Fight in a confined space

Kiyu could feel the poison spreading through her body. After she had already inhaled a small amount, she had stopped holding her breath and concentrated on eliminating her opponent as quickly as possible.

The effects became more and more noticeable. At first it had been irrelevant, but by now she had realized what Siwang meant by playing with Kiyu's senses.

The shouts from outside the dome, Siwang's confident laughter, and even her own footsteps seemed so distant to her, only a faint background noise above the surface of the water as she floated in the deep waters.

Her eyes had fared no better, for here and there she had seen shapes forming in the mist and tried to strike them, only to find that they dissolved into nothingness and her blows went into the void.

"What a shame you can't see yourself ghosting around like that," Siwang taunted Kiyu.

Kiyu hadn't approached her opponent once again, aside from the first encounter, though Siwang had planned it that way.

'Are you still there, Ryu?' inquired Kiyu, for she did not know how far her opponent's poisonous mist could influence her.

< I am still here. However, our situation is precarious as long as our bodies continue to be affected by the poison. >

'I know, but let her rest easy,' Kiyu replied.

"And I thought you were capable of much more than a bit of playing in the mist," Kiyu scoffed as she meandered through the poison mist. After several seconds, which seemed like an eternity to her, she had reached one end of the plant dome.

Siwang thus played not only with her the direct senses of her but also with the perception that relied on them. They were in a limited space, but because of the illusion of her sense of sight, it seemed much bigger to her.

"So you can still be presumptuous despite your situation?" retorted Siwang, disdain resonating in her voice. "Then let's see how you assess your situation right now!"

Kiyu tried to figure out from which direction the voice had come, but it was no use. Somehow the poison in her body made it sound like Siwang was all around her at the same time.

Instead, she stopped and tried to calm down. She had her eyes closed, as they weren't much use to her in her current situation.

"I'm getting bored, little brat. Too bad, I thought you had more to offer me.", Siwang said, preparing to get serious from now on.

But Kiyu didn't let that bother her. She was at a disadvantage, but if she panicked or raged now, it wouldn't do her any good. Worse, it would make her disoriented situation far worse.

She felt a dull sensation on her left thigh and although she felt no pain, her body slumped.

'What was that?', Kiyu wondered, trying to hold herself upright until she noticed some liquid moving over her leg. She brought a hand towards her injured leg. As thanks to her manipulated perception, her hand-eye coordination had also deteriorated.

'Blood!' Although she had felt no stabbing pain, she was bleeding? With that, she could now gauge how far Siwang's sensory manipulation was reaching. Instead of the cut of a knife or other sharp object, she had only felt something dull, and the pain of the cut was also absent.

Only the trickling blood had shown her she had sustained an open wound.

"So you're cowardly mutilate me from ambush, piece by piece?" she cried. Unlike the poisoning, however, she would let the wound heal almost completely. She didn't mind if there was still a small open wound as long as it didn't restrict her movement.

Although Kiyu had healed her wound, she continued to blow in that position, faking that she still had those injuries.

"It's time for some fun. Hmmm, where do I give you a pretty present next?"

That Siwang was enjoying it was more than clear, and since she knew nothing of Kiyu's healing abilities, she should take full advantage of it.

"Just you wait until I catch you!" shouted Kiyu, still playing the angry one, being angry just not enough to let her emotions take over.

"Ha! Not in a hundred years, you little brat!" threw Siwang at her. "I'll make you suffer until you beg for the coup de grâce!"

Only moments later, Kiyu felt the next attack from her opponent. This time it had hit her right arm, from which blood trickled. She almost completely healed this wound as well, but left her arm dangling as if it had become incapacitated.

"This is almost too easy," she heard Siwang laugh with glee. "You're stupid, or naïve to think you can mess with me. You'd better have sent your friend who built that dome!"

"Oh, Toras? I don't need his help here.", Kiyu said and started moving inside the dome again.

"Ahaha! Ridiculous!" exclaimed Siwang. "You can't even find me. You're poisoned and disoriented. If I wanted to, I could always give you the coup de grâce with deadly poison!"

"Oh, you think so? And why don't you do it?" scoffed Kiyu. "Did you use it all up last time?" Feigned pity and arrogance had been a straightforward way for Kiyu to provoke her opponent, especially when she saw herself in a better position. Therefore, she had relied on this advantage.

"You little bitch! Last time I had thought you were an acceptable opponent!" she spat. "But now I know I don't even have to try for you."

' Now I'm seeing what you mean about not letting your emotions get the better of you.' She commented to herself inside. 'Am I the same way when I get angry?'

< Hard to say. 'You get angry when someone you care about gets hurt, but then you lose control.' > Cheryu replied. < This woman, however, gets aggressive at the slightest attack on her ego. Just think of her as a powerful manifestation of what you're trying to avoid. > he explained to her.

"For taking so little trouble, though, I'm still in pretty good shape," Kiyu threw at her with amusement. "An arm and a leg rendered harmless.... what's that. For you, the other hand is sufficient!" she shouted, trying to provoke her opponent beyond all measure.

"You dirty bitch!" Siwang had blown a fuse when she heard Kiyu's latest provocation.

Without another exchange of words, she had gone on the attack again, which Kiyu felt as a hit on her other arm. But unlike the last two times, Siwang did not stop this time. Instead, she gave Kiyu's body one cut after another.

She had hit both legs and arms several times, leaving them with open wounds. Also, she had not stopped at Kiyu's back either and plunged the blade into her.

"Pah!" coughed Kiyu, spitting up some blood, audible to Siwang. For a few seconds, she left the wounds open, allowing her opponent to lull herself to safety.

"Ridiculous brat. Spitting such big sounds, but can't get anything going. You can't even stand anymore!" hissed Siwang, who had let go of Kiyu again after the series of attacks.

"If you hadn't been so arrogant, I might have killed you fast, but I want you to suffer. I want to watch you bleed to death and perish in pain!"

Kiyu, however, did not answer her. Without further ado, she concentrated on closing all of her wounds so that they would not restrict her movements. It took some spiritual strength, but thanks to training with Toras and also her exercises; she had become adept at doing more with less energy.

"As weak as your attacks are, that'll last another 100 years!" she laughed, coughing several times as she did so, continuing to simulate her poor condition. It had been hard to maintain her pose even though all her wounds had healed, but her entire plan relied on Siwang getting too cocky.

What her opponent didn't know, however, was that besides the wounds she had healed to the last detail, she had also neutralized the poison in her body.

While it was impossible for her to prevent extra amounts from entering her body, she kept the level of poison to a minimum after a brief period of acclimation.

"For thinking you're so great, it sure takes you a long time to finish a little girl," she said. "But what do you expect from such an old hag!"

"What... did you.... say?" asked Siwang, aghast. Kiyu's last words must have hit her . "Get ready to die," she hissed.