Chapter 46 – The Hero v. The Assassin (Part 2)_The Red Hand

Chapter 46 – The Hero v. The Assassin (Part 2)

 *BOOM* BOOM* *BANG*

 With their warm-up finished, the two women''s battle intensified. As they blitzed around the field, each of their blows caused a shockwave that the spectators could feel. The spectacle of their sh left the audience in awe as they were practically on the edge of their seat. The two were evenly matched, trading blows at a blistering speed. Each time their swords shed, the very ground below them quaked.

 One of Akagi''s biggest weaknesses was ack of high-powered magic. Her specialty was speed, and the magic she did use focused squarely on physical enhancement rather than damage. Hishya took advantage of this and began to fling massive balls of fire in her direction. Even if Akagi dodged them, it would leave an opening for an attack.

 Seeing the iing barrage, Akagi opted to try out something she''d be experimenting on. She crouched down cing her de in its sheath, before covering it with dark power. As the fireballs drew closer, she struck swiftly, swiping her de and causing the oing projectiles to dissipate. There was a tense moment where Hishya hovered in the air as she stared down at Akagi, who gave a sadistic grin.

 Hishya returned one of her own and dove straight toward Akagi deciding to y her game for a bit.

 “Hiyahh.” Hishya roared as she shed des with Akagi. The two rocketed around the field at speeds so fast the human eye couldn''t keep up.

 “Did you get slower Akagi?” Hishya chuckled she attacked. “I feel like I might actually be able to beat you if I go all out!” The two warriors des locked together and a massive shock wave exploded outwards which could be felt by the spectators.

 “In your dreams you over grown lizard.” Akagi replied. “You and I both know this isn''t even close to my full power!” Akagi screamed and an explosion of energy came out of her body throwing Hishya high into the air.

 After taking a moment to right herself, Hishya looked down at Akagi who stood in the center of a dust cloud below her pointing her de at her. It was if she was saying <ie at me.

 Hishya let out augh. “Your right, I know better than anyone that your just fuckin around with me.” Hishya shook her head. “But that doesn''t mean I can''t make you sweat just a little bit!" She took in a deep breath and magical energy began to channel into her mouth. "Let''s see you deal with this!"

 She let out a loud roar and exhaled a massive breath of fire. Being a fire dragon, this was her specialty, but Akagi had no idea she could use it while in human form.

 Akagi was impressed and decided to respond with a technique of her own. She put away her de and closed her eyes, allowing her body to dissolve into a ck shadow. A fire dragon''s breath was several thousand degrees Fahrenheit, so taking it head-on was quite a dangerous move. Secondster, Akagi was hit with the full force of Hishya''s breath, and the effect was devastating. The ground where she once stood turned tova, and the grass in their arena caught fire and burned. Dragon''s breath was an extraordinarily powerful weapon. One that even the most heavily armored tank wouldn''t want to endure. Kana momentarily panicked, believing that her sister had been killed, as she was nowhere to be seen, but Chloe moved to calm her down, informing her that she was perfectly fine and to just watch.

 For a brief moment, Hishya also thought she''d killed Akagi; as she expected her to dodge out of the way, not take it head-on. However, just as she was about to descend, a massive ck cyclone sprang up from the impact point, and Akagi''s demonicugh filled the air.

 "Not too bad." Her voice came from the darkness. "I''m impressed you managed to pull that off without resorting to transforming. Let me reward you by showing you something interesting I came up with recently." The ck vortex slowed, and three pirs of darkness extended from it and down to the ground. Momentster, three Akagis appeared where they were impacted, and the ck cyclone disappeared.

 "It took some time to get used to multiple bodies, and there are still some kinks to work out. But I think this should work fine for now." (Akagi 1)

 "I don''t care if there are three or three hundred of you! All you''re doing is dying the inevitable!" Hishya descended at lightning speed aiming for one of Akagi''s bodies. As she shed with her de, she was ambushed from both sides by the other two.

 "Don''t tell me you forgot about me?" (Akagi 2)

 Surrounded by three Akagi''s, Hishya began to take major damage. She assumed that the others were little more than illusions that couldn''t harm her, and she paid the price for that mistake. Unable to gain distance, Hishya was bounced between the three of them as she took direct hits from Akagi''s sword, fist, and knees. The damage began to pile up, and Akagi had no intention of giving Hishya a moment to recover.

 "Come now, is that all you''ve got!" Akagi''s three bodies moved to finish her off. But just as they brought their des down, Hishya''s free hand began to release a wave of ice and cold, and she punched one of Akagi''s bodies square in the chest. In an instant, it frozepletely and shattered into a cloud of misty particles. Her ability, cial Touch, was a gamble, as failure to contact an enemy would result in the effect bouncing back on the wielder, but it paid off.

 The loss of one of her bodies caused Akagi to momentarily lose concentration, and Hishya used the opportunity to escape. There were only two Akagi''s remaining, but Hishya had taken considerable damage. Taking a moment to recover, Hishya wiped the blood off her face and spat on the ground. It looked like this fight wasn''t over just yet.

 "I''ll admit, you almost had me there. I never expected you to be able to control multiple bodies with such precision." Hishyaughed. "But, now that I know your tricks, you won''t be able to do that again."

 "We''ll see." Both Akagi''s spoke together.

 {I know I said that but fighting two of her at the same time isn''t going to be easy.} Hishya scanned her mind to find some method of victory. {My best bet is going to require taking both her bodies out at once, but even then, she might just reform. Dammit Akagi, you really had to go out and be some crazy overpowered existence, didn''t you?} Hishya''s words might have sounded like she was upset, but the toothy smile on her face showed otherwise. Akagi''s strength only served to make her want more herself, and she relished the challenge before her.

 Hishya began to spin her sword clockwise in her hand. As it spun, it built up momentum, and the mes which extended from its de grew hotter and more violent. Seeing this, Akagi moved to close the gap and stop what she knew was about to happen, but this was just what Hishya was hoping for. As soon as Akagi closed the gap, Hishya returned her de to inventory and cupped her hands into a cone releasing a quick burst of radiant energy. This attack had two effects, first, it required Akagi to defend against it, and two, it blinded her second body temporarily. As her first body moved to guard against the st, Hishya took the opportunity and leaped through the st and tackling her to the ground.

 The two tumbled, and once they stopped, Hishya began to whale on her with all of her power. In the time it took for her second body to recover and reach her, Akagi had taken quite the beating, and her face was just as bruised as Hishya''s. Not wanting to be caught between the two of them Hishya re-summoned her de and jumped backward driving her sword into the ground as shended, causing plumes of fire to erupt around her.

 Akagi''s two bodies regrouped. Her defensive specs were quite low, so Hishya''s punches did quite a bit of damage. Akagi figured it was best to end the fight quickly, and that any more dy would likely put her on the back foot. Her two bodies slowly walked toward Hishya, des drawn. This would likely be the final sh.

 In a sh, they were both gone as they attacked Hishya from both sides. With only two of them, Hishya was able to deflect their attacks, and she managed to hold her position without taking damage. Akagi might have been incredibly fast, but Hishya was excellent at reading opponents. The exchange continued as Akagi refused to give Hishya a moment to act, and Hishya refused to allow Akagi to get a hit in. Then, the moment Akagi had been waiting for arrived. Seeing Hishya charge another magic attack in her left hand, she dissolved her second body into a ck shadow and had it wrap around Hishya''s hand. This left her unable to cast, and Akagi took the opportunity to pin her down by locking swords with her.

 Hishya''s focus moved to the sh of des, and this momentarypse in concentration gave Akagi''s second body a chance to act. Hishya''s body had a natural resistance to Akagi''s attack, but it was not enough. Unable to focus her full attention on the shadow''s body, she soon found herself bound and unable to move as Akagi''s shadow wrapped itself around her.

 "Hunng, Huuhhhng" Hishya struggled to get free but couldn''t. She might have the strength of a dragon, but Akagi''s shadow body was quite difficult to shake off.

 "Reminds me a bit of Hassan. I tied you up a bit there too." Akagiughed. Try as she might, Hishya found herself unable to cast magic or move. This would be the second time that Akagi had gotten her with this trick and that didn''t make her happy.

 "Do you surrender? Because I don''t want to hurt you anymore if I don''t have to." Akagi had a big smirk on her face. Seeing Hishya in such apromising position was something she very much enjoyed.

 "Not yet!" Hishya roared.

 With little hope of escaping this situation, she opted to use a special technique; one that she had only used once before. Her body began to glow, and Akagi, knowing full well what this was, decided to back off and left her second body to hold her down in case it was a bluff. It wasn''t, and a momentter, a massive explosion rocked the athletics field where they battled. Self-destruct was basically a final attack where you were going for an all-or-nothing victory. It heavily damaged the user, but anyone caught in the st would likely not survive. The explosion was so bright that most of the spectators had to look away. When they returned their eyes to the battle; what they saw shocked them. In the middle of the massive crater stood Hishya, burned, singed, and bloody, but still standing. Akagi''s form could be seen towards the edge of the crater, and she appeared to be unharmed. Though, her other body didn''t survive. The ability Hishya used had worked but at the cost of damaging herself severely.

 Hishya took a step forward but fell to her knees as she coughed up blood. She had reached her limit, and it was likely she couldn''t continue the fight. But, while her body was broken, her mind was anything but.

 {I can''t let it end like this.} Hishya thought. She had much more power than this but was intentionally holding back as this was intended to be a fun exhibition match. But if she let out more, she thought she just might be able to win.

 {More... I need more power! I know I have MORE!}

 Hishya slowly stood up and began to channel even more of her draconic power, causing the ground to begin to shake. She always hated losing to Akagi, and this exhibition match was no different. Her thoughts began to turn towards destruction, and she began to see red.

 {MORE POWER I HAVE THE POWER TO WIN!}

 The mes around her body grew wild and electricity coursed around her. Her eyes began to glow, and her canines erged significantly.

 In the game, she''d never had any issues letting out her full power, and there was never a risk of going out of control. However, in the real world, her draconic blood and its influence began to cloud her mind. She might have the power of a dragon, but her human mind was not prepared for everything that came with it. At this rate, Hishya would lose herself in blood-lust, and who knows what she might do in such a state. Sensing what was about to happen, Akagi yelled out.

 "HISHYA STOP!" Her sudden scream caused Hishya to snap back to reality. "You can''t let your blood control you! I can see it in your eyes, you''re on the edge. If you let out more power, you''re going to go on a rampage!" Akagi had no interest in fighting a rampaging dragon, and she had no idea if Hishya could evene back from something like that. "We''re done, the fight is over. It''s too dangerous to continue like this." 

 Akagi''s words were like cold water on Hishya''s mind. Her thoughts cleared, and the itch she felt in her skin began to recede. She had no idea her power could have such an effect on her.

 {Wha- what was I... just...}

 With the fight taken out of her and the damage inflicted setting in, she fell down unconscious; she had run out of steam. Akagi immediately rushed over to her downed friend, and Yumi appeared next to her to provide magical healing. Hishya''s injuries were quite extensive, but with Yumi''s assistance, she would be up and about soon enough.

 Seeing that the fight was over, the spectators erupted into a massive cheer. It seems that their performance went over quite well with everyone. Several people lived-streamed the battle, and the number of viewers was well into the millions. Kana and the girls were left speechless. They knew Hishya and Akagi were powerful, but the utter destruction in front of them was more than they ever thought possible, and Kana was once again reminded that her sister was no longer human. Mizumi was horrified by what she witnessed. The knowledge that she had unleashed such destructive power into this world caused her to be light-headed, and she fell to her knees.

 {What have I unleashed in this world?!?} 

 It was on this day that Mizumi understood the gravity of her actions. By wishing for the salvation of her people, she may have doomed an entire world to destruction.

AliNovel

Chapter 46 – The Hero v. The Assassin (Part 2)