Unmei Force: Inherited Wills
Chapter 4: Lunar Rabbit vs. Cait Sith, Chi vs. Mantra
With Reisen...
Reisen was slowly walking through the corridors, as she kept notice of her own weapon, on her back, which seemed to be a magitek-created sniper rifle, which had a long barrel, and with a cylinderical holed muzzle brake, like a special-ops sniper rifle, as there was energy veins flowing across the main body of the weapon, with a light-green colour to the energy. She also made her to prepare her own twin hand-guns, in case she was forced into close-combat for what she has to face. She also prepared herself with a few fragmentary grenades, and a flashbang, when she has need for explosive power.
She then made her way through the door, finding herself in a large futuristic room, which seemed to look like it was inside a large facility, or something much larger, as the room was large enough to include several levels of platforms, connected by stairs, and there was railing and cover everywhere she could see, with some of them just short enough to climb on top of them. This seemed to keep Reisen on her toes, as she was very convinced that this was a actual battleground, created for her and her imminent opponent, as she slowly took cover behind one of the taller barriers, as she pulled down her sniper rifle, and powered it up.
As she did so, her enhanced hearing senses managed to pick up the sound of distant footsteps, before it was followed by the sound of mechanical doors whirring open. Reisen then slightly peeked out of cover by the side, just enough to keep herself hidden from the one who just came in. She took a closer look, squinting her eyes slightly, as she saw a young woman with pale blue swaying hair that was casually short, with a single tuft of hair tied up on each side of her forehead, by black muzzle-like hair-bands, and indigo colored eyes. Her combat attire consists of a desert-colored military jacket, bulletproof armor of the same color, and combat boots, as well as a white muffler around her neck, and there was the head accessory on her head, which seemed to look like a metallic version of large cat ears, which were black and pale blue. In her hands is a large sniper-rifle, that seemed to be of a high enough calibre to be armour-piercing at the least, and she also had a small sub-machine gun clipped to her waist.
The newcomer looked around, as she didn't seem to aware that Reisen was there. She does, however, have the same thoughts as Reisen, as she examined the entire room, especially all of the covering spots on her side of the area, as she slowly made her way to cover. However, Reisen sprung into action at that moment, as she slid the rifle up over her eye, and zoomed in on her target, aiming for the head. She then held her breath to steady her aim, before she fired the rifle, as it fired a fairly silent and thin blast of green energy that zoomed through the air.
Her opponent realised what just happened, as she seemed to have noticed the shot coming towards her, although Reisen herself didn't seem to know how she managed to do it, as she dived into the nearest cover immediately, as the projectile hit the floor, leaving behind a thin scorch mark where it landed. Reisen clicked her tongue in annoyance, as she lowered her rifle, and waited for the other sniper to prepare herself, as she peeked out of cover slightly.
Reisen then waited a few moments, before deciding to move to another part of cover, to see if she can get a clear angle to shoot her enemy from. She sprinted across the ground, before she noticed the muzzle flash of the enemy's rifle, as she deftly dodged the bullets coming her way, as they crashed onto the metal ground, leaving behind deep bullet holes, due to the force and calibre of the bullets themselves. This alerted Reisen, who shifted for better cover, as she didn't want to have cover too thin to have the stopping power for the powerful sniper her opponent had.
When she managed to slide behind cover again, she then fired off a few sniper shots, to suppress her enemy, as the laser shots managed to force her opponent to huddle behind cover, unwilling to poke themselves out to even peek, let alone be able to shoot Reisen right now. While her opponent was distracted, Reisen then quickly changed cover again, as she moved closer towards the stairs to take her up to the first level of platforms.
At that moment, her enemy began to move as well, as Reisen tried to shoot her down while she was exposed, although the shots missed as well, as the blue-haired girl danced in and out of cover, making it hard for the purple-haired rabbit girl's shots to even land. Reisen felt like that if she couldn't get an advantage, then they'll eventually be forced to face each other in close-combat, considering how both of them will not be able to snipe each other at all.
Reisen decided to be more aggressive, as she moved between cover more frequently, putting herself at risk, but also helping to get around faster than the opposing sniper, as she managed to get right behind her. Reisen then snapped out with her sniper rifle over her eye, as she fired ruthlessly down. This time, it did manage to land a hit, as the last hit of the series of shot, struck her by the chest, as the laser blast singed her armour slightly. Reisen then snapped back to cover, as she slowly moved towards cover, using the cover around her as protection.
However, her opponent managed to get revenge on that shot, as she fired right towards where Reisen's waist is, as it punched through the thin metal wall that Reisen was running across, as the bullet punched through the metal, and sped towards Reisen's waist, as the bullet dug into her own body armour, almost managing to penetrate it, as the tip of the bullet punched through her flesh, before it was then stopped. Reisen grunted in pain, as she dug the bullet out quickly, before she then stemmed the light prickle of blood that the bullet formed.
"This isn't good... If it managed to do this much, after penetrating through metal and armour... Then a shot from that will most definitely go right through me entirely." Reisen muttered to herself, before she then prepared to fire again, as the other sniper hid back behind cover. She then readied her rifle, as she fired a few times to suppress the enemy sniper again, before she then moved up to another floor, giving her even more of a height advantage, almost enough to snipe across the entire ground floor, and leave the enemy nowhere to hide.
The opponent realised that, as she got out of cover immediately, as she sprinted towards the stairs to the opposing set of platforms, as Reisen tried to stop her, although the agility from her enemy, managed to make all of her shots miss. The blue-haired sniper then made it up to the first floor, as she didn't stop moving, while Reisen tried to stop her by firing her rifle, until the energy clip on it ran dry at last, forcing her to wait for it to recharge. Now vulnerable, Reisen moved out of cover, as she sprinted up to the top floor.
They both reached the top floor, as they were now facing each other at equal height, as the entire floor was connected by several bridges, from the previously isolated sets of platforms on the lower floors. Reisen then finished recharging her rifle for another clip of ammo to shoot with. Reisen kept in mind how many bullets that her opponent fired, which was two, one in retaliation for her first shot, and one that managed to strike her and nearly render her incapacitated in a pool of her own blood. She was sure that there was much more bullets in the weapon clip of her opponent, and thus decided to settle this fairly, as the two of them had nowhere to go, but closer to each other for a close-combat encounter, or around the scattered pieces of cover.
As if they understood the situation, the both of them began to use their cover sparingly, as Reisen tried her best to predict the firing periods of her enemy, as she was sure that the cover here would be too weak to stop her enemy's heavy-duty bullets from punching through it. As for her opponent, she was aware that although her sniper held the advantage in calibre, Reisen's sniper rifle was tailored for rapid fire, which was the reason that she was easily suppressed as Reisen moved around.
After a moment of silence, the two of them entered a frantic trade of sniper-fire, as they evaded each other's shots, forced to aim while moving between their cover, as the opponent's armour was slowly being whittled down, and so was Reisen's options for cover. At that point, with both of them driven to desperation at the situation turning disadvantageous on their side, they quickly rushed towards each other, switching to their side-arms for a close-range battle.
Reisen fired her hand-guns rapidly, as the bullets flew through the air, as her opponent swerved to the side, while firing her sub-machine gun in short bursts, forcing Reisen to fall prone on the ground to avoid the spray of bullets coming her way. She then quickly got up, as she fired another few shots, which forced her opponent behind cover, as she advanced while keeping the enemy behind cover with a series of shots.
She then reloaded her hand-guns quickly, before her enemy jumped out of cover, as she fired her sub-machine gun. Reisen went for a forward slide, as she fired her hand-guns, now close enough to make most of her shots land, as her enemy was slowly brought down, with pieces of her armour broken down by each bullet that struck her. When Reisen was right near her, she then leapt up, and did a round-house kick that sent her opponent flying back slightly.
When her opponent landed, she then tried to get back up, before she was met by the barrel of Reisen's hand-gun, pressing against the front of her head, and looked up to see Reisen's terrifying glare.
"Give up. I have you pinned down, and you won't be able to wriggle out of this one." Reisen coldly told her opponent.
The blue-haired sniper's eyes met with Reisen's own for a moment, as she hesitated for a few moments, before she then released her sub-machine gun, and raised her hands in surrender.
"I never thought that you would be able to beat me like that..." She finally spoke for the first time. "Who exactly are you? You don't exactly look like you're actually from Gun Gale Online. More like you're a character of Alfheim Online..."
"I do not know what you're talking about, but it seems that we have questions for each other." Reisen answered back, as she lowered her hand-gun slightly. "Tell me, who are you then? I'm not exactly a game character."
"You're not...?" The blue-haired sniper asked back, before she sighed. "Well, I'm Asada Shino, or Sinon, as I call myself here. I also have the nickname 'Hecate' for having this sniper rifle of mine, that's really powerful. I'm actually wowed that you got such a good sniper rifle, and you knew how to use it. Not to mention that you were as good with those hand-guns... You'd be a real top player in GGO."
"Perhaps." Reisen nodded. "My name is Reisen Udongein Inaba, but you can just call me Reisen, to make it simple. I'm actually part of a military force, which is why I'm quite experienced with gun-fights. What I had expected was a simulation against a opponent. I didn't expect to find someone that I didn't know. Still, in this simulation, a winner has to be decided, so I had to defeat you."
"That's odd... I felt the same thing as well... There was a special mission that guided me here." Sinon answered back. "Said that if I could beat the special opponent in there, I would get a really big and brilliant bonus. Didn't expect that the special opponent would be someone as hard as you..."
"Well then... I guess I have no point in staying around here." Reisen sighed, before she saw the door back to the main hub reappeared, as she made her way towards it. "Hope that we'll meet again, on better circumstances, Sinon."
Sinon nodded back, as Reisen then disappeared through the door.
With Meiling...
Meiling walked down the corridor, entering a large expanse that was surrounded by rock formations, as she could notice the roaring flames that flickered in the distance around her. She noticed how the rocks looked jagged, and that there were broken chains hanging from the top of the rocks, as she slowly looked around, to see who her opponent was exactly.
After a few moments, her opponent arrived, as Meiling's eyes widened, when she was met with the person, as it was a woman with long, wavy, light brown hair that fades to purple at the top, with hazel eyes. She also wore a black and white dress with long strips of black fabric going across the middle and white fabric across the arms. Along with this dress, she also had a long black cape with red inner linings, and long boots that were wrapped around with white ribbons in a cross-like pattern. In her hands was a large scroll, which was yet to be opened. Her expression seemed to be eerily calm, as she looked at Meiling with eyes filled with tranquillity and calm.
"Hong Meiling." She spoke in a slightly harmonious voice.
"Byakuren Hijiri." Meiling returned the greeting, as they went into silence, after the mention of their own names, as if they had nothing more to say. "...Are you here to fight me then...? It would seem that out of the people, you are still the one that is most fitting to be my desired opponent. I think that we both know the reason why."
"I am well aware of the fact." Byakuren answered back, as she held the scroll in both of her hands, before she then flapped it fully open with a single motion, as the scroll itself was actually made of energy, as it consisted of countless different runes, both Buddhist and of strange origin, as the entire surface of the scroll was a rainbow of colour that slowly transitioned along the length of the parchment. "I will not waste time trying to fight you as I am right now. It would only be truly called a battle, if I truly utilised the full extent of my power, as your trial requires you to face."
She then summoned a spell-card between her fingers. "Declare Spell Card. Superhuman 'Byakuren Hijiri'." She calmly declared, as the spell-card broke into fragments of energy, which were then absorbed by the markings in her large scroll, as it glowed brighter. The saint-like woman then began to chant various mantras under her breath rapidly and clearly, as the scroll's energy began to flow along her entire body, creating a white aura around her. After her final chant was made, she then slammed the scroll closed, before she then dispersed it into energy.
"Now then... Shall we begin our duel, Hong Meiling, Gatekeeper Dragon of the Scarlet Devil Mansion?" Byakuren respectfully asked Meiling.
Meiling lowered herself into a fighting stance, as she breathed deeply to concentrate her chi energy into herself, in order to empower herself. "I wholeheartedly accept your challenge, Byakuren Hijiri, Head Priest of the Myouren Temple." She responded back, with a sharp look in her eyes.
Byakuren gave off a faint smile, before the two of them clashed against each other, as they began to trade blows with each other, as their fists clashed with each other, as the pugilist-like priest was managing to match the dragon martial-arts user blow-to-blow, their power almost equivalent to each other. After a few moments of being unable to land a proper blow at each other, they separated from each other. Meiling was already preparing her next move, as she swirled her arms around, generating yellow chi energy that followed the palm of her hands, she then smashed the energy forward in the form of a impacting wave of energy.
Byakuren noticed the attack, as she stepped back away from the range of the attack, as the force managed to graze her, making her feel the wind generated by the sharp burst of energy. She then moved back, before summoning a golden vajra in her hand, as she then forced a golden blade out of one side, before she then slashed at Meiling with a three-hit combo, which Meiling managed to block, and side-step the last blow, a down-wards smash.
Meiling then noticed the opportunity to counter Byakuren's attack, as she then charged forward, with a rainbow orb in her palm, as she slammed it right into Byakuren, which made her falter slightly, before the dragoness slammed her foot on the ground, creating a massive shockwave of energy that unbalanced Byakuren, allowing Meiling to follow up with a series of hard blows, before she then finished her barrage with a one-inch punch infused with red chi, that sent the priest flying.
Byakuren halted herself mid-air, before her expression tensed a little, before she then flash-stepped out of Meiling's sight, before she then reappeared above Meiling, kicking her with a downwards kick, which dazed Meiling enough for Byakuren to continue with a series of blows of her own, as she aimed for the dragoness's abdomen and chest, before she then threw her vajra forward, as the light blade pierced through Meiling, and the force of the attack sending her flying back.
Meiling slowly got up, as she saw Byakuren summon a ring of onyx-black beads, that floated over where she was, before they crackled with lightning. Predicting the attack to come, she rolled out of the way of the beads, as it summoned a large bolt of lightning where Meiling stood. Meiling then stomped the ground again, creating a large wave of yellow energy that shot towards Byakuren, as she blocked the attack with ease, only to see that Meiling was right onto her. Meiling then jumped up and flipped around , covering her leg with her rainbow chi, and slamming it down on Byakuren, who blocked it with both of her arms. However, Meiling's attack proved to be too powerful for her guard, as the attack managed to hit her right in the centre of her chest, as she crumpled a little as a result. Meiling then wasted no time after landing down, as she smashed Byakuren with a barrage of punches, that assaulted her entire torso, causing Byakuren to be severely winded by the punches.
Byakuren quickly recovered, as she grabbed Meiling, before throwing her back a little. Meiling landed back on her feet, and charged her again, this time going for a straight flying kick. However, Byakuren steeled her own stance, before her eyes glowed white for a moment, sending out a powerful shockwave of energy around her, that hit Meiling, unbalancing her and stopping her attack, as she fell back down. Byakuren then caught Meiling with another of her attacks, as she then hit her with a series of dashing blows, at a speed that was too fast for a normal observer to see.
Meiling fell back down on the ground, as she then recovered back onto her feet. She then noticed that Byakuren was preparing a spell-card for herself, which Meiling did as well, as she was certain that she had a hunch as to what spell-card that Byakuren was going to unleash.
"Declare Spell Card. Heaven Sign 'Master of the Great Trichiliocosm'." Byakuren declared, as she then pulled out her vajra, before she ignited both sides of it into energy blades, before she then threw it towards Meiling. Almost at the same time, Meiling activated her own spell-card, to counter Byakuren's own.
"Declare Spell Card! Color Sign 'Colorful Windchime'!" Meiling shouted, as she then twirled herself into a typhoon of rainbow energy, as the vajra shot towards her, before it then made contact with the colourful torrent of energy, which made it shake slightly, despite the force behind it from Byakuren's throw, before it was knocked flying before it could reach Meiling herself.
Byakuren sighed in disappointment, her attack unable to land, before Meiling got out of her spinning attack, grinding to a halt on her heels. She then faced Byakuren again, before she then snapped another spell-card out, one that made Byakuren pale slightly, as she was aware that Meiling was taking this fight much more seriously, now going to make the battle much more intense for both of them.
"Declare Spell Card! Chi Sign 'Fierce Tiger Energy Release'!" Meiling declared, as a golden aura of chi surrounded her, before she then glared at Byakuren with great force. "Now that I have increased my strength by several-fold... What will you do now, Byakuren...?"
Byakuren didn't respond back, as she then locked her hands into a symbolic stance, with one hand curled into a circle with her index finger and thumb, and her other hand pressing against the waist of that hand. Meiling knew that Byakuren was preparing herself to counter, as she could see the glint of a spell-card forming around her.
"So that's what you decided then..." Meiling answered back, as she slowly walked towards Byakuren, before she then shifted her stance in preparation, as she then cocked back her fist. "Fine... Then we'll see who emerges victorious from this exchange. Your defence, Byakuren, or my own piercing fist."
She then smashed her fist forward with a blast of red energy, that managed to sent Byakuren flying. However, Byakuren herself opened her own eyes, as the eyes turned golden, before she then fired a fan of golden energy that struck Meiling back, sending her back, even in her empowered state, as the two of them were pushed back a great distance from each other.
When both of them recovered from their exchange, they looked at each other once again, as they were aware that at their current state, the battle has reached a decisive phase, where one blow could end the battle if it was powerful enough and connected with their opponent, before the same happened to them first.
Almost simultaneously, they drew their respective spell-cards, before they then crushed it, while declaring their spell-cards at the same time.
"Declare Spell Card! 'Angirasa Veda'! / Declare Spell Card! Brilliance 'Rainbow Brilliance Palm'!" Byakuren and Meiling respectively chanted at the same time.
Byakuren then charged forward, as her signature butterfly-like sunset-coloured lotus emblem, as energy gathered on the tip of each end, as it fired off golden beams at Meiling, while the priest herself was engulfed in a aura of golden energy. Meiling herself, held her left palm up, as there was a chaotic amount of rainbow chi energy on it, that left a blazing trail wherever it went. Meiling dodged the beams coming her way, although she grazed them quite closely, that it managed to singe her body, and yet she was unfazed in her charge.
The two fighters collided with each other, as Byakuren was surrounded by the rainbow-coloured burst, which exploded, causing her to stop to a halt. Meiling also slowed down, as her palm was still pointed outwards. Neither of them were moving, and their breathing came almost to a halt, the only sound around them, was the light crackling of the flames around their battlefield.
And after a few seconds elapsed, Meiling fell to a knee, while Byakuren herself, collapsed, as the lotus emblem before her cracked quickly, before it then shattered into thousands of orange particles of mantra energy, which dissipated away. The two of them took their moment to recover, as Byakuren barely had the energy to tilt her head to the side, as she was fairly weak from the fight.
"It seems that... the battle has been decided." Meiling answered back quietly, barely audible to Byakuren. "For a pugilist with the power of the mantra... You fought extremely well... But in the end, as a dragon with thousands of years of chi cultivation, and ancient martial art techniques... I energy victorious."
"So you have..." Byakuren smiled weakly back, her voice as weak as her physical state. "Even if it would be foolish to challenge someone who is extremely superior in physical combat... I must still test you the same... I apologise, if I haven't provided you with the challenge needed... You are a fairly extraordinary existence, even among Gensokyo itself..."
"No, Byakuren, you have fought well here." Meiling shook her head gently, with a kind tone. "You have left me forced to use a great portion of my power. And my chances of losing this fight are not as low as it seems. I did notice that your power did increase gradually during the fight, as a side-effect of your spellcard. Had I dragged it out, you would have gotten a good chance of defeating me, even if I unleashed the Fierce Tiger Energy Release."
"I see... So that's why..." Byakuren chuckled lightly, before she slowly slumped into unconsciousness.
Meiling saw the door appear in front of her, as she slowly stood up, before stepping towards the door, not too quickly, as to agitate her own injuries from the fight itself.