Caelus Valeria VS. Shusara

Enemy:

Equipment:

"Shusara, huh?"  Caelus looked disappointedly at Telleus.  "She's a career undercard.  This isn't going to be any fun at all."  He slumped against the wall.  Caelus had seen Shusara fight before, and while she could hold her own, she was never a spectacle.  Her speed was nice, but not anything special, Caelus himself could run at almost twice her pace.  She used a single large shuriken to fight as a both a weapon and a shield, although the latter was usually rather ineffectual.  Rumor had it she had disappeared from the scene for a while after a particularly bad loss, only to show up again now and demand a fight.  The more outrageous rumors even said she tried to challenge some of the guys at the top, but got rejected and given only the lower tier opponents.  This unfortunately included Caelus.

Telleus cast Caelus a disapproving glare.  "There isn't a gladiator in history who didn't have to slum it once in a while for cash.  You're not that special.  And if i remember correctly, you asked me to find you a fight because you were low on funds."

Caelus turned red and turned away in embarrassment.  "W-whatever.  It'll be decent training i guess."

"If it makes you feel better, i've heard whispers about some new techniques she's been working on.  It should be at least a little entertaining.  Now get to work.  I need the commission too you know.  Telleus hoisted Caelus up and out the door to the arena, and shut it behind him.  "Good luck out there as always!"  He called from within.

He shook himself a bit and put on his game face.  Appearance was just as importance as skill in the Colosseum.  The people loved showmanship, so much so that even fighters who could trounce opponents in seconds would instead take their time in order to line up more fights for themselves.  Nobody wants to see a fight end in the beginning.  So even though Caelus was certain the fight would bore him, his face showed enthusiasm.

When he arrived in the ring, Shusara was there waiting for him.  She looked the same as she usually did.  Light attire, little if any armor, and her trusty shuriken.  She said nothing, and simply got into her stance as she waited for the bell to ring.  Caelus did as well, noting that her silence was unusual.  She liked to taunt her opponents beforehand, or at least she always had in the past.  Maybe something did change about her.  He thought.

Shusara ran like an arrow from a bow the moment the bell rang.  She traveled the distance between them in mere seconds, and brought her shuriken to slash in front of her at Caelus' chest.  He lazily batted it away with his shield before following her Dodging Roll perfectly, stopping in front of her where she finished.  The look of shock in her eyes was apparent.  Caelus leaned forward and whispered, "I'm faster than you."

Shusara recoiled, and Caelus followed, always right in front of her even after several dashes.  She retaliated by using Slice and Dice, but Caelus just used his shield to Deflect the strikes with ease.  He let her retreat several meters, and watched her launch Slicing Wheel.  Caelus sighed.  He swung his shield up as the shuriken closed in, using Redirect to send it hurtling up into the sky.  Shusara looked up, but she should have kept her eyes on Caelus, who dashed forward and slammed the pommel of his sword into her stomach.

Three seconds.

Caelus thrust his knee straight up into Shusara's chin, causing her to stumble backwards.

Two.

Caelus jumped backwards a short distance.

One.

The shuriken passed underneath him on its way back to Shusara, who drunkenly put a hand out to catch it.  But Caelus reacted first.  He landed and thrust his shield forward as he flooded it with Magoi.  A blast of serrated air shot forth and collided with the Shuriken, speeding it up just enough for Shusara to miss the timing to catch it, and causing it to slam right into her belly.  The wind continued forward and lacerated her body, leaving her covered in gashes.  She slumped to the ground and fell to the side.

Caelus stood tall as the crowd cheered.  He'd managed to turn an easy win into a spectacle.  There was nothing quite like being beaten by your own weapon, and the crowd ate it up.  As he returned to the waiting area he questioned Telleus who was still there.  "I thought the rumors said she had been training some kind of secret technique?"

Telleus scoffed.  "Yeah, my rumors.  Its called promoting, Caelus, its very important in our business."

Abilities:

Magoi: 165/180
Stamina: 230/290

WC: 823/800