Vess kept smirking at the spider-woman. It seemed that at the moment, they were at a stalemate. Despite the fact that Vess stayed absolutely still, she planned out every move in her mind. Every possibility was carefully thought out. If the spider charged, she would have dodged to the left, and then while the spider had been turning, would have thrown the dagger at her torso. Undoubtedly, it would had either missed its mark completely, or hit elsewhere on the spider’s human body. If it didn’t, then she would have jumped back. If it had, she would have charged in that split second it hit. And the web of moves kept branching off, depending on possible reactions of the drider. Unfortunately, the web was going to force Vess’s hand and much to her dismay, she would have to make the first move. Allowing a spider to lay their web was a dangerous and foolish thing to do.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, while she kept planning, the platform started to move. From the corner of her eye, she could see the dust blowing away and grass appearing. Well crap. The blood wasn’t just for show or as a taunt. In almost all scenarios, Vess used it along with the dust it mixed with to throw into the opponent’s eyes to momentarily blind her for an opportunity. Her first attack would have been at the joints of the legs. No matter what the spider would do, she planned on sliding beneath the spider’s body, using the longer blade to cut the joints on one side, rendering those three legs useless. It wouldn’t have completely rendered her immobile, but it would have helped. She then would have either done it again or jumped over the spider or some other evasive maneuver depending on where she was, to get to the blood/dust mixture. It couldn’t just be dust to throw into the eyes. Dust was easy to wipe away or cry out. Mixed with blood, the dust would get under the eyelids and stuck there far longer.<br/><br/>But now the dust was gone, and with it was the series of moves that Vess had thought out. On top of that, the web was hindering her ability to slide under the spider. Her fists clenched, the only outward sign that she was getting frustrated. Long nails dug into her palms, further opening the cut on her left hand, blood dripping from her knuckles. She needed to come out of this with as little damage as possible. Who knew what would happen once these rounds were over. Whether it was torture or another fight, she needed as much energy and the least amount of injuries possible.<br/><br/>Vess tested the strength of her abilities. Her shadow on the ground rippled. The woman glanced at it out of the corner of her eye. Good. It was still there, though weak and limited. She hadn’t felt any of her power in the cell. Perhaps they had returned it to her in the arena. Whether it was because they didn’t believe her to be able to survive without it or it provided a more interesting show, it didn’t matter to Vess. It would make this fight a lot easier. She would just have to move fast, and fast was one of her specialties. A grin spread on her face. The drider’s eyes narrowed as she continued to spin her web.<br/><br/>Barely crouching, Vess shot up in the air. The woman practically flew at the height she jumped. If only she could spread her wings and just fly away right there. However, she could feel the pressure of the collar keeping her in the arena. Already, at this height, her head felt like it was going to implode. She knew that the feeling would worsen if she ever decided to venture further. Of course, she also was aware of the fact that once she fell back to the platform, the pressure would subside.<br/><br/>Now, Vess hadn’t merely just jumped in the air. The sun was to her back, forcing the woman to crane her neck to follow her movements. When Vess’s form was encircled by Hell’s hot sun, the drider attempted to shade her eyes by raising one arm to get a better view of Vess. Not entirely part of Vess’s plan either. Almost… now. The assassin’s shadow connected with the spider’s shadow. The second the two shadows blended, black tendrils shot from the spider’s shadow, wrapping themselves tightly around its form. Black ropes bound her human and spider body. Legs were pressed together, almost knocking her off balance. The larger tendrils wrapped tightly around the body of the spider, keeping it in place. More tendrils still wrapped around her human form, binding her arms, one at her side and one still raised up.<br/><br/>As the tendrils shot up from the joined shadows, Vess dropped onto the spider’s back. Something this big would take longer to hold and the collar’s power didn’t allow for that. Normally, she wouldn’t even have to blend her shadow initially. But her power was severely weakened, and Vess needed to take extra precautionary steps to ensure her powers would stay long enough.<br/><br/>The spider-woman growled at the assassin, who didn’t even give the creature a chance to put together any scathing words. Before even straightening up or turning around to face the human body, Vess stabbed backwards with the short sword. The blade pierced the woman’s heart. A horrible screech erupted from the woman, even as the assassin twisted the sword within the woman. The drider writhed within the binds of the shadow tendrils. Finally, Vess spun around, grabbing the blade with the other hand. She continued turning, using the momentum the cut through the ribs and half of her torso. Cutting her hand had served another purpose: to test the sharpness of the blade. She had to know it could cut through bone. The cut on her hand had been clean. The cut through half the woman was anything but. The blade was sharp enough to cut through bone, but not sharp enough to cut cleanly. The cut through the flesh was jagged and rough, like a cut from a serrated knife.<br/><br/>Blood splattered along the path of the sword. As the tendrils started to retreat and the drider started to collapse, Vess jumped off the back of the spider, flipping in the air to land facing the body. Even as the body fell to the ground, the tendrils left seemed to squeeze harder. The body kept falling, but the tendrils holding the upper body seemed to pull the other way. With a sickening rip, the shadows ripped the remainder of the upper torso from the spider’s body, completely ripping the woman’s body in half. Blood spurted from the stumps of the body and the upper torso, the two halves of the heart still beating, pouring the blood out in streams and fountains.<br/><br/>With the task completely, the tendrils fade away. The upper half fell to the ground to join the rest of the body, blank eyes staring at the sky. Vess looked at the Prince’s box finally, glancing at each one of their faces personally. There was no anger, nor fear in her eyes. There was no emotion behind them. Pure calculating eyes. Despite blood gushing from the corpse, creating a pool around the body and stains around the platform from splash damage, the only blood on Vess was that from her own inflicted wound. Somehow, no other blood managed to get on her, a physical impossibility. Even as the platform retreated back into the cell, Vess continued to stare emotionlessly at the Princes.<br/>