Rumble on RPA Auki(U) vs TenSARS J Nazgul

[John]

How the Witchking loved England, especially the moors. There was somehting dank and rather evil about the way the mist rolled over the hills and through the trees. And with the sun down, it added so much more in his eyes.

A full moon hung high in the sky and added an eerie luminescence to the fog which swirled and surrounded him. It truly was a perfect setting, or would be once the opponents arrived.

With a wave of his hand, the two appeared about a hundred feet away form each other. Under his cowl, the Witchking smiled and began to speak.

"Greetings to you both," his voice hissed, sending a chill over the area. "You both know why you're here, so let's not waste anymore time." And with that the Witchking disappeared leaving the two alone on the moors.

((you have a maximum of ten posts each and have ten days to complete your battle. after you have posted five times each, wait for your judge to post.))

[TenSARS]

Kriss blinked.

His surroundings were drab. The surroundings were dull, a mist was rolling in, and the full moon looked like a glow ball within the fog.

"This must be England..."

Even the Dragon across about a hundred feet from him looked dull and washed out in the fog. Kriss made the assumption that the Dragon was the judge, and turned towards the Witch King, and prepared to do battle. He got a surprise when it was the hooded figure emitting a chilling wave who was the judge.

Kriss mentally chastised himself for not realizing something was wrong with their positions relative to each other, and instead turned towards the Dragon. Scoping it out, he looked at her... and his gaze wasn't met at all.

"Dragon, why are you in this tournament?" (http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=BUmrc4RadMI)

As he stood there sizing up the Dragon waiting for a response, Kriss could feel dew dripping onto his Gi, sticking it to his skin as he held out his right hand, thumb side down.

"In any case, " he continued as his No Dachi blurred into existence, blade pointing downward. He caught it near the guard before it hit the ground and with a quick flick of the wrist, whilst stepping back with his right leg, holding the sword in a relaxed grip by his side pointing vaguely towards the Dragon, left foot forward, his eyes focused. "It seems that you were strong enough make it this far into the tournament. Blind or not, I won't be holding back. Sorry." And from there, he waited, in stance and alert, preparing for any strike. He could feel the fibres of his Psycho Frame Network twitching, a disposition reflecting his own nervousness about his opponent.

Let's see who the real Dragon is!

[Auki]

The air’s chilled bite disappeared as the arena, once again, shifted.

This time, Ruan was relieved by the change. The frost that had suddenly plagued the last environment at the battle’s end had spiked agony in her weakened lungs. Thankfully, the pain was fading quickly, soothed by the damp air of her new surroundings. However, it was only warm by comparison and the breeze nipped viciously at the exposed skin between her scales. She flicked her tongue out, testing the air, and found moisture clinging to every particle.

Her infrared vision had been temporarily disabled by the sudden teleportation but she didn’t correct the loss just yet. It was easier this way, her other senses amplified in the absence of sight. Whilst the arena smelt damp and dreary in comparison, her opponent seemed to be carrying the lingering scent of forest and pine – It made them easier to pinpoint, Ruan’s head twisting round to face them. Although she was sure their judge must be present nearby – as had been the tradition in her other matches – she could not distinguish him from the dark odour of the environment. After battles in snow and sand, she was relieved to find soil beneath her toes, a stable platform from which she could finally take flight. The wind whipped at her front but although an irritant, it would not be strong enough to significantly affect her aerial expertise.

Upon her loss of vision, her hearing doubled in sharpness, so much so that the mumbled words of her opponent felt like they were being shouted. It was a shame she did not get a glance at the enemy before her but infrared was her trump card and best saved for times of need.

"Dragon, why are you in this tournament?"

Ruan cocked her head to the side, acting dumb. She found her battles far easier when the foe believed her to be the bestial creature she appeared. Instead of acknowledging the question and lowering herself to the primitive language of the humans, a low growl escaped her lips, aggressive and challenging in nature; like a dog that had found another in its territory. It reverberated throughout the mist before cutting off suddenly. She did not move her blind gaze from her opponent, even when the judge hissed its message to them.

"In any case…" The other combatant continued and Ruan heard the distinct sound of the air slicing, although she knew not what for, “It seems that you were strong enough make it this far into the tournament. Blind or not, I won't be holding back. Sorry.”

A shame, the dragon mused, this one is not as oblivious as the last.

The scent did not grow stronger and she realised he was not about to strike just yet. This displeased her; it was not like she could run blindly – quite literally – into the offensive. The growls in her throat started again and in her irritation, she unfolded her wings and beat the air with them, blasting gales of mist towards her foe, her forelegs lifting off the ground in the process. It was the dragon equivalent of a taunt – Ruan did not wish to make a move until she could figure out the abilities of her enemy.

[TenSARS]

Kriss shifted back on his stance as the Dragon beat its wings. He brought a hand up to cover his face as the gust of wind crashed into him, his eyes squinting into the gust of air. His eyes tracked her as she rose up on her hind legs, the growls reaching his ears.

So it doesn’t want to attack either.

Someone would have to move at some time, so Kriss decided that if his opponent was letting him go first, it would be better for him to take that chance, even if it was to get it to show its own hand. His feet pushed into the ground, his back began to tingle as the fibres of the Psycho Frame Network began to tense. Then he pushed off the ground, and the fibres snapped.

A whipcrack like noise signalled Kriss flying forwards and towards the dragon’s right flank. His left sleeve of his Gi flapped loose in the wind, drawing vortices in the mist behind him, his hair blowing into the air behind his head, his eyes focusing on the Dragon.

... check for motion... don’t let anything escape your attention... it’s blind, so it’s down a sense...

[Auki]

The thin and tattered membranes of her once-magnificent wings strained to their maximum capacity with each defiant strike of the air, the mist billowing across the moors from the force. Powerful hind legs tensed under the weight of her body, holding her upright in a way that most quadrupedal creatures failed to grasp. At first, her confrontation was met with silence and the scent of hesitation was obvious to the dragon’s mind. She waited patiently, continuing her taunt with fervent vigour.

A whip-like noise shot through the still, indicating the action had begun. The smell of pine grew ever stronger as her opponent shot forward, meeting her challenge head-on. The speed at which he did so came as a shock to Ruan - There were few species she had seen that could reach such a velocity – but it did not deter her.

There was little point in her trying to wound her foe directly – Blinded as she was, it would be a frivolous attempt, only capable of success in the fantastical movies those humans seemed to enjoy. Temptation to activate her sight in defence almost overwhelmed her but she resisted. She waited until the scent was close enough.

With a vehement growl, she plunged herself back down, her feet slamming into the ground with an inhuman strength that dishevelled the soil and shook the arena to its core. Her ears were alert for any sound her opponent might make that might give hint to his position, hoping that she had unbalanced him enough that he could not make his attack.

[TenSARS]

Kriss had just about enough time to curse mentally as he soared towards the Dragon. He noticed it teetering on its hind legs, its weight shifting forwards, and its two front legs coming down to the front. The Dragon's body began to teeter forwards. Kriss was almost directly in front of the Dragon. Just a split second more, and he'd be on it's flank!

The Dragon's body was leaning forward now, definitely committed to the slam. Kriss wouldn't be able to get to its side. He planted his left foot into the ground, and tried to brake. It worked..

CRASH

... too well. He managed to slow himself down to a near complete stop as the Dragon's front legs slammed into the earth, the shockwave and the soil flying into Kriss' face. Because all his weight was on one foot, that meant that the shockwave would have to travel down that foot. And because he was trying to slow down that meant most of his weight was behind that foot. This sent him flying into the air, throwing him backwards. Kriss threw down the No Dachi as his feet left the ground, the black blade dissolving into thin air.

Landing onto his back, he barely managed to force himself to roll over his left shoulder, away from the dragon, and back onto his feet. Now the two combatants were standing about fifteen feet from each other, instead of a hundred.

Kriss held out his right hand. He had barely enough time to reform the blade, a swishing noise signalling the return of his favoured weapon.

[Auki]

Ruan’s grin grew malicious as the scent recoiled at an alarming rate, thrown off by her thundering slam to the earth. Enjoyment soon turned to sour disappointment however when she failed to hear the sharp snap of bones and the agonising shrieks that would accompany it. The human was lucky for one so small. The ground felt torn beneath her feet but she liked the texture, stroking her claws through the tousled soil, appreciating the sharpness of her senses.

The smell of uncertainty clouded the air. Her skin tingled in excitement. She had yet to taste blood and she was growing impatient. Saliva filled her mouth at the very thought of savouring flesh. How she hungered for a bite of her opponent…

Her lust and sense brought about the thought of attacking, striking whilst her foe was unbalanced from the quaking ground. Even the blood flowing through her - pumping faster each second, adrenaline coursing through it - urged her forward onto the offensive. Who was she to deny her innate desires?

She went to lunge towards that forest scent, wounding while he was weak, but she was halted by searing pain. It came without warning, stabbing her between the ribs and spreading like wildfire, blazing across her chest and down her back. She knew it not to be her opponent’s doing but more the curse of illness catching up on her withered body. A subdued snarl peeled back her lips, consuming all other noise made in the arena, a sound that would spark terror in the hearts of any normal being observing. It was likely to be misconceived as aggressive but it was Ruan’s version of a whine as she fought through the agony that scorched her innards without right or reason. Disease did not seem to care whether the time was convenient; it struck on whim.

She placed all four feet on the ground firmly to stabilise herself, wincing as hacking coughs shook her to her core. She tasted blood, expelled from her decaying lungs – It was not the kind she wished for but irony had a cruel sense of humour.

[TenSARS]

Kriss wasn't quite on balance when the Dragon lunged towards him. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because he was about to jump back to avoid the dragon as it charged in at him. Kriss brought the sword up to use as some kind of guard. What he would have done with it if he was dived on, he didn't quite know, but he was sure he'd have gotten out somehow.

That hypothesis wasn't put to the test, because, the Dragon stopped abruptly and instead growled at Kriss. He took a step back as he was expecting more to follow, but there was none. The growling turned into intermittent rhythmical forced exhalation, and Kriss finally understood.

'When I said I wasn't going to hold back, I meant it.'

As the Dragon stood there, Kriss dashed up to it, the smell of blood reaching his nostrils. The odour was almost overpowering. Almost. He put his left foot forward, bringing the sword to his right, and jumped upwards to the right of the Dragon's head. He swung his blade from right to left in a diagonal upward arc. He was aiming the blade of the sword into its mouth, the length of the blade positioned to slide right between the Dragon's jaws.

[Auki]

Ruan was paralysed by the pain that persistently exploded across her rib cage. Her mind seemed incapable of grasping the concept of movement and in a way, that scared her. She was a sitting target, each muscle tensed but frozen. She needed something to jerk her body into action but it was too preoccupied with hacking up blood. Her mouth was layered with a coating of the liquid mixed with the bile and vomit that had risen in response to her agony. Her appetite for flesh had faded at the stark acidic taste on her tongue but raging anger still made her lust for a bite.

The dragon’s whimpering growl continued as the pain heightened. She was vaguely aware of her opponent’s scent drawing closer but there was nothing she could do but wait; whether it be for an attack or for her condition to subside. Patience was perhaps her greatest gain from age.

The forest scent flashed right in front of her nostrils but she did not withdraw. She was slightly impressed at the human’s ability to jump so high – the 30ft leap up to her head was not an easy accomplishment – but judging by her foe’s bursts of speed, agility seemed to be one of his strongest points. She braced herself for the impact of his strike, unable to help blasting him with the foul stench of her breath. She could sense the attack just before it reached her. He seemed to be aiming for her slightly opened mouth. She let him.

The blade sliced between two of the teeth on the right-hand side of her jaw, sawing at her gums. As the attack continued, she felt the tip sinking an inch into the roof of her mouth. She grunted in pain, more blood spurting over her tongue, but the sharpness of it took her mind off her chest for those few moments.

She reacted without thought.

Her jaw clamped down. Although this caused it to dig further into her gum, it stopped the blade reaching any further inside her mouth and she hoped to snap the frail weapon with the scales that lined the exterior of her mouth. Her second reaction was to jerk her head away to the left, the sword still firmly lodged in her closed jaw. As such, if the sword remained intact, at least she might be able to disarm her opponent.

[TenSARS]

As Kriss made the swing, he noticed the Dragon didn't react at all to his jump. Blind or not, anyone who had made it this far would have to react to a jump like Kriss'. There was just no other way someone would survive a competition like this. And the smell of its breath really reached his nostrils. There was the scent of blood, that was true, but it wasn't the same smell that he was used to associating with blood. It smelt more like it was older, and had a quality to it that suggested that the blood just came from deep inside the Dragon.

CRACK.

His blade clacked against the Dragon's scales, and slid in between two of the Dragon's teeth, slicing into its gums, and drawing blood as it slipped into the roof of its mouth. That was easier that Kriss thought it could possibly be, and that unless the Dragon really was debilitated by the coughing, he'd be able to...

"WHAT THE FUUUUUU...!!!"

His thoughts were interrupted by the Dragon suddenly trying to wrench the blade out of his hands. Kriss was initially dragged along with it. His wrists would have dislocated if it wasn’t for the Psycho Frame Network helping to hold them in place, and instead Kriss felt a sudden heavy sensation as his body was forced yanked in another direction.

“...UUUUCK!!!”

The sword dissolved into thin air again as he felt a vibration signalling the clamping down of the Dragon’s jaws. To say that he flew back was an understatement. He positively soared through the air and looking down, could see that it was .

This landing... is going to be a waste...

“GAH!”

There was another whipcrack like noise as he fell towards the ground and a shockwave flew out of his back as his torso flew up whilst he tucked his legs in, temporarily dragging the rest of his body with him about eight feet higher as he righted himself using the rotational force. He could feel it. He was stressing himself out now, and the Psycho Frame Network Fibres were scrambling to reform whilst the battle continued. Soon, he’d start to run out of energy, and he’d be unable to regenerate properly

“COME AT ME!!!” shouted Kriss. The battle was heating up to the point where it was going to erupt. Unfortunately, dragons had a better chance of surviving volcanoes than Kriss. The conclusion would have to come soon. He got into a side stance, left foot forward, left hand by his left hip, right hand guarding his chin and began to flex and relax his fingers, mentally preparing himself for next, and hopefully, final moves. If he failed... well, dragons tended not to be undernourished, and despite the age, this Dragon was probably no exception.

((Made mass edits to previous posts so that all instances of the word 'Dragon' referring specifically to Ruan have the D capitalized))

[Auki]

Her breath came in pants, clouds of white spewing into the cold with each exhalation, lost in the mist that blanketed the moors. Exhausted as she was, the heavy air was smothering but she took thanks in its cool nature. She did not know whether the droplets scattered across her scales were sweat or condensation but she was grateful for the way they soothed her burning muscles. Their battle had lasted only minutes, if that, but Ruan’s body was beginning to feel the strain already. It was becoming too much.

She hacked a couple more times, expelling fresh blood from her wound onto the grass, gagging at the metallic taste. So self-absorbed she was, in those few seconds, that she didn’t hear the cry of her opponent. She was only drawn back into the battle when she heard that familiar whip-like noise. Her attempts at an instant kill had been for nought it seemed and she was growing frail. There was no time to be cautious – Disease would not be patient that day.

Cracked skin and worn-down scales creaked as she turned to face her foe. Her wings stretched, testing the once-infallible muscles, capable of carrying her on the hunt for days at a time. Now, they would ache and buckle after just an hour in the air, as though they had already accepted their defeat and were submitting without resistance to the illness that racked her organs. She had hoped for decades more to her life at the least but perhaps that was just denial. Would this be the last tournament she would face?

She would miss it; the pounding of her heart, the strain on her muscles, the feel of bones crunching beneath her claws. The crowd would scream for her and she would roar back with such vigour that no enemy could stop themselves shivering at her presence. She was the largest and the mightiest of anyone that had ever stepped on the tournament’s grounds but was it to be over so soon? She would not go out whimpering in pain, but biting until her final battle. She was prey to no one; not even death.

Every cell in her body protested, urging her to settle, but her blood was already boiling. She refused to lose just yet. It was the semi-finals after all – She was so close… so close.

The ground appeared to ripple as she crouched, the muscles in her rear legs bulging as they tensed to their full capacity. It was an intrepid strategy for her but there was little alternative left that she could see.

“COME AT ME!!!”

He had screamed but Ruan could not just casually pander over, no. This was both her only option and her final chance. The moorland plain heaved, soil spraying into the air, as she thrust herself upward. Sinewy wings took her weight – just – with each stroke swirling the mist like a tempest. Coupled with the thundering sound of each beat and the dirt that flew through the air, one might think a storm had settled over the arena. She roared through the aches and the agony that blasted across her chest, denying her mind the opportunity to dwell on such trivial feeling.

The world flickered into a rainbow hue as her infrared sight activated and her cry turned into a low moan as pain rent through her head at the exertion. She could see her target, blurred by the interference of mist, but his defiance obvious even through the haze. She had one shot.

For a split second, the world went still.

Like a bullet, she propelled herself forward, faster than anyone could expect, diving towards the human that dare stand against her. The mist buffeted her, causing her to squint, but she tried to keep her aim true. If she were successful, the enemy would end up between her teeth, snatched from the ground like a worm. If not, Ruan would be helpless, the last of her energy used up in her bold attack.

[TenSARS]

FWOOSH

The Dragon's wings opened again, forming even greater tendrils and vortices in the mist. Despite its age, and the fact that it was probably no longer at its former glory, to Kriss the Dragon still looked formidable. Though Kriss wasn’t shivering at her presence, instead, he was trying to hold back from quaking with excitement. Impervious all over except in its eyes (which as far as he knew from before, no longer worked), and as far as Kriss could tell, its mouth, this was the toughest challenge that he had faced... probably not in his whole life, but certainly in his time here, since the accident with that vortex.

Though slightly disappointed that the Dragon was too wrought with sickness to fight to its full strength, Kriss wanted to prove himself.

The best, huh...

Being the best was something that wasn’t measured by titles, reputations or even past achievements, he’d always say. It was proven in the ‘here and now’ through victories. The finals were one correct move away. The stage of battle was set. The only thing that was left was to prove that he was the best against this Dragon. No retreat, no surrender.

The Dragon crouched. Kriss took a breath in, and prepared for the final attack. Watching it take flight was a fearsome, even ominous, the wings beating a storm into the air, the mist forced to obey, the ground beneath it being torn and turned by the force of its hind legs forcing the huge body to launch herself skyward, the ground erupting with the force of the push. The dragon

The majesty of the sight however, was lost on Kriss. Tattered wings, a roar that was cut short, the abruptness of the motions. Everything about it screamed to Kriss that the Dragon’s inner fire was dying out, no matter how hard it protested.

Kriss’ body suddenly felt like it was doused in adrenaline. The tension was rising, and he could feel the world slowing down as his senses began to sharpen. Then the Dragon moved.

Instead of retreating and trying to merely survive the attack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUmrc4RadMI#t=3m04s), Kriss decided to give the Dragon one last chance to relive it’s former glory days out of respect for the creature, though he was by no means giving it a free ride. The passage of time seemed to grind to a halt, as if something was thrown into its gears.

"DO OR DIE!"

Kriss’ body twisted as he placed he pushed off his right foot into the sky, his left forearm coming up to his face, not to guard against the attack, but rather because he was too used to having a guard up like this when he fought. He kicked off the ground, preparing to meet the dragon head on, the Psycho Frame Network straining itself as it launched, forcing himself up in a trajectory that wasn’t directly towards the Dragon, but aiming slightly above the Dragon’s head.

The shockwave that came out of his feet as he pushed into the air didn’t disturb the ground. Instead a circular ripple flew out in the mist from where his foot kicked off the air, propelling Kriss into the air towards straight towards the jaws of the Dragon. As he flew up, his right hand dropped to his right hip, he prepared his trump card.

The 『Divine Blade - Power Void』, though a powerful blade, would have added extra weight if he had summoned it immediately. That was extra weight which he couldn’t afford to have. It would have offset his balance, and slowed him down as he leapt in. Unless he held the sword in a way that was completely counterproductive to his plan, the poor aerodynamics would have broken control of his trajectory.

So as he soared toward the figurative and literal jaws of defeat, he was unarmed. His Gi flapped in the air as he shot towards the Dragon, drawing lines in the mist, and buzzing as they flicked back and forth. Everything seemed to appear in slow motion as he brought his right hand up and forwards, in a motion that was similar to thrusting the blade at something one handed.

He was within striking distance. There was a flash of black in the white mist accompanied by a whoosh as Kriss summoned the blade in the middle of the swing of his arm, the sword pointed straight at the Dragon from below, flying from behind Kriss into the path of his hand. The mist was forced around the blade’s guard as it soared back into position. Kriss’ hand swung around, and clamped onto the blade’s hilt, thrusting it forward into the only weak point that Kriss knew of on the Dragon. The inside of its mouth. But this time, it wasn’t just a simple strike.

Kriss aimed to position the large blade in the space between himself and the Dragon's jaws, the length of the blade along the axis of motion of its jaw. with the tip pointed at the roof of its mouth. This was to be his final backup defence if anything in the next part was to fail.

Kriss didn't aim his leap directly at the Dragon because he wasn't aiming to kill it right there and then. If he stayed on the ground, he'd maybe end up about an inch away from the Dragon, and exhausted or not, being hit by one of those claws would kill him, most likely. If he decided to dodge on the ground, he wouldn't have been able to control his trajectory the way he was doing so currently by jumping at the Dragon early, his flightpath would take him above it, and out of the way of its claws and teeth, whilst the blade itself would be there to help put itself between him and the Dragon. Everything came down to whether he could evade the next hit. Even if he had to snap and burn through the last fibres of the Psycho Frame Network to evade, he would do it.

It seemed that all would be decided within a split second...

[John]

Ever read something that stuns you into silence? Well that's how I felt reading this battle, and I don't mean that in a bad way. Both of you were quite frankly, brilliant. And I feel it's unfortunate that only one can move on. But, I do have to make a decision and as such, I award this round to U.

As for the why, I just felt her posts in this battle had a better flow to them. So U, you will move onto the Gold match and TenSARS, you will be in the bronze match.

And congratulations to both of you on a match well fought...er...written XD