Side Effects

The cheering was explosive as Connor approached the pit.

"RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISED US IN THE FIRST MATCH, WITH HIS SUPERB DODGING SKILLS AND ONE HIT K.O! BUT! HIS OPPONENT IS, THE SHE DEVIL! UNLIKE RAINBOW, SHE'S FOUGHT SEVERAL MATCHES, AND KILLED EACH OF HER OPPONENTS IN A FURY OF COMBOS! OOOH, I'M ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT! WHO'LL WIN THIS MATCH?!"

"You don't have to scream into the mic..." Connor mumbled. Connor entered through the barrier, same as last time, and stood before a woman scantily dressed in a red devil costume and a blank white mask. Her skin was smooth, dark and alluring. She was thick in all the right ways, and Connor had half a mind to give up for her sake.

But, he saw a notice for the championship prize flash across the advertising screens above the crowd, and his mind was once again set and clear.

"Tch!" Devil clicked her tongue.

"Nice costume." Connor complimented Devil, but then became confused.

'That's not what I meant to say...'

"Taunt won't work against Charm." Devil stated.

"Okay." Connor replied plainly. The bell rang and the match started. Devil vanished and Connor began to look around, only to quickly jump to the right, just as Devil came down. Her punch blew the earth apart where Connor once stood.

"Guess it's true, you really are good at dodging, for a human." The last part was barely audible, but Connor heard it.

"Do you have a god complex?" Connor asked genuinely. She did not answer, she just held up her fists, ready to continue the match. Connor activated his Mana Coating, knowing he was going to need every bit of an advantage he could muster.

Connor was expecting the usual faint light blueish purple color to emit faintly, but instead a violently dark and raging purple hued black fully revealed itself along his arms.

'Oh... Dark Mana! Now I understand... kind of.'

"I thought you were human?" Devil pointed at Connor.

"...I am. You know, I'm not going around saying, 'Meow', so why are you acting like you really aren't human?... Oh! You must be one of those professional 'Cosplayers' I saw outside when I got here!" Connor answered her question and his own.

[Taunt Leveled Up ×8]

'Oh, she must be a really high Rank! And that was a Taunt? Am I not supposed to announce if someone is a Cosplayer?'

"I'll just kill you! I've had enough of your cheap banter!" Devil vanished and reappered right in front of Connor. It was too late to move, so he put his arms up, and hunched to make a solid blocking stance.

Though it hardly did any good. Because, Connor finally learned what the announcer meant by, 'Fury of Combos'. Connor estimated that around 50-60 punches landed per second. The combo lasted a full five seconds, and the final punch fully sent Connor slamming into the barrier. Dust had filled the inside, making it hard for anybody to see what happened.

"I've won! Open up!" Devil shouted.

"Says who?" Connor shouted back. The dust had finally waned enough to see, but didn't fully disappear.

[Warning! Side Effects of 'Black Blood' will shortly begin.]

'Side effects?'

"How are you not dead?" Devil asked incredulously.

"Hush, I'm busy." Connor held his hand up while staring intensely at the next blue screen.

[Heya! It's Invidia! Just a little message for my favorite mortal! Thanks for making my decision just that much more fun, drinking ten full vials of an evil gods blood, my blood. Whuch, you aren't supposed to do in one go. So there's good news, and bad news. The good news is, due to the interesting Potion you made with my blood and that Level Potion, you've sped up the Total Body Strengthening Effect of the Black Blood! The bad news is, you've intensified the side effect 'Mania' as well. Oh I so do enjoy you! Have fun <3]

'Mania?'

"You've got some nerve human!" Devil heatedly walked up to Connor gave him a good wack. The crowd was staring on in amused silence. They'd never seen such a fight so oddly entertaining.

"I told you I was busy. Time out, or whatever." Connor pushed She Devil away, a little roughly. She stumbled back and onto her butt.

[Warning! 'Mania' now in effect. Intelligence stat temporarily dropped to (0). Will rise (1) every (5) seconds. All other stats will increase ×(.5) every (2) minutes for duration, until Intelligence reaches original number and 'Mania' ends.]

"Drops to wha-" Connor seemed to completely shut down. His head dropped and his arms hung limply at his sides, he was slightly hunched over. Devil approached Connor and stared at him.

"I think he's passed out." Devil mumbled. Just as she was about to confirm, all the warning bells rang in her body and she leaped back. Connor suddenly straightened up and let out a loud Roar.

"Berserk!" Devil exclaimed. She'd dealt with a C Rank 'Berserk' before, it wasn't an easy skill to defeat. But, she figured she could handle a measly Low D Ranks Berserk with ease. Connor launched at Devil in an all too obvious attack, which Devil easily dodged and swiftly hit Connor in the side with a fast jab.

"Easy." Devil stated. But, to her surprise, her attack did nothing to Connor.

[Intelligence 3->4]

Connor once again rushed Devil with an obvious attack, and Devil once again moved to dodge. She gave a swift jab to Connors exposed side and retreated. Once again, no damage. This simple style continued for half a minute.

"You really are some to read." Devil laughed. Connor Stood, staring emptily at Devil.

[Intelligence 9->10]

Connors attack was the same as before, and Devil lazily went to dodge, but Connors hand suddenly reached out and snatched Devil by the throat as she did so. Devil began to struggle and squirm, cursing Connor for cheap tricks.

Connor threw Devil into the air, and just before she could recover to land on her feet, Connor was right there. He threw a straight right that connected solidly with Devils exposed abdomen, and sent her fully into the barrier. The impact was so strong, the barrier shook and flickered.

Devil kneeled on the ground, struggling to breathe. When air finally sucked into her lungs, she began coughing. The sweet and metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, which she quickly swallowed.

Connor stood above her, looking down upon her. This infuriated Devil. She rolled away from Connor and stood up to face him.

"I'm done holding back!" Devil stated angrily.

"Heh." Connor gave a small quiet chuckle, and seemingly phased out of reality. Devil jumped around while looking all over, only for Connor to have been shadowing her the whole time. A swift left straight between Devils Shoulder blades shocked her entire system as she was sent like a bullet into the barrier again, with the same force.

Devil felt paralyzed. She had bounced off of the barrier and laid on her back, staring up. She was screaming internally to start moving. It felt like an eternity, but in reality was a mere few seconds, before her body had feeling again. Pain shot through her like a bunch of internal firecrackers had gone off in sequence down her spine.

She slowly rolled and stood up, and then stared Connor right, in those misleadingly innocent kitten eyes. Behind that mask, Devil felt all kinds of Dark Malicious Intent, and for the first time, since she awoke outside this human city, she felt true despairing fear.

[Intelligence 17->18]