The Gods' Decree

Of the disciple within the sect, it could be said she was the most mysterious of them all. Even her #16th rank could be put into question, as perhaps the luck of the draw in the previous tournament was not in her favor.

She at the time was undefeated until drawing Jason which obviously led to a crus.h.i.+ng defeat. Some say Rita would have gone on to arrive in the top ten, while others debunked the argument altogether.

Despite being by her lonesome Niesha refused to believe there were no others around.

Just like Ava, Selena, and Malnor, Rita too was apart of a squad not of her own. It was quite powerful as all were at the Full circle of qi condensation. This is the strength it is rumored both Taf and May possess. The weakest is said to be ranked 43rd of the previous year"s ranking.

"Looking for my squadmates, I see. Don"t worry, I"m more of a solitary figure. Honestly, I am not quite fond of the others so we parted ways. I have been watching you Niesha and you have indeed been impressive."

From time to time, Rita adjusted the gla.s.ses with evident discomfort as though they pinched her nose. Her words however startled Niesha, why was this girl so set on stalking her? 

If what she said was true, why not attack her while the others were around? That would have been the ideal time to launch an attack.

"You see, At this moment I am simply looking for a worthy challenger to gauge my progress. You specialize in the sword so have sparked my curiosity."

Rita smiled as she eyed Niesha as though her defeat was but a formality.

Even with her statement, Niesha knew it would be unwise to trust Rita. Who would forgo the comfort of a strong squad and hope to survive at this juncture? Seeing is believing so without responding to Rita she sped off in a flash.

"Fascinating choice, Yet quite logical. Unfortunately against me you are only prolonging the inevitable."" Rita uttered while smirking.

To Niesha"s astonishment, her pursuer was upon her in a flash. In her arms were multiply shurikens which she flung as Niesha swatted them away as though they were pesky flies. With her counter, all became embedding with nearby trees. 

Cling! Cling!

No matter how quickly Niesha sprinted Rita hung to her like a shadow as they moved through the trees at lightning speeds.

?Way of the sword-[Wind Element]- Flight of the Humming Bird?

The fluttering of birds could be heard as Niesha seemingly had enough of playing the prey. Since this girl wanted to battle, so be it.

Zing!

Rita hurriedly dodged to her right as a tree was cut in half cras.h.i.+ng to the ground. She adjusted her gla.s.ses before sneering at Niesha"s attempt at a counter. Seems she had picked the right target after all. Still, Niesha cared not for her thoughts as fluttering wings could be heard all around Rita.

Zing! Zing!

One after Rita wove through Niesha"s attacks as from time to time hidden shurikens would be thrown in a counter. As time went by Niesha realized it was as though this mysterious girl wasn"t even trying to win. It was treated like a sparring session for her as she truly seemed to be simply gauging her strength.

Remarkably she didn"t show signs of expending any qi. If Niesha didn"t know better she would think this girl had no qi whatsoever. 

"What game is she playing." Niesha thought as meticulously target with her broad sword awaiting an opening in Rita"s defenses.

"Guess it"s time for me to become serious. It"s been fun." Rita uttered as Niesha pulled back her attacks.

She witnessed as two side-handle metal batons were summoned to Rita"s hands. In the previous year, this was one of the reasons persons found Rita odd.

It is not usually a commonly seen sight, someone fighting with such weapons. Yet she was extremely skilled but what truly startled her opponents was that any touch from her weapon led to the paralysis of that limb. No qi whatsoever can be expended from that limb in a short period of time. 

In a blink of an eye, Rita was upon her as the two exchanged multiple blows in mid-air. With each swing of her blade, Niesha realized that Rita was up to the task. Yet Niesha did not panic as she knew once no blows from the batons impacted her body she was good to go.

Once more the two went in for some close-range battle as the trees around became the unfortunate casualties. Everywhere they went became flatten as they also garnered some curious gazes from "scavengers" hoping to profit.

Even now Rita used no qi but shockingly Niesha who had been using her wind element couldn"t seem to garner any advantage.

"How is she still keeping up with me?" Niesha questioned herself for the first time when engaged in a fight with a peer. Never has she met someone who even when going all out she felt somewhat still lacking.

Strangely she felt her qi diminis.h.i.+ng while Rita stamina seemingly wasn"t drained whatsoever. How could this be possible? What is her secret?

?Ways of the sword - [Wind Element] - Devouring Temptest?

Boom!

Violently winds engulfed the two and for the first time during the battle, Rita was a bit caught off-guard. Yet slowly a smirk started to form on her face which Niesha found odd.

Inside Niesha sought to quickly end the battle but Rita was not like the Barker brothers as she fended off one lighting sword attack after the next. Those batons seemed like the perfect defensive tool which Rita used to perfection.

Cling! Cling!

Countless sounds of metal on metal could be heard in the tempted before it slowly faded away. After a point, this was simply draining all of her qi so Niesha had to forgo this sword attack mixed with the wind element.

As she became tired slowly Niesha movement became sluggish as a glint could be seen in Rita"s eyes. Though Niesha tried to keep a calm composure Rita could tell she was the one now dictating the tempo of the fight.

Thus she increased the swiftness of her jabs and swings waiting for Niesha to finally make a wrong move.

Blop!

Finally, Niesha did unfortunately as she swung the broad sword it was successfully blocked by the baton in Rita"s right arm before the left viciously countered smas.h.i.+ng into her stomach.

Puk!

For the first time, Niesha saw her own blood as she puked all over the ground. Not only was she injured but she couldn"t feel any sensation from her right arm or leg. She clattered to the floor as perhaps it was somewhat poetic with her broad sword in her hand.

Slowly Rita made her way over with batons in hand.

Blop! Blop!

She casually smacked Niesha in her other ligaments. Now she laid helpless on the floor. Even tears could be seen slowly trickling from her eyes.

Seeing her in that state Rita stooped down so that Niesha could now see in her eyes.

"How does it feel to be buried in the dirt? I can imagine it is quite different from the clouds. Honestly, it is nothing personal i simply despise those with a certain look in their eyes. Unfortunately, you bore those characteristics."

Rita uttered as tears slowly fell from Niesha"s eyes. Laying on the floor she cared not for Rita"s words. The only thoughts that lingered in her mind were how all her training had been for naught.

Every morning waking up before dawn practicing her sword arts as she had her eyes set on the tournament. Only to so anticlimactically fall short from her goal.

Now her elders had received their wish. With her loss, she was forever destined to be bounded by the Oregi Clan.

"I"ll give you some face allowing for a simple forfeit. So here is your chance. Say the words and it will all be over quite quickly." 

There was not much care in Rita"s words even when seeing Niesha"s weeping. In fact inside it seemingly made it all worthwhile. That truly was rubbing salt in Niesha"s already opened wound. With her pride, how could she even fathom the thought of yielding?

It was like savoring sweet nectar as Rita watched. She then subtle taunted outstretching her hand to ruthlessly rip the marker from the unwilling Niesha"s possession...

Unedited Version

To be continued...