The Challenger

by Harlon Banks

  "Do you always act like a bitch or is it just that time of the month for you?" Blade deadpanned off to the side with a mumble. Tesla turning to say something rather toxic but got cut off by Cronos' next action.

  Cronos sneered, patting Blade on the back with a robust hand that nearly knocked the younger, smaller man off-balance. A weak pat from this guy felt like getting hit by a brick, fucking hell.

  "Hahaha are you scared there lad?" He chuckled tauntingly. Blade eye rolling and just throwing his hands up as he walked back out of the hotel. He wasn't about to go through this, not now. If they wanted to be ignorant off the sense of some pride they could go and do just that for all he cared. He didn't have a problem watching them get their asses beaten underestimating targets.

  "No, I'm just smart about it. Fine, you two go walking in on her terms and take her down. I'll be out in the courtyard making sure she doesn't escape when you both fuck up and die or something." The man scoffed shaking his head again. "I got enough scars on my body as it is."

  Tesla just dismissed Blade with a hand wave and turned to walk deeper into the hotel. Cronos tilting his head in thought, scratching his beard and rugged older features and following Tesla after some thought. He supposed Blade had a sliver of a point, it would be more practical to stick together in a situation like this.

  "Guess I'll watch your back, Tesla. Better safe than sorry I suppose." He shrugged, his thundering steps a stark contrast to her light ones. So drastically different that Tesla vehemently disagreed with him coming with her as security.

  "Oh no! Every step you take is like a damned rhino walking; she'll hear us from a mile away and just avoid us nonstop. You go look for her on your own." She scowled annoyed over her shoulder. Cronos deadpanning himself and just sucking his teeth in annoyance. This girl was a bit of an asshole through and through... Ugh.

  "Suit yourself kid." He scoffed taking the opposite direction she did when they entered the back of the hotel. He took the downstairs towards the basement, she took the upstairs towards the roof, Blade stayed outside all the same sitting casually by the bloody body on the fountain. His blade sat besides him propped up against the broken stone as steel colored eyes gazed up at the moon. The light gleaming off his pale skin giving the appearance of him being a ghost of sorts under its direct glow.

  "Hm?" He suddenly perked up.

  Blade turned to a rustling sound accompanied by vague squealing coming from beyond the curve of the fountain to his right. Standing up to get a better look, he walked over to see a large, black Owl pinning down a poor rat with its feet and squeezing the life out of it while tearing open its back with its powerful beak. Blade blinking, head tilted in quiet awe and thought as he just watched the large raptor eat alive its prey. He couldn't help but get the strange feeling that him stumbling across such an event was a...

  Bang! Bang! Bang! Bullets fired off in the hotel caught his attention! Quickly spinning around to grab his blade with one hand off reflex, Blade looked up just in time to see two bodies burst through a window on the third floor, intertwined with each other and falling down with a heavy thud on the ground below. His eyes widening as he gazed upon the gruesome sight, yet not of fear or shock... but more disappointment and expectation.

  Liariana was crouched on top of Tesla, her bandaged in black feet planted in the blonde woman's gut and her sword pierced through the deceased woman's chest, right under the ribcage with both the Yelkath's arms that drove it in still gripping the black hilt. Broken glass all around them, her head lowered looking at the corpse beneath her, Liariana slowly raised her gaze up to meet Blade own. Blood smearing her face on the left side as the glow in her eyes remained ever dim, yet that cold, piercing stare of hers ever profound beneath bangs of black hanging off her forehead and framing her face. Not a sound leaving her lips as she stood up quietly, bandaged left hand pulling the blade from Tesla's chest and flicking the blood off it. A swivel of the wrist and the ninjato gripped reversed and resting at her side as she and Blade squared off.

  "Can't say I'm surprised she was the first to die, always was a bit of a cocky bitch if I do say so myself." Blade exhaled exasperated, resting the large blade across his right shoulder nonchalant as he looked over Liariana. "Nice to finally meet you face to face, you're pretty sexy if I do say so myself. I thought Draven was exaggerating when he said you were a dime." He sneered. Liariana keeping her cold, unchanging solemn stare, crouching as she raised her sword preparing to attack Blade next. Another sigh, and Blade' entire attitude shifted to something a bit more serious. His blade wielded with both hands now in front of him in a combat stance of his own.

  "Let's try to kill each other before Cronos comes back and gets in our way though, ok?" He said with a low tone. "Really hate sharing my kills with other people, you can relate, right?" He smirked.

  The two rushed each other!

  Bite Worse than you Bark

  The Challenger Chapter Thirty-Five: Bite Worse than you Bark

  The two combatants closed the meager distance between them in only a second. The empty, moonlit courtyard their battlefield as Liariana's piercing red gaze found itself matched by a confident, steel eyed fixation from Blade. The two mere feet from each other, Blade swinging his large blade with surprising fluency and speed for a weapon so heavy-looking; while Liariana arced her sword cutting a path of its own towards him with a singular fluent movement.

  A streak of red flew threw the air, splattering across the ground in a half-moon arc as the two fighters skid to a stop past each other, backsides to one another. Liariana standing from her crouch, blade swiveling through her fingers before a flick of the wrist dispelled the blood from the steel blade. Her red eyes closed and head lowered, black bangs obscuring her eastern aesthetic from the moon above as she stood there silent as the grave.

  "... That was pretty nice." Blade coughed a bit impressed, his neck bleeding from a thin gash that ran across it in one, clean-cut. His vaguely scarred right hand reaching up to dab at the wound with pale fingers; gaze raising skyward as he inhaled to himself apparently disappointed. "Here I thought I could match a Yelkath in a straight up sword fight. Guess the stuff that bastard said about you was true; your abilities are something of a nightmare."

  Blade casually lowered his hand to grip his sword again and hoist it back up over his shoulder. Left hand lowering from the hilt as he rolled said shoulders momentarily and let out a dry heave. Liariana finally turning to look at him over the left shoulder, her eyes looking upon him as if she weren't at all surprised he survived what by all means should have been a lethal cut. Blade neck wound suddenly closing up, leaving nothing of the injury left to imply it even happened in the first place save for the blood. Regeneration abilities, so troublesome.

  Jonath's regeneration flashing through her mind again, Liariana quickly disregarding it.

  "Alright, think you can do that again? If you had cut just a bit deeper you probably could have hit my vertebra; my reinforced flesh that tough to cut good?" The mercenary pondered tilting his head in thought, grey bangs sweeping over the tops of his eyes. "Though I don't know why I thought I'd be able to swing this sword at you in such a close proximity without you being able to easily counter. I guess maybe I am a bit too full of myself? Who knows." He shrugged pulling his over sized Khyber sword from his shoulder again and pointing the tip at her with one arm.

  "Tell you what, if you can cut me again I'll let you go free this time. Deal?" He offered with a confident smirk. "Matter of fact, I won't come after you again as long as you're in this city. Once you step outside the walls though you're fair game."

  Liariana's monotone stare briefly twisted into a furrowed glare, was he taunting her? It didn't matter, she needed to do something fast. She could try running... with their current positions Liariana could realistically make a break for it and escape. From what was shown so far, it was highly doubtful Blade would be able to catch her. This was the best opportunity to escape, Tesla was dead, Cronos wasn't around and Blade was exp
ecting her to stay and fight him...

  So why wasn't she running?

  The Yelkath raised her sword, pointing the tip back at Blade as if silently accepting his taunting gesture by mimicking his pose. Her expressions calm and apathetic as always, red eyes focused; Blade grinning anticipating and assuming his own combat stance yet again. Sword held with both hands before him and stance evened out and firm. A small smirk creeping across his lips, he liked this girls pride. Something about that stare of hers captured his amazement. The solemn arrogance within, the lone wolf spirit, the lack of emotion... He sensed all of this from within the glowing red hues of his opponent. He couldn't help but get a little more than excited, almost bloodthirsty...

  She had a silent superiority complex, if he just chipped it down a little...

  The Yelkath raised her blade, the gleaming steel edge held perpendicular across her facial features. Blade could see his reflection off the cold steel momentarily before his opponent spun the blade reversed. A slight brow furrowing across his own pale aesthetic.

  "That's an interesting style to hold a sword; that's a ninjato, right? Not too knowledgeable of swords from the East myself in all honesty, but I heard those swords were preferred by ninja?" He inquired, wondering if Liariana belonged to a certain classification. Was she a ninja? A samurai? A rogue?

  Liariana didn't answer him, her eyes locked on the kill, legs slightly bending as she assumed a crouching posture that showed she was about to attack. Blade had no problem with that whatsoever; let her come.

  Liariana's feet pressed off the ground, a supernaturally agile zig zag motion across the stone to her adversary. Blade sneering as he immediately swung his blade horizontally with great speed of his own yet again betraying the heavy weight the sword seemed to imply. His great sword cutting air, Liariana at her last position having vaulted over the entire sword. Her hand even pressing off the flat end of the moving cleaver to push higher into the air immediately following up with a counter after!

  "Nice..." Blade remarked in his mind with a smirk. Liariana's retaliation almost instantaneous; her right leg swinging around mid-air with her body to stun Blade with a powerful blow to the neck. Quick to retaliate, Blade had already released one (left) hand off his sword to intercept. His grip snagging her at the ankle, preparing to swing her around and slam her into the stone. Liariana raising her blade up to impale the man through the throat upon being grabbed; Blade sucking his teeth slightly annoyed and quickly throwing her away from him before she could attack. As she landed with a graceful, silent crouch, Blade raised his sword again with one arm effortlessly and rested it over his right shoulder.

  "You really are pretty dangerous in close combat aren't you?" Blade couldn't help but be impressed with her. "You nearly got me that time; I really might have to start actually trying to kill you. Half-assed swings just don't seem to cut it with people today." He shook his head in exasperation.

  Liariana yet again narrowed her eyes at him, did he really believe he could beat her without trying?

  "That arrogance will be the death of you." Liariana warned in a low, calm tone. Her features completely void of any sign of how she felt towards his words. Blade shrugging, pacing back and forth now as he idly spun around his left hand in gesturing.

  "Arrogance? That's actually kind of funny coming from you." He deadpanned matching her cold gaze with his own nonchalant one. "I'm literally giving you plenty opportunities to bail out and run. You could probably shake me off rather easily in a chase given the extreme discrepancy in speed and agility between us." He trailed off, now fully facing her with a wide goofy taunting smile and wagging a finger her way.

  "Instead though you take your chances trying to fight and kill me. Ignoring the fact once my ally comes out you'll more than likely be overwhelmed and run anyway. So why not just run in the first place?" He now seemed to look as if he thought she was a little dumb in the head. A harder breeze whipping across the scenery under the moonlight as the two faced off.

  "I would have to kill you sooner or later." The Yelkath responded quietly with cold indifference. Her words accompanied by an immediate dash to Blade to attack him. The grey-haired young man sighing to himself, blade gripped tightly as the two clashed again. A flurry of sparks and clanging noises filling the air. However this time was different...

  With the length of that great sword, the broadness of it, the wide sweeping swings of it and the natural physical strength he possessed, Blade had a pretty intense defense and aggressive counter-attack offense of his own. Not even Liariana's superior agility, precision, speed, and finesse could break through his defenses. Every attempt to bypass his blade and get closer like she did the first time was rendered ineffective with his longer reach and broadness of his swings. His attacking speed, mobility, reaction times and movements also seemed to have increased from before, and this was just the natural limitations of his body!? Liariana could never truly defend, she had to parry away every swing she couldn't completely dodge with an extreme amount of precision. The slightest error in analysis of her defense could cost her an arm or her life...

  She parried away an overhead slash at her, the great sword sparking across her ninjato on a diverted pathway away from her body. Blade smiling excitedly! She had just enough physical strength of her own to not have her guard completely smashed through by him! She was great!

  "There we go! Come on going to play defense all day or you gonna make a move!?" He taunted laughing in a condescending tone! Liariana ignoring him, her eyes darting across his body predicting his next attacks moments before they happened and only managing to barely dodge or deflect them. His pressure was extreme, if she didn't do something soon it was only a matter of time before she couldn't defend anymore. With every barely made parry, her bones rattled from the force (even after most of it had been diverted away) and her sword felt as if it would break the moment it took too much of the force.

  Liariana sidesteps the next swing from Blade; her movements swift and fluent as she aims to step in closer and slash him with perfect timing. With Blade' stance still recovering from the wide cut he just attempted he should be wide open! Her sword raised overhead for a downwards, deep cut across his midsection from his right (her left)!

  Blade sneered, and for the briefest second his speed increased just enough to properly retaliate.

  !

  A prominent spark of steel clashing brightened the air around them both, Liariana sent flying backwards from the force. Her arm having reinforced the spine of her ninjato when she blocked to keep it from breaking. The limb feeling as if it damn near fractured from the impact as she landed with a skid across the ground several meters away. Her eyes briefly annoyed and confused by the sudden phenomenon that just transpired. Her opponent sighing yet again and resting the over sized Khyber blade across his shoulder. His expression now looking rather upset and unimpressed with her; Liariana sucking her teeth very vaguely.

  He was lulling her into a sense of security against him; she had to be careful about so carelessly assuming his speed. Had she reacted a second too late just now, he'd have sliced her clean in half...

  "Is this the best you can do? Your eyes really are your crutch huh?" He shook his head snorting dryly. "The fact your clan supposedly earned such a reputation because of a blessing of powers over real skill is quite frankly rather disappointing. I should probably tell you though that even if you had your powers you'd still be weaker than me." He paused again fully facing her and gesturing to himself. Liariana tilting her head very slightly at something she had just now noticed.

  "Cronos has prolly been sitting back watching us fight because he knows I can handle myself. Tesla was the weakest mercenary here, I'm by comparison much stronger than the old man you saw." He casually informed, not even bothering to say his powers were suppressed just like hers. These towers truly were a bit of an irritating thing to deal with, but he couldn't truly complain. He liked the challenge it brought when dealing with those in the city.

  Li
ariana the entire time didn't say anything, just staring at him while holding her injured left arm. It was nothing serious, but it would be stunned and sore for a couple of more seconds, her sword probably couldn't take much more punishment either. Didn't look like Blade cared to attack her again until she fully recovered anyway though with the way he were mocking her both verbally and physically... What briefly shocked her however, was the fact he seemed to believe that her eyes had been completely nullified by the towers. It was true that they were suppressed, but to assume they were completely inactive was something that she...

  Her eyes narrowed coldly, like a quiet killer; her grip tightening around the hilt of her now forward facing sword. Blade didn't have visual powers like she did, and judging by his words he never met one in person either. He didn't know the towers only partially affected her eyes. Good... she had the element of surprise still...

  "Once your Veralen activates Liariana, it stays active for the rest of your life. However to keep from killing you with its constant aura drain our eyes all have two modes. An Active Mode and a Standby mode..." The memory replayed in her head. His gentle voice soothing to hear all those years ago...

  Blade moved his blade from his shoulder, letting the edge scrape briefly against the ground before taunting Liariana to attack him again. The foreigner bringing her blade up at an angle before her features.