Re: Incarnation Death Match 12 Rend

"Somniferum Typhoon!" She chanted, stabbing the blunt end of her spear into the gra.s.sy ground. The effect was immediate, and the spear conjured a spinning, mid-sized tornado filled with purplish pink petals. The smell of citrus, refres.h.i.+ng and sweet, wafted throughout the place. Knowing the effect of the smell, Fiora and Luna covered their noses and mouth with the back of their hand.

They remain unaffected by the spinning tornado, in reality merely nothing but a slow spinning wind, while the group of men surrounding them, along with Deci and Oscar, was thrown back several meters away. Without wasting time, Fiora whipped out her chains, all four chains from both gauntlets tipped with red, hot crystals shaped like the end of an arrow, in an attempt to injure some of them.

One unlucky clone met the sharp end of Fiora's chains, and said clone disintegrated into black liquid before dispersing into white smoke. Within moments, shadows appeared from thin air, and swirled, becoming a replacement clone.

"Fiora, I suggest you go for the real one!" Luna gestured towards the clones closest to Oscar. "I think that area would be your best bet!"

Fiora nodded, leaving Venefica and Luna in the middle. Upon realizing the opportunity, several clones threw their weapons, attempting to capture Luna and underestimating Venefica's power.

With an enraged snarl, Venefica spun her spear in the air and stabbed the blunt end on the ground, causing the blades of gra.s.s below the attacking clones to turn into ma.s.sive green snakes. The snakes seemed to be attached on the ground, rooted and unable to move, but their sheer length enough to constrict the clones that aren't fast enough to get out of the way, strangling them until they become nothing but black ichor disappearing into white smoke.

The knives they threw hit the ground and clattered away, the poison on the tips useless and staining the pristine ground with rotting blades of gra.s.s instead. As quick as the clones are dispersed, new ones take their place within seconds.

"Fiora, what are you waiting for? Just do it! We'll deal with the consequences!" Luna shouted.

Deciding to not hold back, Fiora unleashed a rain of red crystals, killing a huge chunk of clones at once without giving them a chance to replenish their numbers. Smoke and embers rained onto the gra.s.s and flora, turning the fallen leaves into piles of ash. Dried branches fell down and ignited more things on their way down, and were it not for the cold winds, the place might have gone up in flames by now.

With the clones' advance temporarily halted, both Venefica and Luna was able to approach the last few clones, together with Deci and Oscar. Without hesitation, Fiora unleashed a column of fire, taking out the last few clones in one shot.

Clap! Clap!

Deci clapped in a foreboding manner.

"Now I see what is going on here." Deci was still standing, his cloak tattered at the ends. The heat wave knocked back his hood, revealing a pale face of a young man with a pierced lip. A pair of grey cat ears tipped with white fur twitched with interest, while the fanged grin he flashed was way too laden with meaning to be considered as nothing else but simple courtesy.

"Shadow Union, retreat and go back to the place we started."

Shadows coalesced into ten clones, all rus.h.i.+ng back towards the direction of the apartment.

"Do you think I would let you?" Venefica flew and stood in front of the clone hordes. "Somniferum Typhoon!"

"That won't work twice." Deci hummed while focusing on Fiora, and the giant tornado filled with purple petals fizzled away, revealing the truth of it as nothing but a small, spinning whirl radiating a citrus-like fragrance. As a consequence, the technique, once perceived as an unstoppable force of nature, did not affect the clones at all.

"Every ounce of your power relies on deception, after all. Am I right, little witch?"

Venefica bit her lip, but she recovered within seconds. Together with Luna, she used her spear to fly and stab the clones' heart with the pointy end. However, deprived of the means to attack more than one at once, it was clear to anyone that it was only a matter of time until the little witch gives in to exhaustion.

Seeing the struggle behind her target, Fiora tried to summon another rain of fire.

Only to be attacked by several knives flying towards her with the precision of bullets. Caught off guard, the poisoned knives grazed her right calf, left cheek, and left forearm, leaving hot, stinging wounds. The wounds hissed and burned with white smoke.

"I am your opponent, Fiora." Deci said, countless knives floating around him. From afar, the knives looked more like swarms of silver bugs obeying his every command.

Fiora did not reply, and wiped her cheek to clean the excess blood with the back of her gauntlet. Even with the distracting sharp pain, her expression remained unperturbed, and the ruby claws on both gauntlets glowed with heat.

The cold winds of the night transformed into a heat wave, not enough to burn, yet enough to make the place a little warmer.

--

"Argh!"

The pain started out dull, no more than a nuisance, that transformed into stinging, red bruises as hot as an unexpected fever. Eventually, Claire was roused from her peaceful slumber, and she rubbed her calf, forearm, and cheek, before her blue eyes darted at Fiora's usual sleeping spot.

Of course, she wasn't there.

Her eyes snapped open, her heart gripped by panic even worse than the pain. The bruises were long and painful similar to a knife wound yet not quite breaking skin, but the panic of seeing her missing companion was enough to render the sting no more than a dull throb. With a sudden vigor, she jumped off from the bed and walked out.

A quick check in the living and dining room, along with a peek into Ivanna's messy room revealed that she was not there.

Near the door, a small purple flower took root, the bright white aura of the small plant bathing the dark room with a dim white glow. Citrus-like smell constantly radiate from the small flower, giving a refreshed, comfortable feeling.

She touched one petal, feeling the smooth, almost plastic texture of the fragile plant.

The glow from the purple flower let her see that the door were unlocked.

Realization dawned upon her, and she ran out as fast as her legs could carry her, scarcely remembering to close the door behind her. The place was eerily quiet, not even a hint of sound indicating there are people living nearby. The citrus scent she sensed earlier can still be felt, the smell diffused over a large area.

Outside, the ambience of midnight was disturbed by a reddish-orange glow coming from the park several blocks away, the glow bright enough to become a beacon in its own right.

The streets are quiet, presumably everyone has retired for the night. Almost no vehicles can be seen pa.s.sing by.

Without further ado, the girl ran towards the direction of the park, traces of tiredness gone from her visage. She focused on one thing only.

Her partner is in danger.

--

"Fighting with restraint as to not leave any trace, while not suffering any further damage other than the initial three attacks? I'll have to admit, you are worthy of the Divine t.i.tle."

Deci and Fiora are both locked in a vicious dance, none of them giving any opening for the other side to gain leverage. Melted, misshapen lumps with green puddles are scattered around, marring the place even further.

Fiora moved with careful, calculated steps, while her four chains maneuver in such a way as to only make minimal mess on the ground and trees. All four chains thrum with power and glowed orange, casting light bright enough to overpower the dim yellow streetlights.

"But, how about this?"

Deci stopped moving, and conjured thousands upon thousands of knives in the air above Fiora, all pointing downward. The glint of poison reflected the orange lights from the fire.

"a.r.s.enic Rain."

The knives all descended at the same time and turned into silver blurs. Fiora barely had enough time to pull all four of her chains and change their direction, each chain spinning to deflect the never ending onslaught.

Deci grinned, and conjured several more knives in front of himself, the pointed end all directrd towards Fiora.

"Goodbye."

"Fiora!"

The sudden voice made everyone, including Deci, stop in their tracks, and even the clones fighting with Venefica and Luna stopped to look at the direction of the voice.

"Get her!"

Oscar was the first to snap out of his reverie and react, ordering the shadowy clones of his Incarnation to swarm and attack the defenseless woman.

"Are you guys really abandoning me?" Venefica mused, and flew at top speed towards Claire as well. Her superior speed allowed her to reach the girl first, and she stabbed another clone and caused it to disperse on her way.

"Seems this is my lucky day. Somniferum Gale!"