ItÆs time AlanaÆs eyes flicked open She picked up a glass of water and took a long sip Then she walked to the door and out into the hallway It was time for her match it was time to see how much Hank Howard had grown
But Alana frowned as she stepped into the dimly lit hallway from the waiting room to the participantÆs entrance and saw that someone was waiting there for her Are you unsatisfied
Lucifer folded his arms across his chest and studied Alana closely Yes Which is why IÆm here to ask you the same question that I asked you before Do you intend to win everything
Tilting her head to the side Alana considered the well muscled man in front of her His image was certainly strong but part of that strength was simplicity It was easy for her to read his emotions from it After following the web she sighed Your pride is certainly important to you huh
I would be greatly reassured if you would just tell me that you mean to win it all Losing to the eventual champion would have been my honor Lucifer spoke quietly seeming to become a part of the shadowy corridor that would lead Alana to the arena The only portion of him that had any presence was his piercing gaze as he weighed her
IÆll give him this at least heÆs earnest Alana eventually decided
And now that she thought about it this was probably the most words he had ever spoken to her When she continued to contemplate this strange behavior Lucifer then spoke again IÆll also say this Hank Howard is not a man you can defeat without craving victory Do not let your image embarrass you
You sound a bit obscene when you speak of victory Lucifer Alana said lightly as she stepped passed him But she patted him lightly on his shoulder before she starting walking at a brisk pace toward the end of the hall Already she could feel the cheers of the crowd through the soles of her feet the entire building was rumbling with their excitement But I will win DonÆt you worry about that
Due to her height and impressive wingspan Wivanya could only wait for Alana in an antechamber right before the open air of the arena But because of their connection she was looking at Alana with interest after her interaction with Lucifer So this match isnÆt just training We mean to win
Alana shot a sour glance at her companion and Wivanya snorted out two bouts of air that produced large patches of frost on the nearby stone wall Rolling her shoulders Alana produced her spear from her interspatial ring and inspected it closely She rubbed the blade with her thumb and then flicked it it hummed perfectly We always meant to win but yes This is a match we should win
You have finally agreed we must rename the world Ghostworld WivanyaÆs tail flicked back and forth in her excitement
Alana could only roll her eyes and pat the scales of WivanyaÆs neck I still donÆt think thatÆs the name we should choose But Lucifer has a point Just because so much of my new image is based on Randidly doesnÆt mean I should be embarrassed It itÆs a demonstration That there are various types of images that are possible I have a responsibility
You are blushing Wivanya teased blowing a small amount of freezing air on the back of AlanaÆs neck Alana punched the dragon in the chest with a good deal of force and then walked haughtily away from the chortling lizard The rumbling grew louder Soon the duo began to near the light at the end of the tunnel
When they finally walked out into the daylight Wivanya spread her wings wide after being cramped for so long in the tunnel and the crowd went wild Stretched out WivanyaÆs wingspan was almost twenty meters long Meanwhile Alana looked across at Hank who was already passing AnchoÆs reins to the referee When he spotted her he grinned and said something that was lost in the noise of the crowd
But Alana knew him too well Even if she hadnÆt been able to read his lips she could guess what he was saying ItÆs a good day for a duel
Your enthusiasm is your greatest virtue Hank Alana reflected She wondered if he knew it Then she continued forward to the raised marble platform After they moved into their positions opposite each other on the arena the crowd gradually quieted down The referee looked back and forth Are both sides ready
Wivanya snorted Alana nodded Hank smiled and flexed his fingers Ancho whinnied and sniffed at the refereeÆs pockets for snacks
Ignoring the horse the referee raised his hand The let the second semi final match of the duos tournament begin
Alana raised her spear and released her tight control over her image Orange golden flames flickered to life along her limbs She flexed her hand and a winged helmet grew on top of her head But it was Wivanya who took the first step forward The Frostdragon Broodmother raised her head and roared Her frigid image exploded outward to seep into the surrounding air and drag down the temperature The heavy grey clouds that were already hanging above the arena darkened From the look of them it would only be a short amount of time until it began to snow
Hank just chuckled and drew his repeater Rather casually he spun the gun in his hand and popped out the magazine After flicking away a minuscule speck of dust he snapped the clip back into place and raised the gun to point at Alana
Alana boldly stood in position and slashed the bullet out of the air with the head of her spear HankÆs homemade bullets were quite strong but Alana was just as overwhelming Besides that bullet hadnÆt contained much of his image at all In old style westerns the first bullet was never the one that would finish the bad guy It wasnÆt until the end of the fight that the gunslinger could make the perfect shot that turned everything around
In a way your image makes you predictable
Alana casually strolled forward There was no need to rush right now As someone who had traveled and fought quite a bit with Hank Howard she was quite familiar with his strengths and weaknesses Which was why she felt confident that she and Wivanya would be able to defeat him even before she had made a decision regarding her image Now that she had finally decided to put everything on the line To put it bluntly there were two methods to defeat the man and Alana and Wivanya possessed both
As Alana walked forward Wivanya rose into the air and unleashed a blast of sleet and ice from her fanged maw Hank flashed a grin and Dodge Rolled to the side so fast that he briefly seemed to vanish It was almost impossible for a human eye to follow as his body hunched over and tumbled But then he was suddenly back on his feet unleashing a barrage of bullets up toward Wivanya
Most of them deflected harmlessly off the thickening layer of ice on WivanyaÆs body but one happened to strike the soft tissue at the corner of her left eye as she hovered in the air Wivanya roared in fury and flapped her wings with a few powerful wingbeats her bulk was suddenly propelled forward with powerful winds gathering behind her
The cold of WivanyaÆs image began to clash very directly with the subtle touch of Hank HowardÆs image Steam hissed off of WivanyaÆs body Despite the fact that the Wild West could accept cold at night the days were hot and dry In this way it was surprisingly delicate
Alana walked forward with her spear raised watching the interaction Attacking the image directly was the first way that Wivanya could defeat Hank After all he was just a man He had invested quite a few Stat points into his precious Focus but even he had limits If you could push Hank toward exhaustion his razor sharp Focus would naturally decline He would miss the opportunity to take a shot to turn everything around
Images that clashed directly with HankÆs like WivanyaÆs chill were rather rare If they pushed it they could use this opportunity to take him down
As the dragon continued to glide forward a veritable blizzard formed around Wivanya Although you could barely see the tips of her wings peeking out of the white maelstrom the rest was screened by ice and wind The result took up about a tenth of the massive marble arena likely blocking the vision of quite a few people in the audience Despite the fact that such a monster was bearing down on him Hank didnÆt panic at all He spun his repeater and then holstered it With light fingers he pulled out his revolver