The only reason why the rest of the company didn't say anything when a bling girl volunteered to face Longlegs in combat was because they knew who that girl was. Back when she was an ascended, her magnificent displays of power against cryptids was always a hot topic, just as her tough appearance which contrasted with her kind hearted character.
Despite having the face of a model and a body that made mature won envious, dusa had no qualms dressing in overalls and getting her face covered in grease to get the work done. At first, so mbers were scared of her, especially after hearing so of her feats, but she was always warm to everyone.
Of all the Dungeon Raiders, dusa was the only one who knew each of them by na and in spites her busy schedule, she would always make ti to make small chat in the corridors. This turned into the most popular original mber of the company, even above Nika whose appearance was that of a sunkissed goddess and Dragonfang who had a charming personality.
But that was before dusa beca a heavenly rank hunter. Because of her voluntary blindness she started retracting from people and would spend most of her ti working in the Pegasus or find other way to keep busy outside of people's reach. This, along with her uncanny ability to sense them even when blindfolded, raised many rumors about her and surrounded her in an aura of mystery.
Everyone wanted to see what she was capable of now as they hoped they could learn a thing or two by watching their match which is precisely why they were left disappointed when dusa failed to even get inside the circle.
"Two steps to the right. No, the other right." Nika instructed as she placed her palm on her forehead in frustration.
"There you go," Uriel said after guiding her by the hand. Her palm was sweaty and her firm grasp conveyed the mild tremors in her entire body. "You can do this, I believe in you."
"You're just saying things to make feel better." dusa said, refusing to let go. "I've never seen her fight, but you defeated her before. Be honest, what are my odds?"
Uriel grabbed both her hands and pressed them against his chest to let her feel his heartbeat, then spoke with a confident expression. "Your chances of winning are zero, you're one rank above her but it won't make a difference. She hits like a truck and moves faster than she can think, her combat instincts are leagues above mine."
"But you're stronger than . As soon as you beca a hunter you started following the combatant specialization and you've taken care of most cryptids and enemies and I'm an engineer. My role in combat is to soak so damage and keep enemies distracted while you. Then, why are you all pushing to do this?" Instead of reassuring her, Uriel's words made her sweat cold.
"You can't possibly think I'm stronger than you. You've always been the strongest in our group, even when I had the help of 'you know who' I got my ass handed to more tis than I can rember and I beca stronger thanks to that, but even now I'm powerless to protect you guys. I'd rather see you get a few bruises now than get killed in front of without being able to do anything to save you.
So step forward, get your ass kicked and beco stronger!" As soon as Uriel finished speaking a clapping sound resounded in the gym and dusa started blushing up from the tip of her ears to the top of her head. The rosy color on her skin beca hot red and it seed as though steam was coming out of her entire body while she rubbed the sore spot on her butt.
Because of her blindfold, she had no ans to know it wasn't Uriel who slapped her ass but Nika who held a malevolent smirk as she tippled her fingers. The shadow arm she used for her mischief retreated stealthily back into Uriel's shadow without anyone noticing its presence. It was a dirty tactic, but it worked wonders to boost dusa's confidence.
"I'm sorry, but now I really need to win." dusa said after saluting and taking a fighting stance.
"Give it your best, Miss dusa," Longlegs perford a salute and started the fight with a reluctant high kick that dusa easily blocked. judging by the strength behind that kick it was obvious she was testing dusa's reaction ti and was seemingly pleased by the result.
The first kick was followed with another aid at her ribs and this ti dusa not only blocked, but managed to counter with a fist. Because of Longlegs body proportions, dusa's punch didn't make it even close to her opponent, but she threw it nonetheless as a way to communicate Longlegs that she was ready for the fight to comnce.
Longlegs started shifting her kicks from left to right, keeping her tempo steady to make it possible for dusa to fight back. It was one of the limitations Nika put in place to Longlegs to avoid discouraging dusa who was already feeling worthless, though it proved to be unnecessary due to dusa's heightened senses.
The whistling sound of the huntress' long legs that earned her nickna cutting the air and was enough to allow dusa to predict their trajectory and her footsteps gave away her location. Even Longlegs breathing telegraphed her movents and gave dusa to gain ground as she fiercely blocked every incoming attack.
Desperate, Longlegs gazed at Nika looking for approval and welcod the nod that ca in response to her silent plea. Without the shackles of the arranged match, Longlegs was finally able to fight to her heart's content and unleashed a barrage of kicks that made her look as though she was floating in mid air.
dusa took few body hits, but even those she managed to block started adding up on her heavenly rank body, the only thing that prevented her from gaping at her opponent's prowess was the hot blood coursing through her body.
Now that she was on the defensive, dusa's movents couldn't possibly be called graceful, but she managed to stand her ground under the rciless chain of kicks coming her way.
"Ten seconds." Nika inford, prompting both contenders to take so distance from each other to gather their breath in order to perform a last effort to defeat their opponent.
Longlegs dragged her feet on the floor drawing an imaginary semi circle around her, then lifted her leg to unleash a powerful downward kick designed to break through defense with pure force. Based on her past experiences, even if soone managed to block this move the only possible result would be a broken arm.
Much to everyone's surprise, the outco wasn't the snapping sound of a broken bone or a dodge on dusa's part. As a martial artist, she knew the length and density of a bone played an important role when deciding if it was possible to block or deviate a blow, but contrary to what Longlegs thought dusa was well versed in using her legs in combat.
Rather than blocking, dusa took advantage of the incoming kick's angle and lifted her feet to stop it's motion before the kick took off, causing her unsuspecting opponent to stumble back first and be sent to the other side of the gym with a powerful kick.
"I did it!" dusa cheered, but instead of joyful the atmosphere was awkward.
"Uhm... you lost. She pushed you outside the circle in the first ten seconds." Most people didn't have it in their hearts to tell dusa that she stood outside the circle during most of the match due to her non existing spatial awareness, but Luna was different. More than troubled, she actually seed happy to inform her of her loss.
"No way!" dusa pouted.
"That was quite the match, I'm truly honored that you accepted to spar with . Just thinking of what you could do if you still had your sight..." Longlegs gave dusa the accustod salute of her martial arts school and bowed deeply in front of her as a sign of respect, then turned to leave only to be stopped by Nika.
"Where do you think you're going? There's plenty more people here that want to participate. I don't care if you're tired, this was the deal."
More than tired, Longlegs was actually wounded after her match against dusa. Despite her being considered the winner of the challenge, if it was an actual fight to death she would have probably been in the losing end. It was only common sense, since any heavenly rank hunter had a clear advantage in strength, stamina, speed and even endurance.
As a heavenly rank himself, Uriel was more than aware of this and thanks to him keeping Dash active he also knew exactly what kind of damage Longlegs suffered which made it the perfect chance for him to defy her.
'Any gentleman or warrior with a hint of honor would let this opportunity pass.' Uriel said as he took a step forward with a grin so wide it made possible for most present to almost read his thoughts.
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