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Condemned To Death
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14th September, 1507
Elise's eyes widened in disbelief as Susie's behavior took a sudden and unsettling turn. The way Susie moved, her motions devoid of the usual grace of a human, sent shivers down Elise's spine. She exchanged a quick glance with Seren, hoping to find some reassurance in his expression, but his furrowed brow only mirrored her own unease.
Meanwhile, Finn, sensing the tension thickening, decided to test Susie's odd demeanor. With a resolute expression, he activated his relic and his hands began to vibrate violently as he conjured a potent shockwave. The air crackled with energy as the invisible force condensed into a large sphere before him. With a swift motion, Finn launched the shockwave towards Susie, aiming directly at her.
The shockwave shot through the air at breathtaking speed, hurtling towards Susie with force. But just as it seemed inevitable that it would strike her, Susie's body contorted in an unnatural bend, her movements defying the laws of human anatomy. With a graceful leap, she soared over the shockwave, effortlessly evading Finn's attack, and closed the distance between herself and Finn in a matter of moments.
As Susie descended from her leap, Finn unleashed another shockwave towards her. But Susie, still wearing that unsettling expression, swiftly positioned her scythe behind her, ready to counter. With a precise motion, she sliced through the shockwave before it could reach her, dispersing its energy effortlessly.
Realizing the futility of his ranged attacks, Finn swiftly transitioned to close combat, preparing his relic for the impending clash.
As Susie closed in with her eerily blank expression, Finn leaped to the side, narrowly evading her slicing strike.
CRASH!
The impact of her scythe echoed through the air as it tore through the ground where Finn had stood just moments before.
Finn, positioned just a few meters from Susie, focused his energy as all ten of his fingers started vibrating intensely. He then lifted his arms and made a claw with his hands with his fingers pointed at Susie. Small dots of shockwaves materialized in front of each of his fingertips.
Bang!
In an instant, the ten shockwave bullets surged forward with remarkable speed, hurtling toward Susie with deadly intent. Reacting quickly, Susie raised her scythe defensively, positioning the blade to intercept the oncoming projectiles.
The shockwave bullets collided with the blade of the scythe, sending reverberations coursing through the weapon and into Susie's arm. Though she managed to deflect the initial impact, the force of the vibrations rippled through her, causing her muscles to tense and her grip on the scythe to falter.
Finn's grin widened triumphantly at the sight of his attack's effectiveness. "I call these shock bullets," he announced proudly, his voice tinged with satisfaction. He knew that even if Susie blocked the projectiles, the prolonged exposure to the intense vibrations would take its toll, gradually wearing down her coordination and resilience.
Susie took a brief moment to assess her trembling arm before swiftly switching the scythe to her unaffected hand. With a calm gaze, she then launched herself forward with lightning speed, her scythe poised for attack.
Finn reacted with agility, unleashing a barrage of shock bullets aimed squarely at Susie. However, Susie had a surprise in store for him. With a calculated move, she extended her arm holding the scythe to its full length, then with a powerful swing, she hurled the massive weapon towards the oncoming bullets.
To Finn's astonishment, the scythe effortlessly cleaved through the shock bullets, hurtling towards him with deadly precision. He initially knew Susie could counter his attack by throwing her weapon but he hadn’t expected her to figure it out this quickly. Panic surged within him as he saw the scythe closing in, just a few feet away from him, realizing there was little time to evade the impending strike. With a quick invocation of his power, Finn summoned his strength, and caused his arms and the air around him to vibrate violently.
In a heartbeat, a small, invisible barrier materialized before him, just in the nick of time to intercept Susie's scythe.
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrr
The clash between the vibrating barrier and Susie's scythe sent ripples of energy through the air, each impact reverberating with intense force.
Despite the relentless assault, Finn held his ground, his makeshift defense holding firm against Susie's scythe. In just a few moments, the force behind the scythe push drained down before the scythe fell to the ground in front of him with a clang.
Feeling relieved that his defenses held up, Finn took a deep breath as he looked at the scythe below. Just as he removed his eyes from the scythe on the ground, he saw Susie’s figure standing right next him, eerily observing his face expressionlessly. Before he could even react, Susie seized the opportunity to strike and launched a swift sidekick with her leg.
SMACK!
The impact resounded through the air. "ACH!" Finn cried out in pain, feeling the force of Susie's blow driving into his body. The sound of his ribs cracking echoed faintly before he was sent hurtling towards the edge of the platform.
Finn soared through the air, propelled by Susie's powerful kick, his mind a mess but he forced himself to ignore the pain as he assessed his situation. Realizing if he didn’t do anything he would fly off the platform. With resolve, He reached out, twisted his body forcefully and punched, driving his hand into the ground below.
Bang
The force of his impact cracked the stone tile beneath him, his hand digging into the ground, anchoring him in place. As he skidded across the surface, the broken tiles offered resistance, slowing his momentum just enough to prevent him from falling over the edge.
Finally, his body came to a stop, rolling to a halt on the ground. Gasping for breath, Finn struggled to rise, his chest throbbing with pain from the impact. His hand, now a mangled mess, oozed blood, the skin torn and battered from the violent collision with the unforgiving ground.
As Finn struggled to catch his breath, a cry pierced the air, calling out his name urgently: "FINN, DODGE!"
Startled, Finn glanced up to see Susie's towering figure looming over him, her giant scythe already descending with lethal intent toward his neck. Despite the imminent danger, Susie's expression remained devoid of emotion, her lifeless eyes fixed on Finn's helpless form.
With no time to spare, Finn clenched his teeth and summoned all his remaining strength, channelling it into his relic. His other hand, still intact, began to vibrate violently as he planted it firmly on the ground, preparing to unleash a desperate counterattack.
Boom!
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A shockwave erupted from beneath Finn's hand, detonating the ground with explosive force, propelling his body to safety just as Susie's scythe sliced through the empty air where he had lain moments before.
Finn's body tumbled across the ground, rolling to a halt amidst a cloud of dust and debris.
"Phew," Lorien breathed a sign of relief as he watched Finn narrowly evade the deadly strike. The other students watched with grim expressions as they recognized the peril they would have had to face if they were pitted against Susie in combat.
Finn staggered to his feet, his hand still dripping blood incessantly, his breaths ragged and labored. His other hand trembled from the impact of the shockwave.
As Susie retrieved her scythe from the ground, she looked to the side and saw Finn struggling. Then a sinister smile appeared on her face as her eerie eyes fixed on Finn's battered form. With an unsettling calmness, she began to advance towards him, her pace quickening with each step, the giant scythe poised menacingly in her hand.
Finn felt fear as he watched Susie approach, her unsettling smile painting her as a bloodthirsty predator relishing the chance to claim her prey.
‘I am never hitting on this girl after this fight’ Finn thought in distress.
Closing his eyes briefly, Finn drew in a deep breath, summoning his resolve in the face of imminent danger. With determination, he steeled himself for the confrontation ahead, bracing for whatever horrors Susie's twisted intentions might unleash upon him.
Finn's heart pounded in his chest as he activated his relic, focusing its energy to vibrate only one finger on his hand consistently. This precision was crucial as he prepared to face Susie's relentless assault.
With a swift diagonal slice, Susie lunged towards him, but Finn reacted quickly, activating the relic beneath his right foot to release a mini-shockwave that propelled him out of harm's way.
Susie switched hands with her scythe, transitioning seamlessly from attack to pursuit, Finn continued to evade her onslaught, using his mini-shockwaves to dart away at the last possible moment.
The students watched in tense silence as Finn danced around Susie's deadly strikes, each move calculated to keep him one step ahead of his relentless opponent.
Finn couldn’t use his shock bullets and evade at the same time yet because it had only been a few days since he had received his relic and he still wasn’t proficient in multi-tasking with it.
Despite the intensity of the battle, none of the students dared to mock Finn's evasive tactics, knowing full well the danger that Susie posed. It became clear that Finn's strategy was to outlast Susie, to endure her onslaught for the full ten minutes and secure a draw that would earn a point for each team.
"This strategy can't last him ten minutes, at most he will be able to run away for 5 minutes before his soul energy runs out," Seren remarked, his expression thoughtful as he observed the ongoing match with a furrowed brow.
Beside him, Elise couldn't help but feel a sense of relief at Seren's assessment. However, an unsettling feeling gnawed at her whenever her gaze met the intense stare of Susie, who continued her relentless assault against Finn with unwavering determination. Despite Seren's analysis, Elise couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Susie's abilities than met the eye, leaving her on edge as the battle unfolded before them.
For the next three minutes, Finn remained in constant motion, dodging Susie's attacks with precision and skill. With each passing moment, Susie's desperation grew, her wild swings leaving her defenses open at times. Yet Finn resisted the urge to counterattack, knowing that any misstep could cost him dearly in this deadly game of cat and mouse.
...
Sounds reverberated through the air as they added to the intensity of the scene of Susie's relentless pursuit. With just 6 minutes left on the clock, Finn had yet to land a single attack on Susie.
BANG!
Another deafening bang filled the arena as Finn narrowly evaded yet another of Susie's lightning-fast strikes. Dread gnawed at him as he realized the futility of his efforts. ‘This isn't going to work, she isn't even slowing down one bit’ Finn thought, his heart pounding with apprehension as he continued to evade Susie's relentless onslaught.
With precision, Susie aimed her scythe at Finn's lower body, but this time, Finn acted swiftly. With a snap of his fingers, he summoned a golden spear into his hand.
Clang
The spear’s gleaming surface collided with Susie's scythe in a shower of sparks.
For the first time in the match, Susie jumped back as she scrutinized Finn’s spear with her dark eyes. Finn didn’t wait to let Susie analyse the situation as he propelled himself forward with the shockwave and the spear in his hand.
With a strength that belied her stature, Susie swung her scythe with unnerving precision, her arm contorting at an unnatural angle as she unleashed a ferocious counterattack against Finn's bold advance.
Clang
As sparks erupted once more at the collision, the momentum of Finn’s spear stopped. Susie then used her other arm and hurled her fist forward, aiming right at Finn’s face but Finn predicted Susie would resort to using her brutal strength. With a swift move, Finn stuck out his battered hand as he activated his relic to make it vibrate.
Susie’s fist collided with Finn’s palm and a small shockwave rippled outward from the point of contact, momentarily disrupting the intense force of Susie's attack.
Now locked in a tense standoff, both combatants found themselves grappling with the other's strength. With one hand grabbing each of their weapons, poised to strike at each other's throats and the other locked in a fierce clench.
Previously, Finn had used his relic to create a mini-shock wave at the point of contact to dispel the force behind Susie’s attack and hold his own against her.
A small grin then appeared on Finn’s face as he looked ahead into Susie’s eyes. Unpertubed, Susie launched a swift kick aimed at Finn’s abdomen, confident in her ability to overpower him.
Smack
The impact echoed through the air with a resounding smack, causing Finn's eyes to widen in agony as he doubled over, blood spilling from his lips. Despite the pain wracking his body, Finn's grin only widened, a hint of delight in his voice as he spoke.
"You should have stuck to using your scythe only," he chuckled, his words laced with a mixture of pain and amusement.
With a sudden resolve, Finn poured his remaining soul energy into his relic, his palm holding Susie's fist began to vibrate with newfound intensity. Susie, realizing the danger too late, desperately attempted to retract her hand, but Finn's grip remained firm, determined to see his plan through to the end.
The vibration emanating from Finn's hand surged through Susie's arm, causing the blood within to heat and boil. A pained grimace contorted Susie's features as she loosened her grip on the scythe before her legs gave out and she dropped to the ground in agony.
With grim determination, Finn maintained his hold on Susie's fist as he increased the frequency of the vibration even further. Blood began to seep from Susie's ears, mouth, and eyes with her teeth gritted in a desperate attempt to endure the excruciating pain until Finn's soul energy finally depleted.
Finn was also in no better condition; the injury on his battered hand worsened with each second, his expression contorted in agony as he pushed himself to maintain the relentless assault.
Seren and Elise watched on with grave concern, their expressions mirroring the gravity of the situation as they witnessed Susie's valiant struggle against the relentless onslaught. Meanwhile, Lorien and Kai, stood united in sombre silence, their hearts heavy as they witnessed the stone floor slowly becoming stained crimson by the blood of both combatants.
"Surrender or you will die from blood loss," Finn gritted out the words, attempting to maintain an air of confidence in his victory despite the searing pain pulsating through his battered hand.
Susie remained silent, her entire body trembling violently as she cast her gaze downward, tears of blood staining her cheeks. "I... have... to... win," she choked out, her voice an eerie echo of determination mingled with despair.
"Susie, that's enough! We can win the next round!" Elise's voice pierced through the tense atmosphere, her concern was evident as she pleaded with her friend to end the grueling battle.
With a drained expression, Susie turned her gaze towards Elise, who met her gaze with equal parts worry and determination with her fists clenched in silent solidarity.
Susie's resolve wavered at this site as she shifted her gaze back to Finn, her expression one of resignation. "I surrender," she declared, her voice ringing out across the platform, the eerie quality replaced by a solemn acceptance of defeat.
Instantly, Finn released his grip on Susie's fist, his relic falling dormant as he stepped back. With a heavy sigh, Susie's body slumped forward, unconsciousness overtaking her as she collapsed face-first onto the pool of blood beneath her, the battle finally coming to a harrowing end.
'I can't imagine what would have happened to me if she hadn't surrendered for another 20 seconds' Finn thought fearfully, his breath ragged as he watched Susie's motionless form sprawled beneath his feet.
With a relieved sigh, Finn turned to face Lorien, a victorious gleam in his eyes. "You see that? How I won, Lor—"
Before Finn could finish his boasting, a sudden grip seized his leg, sending a jolt of terror coursing through his veins. Whipping his head around, Finn's heart sank as he beheld the sight that awaited him.
Behind him, Susie had awakened, her eerie smile sending shivers down Finn's spine as she gazed up at him with eyes filled with malice. It became apparent to Finn that Susie had feigned weakness in her final moments before surrendering, lulling him into a false sense of security before striking back with chilling intent.
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Condemned To Death
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