Epic Green
As the next set of rounds for the Mistral Regional Cup was about to start, Raven Branwen, in her bird form, came to the arena to watch the matches to kill time. Stan then started things off.
" Ladies and gentlemen of Mistral, the first match of the tournament will start soon. On one side, we have Pyrrha Nikos, a student of Sanctum Academy from Argus! On the other side, we have Neopolitan, a nomadic wanderer that has decided to join us today."
Silva watched this match with excitement as he was looking forward to how this match-up would turn out. As he grinned at the proceedings, Pyrrha greeted Neopolitan.
" Hello~! I look forward to our fight, Neopolitan."
The tri-colored girl gave the spartan girl an exaggerated bow with a mocking smirk. Neither of the two are at their peak, like in the canon. Pyrrha is still undergoing intensive training at Sanctum, and Neopolitan hadn't met Roman Torchwich to pick up some tricks from him. Stan then started the match with gusto.
" LET THE FIRST MATCH OF THE MISTRAL REGIONAL CUP BEGIN!"
Pyrrha raised her shield and took a defensive posture to let Neopolitan start things off to get a read on her skill level and tactics. The tri-colored girl charged at the polite spartan and was met with her spear. Neopolitan shattered like glass, much to Pyrrha's surprise, and the illusionist thrusts her parasol at the invincible girl's exposed right. After landing a few hits, Pyrrha responded by twirling her javelin, making Neopolitan leap away to away a hit. The polite spartan was now on guard as she wondered if there was any way to tell which was an illusion or the real one.
Neopolitan opened her parasol and spun it, then dropped it, and she disappeared again. Pyrrha was on high alert as she checked her surroundings, and the tri-colored girl reappeared in front of her and then swung her weapon at the redhead. Pyrrha raised her shield to defend herself, but the illusion in front of her shattered as it made contact with her, and at that exact moment, Neopolitan hooked her parasol's handle at the polite spartan's feet tripping her. Just as Neopolitan was about to thrust her weapon at her downed opponent, Pyrrha leveraged her polearm from the ground to swing at the tri-colored girl.
Landing her first hit, Pyrrha managed to stagger Neopolitan and quickly got back on her feet, then used her shield to charge at the tri-colored girl. Neopolitan raised her parasol defensively, opening it to defend herself better. The two clashed, neither backing down. Pyrrha responded by parrying with her shield and thrusting her spear at Neopolitan. The redhead's attack knocked back the tri-colored girl, and she did not stop there as she swept her javelin with a wide arc at Neopolitan but was met with another shattered illusion.
Neopolitan reappeared again right in front of Pyrrha and drew her thin sword from her parasol, and triggered a mechanism that Silva added to Hush which made the parasol become a short spear with a blade popping out at the end. Neopolitan's eyes shifted from brown and pink to white and pink as she smiled at Pyrrha. The tri-colored girl decided to take the young spartan seriously. Neopolitan unleashed a fury of attacks on Pyrrha. Thrusts, stabs, slashes, and ending it with a front kick, knocking the redhead back.
Pyrrha was bothered by how low her Aura felt and smiled as she met someone near her age to give her a challenge. Unfortunately, Pyrrha was unaware that Neopolitan was six years older because of her height, but that is irrelevant now. The young spartan charged at the tri-colored girl, and she threw her shield at her opponent to test her reaction but met with another broken illusion. Pyrrha acted immediately by widely swinging her spear around in a full circle which broke Neopolitan's camouflage as she was struck. Before the tri-colored girl could regain her balance, the redhead thrust her weapon at her opponent's head.
Neopolitan was knocked back, and Pyrrha quickly retrieved her shield only to throw it again to test if her opponent used her Semblance again. The shield struck true as the tri-colored girl deflected the projectile with her parasol and the young spartan swung her spear overhead. Neopolitan dodged to the side and slashed at Pyrrha with her thin sword and short spear. The redhead rabidly twists away as she uses her Semblance to mess with the trajectory of the tri-colored girl's attack, which made her overcommit to the strike, and the young spartan struck at her opponent's exposed back.
Neopolitan was knocked to the ground, and she used a gimmick Silva equipped in Hush. She aimed her parasol at Pyrrha and pulled a trigger, and fired buckshot at her. The redhead staggered at the shotgun fire, which gave the tri-colored girl a moment she needed to get back on her feet, then back kicked her opponent. Pyrrha blocked the kick with her spear and used the momentum to jump back and roll away to retrieve her shield. Neopolitan aimed at Pyrrha and continued to fire buck shots at her, and her opponent ran to evade them.
Neapolitan soon ran out of rounds as there was limited ammo capacity in Hush because she generally preferred to get up close and personal in a fight. Pyrrha took advantage of her opponent's delay to throw her spear at the tri-colored girl but was met with another construct of her opponent's Semblance. The redhead acted quickly by having her shield spin around with a throw which amounted to nothing. Still, she soon felt her instincts warning her to dodge, so she shifted away from her current position as Neopolitan reappeared, trying to attack her opponent from behind. The spartan used her Semblance to push away further the tri-colored girl's weapon.
Pyrrha then back fisted at Neopolitan and landed a blow. The buzzer rang, signaling Neopolitan's Aura going low enough to end the match with her loss. Pyrrha collapsed from exhaustion at the close fight, as it would only take one more hit to make her Aura fall below tournament regulations. She smiled at her hard-won battle and gave her respects to her opponent.
" That was truly a close one; it could've gone either way. I hope to meet you again in the future, Neopolitan."
Neopolitan was a bit disgruntled at losing because of tournament rules and shrugged at Pyrrha indifferently. Stan then added his comments at the end of the match.
" NOW, WASN'T THAT A FIGHT WORTH SEEING, FOLKS?! THE WINNER OF THIS ROUND IS MISS PYRRHA NIKOS! LET'S GIVE HER A ROUND OF APPLAUSE!"
As the crowd went wild, Silva made notes on where the two of them could improve. Pyrrha focuses a bit too much on trying to use her Semblance Polarity subtly, and if she incorporated iron sand into her fighting style, she really would be untouchable. Neopolitan needs more experience fighting without her Semblance, but that's about it.
***
" Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the eighth and final match for the day! We have a homegrown hero here, Ao Kusa!"
The crowd cheered for an arrogant-looking young man with dark green hair, blue eyes, and a pale complexion. He carried an assault rifle equipped with a circular saw, and Stan then introduced me.
" And here we have, Mai Bals Itshes, who won without a fight!"
My opponent grimaced at me and said with venom in his voice.
" I guess you didn't listen to me yesterday, you dumb animal!"
I messed with him a little by pulling one of my favorite gags on him.
" Sorry, did you say something?"
" I told you, something like you has no place in this tournament!"
As he retorted furiously, I kept myself from rolling my eyes as this is the same guy yesterday that ran his mouth while I was with Neopolitan and Emerald at the fairgrounds. I drew out my claws and got ready to fight him. My opponent aimed his assault rifle at me and spat out his racist rhetoric.
" I guess I will just have to put you down like the beast you are if you will not listen to your betters!"
Stan then started the match.
" LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!"
I used Flash Step to move quickly in front of my opponent and slash at his throat with my claws. To my surprise, his Aura broke instantly. As he passed out, I scratched the back of my head, wondering if he was just a weakling or if I was too strong. Either way, the gap between us is too wide for me to get a decent idea of where I stand in strength against my peers. I sighed in disappointment and hoped Pyrrha could at least give me a challenge. I walked away as the crowd stood silent at my quick victory, and Stan then finally announced after a minute.
" LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A NEW FAVORITE TO WIN THIS YEAR, FOLKS! MAI BALS ITSHES WON WITH A SINGLE FAST STRIKE, AND AO KUSA IS DOWN FOR THE COUNT. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS YEAR'S MISTRAL REGIONAL CUP IS GOING TO BE A SENSATION THIS YEAR!"
Most of the crowd kept quiet, but the faunus in it were definitely cheering for me as I left. Well, whatever, I am not here for the glory but to test my mettle. I hope my next opponent is more of a challenge.