Staci
Kuouo wields **Infernium**, and may or may not choose to surrender it to wield one of the four enchanted weapons granted by the Custos Regni. Mythos Gryphon, being unarmed, may choose one weapon likewise.

**Kuouo Aiche Dee is chosen to start the battle via coin toss.**
Darrell
```
"Daheh! Guess I'm makin' the first move after all!" 
```

The bandit swiftly unsheathed Infernium, flipping it around by its handle before holding it out horizontally with his left paw. Slightly tuning out the myriad of cheers and boos roaring from the crowd, Kuouo locked in on his opponent. At first glance, she had a relatively average build for a human. The bandit had yet to observe her weapon of choice, and given the new circumstances of moving forward within the tournament, she could very well choose to swap out the spear she had seemingly chosen in her last bout. Most importantly, and what caught the bandit's attention the most, was the obfuscation of her right eye. Certainly a disability he could use to his advantage, but not one so recklessly. After all, the girl had enough confidence to enter the tribulations of battle despite the missing organ and managed to overcome her opponent in the last round. Despite that, and Kuouo being unable to weakly detect any mana resonating from her SOUL, Kuouo wouldn't underestimate her based on those observations just yet. Though finally granted the ability to fight at full strength with no bars held, Kuouo was determined to stay vigilant for any aces up her sleeves.

** **
**Dashing forward with a flair of embers and bravado in his step, Kuouo the Bandit raised his left arm, aiming to test the waters with a diagonal slash from Gryphon's right shoulder down to the beginning of her abdomen.**
Courtney
This round would be more difficult.
She could tell just from the way her opponent held himself that that was the case- not to mention his use of magic right off of the start. And that *Weapon*, whatever it was. She recognized his face... Not that it was a feat in and of itself. He was a famous bandit, and she was a mercenary- knowing of people like him was safer for her and her work.
She'd chosen to keep her same weapon from last round- though it was a replacement, given that she'd... Rather harshly altered her original spear. She was also worried it might give out, after having so much strain put on it last match. But the replacement should do fine.
Her opponent being granted the first move certainly put her at a disadvantage- she hadn't even properly shifted into her own starting stance before he began his attack. A careless mistake, given everything... She'd opened her right side up to an attack, something she'd been hoping to avoid. 
In her position, blocking this attack was unreasonable. She'd have to give ground, even this early into the fight. As his slash began, she would shift herself sharply back, aiming to move into a proper combat stance once she'd reached her destination. This fight was practically an opposite of her last- before, she needed to get as close to her opponent as possible. Now, however, she feared getting that close was the most dangerous thing she could do.
Her eye stayed focused on her opponent, seeing how he would respond to her evasion. A purely non-confrontational dodge backwards, to try and give herself more time to prepare.
Darrell
```
"Yer fast for a human!"
```

Much to the bandit's internal delight, the girl had chosen to keep the spear. The weapon was more than familiar to him, evident by the accumulation of scars under his fur garnered over the years from one Captain of the Custos Regni. The bandit keenly observed the girl's backstep, noting her reaction time — And off-guard at that! Using his prior experience, the bandit, seemingly on instinct, knew that his opponent was reeling back in preperation to use the length of the spear. Still utilizing the advantage of intiative, the bandit continued his momentum forward as his right foot touched the stone-cold marble. With his left paw now pulled in and his poise realigned, his free palm opened, unleashing a blazing lick of hot flames aimed at the girl's hand to further her disadvantage. Meanwhile, his dagger, with flames now crawling upwards from the hilt was thrusted towards the center of her chest. This too, could be countered with another step avoiding the combined length of the blade and his arm, but now, Kuouo's *Pyromancy* Was in effect. Two sources of flames were aimed in his opponent's direction, both ready to continue the onslaught — Should she choose to dodge.
Courtney
She wasn't given as much time as she wanted to rebalance-
She couldn't get into a proper stance to stop his assault, nor plant herself enough to be able to redirect it. The use of his magic certainly made this far more difficult... And given the speed at which he was able to continue after her, dodging was no longer a safe option.

She had to do something now, or this match would already be lost- she'd lose ground continuously until she eventually ran out of ground to lose. So... She had to do something a bit drastic.
Not that it was a panic, of course- she stayed perfectly composed through this... *Non-ideal* Situation, but it was still something she'd rather not have to attempt.

She planted her right foot as strongly as she could, as quickly as she could muster. And, spear clutched firmly in her left hand, she brought herself as close to the ground as possible- sliding her left foot along the ground, spear following just above it as she attempted to do a lunging stab. Her agility allowed her to get close enough to the ground to avoid the attacks that had been aimed at her, but with her positioning she was now at risk.
If she missed, or the attack was ineffective- this would most likely end in her defeat. She was aimed firmly for the goat's lower leg, primarily wanting to strike his ankle. If she could just *Slow down* His ability to approach, she might have a chance at fighting at her maximum striking range.
This had to work, or it would be disastrous.
Darrell
*Opportunity.*

It would beckon the bandit's SOUL, overpowering logic and alluring the caprine fiend's instinct into seizing the chance of a wild assault. As Infernium jabbed into nothingness, Kuouo did nothing to redirect his blade's linear trajectory downwards nor did the flames crackling from both of his palms leap in a blazing arc to singe his opponent's face. Kuouo's momentum still continued forward as her green-eyes locked in place, focusing on the bandit's foot as she anchored herself down and compressed her right leg to spring towards the bandit in a committed attempt to slow down the blonde blur. 

***Infernium*** Left Kuouo's grasp. Abandoned by Kuouo's instinct as mana began to build up at the bottom of his feet. From full output, it was halved, halved, halved, halved, halved, then halved again. The bandit tumbled, slouching his back forward with the palms of his paws aimed at the focal point that was his opponent's mounted body — More specifically her head.

In this position, *Opportunity* Finally revealed itself in its entirety. The bandit's instinctively planned motions would clamp down each paw near the center of his opponent's head, the fire lightly sizzling her hair and scalp before snuffing itself out. Grasping tightly, and without the need of bending his knees, a heavily weakened version of *Blazestep* Would be all Kuo needed to propel himself upward. Kuouo would curve his body back and upwards, utilizing his hardened core muscles into a gymnastic arch using Gryphon's head as a balance beam as the spear just barely missed him by the toe claw. *If Gryphon was unable to contest the bandit at any point before this, Kuouo would continue his acrobatic streak.* His body, now straightened like a knife, vaulted towards his opponent's backside. Kuouo grasped her hair even tighter, twisting his body in a blossom of leftover embers not once but twice! Finally, if given a perfect opportunity to land, Kuouo would pull Gryphon closer to him before ferociously stomping his left paw on the side of her knee for a devestating fracture. Unravelling his left paw with disintegrating flames, the bandit would finally call Infernium, holding the blade up against her left eye. 

And so, the bandit moved forward to enact the entirety of this plan. If every action went as followed, he'd finally speak, a cocky smirk etching across his face as a light bout of ego intoxified each word that followed suit. 

```
"Seems ya can't find yerself in a good position, can ya? Y'can concede or I'll gouge yer other eye out, daheh!" He'd threaten non-chalantly. It was uncertain whether the threat of such cruelty was just an act following the bandit's bravado or genuine intention, enabled by the fact the Royal Physician was there to tend to such serious wounds afterward. Either way, the lukewarm blade sat there at a what seemed like a Planck length from lacerating her pupils.
```
Courtney
It seemed she had.. Underestimated just how outclassed she was in this fight.
She'd been able to see his movment and reaction perfectly well but- wasn't in a position to make an immediate counter. She'd assumed his magic would be slower than this... She hadn't been predicting him to be able to fully shift gears this fast.
Perhaps she just wasn't experienced enough with SOUL magic, yet.
Once his assault took on a far more directly physical form, however, she was much more capable of confronting it.
As the goat attempted to vault over her head, *Specifically* When he tried to move towards her back, she'd take advantage. Given that he was gripping onto her, and that her own forward momentum had slowed by now, she had a chance to actually react- to potentially throw him off balance. Not that she'd be much better off than when the fight had started... But it was still an option to simply keep fighting.
She'd shift some of her weight to better distribute in between her feet. This maneuver was... More difficult, given that she couldn't see her opponent. Any of his reactions from this would be considerably out of her control- and however sharp her other senses were, it didn't guarantee she'd be able to react reasonably at all. Even still. She braced herself, and forcefully twisted both her body and head in a single motion- an attempt to throw off his acrobatic twists specifically. Forcing him to over or under-rotate might allow her a position to push free. She imagined he'd probably be landing on his feet, given his clear acrobatic skill... But it was the only option she could think of at the moment. Her spear was of no use in its current position, and she couldn't easily react to his magic at this range either.
She *Had* To make distance, or this was all over.
Darrell
It seemed that the motions Kuo's instincts had seen fit had not gone completely to plan. 

*``'spose life ain't an anime after all...'``* 😔

Indeed, he was still able to manuever out of the spear's range and re-position himself above his opponent, yet her body jolted itself from the danger of Kuouo furthering the restriction of her movement. Kuouo's body, with Gryphon's own not anchored in one position, twisted itself just a 2 1/4ths of a spin before landing. It wasn't much time, and the locks of white hair were still intertwined with the bandit's, but it gave an ample opportunity to perhaps continue pushing forward before the bandit's weight could completely settle on his ankles...

Though that wouldn't stop the bandit from rolling with what he was given. Infernium was on the ground, fire magic had yet to spark back to life at the discretion of humanity's quick-to-burn hair, and the bandit had yet to fully settle on the ground in that quarter of a second. Yet, hidden within his Medeian biology and veiled only by his thin and semi-muscular build was Kuouo's own striking force. If *Opportunity* Wasn't seized by Gryphon, then he would purloin it for himself, yanking her head downward with a devastating strike within the face area. Forehead, nose, under the chin — Which-and-wherever he could land the knee in attempt to either discombobulate her, knock her out, shatter something, or some awful combination of the three.
Courtney
She didn't have as much time to react as she had hoped.
Even having thrown him slightly off-balance with her move, it still hadn't been enough to dislodge him from his advantaged position- something which he was short to follow up on, as she was sure. Feeling her head being pulled forwards, she instinctively brought up an arm to block her face from the incoming knee. It wasn't a very calculated move, truly... Mostly just an attempt to keep damage off of her face. Given how important her eyes were to, well- *Everything*, her body practically acted on its own defended them.

Even still, her arm wasn't much better of a blocking tool. The strike from the goat's leg would almost certainly break something- or at least get damn close. Her only reaction was a sharp, momentary wince. She forced herself to keep her eye open and on his leg, even despite the considerable pain. She was in a *Very* Bad position, now. He'd been allowed to close to his optimal position, and she wasn't in a location where she could realistically use her spear. Ideas swirled in her mind, mixed with the pain from her damaged arm. She couldn't think of a way out of this- disarming him from this position would be impossible, even without her arm hurt like this. She didn't have any other backup weapons to close the distance in physical ability at this range, either... `[keen]` was only useful for preparing herself to block at this point. And blocking, clearly, wasn't going to be working out very well.

This battle wasn't going to last much longer, as far as she could tell. But she still didn't surrender.
She was no coward, even if she didn't have a SOUL to back up that will.
Darrell
*Opportunity, purloined.*

Despite Kuouo's opponent being able to see his movements in perfect clarity, any attempts to act against them would be ineffective as the bandit's nimble yet assertive movements continued to swarm and overwhelm the mercenary woman. Kuouo's rising knee, initially aimed for a fracturing blow to the face, was cushioned by her forearm; the spongieness of her arm's flesh was just enough to absorb the force and prevent any of her bones from breaking.

Kuouo grunted, firmly planting both of his feet back onto the ground, still anchored to his opponent through his tightened grasp around her hair. With a wisp of flames summoned from his right paw, Kuouo melted the lock of hair away, swiping downwards and clamping onto her injured arm. He would attempt to pull it down, removing the impromptu-face guard, and shove himself to his opponent's right side in order to restrict some of the movement of her free arm. His left paw, still disrespectfully clasping a bundle of the human's white hair, continued to hold her in place.

```
"Daheheh..!"
```

A devilish smirk came to be on the caprine's face, and it would become all to close for Gryphon to see. If she was unable to protect her face or otherwise break from the bandit's hold, Kuouo would reel his head back, tensing up his chest and delivering his body weight through a crushing ``headbutt.`` Aided with an explosive display of fire magic pushing him forward, it would be powerful enough to finally tear away his opponent's hair from his grasp. In that moment, the mercenary would either have the choice to stay headstrong and clash heads with the bandit once more or allow herself to stumble backwards, possibly onto the ground. If the latter followed suit, the bandit would finally relinquish his onslaught, taking only a step away to return Infernium to his left hand.

```
"Ya know, I know I didn't give ya the pleasantries or whatever the hell's considered respectable inna mock battle or whatever..." The bandit flipped Infernium around in his hand, engulfing the dagger in flames once more. "But I gotta ask, izzat all y'can really do in a life or death battle?" His question was genuine, though marred with an egotistical boastfulness. Flames trailed through the air as the tip of his dagger pointed towards Gryphon. "Yer fightin' like ya got nothin' to lose — and I mean that in the bad way." The bandit made quite the provoking comment; he could see in his opponent's eyes that she was determined and brave, yet from what he could see, they lacked a certain passion — Though perhaps that was just her stoicism. 
```
Courtney
She would choose her own, third option as a response to the goat's headbutt. Given his very clear windup, he gave her quite a bit of time to respond- and given just how *Obvious* His plan of attack was, she was able to prepare quite well. Rather than try to block again, or allow herself to be struck in full, she rolled her upper body and head forwards, in order to minimize damage from the headbutt. As the blow would strike her, she'd use the moment to give herself proper room to recover- pulling away from his grasp and ending up low to the ground, a few feet away from him on the arena floor. This maneuver did unfortunately leave her spear on the ground- a sacrifice to allow her just that *Bit* More time to get better distance. She'd have to pick it up to continue fighting, but for now...
```diff
+ "This combat is a test of souls. This... Arena."
```
She ran her hand over the arena. She could feel the hum of its enchantment through her skin- resonating through the stone beneath her.
```diff
+ "It amplifies the power of a SOUL."
```
She straightened up as she continued speaking, taking her initial combat position- albeit without her spear this time.
```diff
+ "I, however, lack a SOUL. And thus, this amplification is worthless to me."
```
Her gaze didn't seem the slight bit concerned. Her eye locked on the goat in front of her, unwavering- practically unblinking.
```diff
+ "Were this a fight to a death under different circumstances- somewhere else, or somewhen else, things might be different. I might have my other eye, for one- or a different weapon. And that SOUL magic of yours... Might be less of a problem, for me."
```
The end of her short explanation. She knew it was just excuses- excuses she wasn't meant to make. But she felt some... *Need* To explain herself. Even if she would continue the fight like this, she wanted her opponent to at least understand the situation from her view. 
After all, she could always see things quite clearly.

Human... Certainly, that was the term that would first come to mind when looking at her. So very- human. And yet, it was... Inaccurate, to call her such.

Her eye could, of course, track infernum's attack perfectly. It doing anything else would have been- a shocking surprise, to say the least. Even in her small shifts as she prepared to approach, she could see the flaming cross moving to follow her. Fortunately, it seemed to be slower than she was.

And thus, she planned her attack in the moment. She sharply shifted to her left, intending to maneuver around the attack before it could properly track her- and directly to her spear, which still lay abandoned on her ground. If she could reclaim her weapon, she would be able to continue to fight. Especially given that her opponent seemed to have given up close-quarters combat, at least for the moment... She had an opportunity.

Were she able to reach her weapon, she intended to follow up by moving to just outside of her maximum range, to take up proper position.

Mythos Gryphon was not human, no... However she may look it, she was certainly not. She had only even been this 'human' since she was dragged into this still unfamiliar world- but she would not allow that to restrict her in this fight.
Darrell
As Kuouo's crossed flames leapt from the hilt of his dagger, he exhaled deeply, taking a sharp breath and reconstituting the blade into it's ACT 1 form with ease. Impressively enough, his opponent managed to move out of the special attack's crosshairs before it could properly home in on her, causing the crescents of flames to bank to the right only slightly before crashing into the arena wall in a fiery explosion that would've left anyone hit by it looking like a cartoon character holding a stick of dynamite in their hands.

*``Shoulda expected that by now, daheh! Wastin' mana's what I get for bein' flashy I guess. Ah t' hell with it. Might as well look t' end it now before I fumble the bag.``* 

With a light chuckle under his breath, Kuouo tracked Gryphon and her feeble intentions to re-obtain her spear. With another sharp breath and Infernium switched over to his right hand, mana began gathering at the base of his feet the caprine bandit leaned forward. His opponent saw the opportunity to reclaim her weapon, and the bandit, with a malicious smirk, sought to steal it right from under her nose. As his opponent took just the slightest moment to reach down and grab her spear, a pineapple-whipped blur zipped past her at incomprehensible speeds...

*For just a split second, and at nearly 853 km/h, the bandit utilized his* ***Blazestep*** *Technique in its totality, holding Infernium in the inwards position as the blade, aimed at Gryphon's carotid artery, sought to end the fight here and now.*
Courtney
One thing that could be said of gryphon was that she was fast- certainly, it was true. She had an above average running speed, and an impeccable reaction time. But... 'fast' isn't always fast *Enough*. She hadn't let getting her spear distract her from her opponent, of course- she'd already seen that he was capable of shifting tactics on the fly, and she wasn't going to risk being caught off guard by another close-to-melee from the medei. 

Her preparation, however, was not enough to compete with her opponent's unknown factor. ***Blazestep***. She was aware he could use magic, and that his weapon were magical- she'd determined that from their fight rather easily. But she wasn't aware of just *How* He could use his magic.

Some may have used the term 'a train wreck in slow motion', to describe what occured from her perspective. Her eye was capable of tracking every movement of his- the shift of mana in the air as he gathered energy through infernum, every inch of movement he took even at ***Blazestep***'s immense speed. But her body couldn't keep up with her perception. Her hands began to rise to block the knife but... Were unable to reach above her chest.

She was an instant too slow. An instant that would most likely cost her the match.

Her gaze didn't change as this information became clear to her. After all, she had nothing to truly gain in this tournament- she had been aware from the beginning she would lose in a vain similar to this. She simply could not compete without a *SOUL*, or both eyes to compensate. Her defeat had been clear from the beginning. She only wished she could have landed one good strike on her opponent.
Darrell
The flames surrounding Kuouo extinguish as the bandit flipped the dagger around in his right paw. Resetting his posture, he turned around to see his opponent staring at the ground, just barely reaching for the wound that had slashed across the side of their neck and rendered the flesh apart by several centimeters. Despite what would be considered nothing else but a win, Kuouo could only feel a mixture of emotions. His ego flaunted Infernium in front of him. His empathy for life, however, reflected as lament from bringing his opponent to death's door. Last but not least, Gryphon's reaction to it all — Not quite apathetic, yet entirely resigned to her fate — made the bandit's victory in the end feel... Kinda empty.

```
"... Ya oughta go and get that healed up by the mage." The bandit said in a serious tone, the air of bravado and confidence replaced by just a hint of sullenness in his voice. Raising his left paw into a sideways finger-gun, the bandit shot forth a small bolt flame towards his opponent's neck, cauterizing the game-ending wound for just a moment. "Even 'without a SOUL', I 'spose ya did well enough..." Kuouo retracted his paw, sheathing his dagger and beginning his trek across the stage to get his mana restored by the royal mage. 
```

Confident in securing the win, he walked past Gryphon with only a glance to the side. He tilted his head... Why did she join this tournament? A fight to the death utilizing and amplifying the power of the SOUL, yet, if her claims about not having one were true... Then perhaps she was far more determined than he initially thought, yet, what was that determination aimed towards? On the surface, beyond self-preservation in a faux battle to the death, the bandit fought to fuel his infamy and whatever prize lied at the end. Though, deep within, he envisioned the security of his freedom being prosecuted. The ability to do as he pleased in hand with loving his lifelong partner, his pseudo-daughter, his mercenary best friend, and whoever else he happened to lock arms with within the walks of life. And so, the bandit could only wonder once more... In a battle to the edge of eternity, did Gryphon truly have something to fight for?
Staci
*`"Decisive,"`* The Royal Physician commented, his head tilting as he analyzed the battle, *`"But not excessive."`*
With a nod, the avian Medei stared toward Gryphon. Without even needing to move from his current position, he motioned toward the deeply-injured combatant, a potent surge of magical energy specifically targeting the wound upon her neck, sealing it wholly and rejuvenating the adjacent, damaged tissue. The cauterized tissue springs forth new and healthy flesh, wrapping over the damaged vein as though, altogether, the injury was never there.

```
"As ye' like it," The coleopteran warrior tilted her head backward, her antennae swaying lightly.
"So? How changes thy view of the battle?"```

*`"He showed better judgment than I expected,"`* He said simply again, though a sense of acknowledgment permeated his statement.
*`"It is strange to me why the Captain disdains him so."`*

The avian Medei's eyes shifted aglance as he leaned toward the arena, his winged arms still folded behind his back.

```
"The same goes for th' crowd. He's a common thief, ye' know that?"```

*`"So he is."`*

```
"And 's-for-th' opponent, she is more peculiar than he."
"The stage does not lie. She is without SOUL."```

*`"I do not believe there are spells without fault,"`* He retorted. *`"Even the greatest of spells wrought by our ancestors."`*
*`"No living thing can exist without a SOUL."`*

```
"Ockham... 's it were? Novacula Occami, aye..."
"You are much like a natural philosopher," She may have grinned had she lips, "But that is not somethin'-t' disrespect."```

The two finished their brief conversation after spectating the end of the duel, as the avian Medei stepped forward, potent mana swirling around his arms. Rejuvenating energies coalesced and suffused both combatants' bodies as the fresh wounds as left by the battle began to heal. Then the Captain of the Custos Regni stepped forward, a deep breath taken in—