Description: The Arctic is a harsh environment to fight in. And Rugal Bernstein is a harsh opponent to face. Sergio bravely takes them both on in this explosive NL bout that at least doesn't leave any of Rugal's property damaged this time! (Winner: Rugal)
Until last week, Rugal had never fought a match while swimming in the middle of the ocean. That certainly gave the coach from Taiyo with one of the more unique styles in existence a bit of a chance against the menance that is the tyrant of 'R'. Unfortunately for Sergio, the titan of the fighting world is no stranger to fighting in freezing environments.
He hasn't even changed his attire significantly to account for the harsh, biting cold that encompasses the frozen ice this battle is to take place on. Only a few feet thick, it isn't too hard to see the deep blue ocean beneath the somewhat translucent surface of the ice. Standing on the ice with his hands firmly in his pants pockets, the only change from normal is the thick black scarf around his neck replacing the thin one he normally wears when going out and about on these matches the League tries to amuse him with.
A chopper circles overhead in the distance. His ride out of here when he's finished whatever business Ken Master's officials expect this fight to consist of. Not uninformed, Rugal knows the man he faces today. Known only on the records as Sergio, the Italian stepped out of the shadows of irrelevance not too many months ago yet has had quite the crushing streak against many opponents of various caliburs. His rise through the League charts is hardly unexpected.
And of course, the two fought before, at Rugal's invitation. The deck repairs for the Black Noah afterward were a minor inconvenience. But of course Bernstein hasn't forgotten the destructive force Sergio can bring to bear. It's a shame he turned down the prospects of a job when they last battled. A man of Sergio's abilities would be useful.
One hand comes up out of his pants pocket to adjust the tie at his neck just slightly, before slipping back into his pocket. His opponent is one of the few fighters out there that Rugal doesn't inherently tower over. But that doesn't mean his presence is any less forboding. Moments pass as he waits, his breath easily visible in the frigid air.
Sergio, unlike Rugal, is not used to frigid climates. No, he is actually used to the semi-tropical weather of the Mediterranean, and the last few months of fall and soon to be winter in Japan have been a near hell for him. London was bad enough, but Japan is brutal. What does that make the Arctic, then? Likely fatal, if he wasn't to be removed from the scene immediately after the fight is over. The man can currently be found with the camera crews, a huge blanket wrapped around him. Why is this? Because he's stupid.
No, he really is. Why, you ask? Because he can't let a little thing like deadly cold hamper his style. Currently he can be seen wearing a partially silk shirt and slacks. His teeth chatter ferociously. "J-j-jeeze! Do they always gotta put me in such ice boxes?!" He didn't think this would be much worse than the Whistler resort a month or so ago. Has anyone mentioned he dropped out of high school yet? No, the arctic at the onset of winter is -FAR- colder than that, and he was having a hard time there.
Thus when Rugal arrives Sergio is wrapped in a blanket so he doesn't freeze to death waiting for the match to start. The moment he sees the powerful man he springs up and throws off the blanket, rushing over, almost falling on the ice in the process, and hopping around like crazy.
"Hey there, ok, alright, lets get this thing going! I don't feel like frostbite so why don't we just go ahead and start right away so I can keep moving!" Yes, he's rather anxious to start.
Sergio has certainly earned his rankings with the fights he's won and the name he's made for himself as a powerful contender. It's impressive how far he's worked his way up in so little time. Many fighters struggle for years to obtain the same recognition. Still. The man he's going up against has been training as a killing machine from the time he was a youth. No decades of obscurity for him. Tournament worthy as a teen, he's been only getting better in the years since.
Sergio is in a hurry to get things going, his condition here provoking a chuckle from Rugal. "Well, well, Mister Sergio. We meet again." The man lifts one hand from his pocket and sweeps it in front of him, offering a faint, traditional, European bow. "At least it isn't my property suffering the damages this time." he continues, sounding vaguely amused. A friggen jet DID explode last time, after all. "On the other hand..." His foot taps the ice. Having the environment crumble out beneath them could be catastrophically bad.
"In a hurry to begin, are we?" For someone who doesn't look dressed to stand in a freezer, Rugal appears calm. Perhaps he's endured such conditions as part of his regimens enough to last for some time. Or maybe he's just really good at keeping up appearances. "Then you only have need to start the fight." His other hand lifts out of his pocket as the man assumes a ready stance that looks rather open. His left hand at his side, his right hand bent at the elbow, his fist tightened. "Begin," comes the demand.
COMBATSYS: Rugal has started a fight here.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rugal takes no action.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|
Tournament worthy... one might wonder how long ago Sergio would have been able to contend in tournaments had he chosen to do so at a younger age. Certainly at equal ages Rugal would likely smear the floor with him, but winning isn't a requirement to contend. "Yea! Great to see you too. You did pretty good against me and Lykaio on your ship, but now you don't have home field advantage." He gives a wily grin. Who cares that Rugal probably has a bigger advantage here, where his opponent is freezing his butt off?
He returns the European bow when it's given, though in a far more rushed form than Rugal had done. So, Rugal is going to give him the go ahead to strike first, is he? Well, it's rather sporting of him, you have to give him that. With what Sergio had insinuated he could have just out and Genocide Cuttered the Italian then and there and no one would have thought anything bad about him.
But Sergio isn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth! He rushes forward towards Rugal and reaches out, trying to grab him by the front of his shirt and lift him off the ground, whereupon a large amount of watery chi erupts outward and directly into the tyrant. Hey, that's kind of familiar! Sergio's grin is undeniably large.
COMBATSYS: Sergio has joined the fight here.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sergio
COMBATSYS: Rugal interrupts Strong Throw from Sergio with Fierce Punch.
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Rugal 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Sergio
It's a bold move to go for Rugal so brazenly. Sergio just might be insane. Or maybe time has dulled memories of their last battle a little. Or perhaps he's hoping a bold beginning will catch the German off guard. Possibly he just doesn't give a damn and wants to get out of this weather as fast as possible!!
Rugal remains in place as Sergio reaches out for the front of his nicely pressed white dress shirt, only to sully it with a solid grip and start to life Rugal off the ground. But the crime will have none of that. Black, polished shoes, crusted with ice flakes, lift up off the ground as Sergio's grip holds true.
"Hah!" comes the exclaimation as Rugal predicts what's coming next, realizing exactly what the Italian has in mind. Unfortunately the opportunity to follow up with the chi blast that would probably pack a very chilly boost to the attack, is denied Sergio. Matching the frozen man's arm reach with his own, Rugal swings hard for the chest with his left - open palmed, impacting with the heel of his hand. The swing with his right is for the side of Sergio's head, however, as a knuckled fist impacts with crushing power into the other man's cheek.
The combination of strikes frees the tyrant from Sergio's grip and Rugal is once again back on his feet, his left hand busying itself with straightening his neck tie. Hmph. "It seems we have a contents of brute force ahead of us, Mister Sergio." the man remarks. Neither one of the fighters is exactly to go hopping around the stage any time soon. That leaves only raw force verses force. Just how Rugal likes it.
That wasn't exactly what Sergio had in mind. Perhaps he's suicidal, crazy, or wants to get out of the weather... but really that's not it. He's a brawler. Fighting with such crazy attacks is what he does. He's not the type to pull punches or send out jabs. He sends out uppercuts and follows up with rending the earth. That said, when your facing down someone so much stronger than you this is not a good idea. However, it's how he fights, and he's not changing it.
The result of that is a palmstrike to the chest that's quickly followed up with a hook to the temple that sends him staggering sideways, his feet almost giving out on him. The fact that they don't is irrelevant, because they're on ice and he falls anyway. "Oh -DAMN-." He rubs his head and picks himself up slowly. "Forgot you packed such a wallop. Ngh." He shakes his head a little. Well, at least the cold air is going to shock him into focus?
Ok, Sergio, your overly powerful brute attack got you hammered. What next? Another overly powerful brute attack? Awesome! "Yea, looks that way! This oughta be fun." That said, he rushes Rugal /again/ and jumps into the air, trying to kick him in the stomach, land, punch him in the stomach three times, and then fire off a palmstrike that doesn't hit and release a blast of water. "Hah!"
COMBATSYS: Rugal dodges Sergio's Breaker.
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Rugal 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Sergio
Sergio responds to the power Rugal's fists pack behind them. Beneath the coat sleeves exist iron hard muscles, forged with hours and hours of training for many years, especially as of late as the man has been recovering from a destructive amount of damage to his body at the end of the Jinchuu tournament. And now he's back, as powerful as ever. Some might even wonder if he's even beyond where he was before. As if his insistence on recovering from the injury inflicted by the Ryouhara has made him even stronger than before.
"Really?" Rugal replies, frowning faintly. "I would have thought I had left enough of an impact as to not have it dulled simply by the passage of time..." He chuckles, flexing his hands, keeping his fingers as warm as possible now that they are exposed rather than tucked in his pockets. "Ah well. An oversight that I can rectify properly this time." He grins thinly as Sergio comes in at him again... And steps out of the way.
While interested in trading blows with the man, there is a certain speed he maintains. While not an evasive fighter amongst his piers, the man is still faster than most people Sergio will ever in a fair match. The punches and chi blast are a non-issue as Rugal is out of the way... The kicks that Rugal sends for Sergio next aren't his strongest, but they still pack crushing force, the man launching out a knee toward Sergio's side followed by a snap kick toward his chest with his other leg and one final roundhouse to send them both sliding apart from each other on the slippery ice that refuses to give them traction.
COMBATSYS: Sergio interrupts Medium Kick from Rugal with Old Faithful.
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Rugal 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Sergio
Sergio misses. Well, Rugal moved out of the way but it was so easy Sergio might as well have missed. "Haha. Well, it's not that I didn't remember that you hit like a wrecking ball, but more that I didn't remember how big of a wrecking ball it was." Seriously, were he a weaker man Sergio might have decided that it'd be better to lay down and play dead after getting smacked in the head like that.
The Italian turns around to face the blonde man, and quickly takes notice of the kick that's coming his way. His reaction is immediate- his right hand shooting up into the air. On the ground, in front of his feet, a geyser of water shoots up from below, crashing into Rugal and blasting him backwards. The kick lands, but Sergio's muscles are tightened up enough that with that and the reverse force it has literally no effect on him.
"Whew! I was wondering if I'd be able to pull that one off!" Yea, he's grinning again. In a fight like this it's the little victories that you've got to be happy with.
The blast sends Rugal sliding backward before his second kick even has a chance to land. It's far from the worst attack he's ever taken, but the watery chi freezes instantly in the Artic air before finally shattering and fading away once no longer maintained by Sergio's focus, which makes for a decidedly unpleasant experience for a fleeting moment.
Gritting his teeth as he recovers from the close range chi blast, Rugal stands up straight again, curling his arm around behind him where it begins to glow with a vibrant, white energy. "Only fair, I suppose. The temperature wasn't bothering me so much as it is you." A faint grin forms at the edge of his mouth. At least he's had /interesting/ places to fight unique fighters lately. A swimmer in the ocean. A water chi user at the North Pole. Interesting indeed. "I suppose I should return the favor."
Sweeping his arm forward, Bernstein sends a projectile along the surface of the ice. Broiling, crackling with a dreadful amount of energy, it literally leaves a trench of melted ice in its wake as it barrels in on Sergio. And moments later, the ocean is exposed in a line between Rugal and the Italian. Hm... Too much more antics like that and this might become frightfully similar to his fight in the Pacific, Rugal muses. Only way... way colder.
COMBATSYS: Sergio fails to slow Reppuken from Rugal with Whitewater.
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Rugal 0/-------/---====|=======\===----\1 Sergio
So Rugal is going to send a wave of energy across the ground that's tearing up the ice. ...Rugal leaves him no choice. NO CHOICE but to try and snuff it with his own land destroying attack. However... well, it's just too damn fast. By the time Sergio has pulled his arm back after dropping into his power stance the awesome power of Reppuken is blasting him backwards, flinging him away. It sears into him and batters his body before he's left to freeze in the ice and snow, a trench of hot but rapidly cooling ocean now laying between Rugal and himself.
"A...hah hah." Sergio's sobered up a bit by that one. Well, he had to try it. He gets up rather slowly, the pair of powerful attacks almost enough to take him down alone. "Ngh. Y'know. I should have done that differently, but you only get so many chances to face down the legendary attacks like that." A wry grin forms on his face. "All right, which one's next?"
Rugal remembers the telltale signs of Sergio's signiture attack. He's seen it before in person, after all. Sergio doesn't end up getting it off in time to prevent the assault from the Reppuken... but the fact that he tried does tell Rugal one thing for certain. The man is wreckless as hell. The odds of completely destroying the frozen ice they're fighting on by performing the Whitewater attack doesn't even seem to register in Sergio's mind in the slightest. He's a risk taker. Maybe that's what got him this far along in the first place, Bernstein muses with a faint chuckle.
Stepping around the long trench between them he begins to approach the Italian with slow, plodding steps, correcting for the lack of friction with each foot fall just well enough to maintain his composure without looking like someone walking across something so ridiculously slippery.
Sergio is back on his feet and eagerly requests another legendary attack. The request surprises Rugal so much that he actually stops as if to take a second look at Sergio and evaluate his degree of madness. The man looks perplexed for an instant, as if trying to figure out if he's being put on by this whole thing. But it only takes a moment to consider his previous run ins with the man to realize that's just how Sergio rolls.
"Heh." How can he not honor a request like that? If one wants to see a litany of legendary techniques, there's few better to turn to than Rugal Bernstein after all. "Very well." The tyrant's hand comes up, clenched in a fist over his head. The flicker of flame that begins to course over his forearm might actually seem appealing out here in the bitter cold. Red-orange fire coils around his forearm, collecting around his fist as his arm begins to tremble with the power pouring into the attack.
"Just for you," he chuckles, taking a step forward at last, swinging that arm down and out in front of him, unleashing a massive swath of flame-like chi into the air toward Sergio. Of course unlike the real Orochinaga, it won't burn quite like real fire. But for a stolen technique, it's close enough in appearance.
COMBATSYS: Sergio blocks Rugal's Barrier Crash.
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Rugal 0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1 Sergio
That really is it. Unless it's going to spell certain doom, Sergio's the type of fighter who will fire off the ridiculous attacks time after time if they have even the slightest chance of success. The truly frightening part of this is that it oftentimes works out for him. Who can say why, but that's just how things are.
It looks like Rugal is going to honor his request as well, flaming energy covering his forearm. If it was Kyo performing the attack there's no doubt that he'd recognize it for what it is, but for the moment it eludes him. Still, it's some kind of really powerful attack coming from Rugal, so he's going to do his damnedest to butt up against it. The serpent flame comes for him, and he grins, steps forward, and crosses his arms in front of himself.
"Hrngh!" Waves of energy batter into him, the flame perhaps pleasantly burning against his guard and shoving him backwards as it advances. A good thing, as even emulated fire is hot enough to melt ice. His jaw clenches and he leans into the power more, his arms slowly being forced apart... and then the flames subside. "Holy..." He lets out a short laugh. "Hot damn, that was close." Another few moments and it's likely he'd have been completely enveloped.
But he's still standing, and that means it's time to go onto the offensive. Take a break? Maybe normally, but not against Rugal. That'd be a vast mistake, and an insult considering how genial about the fight the man is being. No, it's time to throw out his own semi legendary attack, regardless of the consequences. A grin forms on his face. "Alright." He circles around to the side a little so that there's something other than an expanse of water between Rugal and himself, and then drops down into his power stance. His arm draws back, and shoves forward. "HAAH!"
Utterly predictable results. Ice rends, water explodes forward and rushes towards Rugal... and luckily, the ice sheet remains mostly intact. Sure, there was a chance that it'd completely shatter it, but though a lot of what he does with his chi is brute force, Sergio does have really good control of it. Enough control, in fact, that the hunks of ice coming towards Rugal are extra super big. How thoughtful!
COMBATSYS: Rugal slows Whitewater from Sergio with Large Thrown Object.
Glancing Hit
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Rugal 0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1 Sergio
Ah, yes. Whitewater. Or, in Rugal's mind, 'Deckwrecker.' And of course, Sergio is going to bust out the surface destroying attack right here and now, freezing water beneath the stage of ice be damned! The attack surges toward Bernstein and the man reacts in kind, bending down to slam his fist into the ice, shattering the surface around him with incredible force.
With a roar, his mighty hands clamp down on a particularly massive portion of the shattered ice and hefts it right up out of the water over his head. "RAGH!" Hurling the impromptu projectile through the air directly into the force of the attack most of the assault is slowed down significantly, blocked by the ice that shatteres as it collides with Sergio's chi imbued onslaught.
Some of it still gets through all the same, crashing into Rugal and driving him back a little. There's now even more gaps in the frozen ice surface. Reppukens, Whitewaters... Orochinaga's... If the fighters don't end this match soon, no doubt nature will.
Sergio almost balks as Rugal does with pure physical prowess what he was forced to do with excessive quantities of chi, shattering the ice and throwing a massive hunk into the onrushing stream. The fact that it's almost enough to completely stifle it is frightening. There's no doubt that if Rugal really had his mind set on it, he could have simply denied the power any chance at hitting him, but instead tried that on a whim. Well, it's nothing less than Sergio expected coming into the fight. Rugal's prowess just never stops impressing him.
"Hah! Nice one. I didn't figure you'd try something like that. Really caught me off guard." And as Rugal will know, getting caught off guard can be really dangerous. "Hmm... I don't think I need to do something like try and pull a fast one on you. He lifts his hands and cracks his knuckles. "I think it's time for you to see my ultimate technique!" He knows it's probably not quite as awesome as the stolen Kaizer wave or other legendary attacks...but he's got a lot of pride in it- it can really wreck things if it works. "Here I come!"
If Rugal is at all adept sensing chi building up, he'll find that the levels in Sergio are spiking dramatically. Far moreso than even his whitewater attack. It builds and builds... and then all at once, releases. A huge, gigantic wave of water forms out of nothingness behind Sergio, and engulfs him. The man is swept off his feet, but in a completely controlled manner. He rushes forward towards Rugal, leaning forward in the wall of water with a near maniacal grin on his face, and pulls his arms back. Let this not distract Rugal too much, because what he may notices is that there's an identical wave behind him, and the two are set for a collision course.
COMBATSYS: Rugal endures Sergio's Unrealized Potential.
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Rugal 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Sergio
Connection! For some reason the wave crashes into Rugal and drags him along, for the ride, immediately bombarding him with chi. A moment later the two waves crash together cataclysmically, powerful eddies forming as the energy in the waves thrash against each other, Rugal and Sergio in the middle of it all. Amidst this Sergio crashes into the large man, both fists slamming forward to smash straight into his stomach with as much force as he can muster. The waves splash together high into the sky and then immediately begin evaporating away into nothingness.
Sergio's response to Rugal's defense is regarded rather impassively. What he witnessed was part of what has made Rugal a formidable foe over the years. He's willing to experiment. To guage the power of his opponents with an unorthodox defense just to see how their attacks hold up to it. In the case of Whitewater, it held up... very well. While he wasn't greviously injured, the fact that it managed to blast through the rather large chunk of solid ice hurled into its path says something. What it tells him is that in a few years, Sergio might be something more than just a new face with some interesting and showy tricks. His power comes from somewhere deep... Whether he ever manges to tap into it further remains to be seen.
And then he promises an Ultimate Technique and Rugal responds by bowing his head just slightly as if inviting Sergio to give it his best shot. His interest is piqued. Many fighters promise something to impress but few can deliver when the time comes. Ultimate Punches. Ultimate Kicks. Ultimate Chiballs. He's seen them all... dozons and dozons of times over. What does Sergio have to show that he hasn't seen before?
Something quite interesting, it would seem. No attempt to block or defend against the incoming attack is made. Rugal simply stands in the path to be swept up into the tidal wave of energy that crashes into him. His own aura fights against it, testing Sergio's chi manipulation on the minute level. And when Sergio catches up with the tyrant and slams his fists into Rugal's stomach, it might be as if punching solid rock for as iron hard as Rugal's muscles are.
But when the waves cascade, crash, then fade away, Rugal crouching on what's left of the precarious stage, one hand pressing against the ice. Not wounded, but certainly bruised. And contemplating. Reviewing the power of the attack as he mentally evaluates Sergio's potential. "Heh." he finally grunts, rizing up to his feet, fixing the man with his one living eye. "More power than I realized. You've grown since last time..."
He is silent for another moment, as if considering something. Until he finally speaks again, "Then allow me to return the favor. I will show you power that has gone untapped in this fight. It is... as you say, an Ultimate Technique." The powerful tyrant's arms extend out to his sides, energy pouring over his hands. It's chi... but it seems to have taken on liquid properties of its own. Blood red, some of it spills between his fingers and drops against the ice, melting holes down through it and surrounding the man with steam.
And then he's on the offense, charging toward Sergio like a demon unleashed, arms out at his sides as he aims to crash dead on into the Italian.
COMBATSYS: Rugal successfully hits Sergio with Gigantic Pressure.
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Rugal 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Sergio
An Ultimate Technique is what was promised, and that's what Rugal delivers. Truth be told, it's not actually one he draws upon frequently. Doing so requires drawing on power normally dormant within him. Dark, malevolent power that once consumed the man entirely. It isn't that he fears drawing it out... but that deep inside he knows it's a gamble. Some day what minute trace of a troubled god's power that remains in him might force its way to the surface for longer than just a single assault. But Sergio wanted a show and a show he's gained.
A red blur crushes into the Italian as Bernstein carries him back several yards, that crimson, burning energy coursing from his hands trailing behind each arm. The two go sliding off what remains of the icy surface into the hard packed snow around the edges. It's there that Sergio will find himself slammed down into the snow, one of Rugal's open palms crushing against his chest.
A rumble of the ground around the two heralds a gigantic explosion of that same, bloody red, acidic chi that errupts up from beneath Sergio, engulfing the European with an unearthly scream of power released that should not be. The fount of chi rises up around the two with Sergio forced to endure the brunt of its damage... and then begins to collapse back down. As the column dissipates, an inhuman skull frozen in a howl of terror is visible for a fleeting moment at the center of the energy before it too collapses back down with all the rest.
Rugal begins to rise to a standing position, leaving Sergio lying surrounded by the burning chi that melts its way down through the snowbank around him. The man clenches his fists, dismissing the risidual crimson chi from his hands with a grunt before he begins to brush off his jacket.
Just as Rugal had made no effort to avoid or otherwise weaken the impact of his powerful technique, Sergio simply allows himself to be hit. This perhaps was not the wisest of ideas. Of course he knew that it was going to hurt- there's literally no chance of it not hurting. Rugal charges him, blood red energy flowing from his hands before he smashes into the Italian carries him a ways, slams him to the ice, and then unleashes an un(?)godly amount of devastating energy directly into him. The attempt to shrug the attack off if completely out the window from the onset, a loud, hoarse scream that's completely drowned out by the explosion itself erupting from Sergio.
The man is left on the ground, struggling to so much as retain consciousness. "Uuhhhhhgh..." He rolls onto his stomach, getting away from the residual energy that's melting down to the ocean below, and begins to try to push himself back to his feet. It's a slow process... that eventually fails. Far too staggered and damaged from that attack, there's nothing he can do that will allow him to push his body that far after the punishment he just sustained. "I think yours won." Yea, that's mostly a joke- there was no doubt that it would.
He owes it to Rugal to give one last show of it, and he intends to. Physically, he's unable to continue. But spiritually... he can give it one last shot. His hand reaches for his shirt... and then stops. That didn't work last time, and really, he probably couldn't even manage the strength to throw the rope properly. Thus, he'll simply turn to that power within himself that Rugal sensed earlier. "Alright, one last shot..." He takes a deep breath, and reaches inside himself.
Where the 'ultimate technique' he'd used on Rugal has some sense of refinement, this is simply a raw release of his power. One moment he's reaching for it, and the next it's exploding outward from him, an incredible amount of chi pouring out from him omni-directionally and rushing towards anything and everything that happens to be around him. Almost like a flash flood, water completely and utterly inundates the entire area surrounding him, expanding radially at an astonishing pace, almost as if someone had accidentally opened up a wormhole to an ocean. Water pours, gushes, geysers, and utterly erupts from him, with enough volume that were it not for the fact that it's all going to evaporate in another moment the ice would have a nice little lake sitting on top of it.
COMBATSYS: Sergio can no longer fight.
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Rugal 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Rugal fails to interrupt Forty Days and Forty Nights from Sergio with Scorpion Deathlock.
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Rugal 0/-------/-----==|
Rugal was ready to walk away. This match was finished. He was confident that last attack wouldn't kill Sergio, but he certainly didn't expect the man to be remotely capable of budging after it either. "Hm?" the German inquires, a hint of surprise in his tone, turning around to face Sergio, human eye narrowing. A last shot, then. A final chance to show the power he can muster before the both of them are given a reprieve from this ridiculously cold, freezing venue.
There is that urge to defend himself with a contest of pure chi verses chi, but he's already measured Sergio's ability to get past his own defenses throughout the course of the match and the outcome of such an exchange is already beyond certain in his mind. Instead, he will experiment in another way. By storming right back into that final demonstration of the well of power in Sergio in order to grab hold of the Italian with one final, match ending slam. Why? Why not.
But there is a problem with that plan. Rugal is currently standing on the slick, rapidly refreezing ice, which doesn't provide much in the way of traction for trying to advance through the outward explosion of watery chi. Try as he might, he just can't force his way through on leg power alone, his will to get through countered by the outward force of Sergio's parting shot. On solid ground it would have been a different matter. But the ice is not helping here.
But the assault passes and Rugal is left standing. Dripping wet for a long moment, but standing. The watery chi begins to freeze solid at the same time it vanishes, eventually leaving the man in a wrinkled but otherwise dry suit to end the match in. In the aftermath there is no need to press any further attack, however. The battle is over. That much was already clear. "This fight is over. You fought well. You have my gratitude," the man notes as he brushes his hands off a second time.
A glance over his shoulder into the sky and a raising of his hand beckons his chopper back down to the ice flat for the pickup. Sergio, on the other hand, has the League officials to help him thaw back out after having endured these hostile elements AND Rugal Bernstein for a respectfully long time.
Log created on 23:06:26 12/16/2007 by Rugal, and last modified on 21:12:21 12/18/2007.