(Back in West City)
The battle between Zangya and Hasky had dragged on for several minutes now, and in that time the two had been battling it out in one of the most vicious contests of strength the metropolis had ever seen. Ground had been shifted and cracked, buildings had been damaged and collapsed, and entire properties had been forced to withstand attacks with the ability to level whole mountains, all of which had missed their intended targets. Though only one or two bystanders had unintentionally gotten caught up in the crossfire and hurt, no other civilian casualties or deaths had been reported. That was surprising considering the level both warriors were fighting at.
However, there was a reasonable explanation for the lack of damage to the countryside. After realizing that their fight was leaving a lot of marks on the Capsule Corp estate and was slowly beginning to involve the rest of the community, Zangya wisely chose to take the battle elsewhere. During a particularly brutal exchange between the two warriors that saw them fly through a couple of skyscrapers and then onto a freeway, where they ended up trading a few hits, the Hera dragged her opponent out onto the ocean. Knowing that the water would help dampen the impact of a lot of their attacks and soften the blows to the earth a little, it was probably the most ideal location for a battle between two super-powered fighters to take place.
Dragging their battle several kilometers away from the mainland, as well as the coast brushing against the West capital, the Z-fighter was confident they would be able to fight it out here till their hearts were content and one of them had killed the other. After all, the Hera was more inclined on killing her foe rather than any other scenario taking place. So sucking up whatever remaining doubts or reluctances she had in using deadly force, the red haired angel with the golden streaks cranked up the output.
The blonde haired assassin meanwhile was having troubles of her own.
Though her battle with the Z-fighters had gotten off to a great start and she was able to control the pacing of the conflict throughout its duration, the moment she started crossing blades with the Hera, weird things started taking place. When she was dealing with the other warriors, her bladed weapons and beams had proven to be super effective against their fighting skills and tactics. Based on her understanding of their abilities, she knew the group of super powered fighters wasn't used to crossing fists with opponents who used excessive amounts of weaponry and preferred fighting in close, hand-to-hand. While their use of blasts was impressive and well above par, they weren't experts at fighting at long range or with handicaps.
That was the basis of all warriors who practiced martial arts. The engagements were always within arms or legs reach, and rarely exceeded that distance. Utilizing her archery-inspired, long-range fighting style, Hasky was able to capitalize on their weaknesses and deal them incredibly painful defeats.
But now, as her fight with the newly empowered Zangya started to drag on, the master thief found herself struggling to deal the woman any damage. In fact, she was finding it incredibly hard to land any hits at all. Every time the blonde sent blasts or swords after her target, she would either deflect them or avoid them altogether, allowing them to hit the water or the surrounding islands without any effect, except causing a useless explosion. She even tried dropping them down on her from above, but even then her attacks were avoided.
However, while this occurred for only a minimal amount of time, the main issue she was currently experiencing was having her weapons knocked out before they even had a chance to fire. Whenever Hasky created a new cluster of swords or spears to launch at her opponent, the red haired Hera would simply take them out with those weird ki blasts floating behind her. While at first the assassin thought nothing of these attacks and would simply replace the swords that she lost, when it started happening repeatedly, the woman began to grow more and more annoyed and concerned.
What's more, these green ki blasts her opponent was using to counter her blades were orbiting around her body like little moons, protecting the Hera from attacks that came from blind spots. It was almost like they had a mind of their own.
More explosions ripped across the ocean surface as Hasky sent more swords flying after her opponent, who sprinted over the waves in a green blur. Golden streaks chased after her, impacting the water and detonating one after the other. When Zangya arced around after avoiding the barrage, she then rushed towards Hasky's position atop the water and picked up speed, causing several sonic booms to ring out as she effortlessly broke the sound barrier.
Narrowing her eyes, the blonde assassin raised her hand and, with a yell of effort, she fired a powerful golden blast from her hands. Her attack, which had enormous width and spread, struck the approaching Hera headlong, only to be deflected and sent up into the sky. It was there the blast detonated in an enormous sphere of white, sucking up the nearby clouds and dispelling the rest hovering over the region. The exploding attack then allowed Zangya to close the distance and charge her opponent, who responded by firing several more swords in her direction that honed in on her position a full kilometer away.
Just like before, the green spheres of ki orbiting the Super Hera shot forward and intercepted the swords, shattering them before they could reach their target. This enabled Zangya to leap off of the ocean's surface and into the troposphere, where she then took off as more swords and spears chased after her.
Using perfectly practiced aerial maneuvers, the woman effectively avoided all of the razor sharp projectiles when they attempted to cut her off. Once that was done, she took off down a straight line and picked up speed. When the spears attempted to follow her, the Hera spun around and nailed the weapons with a salvo of blasts, destroying all of the swords and allowing Zangya to drop down safely to the ocean's surface. The instant she hit the water and crouched down on top of it, another wall of golden blades was sent raining down at her, prompting the woman to look up and focus her ki. When she did, the remaining green spheres of energy orbiting her launched upwards and cut off the descending swords, taking them out in a shower of sparks and shards of metal.
As soon as her counter was successful, Zangya rose to her feet and allowed another cluster of green energy spheres to begin orbiting her body protectively.
The sight of them had Hasky click her tongue and narrow her eyes in annoyance. "Why are this woman's energy attacks giving me so much trouble?"
To answer her question, the Hera standing several hundred meters out spoke, "You don't get it yet, do you?" Seeing the blonde look at her attentively, the Z-fighter continued to speak. "As perfect as your suit's abilities may seem from a distance, there are several major flaws in its design that I was able to spot while I was fighting you. Though you can upgrade the class of each individual weapon you create, their constructions are inflexible and can't be changed once they've been launched from their positions. That means they can be successfully countered with a ki blast of equal or greater strength. A person who is proficient enough at manipulating energy and using attacks at long distances can effectively neutralize each of your creations before they have a chance to be launched and, as it so happens, I'm the best in my group at molding energy with pinpoint precision." She emphasized this by gesturing to the green energy spheres orbiting her, which continued to do so even as she traded words with her adversary. "What's more, your attack patterns are too predictable. Since the weapons you create mostly travel in straight lines, I can simply avoid them or intercept them before they have a chance to hit their targets."
Spitting to the side, Hasky shook her head and shot the woman a threatening glare. "So what? Even if you've figured out the trick to my abilities, I can still cut you down with a full frontal assault!" When she said that, another formation of lances and spears took shape behind her, and pointed directly at Zangya's position.
Upon seeing the woman summon another cluster of deadly weapons, the Hera smirked and shook her head sadly. "You know… at first I thought you were a really great warrior… someone who was dangerous and could pose a real threat to our group. But now that I look at you for what you really are, someone who talks big and uses insults and intimidation to put people down, all I can feel for you is pity." When she saw the blonde balk at her remark, Zangya pressed forward her advantage and leered. "You're just a reflection of my former self… a bully… a scared little girl who has to rely on technology and other people's accomplishments to give them power. Actually, now that I think about it, Master Thief Hasky is definitely a fitting title for someone like you. You're just like the weapons that you replicate and steal from other heroes… a tool that was made to be used by someone else."
This comment turned out to be the last straw for the blonde haired assassin. Gnashing her teeth in anger, Hasky narrowed her green eyes menacingly and snarled. "When I'm done with you… there won't be a single shred or bone shard left of your wretched, shit-talking, insolent corpse… YOU GREEN, DEMON WHORE!" With her rage climbing, the woman summoned a second golden cloud of energy behind her, which then formed into a wall of a hundred swords on top of the lances she already had. When these weapons took shape and solidified, they pointed at the Hera and launched themselves in her direction without hesitation.
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