Semi finals second match II

The battle had barely crossed the ten minute mark. And yet the time allotted to it was four hours.

To hold out that long against an enemy that was invincible. It was the definition of insanity.

And yet Valkyrie was attempting to accomplish just that.

Minerva made the same boast against Dark Lord Ithere. That was a ruse of course but I don’t think Valkyrie is intending to pull of such subterfuge.

My first impression on Minerva’s newly gained powers wasn’t necessarily that she was faster, or stronger. But her tenacity and stamina had increased tremendously. Back at her prior fights she started to sweat and show signs of fatigue. This was not the case here. Minerva effortlessly kept up an insane barrage of attacks for minutes on end without even taking as much as a second to catch her breath.

Her weapon of choice for this were two jet black axes.

“This is shadow magic, my Lord.” Sanakia informed me. “Foul, evil magic conjured up by that fiend Ithere. Blocking these is ill advised unless you are in possession of a holy weapon.”

Valkyrie seemed to agree as she stoically evaded every single attack. Even one hit could spell disaster. This was tremendously stressful. Even watching it was exhausting.

“Why isn’t that foolish Valkyrie attempting to get the girly boy killed?”, Hebi-san pondered annoyed. “If she did this victory may yet be in her grasp.”

That was certainly an option but I struggle to think Minerva would fall against her own ploy. At any rate, Valkyrie had clearly not the slightest inclination to employ such tactics. In fact, she made sure to give Ben a wide berth as she continued to evade strike after strike.

“Can she keep that up?”, I asked.

Sylphid nodded absentmindedly. Aiju stared up at her with a concerned expression. The martial artist didn’t even pet the catgirl anymore. I never saw her quite this tense.

For now at least, Minerva was unable to get a hit in. Well, perhaps that should be expected. Valkyrie was purely focused on dodging. Add in her natural evasion and Dark Lord or not, hitting her like this should be impossible.

This insane attack continued unimpeded for over half an hour. Finally, Minerva tried to catch Valkyrie off guard by throwing an axe but the strongest Galmon didn’t miss a single beat and casually avoided the projectile.

“Impressive!”, Minerva shouted with a good natured smile as a new shadow axe formed in her hand. It didn't look like she was tired in the slightest, but the same could also be said for Valkyrie. Both fighters appeared as if they had just entered the arena moments ago. “Never thought they exist, you know? Someone who actually lives up to their reputation.”

On the other hand, Valkyrie’s face was a tense mask as she watched her opponents every move. “More”, the strongest Galmon demanded. “You are capable of more. Show me more.”

I could sense it.

Beyond the Valkyrie’s unbroken will and concentration lies a sheer unbridled lust for battle.

“Someone’s enjoying herself”, the Dark Lord laughed. “Alright, alright. Let me show you something more.”

It soon became apparent what Minerva was referring to. The chest guard on her back made an ugly shrieking noise before it ripped completely, and, grotesquely, two long, slimy, black appendixes emerged from within.

Minerva just grew two additional arms.

“What the fuck?”, I couldn’t help but blurt out upon the monstrous spectacle.

“Cease your gaping, foolish Mari Beta”, Hebi-san hissed. “This much is merely par for the course for a Dark Lord.”

Right, perhaps instead of arms it would be more accurate to call them black masses. But they seemed to have the same movement capability as regular limps.

“Bloody cunt”, Cassandra simply cursed.

And just like before, two black axes materialized in each of Minerva’s new arms. With a savage grin, she charged at her opponent once more.

The four axes mirrored a tornado of destruction as they slashed and hacked at Valkyrie. It didn't appear as if her newborn arms were any less capable then the original ones. Minerva wielded each of the four weapons with deathly precision.

And yet, Valkyrie still evaded all of them.

“C-can anyone still follow this?”, asked Fisti.

...

I couldn't.

All I saw was a blur. I don't think even my training with Femto would allow me to account for this type of carnage.

Sylphid seemed the only one of us that managed to keep track of the action.

Well, and Valkyrie of course.

Even as grotesque as this was, it didn't change the tide of battle in any substantial way. Four arms or two made no difference as long as Valkyrie kept her distance and stayed purely on the defense.

Another fifteen minutes of this relentless **** passed.

“She...might actually pull it off”, Cassandra stated, seemingly in disbelief of her own words, as the bells of Rasheul cathedral chimed, heralding the conclusion of the first hour of this match.

“When Valk fights defensively”, Sylphid began. “Her evasion increases by another factor of ten.”

By ten? If her base evasion is already at 99% that means the probability to hit her is now one in a thousand?

“And she still has her shield”, Hebi-san added. “Any attack that will come through still has a chance to be blocked.”

“And she most certainly will!”, agreed Sanakia. “As a fellow Galmon I can assure you of this! The Valkyrie is the strongest!”

I suppose a bit of cautious optimism was warranted.

One hour.

Valkyrie has made it through a quarter of the match without receiving as much as a single scratch. She certainly had to use her shield a few times, which unlike her master did show signs of wear. But the few nicks and scratches it suffered where nowhere near a substantial amount of damage.

Her stamina, if Beatrice’s insane story form earlier was to be believed, should not be an issue in this match.

There was not a hint that Valkyrie’s concentration had slipped either. To keep such a high amount of discipline up for an hour should be impossible and yet the strongest Galmon did just that.

Was this the same for Minerva? Dark Lord’s certainly had tremendously enhanced capabilities. But they still adhered to the same principle as every other living being on the continent. It might take much longer but just as everyone else, they do inevitably get tired.

If Valkyrie can fight Minerva to a standstill...

It happened just when a certain complacency set in.

Like a black flash Minerva hurled all four of her axes towards Valkyrie.

I am convinced pretty much anyone would have been obliterated by that sudden surprise attack. As far as the Galmon was concerned however, her opponent might as well not have bothered. She deftly avoided all four projectiles.

But unlike last time, the axes never impacted the ground.

Drawing a cruel arc, they flew back at Valkyrie. Not missing a beat, the Galmon avoided again but by then Minerva had four more axes ready and charged at her. Meanwhile, the flying axes never stopped, like a boomerang they kept returning, defying all the laws of physics as they orbited around their prey.

In other words, the number of weapons Valkyrie had to deal with doubled once again.

And it wasn't stopping here.

Minerva once more threw her existing axes and conjured four more up. Then the process repeated again.

8 turned to 12 which turned to 16 which turned to 20.

“Move towards the referee, you moron!” shouted Cassandra, evidently **** about the cruel reality of what was unfolding here. “Get him killed!”

But Valkyrie did nothing of the sort. She simply continued to evade as the arena grew more and more dark with a storm of axes. At the beginning she managed to destroy the odd axe here and there with a well timed punch but as they increased more and more she no longer had that luxury.

Relying on her one in a thousand hit rate was all she could.

But in the end it was a simple matter of math.

With four axes the chance to get hit was 1:250. With eight it was 125. With 16 it was 62.5.

And finally, at the eighty minute mark, Valkyrie could no longer avoid them.