PRESTON VS. HICKEDY
“Our first fighter fought through the hallucinations and made his opponent experience a nightmare of his own, The Pressured Peer Preston! And our second Fiend caused a bit of psychological torment herself, making her foe feel so bad about hitting her that he forfeited, The Coddled Cage, Hickedy!”
《Niloy: You can do it little CP girl!》
《Kada: Yeah, Hickedy, beat that grownup’s ass!》
As soon as the match began Hickedy made up for the mistakes of her last fight. There was no hesitation as the dotted lines shot out around her, covering the arena floor. In just a few seconds, almost the entire circumference of the stage was completely enveloped in her perimeter, save for one small spot.
Preston looked at his feet and then behind himself. There was a very thin trail that led to the edge of the arena. When he turned back around, he was a bit astonished and asked the girl, “What’s that you’re wearing?”
“I dunno what it does,” the girl’s breath fogged against the mask on her face as she spoke. “But they put it inside my Pox doll and told me to wear it if I fought you.”
“Hmm, I see,” it didn’t take long for Preston to figure it out. “Since they know I can suffocate my enemy, that must provide continuous air flow even in low pressure. Smart. Did you make any other preparations?”
“Yes,” Hickedy answered honestly. She then set her doll down on the ground and it rapidly grew several sizes. Not wanting to lose the advantage of Preston’s amusement and curiosity, she quickly climbed inside while he still wasn’t attacking her. “Okay, I’m done.”
“How intriguing,” the young scholar thought about his situation. “I’m guessing…” the man held out his hands and activated his Curse. Pressure built around the giant doll, squishing it from all sides, but it barely shrunk. Poor Pox’s face did get a bit distorted and smooshed, though. “Of course. That must have some intense padding inside to keep you safe.”
“I think I’ve figured out your strategy, but let me test one thing,” Preston took a step back, and then the perimeter closed in further. He also took that moment to test the strength of the perimeter, his hand fully stopped in midair as he pushed. “It was a shame to have to surrender my already limited space, but I proved that you can see me in there. That means if I move at all, you’ll take every inch.”
“But you haven’t sealed me off entirely. You could have easily trapped me where I stood, yet you’ve left me a walkway. That means you’re hoping I’ll travel down it, right off the edge. But you can’t expect me to just comply. I may not be able to hurt you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll just surrender.”
“Are you hoping to wait me out? To get bored and give up. I’ll have you know that I’ve endured some of the highest pressure and worst conditions to meet the loftiest expectations, so a bit of boredom will do nothing. In that case, we’d be down to survival. That’d potentially be days or weeks until one of us couldn’t go on. Tell me, do you have food and water in there? A toilet?”
“No, I’m guessing not, or at least nothing sufficient. So why don’t you stop holding out on me and wasting my time. Show me what your plan is.”
The doll suddenly raised its arms in compliance. It placed its paws out flat and a hole opened on each. Bullets began spraying out in Preston’s direction. He quickly held out both hands again, warping the pressure and sending the bullets bending around him.
《Kada: Ah, that’s so cool and smart, Hickedy!》
《Niloy: Yeah you’ve got him on the ropes already. Keep it up!》
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“So that’s it,” he got the words out between the relentless barrage. “The aim is more spot on than I expected, so I’m guessing it’s firing automatically. You don’t seem the type to have handled a gun. Your hands are just too small and pristine.”
“The real question is how much ammunition do you have in there. As much as could have been stuffed inside the condensed version, I suppose. Perhaps you had some hidden in your dress, too. And given the small caliber, it’s not an insignificant amount. So the question is: who will give out first? I can’t hold this forever, and if I attempt any attacks, that’ll drain me too. But I suppose I have to try.”
Hickedy’s doll started taking hits. It was blasted to and fro, trying to knock it on its side, but Pox barely more than wobbled. Preston then tried blasting it from underneath with an explosion of pressure, but the doll barely lifted more than a few inches.
“I’ll admit, it’s hard to focus like this,” The Peer was starting to sweat.
《Niloy: Ha, look how useless his attacks are.》
《Kada: You’re doing great, Hickedy!》
Preston sighed, “It seems no matter what I do, I won’t gain any fans here. Then I might as well go back to playing the heel. I’m going to give you one final chance to surrender, young lady. If you don’t, I won’t apologize for what’s to come!”
The man was true to his word and stopped attacking her entirely, giving her a chance that she didn’t take. “Screw it, I’ll swallow my pride and actually apologize. You don’t deserve this. I bet you’re trying to live up to others' lofty expectations, and that’s why you’re here. That’s my entire life story, so I can only sympathize.”
“I hope you can forgive me for using this part of my power. It exhausts me, it’s hard to use, and I hate doing it. But I can’t afford to lose here. My debt runs too deep. I hope you can use this as an excuse to get out. Take it from me, you’re not suited for this line of work. It’s just not in your blood!”
Preston strained himself to his limit. The Pox doll continued to fire for a bit longer, but it suddenly toppled over. Its backside ripped open and Hickedy thrashed her way out of it, tears streaking down her face while she wailed moans of anguish.
“I’ve increased your blood pressure to the extreme. Any more and it’ll start boiling and popping out of your skin. I know it must feel like the worst thing you can imagine, but I promise, as soon as you surrender, I’ll make it stop.”
Hickedy couldn’t form the words, so she desperately tried to crawl towards the edge of the arena. But she was in so much writhing pain that she could only claw an inch at a time. And for the entire trip, the crowd’s boos and hisses only grew, and the commentators unceasingly berated him.
《Kada: Bastard!》
《Niloy: Mawhger!》
《Kada: Jerk!》
《Niloy: Zjikhead!》
《Kada: Terrorist!》
《Niloy: Torturer!》
《Kada: Sicko!》
《Niloy: Pervert!》
《Kada: Pervert?》
《Niloy: Yeah, what kind of creep do you think gets off on hurting a little girl like this.》
《Kada: Oh, totally. Pervert!》
Hickedy tragically slumped off the edge. Her entire body limp and sweating when she ungracefully flopped onto the ground. Laquet ran out from the staging area, breaking the rules to be there when it wasn’t his fight. He grabbed Hickedy and held her, who started crying even more in his arms. The man then locked eyes with Preston, who quickly turned and walked away.
“To everyone’s dismay, Preston wins.”
~Unfulfilled Wish~
Hickedy: (Official Wish) For the nation of Fiendish to join the Central Peace.
Hickedy: (Actual Wish) To be able to come and play with Pox whenever I want!