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Beatrice (Wild Arms 3) |
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Two outings and the Dream Demon still hasn't managed to turn the Duelling League into her own personal playground? This is nothing more than a travesty to the mighty dream demon - however, third time's the charm, right? Right. And her first hapless victim this time around just happens to be her favorite kind of opponent: a mere mortal, and one with delusions of grandeur, at that! Easily manipulated, just like a string puppet. And he's even a fellow resident of the Wild Arms series. Trouncing the lad might not be quite as satisfying as putting Virginia and her cohorts in their place, but it's the closest Bea can get (at least until she's in charge and calling every match herself!). Arnaud lacks innate resistance against Bea's perfect sleep status--which, reapplied with every hit of her dreaded Nightmare attack, shall drown the Drifter in a deadly, endless dream. One shot and the unfortunate youth is essentially down for the count. |
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Arnaud is back, and ready to go all the way to a championship! While he's facing a new opponent in the same old division, this shouldn't prove to be a challenge. A Dream Demon? Please! Dream Demons don't stand a chance against Arnaud's Razor Sharp Intellect®! Beatrice's Nightmare will be ineffective once Arnaud dons a protective badge.When Beatrice's one trick is blocked, she's basically screwed, giving Arnaud all the time in the world to take her down. Arnaud's notable magical resilience shall ward him from the worst of Beatrice's magic. His own magic, on the other hand, should prove more than effective - Slow Down, Fragile, Hyper and Hi-Blast will all prove useful in downing the little girl. Once Beatrice is weakened enough, Arnaud can just pepper her with feather knives in a heartbeat. With superior speed and everything else, there's nothing that can stop Arnaud as he proves the supremacy of mind over matter! |
Tide " A dream demon?" " Yeah. Well at least that's what the description of the match would describe her as", replied the cocky drifter. He let some of his hair drift over his eyes, making it difficult to see what he was really thinking. A calm voice came from the girl beside him, " Those match descriptions aren't always accurate. Maybe they're just trying to make it sound more grand than usual?" " I highly doubt it. It is true that match bulletins will go out of their way to make matches more exciting than they should. But they do for both sides. And really, why just stop at 'Dream demon' if they wanted it to sound more fierce?" He stopped walking for a couple of seconds and looked up. He had fallen short once. In fairness, he didn't actually fight but decided to concede the match that time. He knew he was outclassed that time. Is he simply going to concede this one too, just because he felt he couldn't win? The girl spoke again, noting his sudden stop, "Are you worried, Arnaud?" " Yeah, perhaps I am. The last time I fought a demon, I needed 3 of my friends to do it. And when we done, we were exhausted. I'm not exactly sure my odds of this match are exactly good" She took one of his hands, and held onto it tightly. He was nervous, and she could tell. Looking up at him, she spoke gently, "Sometimes, you just have to believe in yourself. Trust your instincts and see what happens. If you worry and fret all the time, you won't get anything accomplished. One person's power is often greater than what they think. " He didn't speak but only stared at her, a little bit in disbelief, "Are you serious?" She smiled, "It helped out your friend when you were on your jouney, did it not?" The drifter shrugged, and his worried complexion was replaced with the more relaxed one people often saw him with, "Maybe. You know, I'm surprised at how you know exactly what to say to calm me down" "I wasn't always within the ranks of godlike. It took me several tries before I got a successful run. So I know what you're going through right now", she twirled around, her face away from his, "Come on, weren't we going to meet up with everyone else and grab something to eat?" He nodded, although with one lingering question still on his mind. "I never got your name" She looked shocked, but realized that she never really did formally introduce herself. They were interrupted at the time as an announcement was being made. 'How funny', she thought to herself. Carrying out such a long conversation with a fellow person from the same series but never giving out her name. "My name is Cecilia. Very pleased to meet you" --- Something wasn't right. Arnaud could feel it. He had woke up, got dressed and left early without telling anyone just so he could relax himself. Still, not a single soul being awake at this time? Unheard of. There were surely going to be at least a couple of people awake. He had decided to check up on Jude before leaving, and he realized he was still asleep. At first he didn't think much of it, but now... He stepped into the arena. As his shoe hit the floor, his suspicion of the situation only rose as a loud echo could be heard. He ran towards the centre of the arena and certainly enough, the only person to be there was the dream demon herself. "I've been waiting. For someone who boasts about their intellect, it sure took you a while to get here" Arnaud frowned. This wasn't what he needed in the morning. He didn't wake up to here some form of trash talking, "I had a couple of things I wanted to confirm for myself before rushing here. What I want to know is why you decided to put everyone to sleep. You could have simply placed me to sleep and won by default. So why?" "I wanted to see you struggle in vain at trying to win. I know your fighting style; you're not the type that presses in with devastating force. You prefer to slowly whittle your way down. So let's see what happens when you are forced to win in the way you are uncomfortable with. But don't worry, I'll play 'fair' " "I'm not as nice as I look! You're in for a big surprise if you're going to underestimate me" And with a swift stroke, Arnaud flung his throwing knife right at Beatrice. Only to have her disappear and evade the attack. He quickly jumped back before he was caught off guard. Beatrice smirked as she spotted an opening. With a quick chant, a large mass of dark energy hurled toward where Arnaud was going to land. "I'll send that right back!", matching the timing, the spell bounced off a magical wall and struck Beatrice. The dream demon lauged as she absorbed the hit with little effect. She chased after him as he used his small Jumps to place some distance between them. Arnaud found it hard to catch her with his Blasts, but likewise, she was having difficulty trying to hit him. He evaded another attack as he leaped off the stairs. As he landed, she then performed a different chant. "Try dodging this!" Within seconds, Arnaud felt a migraine developing, "W-w-what....?" "Resist if you wish. But as long as you are connected to the mortal plane with sleep, I can control your brain waves and place you to rest" He tried standing, struggling for a few moments before regaining balance, "Ugh...at this rate..." "Your magical energy is helping you stay awake. But you won't be able to keep this up for long. It was fun while it lasted. Now sleep like a good boy" Will it end this way? He slouched over as he felt himself becoming more and more fatigued. He thought back to the events leading up to here. Believing in yourself...could he still possibly win and upgrade? Is he going to lose, before advancing in a single match? "I won't...let...it end this way!" and with a quick motion, Arnaud stepped into a stance. His feet placed apart as his hands drew into his garb pulling out a series of multiple knives. "Time to unleash my secret weapon!" "Oh? And what exactly will you do when your magical reserves are low and your body exhausted?" Without speaking another word, Arnaud proceeded to throw each set of his knives in a seemless fashion. Quickly infusing them with a small bit of remaining magical energy, he tossed them at great velocity before they hit the dream demon, who had thought she won. He then took one of his last knives and charged it with all the energy he had left, "And with this single...polished strike...!" The small projectile flew in slow motion towards its target. As it struck the dream demon, now in a state of surprise at the recovering drifter, she was envelopped by an echoing boom. "Burst Explosion!" The resulting charge in the last knife had set of all the others, completely destroying Beatrice in a magical energy blast. Arnaud dropped back to his knee as he stopped to catch his breath. He had won, and once the DL refs come by, he will end up winning by default as Beatrice won't be able to attend in fighting condition. " Trust in myself huh?" He thought, "Maybe I will continue giving it a shot. Thanks Cecilia." Beatrice: 30 |
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