EA Chapter 15 - Asserting Dominance

Luna led the way toward the middle of the arena, where Gallow Cade was standing to attention with her hands behind her back. She watched the girls with a sharp gaze. "I expect punctuality, cadets. An extra minute of waiting, and I would have had to start deducting points from you all."

"Apologies, Sergeant," Syri said, bowing. The rest of the Red Hawks echoed her motion.

"We will strive to avoid such delays in the future," Luna replied. Tempting though it was to pin the blame on the 'prince', she knew a woman like Gallow wouldn't care for excuses. And, certainly, it would reflect poorly on her if she was seen to be pinning the blame on another cadet.

An annoyed grunt rose in Cade's throat. "Today we'll be running a basic sparring drill. An exercise where you will be facing opponents that will highlight the limits and weaknesses of your fighting ability." She raised a hand, motioning to Luna and Kiharu. "The Arcanist will face off against the Brawler. A battle of opposites. The Paladin will therefore take on the Ranger and Cleric, where she can leverage her strength and resilience against the versatility of the other two."

The twins seemed uneasy, glancing at each other and then to Syri. She certainly had them beat in terms of raw power. Even their numbers advantage wouldn't help them much, Luna was sure of it.

Luna and Kiharu made for one end of the platform, while the rest of their party ventured to the opposite end. Kiharu took up a spot directly across from Luna, rotating her arms slowly and steadily to loosen them up. "Alright short stuff, let's get into it. I'll try not to hurt you too bad," she said.

Luna smirked, parting her feet and taking aim with one hand. "Take your best shot." She was, admittedly, curious to see what the beastkin could do in a fight.

And, potentially, this could be beneficial to her. Kiharu struck Luna as a girl who appreciated strength above all else. If she could definitively prove herself stronger than the beastkin, then doubtless she’d follow Luna going forward.

"If you say so," the beastkin replied, a wolfish grin appearing on her face. A burst of crimson light flared around her, glowing brighter and brighter until Kiharu's exposed skin adopted a ruby hue. She grit her teeth, a primal growl rising in her throat. The tiles beneath her feet shattered apart as she hurled her weight forward. She closed the gap in an instant, Luna only barely jumping away as Kiharu's knuckles crashed into the floor. The shock made her eyes widen. How was she so fast?

She activated Steel Flesh, the familiar rush coursing through her body. The Arcanist braced, just as Kiharu's fist raced her way. She blocked the impact, but she was sent skidding backward and uprooting swathes of tiles with her heels. A tingle raced through her entire skeleton, a shocked breath escaping her.

Even blocking, even with her defence augmented, the strike had still knocked the wind out of her. The girl had a fist like a cannon ball! Luna grit her teeth. How damn strong was she?!

The beastkin was relentless, already closing the gap. Luna narrowly ducked under Kiharu's sweeping arm, landing a flurry of blows that shook the ground beneath her feet. Yet each punch barely seemed to faze the towering figure.

A swing from Kiharu launched Luna away, the silver-haired girl spinning away through the air. It was only a glancing blow, but it still shook her entire body. It seemed her normal defences wouldn't be enough to withstand Kiharu's sheer might. A few more hits, and she'd be knocked out cold!

In her prime, she had been swaddled in layers of defensive spells near constantly. Barriers within barriers, charms designed to ward off curses and elemental attacks, runes that amplified the strength all her defences even further, and unseen thoughtforms to shield her mind and soul. But those same defences required an abundance of power her body still lacked, and resources she didn't have access to.

But, with her qi pool having grown of late, she could still whip up one decent barrier around herself. She landed in a skid, and her aura exploded around her in a swirl of lavender flame. Within seconds her aura had swirled and churned, forming into a barrier designed to rebuff kinetic energy.

Kiharu's fist came hutling her way faster than the eye could see, only to crash into the air a few inches from Luna's face. The surface rippled, glowing red hot, before a burst of force left her staggering backward.

"Tricky, aren't ya?" Kiharu asked, cackling and shaking her scorched knuckles. "Guess I oughta expect as much from an Arcanist!"

"Believe me, tricky is severely underselling it," Luna replied. She'd had many underlings like Kiharu in the past. Those blessed with immense strength, but not having much on their minds beyond brute force. A useful blunt instrument, if she could figure out how to wield her. And, naturally, such tools only understood the blunt approach

From the corner of her eye she could see Syri fighting the twins on the far side of the arena. And while Romula and Rema had created a magical smokescreen to try and throw the Paladin off, and were regularly attacking her from different angles, they had yet to break through her guarded stance.

It would have been nice to sit back and watch the trio fight, to assess their strengths and weaknesses with her own eyes. But, unfortunately, she had a much bigger concern on her mind: It was rushing her way with crushing fists upraised.

Luna grimaced as Kiharu's fists struck her shield, which again shoved the towering beastkin backwards. Luna's counter was quick, a stone-shredding gale of wind erupting from her palm and striking Kiharu's gut. It started pushing her back further and further, the looming woman letting out a pained grunt.

Pure hand to hand wouldn't do much for her against Kiharu's sheer resilience, but her magical attacks could wear her down bit by bit.

Luna broke into a sprint as Kiharu struggled to regain her footing, looping around her and launching a volley of explosive wind bursts at Kiharu. Each one struck off her body with a booming thunderclap, kicking up clouds of dust and staggering Kiharu further.

By now the red aura was dimming, and she seemed much slower and clumsier in her attempts at dodging. Yet the Brawler wasn't totally brainless or helpless. Kiharu swept a foot through the ground and launched a hail of high-velocity debris shards at her.

"Damn!" Luna skidded to a sharp halt, the shards exploding against her barrier and generating more flashes of garnet light around the edges. Kiharu pressed forward, landing a crushing hook that flung Luna back across the arena.

"Come on," Kiharu growled. "I ain't done yet!"

Luna barely avoided a sweeping jab as she landed, firing an explosive arrow that erupted against Kiharu's shoulder. The beastkin hissed and jerked aside, but quickly pressed the assault with a series of sweeping strikes that tore violently through the air.

Each punch and swing only missed her by a scant inch, and she countered each attack with another exploding bolt that flashed against Kiharu’s sturdy flesh. Despite her pained growls and grimaces, a grin remained etched on Kiharu's face, her pace only barely being slowed. Leave it to a beast to love a brawl.

An elbow strike collided with Luna's barrier, finally shattering it and knocking the Arcanist aside. But she was undaunted, rolling and skidding across the damaged tiles while sweat poured from her face.

If she fell to Kiharu, here and now, she knew she'd never get her under control. She knew Kiharu's ilk all too well. To lose to her was to never be able to lead her.

A punch clocked her in the jaw, an impact that shook her from head to toe like a stricken metal pole. She staggered, swayed, drawing more power into her Steel Flesh to dull the pain she felt.

She had some tricks left up her sleeve, at least, taken from a long lifetime of absorbing knowledge. As convenient as it was to simply disintegrate threats, she could still floor an opponent without killing them.

In the far eastern city of Yshull, the ruling sultans had devised a deep magical tradition of manipulating the minds of their foes and subjects. It had not done them much use when the Meridiem Empire came knocking, but Luna had still taken the time to study every tome and scroll the old fools had written. How fortunate that their attempt to burn their archives had ended in failure. Luna had rewarded the would-be arsonists for their attempt by having them roasted to death inside a brazen bull.

And, from those archives, Luna had learned one trick that seemed perfect for fighting meatheads.

Sensory Overload.

The light in Luna's eyes shifted from purple to gold, as she funnelled the weight of her mind toward Kiharu. It slammed against her, like a tide crashing against the face of a cliff. Kiharu's mind was sturdy, owing to her immense will, but Luna found a crack and forced through it.

An impact to temporarily blind her eyes and deafened her ears, which earned a shrill gasp from her. The beastkin struggled, allowing Luna to quickly close the gap. She drew her might into her legs, her qi burning white hot in her body. The impact swept Kiharu off her feet before she could properly react, the sensory overload only lasting a handful of seconds. And, before she could rise again, Luna was looming over her with her fingers to her throat. Electricity arced down her digits.

"Well done, Alcett," Sergeant Cade said, nodding and slowly pacing toward them. "You gave a good fight, Kiharu, but if you were a monster you'd be dead right now."

Despite losing, Kiharu was grinning up at Luna. "Not bad, runt," she said, her pointed ears twitching. "But next time? I'm gonna whoop your ass." Amazingly, she sensed no hostility behind those words.

Smirking, Luna moved down and helped hoist the beastkin to her feet. "I'll hold you to that." Her smile broadened. "In fact... I want to see how strong you can actually get."

Kiharu grinned wolfishly. "You might just regret that." But, clearly, she was motivated. And Luna was too, in truth.

They turned and glanced toward the other end of the arena. Syri had bested both of the twins. She was bruised and breathing heavily, but there seemed little doubt that Rema and Romula hadn't had much of a chance in overcoming her.

Gallow made for the middle of the arena, her hands clasped behind her back. "You need to know that monsters come in many shapes and sizes, and a standard expedition will face you against a myriad of hostile abilities. Some will be tall and strong. Others will be swift and diverse in their skills. And you will need to be ready to face any possible permutation."

The cadets stood to attention. It took the twins a little bit longer to do so.

Gallow regarded them with her one good eye. "I hope you don't think we're done yet." A ghastly expression, one that could only loosely be called a smile, formed on her face. "The Cadet Tournament is only a few weeks away. And I plan to make sure you're all in top form when the time comes.

Romula and Rema paled. Even Syri shifted slightly where she stood. Kiharu looked as excited by the prospect, beaming.

"A... tournament, Sergeant?" Luna asked.

"A competition. At the Citadel, our cadet parties are often pitted against each other in tests every few months. Consider it a metric to see who the best and brightest of the bunch are. But the Hawks have been... struggling. Isn't that right, Cadet Kurse?"

Syri swallowed harshly. "That's... correct, Sergeant. During the prior bouts we... came last during the capture the flag and relay race events."

Luna frowned. So that was where their party's poor reputation came from. Well, she was going to have to put a stop to that.

No matter the cost, she’d make sure the Red Hawks won this little tournament.