12 Miles Below

To’Wrathh slid under the chain scything above her, one blade already blocking the followup reversal that had unexpectedly killed her last bout.

It did arrive, and was redirected into a feint before the tail end of the whip cracked straight for the floor where she was currently sliding towards. To’Avalis hadn’t done this particular combination of moves prior, but she had seen the tail end whip crack with that heavy mace. Even if it didn’t hit her directly, there were fractals embedded inside that would detonate a shockwave of force, enough to ruin her footwork and leave her vulnerable.

That had been her fifth death against him. She turned her slide into a roll and handsprung herself upwards, continuing the spin until she was right side up and could unfurl her wings outwards. The mace end slammed into the floor and exploded out into the occult shockwave which her wings greedly absorbed and used to carry her upwards.

The chain was recalled back, links being gobbled up by the hilt of that weapon into whatever occult dimensional folding was going on with that weapon. Before the mace actually reached the very hilt, To’Avalis twisted around on himself, forcing the mace to circle around and then fly right at her in a straight line.

She’d seen this move as well, and knew he’d either wrap the chain around her leg if she dodged, or explode the macetip again to knock her out of the air. She dove forward using her wings to propel herself parallel to the chain, directly at To’Avalis himself. One blade warding the chain off, then twisting on herself after a single wingbeat forward. She’d expose her back to him for a moment, but as she had predicted the occult explosion behind her boomed outwards, and this time she was in the right position to absorb it perfectly.

She redirected the newfound energy pushing her downwards, twisting back into a lunge against the enemy Feather.

It worked. Her increased speed from his mace allowed her to bypass the speed of his short dagger’s defense. Three solid hits before To’Avalis was back in control of the bout, his whip retracted back into the hilt enough to be used again in melee range.

Here, she expected the move that killed her sixth attempt against him. And he didn’t fail to deliver, the whip bouncing off the side of a wall near her feet, jumping back up from the force and racing behind her blind spot, seeking to wrap around from her shoulder downwards.

Her wings flicked out, occult edges lighting up on each wingtip, battering off the attempt. She caught him by surprise.