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 clash 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 clashed, the very ground below them quaked.

One of Akagi's biggest weaknesses was a lack 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 incoming barrage, Akagi opted to try out something she'd be experimenting on. She crouched down placing her blade in its sheath, before covering it with dark power. As the fireballs drew closer, she struck swiftly, swiping her blade and causing the oncoming 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 play her game for a bit.

“Hiyahh.” Hishya roared as she clashed blades 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 blades 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 blade at her. It was if she was saying come at me.

Hishya let out a laugh. “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 blade and closed her eyes, allowing her body to dissolve into a black shadow. A fire dragon's breath was several thousand degrees Fahrenheit, so taking it head-on was quite a dangerous move. Seconds later, Akagi was hit with the full force of Hishya's breath, and the effect was devastating. The ground where she once stood turned to lava, 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 black cyclone sprang up from the impact point, and Akagi's demonic laugh 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 black vortex slowed, and three pillars of darkness extended from it and down to the ground. Moments later, three Akagis appeared where they were impacted, and the black 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 delaying the inevitable!" Hishya descended at lightning speed aiming for one of Akagi's bodies. As she clashed with her blade, 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 blades 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 froze completely and shattered into a cloud of misty particles. Her ability, Glacial 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." Hishya laughed. "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 become 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 flames which extended from its blade 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 blade 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 blast, Hishya took the opportunity and leaped through the blast 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 blade and jumped backward driving her sword into the ground as she landed, 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 delay would likely put her on the back foot. Her two bodies slowly walked toward Hishya, blades drawn. This would likely be the final clash.

In a flash, 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 black 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 clash of blades, and this momentary lapse 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." Akagi laughed. 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 a compromising 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 moment later, 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 blast 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 flames around her body grew wild and electricity coursed around her. Her eyes began to glow, and her canines enlarged 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 even come 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 become 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.