Quarterfinals II: World Warrior Team vs. Dadallent
Author's Notes: And the next chapter is up! As promised, here's the surprise: a new soundtrack uploaded to the website, which is Dadallent's battle theme. Like the man himself, the music is eerie, ambient, subtle, and you're really not sure what to make of it. Find the link, as always, in the author's profile. End of the tournament is coming up! One more battle, and then the last, fateful match will occur.
Woodlark Island, Papua New Guinea
Three days have passed
"Woodlark Island, a tropical paradise if one ever existed. Populated by exotic songbirds, filled with fruit trees, and commanding a clear view of the ocean all around, it is inhabited only by a few hardy citizens who live on its north coast, making their livelihood through fishing. Today, the weather here is clear and the sun bright, making the chosen location for our battle exceedingly warm. The battleground is set upon a plateau in the center of the island, giving our contestants a wide open space in which to fight. I'm heading over to interview the World Warrior team." Kyosuke Kagami nodded to the camera and deadened his earphones before Jin could start screaming again. For today's fight, it had been agreed earlier that Jin and Kyosuke would exchange places.
Kyosuke tugged at his tie as he narrowed down the distance to where Ryu stood. "Hello Ryu, this is Kyosuke Kagami, special World Collision news reporter. Would you mind answering questions for our viewers? No? Thank you. First off, Ryu, what do you think of your team's progress in the tournament?"
Ryu tilted his head to the side. "Well, Kyosuke, I think I speak for all three of us when I say that this has been a great learning experience. All of our battles leading up to this one make us stronger. I think we're starting to really become a 'team' in the truest sense of the word - we're trained to fight alone and we've had to overcome that mentality to participate in this tournament. So on the whole I'm very pleased with how the team has performed."
"Your opponent is the dreaded Chaos Prince," Kyosuke continued. "Ryu, you've fought him once before. What do you think of your chances now?"
"It's been ... what, eight years or so?" Ryu asked, glancing upwards thoughtfully. "I know I've become stronger since our fight and I heard that he has too, so I'm certainly looking forward to meeting Dadallent again on the field of battle. It'll be a good learning experience to see what he's capable of doing now. Also, my teammates have never fought him before. So I'm really hoping that this turns out to be a way for all of us to learn something new."
"Ryu, you and Ken were nearly killed in your previous battle against him. Aren't you worried at all?"
Ryu shook his head confidently. "Not this time. No offense to Ken, but this time around I've a much stronger team at my back; besides, the rules prohibit killing attacks and Dadallent is, after all, a true warrior so he'll certainly follow them. So no, I'm not worried about dying, at least not today."
"One last question, Ryu. Would you explain your lineup for today's fight?"
"I may be a true warrior, Kyosuke, but in order to progress we still have to win, right? We're at a disadvantage in this fight since we're no longer allowed to assist each other. Alone, none of us can match the Chaos Prince. So our strategy is to prolong the fight over as much time as possible, wearing him down. I'll start off since I know Dadallent a little and Sagat will follow me once I'm out; hopefully, the fight will end then, but if not Kirina is waiting at the end of the line." Ryu adjusted his crimson headband and tightened his gloves. "Like I said, this is basically a contest of who can last longer."
"Thank you, Ryu. Ladies and gentlemen, Ryu the eternal challenger. Thank you for your time." Ryu nodded courteously and strode off to the center of the battleground where the judges awaited him. "Today's match certainly promises to be an interesting one, ladies and gentlemen. Ryu and Dadallent have fought before in the past. On one side you have the infamous Chaos Prince and on the other the pair of the eternal challenger and the Emperor of Muay Thai. So far, the third member Kirina Houshi has showed herself more of a liability than an asset to the team, but this tournament hasn't ended yet. If Ryu's plan works, it could be Kirina who saves the team in the end. Back to you, Jin."
"This will be a match to remember!" Jin roared into his microphone.
"Certainly good ground we have here," Sagat noted approvingly, stamping the ground with a foot. "Nice and firm. Lots of open area, too." He swept the whole battlefield with an experienced eye, noting the placement of each and every little obstacle. They stood on the edge of an open plateau, the sky meeting the ocean all around them on the horizon. Formally this plateau measured a good fifty by eighty meters. Looking off the side, Sagat could see fishing villages upon the coast if he squinted carefully. Beside him, Kirina gave her Muramasa blade a final inspection before sheathing it across her back.
"World Warrior team, please name your tactical leader," Gill boomed.
"Here," Ryu raised a hand. Gill noted down the entry as he and Jedah strode off to the sides. Ryu, for his part, wondered why the tournament had bothered with referees at all. Gill and Jedah seemed to do nothing other than watch from the sidelines and talk amongst themselves. Shaking his head a bit to clear his mind, Ryu forced himself to concentrate on the upcoming battle. Now alone, he concentrated entirely upon the small area where Dadallent waited for him, motionless. A glance at the Chaos Prince sent shivers running up his spine; he was indeed much more powerful than Ryu had remembered. Dadallent turned his head slightly, giving Ryu the uneasy feeling that he was being watched and analyzed.
Dadallent seemed to glance behind Ryu before he stated, "The wanderer. The emperor. The lady knight."
"Who are you ...?" Ryu asked. "There's this terrible power that I sense within you ..."
"Envy me not, this is a curse I would not wish upon my worst enemies."
"Eight years, Dadallent. Eight years. What have you learned?"
The Chaos Prince unfolded his arms as he slowly followed Ryu into a fighting stance, one arm held protectively in front of his face, the other back in striking position. "There is but one way to find out, Ryu. I remember you well, you were the one who fought with a burning spirit even when your body was broken. I want to see for myself if you still have any of that spirit left within you. Show me all that you have, Ryu, challenger."
"The fight is on!" Jin roared.
Ryu began the battle with his trademark attack, launching a Hadouken at Dadallent; however, the Chaos Prince had already moved off the center. In an instant he had narrowed the distance to Ryu down to halfway and lashed out with a powerful spinning kick, knocking Ryu backwards when the Ansatsuken fighter failed to block in time. Sent tumbling, Ryu rolled into a safe recovery and stood up cautiously. Dadallent hadn't attempted to exploit his advantage; in fact, he was simply standing where he had struck, "looking" at Ryu. Ryu grimaced; Dadallent was faster than he had remembered, though goodness knew he had been fast enough eight years ago. Ryu launched another Hadouken and Dadallent gracefully sidestepped it.
Ryu's eyes narrowed. Unlike Akuma and McGrath, to his experience Dadallent was not the type of warrior who fought in close combat for the sake of making a quick kill. Instead, the Chaos Prince liked to dance with his enemy and wear him down until he could be dispatched in one brutal attack. Ryu also wondered how Dadallent coped with the weather. It was blazing hot and yet the man was completely shrouded in his black ninja uniform, showing no sign of weakness. Ryu broke into a run and rushed Dadallent, dropping into a roll at the last moment that was meant to surprise his opponent. The ground felt hard and dusty as he slid into his roll; Ryu unfurled and launched a Shoryuken, only to realize to his dismay that Dadallent had moved again and was directly behind him. Ryu desperately twisted around in midair, but Dadallent was already attacking and nearly broke Ryu's ankle with a high kick. Pain lanced up through his leg and he winced with effort as he tried to calm the force of his Shoryuken, finally twisting around at the apex of his jump to launch a Hadouken downwards. Dadallent jumped too, taking the fireball squarely in the chest. Ryu grimaced inwardly; he'd used up far too much energy negating the force of his ill-advised Shoryuken and so the fireball lacked any sort of stopping power. Dadallent reached Ryu's height and pulled him into a vicious rolling throw.
Disoriented by the rapid movement, Ryu tried to break free and he gritted his teeth with effort as he strove to break Dadallent's dead lock. Ken had a similar midair throw, but Dadallent's was faster and more tightly controlled. Just as Ryu finally pulled one arm off, he was slammed hard into the ground and all the breath fled his body with a gasp. Dadallent took the opportunity to roll off Ryu's body and land on his own feet.
Ryu tasted blood in his mouth as he rose to his feet, trying to push out the worried looks that Sagat and Kirina were sending his way. I'm not doing any better than Charlie or Chun-Li did. This has got to stop. Now McGrath said that Dadallent could take physical damage that would break a nuclear bunker, but he's as vulnerable as the next person to an energy-based attack. Ryu cupped his hands together as a white glow began to emanate from his palms and energy collected all over his body. He concentrated hard, calling up reserves of his power. "Shinkuu ..."
Dadallent took a half-step to the right ...
"Hadouken!" With a mighty cry, Ryu unleashed an enormous beam of energy at the space Dadallent stepped into - only to realize that his opponent, in fact, had not. The Shinkuu Hadouken streamed through empty space as Dadallent withdrew his leg from the feint and Ryu mentally cursed. He couldn't redirect his beam, not without cutting it off entirely, and Dadallent was again moving with that impossible speed which characterized his method of combat ... Dadallent struck hard and the Shinkuu Hadouken died in midblast as Ryu doubled over from the impact, tasting the blood that pooled into his mouth. Nor was that all; an elbow crashed into the back of his neck and forced him downwards, only for the fall to stop abruptly as Ryu's forehead met Dadallent's knee. Stars exploded into Ryu's vision as pain flared from the three separate attacks. With a grunt, Dadallent hooked Ryu's battered ankle and threw him aside.
Still, there was plenty of fight left in Ryu as he staggered to his feet. Dadallent blurred out, but Ryu had seen this particular technique in the Chaos Prince's fight against Chun-Li and retaliated with a powerful Shoryuken, his fist ramming solidly into Dadallent's solar plexus as the Chaos Prince dropped out of the sky with a swift kick. Upon impact, Ryu felt Dadallent's flesh give way beneath his fist as his dangerous opponent was knocked cleanly out of the Ninja Twirl. Dadallent fell backwards and righted himself in midair, leaving Ryu with a half-developed sense of satisfaction. Pulling that Shoryuken had strained his muscles to the breaking point.
Ryu faked a fireball; Dadallent moved not an inch and Ryu felt his ears turn red as he convinced himself that he must seem particularly stupid-looking to the spectators. Dadallent simply looked at him and Ryu realized that the Chaos Prince had been insulted by the gesture. The pain in his body throbbed dully as he summoned his energy for another fireball and hurled it at Dadallent. Dadallent dodged out of the way, rolling under the Hadou blast to emerge directly in front of Ryu. He struck with the speed of an uncoiling viper, but this time Ryu was ready and caught the attack on his wristguards.
His guard nearly shattered under that single blow. The shock of the attack lanced through his skeletal frame and stunned him for a brief moment before he recovered and retaliated with a powerful Hurricane Kick. This attack whiffed entirely, but at least it carried him out of range of Dadallent's strike. Ryu landed on a particularly rocky part of the battleground and braced himself as Dadallent circled in again. They exchanged a score of blows before Dadallent stepped to the left and drew his right hand across his chest. Ryu's punch shot through the space that Dadallent had cleared just a moment earlier and Dadallent's own hand raked Ryu's. Contact came in the form of a finger skimming under Ryu's wrist; there was hardly any touch, but when Ryu withdrew his hand he was stunned to find that it fountained blood from the wrist.
"Daddy!" Kirina cried, equally appalled.
"Hang in there, Ryu ..." Sagat whispered in a strained voice.
"You're not faring any better than you did the last time we met," Dadallent noted, disapproval dripping from his voice. "Don't give up yet, Ryu."
Ryu pulled his wristguard further down to stanch the flow of blood; specks of red had appeared on his dirty white uniform. Apparently Dadallent had also sliced at least one of his tendons as a very peculiar sort of pain was throbbing up his arm. Ryu tightened a fist experimentally; at least his fingers still responded properly. But he abruptly ran out of time for further testing when Dadallent pulled off his scabbard from his back and swung it at Ryu. Ryu ducked the blow and tried a low-lying sweep, but the attack backfired when Dadallent stomped on his ankle and stuffed the kick. The Chaos Prince then took advantage of his opponent's reduced mobility to ram the heavy sheath into Ryu's stomach and drive all of the wind out of him. A moment later, he'd kicked Ryu away from the center of the battlefield. When Ryu tried a retaliatory Hadouken with only his left hand, Dadallent feinted to the left before blurring to the right and striking back with a ground-hugging fireball of his own.
And Ryu had a flash of inspiration. "Shinkuu -!" he announced, cupping his hands together and biting back the agony that pulsed up his right hand. Energy swirled around him, gathering into his hands as a dark red glow formed in his palms. Dadallent must have sensed the attack despite his blindfold, for his stance altered very slightly in order to give him an advantage in mobility. Ryu focused harder, forcing more energy into his palms despite the burning sensation that began to seep through his skin. His teeth gritted with effort as rivulets of sweat poured down his face. Up ahead, Dadallent had sensed that something was wrong, that his opponent should have released the attack by now but for some reason had not. Ryu felt as though his hands would melt into charred flesh from the effort of holding back his attack. When he finally reached the breaking point, he unleashed the attack with all the remaining force that he could muster.
"Hadouken!"
A massive ball of dark crimson fire erupted from Ryu's palms and blazed towards Dadallent like a runaway comet. The Chaos Prince reacted with superhuman speed, dodging to the side as Ryu slumped over from the effort of using the attack, but the eternal challenger hadn't finished yet, bracing himself for yet another mighty effort. Concentrating again, Ryu focused more energy into his palms, at the same time grimly realizing that if this tactic failed, it was over for him. Dadallent had moved entirely off the dark red fireball's target trajectory, but it was angled downwards. The mass of concentrated energy plowed into the ground and exploded, sending an enormous hemisphere of violet fire erupting in all directions. Caught by surprise, Dadallent bolted away but even he wasn't quite fast enough to avoid the explosion. The fiery sphere of the Denjin Hadouken engulfed him and when its flames had burnt out Dadallent presented a very different image. He knelt on the ground very obviously wounded, holding his right arm with his left, his uniform in charred tatters.
Ryu wasted no time in following up on his momentary advantage, though the effort of calling up ever more energy from his depleted reserve was wearing him down. In the back of his mind, a small but insistent voice warned him against draining himself so much. But as Dadallent stirred, Ryu's thinking was abruptly cut off by the urgency of the situation and he unleashed a less potent version of the Shinkuu Hadouken. Nevertheless, it was still a beam cannon that tore through the air and homed in on Dadallent, finding its mark with true precision. Dadallent screamed - it was a horrible cry - as the pure white energy of Ryu's attack lanced straight through him. Ryu's pain was no less great and he hazily wondered if he would faint from the effort of such a strenuous attack.
"Amazing comeback on Ryu's part, ladies and gentlemen!" Kyosuke raved excitedly. "Just when you thought he was getting the worst of it, Ryu tricked the Chaos Prince with a miscalled Denjin Hadouken. And then he blasted the Chaos Prince like a sitting duck with his Shinkuu version! Dadallent's recovered somewhat, but he's definitely moving a lot less slowly than he used to. It looks like he's done playing with Ryu - yup, five hit ground rave there - Dadallent's going for the kill, no doubt of that. It's unlikely that Ryu will last much longer under the onslaught of - amazing! Dadallent has Ryu locked straight into the Ravage Assault!"
I still can't defeat Dadallent ... It was Ryu's last flickering thought before darkness claimed him.
"Here comes the Emperor of Muay Thai looking decidedly angry," Kyosuke continued. "Sagat is getting up close and brutal right off the bat! He's got Dadallent pinned under a storm of close-range elbow and knee attacks, but it looks like the Chaos Prince is having none of that. So far they seem about evenly matched - no, wait, Sagat just landed a powerful uppercut! And Dadallent isn't even affected by that? Incredible, ladies and gentlemen, Dadallent's stamina is nothing short of incredible. For those of you who've just joined us, our current match-up pits the Emperor of Muay Thai against the Chaos Prince. Muay Thai is generally a close-range and very vicious style that wears its target down with the sheer force of its attacks, but against an opponent as dangerous as Dadallent Sagat might be well-advised to watch himself."
"The emperor ..." Dadallent whispered.
Sagat's tactics suddenly changed as Dadallent backflipped to put several meters' worth of separation between himself and Sagat. The Chaos Prince was dangerously close to the edge of the battlefield, only two or three meters separating him from a drop off the plateau and into eternity. A stream of energy blazed by and he ducked under it; Sagat wound up for another Tiger Shot and this time it skimmed along the ground. Dadallent sidestepped it, at the same time dropping to the rocky surface of the plateau and sinking his fist into it. A bright plume of fire emerged and rushed with terrible speed towards the Emperor of Muay Thai. This Sagat easily blocked, but in doing so he gave Dadallent the necessary time to swiftly teleport and strike his vulnerable rear. Despite being perhaps only half of Sagat's weight, Dadallent easily floored his opponent and drove his fist into Sagat's exposed stomach.
Sagat felt all of the wind expelled from his body with that single blow as unimaginable pain emanated from the point of contact. He forced himself to throw Dadallent off and pulled to his feet, but the effort of doing so cost him dearly and he wondered just how many of his organs Dadallent might have destroyed with that single punch. When he resumed his fighting stance, it was with one fist held low near his stomach to prevent repeat episodes. Gradually the sharp pain of the initial contact died down to be replaced by the dull, throbbing pain of a past wound. Sagat fired off another Tiger Shot and Dadallent instantly countered with the Ninja Twirl, only this time he reappeared under Sagat instead of above him. The net result was that Sagat launched an uppercut which missed entirely, as did Dadallent's Ninja Twirl. However, Dadallent's move was the one that suffered less from cooldown and he was waiting for Sagat when the Emperor of Muay Thai descended. Sagat blocked an initial punch, but it drove him off balance and when he tried to roll backwards Dadallent dashed at him and locked down his knee.
Only Sagat's top physical condition saved him from losing that knee right there; as it was, the bone nearly gave anyways. Bracing himself, Sagat launched a Tiger Shot at point-blank range right into Dadallent's face and had the satisfaction of seeing the Chaos Prince knocked back as though hit by a sledgehammer. Sagat staggered to his feet; Dadallent himself seemed none too healthy, but he too forced a recovery and for a moment the two opponents glared at each other from a respectable five meter separation. Dadallent's guard had dropped ever so slightly and Sagat took that as an indication that he and Ryu had indeed worn their dangerous opponent down. Sagat focused energy into his palms, more energy than he had yet used, and with a roar of "Tiger!" unleashed a massive fireball that hurtled towards Dadallent.
Predictably, Dadallent countered by vanishing into a haze of smoke. He reappeared an instant later directly behind Sagat, only to find out far too late that his opponent had also turned around. Sagat's arms shot out again and Dadallent ran straight into a fireball nearly as large as he was; the sheer force of the attack knocked him backwards into the air as he tumbled, but Sagat hadn't finished yet. The third and final Tiger Cannon careened without mercy into Dadallent and blasted him yet further from Sagat. He landed heavily on the dusty ground - none of the graceful air recoveries that he had used up to that point - and he was not swift in rising, either.
Sagat allowed himself a small smile as he dashed forward to exploit the opening. He had an advantage now that Dadallent had been thoroughly beaten in quick succession by two of Ryu's energy attacks and one of his. Sagat came off the ground and rushed forward with a vicious Tiger Crush aimed squarely at Dadallent's face. The Chaos Prince blocked this attack and struck back, catching Sagat on the chest, but there was no force behind the attack. They traded a dozen blows before both simultaneously landed their strikes - Sagat a straight punch right to Dadallent's nose, and Dadallent a powerful kick at Sagat's rib cage. Sagat felt his ribs fracture underneath the attack but to his gratification Dadallent's face began to stream with blood.
"This match is fast degenerating into the level of a brawl," Kyosuke commented. "Sagat's superior weight and reach make him especially dangerous in close combat, but so far Dadallent is doing a remarkably good job of holding him at bay considering how badly he's been beaten earlier. While it's hard to see anything right now, it's pretty obvious that Sagat is trying to beat Dadallent down into submission with the sheer force of his attacks. He's in better shape than his opponent, but Dadallent is notorious for being a difficult enemy to - did you see that?! Instant reprisal on Dadallent's part; he's got Sagat on a chain now! Wow, eight-hit aerial rave ending with a weapon knockdown! Sagat's bleeding badly now and it looks like he's starting to fight more cautiously."
Sagat snarled; he'd thrown one too many punches at Dadallent and paid the price for it when he became predictable. Being pulled into a kick was never good, but Dadallent had nearly broken his thigh with that retaliatory kick and then it was only a matter of chaining attacks together. Deep inside, Sagat suspected that he was beginning to realize what Ryu already knew; he simply wasn't a match for Dadallent. He could not use his superior size and weight to force a guard crush on someone of Dadallent's skill. Something had to give and Sagat closed in on Dadallent again, but he could not shake the unsettling feeling that the something in question would be himself and not Dadallent. Dadallent was prepared and they traded upwards of thirty blows before Dadallent dropped back a bit. It was what Sagat wanted; he aimed a punch at Dadallent as his opponent rushed forward and it struck the Chaos Prince squarely in the stomach, but Dadallent did not even slow down as he slid past Sagat drawing two fingers after himself. Stunned by the superhuman feat - his punch could have dropped a rampaging rhinoceros - Sagat glanced down in disbelief to see blood seeping out of a wound neatly drawn horizontally across his chest.
Dadallent must have also done something else, for when Sagat tried to move pain lanced through his muscles from head to foot. And while he could still fight, every movement now cost him dearly in terms of effort and pain. He forced the latter into the background; Dadallent was practically on top of him and Sagat saw the opening, lashing out with a powerful knee strike that unfolded into a kick as he roared "Tiger ... Knee!" The attack was designed to pelt his opponent with a barrage of close-range attacks before ending in a single, massive flying kick; once the first hit went through, the rest came naturally.
Only the first hit didn't go through.
When Sagat's knee rose, Dadallent curled his fingers into a fist and struck down at Sagat's knee. Forces met and collided before the Chaos Prince's fist shattered the bones in Sagat's knee into a thousand fragments; the sheer power of the attack knocked Sagat down to the ground and he screamed as unimaginable pain paralyzed his body. He clutched futilely at his leg; all thoughts of defense had been lost in the haze of the injury that coursed through his nerves, and he failed to see Dadallent draw up his hand in the distinct two-finger formation that signaled the beginning of his destructive super art. Dadallent swung, bringing his arm out in a wide arc as a bright white light flashed off his fingertips. The entire battleground exploded with brilliance as the very distinct sound of a blade scraping on metal rang out. The light faded and Sagat was out cold, bleeding from a thousand gashes upon his skin.
Dadallent returned to the center of the field as Kirina entered from the opposite side whence Sagat had fallen. "And just like that, Sagat is knocked out by the Deadly Slash! Here comes Kirina, the last of the World Warriors," Kyosuke noted. "She looks quite cautious and she has a good reason to be so, after seeing two much stronger warriors both defeated by Dadallent. On the other hand, Dadallent doesn't so great himself. Is it just me, or does he look worn-down and haggard, Jin ... don't answer that! ... yes, Dadallent certainly doesn't look like the fearsome Chaos Prince of popular legend. Still, considering what he did to Sagat, I'd count him as a viable threat. It comes down to what Kirina is capable of, and so far I haven't been impressed by her performance."
"And the lady knight ..." Dadallent whispered.
The Kirina Houshi raised by her mother would have trash-talked Dadallent prior to fighting. But as she sank warily into a fighting stance, Kirina felt that the odds were very much against her. Despite his battered appearance, Dadallent stood stock-still and his aura seemed much more frightening up close. Somewhat carefully, Kirina pulled out her Muramasa blade and held it in a classic ready stance, blade pointed at Dadallent, wrists guarded. Earlier, Hiryu and McGrath had both advised her to stick with a basic stance and fight without fancy techniques; Kirina now pondered the soundness of that advice. Dadallent pulled off his own sheath from his back and withdrew the blade, holding Psychisaber ready in his right hand as his left held on to the sheath. The gesture made Kirina seethe inwardly. Arrogant bastard, does he really think that this will be over so quickly that he doesn't even bother to put away that sheath?
As it was, Kirina had it dead wrong.
She rushed forward, threw out a mighty slash aimed at slicing open Dadallent's wrist ... Blocking attacks with a sheath? No way, he's a two-weapon fighter! Foolish of me to underestimate him like that ... But there was hardly any time to think, as Dadallent had already knocked her sword off to the side with the iron-bound sheath. Kirina instinctively jumped backwards, but the arc that the Psychisaber drew through the air slashed through the skin of her left arm and Kirina only avoided losing her arm entirely thanks to the shortened length of Dadallent's weapon. She parried away the next strike, but the third seemed to magically change direction in midswing and the flat of the blade crashed into her stomach, leaving her breathless. Kirina tried a thrust of her own; Dadallent caught the Muramasa between his two weapons and executed a textbook-perfect backflip, easily kicking the sword out of Kirina's hands.
Mercifully it landed right next to her and Kirina seized the weapon, rushing down on Dadallent with a renewed sense of urgency. She aimed a high attack that Dadallent parried with his sheath, a mid-level slash, again deflected by that accursed scabbard, and yet another bash directly at Dadallent's neck. This last one Dadallent brought both weapons up to deflect and Kirina instantly blazed into a different move, leaping forward with a flying kick. Caught by surprise, Dadallent dashed to the side but failed to clear away from the Sniping Arrow in time. A sickening crunch sounded out as Kirina's attack crushed a pair of his ribs and Dadallent dove into a roll, giving himself more distance. Kirina's eyes narrowed. He just lost two ribs, but the way he moves you'd think that he hadn't fought at all up to this point. This can't possibly be natural.
Kirina tried a side slash, noting that she had begun to sweat in the sinfully hot weather. This Dadallent parried; when Kirina slashed again, he vanished in a plume of smoke and dove down from above, flipping around in midair to drive a powerful slash down at her. Kirina managed to withstand this attack by catching it on her sword in a two-handed grip, but the sheer force of it nearly knocked her into the ground regardless. Her arms both numbed under the withering attack and she was too slow to block the next strike, a wide-arcing swing of the sheath that rapped her soundly under the chin. Kirina forced herself into an uppercut and it intercepted Dadallent's next strike, but she was too spent to attempt the reverse leg drill. Instead, she tried an aerial fireball.
The fireball came out far weaker than she had anticipated, but Kirina was not surprised. Her father and Uncle Ken were hard-pressed to pull aerial fireballs at all, while even fighters like Akuma suffered from half damage reduction for midair energy attacks. Still, it was gratifying to see Dadallent blasted back into the ground with his chest smoking from the fireball. He forced himself up, clutching at his heart, as he readied his weapons. Kirina launched another fireball at him and raced up behind it, at the same time throwing out a storm of sword slashes when she had closed in. Dadallent parried away the first one, but the fireball forced him to dodge aside and with one powerful slash Kirina sent his sword flying out of his hands and past the battlefield boundary markers.
Unfortunately for her, Dadallent reacted instantly to the next slash by striking her sword arm with a powerful punch, effectively preempting it. Kirina's arm numbed from the attack as pain lanced through her whole body; with speed that defied his appearance, Dadallent's left arm swung around and he neatly trapped the Muramasa in his own sheath. Kirina tugged hard, but she was left without any strength to back up her efforts and in an instant Dadallent had wrenched her sword out of her hands. He flung the blade away and it skidded off to the edge of the field; quickly and efficiently he replaced his sheath on his back and settled into a hand-combat stance.
"Hmph, how like a gentleman," Kyosuke commented in a dry tone. "Kirina's still relatively fresh, but at this rate Dadallent is going to wear her down just like he did to Sagat and Ryu. Neither combatant is forcing a decision at the moment, but it's improbable that this will last. Dadallent is doing a fairly good job of keeping Kirina at a distance too short for fireballs but too long for punches. He has the advantage in a drawn-out fight, though. If this deadlock doesn't break soon, then - and it's broken by a six-hit chain from Dadallent! Awesome comeback by the Chaos Prince!"
Spitting out blood, Kirina tried her hardest to track Dadallent with vision that was no longer clear. Intellectually, her brain was telling her that there couldn't possibly be two of the same man standing in front of her. He suddenly vanished in a plume of smoke, but Kirina realized his intentions far too late to avoid a diving kick from above. The attack cleared her vision but it also sent pain coursing through her body as she tried to reestablish her bearings. The sun was at her back, so when she suddenly stopped feeling heat Kirina wheeled around wildly with a Shadowlaw-style angled high kick. This caused Dadallent's own kick to miss, but he reacted with superhuman speed and somehow managed to intercept Kirina's own attack with a fist. His next attack came in the form of a modified Hell Cutter, slashing through Kirina's defenses and sending her flying backwards towards the edges of the battlegrounds.
"Dadallent goes for the kill!" Jin screamed.
Kirina hadn't even skidded to a halt before Dadallent was upon her, phasing again to emerge directly in front of her. She blocked a preemptive kick, but the force behind it caused her to land heavily on her back. Desperately Kirina put up a token defense, punctuated occasionally by fireballs. And despite the fact that it was Dadallent who was fighting with his back to the boundaries, Kirina was in a terrible position and she realized it. Dadallent attempted a close-ranged grapple and Kirina flung herself backwards to avoid it, but Dadallent again moved more quickly than Kirina believed possible and hooked her ankle, causing her to crash into something solid. Kirina's fingers scrabbled frantically in the dirt before seizing hold of it; Dadallent vaulted through the air with a graceful arc of a jump, descending like a falling star as he aimed an earth-shattering attack straight at Kirina's face ...