Road Fighter: Mediocrity even in this corner

The tipping point is reached and perhaps it’s time to reveal one of his abilities. This man has tested his patience long enough and this cannot continue. It was time for true battle to begin D was primarily bred for one thing and such purpose proves useful in the arena he is now. To gain victory, mercy must be given up as its price thus the battle born. From the smoke and clouds, comes a figure clad in black magical armor with a visor that shines of red. D was forced to play his hand and if not careful he be defeated. It was indeed time to go all out as the sudden change of appearance shocked the audience.

Vega laughs as he rejoices seeing the potential of this man for the first time, he is a requip mage or highly mistaken as one if one speculates it but one cannot be too sure of the actual nature of its magic. Vega descended as he was so more than willing to welcome the new form with his own attacks as he charged in with purple flames at the ready only to have D caught his punch at ease as he starts working on crushing his knuckles. As Vega tries to use his freehand for a punch, D sends Vega up high into the air with a powerful uppercut. This was a surprise and that nobody had expected such a comeback for him even after receiving such burst damage from Vega. D immediately jumped and turned 360 degrees to hit him once again in the head, sending him down back into the arena.

There was but short silence for a brief moment, then a pillar of purple flames spouted out from where Bison was. “YOU THINK YOU CAN GET IN THE WAY OF MY PLANS!? YOU DARE FORCE ME INTO A CORNER!? YOU WILL REGRET EVER FACING ME IN THIS MATCH!”

Vega makes his charge, an attack of this caliber would sure inflict heavy damage but easily dodged. The time Vega passed D, he was kicked to the back of the head. This insulted Vega as he fired a barrage of purple flames. D dug deep to the arena floor for a tile and moved forward wielding it. He ran fast as sparks of purple flame passed him and finally he launched the tile as a projectile only to miss Vega. D slid down and kicked Vega upward.

---

Dubhlainn

88Hp

2 passives - 40% damage reduction
Armor Passive 12% damage reduciton + 3
1 passive - 20% strength

3 C rank damage landed.

While the crimson colonel is in midair, the tile thrown early returned and hit its target while D grabbed another tile only to smash it dead on Vega’s face with another punch to boot. Vega was starting to get angry, as soon as he landed he started diverting all his purple flames to his physical attacks. A Single punch burst off a purple flare that fire off to a limited distance. The surge of power rises in the arena, and it escalates even higher as the battle goes on. D tore of the metal railing and grabbed a short iron pipe. The notable thing about having to wield a piece of metal is the change that takes place, as cobwebbed black riddled with red veins took it over, changing its appearance to something that’s rather repulsive.

Vega isn’t giving up and it seems he needs to be shut down. The purple flares were almost reaching out to the spectator stands. Two burst of purple flames come at him as he sprung to the side, the force of his legs granted him full evasion of such blast. As he kept running, Vega walked towards him and when two forces clashed, the arena was surging with energy. The shortpipe automatically broke upon impact, D jumped over the crimson colonel and bursted his elbow right at the back of his head. Vega enduring the head pain, he turned with his fist ready to blast him off but a kick to the chest sent Vega a few meters, missing the attack. D sprung forward as his fist managed to collide with the Crimson Colonel’s chest. As it landed, D twisted his fist on Vega’s chest, causing Vega’s Chest muscles to contract.

A brutal tactic it was as Vega’s body failed to absorb the pain. As Vega was about to fall to the ground D grabbed his head and drilled it down to the ground, completely shutting off the Crimson Colonel and depriving him of victory.

D’s armor recedes and fades as he still stands. The match was over and was described to be an intense fight. Perhaps at this rate, D might finally cave in to using more of his abilities. The price of victory was the loss of his oath to refrain from using any of his magic. Spectators think that this was quite sneaky of him to have hidden such a trump card but to him it was a disgrace to show it so early in the tournament. However many were wrong… that wasn’t his trump card.

---

Dubhlainn

88Hp + Recovery 20% = 128Hp
Mana Recovery 20%

7 C rank damage landed.

The member 'Dubhlainn' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

Now there’s something one should know about Cammy White, she’s one of Chun’s bestfriends, and her style of martial arts is somewhat proved to be a force to reckon with. In order to gain the advantage, her skill set involves forcing the opponent to reveal a certain pressure point that may inflict paralysis. She isn’t someone to be taken lightly. However Cam at this moment took the opportunity to investigate some parts of Talonia Arena. Now that Vega is out of commission thanks to D, it was one and the only chance to check behind the curtains of Vega’s plan. Vega’s men were seen walking around and guarding a certain metallic door, what used to be there is one of Talonia Arena’s storehouses where spare materials used to repair the arena would be kept till the moment comes.

Perhaps the only way for Cam to see what lies behind that door is to take out every one of the guards and find the right key for it. The crowd cheers from above telling her that Tagas’s match is over and that her battle against the faceless man begins. Before coming up to the arena, Cam told Chun and masters of what she saw and what could be in there. To their most wild of guesses it could another one of Vega’s experiments and if so, they must all be ready to face it. A cause for concern is what will happen to Cam on this match? Will she triumph over the Faceless man, he who had faced strong fighters such as herself and won? Or will she lose and result to an injury?

As soon as Cam takes the step towards the arena, Chun took masters with her and began their investigation but the first thing they have to do is come to Vega himself who is still trying to recover from his injuries. If its possible there could be a key card from him and if not, they would simply have to plow through his men to get it. Either way wouldn’t be difficult but the question is what of the result? Wyvern greeted Cam goodluck as she stepped into the arena. The crowd goes wild, especially the men who are fairly attracted to her appearance and the way she dresses. D makes his way into the arena, unfazed by her appearance as he is used to the sight of women wearing such attire.

Ladies and Gentleman! Talonia offers nothing more than the finest competitors everyone has ever seen! On her way to the ring, she’s known as the Killer Bee… CAMMY WHITE!

Making his way to the ring we have the Mysterious Phantom, the FACELESS D!!!

The audience cheers were more louder than ever, cheering both fighters on their engagement with the other.

“I figured you out, now I know your battle style, you’re defeat is certain and you strained yourself with the previous battles, good to see that you were able to last this long but unfortunately for you, I’ll have to end the road right here and now! PREPARE YOURSELF PHANTOM!” Cam’s declaration was hard solid as much truth there is to it.

3…2…. 1… BEGIN!

Both D and Cam charged right in and started both their attacks; their fight was placed in an all-out brawl. Cam was giving it her all but D keeps on catching up to her, blocking every move till Cam seized the opportunity to strike at an opening. D saw it right away and knocked it off and continued at their pace.

“Tch!” Cam wasn’t fast enough to deliver a pressure blow right at Dubh, in fact none of them aren’t getting hurt at all, they kept attacking, blocking and parrying each other’s attacks. Such rhythm be glorious and intense and the one who caves in will be at the disadvantage. They are equally skilled but no less expected from fine soldiers of their respective task forces. D resorted to using a brawling technique adapted from Bison’s style of fight while he managed to capture and apply Chun’s techniques against Cam as noticed by Kouken. D’s battle style is different now as it resembled Chun’s, Bisons and Ken Master’s techniques altogether. Changing his battle style and adapting such from opponents is wise but unfortunately for him, Cam intercepted and anticipated that this scenario could happen. They were fighting on equal footing but to one’s eyes, Cam is getting the upper hand of this, the suspense of it all but who will slip and fall in such rhythm?

Knowing that such strategy wouldn’t work D broke away but Cam was so eager to follow and dashed forward, giving D no breathing room at all. One attack right at the other, dodged and blocked, a counter attack is made, parried and shutdown. If Cam was able to predict all of D’s attacks then this was nothing more than a losing fight for him. Thus D must try to find an alternative before it’s too late.

The longer this battle goes on the greater the chances that Cam will win this, finishing it quickly is the only way out of this. He grabbed Cam by the leg and threw her down only for Cam to have landed gracefully with such skill and style, acrobatic… an opponent D hates. It’s come to an understanding that both received military training but would D’s experience in war be enough to topple of cam’s quick thinking and strategy? Both of them were all over the place as kicks were exchanged only for it to be ducked and countered by an attack that is soon parried. Cam admits that D is quite the puzzle but a few more instances will give her an edge in this battle and that’s where she’ll have him… cornered.

She’s as tough as the celestial spirit Capricorn but there are also flaws in her as well. She favors the high guard and usually exposes her left rib to strike, however it wasn’t possible as Cam was too quick to react but it’s better than being stuck in a stalemate. The only way out is to do such action that would change the rhythm completely. Finally a kick to her ribs but only resulted in Cam tripping D’s other foot. Thus the exchange was made and the rhythm was finally broken.

It was the first time in minutes that they landed a good hit at each other. Cam responded with one of her special techniques the Cannon Drill which allows the use of her leg and a 360 degree cycle that may prove to penetrate an opponent’s defenses. As D made the attempt to block it, his guard was almost opened but he was strong enough to maintain it but Cam had other plans as she grappled D with the use of her legs and threw him off and a few kicks to add to add distances between them.

D is in a pinch, fighting her off proved to be somewhat difficult but defeating her should be priority now. The Rhythm continues only for D to break it again, Cam attempted to make the grappled by D escaped it before it happened. As D and Cam had some distance, another one of Cam’s Canon Drills sets in but there was one way around it and that is by ducking under and grabbing her Twintails which is of course the dirtiest move he can even make but fighting clean would result in unfavorable consequences.

---

Dubhlainn

128Hp - 5 = 123Hp

Cam

200hp - 12 = 188Hp

D pulled her twintails as Cam’s canon drill was put to a halt as she fell down to the floor thus letting go of her. This greatly offended Cam as she began her assault as her acrobatics allowed her to maneuver around the arena. There was of course one way to get Cam and it would be the same as how he got Chun, with the use of her acrobatics, Cam was able to strike with a ground combo knocking D away but with the right timing he grabbed her leg while on midair and smashed her down on the ground. A Grapple is in order as D punched down only for Cam to slid through D and kick his back off. This doesn’t stop there as she prepares her combo stance, and the strike was off only for D to step sideways from her canon drill and punched her abdomen down to the ground. She carelessly made an opening for D to strike but however it’s not going to work twice and D knows it.

She jumped high into the air only to drill down to D, not giving him any room to dodge and all D can do is block it. Cam immediately hopped of D before he can grab her and went for a full frontal assault. These was the perfect moment for D to tank damage and deliver his own, with the use of elbow technique she hit D two times before being punched to the face to the side following an uppercut that sent her up high and spinning 270 degrees he kicked her off across the arena. D was aiming for her abdomen which was the core muscle to delivering her skills. From having the upper hand, Cam was dragged down on equal foots as he is right now. She landed perfectly and made another attempt, this time with the use of all her limbs to deliver the combo. The Old Shadaloo skill set that plowed her through numerous feats and battles, attacks from forearms switched back to legs in an attempt to kick him upwards but D took a step back and blocked them with one forearm and retaliated with his other, forcing Cam to turn back. Next he grabbed Cam’s head and pulled her down to the ground. In order to prevent escape D went on top of her and started punching down on her head to which she blocked with her forearms.

---

Dubhlainn
123Hp - 24 = 99HP

Cam
188HP - 84 = 104HP

As soon as D stops attacking he gets off her and takes and stands tall. Cam with her abdomen and her forearms injured may not be able to continue the battle, not with her conditions but she put up with the pain and gave it one last shot. She and D ran towards each other to deliver one more strike, Cam meant to shutdown D’s pressure points in order to win this match while D would simply try to stop her and put her down once more. Cam spun to the sideways just as D was in striking distance and chopped horizontally, aiming for the nape of D’s neck only for D to duck and kick her at the abdomen again. It was over, Cam couldn’t take another shot of D’s attacks as her body trembles.

“Tch.. I can see why you beat Masters and Chun, you’re not so bad..” The crowd cheers as D was the victor of this match, all the men from the sidelines however were ever so demanding that they come up to the arena to beat the hell out of him for beating Cam. A fight is a fight well won and well fought.

Meanwhile in Chun retrieves the keycard to gain lab access. With Master’s cooperation, they managed to reach the research labs but of course they have to beat up some guards on the way. To their surprise, they discovered that Vega is currently experimenting on humans again and therefore Chun and masters have to stop the operation. Of course aren’t simply going to smash and destroy everything in the lab just like that, Vega had a backup plan in case the Lab was infiltrated and that was having one of the lab’s creations to guard the place. Masters and Chun were in for one heck of a fight as the monstrous creation was a half-human half-orc, accompanied by some assailants and biochemical scientists.

As Cam and D stepped of the arena, Wyvern was fired up, expecting to beat down D once their match comes up. “You’re a powerful fighter, I’d give you that but don’t you think that I’ll give up and call it quits! GOT THAT? I’ll see you in the Arena.”

Kouken greeted Cam as she takes a seat and rest, learning that not everything in battle data goes accordingly to battle. She didn’t expect D to take on her attacks just inflict a direct attack right at her which indeed was the only strategy he went with.

---

Dubhlainn

Hp recovery - 139HP

As soon as D reached the lobby, he couldn’t help but sit down and rest, fighting Cam was quite taxing knowing that he didn’t managed to get a break after dealing with Vega. Tagas was talking to Wyvern telling him not to lose this match and promising that they would both fight once again in the arena. Kouken chuckles at the sight of it but doubts that may happen, D fought powerful foes and even having been weakened, he was still able to dust off Vega and Cam with absolutely no breaks at all. Cam told Kouken that she will look around Talonia Arena in order to help Chun and Masters investigate, waving Wyvern goodbye and goodluck. Tagas gave such a mean look to D knowing how much he’s been through his matches and as a matter of fact, his matches consists of the strongest competitors in the tournament and wondered the world about him, why he had to hide his face? What was the physical change in suit and armor did for him? How was he able to turn things around despite carrying such fatigue and injury?

Masters and Chun weren’t doing pretty well; not only they are outnumbered but a bit overpowered considering the creation they are fighting against. It was a tanky monster whose attacks were quite greater than the average human. Cam ran towards the underground Lab and knocking off a few guards along the way before making it inside. To her surprise, Chun and Masters were fighting in hell as the creation was let loose. Before you know it another one emerged from containment and made the situation a bit grim. If they cannot hold these monsters in the Lab, they might interfere with the tournament and end it quickly.

Hibiki somehow recovered from his injury and was able to digest properly. However he heard a certain noise coming from below the arena which was odd. Having remembered that Chun and the others were investigating Vega, he had an idea but first he must find were Vega rests. Tagas then was just finishing up his match against a tough opponent and won with flying colors with the crowd cheering for him. Will Tagas be able to regain his championship title? Only God knows what’s going to happen next. Wyvern wrapped up and made preparations for his upcoming battle against the Faceless D.

“I’m fired up for this..”

Ladies and Gentleman I’m honored to say that the next match will involve LAST YEAR’S CHAMPION, WYVERN against the rising newbie, the Faceless Phantom D!

As always the crowd would cheer at the sight of two men eager to crush each other, enter the arena. Both of them bowed and takes on a battle preparation stance.

“READY… FIGHT!!”

Both Wyvern and D ran towards each other, Wyvern strikes with a punch from up high while D strikes a punch from down low as both got hit by each other’s fists. D responded with a kick while Wyvern blocks it and sweeps his feet to trip D, only for D to jump backwards and come back strong with a flurry of punches, Wyvern dodged some and blocked a few, Wyvern retaliated with punches of his own and is coming in strong, pushing D back. He jumps up for a kick only to have it blocked by D but as Wyvern spun 360 degrees he unleashed the Wave Motion Canon. D did not expect this at close range as he took it. It was a nice move as D was pushed back with his fist and two feet on the ground. In retaliation D ran around Wyvern and by driving his hand on the ground he made a sharp turn and slid, forcing Wyvern to dodge to the left and unleashed the wave motion canon again, D was quite slippery he dodged it in time. He turned back only to have charged again; once again his attack was blocked. Like before he must attack when his opponent attacks and only by that can he land damage to his opponent.

He moved back and taunted Wyvern, begging for an attack, so Wyvern did as he dashed forward, bending his knees and aiming for his special uppercut. His hand burns with heat as he raised it up into a fist but only to be dodged by D and kicked to the chest. As Wvyern was pushed back, another shot of the wave motion canon was shot. D dodged it by a hair’s length. D clenched his fist and dashed forwards using the power of his quads to shoot him across the arena, closing the distance between Wyvern and D as Wyvern was going for a kick, D went under and slid down to the floor and kicking Wyvern upwards. D twirled his body around, causing Wyvern to fall back and allowed D to stand up.

---

Dubhlainn
139HP - 40 = 99Hp

Wyvern
200Hp - 36 = 164HP

Wyvern then slid forward in an attempt to trip D as D was forced sideways, at the end of the slide, Wyvern generated another shot of the Wave Motion Canon again but it was easily dodged with the use of the quads. D picked up some floor tiles and threw them as projectiles only for Wyvern to destroy them in mid-flight with the use of his kicks. A new strategy to engage Wyvern, in order to disable him from using more of the Wave Motion Canon he must injure his wrists and hammer him down afterwards. Wyvern run up forward and used his special move which allows him to propel to the air with a spinning kick. D went under Wyvern again and dashed up towards him to smack him up high and smite him down to the ground, dealing a significant amount of damage. As Wyvern landed on the ground D sprinted towards Wyvern only to move around him and attack from behind by trying to kick him while he’s lying down, but Wyvern rolled away and lift his legs up causing him to turn 270 degrees to stand him up again. This time Wyvern decided to go for a frontal assault, his skill set was the same as Masters and like Ken masters, he was stubborn and wouldn’t give up until he’s down on the ground.

A frontal assault is a commendable effort as D took one blow to the chest only to deliver a punch right at his face, then grabbed one of his wrists and twists it. While Wyvern was pained by the twisted wrist, instead of kicking him he launched another heavy strike at the abdomen and punched it real hard. He shot a pressure point right at his free arm, causing it to go numb and paralyzing Wyvern. Now he lost the ability to unleash the wave motion cannon, Wyvern can only rely on kicking D now. Having to use only one arm proved to be disadvantageous for him. As D was about to attack again Wyvern performed a headbutt hitting D right at the face and kicking him off, executed perfectly as he try to free his arm from paralysis. D rub his face off and sprint towards Wyvern only for Wyvern to unleash the wave motion all of the sudden. D jumped up high only for Wyvern to jump up towards him and use the Tornado kick which was very effective as he hit D once more.

---

Dubhlainn

99Hp – 48 = 51HP

Wyvern
164 – 60 = 104HP

D landed perfectly on the ground but he was almost at his limit as he was forced on both knees while facing the sky, thinking how pathetic he was for trying to take on a series of powerful fighters with no cause for break at all. It was at that point he finally broke a sweat or perhaps it was the consequence for not having to battle for so long. If he cannot prove himself in the arena… then he’s nothing more than a failure to all those who bear the battleborn, however there was no mistaken that in every situation he’s in, he always turn things around. Wyvern charged at D once more in order to deliver the final strike but D got to his senses quickly and punched him hard with all his might in one attack, a heavy punch that almost knock Wyvern off arena but instead knocked him unconscious. D won the battle but barely. He stood back up almost as if he was raised from the dead as the Black flames that concealed him were as dark as ever. Hints of red veins started to glow as such recovery be impressive but a limit however is reached.

It was at that point D wanted to break past his limits once again. His mind echoed voices of long past, telling him not to fail but to surpass the limits and go beyond them, aim higher and dream bigger for it was the only way to survive, fighter harder, grow stronger beyond the limit.

As Chun, Cam and Masters were down with fighting off two of the creations that went lose in the lab, something incredible stirs, what was mentioned before was that a hybrid in containment that proved to be unstable, however this wasn’t clearly a hybrid.

“N-no way it can’t be…” Vega resurrected Akuma… the Demon of the Dark Arts. Now they were in a heap of trouble as they were all exhausted from their previous fight with two experiments.  “This is bad… if only we have more muscle here but..” A roar cuts Ken’s sentence. Wyvern isn’t getting up; his forehead is bleeding but still breathing. D on the other hand fell on his knees once more and then stood back up as he exits the Arena with Kouken dragging Wyvern out of the Arena himself. Both fight the hard fight but there was just but one fear that stirs in Talonia Arena… Akuma’s return.

---

Dubhlainn: 91 Hp after the fight.

“Don’t give up Dubh, I know you can do it….” A voice he remembers, a voice of a heart he once knew, long distance past, stored in memories. The good and the bad ruled the direction of his life, he was bred for war and all he knew was that he carries the weight of duty to smite enemies for his country, living solely for one purpose, to become the vessel and artisan of war. One day the Gods blessed him a fair maiden that pulled him out of this madness and for once the knight known the meaning of peace and a home.

“Whenever you feel down, just look up to the sky then think of the person that makes you happy! You’ll be alright!” Such words rang through his head as he snapped back into reality.

Tagas greeted D as they were both about to part ways, only to unite once again in the arena. Tagas stated that D had robbed him of the opportunity to get his revenge of Wyvern and to compensate for that, he will take out all his fury on D instead and seeing how weakened D has become, victory is almost but impossible for D. However he is all but ready to get up and fight and all he needed to do was look up in the sky and he’ll be back to his old self again.

“Tell me something boy, what is your reason for fighting? Or do you only live to fight? As a fellow knight I hate to take you for someone so foolish not to have one” says one of his friends from back then. A reason to fight is something that’s not found easily but discovered once they have the eyes that can see through the purpose of conflict. We don’t just fight to survive but to fight what we stand for, what we aim to protect and to prove who we are, it’s not just about chivalry its hope for something better in the world a day that will soon come when everyone gets to see what’s on the other side of the hill.

“You can do this, I know you can’t lose to anyone, you’re the most skilled fighter no… you’re a great man and the strongest one ever! Strength doesn’t come from what you are physically capable of but what you can overcome, to me it’s the strength I admire of a man who I really love.”

ITS BEEN A LONG DAY LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, THE TOURNAMENT SHALL SOONC OME TO A CLOSE! WHO BETWEEN THESE TWO WILL EMERGE A CHAMPION? WILL TAGAS REGAIN HIS GLORY? OR WILL THE RISING PHANTOM REIN SUPREME? THIS IS A MATCH NO OTHER SHOULD MISS!

READY… BATTLE!

D was motionless, who’s still staring up at the sky, such his behavior would call to question but not to blame as he has faced the toughest opponents in Talonia Arena consecutively. What’s there to expect since battles in the late phases of the tournament would consist of the greatest fighters around?  

“Are you done looking at the sky? Or should I send you up there personally”  asked Tagas as he prepares his stance. D is unresponsive and so Tagas must make the first move by kicking him only for D to knock it away with one hand. Having felt his force, Tagas makes it hard to believe that D is weakened after all the fights he’s been through. He remained strong to this moment which of course makes Tagas glad that this wouldn’t be a push over. D started to stand up, and prepare his battle stance, as he stares at his opponent, he grumbles almost as if Tagas disturbed him.

“I apologize for ruining your moment but you’re in a live match now however I cannot forgive you for ruining my plans to exact revenge on Wyvern but I do hope that you can prove to be a challenge.” D charges in as Tagas put up a defensive stance, this time D makes a fake attack, hopping backwards and by making a sharp turn he makes a leg sweep, Tagas skipped backwards and walked on to retaliate with a few punches only for both to be caught by D and pushed back.

Another set of punches from Tagas forced D back as he blocked them, he’s remaining cautious but now Tagas has every intention to go on the aggressive, while his punches caught the full attention of D’s arms, he’d start up by kicking his legs, a full block allowed him to withstand it but a heavy kick forced D into a corner as he was pushed away. D was almost forced on his knees as he stopped sliding backwards on the floor. He felt that impact through but perhaps this was an opponent that even he can go all out on.

---

Dubhlainn:

91hp - 12 = 79HP

Tagas
200HP

It roars...The urge comes alive as the Black haze that concealed him grew darker, his image triples randomly as the phantom reverts back to the appearance from whence it had defeated Vega. Every fiber on his body is starting to awaken, despite having undergone fatigue and stress; he’s ready to give it his all. His armor materializes, the visor shines and the presence of a powerful entity has come forth into the arena as the atmosphere turned grim. A man in armor, he was ever so curious to see if Tagas can break it.

D starts to grumble as he initiates the combat, his status didn’t increase but morale did, man who runs towards his foe, not knowing whether he’d live or die, such as the cruel fate of the battle born but D had something to fight for. The vision reanimates back decades ago, at that point in time, someone believed in him to the very end. IF that’s so then he must believe he can win to overcome the labors given. D starts out with a punch, a kick, and another set of punches again, he forced Tagas to go on the defensive but in order to break this Tagas dodged one of D’s attacks only to follow up with a kick. D grabbed Tagas’s leg in time and punched his knee hard to the point that it could have broken if he had hit harder.

Now Taga’s movements are slow and he was forced back. “Tch… well now, this wouldn’t be fun if I have the advantage all the time.” Tagas begins to answer back with his basic combos, a set of punches and a low kick, using his undamaged leg. As his punches were blocked, D’s leg was hit. Knowing how close they are, he sprang from the ground and grabbed both Tagas’s hands and bashed his helmet right at his face. With Tagas stunned he delivered a heavy blow to his abdomen and twirled around to kick him, only for tagas to block it with one of his arms. Tagas starts to roar, it was time that he got serious too and commenced his assault. To carry out his attacks and maintain his rhythm, he has to endure the leg pain he received earlier as he starts his combo, two punches and a low kick, though D manages to block his punches, it still damages both his forearms and his leg.

---

Dubhlainn
79HP – 28 = 51HP

Armor HP
120Hp – 45 = 75HP

Tagas

C hits landed - 3

The damage is still going through because of how heavy tagas attacks are. He must end this quickly but his usual methods may kill his opponent, fight to defeat but not to kill or destroy.

You cannot lose Dubh, I know you won’t because you can overcome it!

The memory rings to him like a voice, now reliving the moment from when he was decades younger. A war in Mira was struck it was a battle against a mechanical titan and the man known as Dubh was forced to fight barehanded, with all his weapons destroyed he had to rely on his fists. Every strike caused him to fall down only for him to get back up again but the question is.. what kept him back up?

Simple… he had to defend; he has something to fight for.

He dashed onwards to Tagas as he attempted to punch Tagas, his punch was caught between an elbow and a knee. His free hand allowed him to launch a punch from a close distance; Tagas stopped the punch from going through. Tagas broke the hold and pushed him back with both his forearms and a sudden low kick that almost trip D off balance. Tagas went straight forward and punched D only for Tagas’s arm to be caught ina maneuver that locked his arm and D’s. D pulled closer and bashed his helmet right at his forehead again, it was done by such force Tagas was stunned once again. Then he delivered a punch that forced Tagas to turn to the side, an upper cut, hitting his chin and sending him flying and a heavy punch right at the chest. Delivering such attack would completely strain his right arm and somehow it wasn’t worth it, Tagas was defeated but the damage on his arm lingers.

“Grrr..” A bit Digestive juice and blood was spat out from Tagas, the hard hits on the head with the use of the helmet was excellent but cost a bit of D’s own hit points for that. Kouken raised an eyebrow standing up tall as he makes his way to the lobby immediately, preparing for D’s next and possibly the final labor.

“Ah… finally a tough lad worth fighting against, this should be interesting having to face off an opponent who faced off against many others like him. Now where’s the tall looking judge of Talonia Arena?”

---

Dubhlainn

51 - 24 = 26HP - 20% recovery - 66HP

C hits landed - 6

“Wait a minute folks! It seems a new challenger as come to face off the Faceless D! THE TOURNAMENT ISN’T OVER YET FOLKS! ATTEND NOW TO YOUR SEATS AS A BATTLE TO PROVE WORTH SHALL COMMENCE!” Questionable is the staff’s decision, having not given D to be given a single break even after all the matches he had hard earned and won but if it pleases the crowds then there’s no point to further objection. D stood his guard, as one would notice, slowly but surely the black flames that envelop his appearance were starting to wane, this was clearly because of the exhaustion and stress the user has gone through. So who’s going to be D’s last opponent?


It was none other than Kouken, the Martial arts Master and great teacher of both Wyvern and Masters.
Worth is the right of freedom and it seems, he’s not free from it just yet.

“I am sorry boy but your path ends here! I have to admit that you did splendidly in defeating all of the most powerful foes in the arena but can you overcome the final labor!? COME AT ME!”

D stood there for a few seconds, he is no longer in any condition to fight but this man demands a fight to remember and so he had no choice but to give it to him…. With everything he’s got.

The Battle is to the Strong

“If that is your wish… then I shall partake in this final challenge and complete the Final Labor.” D’s armor was materialized back to him as red veins glowed throughout his armor. His body trembles for moments till it finally stops and looks straight at Kouken dead in the eye. He dashed forward, making a sharp turn sideways only to have dashed to Kouken again, this time he was faster just like how Vega encountered him on his match.

This Battle is only reserved for the Strong, only a few were privilege to witness this and lived to tell tale.
It was madness, a warrior whose power goes to such measure, turning him into nothing else but a potential vessel for war. This is the Battle Born, the epitome of power to what one warrior was bred to learn. Combat begins by D smashing is fist right at Kouken, Kouken had no choice but to step back, as he dodged he can feel the intense force of his strike from the side of his face. It must have been really that powerful to create that effect.

---

Dubhlainn

66HP

Total Defense bonus: 42% +6hp
Total Damage bonus: 30% (13hp per strike)
Total Defense bonus against Special spells or techniques: 62%
Total Weapon Attack: 16hp (Exceeds B rank basic attacks)
Armor HP - 120HP (Provides 12% +6hp bonus)

Kouken:

0 C ranks hit.

Kouken backed away and responded with a Wave Motion Canon, D however slid under it and perform a leg sweep in order to trip kouken off and unfortunately it failed as Kouken leaped into the air, retaliating with his tornado kick. D looked up only to glide backwards towards the edge of the arena to dodge it. Kouken is going to be a tough one to beat and D can’t simply take another hit. The objective maybe impossible but it was clear to him that another hit would cause him to cave in.


Kouken naturally deals B rank damage now in accordance to the Rule change, because of the rule change, hitpoint percentage is no longer applicable and must be specific as a fraction.

The fight continues as D grabbed two Short metal pipes and launched them as projectiles, then grabbed a longer portion of the railing. Kouken easily deflected the two projectiles with his kicks as D ran up straight to him and engages him with his newly found weapon, a metal railing reinforced by his ability. His abilities and fighting status has increased significantly as one swing was delivered right at the other, now Kouken was on the defensive. This certainly was a truly worthy opponent, he who can no longer prolong a mission to just using fists but now using everything he’s got, the magic he wields, Battle Born.

Kouken parried the pole with one fist, taking damage only to deliver his own and pushed the Phantom Knight away from him. D stabbed the pole in the center of the arena as he grabbed two of the short iron pipes he threw at Kouken earlier as he charged right in. This was the moment of truth, a man who does not go down without arms against a wise old man who hone his skills to become one strong fighter. One hit right after the other, D strike his attacks with short pipes almost as if they were swords, Kouken blocked them as much as he could but instead of blocking them, he tried to destroy the weapons D wields. Knowing how useless the short pipes are going to be, he had to go with an alternative, since they were in striking distance to each other he had to engage in an unarmed melee fight against him.

---

Dubhlainn:

66hp - 9 = 57HP (3% damage)

0 C ranks hit.

He twirled the short pipes up high and unleashed a barrage of punches, as Kouken retaliates; D crouched down and hit his abdomen with a heavy punch. Twirling around he kicks Kouken off, though Kouken didn’t receive much damage, there was distance between D and Kouken.  Now this time D had to aim for all four limbs at once with his next strikes. Kouken proved to be powerful as a man but defenseless as a vegetable, therefore he must aim for those parts of his body to completely shut him off and shut him down. The heat is on as D makes a stunning offensive, Kouken unleashes the Motion Wave Canon, in the nick of time D managed to catch both the short pipes he threw up in the air earlier and used them as projectiles once more to stop the Motion canon’s attack, going pass through it. He dive down to waist level and made another direct blow.

Kouken’s mistake was that he favored the High guard too much. Though D would like to keep a distance after finished a combo, this was rather the perfect time to use projectiles but none would ever count on his methods to pull him through. His elbow landed on his face as knocked Kouken off and just when D was about to punch Kouken again, Kouken kicked him off. He landed some hits on Kouken but would that be enough stop him?

His kick however sent D to the center of the Arena where he can grab his pole and wield it, all was in the faceless man’s favor as he started using his pole attacks once more. He used it in such a way it would be similar to how a Lancer would wield his blade, he releases a barrage of piercing attacks as Kouken  backed away to use the wave Motion Canon once more to destroy the weapon but unexpectedly D jumped up into the air, avoiding the Canon strike and keeping his weapon safe for a blow from above. Kouken executed the Dragon Fist uppercut in order to parry the attack as sparks would fly across the arena. This however destroyed the weapon as both D and Kouken landed on the ground in order to engage yet another unarmed fight.

Like the latter he must take a hit to deliver a hit of his own. As Kouken launched his fist, D grabbed and pulled it off from the intended direction and hit his elbow in an attempt to break and strain his arm.

---

Dubhlainn:

57HP  - 18 = 39HP (13% damage)

4 C ranks landed.

Kouken was injured, with that he cannot use the Dragon fist upper cut anymore. Kouken fall back and used his Wave motion canon. He was still able to use it even with an inflicted injury like that. Perhaps breaking his legs would be optional too since it’s the only limbs that would break him out of situations. Disabling his other arm is essential. D charges in and starts his assault pushing the old man back, he has to pin all his limbs down or that he wouldn’t defeat him.

Options were running out and only a few still proved to be valuable. Kouken retaliates and everytime Kouken launches a punch, D would see it through and sway it off like it wasn’t much. Kouken’s punches were constantly swayed to their respective sides till D found a window of opportunity to disable one of his arms by performing a nerve attack, just around the base of the next and pressing it as hard as he could. It seems that even kouken had built up muscle fatigue after going through this battle. With an injured arm and a disabled one, D punched him hard, pushing him down to the ground. Once at that, D wrapped himself around the old man’s leg and breaks it. As Kouken screamed out in pain, D forced a choke hold on him and sends him spinning to a 180 degrees to a distance, knocking him off the arena.

Kouken stood up again, limping and standing on one leg and raising one arm up. His balance was off and yet the stubborn old man wanted to continue the fight.  


The ground rumbles as the earth beneath the arena shatters and up comes a figure with the face of a demon. It roared out as it swiped Kouken with one blow off the arena. Afterwards it gave D a death stare. “So… you are the Tournament’s strongest huh? Well then let me see WHAT YOU’RE CAPABLE OFF!”

Though Wyvern didn’t like the fact that D heavily injured his master, he didn’t want D to fall off after coming this far, Tagas had the same idea and both jumped into the arena to aid him. D was on his knees again and in pain.  “….. D-don’t”

“You’ve been through enough, though I hate helping you I can’t let someone who’s at their weakest be torn up by this monster.”

---

Dubhlainn

79Hp recovery

8 C ranks landed, objective complete.

“Idiots… its out to kill..” D warned both Wyvern and Tagas, D is very familiar of hostile and blood thirsty presences, he can never mistake it for he was similar yet still different from the enemy that stands before the two fighters. “I have no time…FOR WEAKLINGS!” A battle between two of the former champions to defend the third, naturally it would be a proud and warm moment but not before the face of a powerful adversary at his full strength.

“Wake up… Dubh..”

D woke up on his bed, he was back in Mirai and if one were to ask what this leads to, he’s simply reliving his memory. “I can’t believe you’d do something stupid, don’t you know how worried I was?” complained a familiar voice.

“I’m a soldier, your safety is my priority Ma’am, and I’d be useless if I ever lost you.”  D panted as he stands, up, leaving his bed and putting on a fresh shirt. The voice kept complaining and it has very good reason to complain as D carried the weight of battle protecting not only her but his comrades from danger. IF a mistake were to happen he would have been killed which is the reason why the voice was so angry about. “Even in the face of adversary, I’ll gamble my life it that’s what it takes to keep you safe.” He was rewarded with a slap on the face and a hug and was told not to try and be a hero ever again but that’s just it, it’s the only order he keeps on ignoring.

D woke up to reality as both Tagas and Wyvern were thrown pass him across the arena’s edge. “You…are the winner of this tournament? YOU!? A WEAKLING LIKE YOU? THEN THIS TOURNAMENT SERVES NO CHALLENGE FOR ME, ONLY THE STRONG CAN SURVIVE!!!”

The spectators were told to evacuate as the crowd makes a run for it, Hibiki found Masters once again unconscious, Chun limping and Cammy crawling out from the stairs and aided them up the floor. “H-he made a clone of… Akuma..” were Cam’s last words before she passed out.

“Mediocrity even in this corner from a demon such as you” D’s body began to shake, he was riddled with anger and rage, he grumbles more loudly than ever before, only the powerless would utter such nonsense would only value and harbor that ridiculous concept.  As the demon Roared so does D as his armor refurnishes, the shades were searing like the intense and molten flame, red veins were seared and embedded as it course throughout the armor frame.


“▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅▄▄▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!”

A Fight between the Devil and the monster, it’s a shame a crowd would have to miss such lovely spectacle or perhaps they ought to, an outcome is no longer certain as the safety of all those in Talonia are in the balance. Such power from the demon caused him to create a burst of shots from the wave motion Cannon Technique. D stepped hard on the ground, cracking out a fragment of the arena and used it as a giant shield. As it was about to crack, two projectiles, metal pipes were launched as the Demon used the Demon flip to teleport to a short distance to dodge it. The Demon dives down to the ground in order to hit D but D immediately dodged right after, the moment the Demon dropped to the ground, it fired another set of projectiles from the wave motion cannon.

Because of such suppression, D was forced to jump out of the Arena and grab a huge metal pole which seemed more durable than most of the short metal pipes around here. D carries a huge Metal pole on one hand and a chair on the other. As D jumped back into the arena, the Demon unleashed a Helicopter Kick that caused him to spin around like a tornado to which D hit him off with the Hard Metal Pole. However the hit didn’t land as the Demon was expecting him to swing it, the Demon pulled the pole right off D’s hands and starts swinging it around. D had only but a chair to defend against him. He fights to kill but perhaps D must do the same as well, with more killing intent. The Demon snapped the Metal pole in half and launched them as projectiles at D only for them to be caught easily, up followed another projectile of the motion wave cannon. To dodge that he had to use the pole to jump over it but the Demon blinked underneath in order to execute the Dragon Fist Uppercut from below him, while D is in midair, he cannot dodge but can parry it with another pole as he did. D used the force of the Demon’s fist to bounce off and land to safety from a distance, D charged in and smite his pole on the demon as the Demon once against spammed a motion cannon upon his approach, the Demon blinked behind D again to execute the Helicopter blade again only for D to make a sharp turn and hit it with an Iron pole to the abdomen hard.

---

Dubhlainn

79Hp recovery

1 C rank hit landed

The sharp hit of the pole did quite some damage but to a powerful entity like that of a demon, it was unbelievable that it actually hurt him. Now D recognizes his enemy and has nothing to fear, the opponent maybe strong but the enemy’s endurance has weakened significantly. As the result of that, D lost the half of the Durable pole and only one remains along with a steel chair that he separated from.

“YOU USE WEAPONS IN A DUEL, WHY DON’T YOU USE FISTS INSTEAD!?” It sounds rich coming from him, using a malevolent power that he was granted for a fist fight and the fact that D has been put under such a heavy handicap, the battle did not earn his favor but perhaps D preferred that after all.

He’s used to fighting in Handicap battles like this. The Mad Faceless Berserker roared once more as he grabbed both the pole and the Steel chair and charged right in and began his assault, the Demon blink to a location this time from D’s right side as it fired another barrage of Wave motion canon shells. D had no choice but to sacrifice the chair to shield him from such unexpected attack as he made a sharp turn and made a beeline for the Demon. The Demon blinked once more as he descended down to the ground as a form of attack. D rolled over and swung the pole as the Demon blocked it, firing yet another Motion Wave Cannon projectile at him with his free hand. D slid under to the side of the pole to dodge it only to quickly slid 360 degrees to damage the Demon’s Leg with another pole hit but this had angered the demon greatly so as response the Demon quickly blinked right above D giving him no chance to dodge whatsoever and strike down a powerful fist right at the abdominal, driving D down to the ground and forcing the floor beneath them to collapse down to the same facility where the Demon itself has been born. It was thought that this would have been the end for D as such a heavy attack could even heavily injure a fighter.

---

Total Defense bonus: 57% +6hp
Total Damage bonus: 45% (14hp per strike)
Total Defense bonus against Special spells or techniques: 72% (Target is under the category of Demi-human)
Total Weapon Attack: 17hp (Exceeds B rank basic attacks)
Armor HP - 120HP (Provides 12% +6hp bonus)


Dubhlainn

79HP – 33HP = 46HP

Armor HP – 120 – 80 = 40HP

2 C ranks landed

As the Floor collapsed, both the Faceless Knight and the Demon fell down only to be both buried in rubble. D wasn’t exactly buried in rubble as he can be seen from the hole the demon made. The Demon emerged from debri and roared out to the heavens, thinking that he had defeated his foe. The Hybrid demon decided to walk up closer to his fallen foe clad in armor and pulled D’s body up by the neck. Exhausted by the fight and force he had put into putting the knight down a final blow to the head would secure his victory, however just as he thought D was done, D landed an uppercut that knocked the demon back a few distance and when the Demon let go of the Faceless man, D was standing up and made haste as he charged in for one final striking aiming for the Demon’s Chest.

The Demon had enough of this faceless man who has been giving him nothing but trouble as he charged for a powerful Wave Motion Canon strike. Purple energy was being emitted and as the soon as D was getting close the Demon unleashed the Ultra Wave Motion Cannon.

It was a direct hit and after having been hit by two of the Demon’s special moves D would have already been put down for good.

The Demon underestimated him as D was in a fit of rage with every intention to kill his opponent. He emerged from the smog generated by such a powerful attack from the Demon but it didn’t stop D from delivering a heavy blow to the Demon’s chest, as D’s fist sink in, he twists his fist so that the demon’s chest muscles would be contracted then he turns 180 degrees to the side to punish the back of the demon’s head with his elbow, knocking him down and unconscious. Because of the chest pain the demon reverted back to human form.

In the end he did not kill the demonized man; he just couldn’t because his conscience was a hard chain that prevented him from ending his life. He showed some sympathy for the demonized man he defeated, a victim of Vega used for his evil experiments.

D’s armor shatters like glass, the dark shades that concealed him and his face withered away, he overdid the effort of winning the tournament and completing all its labors, he couldn’t move even if he wanted to as the gravity of the pain was as heavy as carrying a huge boulder the size of a hut. Both his knees hit the ground as he faced down on the rubble and falls into darkness.

---

Dubhlainn

46HP - 39Hp = 7HP remaining

Armor broken

4 C ranks hit in total.

Mission complete

D woke up, lying down in the infirmary where all the injured fighters were tended to, paramedics were a bit surprised that a Dark mage like him participated in the tournament, before anyone notices D has already left and gone.

Vega recovered as he was put immediately under arrest by officials for using Talonia’s Underground facility as a site for his experiments without the official’s permission. Balrog came out of the hospital but it seems it would take more time for his limbs to heal. Bison had the same punishment as Vega, Chun and Cam both returned to the agency and became Vega’s personal Jailors. Tagas went back to his homeland to train even harder, Wyvern, Masters and Kouken returned to the mountains to train. Hibiki on the other hand made a full recovery which was indeed quite a miracle.

As D was about to leave Talonia, Chun called him out to thank him for saving everyone in Talonia Arena. D nodded as he began his journey back to his guild. Kouken commented that D was indeed in fact one of the strongest fighters around. If he had used his abilities earlier, he would have no trouble of fighting his opponents in the finals, hearing this, Wyvern and Masters were quite astonished and decided to train harder than ever before.

As Dubhlainn travels back he recalls another memory:

“Dubh, you have to go again?” Asked the voice

“I’m assigned to a new mission and swore to serve the flag.” D said as he starts packing up his inventory for the upcoming mission.

“When will you be back?” the voice asked as she seemed to be too concerned for the soldier.

“I don’t know, I’ve been lucky so far but who knows? Its war and eventually there will be casualities.” D picked up his pack and opened the door to leave as an airship awaits him for his departure.

“Could you at least promise me something?” Asked the voice again as he grabbed D by the hand, connecting her pinky to his.

“Promise me that you will return to come see me…ok?” D gave her a warm smile and a nod, agreed to keeping the promise.

“I will milady, don’t worry I’m not a target that can be taken down so easily. Since I promised, I will come back, all you have to do is just wait for my return.”