Dante and Nadia square off at opposing ends of the arena, drawing the attention of the night owls communing in the cafeteria. Out of the corner of his eye, Dante notices Cassie make her way into the cafeteria in her onesie.

He looks back at Nadia, who’s been holding her menacing glare of focus the entire time. Dante's definitely intimidated. She’s still got quite a lot more points than him and she outrages his key abilities.

_ARENA: SIMULATION ENABLED

Should I focus on evening out the playing field? Use an ability with the same range as hers?

_START

_LIFELINE: ENABLED

Nadia flicks her arms, summoning her energy whips, which are shining slightly brighter than they used to. Before Dante can make a decision, she launches towards him- drawing his attention to her body, centred between her whips as they curl around Dante.

Shit, Dante ducks down, avoiding the roaring grip of the whips as they smack where he was positioned. Dante uses his momentum to roll away and amidst his indecision- he makes up his mind.

Nadia is taken back as Dante creates replicas of Cassie’s blades, each one extending from the top of his wrist and extending out the same length of his forearm- Raging in his turquoise energy, he takes a stance and faces Nadia.

I have no idea how to fight like this. Dante’s mind chuckles- you see, Dante chose this ability not because it matches Nadia’s range, or counteracts her ability in any way. No, Dante chose this because it’s ‘cool’.

He’s been dying to try it for a while now. What better time than the present?

_HP: 100

_MANA: 15% REMAINING

_DETAILS: 35/230

“What the fuck!’ The furious rage of Cassie rings from the cafeteria.

Nearly breaking out into a sweat, Dante keeps his eyes on Nadia- Who is infinitely less scary. And manages to maintain his composure for the moment.

Based on his selection, it’s pretty clear he’ll need to get up close. I should’ve thought this through… Or maybe it's best I didn’t?

If anything, this is exactly what Dante needs to be doing- experimenting and pushing his limits. His versatility is his strength, even if it means copying other people’s abilities.

Dante shifts his stance into something more comfortable and chooses to bounce on the balls of his feet like a boxer- creating a familiar sense of rhythm as he stares down Nadia and prepares to incorporate his rhythmic fighting style into his approach.

Nadia does the same, shifting into a more comfortable stance as she starts waving her whips around herself- a spherical barrier denying entry as she then walks towards Dante. He hasn’t even made a move yet and she’s adapted to his decision. Reducing her range and covering all angles Dante could strike from.

Dante sprints forward with a skip between each step to maintain rhythm, it also seems to make Dante sprint faster. This will be a brute strength check. Sure Nadia’s strength score is higher, but Dante presumes it won’t be as effective in defence. Her whips are flimsy and work well with her agility in offence. This defensive technique doesn’t look as strong, and it's the first time he’s seen her use it.

Is she trying out new techniques too?

Dante commits to his approach, crossing his arms to strike using both blades to slice through her defence. As he gets close, he leaps into the air to gain momentum and slashes both blades at each of her whips- timing his jump so that the strike meets with the whips circling Nadia.

A bright flash of white followed by the sound of surging electricity swarms Dante’s senses. He flinches before realizing that he can still feel his body’s momentum and presumes he must still be alive- He’s right, the light suddenly vanishes and he looks at Nadia to see a bewildered look on her face.

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In his peripheral vision, he sees two more whips flapping behind him and briefly panics before noticing they aren’t more whips.

I cut through them!

He maintains focus on Nadia and prepares both blades for a piercing strike at her chest. As he lands on the floor, he does a barrel roll to get closer and hops to his feet. Maintaining all the momentum he’s built up and as he steps in front of her he strikes both blades for her chest.

Nadia whinces, shifting her feet and right before Dante’s blades reach her chest- Each of Nadia’s shortened whips grabs each of Dante’s arms. She then throws Dante past her, the blades giving her a deep slit on the shoulder as they make their way past.

_ID: NADIA MEHDI

_HP: 78 (-22)

Shit, Dante worries as he falls to the floor, losing his momentum and failing his attack on Nadia.

As he hits the ground, he catches a glimpse of Nadia raising her whips to strike down at him. So, Dante keeps rolling, and he manages to roll just out of range of her attack. He uses this opportunity to get up to his feet, but by the time he looks up, Nadia’s whips are already headed in his direction.

One of them grabs his leg, yanking it so hard his body is thrust into the air- Almost parallel to the ground, he sees the second whip coming.

It’s going for my neck!

Dante tries to move his body out of the way, but he’s in mid-air. The most he can do is lean his neck further back.

A large crack roars through the arena when Dante feels the breeze from the tip of Nadia’s whip whizzing over his neck before it starts peeling a wound from his lower cheek to his hairline.

Dante’s body hits the floor and he keeps his eyes on Nadia as he scrambles to get back up to his feet.

_HP: 83 (-17)

_MANA: 15% REMAINING

_DETAILS: 35/230

“That was close,” Dante thinks his relief aloud.

“You little shit,” Nadia groans as she positions herself, holding her shortened whips above the ground. “You cut them,”

“I’m surprised it worked,” He chuckles, “Cassie's power is pretty fun,”

“You’re using them all wrong! Your form is terrible! And you keep dancing all over the place making it look lame, blah-blah-”

Dante's just going to keep ignoring Cassie for now. Her advice seems a little more emotional than usual. And this is the most logical way for him to use it since he’s only familiar with the capoeira approach.

Dante crosses the blades across his chest again, thinking that the first attempt worked so well, he might as well try it again. Landing a blow like that will put a guaranteed end to the fight.

I can do it.

Dante starts his run with a skip, getting back into rhythm as he charges toward Nadia- who holds an exposed stance with her eyes directed at the ground.

What is she doing?

Her lack of response is concerning. She planning something. Dante needs to keep an eye out for her whips, both of which are lying across the floor- unmoving.

Change of plans. Dante runs in the direction of her blind spot, looping around her whilst she stays in place and quickly runs towards her exposed side. She’ll react slower from here.

As he steps within range, he fakes an attack to her chest- finally prompting a reaction out of her. She raises her nearby arm, and Dante notices the whip approaching from behind him. He ducks down and slashes Nadia’s arm as it passes over his head, severing her wrist.

_ID: NADIA MEHDI

_HP: 42 (-58)

Nadia screams in pain and glares at Dante with an enraged look- I can end this here. As Dante rises to his feet he winds up a strike for her neck and swings both blades towards Nadia.

Dante feels her second whip wrap around his waist, and before his blades can connect with Nadia’s neck, he is hurled across the arena and into the wall of the sim.

_LOSER

_ID: DANTE FORST

_HP: 17 (-83)

_NOTES: Severed vertebrae, Internal hemorrhaging.

_WINNER

_ID: NADIA MEHDI

_HP: 42 (-58)

_NOTES: Amputation at the wrist. Severe blood loss incurred.

As Dante sits at the edge of the arena with blurred vision, the moment replays in his mind- It all happened so fast, he didn't even realize she was about to grab him.

He glances to his right to hazily see the small group of people spectating and clapping for Nadia.

_ARENA: SIMULATION DISABLED

_FIGHT DURATION: 4 min 18 secs.