green rune in one hand while grabbing a handful of coins from her pocket and tossing them on the ground. The rune formed a masterfully made recurve bow made of a red tinted wood.
She then focused her mana into the coins, crushing them into catalyst powder. She would then use it on the several glyphs she started placing on the bow one after the other. She finished just in time as her cover fell before her.
She pulled on the bow string, activating a glyph. A arrow made of pure fire formed in her fingers knocked into the bow. She stood up, aimed, and fired. The fire arrow shot forward and split into five separate arrows; all pointed straight for Reggie.
Lady was able to snuff a few with her ghostly water, but more still got past her forcing Reggie to dodge. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" He yelled feeling the heat of near misses. Just as he thought he had some reprieve, Yoona had already let loose another volley.
Reggie was forced in a defensive stance. Both relying on Lady to block, and his own agility to get out of the way. Together they survived the first few volleys until Reggie finally took one to the thigh. "Son of a --" He reflectively reached down to pull the arrow out only to sear his hand on the shaft. " -- BITCH!"
He stubbled getting a blue rune formed to douse the arrow. Then another to form a swirling bubble of water around him. "Lady, any ideas?" He whispered.
"No, we're not doing that yet.
Cause I look stupid when you do that! It's a last resort.
What do you mean 'the book'? -- Oh shit, the spell book!
She's using glyphs, so she'll be out of ammo soon. When she runs out I'll charge. You get the book away from her.
Go!"
Just as soon as Yoona used her last glyph, he charged forward with his trident. Yoona immediately had to backpedal to not get impaled, just barely noticing that her master was slammed shut and flying away from her.
He made another jab thinking he just got the advantage. That was until Yoona grabbed the central prong of his trident, cutting up her hand. "Silly Reggie..." She snarled. "Yoona doesn't need master to use magic!"
A yellow rune formed on her off hand, and placed it along the metal shaft of the trident shocking him. The static subsided, but before Reggie could get his bearings, Yoona raised her leg and gave him a heavy kick to the chest sending him tumbling a second time. She held onto the trident.
"Gah! Dammit! I'm tired of getting tossed around like a fucking ragdoll! Lady, last resort!"
There was a sudden cold in the air. The midday sun beat down upon them, but it felt like a midnight in winter. A sudden flicker of white formed around Reggie as he stood to his feet. The slight spectral visage of a woman's face on his own. A white wispy nightgown covered his tunic.
"What is happening right now?" Dian asked.
"I think he just summoned his dead girlfriend." Whistle said with an excited tone.
"He... WHAT?"
"Just watch!"
Yoona quickly decided to prepare for the worst rather than question Reggie's sudden ghostlike appearance. She focused the last of her mana into a final swirling green-purple rune around her. She fell onto all fours as armor like stone cracked through her flesh and fur, turning her into a juggernaut of earth.
It didn't matter that Reggie lost his trident, as he simply formed in new one in his hand made of icy water, as well as many more floating around him. All aimed for Yoona.
Yoona raised her stoney arms to protect her face as she began getting pelted by sharp chunks of ice as the tridents shattered against her. She took hit after hit the pushed her back inch by inch. The air was quickly filled with floating dirt and mist creating an obscuring cloud around her.
Everyone else held their breath as Reggie stopped his onslaught. It took a few seconds for the smoke to clear and decide her fate... but it seemed she had vanished. Nothing left but puddles and loose dirt.
There were several looks and noises of confusion and concern as they looked for any sign of the hyena maiden. Even Reggie had a momentary look of worry, hoping he didn't accidentally erase her from existence. But something still felt off for him.
"Lady, vision." He said stirn and quiet.
His vision turned to shades of black and grey. He looked towards his team. All bright silhouette against the grey scale. He scanned the field for any gnoll shaped image, only to be baffled when her spotted her a few feet below him.
A platform of ice appeared at his feet that quickly lifted him into the air. Close behind him followed Yoona bursting out of the ground like a rocket and grabbed onto the side.
Her massive weight instantly shifted the platform throwing Reggie off balance. Yoona was able to climb her way up while he could barely catch his footing.
The two were locked in close quarters thirty feet up in the air, where a fall could potentially be fatal, but even so they fought. Blasts of stone from Yoona, and sheers of ice from Reggie.
Neither had full control of their movement, nor were they proficient in such close fighting, barely getting a blow to land on either one of them. Until finally they got a good grab on each other's shoulders.
In a flash of green and blue, Reggie was entombed in stone, while Yoona was encased in solid ice. The platform dropped, and they collided with the ground with an earth shaking thud. There was slight movement from both, confirming they were both still alive, but neither could continue the fight.
It was a draw.
"Son of a bitch!" Bounty shouted.
"Better pay up cat boy." Dian mocked.
"How'd you know it'd end in a draw?"
"I didn't. I just wanted to see if it would actually pay off." Dian laughed. "Sometimes I amazing myself."
"I'm glad you two are enjoying yourselves... " Ag interjected while he was melting away at the ice around Yoona. "...but we could use some help here.