Lyghtning VS Cyborg Ninja

Clang!

Sparks flew as steel met steel.

In that first clash of blades, Leo saw that when it came to speed the two combatants were neck and neck. But in terms of skill, Lyghtning was perhaps half a step better. And that made all the difference.

Clang! Clang!

The second and third clashing of blades ended much the same. Lyghtning's dual-wielding talents were slowly pushing Cyborg Ninja to the edge of the ring. However, Leo doubted that Cyborg Ninja would give up just like that, and he was proven right seconds later when she sank into her own shadow and disappeared from the ring.

"And Cyborg Ninja casts Shadow Step to escape Lyghtning's barrage of attacks," Donatella reported.

"There she is!" Morgue added as she pointed down at the arena where a much darker patch of black was streaking across the obsidian surface of the ring. "And Lyghtning's chasing after the shadow!"

Leo guessed that Lyghtning intended to attack Cyborg Ninja the moment she resurfaced. It's what he would have done too. But just as Lyghtning caught up to the shadow at the very center of the ring, something unexpected occurred.

"Trap Shadow!" Cyborg Ninja's voice could be heard inside the ring although she was nowhere in sight. "Multiply!"

At her words, the shadow split up into several round shapes that spread across the entirety of the rectangular surface of the ring.

"I believe this game just changed into an arcade game called Whack-a-Mole," Donatella announced in an amused tone.

"You're pretty well-versed in arcade games, aren't you, Donatella?" Morgue asked.

"Indeed… I've stashed a bunch of them inside Dante's Drip," Donatella explained. "And I invite all substitute reapers to visit Dante's Drip so that they might enjoy a fun atmosphere, good food, and excellent company… and a free meal to anyone who beats my high score on Ms. Pacman."

Donatella's barefaced advertisement of her tavern made Leo shake his head, although the audience seemed to take an interest. In fact, several of them could be heard screaming, "I accept your challenge!" at the commentator's box.

Back in the ring, Lyghtning had slowed to a stop. She eyed the circles of shadows around her warily.

Cyborg Ninja's head popped out of a hole two spots behind her. Lyghtning turned around almost out of instinct and she was just in time too.

Clang!

Lyghtning blocked the throwing knife that Cyborg Ninja had just flung at her. Then she pounced on the hole but the ninja had already dived back in.

"Bloody hell!" Lyghtning cursed. "I don't imagine you can keep this up for long!"

"No," Cyborg Ninja answered, and her voice came out of more than one hole, making it impossible to track her that way. "Just enough time to defeat you."

"Don't count your eggs until they've hatched, I always say," Lyghtning countered.

A shadow jumped out of the hole behind Lyghtning, but she'd duck just as Cyborg Ninja's katana sliced at the air where her head was only a second ago. And before she could launch a counter-attack, Cyborg Ninja had already dived back into a shadow hole.

"Trap Shadow's an impressive skill, one I believe is exclusive to the Shadow evolution," Donatella commented.

"Yes, it seems they've both activated their class skills," Morgue added.

"They have?" Donatella asked surprised.

"You probably can't see it, but there's a slight shimmer in the air around Lyghtning," Morgue explained. "That's the telltale sign of an activated analysis skill… in the case of a Blade Savant, the Blade Song."

Out of curiosity, Leo pulled up his developer's window and typed in 'Blade Song' in the search bar, prompting the skill's status window to appear before him.

[[BLADE SONG] [BLADE SAVANT ACTIVE SKILL] A Blade Savant's experience with all manner of weapons allows him or her to sense the movements of a blade as it slices through space almost like hearing a song in the wind, allowing the Blade Savant to predict the moment danger draws close. [ACTIVATION PERIOD: Can be used to predict an incoming attack a number of times equal to the fingers on each hand. After each successful defense, a random finger will go numb and won't be healed until the player has taken a long rest.]]

Leo swiped away the window just in time to watch Lyghtning dodge a third knife that had been aimed at her leg. Afterward, he zoomed in on Lyghtning's hands and noticed that the left hand's forefinger and pinky, as well as the right hand's middle finger, were all sporting a dark red hue like that of fingers that were bruised very badly.

"She'll lose hand function if she keeps this up and she won't be able to attack anymore…" Leo whispered.

Leo wasn't just the only one who'd noticed this, of course. Morgana, playing the role of Morgue, had just explained this same fact to the audience, causing many of them to gasp out loud.

This caused Leo to shake his head in the direction of the commentator's box. "Does she even realize that Cyborg Ninja heard that too?"

As Leo's attention returned to the ring, he saw that Lyghtning wasn't at all bothered that Morgue had revealed her secret. In fact, she was giggling.

"Yes, yes, I've got a limit as to how many times I can pull Blade Song off," she admitted. "But I've caught wind of your trick too, Ninja."

Lyghtning pointed her right hand's sword at the hole directly in front of her.

"When you cast your ability two minutes ago, twenty-four holes appeared all over the ring," Lyghtning began to explain. "A minute ago, eight of them vanished. I expect another eight will vanish in," Lyghtning glanced up at one of the screens where the match time was displayed, twenty-seven seconds… You're running out of time, love."

"Like I said," Cyborg Ninja whispered from right behind Lyghtning," "It'll be more than enough time to beat you!"

Her katana came swinging sideward but Lyghtning dodged this as well, and Leo could see her grit her teeth as another one of her fingers — the right hand's ring finger — began to bruise. And he could only imagine what kind of pain she was in.

However, it seemed Cyborg Ninja had planned ahead for no sooner had Lyghtning taken a step back when something popped out of the hole to her immediate left. It was another throwing knife.

Barely anyone saw it, but Leo was close enough to the action that he'd noticed Cyborg Ninja throw the knife down the hole she'd popped out of just before she attacked Lyghtning.

Lyghtning doubled over just as she screamed in pain.

Leo guessed that the knife must have hit her right in the gut.

Cyborg Ninja jumped forward with her katana raised high.

"Oh, Lord of Death," Morgue breathed. "Is she going to slice her head off?"

But just as Cyborg Ninja was about to deal Lyghtning a fatal blow, the other player yelled, "Just kidding!"

And as her face came up, everyone saw that she was biting onto the handle of Cyborg Ninja's throwing knife.

"She caught it with her mouth?" Morgue asked uncertainly.

"Wouldn't be so difficult if you could predict where the attack was coming from," Donatella explained.

And in that moment of confusion, Lyghtning spun her body like a top with her arms stretched outward.

"Lyghtning's turns the tables on Cyborg Ninja with Ravaging Blades!" Donatella announced.

Cyborg Ninja had committed to her attack, and now she was too close to dodge Lyghtning's counter. Still, she managed to block the first attack, but the second revolution of Lyghtning's spin penetrated her defense.

Lyghtning's blades cut deep into Cyborg Ninja's body, inflicting several wounds on the right leg, the right shoulder, and the abdomen.

Wordlessly, Cyborg Ninja stumbled backward while her left hand tightened on her gut, and although couldn't see her face he could tell that she was in great pain.

At the same time, the traps she'd set on the ring's floor vanished like black smoke caught in a breeze.

"Shadow Trap has deactivated," Donatella reported.

"Lyghtning damaged her enough to make her lose control of her ability," Morgue deduced.

Cyborg Ninja toppled over, and Lyghtning didn't hesitate to mount her and then place her sword over Cyborg Ninja's throat.

"Give up, love… or I will slit your throat," Lyghtning warned.

Cyborg Ninja shook her head. "I can't…"

"Why not?" Lyghtning asked. "Do you really prefer a gruesome death to admitting it's your loss?"

"If I give up… then I can't help Ath3na in the raid," Cyborg Ninja answered.

Seconds ticked by while Leo watched the expression on Lyghtning's face change from annoyance to confusion and then settling on understanding.

"You want to help Ath3na… Oh, lord, you're a fangirl," Lyghtning realized.

"I've been watching her streams since she launched her channel two years ago…" Cyborg Ninja admitted. "Watching her success has helped me through some dark days…"

"She told me that you helped her out during the Dungeon Run…" A smile played on Lyghtning's lips. "So that's why… you weren't trying to win, you were trying to help Ath3na win."

While he eavesdropped on their conversation, Leo thought that Lyghtning's guess was ironic as it was Ath3na who'd helped Cyborg Ninja win the first round instead.

Cyborg Ninja didn't answer. She attempted to push Lyghtning off instead, but Lyghtning stayed on and pinned Cyborg Ninja down by closing the gap between her shortsword and Cyborg Ninja's throat.

"I admire your resolve, love, but that's not nearly enough," Lyghtning insisted. "You want to assist Ath3na but she doesn't need your help… she's risen to the top all on her own. Isn't that why you admire her?"

Cyborg Ninja nodded.

"B…but aren't you helping her too?" Cyborg Ninja asked.

"You've got it wrong, love," Lyghtning shook her head. "Ath3na and I are friends, sure, but I'm not aiming to support her like you are… I want to surpass her."

"Surpass her…" Cyborg Ninja repeated.

"Yes… So give up already, will you?" Lyghtning pressed. "Because you can't beat me now if all you want is to be the second best…"

She pressed her blade down harder on Cyborg Ninja's throat.

"Don't get in the way of me and Ath3na duking it out in the semis," It sounded almost like a plea to Leo's ears.

"She'll beat you," Cyborg Ninja said matter-of-factly.

Lyghtning smiled a mischievous smile. "We won't know that until we try…"

It was a few moments later when Cyborg Ninja finally replied.

"Alright, I admit it," she said. "I kind of want to see that fight happen… I'm a fan of yours too…"

And then she raised her hand and surrendered prompting Leo to declare Lyghtning the winner of the third match.