158 Getting There (1/2)

Kessiah growled as she charged Caprika. With an unnerving calm, Caprika stood back and waited. Kessiah's footsteps crushed the stone beneath her feet, her movements explosive. As Kessiah reached Caprika, the revenant launched a right haymaker at Caprika's face.

The princess channeled the air by raising an arm. An invisible torrent cut through one of the tendons in Kessiah's wrist. The hand went limp, unable to function. Caprika grabbed the weak arm, slinging Kessiah overhead. The shoulder dislocated while the impact shattered the marble floor.

Kessiah lost her breath, gasping out a bit of blood. Caprika clasped a clawed hand right in front of Kessiah's face, pulling air out of her lungs. Kessiah gasped, reaching out her arms. Her chest sunk inwards, decompressed from the air magic.

I frowned, taking a step forward, ”Oof. That was worse than I thought.”

Torix put a hand on my chest, ”Give her a chance. It's not dangerous just yet.”

Kessiah scrambled for a second longer before grabbing her weak arm. She shoved it back into her shoulder socket. She opened up her dimensional storage ring. A pillar of air flew out at of the portal, my ears popping from the pressure change of the room. It let Kessiah breath for a second.

Caprika reached towards Kessiah's face again. Kessiah lunged up, biting into the claws of Caprika. The princess gripped her hand, digging her nails into the flesh of Kessiah's mouth. Kessiah gritted her teeth, grabbing Caprika's arm.

The albony warrior spread out her other hand. Mana rippled through her mane of hair, lengthening the strands. Much like Amara, her hair moved. Unlike Amara, they solidified into white blades. Sharper than steel, an edge of hair stabbed at Kessiah.

Before it sunk in, the revenant released Caprika's fingers. Caprika stumbled back since she was still pulling her arm away. The fur sword sliced six inches into the marble floor, cutting Kessiah's cheek. Kessiah grinned as she pulled herself up and dashed towards Caprika.

Caprika fell onto her back and pushed her hands at Kessiah. A pillar of air pushed the albony back. While on the ground, she sliced the hair blade at Kessiah's kneecap. The blade cleaved into Kessiah's left kneecap, causing her to fall over. Caprika rolled up onto her feet.

Caprika dashed towards Kessiah, whipping a portion of her fur behind her. Mid-swing, the hair hardened into a giant blade. It would rive Kessiah in two. I readied some magic to stop just that.

Kessiah pushed up against the ground with her hands. She flung up and landed on a single foot. As Caprika reached her, Kessiah dunked down onto her one working leg. She breathed deep before spitting a mouthful of blood at Caprika.

The coagulating liquid splashed against Caprika's mask, blinding her. I raised my eyebrows, ”That's a pretty solid tactic.”

Torix rolled his eyes, ”Ah yes, something a caveman would do in desperation. What an excellent tactic.”

It worked well. The blade of hair skimped Kessiah's left arm, leaving a nasty gash. Without her guard up, Caprika was wide open, however. With a wild haymaker, Kessiah jumped off her one foot. Her fist slammed into Caprika's mask.

Caprika dragged back a few feet from the impact, but she stayed standing. Like a real warrior, Caprika shook her head, spitting out blood. She growled like a lioness. Caprika charged towards Kessiah.

At this point, Kessiah raised one arm, unable to defend herself. Torix frowned, ”Let's see what else she has up her sleeve.”

I rolled my eyes at this point. Caprika lunged out an arm, a tail of fur following its trajectory. The condensed hair pierced Kessiah's last working shoulder. The air in the room condensed above Caprika, siphoning into a single point. Caprika reared her arm back, ready to launch a spear of wind through Kessiah's head.

I gripped my fist, lifting Caprika back with a gravity well. Her spear withered away, the air dispersing. Her hair blade pulled from Kessiah's shoulder. Torix sighed while floating over towards Kessiah, a health potion and spell in hand. The princess wasn't enjoying my restraints, however.

She thundered, ”Who stopped me?”

It was the voice of royalty. I wasn't some servant though.

”I did. Calm down.”

She heaved for breath, a mist of blood spurting out of her mask, ”You will release me or-”

I clenched my raised hand, the well of gravity empowering, ”Calm down.”

Caprika balled up, her hair returning to its regular length. She struggled, but the pull outdid her strength. She was in a trash compactor, and I held the on or off switch.

She figured that out fast, so she gasped, ”I'm calm.”

I let the well's strength wane, and she composed herself. By the time the well disappeared, she had regained her noble bearing. She breathed deep a few times, looking up at me. She opened her dimensional storage, pulling out a purple health potion.

She chugged it before putting the bottle back into storage,

”Ahem...excuse my anger...I simply lost myself for a moment.”

I shrugged, ”It happens.”

Caprika looked around, ”I'll have someone clean up this mess after we leave.”

She glanced around, ”It could use a remodeling anyways.”

Now that Caprika wasn't frothing in rage, I glanced over at Kessiah. Even though she managed to damage Caprika, their wounds were different in scale. Caprika could still stand. Kessiah was out of commission for a few days. In system time, that meant Kessiah was damn near death.

Still, it was an admirable effort. With a few tricks and some creativity, Kessiah dished out some damage. It was more than I expected. She took on someone double her level and held her own. If Caprika took her on with full force early on, Kessiah would be strips of meat.

But that's the thing, Caprika didn't.

That meant overall, Kessiah took the win in my book. With that knowledge in tow, I walked up to her. She groaned in pain, her shoulder swelling and her knee bloody. She looked up at me. She grinned, blood on her teeth,

”See? I still got it.”

I grinned, ”Yup.”

Kessiah passed out. Torix glanced up at me, ”Althea would've been shocked if she'd seen such a display of brutality. Kessiah hasn't fought like that since she faced off against Dahkma.”

Torix whipped out a needle and surgical stitching, ”It seems as though social pressure brings out the best in her. Her urge to prove someone wrong is far stronger than her urge to improve on her own.”

I shrugged, ”Hmmmm...maybe so.”

Torix chuckled, ”She does prefer being the underdog. Perhaps this will renew her fighting spirit.”

I weighed my hands back and forth, ”I wouldn't count on it, but maybe we can push her in that direction.”

Torix stitched her knee back together, ”One can hope.”

Caprika walked up to us. She placed her hands on her hips, ”Her level wouldn't indicate her strength, I suppose...What did you think of the bout?”

She looked at me as she said it. I raised my eyebrow, ”Me?”

Caprika pointed at me, ”Yes you. You're a warrior of renown. Your opinion should be measured highly.”

I glanced up, ”Well, if I had anything to say about it...hmmm. I think you tried to show off with the whole strangling thing. You could've just slit Kessiah's throat at the start. Keeping your distance and focusing on evasion would've been an instant win without any damage.”

I shrugged, ”You also lost your balance after Kessiah stopped biting your fingers. That shouldn't be the case. You could elongate your hair and use the strands for balance, right? See if you can try that next time.”

Caprika used a wave of air magic, blowing the blood from her mask. She opened her storage ring, pulled out a napkin, and wrapped it around the floating blood,

”I shall try that then. Any other pointers?”

It was odd having someone ask me for advice. I squinted my eyes for a second, thinking a bit. I tapped my helmet, ”You should have some helmet or eye protection. Same goes for your ears. Bright flashes, liquids, and sonic attacks aren't uncommon, and they can be crippling.”

Caprika nodded, ”I'll try and implement a few defensive measures. Thank you for input.”

It was strange how differently Caprika treated me versus Kessiah. It was because of our levels probably. Torix stood up from Kessiah. He clapped his hands, ”Anyways, I finished the suture. I'm not carrying Kessiah to her room. She'll break my old, dusty back.”

I raised my hands, ”I'm not either. Althea will kill me.”

Caprika raised a hand, ”Who's Althea?”

Althea materialized beside me. I never sensed her in any way. She was a ghost that didn't want you to know she was there at times. Althea leaned against me, and I played it cool. I was used to it. On the other hand, Caprika wasn't.

”What in Baldowah's name...Where did you come from?”

Althea grinned, ”Here and there.” She looked up at me, ”Torix mentioned something about Kessiah needing help to her room.” Althea turned to Kessiah, ”I'm surprised she hasn't been drinking.”

I frowned. I didn't know Kessiah drank. I had this thing against alcohol because of my dad. It wasn't fair to judge someone for it, but I couldn't help but come across as abrasive when it was brought up. At least I was aware of it.

Kessiah's drinking habits didn't surprise our resident lich, ”As am I. She was just thrashed by the albony over there.”

Althea walked up to Caprika. Althea waved a hand at her, ”Hey. I'm Althea. Good to meet you.”

Caprika brushed one of her locks of hair behind her and dusted a shoulder off, ”Ahem. It's good to meet you as well. I'm Caprika, of the Empire.”

Althea gave her a thumbs up, ”I gotta take her back to our camp. We can talk later if you want.”

Caprika propped her weight onto a hip, ”I'll have to check my schedule, but I should be able to work you in.”