Caelus VS. Giana

Opponent:

Breathe.  In, then out.  This is just another match.  You will come out on top, just like any other day.  Breathe.  Caelus sat alone in the holding area, awaiting his name to be called for the upcoming fight.  It was his third Colosseum match, but his first against a human opponent.  The first two had been against beasts, a lion and a bear specifically, both of which he'd killed in short order.  But a person...  A person was different.  This would be tougher than anything he had done before, and could even be the last thing he ever did.  These thoughts were all too common among combatants.  They fought for glory, fame, money, and countless other reasons.  But more than anything else, they fought to survive.

As Caelus repeated his mantra in his head, he missed Telleus entering the room.  A quick tap on the shoulder from him woke Caelus.  "So," Caelus started, "What do we know about her?"  Telleus opened a folded paper, revealing some notes he had scrawled in messy handwriting.  "Sadly, not a lot.  She's new to the scene, Caelus.  Newer than you.  But i was speaking to her father, and i have a few details you might find helpful."  He shuffled the note into Caelus' hands, and spoke while he read it.  "She's a Reim citizen by birth, but all of her training and skill come from Kou roots.  Apparently a trip to the empire in her youth had more of an effect on her than her father planned.  She's totally engrossed in the culture now, and defying daddy's wishes by fighting in the arena.  She wants to show her skills, and is quite confident in them."

Caelus scanned the note, reading about her supposed training, while listening attentively to what Telleus had to say.  Caelus knew that Telleus didn't have any real information, not from a fighter this new, but Telleus had brought him all he needed to know.  She was as good as a defector.  And it fueled his fire.  Caelus smiled a bit before picking up his blade, Ripple.  The damascus steel sword hung loose by his belt, and knocked against his leg as if begging to be let loose.  Caelus stood up and turned to face the gate, but not before Telleus offered some parting words.  "Oh, and Giana's father, Richard Antonius, asks that you try not to kill her.  He'd like his daughter back, not buried."  Caelus chuckled.  "I'll do my best to respect his wishes.  But there isn't much i like more than teaching a Kou sympathizer a lesson in Reim's values.  Thanks Telleus."

The horn finally sounded, and the gate lifted.  Caelus walked out into the arena, shielding his eyes briefly from the intense light.  The sun shone high in the sky, revealing the crowd cheering in the stands.  Caelus only had a small following, mostly people who liked to bet on the up and comer's, but it still felt good to have his name called out in the crowd.  On the other end of the arena, about 50 meters from where they stopped, was Giana.  The girl was dressed in pink Kou fashion, and held two medium sized fans.  From his position, Caelus could not see any other weaponry on her, and concluded the fans were in fact her main weapons.  He drew Ripple, and Giana opened her fans.  There was a tense moment of silence, and then the horn blew to begin.

They dashed towards each other, covering a large distance in mere moments.  When they were close enough, Caelus put on a burst of speed, using Brave Engage to get in an early first blood.  Giana reacted quickly, but not quickly enough.  She was able to partially deflect the blow with her right-hand fan, causing Caelus' slash to strike only her right side, dealing a D-tier of damage.  She then followed up with a quick slice from her left fan across Caelus' right arm, doing the same.  They disengaged to cheers from the crowd blood marking each of them.  Caelus counted himself lucky he had his armor on, or he could have been wounded far worse.  Giana lashed out again, her Rising Moon throwing her fans out in front of her as she leapt high into the air.  Caelus Quickstepped backwards, dodging the spinning blades even as they circled back up to Giana.  Up in the air, Caelus could easily see her wicked smile.  She think's she's already won.  Such hubris!

Caelus dropped low into his Mirror's Edge stance, gripping Ripple loosely in his right hand.  Giana in the meantime raised her arms high as she fell back to the ground, her Falling Moon poised to inflict lifelong injury, and at least a B tier of damage.  Caelus planted his back foot, and spun his blade quickly around him, exerting extra energy into Sideswipe to keep the bladed fans from slicing his muscles to shreds.  Using the rotation from Sideswipe, Caelus lifted his blade high before sending it crashing down with his full weight behind it in a Vicious Cross to inflict B tier damage.  Giana panicked, and tried to bring her arms up in time to stop the blow, but once again could not match Caelus' speed completely, her Resting Moon unable to stop all of the attack, turning it simply to C tier.  A large gash formed on her chest, from right shoulder down to her left hip.  And she was totally unprepared for the following rotation as Mirror's Edge flashed a second slash from her right hip up across the first wound, for another D tier.

Giana fell backwards, clutching at her bleeding chest with real fear in her eyes.  Her fans lay at her sides, the patterns ruined by blood and tears in the fabric.  Caelus stood with Ripple in his hand, and breathed heavily.  The fight was over as quickly as it had begun, and experience in real combat had won out over superior raw skill.  The crowd roared, shouts of "Caelus!  Caelus!" and cheers from all corners rung out.  He wiped his sword on his tunic, ridding it of blood before sheathing it again.  And ever the entertainer, he waved to the crowd and enjoyed his moment in the limelight.  Giana in the meantime was taken away on a stretcher, her father at her side now, holding her hand as she stared blankly at the sky.  Caelus caught only a glance from Richard before he left, a small nod enough to show his thanks.  Caelus couldn't help but smile at his victory.  Why was he so worried in the first place?  All he had to remember, was to breathe.

Abilities Used:

Magoi: 60/60
Stamina: 60/140

~WC: 1136~