Seaside Fight Night: Rio vs. Alastair

Bathing Rio in his angelic glow, Alastair continued to soar around her and trade blows with that obsidian blade. Where she had once held the advantage, the tide had turned just as surely as the sun had risen in the sky. Darting back and forth, he would continue to pick at her defences until he wore her down enough to give him an opening. Occasionally one of his blades would break, detonating in a sudden burst of heat from the impact with her own weapon, but another would appear in his hands before her next strike connected.

Then, Rio attempted to change the status quo. Her chain attack did not find his body though, as Alastair instead caught it with one hand and let it wrap up the length of his arm. Using the full might of his Vollständig, wings beating in reverse, he yanked her towards him and matched her strength head-on. Unless she had any more tools to amplify her might then surely he would overpower her and send her flying in close. Or perhaps that was her plan anyway. Regardless, whoever won this tug of war would likely be the one to triumph, so Alastair slammed back into the ground and threw caution to the wind by grasping the chain with both hands and focusing almost entirely on tossing her around.

Her chain had reached something, but it was far from what she expected, considering his skyborne approach. Rise from above and strike from below. That had been the routine. Yet, this man, whose very image resembled that of a phoenix soaring through the sky - a mighty angel indomitable as he was radiant - grabbed the obsidian chain without hesitation. The sheer courage of the act had caused her to raise an eyebrow, though that expression was quickly supplanted by an excited grin.

A bold action, and yet she admired that trait in a warrior. What impressed her even more so was the way his strength matched her own, her body pulled along as he reversed his position in the air, and yet that was hardly the end of it. No, he added to her surprise by slamming back into the ground and bringing all his strength to bear to force her toward him in a contest of strength - a tug of war! Was it ideal to her? No, but that hardly mattered to her in the slightest.

The joy of battle was in overcoming the odds, after all. She dropped her blade in the other hand, latching onto the chain entirely. Even as her body was being tossed about as a result of gravity favoring her remarkable opponent, Rio was confident she'd be able to release and soar in for a decisive strike. Or maybe he'd go land a devasting blow of his own. No matter the result, she wouldn't offer victory to him so easily!

Undaunted by the prospect of a counterattack, the Quincy planted his feet into the platform and wrenched the chains up and over his shoulder as he attempted to simply toss Rio over him and ideally out of bounds of their arena. Of course, Alastair did not expect that she would simply allow him to do as he wished but even succeeding in flinging her out of position would give him the chance to finally land some telling blows of his own. He was fortunate that the chain itself was made of obsidian, as the heat exuded from his hands now was reaching a particularly infernal temperature.

Whilst certainly frightening, it was also a telling sign that he was reaching the culmination of his release. She had endured all of what he was capable of and more. Soon enough he would burn up like a fire without fuel, but until then he would continue to burn just as brightly. There was no ground left to give, after all.

The more she found herself swung about, Rio would quickly notice his intent to swing her out of the stadium. That position was less than ideal to be in, to be sure, but perhaps there was a method to her madness. Gravity had favored him before, and so, perhaps out of respect to a remarkable opponent, she wished to put on a display that equaled his own. It was certainly amusing to play around like this, but that hardly lessened her desire to win and put out on a show for everyone present.

One technique, right? She could definitely end it with this one technique. At the moment she discerned to be the highest apex she could reach, Rio swung her body around in spectacular fashion, as if she were trying to replicate the motions of that comic book hero she learned about on earth - Man-Spider... or at least that's how she recalled the name. Anyway, it was time to put on a show.

Releasing the chain during her sequence of movements, Rio became airborne through her own means, diving toward Alastair with the intent of landing a fierce, two-palmed strike. Of course, there was not nearly enough of control in her momentum compared to the man who wore flamelike wings of reishi at his back. That is to say, her motion as she descended from the sky was akin to a shooting star.

This was the spectacular moment she was waiting for. She recalled thinking about her sister for a moment, how grandiose her techniques could sound, and couldn't help the urge of indulging herself by calling out it's name during her charge.

"Nagareboshi: Sokkotsu!" Yup, Shooting Star Double Bone. It could either give the crowd a good laugh or get them fired up. Either way, she was descending toward Alastair with the intent to settle this!

Two results could happen here. His victory or her own, or maybe even a draw? None of the results sounded as bad to her at all, but she clearly had her eyes on the prize.

Rio letting go of the chain was certainly one way to avoid his rather simple attempt to toss her out of the arena, and it allowed her to turn all of that momentum against him. With only a split-second to react, Alastair switched up his own rotation and charged up to meet her. Angelic wings beat once, a single forceful blast as he propelled himself upwards to intercept that falling star. Working against gravity and behind on tempo, he was never going to be able to match her in the clash so it would come down to one final toss of the coin.

The handle of Falke materialised in Alastair's hand, his spirit weapon manifesting for what would be the last time as his entire right forearm was encased in a modified reishi gauntlet. He wished that there had been time to conjure a whole sword, but this improvised weapon would have to do. As much energy that he could muster went into the weapon, from the cracking halo atop his head to the fading wings upon his back, there was nothing left unaccounted for as he recoiled that arm back and punched upwards to meet the Sokkotsu.

"Entladungsstreik!"

Whether he too had been caught up in the thrill of the fight, or simply wished to match the explosive energy that had been offered by Rio, Alastair could not say and yet he proudly exclaimed his own technique all the same. He did not think of himself as a showman, and his charisma was certainly what one might call unique, but he wanted them to know that he had given his all. Then, just as he had that moment of self-realisation, all the energy that he had condensed into his weapon detonated in an explosive burst just between the two combatants. It would have been a dangerous technique to start with, without knowing the depths of Rio's resilience, but the purpose of the attack now was to simply blow them both apart in one last fiery display.

Alastair had the advantage of knowing it was coming, but the disadvantage of having a Hakuda technique slam into his chest first. He persevered long enough to ensure that his own blow struck home, before plummeting back to the ground from the force of the triple impact. There was no grace to this final impact, no time to deploy a Wolke to slow his fall, as the Administrator slammed down onto his back before tumbling away and collapsing in a crumpled heap at the boundary of the arena. He did not rise, nor make much of an attempt to stir, as all of that building heat began to dissipate. There was no longer the strength in him to move his body, let alone maintain his released state, so all that remained to be seen was the state of his opponent.

An indescribable joy suffused Rio's spirit. In the midst of her aerial descent, Alastair decided to meet her head on. his angelic wings beat once against the air as he soared through the air. The descending star and the radiant flame edged ever closer to their mutual target in the sky. Though neither fancied themselves as those who were accustomed to entertaining a crowd, merely announcing the names of their attacks was enough to rouse the crowd into an uproar. Ah, how sublime. No matter the result, this battle would be engraved in both memory and soul. It was always an exciting experience to face an opponent with a likewise resilience, after all.

Sokkotsu clashed with Entladungsstreik as firm palms connected with armored fist, an explosive burst enveloping their atmosphere. Her strike rings true, and yet, so too does his own. Due to her descending momentum with not much else in the way of actually breaking her fall, gravity favored Alastair enough for his blow to test the Shihoin Shield's iron constitution. Indeed, the last minute explosion had caught her off guard, sending her body flying back several meters backward. It was always going to be a gamble depending on where she launched her body from, but that was simply the way of battle.

A risk would either be rewarded or disciplined. Her body careened through the air, tumbling across the arena until she slammed her fist in enough to take note of where she was positioned. Gazing down, she'd chuckle softly, noting her position with amusement. She was no longer in the boundary, which clearly meant that this victory belonged Alastair Eisfluch.

By all accounts, she could certainly continue the battle. Her durable body was capable of it, but the rules were the rules. The Shihoin certainly felt as if her opponent had earned his victory. As the announcement was made, Rio stepped back into the arena to approach Alastair, offering to pull him up from the ground.

"Victory is yours, Alastair. I must say, that was quite the battle. The Sternritter ought to be proud to have such a vigorous and valiant man in their ranks."

Shifting within the small crater that he found himself resting in, Alastair initially assumed that Rio was here to deliver the finishing blow to their bout. He was far from cognizant enough to notice that she was approaching him from beyond the boundary, not until she offered him a hand, and he gazed up at her dumbfoundedly. It took a minute for his body to move. Several minutes really, as Rio loomed over him and he awkwardly shuffled beneath her, but his arm did rise to meet her own. It did not feel like he had won, that much was certain.

"I think I should be the one congratulating you, Ms Shihoin."

He managed that much as she lifted him back to his feet, his legs struggling for a few moments to bear his weight as a wave of lethargy swept over him. He had been fighting all out for long enough that his body was ready to power down, and yet this Shinigami still had another nine rounds in her. For all the might of the Sternritter, he had achieved victory on a technicality at best. Eeked it out from the very precipice of defeat. There was pride to be had in triumph, but far more respect had been earned for his opponent.

"I would do more to sing your praises, but you did give me quite the beating so do excuse my lack of decorum. Well fought."

"I'm honored by your words, but don't discredit yourself now. You rose up to the challenge time and again, and that deserves it's own share of praise."

Rio used her frame to help the crimson-haired male remain upright, noting how difficult it was for him to move his body right now. Their bodies were shot back as a result of that explosion, but Alastair seemed to take the worst of it. Of course, if one were to exclude her remarkable durability, then perhaps she would have suffered a significant backlash as well. A warm smile formed against her features as she gently patted his shoulders, dusting him off as they continued to speak. Rio had entered to win, but that hardly mattered in the end. She put on a show, came in and fought an exceptional opponent, and proved she was still capable of going the distance in a battle.

"You flatter me, though. I don't think I was nearly as cool and flashy as you were, but I accept your praise all the same. As long as I entertained you and the crowd, that's praise enough."

Offering her hand in one more gesture of respect, she shook Alastair's palm, golden eyes burning bright with admiration for her opponent. It would be nice if they could cross paths again. If this truly was a way of forging a bond between Shinigami and Quincy, then she certainly wanted to uphold the genuine nature of it.

"I'll be heading off now. It'd be nice to cross paths with you again, Alastair. Even if we don't, know that I wish you the best for you and the Vandenreich. You are a fine group of warriors."

With that, she headed toward the exit, ready to trade her role of participant in for spectator.