[center][h2][color=orangered]Midnight Tournament, Round 2: The Demon of Despair and the Divine Fox[/color][/h2][/center] [hr] [hider=Andras's starting hand] [img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/418261582812938252/430203383295508481/ss2018-03-27at11.27.58.jpg?width=1089&height=501[/img] [/hider] [hr] Masami stepped back as Danny “Thundercloud” charged towards Andras in a full-on frontal attack. He apparently had some considerable amount of power and, presumably, preferred to utilize it up close. But he didn’t get very close before the Demon Lady made her own move. Madami watched as the fight progressed, quickly developing into one case of a large beast against a less-than-large boy. But, it seemed Andras was indeed quite powerful. It took her only two moves to dispose of Danny, sending him on his way, aboard a stretcher. Masami was watching, and analyzing, the whole time. She had never seen a Demon who channeled their power through...cards before. She was different. The beast and the boy both fell, leaving just the two of them and the crowd, their cheers exceeding them. The MC announcing that the next fight was to continue on, Masami turned towards Andras, placing her right hand on the hilt at her hip. “Your power, it is impressive.” She said, trying to keep her voice as strong as possible. A small grin appeared on her lips, erasing what little reluctance she had as she thought about the outcome of the battle and how fun it would be, “Let us see if it falters under mine!” She challenged, looking at Andras’ face for any telling signs of attack or emotion. [hr] Smiling at Masami's words, Andras replied, "If you can make all of the magic in the world falter, you would indeed be a worthy challenger." Andras regarded her opponent. 'No matter how cute, I mustn't let my guard down. But still, the fox seemed to perk up now that a fight was coming on. Perhaps she was the type to enjoy an honest spar?' As she thought to herself, Andras looked over the fox's equipment. She couldn't quite tell how the newcomer would approach fighting. Andras would have to test the waters herself. As the two looked at each other, the MC counted down once more. "&ras and Massami, round three! Start in 3, 2, 1! Go!" A gunshot marked the start of the round. Andras took the initiative. It was important to gain information on how her opponent would deal with certain threats. She touched one of the cards that orbited around her and chanted, "O spell of the swamp, hear my voice and grant me your power!" The card shined and disappeared, and from the ground several overgrown, mangy, and mud-slick rats sprouted. 'Not the most elegant creatures to bring out, but they'll work.' Andras pointed right at Masami, in a signal to attack. The rats began scurrying towards Masami. [hr] The two stared at eachother, analyzing the possible capabilities of their opponent. Masami would have the advantage. But she still didn’t know the extent of Andras’ powers. Could she summon weapons? Only creatures so far, but she’d have to be careful. As the MC began to count down, a white, bone-looking skull mask appeared in Masami’s hand from seemingly no where. She placed it perfectly against her face and left it there. “Go!” Andras decided to move first. Chanting one of her spells, the other student disposed of a card, it shining briefly before disintegrating into golden dust, and forming a group of enlarged, mangy rats. Masami took quick action, drawing one of her Starballs to her while easily snapping the weapon hilt from her belt. She grasped the ball, slamming it against the bottom of her helve, and from it erupting a long, curved blade of roaring red flame. She swung it weightlessly, willing the blade of flame to detach itself, widening in length and flying towards the group of rats. It was instantly replaced by another blade, of which she also swept towards the beasts. If the move succeeded, the swarm would be engulfed in a double blast of flame, and her first Starball would be expended. As she performed this, she quickly started to move, pivoting her movement on the rats, running around them to meet face-to-face with Andras. [hr] Andras watched as the rats were dispatched handily by a flame attack. 'Ah. She has elemental attacks, then. So be it.' Andras looked at her hand. Several of the spells were too complex to cast without more mana... There was realistically only one option. "Mystic of the moon, provide with me your ascendant knowledge. Heed my call!" Andras selected a card from her hand, and held it up high. It materialized as a strange humanoid, marked with tattoos that covered its pale skin. It sat in a meditative pose, hovering above the ground. 'I've already cast three spells today, counting Erayo. According to my understanding, then that means the next spell will allow Erayo to flip...' Andras waved for Erayo to stay back. 'That may provide me some breathing room. But until then...' Andras turned and ran away from Masami, and readied another spell. This one was instant, so she planned on using it to distract Masami if she managed to close the gap. [hr] Having dealt with the swarm easily, Masami would be upon Andras quickly if she did not move to prevent it. Her next maneuver wasn't exactly that, but it was close...kind of. She withdrew a card from her hand, presenting it to the sky. She chanted to the "Mystic of the moon", the card shaping into the figure of a vaguely-human form, and now levitating near her. At this point Masami was approaching Andras from her starting postiton. However, the distance between them stopped closing so fast as Andras began to run away from the fox-girl, waving for her creature to keep its distance. Now, Masami isn't dumb. It was pretty obvious that this Moon Mystic was not an up-front combatant. However, it is uncertain to her how many times Andras is capable of summoning creatures. Not too many more...right? Masami chose to chase Andras. As she did so, she removed her second Starball from the hilt on which it was attached, releasing it to join the other. She then willed them to rotate quickly around eachother, building speed. Combined with the movement of her arms and legs as she sprinted towards the fleeting Andras, she willed her wind powers to create a mini, twirling wind twister, which collected dirt, dust, rock, and various other bits of debreee as it sped towards the card-caster. (Btw the Starballs are not in the cyclone, they just generated the movement to produce it.) Masami planned for the twister to blind and slow down Andras, maybe even throwing her to the ground. Upon succuss, she would continue her rush to tackle Andras, pinning her to the ground and immobilizing her. In the meantime, after the cyclone was already on its small path of havoc, Masami turned one of her Starballs to boiling magma, and using a pressured wind blast, shot it towards Erayo. Andras was on her toes for this fight, being as her opponent was apparently known as a powerful demon. If she really did turn out to be one, maybe this could help ease Masami's fear of them, even if by just a little. [hr] Andras wasn't a fan of running. Sometimes it was necessary, but she still didn't enjoy it. She looked over her shoulder to see the fox doing... Something with those orbs of hers. She directed them to spin, and they unleashed a whirlwind that was headed straight towards Andras. 'That seems good enough to react to.' Andras turned on her heel and raised her arm to cast an instant spell. Before the spell could even resolve, her summoned creature - Erayo - seemed to disappear completely. Or rather, her body disappeared, and mysteriously, the strange and flowing tattoos that covered her body did not. Flowing around a jewel, they seemd to change into something completely different - no longer a living creature, but a magical enchantment. Of course, Andras had planned on that. The next part of her plan, however, wasn't going to be fun. Andras grit her teeth and covered her face as she took the whirlwind directly. The wind knocked her off her feet, throwing back her hood and most distressingly removing Andras's eyepatch. Within the whirlwind, her now-uncovered eye glimpsed two new spells - before Andras reflexively and forcefully shut it. Andras groaned, covering Perfect Alexandria with her hand. The whirlwind had knocked her flat, but she hadn't been knocked out at least. She struggled to a knee, the mysterious ribbons from Erayo twisting around her. Andras smiled a little. 'At least that part of the plan worked,' she mused to herself. Andras held out her free hand, and the ribbon twisted around her, the jewel resting against her forehead. As if Erayo's Essence was intelligent, the shifting ribbon wrapped around Andras's head, covering her eye to replace the lost eyepatch. 'Thank you, Erayo.' Andras thought, grinning. The next problem was that the fox was charging right for her. She needed to act - and fast. Without any hesitation, Andras cast the spell she had just drawn; a simple flight spell. She would have preferred to take the incantation that makes it permanent, but she didn't have time. The spell instantly took effect, and Andras shot into the air, levitating magically. "That was close..." Andras said, looking down on Masami. "You're something else, you know." [hider=Andra's hand] [img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/418261582812938252/431245404634480651/db163914ab.jpg[/img] [/hider] [hr] As Masami's attack was coming close to contact with Andras, the card-slinger turned, raising her arm, and evoking the use of yet another one of her spells. From the corner of her eye, Masami saw the Moon Mystic disappear from sight, her Starball shooting through the space they had just occupied. However, oddly enough, their tattoos hadn't dissolved. Instead, they now became a long ribbon, orbiting a magnificent jewel. Which now seemingly augmented Andras herself. These spells are so unpredictable!! Masami growled in er mind. At that moment, two thoughts occurred to her. Well...thoughts? They felt like memories. She saw two separate visions of herself. In one, she saw herself holding up her arm, and from it, a blue dome of energy sprang, and upon that, fireballs and spells of all sorts were caught against the power of the dome. Ceased in their tracks. The second vision, she saw herself holding her hand to the sky, draw clouds drawing themselves upon the sky, and dark tendrils seemingly reaching down from the sky as sizzling rain falling from the sky, searing those who lay unprotected under its wrath. As she experienced these visions, her hands tingled with capability. She recognized the feeling. She could...cast a new spell...but why!? In any matter, shortly after that moment, Masami's twister struck Masami, blowing her from her feet. Masami ran faster. She was nearly upon Andras, when suddenly the now ribbon-adorned student shot straight into the air, leaving little opportunity for Masami to stop her. Masami stopped, looking up at Andras. You're something else, you know. ..that I am.. she thought. But so are you. Sh didn't say it out loud, but the thought was much the same. "I'm something else?" Masami called from below her as her Starballs returned to her side. "Your apparent disregard for humbleness is worrying!" she teased, eyeing the exposed undergarments that weren't hidden by her skirt. Masami would then quickly grasp on of her nearby Starballs, once again joining it with the pommel of her would-be-weapon. The other Starball enlarged itself, turning into a sphere of tumbling wind, and began rising upwards. Masami hastily hopped onto the orb of wind, increasing its traveling speed very quickly as she willed her other Starball to give life to her weapon. It once against sprouted a blade of deep flame. Masami swept it across her desired path once again, aiming to release the blade onto Andras and bring her from the air. But at the last moment, her blade faltered. The flame flickered momentarily as Masami traveled quickly upward, and then fully dispersed. What!?! she exclaimed in her mind. No matter. She would already be upon Andras due to the quickly moving sphere below her feet. She would drop the hilt, leaving its Starball to float beside her as she grappled Andras, restricting any movement of her arms, and capturing her in as strong a bear hug as she possibly could. She then put her mouth close to Andras’ ear, a toothy smirk appearing upon her face, showing her fangs. “Strawberries, huh? Classy!” she giggled, aiming to embarrass the card-slinger for her choice of undergarment. [hider=Masami Cards GET] [img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/413625105156145154/430921717167423488/56.png[/img] [img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/413625105156145154/430921733986451458/102.png[/img] [/hider] [hr] Andras couldn't fly fast enough to dodge the fox's attack. Although Erayo's Essence did protect her from a magical attack, she had to admit she didn't expect a tackle. Andras wracked her mind for a portential out to this situation, before something completely scattered her thoughts- "Strawberries, huh? Classy!" The fox girl teased. 'Strawberries? What is she-' As the two girls descended towards the ground, Andras felt a breeze on her legs. "Straw... Berries..." Andras stammered, as the two hit the ground. Andras's legs gave out, and Masami crashed down on top of her. "Straw..." Andras couldn't formulate any more words. Only repeating a stammered word. 'What are you saying?! Why are you so embarassed? Say something cool, dammit! You're the Demon Lady of Despair! Who cares if she saw that?' Andras's mind was moving far too quickly; her body couldn't keep up. All she could do was stammer and be acutely aware of how her face was burning red. Even if Andras was in control of her senses, she had no spells that would be worth casting, apart from creating a momentary distraction that would ultimately serve no purpose. She was defeated, in many ways. 'After all of that... To be brought down by a tackle...' Andras sniffled, on the verge of tears. [hr] Andras had appeared to be stunned by the fox girl's comment, seemingly losing all coherency. They plummeted towards the ground, Masami landing on top of the other girl, who was still shocked after hitting the dirt in a less-than-gentle fashion from about 5 yards. As Masami regained her bearings from her cushioned fall, she noticed the other girl's features reddening, and she was obviously extremely embarassed. "Submit!" Masami shouted while breathing heavily, pushing the other girl's arms against the ground., while still on top of her. "You know i've beat you, so admit it." she uttered in a quieter tone to Andras. [hr] Andras was snapped out of her situation when the fox girl ordered her to surrender. Of course, the fox girl was joking. She had no way to tell that Andras was out of options- Masami roughly pinned her arms down. "You know I've beat you, so admit it." Andras's mind sifted over the possibilities once again. Nothing she could do seemed able to turn the tables. It pained her, but it looks like she truly lost. The faster she admitted it, the faster she could leave. Plus, this fox was awfully close to her right now... And she could hear her panting. Andras looked away, fidgetting under Masami. "I concede this day to you, Masami. You win." [hr] Masami’s opponent paused briefly, assumedly considering her choices. But with obvious displeasure in the fact, she admitted defeat. The Kitsune was immediately from her spot on top of the other girl, and was now standing, throwing her arms into the air, with a giant smile on her face. “Yeah!” She shouted to the crowd as their cheers exploded. She giggled, waving to everyone who had watched the fight. That was fun! she thought while panting and slightly sweating. [hr] [h2][color=orangered]Winner:[/color][/h2][hr][hr][h1][b][i][color=007236][center][img]http://txt-dynamic.cdn.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjY2LmZhYjVmYy5UV0Z6WVcxcElGTnZkVzFoLjAAAAAA/spring-is-coming.regular.png[/img][/center][/color][/i][/b][/h1] https://www.youtube.com/embed/jPCFUPKi43E