Match 8
#42 Nimia Altamirano
vs
#41 Jacqueline Abigail “Triple-Jack” Byers
Inventory:
1 Katana - "Darling"
2 .44 Semi-Automatic Magnums - "Sonya and Cleon"
1 9mm Semi-Automatic Pistol
67.5 million dollars
So Nimia was pretty damn sure she shouldn’t ask for nice things, because there was no way she was going to get them.
Albin was easily the most miserable island she’d ever been on, and she’d been on a few shit islands. The main problem for it was the simple fact that it was ridiculously cold. But not a dry cold or even a snowy cold; the cold of Albin was a rainy, foggy, miserable cold, the type that soaked and clung like mud to cloth, though at least it slid off her yellow raincoat easily enough...
So yeah, she wasn’t having a great time in the flooded, overgrown city she was trudging through, where trees, vines and moss ripped through and completely covered ancient buildings. It was probably beautiful, once upon a time, but now it was a wretched ruin, teeming with life, but very little of it human. It was hard to believe anyone could’ve lived in a place like this, but apparently the 41st ranked made the wrecked city their home, so she was pretty fucked here.
“Uuuugh, why...Why all the cold places? This is shit,” she grumbled, glaring up at the offensively cloudy sky. At least it wasn’t raining right at that moment.
And that was about when she heard the singing.
“-eam train riding on a reckless rail, speeding right into the rising gale, shovel harder cos we’re on your tail, London’s bloody cry~!” sung the woman walking down the street, her black boots kicking up water with every step as she casually carried a lantern in her gloved hand, announcing her presence to the whole world. Or at least anyone in this area of the city.
She certainly was an interesting-looking lady; one who almost looked like she was dressed for a funeral. She wore a black coat, one that hung low over her equally dark pants, and a black tie and undershirt, from what Nimia could see. She also had a black, silk top hat on–with a black ribbon because of course–along with black-rimmed glasses. Add in her short, close-cropped, jet black hair, and she definitely looked like she was sticking hard to a theme.
Oh, and she was also pretty tall. At least a couple inches taller than Nimia, who was already damn tall herself.
“Huh. Well hey there, Smiley.” Nimia raised a hand in greeting, taking in the woman’s carved up face. Somebody had clearly taken an exception to her cheery attitude at some point, judging by the deep cuts splitting both of her cheeks open in a gruesome parody of a grin. They healed badly too, leaving her pale, freckled skin marred by pale, twisted scars that seemed to curl closer to her cheekbones.
“Hoy there yerself, missy~! Lovely day we’re havin’, innit?”
Nimia glanced up at the fog, then back down at Smiley. “...In some ways, I guess? Does it get worse around here?”
“Oh certainly, can most certainly get far far far worse out ‘round ‘ere! Ah, but where’re me manners? You can call me Jacky! I expect you’d be Nimia then?”
“Yup, that’s me. Nice to meet you, hope you’ll be fun to fight.”
“Ah, same to you, love! Heh, gotta get some kinda fun out round here these days, y’know?” Jacky chuckled, hooking her lantern to her belt and brushing down her coat, before spreading her arms wide. “Been gaggin’ for a good fight, so how ‘bout we get started?”
Nimia raised an eyebrow. “No speeches?”
“Do y’want one?”
“Heh. Well, hey, who am I to get pissed if someone wants to get right to it?” She smirked. “Gotta say, I’ll miss the foreplay.”
“Oh not to worry, missy. We’ll ‘ave plenty time to chat once I’ve cut your head off~!” The barest shift of the water signalled Jacky’s immediate charge at Nimia. She was fast; almost looked like she was walking on the water as she sprinted, two long knives–single-edged, scramasaxes–in both gloved hands.
Still, she was a lot slower than Nimia expected. One swing split Jacky’s chest open diagonally, a burst of blood dyeing the waters beneath them as Nimia stepped to the side, watching her opponent gasp and stumble past her. The woman in black took two steps, a third, then collapsed face first in the water.
“...Okay, come on, seriously?” Nimia waited a few seconds, then huffed. “Really? You’re doing this?” About a minute passed as she stared down at the really committed actor. “...You realize my mark hasn’t changed, right? I’d notice-”
She spun, catching the sudden stab at her back–that was a glaive; very sharp, bladed polearm–and ducking under it, just barely missing with her retaliatory swipe as a second Jacky–the fuck–rapidly backed up with a cheeky grin on her scarred face–exact same scars as the first, exact same placement, probably not a surprise twin. “Ooo, got some fast reflexes on ye, aye? Heh, gonna have a lotta fun with ye!”
“Huh. Okay, duplication. That’s a new one.” So Jacky-2 had a glaive, and the ribbon on her hat was cyan instead of black, as was her undershirt. “Color-coded too.”
“Ah, got it in one, ha! Well, not quite, but I can’t blame ya fer not figurin’ out all’a our tricks so quick. Rip, ye be gettin’ up yet or are ye sleepin’ fer twenty years?”
“Wrong bint.” Well that was an angry-sounding voice. Nimia chanced a glance back and saw the water around Jacky abruptly evaporate completely as she shoved herself up, turning her glare on Nimia. Her glasses-less glare–which was weird because Nimia didn’t see them in the water anywhere–that showed off two of the freakiest eyes she’d ever seen.
Now, granted, they weren’t too strange; the only really weird part was her irises, which–instead of being a solid color–were clearly divided into three thirds in orange, gray, and blue. And considering Angry Jacky–who also, notably, actually had her scars curving down into a scowl instead of up into a smile–had an orange undershirt and hat-ribbon, Nimia was starting to see a theme going on there.
“Alright, you can split yourself in three and swap out with your duplicates. That’s new, and weird, but alright, I can roll with it,” Nimia said, letting her darling’s blade rest on her shoulder for the moment, “So where’s the original? ‘Rip’, was it?”
“I prefer Carver, if you don’t mind! Least sounds more original!” came the third Jacky’s voice, up and over on top of a lampost, a playful grin on her fucked up face. And sure enough, gray ribbon, gray shirt. “Gotta say, weren’t expectin’ you to put things together so quick! Most never figure it out afore I cut ‘em!”
“I like to think I’m open to weird possibilities.”
“Ah, so you’re a right loony then, good tae know~!” Jacky Blue giggled, grinning wide as she let her glaive rest over her own shoulders. “Most never put it together, certainly, but the ones that see all’a us together least assume we’re triplets! Jumpin’ right tae ‘duplicates’ sounds a more’n little barmy, aye?”
“Aye. But it seems reasonable enough. The swap-out thing was a little unexpected though.” Nimia glanced over Orange Jacky. “Can you do that all the time, or just when you’re manifesting?”
“And why the fuck would I tell you anythin’ you right cunt?”
“Ha! Aw, don’t expect much outta Stingy there, she’s a right arsehole,” Jacky Blue warned, giggling again.
“You fuck off with that ‘Stingy’ shite, got it? If fuckin’ Rip gets ta call ‘erself ‘Carver’, I can pick a fuckin’ name of me own,” Orange snarled right back. So, angry, cheerful...also cheerful? Hm, weird dynamic here.
“Ah, but Ember’s so cliché~! We can’t be havin’ that! Might as well call me Frosty if we’re goin’ that route!” she complained, all with that same cheerful grin.
“And what would that be?” Nimia asked, glancing around the Jacks, “Gray over there is Jacky Carve, orange is Jacky Em, and that makes you…?”
“Jacky Glacier, at yer service, love~!”
“Right. Alright, guess that’s established.” Nimia smirked. “So who’s first?”
Glace was, apparently, kicking things off by swinging her glaive out at Nimia with one hand, nearly catching her with the blade before she jumped out of the way and into a roll under the plume of flame Em nearly bathed her in, which actually reminded her of her last fight. Had it already been a week since she was stuck in that burning warehouse?
Regardless, time to focus and avoid being charbroiled by a pyrokinetic. Which was a hell of a lot trickier than dealing with someone with a flamethrower; instead of just spraying flames everywhere in huge bursts, the fires Em conjured twisted around themselves, forming into large serpents that seemed to roar as they dove at Nimia. Kinda made her wish she could cut them apart...Actually…
So that’s how Nimia wound up having to dive into the street-water when it turned out slicing a fiery construct did not, in fact, smash it into harmless embers with a fancy gust of wind. Clearly, she needed to practice and also shove herself up and out of the water quick as it suddenly froze under her.
“Aw, almost got ye there!” Glace chuckled, lifting her frost-covered hand up from the ground as she sauntered over to stand by her fiery counterpart. Hm. Glace was walking on the frozen sheet she’d turned the water into, but Em stood in a little pool all her own. Did it melt that quickly around her?
“Fire and ice, neat. So what’s that make–” And she abruptly dropped forward and slammed her foot back and up into Carve’s jaw, smashing her teeth together and launching her back up into the air. “–this bitch here?” She straightened, grinning as her attempted ambusher crashed to the ground further down the street with a loud splash, followed by two more splashes as her knives dropped into the street water too. “Knives aren’t really an element. Though I guess she does move pretty quick? Is it a ‘wind’ thing?”
“...Well alright then, now that was unexpected!” Glace laughed, glancing at Em. “This one’s gonna be a tricky bint, in’ she?”
“Damn right tricky, yeah.” Em just rolled her shoulders, spreading her hands as her gloves caught aflame. “Gettin’ serious sounds good.”
“Aye, if’n ye think. Oh, and Rip’s not real ‘windy’, if ye catch my drift~. More’a metal gal.”
“Huh. How interesting,” Nimia replied as she deliberately leaned to the side, dodging as Carve quite literally sprung past her. Like, her legs were literally springs, literally. The lower parts–shins mainly, her feet were still there–but it was still weird. “Also feeling like you seriously missed an opportunity here by not having her be lightning. Like, that’s a classic trio there.”
“Well there’s no Lightning Jack out there, now is there, you smarmy bint?!” Carve shouted back, her current scowl at odds with her carved-in grin. She just generally looked a whole lot more wild too, her hair actually longer and suddenly grayer while her bared teeth definitely looked sharper. And those were actual claws jutting out of her gloves. Huh. Oh, and her glasses were off too, showing her freaky eyes, same as Em. Did she even need them to see?
“Losin’ your temper right easy there, notta smart plan-”
“Oh piss off!” Carve scowled at Em, then turned her glare on Nimia again. “Frost, gut the twat!”
“Aw, ye cheeky cunt, can’t even bother gettin’ me name right now?” Glacier sighed in annoyance, still grinning all the while. “Permission tae go full on then, iron queen?”
“The fuck do you think!?”
“Just makin’ sure, no need tae rip ma liver out.” Glace smirked, then abruptly rushed Nimia, stabbing straight for her before suddenly bending back ridiculously quickly as Nim dodged to the side and swung for her head, though Glace still kept traveling–Okay, she had ice skates on now, that was different.
She was pretty deft with them too, turning on a dime on the rime and beaming wide as she came around for another pass, this time swinging up from the ground to try to cut Nimia’s head off. So Nim ducked low and swung her blade out, cutting Glace’s feet off straight at the ankle.
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“Whoa!” Glace’s eyes went wide as she flew over Nimia, her stumps noticeably not bleeding while her feet clattered and bounced across the ice, bursting into shards of ice just in time for another fiery serpent to go rocketing straight at Nimia, who jumped straight over it and swung her darling again just in time to catch Carve, who had to switch to blocking–And actually managed to keep Nimia from bisecting her with just her hands, huh.
So her “iron” was even harder than what the mech siblings were made of, good to know. It did mean she’d need to come up with something new to win though, so she started off by bringing her foot up and kicking Carve straight in the chest, aiming to get some distance, and as they both flew back from each other, she formed her Cleon in her free hand and fired straight past Carve and into Em’s lantern.
The fiery Jacky had about a second for her eyes to widen before the lantern outright erupted, the explosion shattering every unbroken glass on the street and sending Nimia skidding down the ice.
“Huh! Hahahaha!” Glace cackled, staring at the flames through her shattered glasses with a wide, giddy grin. “Ye gone ‘n fucked yerself hard now ye dumb cunt!” Eh?
“Bloody slag,” Carver snarled in a much lower tone, her scowl again at odds with her cut-in grin, “Takes forever ta get a decent lantern ‘round here!”
“Huh. So that didn’t kill you. Right, shouldn’t expect it to be that easy,” Nimia muttered, eyeing the raging conflagration at the end of the street and the quite large shape starting to form up out of the fire– “That is a dragon.”
That was a dragon. Apparently Jacky Ember had the power to transform into a fifteen-foot dragon. So that was an issue.
Big, scaly, classical Western type too, with arms and legs and wings–so six limbs total; did dragons count as insects?–and she was made of fire. Scarlet fire, way redder than any fire should actually be, and shaped into the heavily detailed scales and ridges that made up the dragon’s narrow, almost serpentine body, which tapered off into a pointed tail.
Though, okay, so not every part of Em’s body was red now. The pupils and sclerae of her eyes were a pitch-black. But they were also made out of fire, so, huh. And they were also narrowed in Nimia’s direction, right as the thunder of an incoming storm boomed in the air…
Hm. Question now was, were those swept back points on the sides of her head supposed to be horns or ears–And now Nimia was running because a big dragon just breathed a massive plume of flame at her and she was in no way sure how to deal with that at the moment. Dragons were kinda out of her realm of experience.
Now figure skaters, those she’d fought before, which was why taking Glace’s legs out before was so easy. So seeing the icy Jacky forming up out of the water further down the alleyway was somewhat surprising. Her legs weren’t reformed though–instead, they were more like icy pillars coming out of the water–and her whole body looked like it’d turned to solid ice.
“Wrong turn there, but not tae worry. Least now ye won’t have tae burn tae death.” Her split lips spread into a wide grin that got wider by the second, her whole face stretching forward as her body bulged and expanded outward, upward, and forward.
Then there was an eruption of ice and Nimia’s brain stuttered for a moment as it tried to reconcile her fluctuating perception of reality with the fact that Glace was a fucking horse. An icy blue horse with a mane of frozen spikes, that same still cut-up smile–which looked even freakier on a horse with how it was baring her teeth–and a fucking spiral horn extending from her forehead like she was some type of land-based narwhal–correction, she was a unicorn, what–and then Nimia had to run the exact opposite way because as Glace reared up, all the water between her and the huge ice-icorn burst with massive ice spikes racing straight for her and oh right, huge fire dragon was back thataway and was glaring straight at her through the alley entrance and now there was fire breath so welp, good thing there were buildings!
And with that thought, Nimia promptly turned and rushed straight at the wall right next to her, ramming her metal shoulder into and through the old, wrecked stone, then rushed straight on through as the walls of ice and fire collided hard in massive flash of steam. Which was still really damn hot so it was a good thing she dove over some weird, mossy lump that might’ve been a chair at some point.
Didn’t really matter though, since escaping death one didn’t mean shit if she couldn’t keep on doing it, so up she went and out she went into some mold-covered hallway as the icy steed from Hell smashed right through the wall she just broke through, letting out a whinny that sounded almost like crazed laughter as the temperature dropped and the already rotting building started to freeze.
Really, it was a testament to whoever built them that these buildings had even lasted this long in such a shitty state–and that just gave Nimia a really good idea, a whole lot of thoughts suddenly slotting into place as she bolted for where the stairs had to be and thanked every almighty that the damn things were still intact.
They wouldn’t be for long at the rate Glace was going–the psycho cryo was smashing straight through the walls of the building, laugh-neighing the whole time, while coating everything around her with a deep frost–so running fast was a fantastic idea here.
The stairs creaked and squealed and even cracked as Nimia ran up them–which was worrying because she was pretty sure they were all made of concrete or at least some kind of stone–but she kept her steps light and tried her damndest to just get up to the top without tripping and breaking her neck, a feat that got a whole lot harder to accomplish as Glace reached the landing and decided to let loose with a massive blast of swirling frost.
Nimia got out on the roof just as the pillar of ice smashed straight through the staircase. She paused for a second, waiting, then smirked when she heard the crash and crackle of fiery claws digging into stone. And right in the perfect spot between the two buildings forming that alley.
So off she went, sprinting straight across the roof and hoping like hell her impromptu plan was going to work as she jumped from one building to the other, right as Em pulled herself up and nearly snapped those huge, burning teeth right on her.
Nimia landed, rolled, and formed Sonya in her hands, holding it with both to keep it fully stable and aiming straight at the scowling dragon. Not yet though, she had to wait until Glace leapt up onto the opposite roof, landing hard on the stone with a burst of ice, and at that exact moment, Nimia fired straight through Em’s head.
And sure enough, the burning dragon wasn’t fully solid, her flames splitting as the bullets flew on through, but the icy unicorn, on the opposite side, was totally solid, and very shootable.
So when Nimia fired six shots into the roaring inferno, they came out the other side superheated and even burning with the otherworldly fire Em was made of, and when they slammed straight into Glace’s chest as the dramatic unicorn reared up, her mighty battlecry cut out quick with a shocked gasp and a shriek of steam. All six bullets seared straight through her icy flesh and by the time Em fully twisted and pulled herself onto the roof Nimia landed on, Glace had crumpled to the ground in broken chunks of ice.
That did still leave an enraged dragon–her blazing teeth bared in a gruesome, far too long scowl–about to lunge at her. Shame she never got the chance.
Nimia couldn’t help her smile as the first few raindrops landed on her head, and it quickly spread into a wide grin when Em went completely stiff. “Bad luck, big gal. Though hey, thanks for making it easy for me by coming up here.”
“...Ha. Cheeky bint. Though ye haven’t won yet, diawl bach.” Ember suddenly smirked, her split lips curling up in a smile as the rain fell heavy and hard. In only a few seconds, the massive dragon was reduced down to to floating embers of extinguished flame, until those too went out.
Which left just one more Jacky for Nimia to kill. Assuming she actually did beat the two freakier members of the trio. It was always hard to tell with these weird, not-quite-magic types, she thought to herself as she looked through the increasingly thick deluge of rain. They had some type of rules they played by, but that meant figuring out what those rules actually were. Fire and ice were easy enough, just kill them with the opposite. Metal though...what was the opposite for metal?
It was a question she’d have to figure out really quickly because Jacky abruptly smashed straight up through the ceiling beneath her–would that make it the floor? Question for later–and would’ve carved straight up through her guts if Nimia hadn’t jerked back at the sudden shift in the roof under her feet.
She fired as she jumped back, missing one and hitting the second because Jacky wasn’t even bothering to dodge, letting the bullet slam into her cheek and crumple into a little disk, which fell from her face as she ran straight at Nimia, lunging with her claws and leading to a slight repeat of her match with Bente as she dodged claw swipes and thrusts and tried to get distance, which was also fucking tricky because she was still on a roof; one with a big hole in the center so she couldn’t even maneuver that well.
“Hey, you wanna take this somewhere else?!” she shouted as she ducked another claw with a grin, “We’d have more fun if we could move!”
“Ha! Ye really think I’ll give ye a chance like–”
Thank God for her inventory. In a second, she switched out her magnum for her darling, dove close, and shoved her blade straight into Jacky’s open mouth. Simple logic was that the metal lady’s internals couldn’t be as solid as her externals, right?
Well, that was the thought, up until her tip clinked at the back of Jacky’s throat and didn’t go back out the other way. Then Jacky grinned and–before Nimia could pull back–chomped down hard on the flat of her sword, snapping it straight in half. Which wow, that was not at all how she wanted this to go, fuck.
“...I liked that sword-” Nimia ducked back Jacky tried to slam her claws into the sides of her head, banishing her broken darling back to her inventory as she lunged up and smashed her metal fist straight into Jacky’s chin. Not literally smashed, thankfully–her knuckles were still intact–and Jacky did get launched back, clutching at her mouth as she growled in fury.
“Fucking cun-HEY!”
Suffice to say, Nimia was taking advantage of the distraction and rushed straight for the hole. Jumping straight down a few stories through a smashed open roof didn’t seem like the best idea, but fuck it, she had another idea and the rain was going to help with it.
Sure enough, Carver really had jumped straight from the bottom floor right to the roof–probably with those springs–and absolutely wrecked the lower floors on the way, so Nimia had to contend with a few jutting chunks of wood that probably could’ve impaled her but made some pretty decent handholds as she parkored to the bottom in some totally cool moves that would take way too long to describe.
Still, she made it to the bottom just in time to dodge out of the way as Jacky came crashing right after her, kicking up a ton of dust and sending down into the basement. “BLOODY CU-!”
“Whoops. Hmm…” Nimia listened for a moment, heard muffled swearing, and promptly turned and headed right on out of the building, rolling her shoulders as the rain came down harder and harder, turning the already flooded streets into what could easily become a full on river of water and mud. Perfect.
So once she closed the door to the building and stepped out into the street, she waited for a few seconds, standing in the water and staring at what might’ve once been an apartment building. Well, not directly at it; she stood at least a good distance away from where the doors stood.
Good she did too; otherwise the door would’ve hit her once Jacky kicked it open.
The once dapper woman looked a whole hell of a lot worse after her choice to plunge however many feet that was through solid concrete, and far more broken wood and plaster. Not only was her coat gone entirely, and her sleeves and pant legs were noticeably torn–showing off her decently muscled arms and legs, along with the myriad of mutilating scars crisscrossing all over them–but her little gash stitches had torn open completely, showing off the wide, ripped-open mouth she had and baring her sharpened teeth in a vicious scowl. Her chest heaved with every breath, her hair was long, wild, and matted with rain, and her bizarre eyes were wide and dilated, like every bit of composure she’d had was absolutely shredded.
“Sup,” Nimia greeted with a raised hand and a grin.
“...Heh. Sehehehehe-Mmgh, ha, sorry bout that,” she replied, brushing the hair from her eyes and slicking it back with a clawed hand, “Losin’ meself ‘ere. Can’t go lettin’ dark things out and shovin’ ‘em back in without fuckin’ somethin’ up…”
“Neat. Not sure what that means, don’t really bother with ‘mystic’ stuff. Fighting’s what I know, so if me fucking you up has weakened the island or whatever, sorry?” Nim shrugged, letting her hand drop. “So, last round?”
“Last round. Might as well include some pillow talk then, aye?” Jacky grinned as she walked out into the street, not too close just yet. “Can’t say much though. I doubt ye want my life’s story.”
“I dunno, might be neat to hear. You seem like a woman with a fucked up history.”
“Ha! Ah, that’s an accurate one.” Jacky tilted her head up, watching the sky. “...Lemme tell ye somethin’. Killers, they’re overrated.”
“Oh?”
She held up a finger, still staring up. “Serial killers, t’be clear. Buncha right assholes they are, gettin’ their names in ‘istory just cos they do terrible things. None’a ‘em would ever stand where we are, fightin’ to the death out in the rain. No, they gotta lure people, get ‘em in close, savor it. They revel in it. ‘S why I like killin’ ‘em the most. There’s just somethin’ satisfyin’ about takin’ a man everyone acts like is the greatest murderer of all time and drownin’ ‘im in the Thames.
Her gaze dropped, but her smile remained. “Poor bastard squirmed, but ‘e killed a friend, so that was that. Still, rankled plenty to ‘ear ‘theories’ and ‘speculations’ and all’a the ‘mystery’. Can drive a girl mad, y’know?”
“Not really.” Nimia shrugged. “Old world news doesn’t interest me either. Why bother?”
“Ha. Ah, that’s a good sentiment there, missy. Ne’er could stand it though. I’ll give you a nice little answer to the question you don’t care for though. None of ‘em, any one, has any deep motive. They just hate women.” Her eyes flicked to the skies one more time. “Gotta thank you though. That lightnin’ idea, real good one.”
Aw fuckshit.
Nimia bolted straight towards Jacky right as the electricity burst up, surging through her body and heating the air while the bolt itself raced down and set off a massive burst that by all rights should’ve killed the 41st on the spot, but no, Jacky was not only alive, but her metal body was crackling with lightning, already sending it rushing through the knee-high water as Nimia slammed her own metal palm into Jacky’s face and shoved her down into the building river.
It hurt like hell. Nimia could feel her muscles–artificial and organic–seizing as she immediately moved both her hands to Jacky’s throat and held her under, jamming her thumbs against her metal flesh. The water was alight with electricity, surging constantly off of the 41st’s body as she just kept on grinning at Nimia from under the water.
But in seconds, that grin got strained, and suddenly Nimia felt claws tearing at her, but without enough room to the swing. The water was heavy, and so was metal.
Still, it was a rough contest. Jacky’s claws ripped at Nim’s jacket, her sides, her hips, her legs, anything and everything they could try to grab at as the electricity died down, dispersed into the deep waters. Deeper by the second, and getting darker too.
Nimia still saw Jacky’s face though, as ripped and contorted as it was, her grin still present and as wide as ever. A burst of bubbles–only a few, not much air–came from her mouth as Jack started to laugh and dug her claws into Nimia’s sides. The water was starting to get red and there was a pounding in Nim’s head, but she held tight until…
42 -> 41
She coughed up some blood when Jack’s grip finally went slack. It wasn’t a good feeling. The burning sensation on her neck did make her feel warmer though, and as she stood, and Jacky’s bloody claws slipped free of her skin, that good feeling spread across her weary body, and she quickly noticed her wounds starting to close up. Nice little benefit to being the winner then...Heh.
Nimia let out a slow breath and let herself relax as she rubbed at her neck, feeling out the 41 now present there. A nice confirmation that she actually won that fight. Though now she needed to get a new sword...and probably get out from under the rain.
So Nimia stood up in the increasingly deep water, then paused. Because Jacky was kinda dissolving. That, uh…
Her darling abruptly manifested in her hand along with its sheathe, somehow pulled straight out of her inventory by some kind of force, and the black, red, and blue motes drifting off of Jack’s body lifted up and poured into her darling, suddenly twisting and warping until not just the blade and handle but the scabbard too shifted and reformed, from a katana into a straight, single-edged saber. One with a half-crimson, half-azure handle, a steel-gray guard, and a black and silver sheathe.
“...Huh. Weird.” Nimia shrugged, raising an eyebrow at the sword. “...So, are you magic now or something?”
The sword did not reply.
“...Kay then.” Magic swords. That was weird. Little out of her purview...If anyone asked, she was going to just say it was because of nanomachines. How did one woman turn into multiple and become giant beasts made out of fire and ice? Nanomachines.
Nanomachines explained everything.
…
...She should really get out of this fucking rain.