(21.2) Facing Vira
Aki raises her cloak and amulet, blocking the brunt of the force. Yet, the skull of the gashadokuro is so slick with rain water, Aki cannot stay her ground atop the reduced traction she has to hold onto.
The shadows pull back and swirl around Vira's right hand. "Accursed illusionist, I'll quash you like a bug!"
She swings the terrifying mass of shadows – manifesting as a large, shadowy scythe – at Aki's head with lethal abandon.
Aki falls to her knees, narrowly dodging the first scythe swing. Before Vira can come back for a second swing, Aki frantically pulls out her magic pocket and takes out the briarwood axe with a wild swing.
The axe blade meets the scythe's own, successfully managing to bat away the shadows by a hair's breadth. Vira recoils from the surprise block. She takes a step back trying to stabilise her stance.
Aki sprints forward, undoing her cloak and using it to lash out at Vira. She follows with a swing from the axe, forcing Vira to stay on her toes. However, Aki might have managed to bridge the gap between them, her axe-fighting is weak and lacks finesse. Were it not for the blade's sharpness and Aki's skill with cloak-fighting, she might have been sliced or skewered already.
Vira's shadows flash around, scattering the falling rain and dimming her aura of fire with their flowing movements. Stunned though she was, Vira's battle experience comes to light and quickly balances out the desperate assault.
"You lack a proper teacher, illusionist." Vira sidesteps a cloak strike and backhands Aki. "Were we not enemies, I might have considered being your instructor."
Aki slides backward from the hit and wipes the blood from her lip. Her vision swirls, still blurry from the skill point usage and worsened by the rainy night.
"She's not with me but I already have a master." Aki spits out. "So I'll have to pass."
"Hmm." Vira swings a blackened hand upward, sending a fount of fire at Aki.
Aki dodges to the side only to be met by another fire attack coming from overhead. The only options are to take it head on or take a risk and rush Vira.
Of course, the only right option is to rush her. Aki makes a desperate sprint, swinging her axe as she does. The briarwood axe cleaves the green flames, killing the spell in the process much to Aki and Vira's surprise.
Vira recoils, her eyes wide and slack jawed as she raises a hand over her head defensively.
Aki's swing is wild, it's arc aiming right at Vira's head. Panic floods her senses – though she isn't sure if the panic is her own or Vira's.
Flesh squelches as the axe cuts into Vira. The power in the swing is too weak, subdued by panic and Aki's own reluctance to hurt someone, and only manages to bury the blade halfway into Vira's arm. What comes as a greater surprise aside from how easily Aki cut into her, is that no blood spurts from the deep wound.
"What?" Aki gasps, her gaze locked on where the axe meets the arm.
Vira looks down at Aki from the gap between her arm and body. Her wide-eyed expression morph's into a mocking smirk.
"You're… you're an undead?"
Vira makes a finger gun with her other hand. "Bang."
Aki rips her axe from Vira's arm with a loud crunch and leaps away, forming a shield over herself in the process.
Nothing happens.
Rather, Vira's maniacal laugh mixes with the sound of rain and thunder instead.
"Isn't it funny?" Vira says simply. "There's an organisation that calls themselves the Old Guard that seek out otherworlders to purge them. Otherworlders just like us."
Aki grinds her teeth together, flexing her fingers at the slip up. She may not have been the most careful with maintaining her identity as an otherworlder all the time but for Vira to figure it out just like that? It frustrates Aki to no end.
Vira chuckles, covering her mouth like she's laughing at a cute animal rather than insulting a group of people. "Yet, those violent thugs haven't seemed to figure out that the simplest way to nail us is like this. An action foreign to Tsarjar."
"... Finger guns?" Aki lowers her guard slightly, her mind phased by the stupidly simple method. If anything foreign can give her away, then how long could she go hiding her otherworlder nature before she's found out by the world at large?
"Well…" Heat flares as fire engulfs Vira's leg. In an instant, that flaming leg strikes Aki's side and sends her flying sky high, breaking her shield in the process. "Maybe they're just too proud."
The world flashes black in white. Rain shines from the claps of thunder and lightning. Aki's hand squeezes her weapon's handle tightly as she nearly passes out. Were it not for the thorns in the wood to keep her awake, that would have been it. She manages to recast her shield at the top of her flight path.
Not a second later, shadowy tendrils wrap around Aki's body and attempt to crush her.
She cries out but her spell holds strong. However, once the shadows realise they won't be able to break her spell, they instead slam her into the gashadokuro's skull as hard as they can.
This time Aki really does pass out for a few seconds, her shield completely shattering in the process. She gasps for air, instinctively recasting her shield spell as she regains consciousness.
Everything is blurry. Her ears are ringing and her muscles scream at her to stop moving. The rain, darkness, the aftereffects of skill points, all of it overwhelms her. Aki can barely see more than half a metre in front of her and can't tell if the clicking sound is in her head or the sound of Vira walking closer.
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[Gift Activated: Precognition]
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Death looms.
Aki throws herself to the right, sliding over the slick wet surface. A flash of green and a pillar of fire rises from where she just was. Vira is saying something but Aki can't quite make it out. With her senses scrambled, only the repeated activation of precognition keeps Aki alive just a little longer.
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[Gift Activated: Precognition]
[Gift Activated: Precognition]
[Gift Activated: Precognition]
[Gift Activated: Precognition]
[Gift Activated: Precognition]
[Gift Activated: Precognition]
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The gift activates several times in a row, warning of death from every direction. The only option left to her is to dodge closer to Vira and avoid an up-close attack. Aki makes her move, narrowly avoiding whatever deadly spells were about to shred her into pieces.
Aki lands and immediately tries to throw her body back.
Instead, a burning fist crashes into her mouth. An explosive crack echoes and magical light scatters as Aki slams into the gashadokuro underfoot.
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Aki Title: Nudist
LE: 30/55 HP: 20/200
MP: 0/250
SP: 46/50
[Starved: Lack of food dulls sense by a small amount]
[Skill Burn: Use of Skill Points prevents full LE recovery for some time]
[Blurred Vision: Temporary effect. If not healed, eyes will permanently worsen]
[Magic Burnout: Spells cannot be cast until MP has recovered at least 30% naturally]
More: ⟲
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