| Val waited for a moment, observing his small movements and stance carefully before she feinted. His lack of reaction surprised her greatly, as a second attempt yielded nothing. Slowly taking a breath in, she took her stance, pausing for a moment before she launched her attack. She advanced quickly, kicking her front foot for his chest. Her foot hit nothing but air as he stepped back, moving just out of range. Val followed up with her fist aimed for his face, only to find her fist just out of range as he took another step back. She watched him relax and put his hands into his pockets as her anger began to grow. She charged him, pulling her fist back before she aimed it for his throat. Val watched as her foe moved out of the path of her attack with a single step as she whirled around to follow up with a kick. He leaned back, taking a step to avoid her even more. Her fury boiled as she saw a smirk rise on his face. "Stop toying with me and fight!" "I have no reason to fight with you." "I'm trying to kill you!" He shrugged. "A bad attempt I might add." Val paused, gathering herself as she slowly regained her composure. Taking a few deep breaths, she calmed herself, realizing that her anger was clouding her judgement. She closed her eyes for a moment, relaxing her muscles a little before she opened her eyes and resumed her attack. She increased the intensity of her punches, following up every fist she threw at her opponent. He continued to step backwards, avoiding each blow with very little effort. Amazed at how well he controlled the range of the fight, Val attempted to gain more ground on her punch, pushing herself forward. He leaned his head to the side, letting the fist pass his head before he brought out his own from his pocket in one swift motion, stopping short of hitting her purposely. Val stared at the fist, blinking in disbelief. She cursed herself in her mind for underestimating him as he slowly pulled his fist away from her. He eased back into his stance, erasing any emotions on his face before he motioned for her to resume. She nodded once, relaxing into her own position before the fight resumed. Aiming for his legs, she stepped forward to close the distance before she kicked. She barely missed as he lifted his leg, spinning around to deliver his own. She blocked the foot with her arm, pushing back at him before she moved forward, punching at his stomache. He stopped the fist in his palm moments before she pulled it back and followed up with her other fist. Catching her fist in his hand, he guided himself to the outside of her arm before he whirled around with the back of his fist. Val ducked in time, avoiding the fist before she received his knee into her gut. Clinging to his leg in pain, she pulled it up with her, holding his leg to her shoulders. As she kicked at his planted leg, he jumped up, spinning around with his free foot aimed at her head. Val released his foot, letting him fall to the ground. He leaped back onto his feet, avoiding her sweep before she jumped into the air. Feinting to his head, she pulled her leading foot away from him and followed up with her other in his chest. He stepped back, his chest absorbing all of the blow before he advanced on her. Val began to block the fists with her arms and hands before a few blows escaped her guard, causing her to stumble back slightly. "You do live up to your reputation, don't you?" He shrugged. "I like to surprise people sometimes." She closed her eyes as one of the runes on her body began to glow. "As do I." Val focused on the ball of light forming in front of her, channeling her energy into it. Taking the ball into her palm, she extended her arm out to him, pointing the ball directly at him. Slowly, she tightened her hold on the ball, letting the light escape between her grip. The ball exploded into a flash, sending her opponent stumbling back dazed. Val released her hold of the spell, letting the rune on her body settle down as she watched his hands wave in front of his face. Eventually he relaxed, returning into his fighting stance. "Was that suppose to blind me?" "You'll soon find out what it did." Wasting no time, she entered into a dash directly at him. Taking all of her momentum, she rammed her shoulders into his stomache, catching him totally unprepared. As he barely kept his balance, she twisted around, kicking him once in head and once in the stomache before she crouched low, sweeping him off his feet. Relaxing, she watched him roll back out of her range, standing up slowly while he regained his composure. "Interesting. I don't see anything until well after it happens." She crossed her arms. "So what will you do now?" She waited patiently for a moment, watching him wave his hand in front of his face again before she moved to attack. As she entered into his range, she changed her direction at the last moment, barely avoiding a blow from his palm. She ducked, avoiding his kick aimed for her mid-section before she attacked his opening, sending him to his knees. With one last kick, she sent him to the ground as Val moved on top of him, straddling his back on her knees while holding his neck in between her arms. "It's been fun. You've been a worthy opponent, but I can't waste any more time." He coughed once, shifting his head to the side. "Mind if I ask if my gracious host planned this?" "No, not all of it, but he set it up. It's just a shame you'll live through the hell that is the Arena, only to die in your own dream." "My own dream eh?" Val began to apply pressure onto his neck with no effect as she struggled to get his head to move. Moving his knees under his stomache, he pushed up against her, throwing her off balance and off his back and neck. She watched him stand up slowly, totally relaxed. Val regained her stance, wasting no time to start her assault. She pulled her fist back, closing on her foe before she thrusted with her other hand, aiming for his face. He leaned his head to one side, barely avoiding her attack. "Too slow!" Before she could pull her arm back, her opponent took her momentum and turned it against her, grabbing the extended arm and pulling it. Val could not recover in time as he started striking her exposed side with blow after blow. With all of his power, he struck at her stomache one last time with both of his palms, sending her to the ground. One of the runes on her body began to glow a bright red as Val stood up. "Time to die!" The ground before her was consumed in flames as two more runes joined the first in its glow. A fireball formed above the flames, and with a motion from her hand, she sent it flying directly at her foe. The flames on the ground trailed the ball of flame in its flight. The ball exploded in front of her waiting opponent as she focused all of her strength on the power of the blast. Val watched the smoke begin to clear up as she released the runes from her control. She slumped forward, worn out by the spell's power while her eyes remained on the smoke. She grumbled as he walked out of the smoke, showing no signs of an injury from the blast. Val looked on as he made his way to her, stopping in front of her within her reach. "I shouldn't have mentioned the part about your dream, shouldn't I." He shrugged. "It may have been better not to. So, how do we return back to reality." Val looked away from him. "I would prefer to die than to lose a challenge." She moved to strike at his head, striking at his cheek with her fist with as much strength as she could muster. He turned slightly, letting the blow connect as he remained unphased. He grabbed her face, blocking her vision with his fingers as he began to squeeze on her head slowly. Darkness filled her vision as she struggled weakly to remain conscious. "Goodnight." |