Ava noticed his bewilderment and replied, "Fret not, he's not extinguished. You can't harm your kind with these weapons. He'll just pass out and wake up after some moments," Ava explained while still laughing.
"You mean the weapons only have an effect on the Odds?" Dion asked curiously.
"Not just the Odds, but any being that is not under the jurisdiction of the registered Hell, like lawbreakers," Ava added.
"It might be possible the weapons might have an effect on me and the people here might find out I'm Cursed," Dion reasoned inwardly. He was beginning to be cautious of the moves he made.
As he was still reasoning, Ava raised a hand, volunteering to go next. She was fed up with the feeble attacks the opponents of Foster were making, as well as Foster's tactics. She wanted to spice things up a bit.
"Ahh, the Battle Princess," Foster said with a chuckle upon seeing her approach.
"What's up? Scared of losing already?" She teased him as she began packing her hair, trying to keep it in place.
"Scared of losing? Nah, I'm scared of you. What will your fans out there say once you lie down unconscious?" Foster replied, clenching his fist in readiness for any potential attack, as Ava was known for her sudden and unpredictable moves.
"Don't worry, they will just say you're a bit lucky or I went easy on you," she replied as she approached even closer.
What surprised Dion was the fact that she was closing the distance seemingly unprepared and wasn't wielding a weapon, going against a fully armed Foster.
"Does she have something up her sleeve?" Dion questioned as he watched the much-anticipated battle.
Ava moved so close that she was closer than an arm's length. Foster was a bit impatient; he knew she was planning something, and it was unlikely of him to step back — he felt it was an act of cowardice.
She was walking toward him, and in response, he was also meant to walk toward her, not away from her. That was his ethic — never to run away from danger.
He swung his dagger swiftly towards her, aiming for her neck. That was one spot he knew was always effective when it comes to defeating an opponent.
His hands were so fast that Ava couldn't move a muscle before it found its mark on her neck. Foster knew it was already over when his dagger sliced through her neck.
As his dagger swung past her, Foster knew something was wrong.
"No, it's not supposed to be this easy. She was meant to put up a fight," he reasoned. He knew Ava for her tactics and speed; she wouldn't just lose easily.
As his blade swiped past her, he noticed something odd. At the top of his blade appeared some strange small markings. Before he could think twice about what the marks were, he saw the blade of his dagger dropping to the ground. Ava must have cut them, but how did she do that? He wondered.
Raising his head to look at her, he noticed a very small string running from her hand to her head to her hand, protecting her neck from any side attack.
"Shocked?" She paused before adding, "You're quite predictable. I knew you'd attack at my neck, so I attached a sharp wire, a weapon I don't think anyone else has here except me. The string is sharp enough to slice through anything, no matter how tough it is," she explained. She had attached the string to her head when she was packing her hair before entering the training ground.
Foster knew he had to do something quick and smart, or else Ava would defeat him.
But there wasn't much time to think of the next move; Foster had to act fast. He swung the dagger in his other hand, changing his tactics and aiming to strike from below.
His dagger came dangerously close to Ava's stomach when he suddenly heard the Captain shouting "next."
He couldn't quite understand what had happened. "Have I defeated Ava already?" he wondered.
In the next split second, he found himself on the ground far from Ava, who was busy dealing with another opponent, this time without any weapon or string.
Foster turned and saw about seven guys lying next to him, unconscious.
It was at that moment he realized he had already been defeated and had been unconscious for some moments.
Ava was heavily enjoying the challenge she was having from the other guys. She effortlessly defeated anyone who came her way. It wasn't a rare scene; she was already used to it.
After some moments, almost everyone had challenged her except for Dion, who stood away, not wanting to challenge her.
"Yo, Master of Fun, why not give it a try, huh?" she invited him.
"Uhhh, no need. I'm good," Dion replied, not wanting to implicate himself.
"No one comes in here without doing one or two," Ava insisted, pointing at the signpost displaying the rules of the training ground up high.
"Today's my first time here, remember? You can choose to go easy on me, right?" Dion said with a genuine smile.
He knew if he were to go against her, he'd lose. He wasn't really sure if he could recover like the others, as he was not really dead but rather in a coma.
"Hey, quit playing around and fight!" Captain Ally's voice resonated throughout the training ground, making a few heads turn towards their direction.
This was something Dion never really wanted. He didn't want the attention of others except that of General Xalvador, whom he was meant to kill. Any wrong moves would make them realize he's cursed, so he needed to play nice.
He began walking towards Ava gently and with calculated moves. He knew he couldn't rely on the blasters he had seen some use on Ava; she sliced through them effortlessly with her almost invisible strings.
A different and smarter approach was needed.
"Viza, care to help here?" he asked.