Orelai- Mirror Match
#7 of Orelai
You know, the main thing that crossed my mind while re-reading through this chapter to give a decent enough description is just how scary would a Blade user Back line be? I mean, Blade users by the way their name implies would be able to create blades using their power. This could be either turning part of their bodies into blades or conjuring them out of thin air. But they're normally what you'd think as being Front line fighters. Like when you consider logical mashups a Blade user would not be that good defensively to counter most others. They're a very offense-heavy type, which makes good for the position that wants to get in close and do tons of damage. A Backline, however, is all about controlling the arena, trying to contribute to the battle at large by shaping the very nature of the fight from the opposite end of the arena. So just what would a Blade user Backline look like?
It was a fifty-fifty chance that he'd end up in this situation. Just like their team has two backlines to pick from, so too does the other team. And one of those is also a Wind user. But the other one was a Blade user. Thinking on it a bit more this was likely the only logical matchup that either of them could end up with. Korin would have an extremely hard time dealing with a Blade user. Which is why Korin is sitting this one out, in case the Blade User was put in. But the Blade user would be effectively shut down by going up against him. Anton would be able to simply knock each and every blade aside without all that much effort. So they couldn't pick that one. Meaning the only reasonable outcome would be to pit the two Wind users against each other. Of course, one problem with a mirror match is that anything he can do the other can theoretically do as well. So it's all a matter of who has the greater skill in the element.
Anton trusts the rest of his team to do what they will. If they call for an attack for one direction or another he'll do so instantly. But this match isn't about his contribution to the team. So long as the mirror match still exists there will be no backline support from either team. So while the others are busy dealing with their own counterpart, Anton focuses himself onto just trying to see who the better Wind user is. Their arena is a hilly area this time. A lot of wide-open areas with very little cover but at the same time very little to get in the way of their attacks. And as they face off two things become quite clear. In regards to experience and precision, the other Wind user is superior. His blades are thinner, shorter and use less energy than Anton's. But at the same time their Backline doesn't move. Anton has a tendency to move around, getting different angles of attack and causing them to adapt. This other one just stands in one place firing off attacks.
Before the match when asked about what they thought of Anton, Berenor had declared himself the best wind user in the league and had declared that when he proved it that he'd be taking Anton's mask as a souvenir and send him back home crying like a baby. After that Anton had turned off the television, though he was told that they talked down at him and his home country for a good minute or two afterwards. And of course, that alone made it personal to Anton. He wasn't going to let some upstart get the better of him. If they are going to try and destroy his reputation then he'll just have to take the fight to them. And one nice thing about the situation as he starts closing in is that it is clear that Berenor isn't at all comfortable fighting up close and personal. In fact, Anton actually has to maneuver around their support. Which is annoying, but it does tie up two people for him doing nothing more than moving around and trying to unsettle their backline. And that is something Anton is fine with, playing a bit more conservatively and moving around constantly, forcing them to stay on their toes and buying time for his own team to take advantage of the number superiority.
The other big issue is really that he doesn't know how much stamina Berenor has. His motion and trying to deal with two people and lack of experience means that Anton is burning through his reserves faster than Berenor is. Even though a prolonged fight would be in the team's best interest if they can get things on. But holding back isn't what he's best at. And if he burns himself out by trying to stall things out it'd be the same thing as if he were defeated by Berenor. He needs to make a move to force a direct confrontation. Of course as he starts getting close he starts to get an idea and a wicked grin crosses his muzzle underneath the mask. If they aren't going to deal with him being on the move then he'll make it very difficult for him but at the same time far worse for them. Berenor can't block his attacks if he's attacking in a direction away from the other Wind user. Berenor's attacks are more efficient and able to do just as much in a smaller shape, but they aren't faster. So Anton informs his team so that they can capitalize on it and then positions himself between Berenor and their Frontline. With a call over the radio he begins his attack, focusing on the Frontline and only moving to try and deflect attacks from Berenor when he can't just dodge them. Their support now needs to make a decision on whether to keep protecting the pill-boxing Backline or allow a four against two flanking attack against their Frontline.
He fully realizes that he's also extremely vulnerable in this position, since he is effectively in a four against one situation himself. He has no support or allies anywhere near him and could be attacked from either direction. But if their Frontline is attacking him they aren't defending against his Frontline. And the Support is being forced to choose between abandoning Berenor, let Anton go up against him solo and try and defend the other two, or have their team take out the Frontline and then it'll be a four against two again. He moves and throws a small twister at their Frontline and then turns to try and stop any interference from Berenor. As long as he is here and the support is here, the two Frontlines wouldn't have any way to defend against this attack. There is an attack intended to try and cut off his attack but that's blocked. And then he sees the support abandon Berenor and head on over to help the other two and Anton lets him. His target is now available. Hopefully, the team will be able to make good use of this temporary advantage.
There is a blade heading towards him and he chooses to dodge it, not that it would have all that much harm, it's too small to really do much. At first he thinks it might have been an attempt to get him to overexert himself, but as he dodges it curves in to strike him in the mask. That couldn't have been an accident and he sees another blade of similar scale heading towards him and Anton knows full well what he's trying to do. He had made a claim of taking down his mask and it seems as retaliation for forcing this one on one is he's going to try and take Anton's mask by force.
Anton snarls slightly and touches his communicator, "Bastard's trying to make it personal. Letting you all know I'm going to go God Mode on him. Really show him what happens when people try to anger me. Might win, might not. But if I do win, I fully expect to be useless the rest of the fight."
He takes a deep breath and then launches himself at Berenor, starting to envelop himself in his element and exerting more and more power around him. He's gotten much better at this and can even hold it for longer than he could at the start of the season. He begins to spin the air and accelerate him, giving himself the same mechanics of a bullet headed right for the other Wind user. Berenor tries to deflect him, even sending a little tornado after him but the wind surrounding Anton simply goes right through it completely unhindered. Getting close he's able to get a good look at Berenor's projected form, it giving the impression of almost looking a bit like an over-buff eagle. Not that the species would do him any good. In order to avoid getting slammed into Berenor takes flight as well, but as he is far more comfortable attacking from a distance, he isn't nearly as skilled as Anton in maneuvering through the air.
"Let me guess," Berenor taunts, having to shout over the wind they're generating, "under that mask you're just a dove."
"Nope," Anton shakes his head and flies in close. Berenor tries flying out of the way but there is the simple situation that the two are in. Anton has far more experience in flying. He does it all the time, he knows how to control his ability to juke and dodge and maneuver effortlessly. He's even found himself sometimes doing it without even thinking on it. There have been a couple of matches where he'd just start hovering in the air or flying to a new position when he was intending on just standing or running to conserve. Berenor has no such expertise. Further, the overstuffed eagle is still trying to conserve energy to be useful. Anton isn't. Anton is fully willing to just burn himself dry to win this fight. And he knows he doesn't really have all that much time. Already his hands are starting to tingle rather severely.
Anton throws his full might at making the air around them as turbulent as possible in every direction that isn't closer, and trying to create a vacuum between them. Berenor struggles against it and apparently knows that he's outmatched in the air and tries to get back down onto the ground, all the while throwing everything his has on trying to destroy Anton's mask. But Anton isn't letting him and surrounds his body in one giant blade as he flies after the eagle and has a thick coat of wind surrounding his head. On impulse Anton grabs the blade surrounding him, and then moves it as if unsheathing a sword. The blade suddenly explodes forward, extending into a sort of pseudo sword. Berenor tries his best to block the blade, but he can't just break it apart. But at the same time Anton isn't able to break through Berenor's defense, so instead he uses it to redirect the eagle, turning the direction he's sending him and using the blade to slam him into the ground at full force, adding additional power to help accelerate his blade. As soon as Berenor hits the ground he lets go of the sword and readies a new blade, making it very thin and narrow while still heading towards him. As soon as he gets close enough he sends it right at Berenor, stabbing him in the back right before he slams into him with his entire body. And then goes about unleashing everything he can to end this once and for all and Berenor's form collapses into itself and the bell tolls in the sky.
Anton lets his power go and pants heavily. The tingling in his limbs lets him know he's exhausted. It's a struggle at this point to even hold on to this form. But if he lets it go then the other team will get a point as well. So instead he does his best to maintain the form and starts just walking back for the entrance. For now, his team is ahead. So long as the others don't throw they'll win. The fans would absolutely throw a fit if the others just sat around and played super passive until the clock ran out. No one would blame him, they saw him go all out and he does have that excuse of overexerting himself and he could just say he didn't have the power to do anything more. But it shouldn't be a problem. Once they figure out he's not doing anything the other team will have to go on the offensive and make a move if they want to win. But that's not going to be his job. So long as they give as good as they get his team will still win.
"Well, I'm out of juice. Good luck," he says over the comms.
As Anton sits up in the chair, he feels a bit different. The tingling sensation seems to have gotten a bit worse than normal, especially in his right hand. His hearing seems to also be somewhat hyper-focused as well. When he moves to stand up he actually ends up getting spun a bit as he can almost feel a gust of wind pushing his right side forward, but dismisses that as getting too caught up in their recent match. It was rather bit of fun for him that match. He hadn't ever had to go up against another Wind user before and it was nice to see how he measured up and how they handled their abilities differently. He'll probably get some footage of that Wind user and see if he can't get any ideas for the future. He gets up and starts moving around, trying to work out the tingling sensation and when he glances at his hands it almost looks like his right hand is slightly smaller than the other. This causes him to stop and examine them again more closely. But now the tingling sensation has quieted down to a murmer and will soon go away completely and his hands look normal. The area around him seems to have died down a bit as well, back to its usual amount. He moves over to the entryway, intent on grabbing his outfit again before someone has the audacity to try and steal it again. It has actually happened twice before. Well, technically steal isn't necessarily the best word for it. One person took it just to bring it to him, which stood as very strange to him. Another kept it at the entry way and only agreed to give it back if he took a picture with the individual, which he agreed. In both cases he was polite and professional. It would be annoying if someone stole his outfit, but considering how much wear they go through and how much money he earns it wouldn't really be all that much of a loss if it was stolen.
The tingling sensation is something he's been having to deal with a lot lately. At the very least it seems to be getting worse. He had gone to their doctor to do some tests but they found nothing wrong with him. At least he doesn't have Arilax Bane. Not that he'd have any reason to contract it himself. But having seen Korin's real body and knowing full well what it has done to him, there is that little voice always concerned that he too may get it, even if it isn't contagious. But since going to the big leagues he's found that the tingling sensation is coming more frequently, even sometimes when he hasn't even projected recently. It seems primarily tied to his emotions. That when he gets worked up his hands will tingle. Or his feet. Or his ears of all things.