Description: Never let it be said that the organizers behind Saturday Night Fight are ever at a suffering for information. Judging from the extensive fight profiling done, they have elected to take the two most calculating fighters in the stable today and put them head to head in a tense battle meant to test their wits as well as their bodies. Held out on the frozen Japanese lakes just outside Southtown, the footing is mostly solid enough. Still, with the amount of power output fighters typically express in the course of a single day, a steady hand and a sharp wit will be needed to avoid going into the frigid drink! So, bring your ice skates if you got em, because this fight is getting ready to explode!
The unusual winter in Southtown is certainly of minimal concern to Kula. Not only does she pretty much not ever get outside of the lab facilities when not on a mission or being put through some kind of trial. And then even the few times she has been sent out in this record setting freeze, she doesn't even notice. With blood that already runs at impossibly cool levels and a body engineered for just conditions, Winter held no power over her.
Her first pursuit of the rogue K' project ended differently than her handlers had hoped and planned for. Over a year and a half of intense training made Kula Diamond a dangerous, calculating fighter, even if nearly all of her combat actions came from mental programming and conditioning rather than active thought and planning. But when tested in the field against the Flame Bearer, his own skill honed by real world experience, his own power enhanced by his drive to survive free of the shackals of the Cartel that used him, it was clear that the Ice Princess's lab-tested combat abilities were not up to the level expected of her. She needed more real world experience.
Fortunately, the world was rife with opportunities for her to test herself against fighters of all calibers and this winterly themed Saturday Night Fight event was a perfect chance to do just that. Normally it would take some entrance evaluations and placement testing to determine that the NESTS project was not, in fact, just a new, fresh rookie ready to face her first battles against other brand new fighters... But her handlers wanted this fight to be a test, not a slaughter, and thus pulled the necessary strings to make sure she was matched up against a fighter with established mettle and talent.
The choice of venue fits the overall theme of the event. A frozen lake north of Southtown with a snow blanketed forest surrounding it. The lake itself is more than large enough to accommodate a fight... and at first glance, the ice seems thick enough to support the two young combatants. Near the shore, the snow extends out a fair ways, providing some traction where it hasn't been flattened out into the ice into a dangerously slick condition. Closer out to the center, however, and the ice begins to look suspiciously thin. It can be walked over, but... will it hold?
The girl presently skating over the smoother areas of the lake, hands clasped behind her back, doesn't seem concerned about it, zipping back and forth across the ice without an apparent care in the world on blades of ice of her own making affixed to the bottom of her feet. Waist-long strawberry-blonde hair trails behind her as she speeds around, performing spins, hops, leaps, skips, and one-legged gliding bows. Finally, she spins to a stop at the appointed place.
The transformation is plain to see as she inhales then exhales, closing her eyes and bowing her head for a moment. A shimmer of white courses over her violet-leather clad form, leaving in its wake drifting snow flakes carried by unseen currents, and a head of sky blue, glimmering hair, as if even her mane was ice. The flicker of happiness that had been in her violet eyes while skating around is gone when she opens them again, now crimson in color. Her arms rest against her sides, fingers flexing and unflexing within thick, yellow gloves.
Kula Diamond stands combat ready. This opponent may not be her destined target, K', but he is talented and will fight with everything he has. It is time for her to prove the investments in her were not in vain.
COMBATSYS: Kula has started a fight here.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|
So the stage is set, a audience has gathered. Eyes gawking from yards away or from miles, thanks to the wonders of television and internet. Cameramen are peppered along the shore lines, people with parabolic microphones accompanying them so that this will not be a silent affair for audiences abroad and at home. Two people arrive, one a tall gentleman, his body wrapped in a long coat that halts just above his ankles. She, for even in the heavy garb that wards off winter's chill, this slighter figure is unmistakably that of a woman, lingers a step or two behind him, a heated gaze trying to needle into Kula's frigid exterior. Words pass between them, heated and sharp from her, calm but confident from him. A moment is taken, he squeezes her hand, they part.
What might be a servant appears to take the young man's coat. What waited beneath is a trick of science, thin, clinging material that hugs tightly to his torso and arms. It staves off the chill for now. He doins a set of long, fingerless gloves as he sets out onto the ice, booted feet trod across the ice in long, slow strides as he straps the gloves un tightly. Something clicks off of the ice with each step, hobnails that bite at the ice and allow him some traction against the nearly frictionless surface.
He is in no hurry, hands clasped behind his back as he approached her, attention shifting here and there to make note of the ice's condition where he could, trying to cement it in his mind. His attention was largely fixated upon her however. Eyes that were near a match for her own, white-rabbit red, peered out from beneath a few, stray strands of blond hair. With such a glacial demenor, he could not ascertain much of her but this in and of itself told him something. She was no novice, he could not afford to take her lightly, most of all because there was still that girl watching him from the lake's shore.
At last, he arrived, cameras flashed and flickered from the press as he inclined himself towards her at the waist, eyes careful not to leave her. "I am Adelheid Bernstein." he greeted her as he straightend, hands lifting as he brought his arms up and at the ready. "I trust neither of us will bore the other, I look forward to a interesting bout." he claimed as he eased into his stance, body lifting up as he shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet, ice creaking as the hobnails bit deeper.
COMBATSYS: Adelheid has joined the fight here.
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Adelheid 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Kula
As Rugal's heir moves out onto the ice, he is observed by the young fighter determined to be his opponent for this venue. Her eyes are calm, her posture relaxed, almost as if she wasn't even excited for what was to come. At a glance, she only appeared to be a couple years younger than him, though her frame is almost waifish and her long, unrestrained hair keeps some of her features slightly hidden.
She is clad in dark violet leather except for her hands which are hidden beneath thick yellow gauntlet-like gloves. With every exhale, her breath is vapor on the wind, and as she turns to face him more directly when he draws near, the unseen currents around her shift with her, small flakes drifting here and there. He will know, beneath his astute eye, that somehow the girl /belongs/ here. She is in her element.
He speaks and she listens. A smile comes to her lips - one free of guile or trickery, as she extends her hands forward, fingers locked together, and gives them a good stretch while leaning back a little. He is being polite. She can reciprocate. "I am Kula! Kula Diamond." The emphasis is on her last name the second time. Having a last name where she comes from is a big deal.
Her arms drop to her side after that, crimson eyes blinking slowly. "I have to do really well." she states with open honestly before making a bit of a face, cheeks puffing out slightly. "Or I'll be in trouble." This... might be something the Bernstein scion can relate to, to say the least. "So this won't be easy."
She glances back toward the shore then, eyes straying over a group off to one side on their own, all peering intently at tablets in their hands and alternating turns glancing up at Kula and back down at whatever is so interesting on their devices. The girl inhales then exhales softly, pivoting to face Adelheid again.
She has managed to stay put on those blades of ice beneath her feet, waiting for the instructions to begin. She's very good at following instructions. When the shout comes she lifts her right hand to her chin, palm up. A flash of white chi courses up her arm toward her gloved hand. At the same time she exhales over her palm. The combination of actions would put Adelheid in the unfortunate position of having a small sleet storm suddenly surging toward him. Only, instead of soft, slushy ice, it bears crystaline razor blades, needles of jagged ice fragments, and a slurry of frigid, strength sapping energy. Out here in the already cold environment, it could threaten to turn him into an ice figure if he cannot avoid the swath of ice surging his way!
COMBATSYS: Adelheid dodges Kula's Diamond Breath.
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Adelheid 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Kula
The blonde slash of a brow hitches upwards, the flakes dance around her but no others move. He pins notes to the wall in his mind. Aerokinetic, Cryokinetic, Aquakinetic, or the more broad sense of telekinetic. Already his opponent has proven herself to be a extra ordinary person. This is more exciting than troubling. This engagement will prove informative and educational. It being fun as well was a foregone conclusion. Their hands join, he takes a moment to study her gauntlets, segmented fingers and all. His grip is firm, respectful but unchallenging. His arm pumps hers before he draws his hand away. "I understand, there is always much more at stake than the outcome of the fight." he opines as he draws away, shifting back into a readied stance, hands lifting up, open, arms slightly crooked. "But I ask you the pleasure of your full attention. In return, I will grant you mine."
The first move falls to her, his brow twitching upwards once more when she brings her hand upwards but not quite in a striking manner. A piece settles into place in his mind, the gleaming chi coursing up her arm, the pucker of her lips as she exhales. Cryokinetic. The entire season has turned in her favor. A smile flits across his lips, eyes narrowing with a focused interest, "Wonderful." he praises her, his words a whispered vapor that drifts from his lips. He cannot simply stand by and let himself be flash-frozen of course. His body lowers, stooping down as he lunges away, from her 12 O'clock and into her 2, hobnails scraping shallow rents into the ice when he thrusts a foot down to halt his momentum. It leaves him scrabbling for just a moment, seeking traction before he can get his feet beneath him. Her extra human tactics seem polished enough, but what about her more mundane techniques? Will he be able to keep her on her heels if he presses her in a physical assault? Testingher capabilities, Adelheid lunges in. A shallow leap carries him towards her, a leg sweeping out in a arcing path that has his heel wheeling well above his head before it comes snapping down to try and thump soundly against her skull!
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Adelheid's Aggressive Strike.
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Adelheid 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Kula
Though there is a cetain lack of intensity in the look his opponent gives him, it would be a mistake to assume that she wasn't learning something from his actions as well. Her handlers deliberately withheld information about Adelheid's capabilities from her. She wasn't told what style of combat he used or shown any clips of his previous SNF appearance against the eccentric old Drunken Kung Fu artist. In the field, she won't always know ahead of time the skills of her opponents and those who handle her wanted to simulate the unknown elements of field work as closely as possible... without the risk of loss of life inherent in actual field work.
Thus it is that she passively observes him but there is no active thought about his style. The combat alogorithms programmed into her young, maleable mind are actively ticking away, however. Every gesture, every detail about how the talented martial artist moves and attacks is being recorded in an attempt to identify his preferred style of martial arts and begin formulating counter techniques on the fly. For the Ice Princess, it all happens in her sub-conscious, the girl needing not think about any of it as she lets the routines do their work.
When he avoids the storm of ice sent flying his way, her head cants slightly. That he manages to so quickly regain traction on the ice speaks to how quickly he has adapted to fighting with the hobnails on the soles of his footwear. Adaptable, she thinks to herself quietly, though unable to figure out what that implies in her conscious thoughts. She has to trust in her programming.
Her left hand lifts as his foot swings in with his foot, taking to the air to gain that sudden burst of speed in attacking. There is a shimmer of chi at her feet as the blades of ice she had been standing on become spikes in an instant, digging her into the frozen lake's surface, lending greater blocking power to her slight frame. His leg crashes against her arm, the supple leather sleeve of her combat jacket creaking a little due to the cold.
Something he said earlier resonated with her, however, and she can't help but ask even as she recoils from the force of his kick, staying steady but only because of her preparation. "I fight because I am made to."
The ice bonding her feet to the lake's surface shatters into tiny crystals, allowing her free movement once more, which she immediately puts to use swinging her left foot forward in order to build momentum for her to spin like a top, whipping her right foot around as the actual attack, the backof her heel rocketing for his chest.
His eyes might notice in time. This is no ordinary kick; at the base of her foot are small spikes of shimmering ice glinting in the sunlight, jagged and sharp, and aimed directly with the intent of carving a path through his flesh!
"Why, I wonder, do you fight then?"
COMBATSYS: Adelheid blocks Kula's Medium Kick.
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Adelheid 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Kula
Adelheid strives to be adaptable, in all things adaptable. This is the root theory of comprehensive martial arts, to absorb that which will make you stronger. Her guard is strong, it speaks well to her close quarters techniques. The slight smile that had flitted across his features is firmly in place now. She is making a good showing of herself. Surely, whatever keepers of hers that may be will be pleased with this. To stand your ground against Adelheid Bernstein is a feat in and of itself. Victory will be just beyond her reach, however.
At least, that is what the blonde man thinks to himself...
Once more, he has his feet beneath him, retracting his leg from across her arm just as soon as he could. Hir pirouette allowed him just enough time to set his heels and anchor himself before her foot would come whipping around at the end of her leg. Light shines off of fine, crystaline spikes. A intermingling of her capabilities and more mundane techniques. "Excellent." he notes once more. His forearm is thrust into the path of her leg, seeking to catch it short of it's intended path by putting a blocking arm up at her calf. Deft hands and quick arms would theen seek to lock her leg up in the pit of his arm, the limb wrapping around her ankle and trying to lift it up where he could ancher her for just a moment. "Compelled to fight... Unfortunate." he utters without losing his stride. Beyond this note of sympathy, he offers nothing else. He is no heroic fool. If she has had her life bent to the will of another, it is because she was not strong enough to claim it for herself! "I fight to prove I am alive." he claims, his free arm extending, palm forward and open as he reaches for her. His life seeps from him, his soul compelled into a gleaming light that howls and sings like a windstorm as it coalesces into a orb of roiling, silvery light in his palm. "I fight to grow stronger, to free myself and claim that which is mine." he continues, punctuating his statement with a windshearing eruption, the silvery orb allowed to erupt in a blast of intense wind that just might send her hurtling away!
COMBATSYS: Adelheid successfully hits Kula with Scorpion Deathlock.
- Power hit! -
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Adelheid 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Kula
His clever defense is just fast enough - as her calf impacts his arm, she was already twisting her hips to spin her leg back the other way in attemping to avoid the very thing that he manages to do. His hands get hold of her leather-covered limb before hefting it up a little, putting the shorter fighter consierably off balance, even forcing her to go to the toe of her left foot to avoid being tripped all together.
Eyes widen slightly, not in alarm but surprise, her combat calculations having received a new understanding of the young man's skill and speed. Her sub-conscious wrestles with the problem while her active mind instead hears his words, hopping on her toes for a few seconds, arms out at her sides to maintain precarious balance.
Prove? Grow? Free? What do these verbs have to do with fighting? To him it isn't just a painful game, she realizes. But there is no time to probe deeper, finally acting to free herself, her toes pushing down as she attempts to kick herself up out of his hold and slam her left foot against his chest in the process.
It is, however, in that same process that he snaps his other arm out, securing a firm grip on her neck before she manages to connect with her foot. Gloved hands snake up to grip hold of his arm as the now struggling fighter attempts to free herself from his firm hold while his own chi begins to build. The power whips at her hair and sends snow flakes flying out from around them as the girl struggles for breath and tries to break free.
The detonation of chi sends her slight form flying, however, as the ice at his feet creaks beneath the strain of the blast. The Ice Wielder crashes against her back, sliding several meters now that she isn't able to use her power to gain friction against the ice. Dazed by the powerful use of chi, she isn't out by any means, feet snapping beneath her and shoving her way up to her feet in a flash. Crimson eyes narrow, the frost chill about her building slightly but noticeabl.
'Free' he says. That's the word that annoying K' said as well.
"Free of what? What is free!?" she exclaims back with a sudden burst of vigor.
Her right hand snaps out to her side before the living weapon bursts forward. Why is everyone fighting to be free! The question burns in her conscious mind, occupying it for the moment, allowing her algorithms to take over, the girl's right arm snapping out to her side. She's bursting forward now. The spike-lined kick earlier has nothing on the attack Adelheid will have to defend against next, as brilliant white energy blasts down her arm, the girl snapping the limb forward from a meter away. The liquid-cooled chi flash-freezes instantly into a sphere of translucent ice, but the true threat becomes clear in the next instant.
Three elongated spikes of ice surge forward out of the frozen gauntlet, each seeking to spear itself through the young man's torso with unmitigated violence. If the previous techniques weren't already warning enough, it is now abundantly clear that his opponent wields killing techniques and the mental conditioning to use them without the slightest reservation!
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Adelheid with Critical Ice.
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Adelheid 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Kula
A hastey, frontal assault. Had he baited her, attempted to rhile her to a point where she would tip her hand so that he could capitalize? He would like to think so. The thought flashes across his eyes as he readies himself. He would deftly avoid these deadly projections and punish her with a reprisal, spouting something nobel and proud all the while!
His weight shifts, his body swaying as his full heft is transfered to one foot rather than being divided from the two. What hubris posessed him had overlooked that quiet snap and crack. He could not help but hear it now, a sudden snap and a weightless lurch as the ice beneath his foot gave. His foot plunged into water that somehow managed to flirt with the idea of freezing. It was like knives driven to the bone, the shock caused him to gasp. It was a tickle compared to what came next.
Shck, shnk, schlk!
The impact of the sphere of ice might have been as comfroting as a punch in the face but it was the following trio that troubled Adelheid. So mired, he could not escape, he lifted a arm, thrusting a gloved forearm into the path, metal slats tried to turn the point aside only to yield instead, the point sinking into the meat of him with bloody reward. Another rent a shallow but painful tear in his side, his body contorting to just allow it's passage where it would skid and clatter away against the frozen lake once it's momentum had faded. The last thumped home soundly, burrowing into the flesh of his side and giving birth to a gasp of pain and yet more blood to stain the ice and snow. So... this was a taste of her full measure? From the shore came a shrill scream of fear and outrage. The woman he had spoken to before traipsing out onto the lake surged against the restraining arms of a servant. She called to Adelheid and tossed in a curse and a threat towards Kula for good measure.
Wrenching himself from the hole, Adel staggered. "Free.. is a bitter sweet word. It is as water for those that die for the thirst of it. For those that have too much of it, it can drownd them. To be free is to make your own choices and suffer their consequences or reap their rewards..." his voice lacks the smooth, haughty notes from a moment before. He cannot afford to take her so lightly. What would his father say? Several things, none of them kind.
Seeking to reclaim the momentum of this fight, Adel lunges, hobnails scraping against the ice as he rockets towards her in a sudden, painful rush, a open hand trailing behind him as he sweeps towards and past her, trying to catch her up in his wake, a hand trying to affix itself to her collar or throat.
Now there are no walls making themselves readily available, the shores being too far away in either direction. He was forced to adapt the technique, heaving her up and then driving her down against the thick, unforgiving ice!
COMBATSYS: Kula interrupts God Press from Adelheid with Crow Bite.
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Adelheid 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Kula
As soon as the tri-lance attack is delivered, Kula disengages. The sphere of ice around her hand collapses to the surface of the lake in the form of fine powder and a moment later, the three deadly, blood-stained lances do likewise as she shifts her focus to other aspects of ice manipulation. There is no doubting the menace of her strike or the ruthlessness with which she executed it. Wherever the petite fighter is from, she has been taught well, creating a surprisingly deadly fighter in spite her seeming lack of understanding of the ideals Adelheid speaks of.
The burst of emotion is suppressed now, the girl simply watching. The shouts off to the side, a scream of dismay mixed with self-justified outrage catches her ear. At first she ignores it. Those along the shore are not part of this exercise. Their words do not concern her. But then when the shout was mixed with action, the young noblewoman held back only by the help of a well-intentioned servant, Kula's eyes flick toward the shore, her mouth pressed into a thin straight line. She seems to be evaluating the threat for a moment before her attention snaps back to the Prince of War himself, his words drawing her focus above all else now.
Bitter-sweet... but worth fighting for. The concept of being free... of making choices but also being responsible for their outcomes. What would that feel like? Her days are so controlled, her activities carefully limited, what would she even DO if it was up to her?
"Thank you." she replies, her voice calm now. There is no hostility, none of the ardor she had a moment before.
"I have to... think about your words."
She extends her arms a little out toward her sides as he finishes extricating himself from the ice. "In appreciation..."
Palms down, fingers spread, the girl begins to channel with the very lake itself. To say that one of the two fighters is at a distinct disadvantage in this venue would be perhaps understating it. All around the Anti-K', ice begins to swirl up from the lake's surface, bringing with it crystals, shards, flakes, all swirling about the girl now.
"I will do my all to give you the fight you asked for."
Manipulating this much power is dangerous. It's more than she has ever attempted before, even testing. White energy courses over her body, looking fluid at times, as if the chi were driven to levels so cold it could no longer burn like normal. When he surges forward, moving with the speed inherited from the Lord of Battle himself, Kula turns her left shoulder toward him, left hand extending, fingers dragging through the small blizzard around her, leaving in their wake a shimmering mirror of ice hovering in air.
It is through that barrier Adelheid first shatters with the kinetic force of his charge, his hand going for her throw and succeeding... But it's too late. The slightest delay created by the mirror is all she needs, her body twisting from the right to the left, her right hand lowered before surging upward, her legs springing into his exposed torso from beneath his outstretched arm. The girl goes airborn, raking a gauntlet of jagged ice across Adelheid in the process.
As she flies, crystals are scattered throughout the air, reflectling the bright Winter's sun like a thousand crystaline tears, before Kula comes down to land on her feet several meters away!
A barrier, something meant to stave him off, how futally cute! With eas, Kula's fortress was torn asunder! Adelheid crashing through like a truck run amok, he would have his hands around her throat soon. She would-
Catch him with a cunning and almost deadly ambush!
Red eyes go wide the moment he realizes his mistake, his heel presses against the lake's frozen surface but even with the extra traction provided by the hobnails, Adelheid cannot bring himself to a halt quickly enough! He skids directly into the readied onslaught, her double-legged kick crashing into him, he can almost, almost feel something snap beneath the sudden impact. He is sent airborne, body reeling through the air before the harsh, unyielding ice catches him. His luck making sure that it is a patch of ice that is entirely strong enough to absorb the full brunt of the impact before returning the force directly back into him. It was a telling blow and he is not quite as quick as he should be to recover from it.
When at last he is able to scrape himself up, he favors his side, a arm bent protectively over his middle for just a moment before his pride would no longer allow such a open display of weakness. He fought back the cringe as he straightend and lifted his arms once more.
"Thank you... for this display of your resolve... and power." he managed, voice bearing a measure of strain and wear as he spoke. "I will do my best... to match it."
With one more pause, he readied himself, steeling his focus and gritting his teeth against the pain that surged from the puncture wounds with every aching movement and the far fresher pain that is, at least, a bruised rib. Martialing himself, Adel charged to close the distance once more.
His long legs ate up the space between with gluttonous abandon, hobnails clicking and scratching across the ice as he closed with her. What was supposed to be a full frontal assault suddenly dipped low, Adel stooping into a sudden, sliding kick that scythed at the girl's ankles, attempting to rip them from beneath her. She wouldn't have a chance to meet the ground so quickly, of course, with a surge of power, Adel launched himself upwards, some how springing up from his slide, the roiling, silvery aurura that is his ki had sheathed itself around one of his legs. It was quickly put to use, carving a crescent swath through the air as Adelheid rose up, the leg sweeping up and over his head with the wide-arcing kick!
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Adelheid's Genocide Cutter.
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Adelheid 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Kula
Having landed softly on the ice, Kula whirls around, long, skyblue hair trailing behind as crimson eyes come to rest on the young man once more. Consciously, she can tell that he is hurting. Anyone would be after the technique she just tore into him with. But it is her passive combat algorithms that process the full extent of what was done to him. That he can still carry himself with such esteem is something she doesn't actively know enough to appreciate while her programmed battle routines escalate the threat level that Adelheid's skill and power represent.
She cannot afford to let down her guard for even an instant against this one.
Yet for all of the defensive operations her mind decides she needs to be mindful of, she still stands with her arms against her sides, fingers slowly clenching and unclenching in the thick yellow gloves she has on, passively waiting following her sudden surge of violence against the Bernstein Scion. Only when he speaks does she react, blinking in surprise at the words spoken. Her power is unmistakeable, she thinks to herself... that's why NESTs is so proud of her! But resolve? There is an averting of her eyes for a moment, as if trying to evaluate the compliment.
But he leaves little time for such contemplation, on her in an instant, surging back into the fight with renewed vigor of his own. As he slides, Kula half crouched, small shells of ice surging up over her shins, arms raised defensively now. The ice shells shatter beneath his slide kick, but they do blunt the damage a little. The bigger threat is, of course, the famed technique itself, as Adelheid, heir to one of the most dreaded attacks in the fighting world, launches himself into the Genocide Cutter.
Her mouth opens a little then closes in alarm as his chi slashed that wake through the air, his feet smashing into her guard followed by the dangerously powerful chi. "Ah!" A cry escapes her lips as she slides backward, arms knocked out of their guarding position to flail at her sides before she can recover and guard once more just in case.
His perceptive eyes would easily discern that the leather armored sleeves have been cut clean through by the technique, blood drawn to the surface slashes on the girl's forearms. But she does not slow down in the slightest. All of that bitter power that has been building around her continues to flow strong. Out here, in the world frozen over, she is truly at home for once outside of the labs.
"I am sorry. I wish this could continue. But..." Her handlers would scold her for the slightest hesitation. She would get told how she disappointed them. Other punishments could follow. It is her obligation to finish this now! Drawning all of Winter's Wrath to her call, Kula leans forward, hands planting against the frozen lake. In that instant, brilliant white power surges over her body and down her arms that have become a conduit for the liquid-cool chi she can channel.
Adelheid would have only a second to prepare himself, to respond, before it would happen - a surging spire of ice launching itself up out of the lake's surface, jagged crystals that threaten to lacerate or cut him should he get caught by it. A rumble would be the only warning of a second spire from his left, and finally one surging up from behind, as she seeks to trap him in the dangerous, potentially bloody attack.
Kula Diamond has held nothing back!
COMBATSYS: Adelheid fails to reflect Diamond Edge from Kula with Dark Steel.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Adelheid can no longer fight.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|
Her best? With a very deadly level of cryokinesis already displayed, Adel steeled himself for whatever might come. He focused his senses, his eyes narrowing in razor sharp focus, he could almost see the swell and throb of the artery in her neck as the blood pumped through it.
This helped him not at all for what came to pass.
Her power was loosed with terrible potency, a attempted defense could barely kindle itself at his feet before her attack had landed. He narrowly avoided being skewered entirely by the first frozen lance that lunged at him from the surface of the frozen lake. His weight shifted and he turned, too late to avoid it entirely, the cold, jagged protrusion raked across his chest, hot blood spilled across cold ice. The second caught him reeling, bearing down on him before he could attempt to muster any defense at all, it found his back, gouging a painful rent in his flesh, further shredding the protective garments that had fended off the fearsom cold that seeped into him. It was all that he could manage to remain standing, a arm looped around the first lance for support before the third came in from his other side. Anchored, he could not escape it, the frozen spear plunged into him with a wet, meaty sound. A third cry of pain joined the prior pair. A scream sang out from the shore to accompany it.
This was the last of him. Bleeding and battered, Adelheid would collapse just as soon as the will that kept these formations solid, ebbed away. Medics were already rushing across the frozen lake to make sure that this would not be a infamous mark on their records.
Hands still pressed against the ice, Kula Diamond released her control over the ice at the scream from the shore. Did she go too far? While her techniques were certainly deadly in nature, her handlers had not told her to avoid any technique at her disposal! Did they put her into an arena of fighting she didn't belong?? Crimson eyes blink, arms dropping to her sides as shreaded leather from her sleeves falls to the ice. The spires themselves collapse into fine powder that spreads over the lake's surface a moment later as she finally exhales.
The currents that had swirled around her weaken, dropping the carried flakes of ice to the ground. The blue color in her hair begins to melt away, leaving her strawberry blonde mane damp against her head and back. A bow of her head, a closing of her eyes, and then a moment later, and it is with violet eyes that she looks forward to her opponent. In his state, there is no words to be spoken. But no, she realizes. He had been incredibly powerful. One false step could have ended in disaster for herself. He was every bit on par with her own threat...
His words from before echo in her ears as the surrounding commotion builds. Medics moving in, officials waving an end to the match, staff and crew getting some final shots before cutting away to let the paramedics do their work. Hands lift and rub against her forearms, fingers coming away with blood from the close scrape against the legendary Bernstein technique.
'Free'. 'Resolve'. These words are important as she turns to the side to walk, not skate, toward her waiting handlers at the shore. The young man was profoundly wise. Perhaps, someday, she will learn from him again, once she has come to understand what he told her already...
COMBATSYS: Kula has ended the fight here.
Log created on 14:11:38 11/23/2014 by Kula, and last modified on 11:58:30 12/04/2014.