It was time to set things into motion. She had sent a letter to a particular person and afterward prepared her next course of action. She was aware of the fact that there were corrupt Rune Knights, and of course the thugs and hoodlums that most cities had, and so Esperia had figured out a plan of sorts. In order to root out this corruption Esperia had openly revealed her presence within Baska, going as far as revealing her location which was quite symbolic in a way.

The Great Baska Rock was a place where plenty of martial artists had fought in tournaments in the past, and while this was not a tournament, Esperia had an idea of how to make it just as appealing to would be challengers:

She had promised that in exchange for a one on one battle, Esperia would neither flee or teleport away, which was something that had led to various people to try to best her in the hope of obtaining the hefty bounty on top of her head. The silver-haired witch gazed quietly ahead of her. The outskirts of the arena were littered with the unconscious bodies of those false heroes, their bodies battered and bruised while Esperia heard the approaching footsteps of a new challenger.

"It seems that another one has arrived, and this one doesn't seem like the others~ Please tell me your name stranger, mine is Esperia."

----
Strength :
501
Speed :
50 (+90(Frying Pan) - 60 (Urudain) - 30 (Armored Titan)
Constitution :
111
Endurance :
123 (+60 Zameen earring)
Intelligence :
510


 

EQUIPMENT

Left Arm: Frying Pan - Prosthethic

Right Arm: Urdurain - Prosthethic

Head: Armored Titan

Body: Jurvag's robes

Ring: Bone Ring

Relic:  Millennium Eye

Necklace: N/A

Earrings: Zameen Earrings

Well, this was a welcomed surprise in Shichiro's eyes. An offer had been made in order for him to go and deal with a high value target. The surprise was the letter was from the individual in question themselves offering themselves up if they managed to lose. Placing his hand onto his face, Shichiro began to laugh at the irony of this before setting down the letter at the inn he was in and heading out his room door. Leaving the inn as a whole, Shichiro placed his hands into his pockets, traveling to the destination that was set by the author of the letter.

Arriving at the aforementioned location in question, he was currently located at Baska Rock in order to meet with the mysterious individual in hopes of being able to apprehend the suspect in question, one way or the other. There, he had spotted a mysterious individual surrounded by a litter of bodies. Shichiro could not confirm if they were still breathing or not but that was not his concern at the moment. For now, he wondered if this individual was as powerful as the number of bodies surrounding them implies they were. Wearing his battle equipment of his Bruiser's gauntlet on his right arm, BattleCast Hood, Amulet of Magic Resist and Rune Knight Pendant.

Walking towards the individual, he pulled his hands out of his pockets as he walked towards, halting his movement when he was within five meters of the target. "Well, well, what brought this manner of madness," Shichiro said to the witch, in a rather curious tone, rather than immediately responding to her question. Clenching both hands into fists and bringing them up to his foot apart from his face and parallel to each other, Shichiro stood with his feet shoulder-width apart. Taking a step back with his right foot, orienting it so his feet are at right angles to each other. His left leg  relaxed, with the majority of his weight on the right foot.

"The name's Shichiro, ex-mercenary now a captain of the Rune Knights. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, now we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way but judging by the letter, it seems you've already made your choice since you went out of your way to set this fight up instead of just turning yourself in," Shichiro had continued as he entered his stance. "Here goes nothing", Shichiro said slowly closing the distance between himself the the girl, initiating the fight by throwing a left jab, aiming at her sternum if he managed to reach her successfully.

Equipment and Stats:

Indeed, to Shichiro it must had been an outlandish situation, for someone who by law was considered a criminal to offer the Rune Knights the chance to arrest her.

Noticing the drifting gaze of the Rune Knight Esperia merely responded in a calm tone. "They are merely unconcious, should you desire to you can take them to the hospital later. I made certain to avoid their vitals so some medical treatment and rest should be enough.

Shichiro, former mercenary who now served as a high-ranked member of the Rune Knights. It made Esperia's gaze linger on the man for a bit. For her own outfit it seemed Esperia had come equally prepared, the Armored Titan currently having blended in with the scales on her neck and cheeks, ready to expand into its helmet form when she desired it. Jurvag had been quiet, aware of what the witch had been planning and merely served as an expensive-looking robe that covered her body.

Curiously enough it didn't seem Esperia was armed, at least not in the traditional sense of the word.

"I guess you could say that I have my reasons for this challenge." While she observed Shichiro taking a combative stance Esperia raised her arms upwards, the obsidian scaled prosthetics becoming visible while the silver-haired witch made sure to pay attentionon her footing, while her hands were about the height of her chest, ready to deal with an incoming attack, she also braced herself, her footing steadied so that should her enemy carry an attack with overwhelming strength, she would be unlikely to stagger from the blow. "Perhaps I tell you during the questioning, should you manage to best me."

Right now her weight was distributed fairly, although likely lighter in weight than the former mercenary, she knew the mixture of strength and her prosthetics would likely help a lot in the fight that would await them.

Shichiro was the first to take initiative, slowly moving in as he attempted to throw a left jab aimed at her sternum. It was wise for such a cautious act to be made, for unlike her the Rune Knight knew little about her capacities, yet when he approached her to get within range of his jab, she had already lunged forwards!

It was a rapid movement, at first sight, one might have imagined it would have been an attempt to parry or deflect the jab, but it was neither. Instead at the same time, Shichiro approached her Esperia's own arm moved. The fist that struck her chest was fortunately softened by the defensive protection of her armor, although she could feel Jurvag's strength weakening as a consequence.

Meanwhile, Esperia's right fist jabbed forward during the same time, a swift shot aimed toward the ribcage of the man, just slightly below his left arm which was currently the closest spot for her to reach considering that right at the same time Shichiro's fist connected to her robe.

Afterward, not hesitating for even a moment Esperia lowered her stance so that her left fist was leveled with Shinchiro's ribs, using mostly her knees and ankles to lower herself while ensuring her body weight was balanced. Turning her torso and hips she pivoted her left foot, her arm ninety degrees away from her side and elbow bent just the same. as she tried to strike Shichiro a second time.

Finally, Esperia would have declared in an apologetic tone. "I apologize for the rough treatment, but I will only let myself be captured by one who is worthy of doing so..."

---
Jurvag's robe took the blow, due to minor physical resistance the S-rank damage dropped to A-rank, causing it to have A-rank durability left.

The witch had said something about having her reasons for doing it but in due time, he'd make her talk should he bring her in this encounter. For now, he'd continue to approach her with his initial plan in mind not having too much faith in her being unwary towards his advance seeing as he was here to bring her in. Approaching the witch slowly in order to go in for the jab, it seems she decided to take matters into her own hands by lunging towards him at the start of his approach. It was a bit of an extreme reaction considering he was still a good four meters away. Though he had only managed to take a few steps towards her, upon see her begin her lunge, he also decided to make a dash equivalent to a lunge towards his right, exactly a meter or so, pivoting and pushing off of his right foot in order to evade the incoming attack of the wanted criminal, now positioned on her left.

As he thought, nobody in their right mind would just let their opponent simply walk up towards them and attack them all willingly so he was already prepared to take defensive maneuvers. Simultaneously, Shichiro threw a right, upper punch towards the lower, left side of her body after she finished her lunging, knowing where she would land after her lunge ended. He'd use this opportunity to throw a strike at the moment she was vulnerable seeing as she decided to move in such a hasty manner. Shichiro didn't relent however, following up his initial blow with a left hook towards her sternum once more. It was a good thing he decided to approach slowly rather than charge ahead blinding into what would have been a brutal counterattack but Shichiro had known better through his time as a mercenary. Bending his knees slightly, he prepared himself to move again once more should the need arise.

Although she had lunged at Shichiro, the fact he had decided to dash to the right side of himself while she was still in her motion quickly led to the silver-haired witch to realize she needed to adjust herself to take into consideration. Certainly, it meant that he could avoid her incoming attack, but in return for avoiding it, he also wouldn't be able to land the initial jab he had aimed at her robe. Considering he was a meter away from her at the very least, Esperia realized that this would soon become a battle to see who would land the first blow.

He had avoided her initial attack by dodging to the right, but that didn't mean she was going to sit idle either!

He had seemingly a prediction of where she would land, and indeed after five meters, she slowed down just enough to pivot her foot and face the direction he was attacking, the right side of her body now facing him.

The upper-punch came just shortly after finished lunging, and yet rather than deciding to dodge it by lunging again Esperia's prosthetic arm pushed itself downward, trying to deflect the incoming punch by launching a jab at Shichiro's right arm while following up by pivoting her body slightly toward her right side to create the space for her to launch a left punch, this one coming from lower and aiming for the man's ribcage, the right side of it to be specific.

Her weight remained properly divided, and as she attempted to launch her punch she would be ready to move again should Shichiro try to avoid her assault.

"..." Her healthy eye was narrowed in a sharp gaze, clearly no longer taking the luxury of talking to her foe while he was still standing.

It seems as if his opponent was prepared for his counterattack, despite her monotonous forward motion. He must admit, he was impressed with her quick thinking as well as her arsenal being quite strong. He wasn't sure he'd be able to deal with this kind of person fully at the moment but he certainly wouldn't get another chance like this so easily. The witch repositioned herself in order to face Shichiro, using her right prosthetic arm in order to deflect the incoming strike of his blow in a somewhat awkward manner. This pushed Shichiro's arm down, causing Shichiro to hold off on his follow up with his second strike from his left. This didn't seem to be the end of the witch's actions however as she began to follow up by turning her body in order to begin with another strike that would be aimed at the right side of his ribcage.

In response to this, Shichiro simply pivots his body, using his right leg, clockwise in order to evade the incoming blow that was aimed at his ribcage. In the same motion, Shichiro lifted his left leg in order to deliver a powerful calf kick starting at the right side of his opponent in an attempt to knock his opponent over towards their right. It was a simple response to the opposition but he wasn't sure how effective it was gonna be. Shichiro knew that even if the blow landed, he wouldn't make much of a dent in the ways of damage due to the mysterious garments his opponent wore. He already knew going for the head wouldn't win him any advantages but if the chance arose at no risk to him, he'd zero in on it in a heartbeat.

It was a bit odd, how despite the fact her prosthetic jabbed into the man's arm with likely enough strength to shatter the bones within it, the man didn't show any signs of pain. It clearly showed discipline and a strong resolve, things that made her lips curve up in a brief smile

As Esperia started turning her body to launch a second attack at his ribcage, Esperia noticed the swift pivot the ex-mercenary made to both evade her attack and launch a counter. It was fortunate for her that Shichiro's attack came from the right, for at the same time as the knight's leg came, the scarf containing Yurvag's soul lunged downwards, extending into the direction of the incoming calf strike and took the blow.

At the same time that Shichiro was pivoting his body to launch the aforementioned kick, Esperia pivoted her own body clockwise also, using the momentum of her earlier attack to launch a low kick at the man's right side, believing that due to the hit taken on his right arm earlier, attacking the man's right side would be in her best interest.

Nonetheless, she could feel Jurvag had lost most of his strength, one more attack might be enough to break her robe entirely...

Successfully dodging the woman's follow up strike, it didn't come without a cost. It seems the woman's counter strike had destroyed Shichiro's gauntlet and the entirety of his right arm had been rendered unusable, lying limp for the remainder of this battle. Of course, Shichiro had felt intense pain but that was nothing compared to the threat of potentially losing his life so he decided to fight through the pain. Trading blows with this person was not in his best interest as he would have preferred under normal circumstances. For some odd reason, his opponent had also attempted a low kick towards his right side with her left leg. The attack would follow the left punch Shichiro had evaded not too long go.

Shichiro lifted his right leg in response to the incoming low kick, angling the bottom of his foot towards the shin of the woman's leg that was coming into to strike him, thrusting it towards the low kick in order to counter the blow. Knowing that he had to rely mostly on his legs now with his right arm out of commission, Shichiro had to steel himself for the continuation and the remainder of the battle as well.

Indeed, it was clear that trading blows was more dangerous for the mercenary than it was for her. Nonetheless with Shichiro having kicked toward her right side, Esperia's fist was evaded by Shichiro, but she still planned to carry on her assault. Esperia's scarf swiftly swooped once more, intercepting the kick that attempted to thrust down toward her.

It was this interception that allowed Esperia's foot to angle itself upwards and in the moment Shichiro's foot slammed onto the scarf, her leg sweeping upwards attempting to hit Shichiro's leg. Considering his positioning and the fact one of his legs was still in mid-motion, a proper dodge would be difficult, and with her leg sweeping it gave her the advantage of range.

The sweeping kick, whether it connected or not would lead to Esperia to pivot her body along with the motion, aware of the fact that if he did somehow by magical means was able to avoid the sweep of her leg, she would have had to turn her body, a motion that would possibly open her up to an enemy attack!

Nonetheless, with her robe broken Esperia knew she had to be careful, for she had lost the protection of her robe, but for now, she still had the advantage when it came to a battle of their health.

That earlier punch to his arm must have done a fair share of damage, so she genuinely believed that all it took would be one more, one more blow for her to finish this fight. But the question was: Would her attack be the first to land, or would Shichiro be able to carry out a retaliation? Only time would tell.

As Shichiro launched his counter attack it seems the scarf would once again get in his way and intercept his attack. This was a bit annoying but he would use this to his advantage. As his right foot collided into the scarf that blocked his attack, Shichiro used this to his advantage, pressing all of his weight in that instant to propel himself off of the magical scarf that seems to be capable of blocking dense attacks with ease, using it as a stepping stone with the leg he attempted to counter attack with. He'd use it hop forward above a few feet over his opponent's high, sweeping motion. Shichiro then followed up by jumping towards his opponent's body as they turned from their sweeping motion, delivering a kick with his left foot towards his opponent's body while they were still turning from the wide, sweeping kick, causing them to fall over on her stomach.

He'd also crash his right foot onto her body as well, in order to lunge forward in order to travel two meters away from his opponent at a safe distance. Though he had been badly injured, he could still hold his own for a little while longer. Readying himself for the girl's retaliation, he knew it was almost time to bring this battle to a close.

Clever, deceptively clever. Having used Jurvag's scarf as a stepping stone to hop over her attack Esperia watched her leg sweep underneath the man's body, but even as she was turned toward him with her back at him that didn't mean she was going to take an attack without some sort of reaction! Unfortunately with Shichiro airborne, the ex-mercenary would find it hard to dodge any form of attack, and so instead while Shichiro's left foot moved in for the kick Esperia's left leg landed onto the ground just as he started to move in to strike, her left prosthetic moving up and suddenly she lunged backwards at him, her left elbow attempting to strike his body, most likely the stomach or torso!

However, the kick had still done its damage. She could feel the pain in her flank, but for now, it was still a bearable pain. Still another hit or two of those and she'd likely be on the losing side of this duel! Whether she would have hit him or not, the moment she came to a halt in her backwards lunge Esperia would raise up her arms in a combative stance once more.

Shichiro's left leg had started to move as his opponent's left leg had touched the ground. Seeing as his leg started to move in to deliver the kick before the elbow could move, Shichiro was able to connect his kick to the upper back of his opponent. He was only a few inches away from his opponent when attempting to bring her down utilizing the weight of his body as a weapon. Apparently, because his opponent had more strength than him, she didn't topple over as easily as he would have liked. No matter this was still a great opportunity for him as he would now simply stand on her back using his opponent as footing.

His opponent had attempted to lunge at him with some sort of elbow blow aimed at his torso but because of his current positioning, it wasn't exactly effective as her prosthetic elbow just kind of seemingly flailed awkwardly towards the parts of the body she had been aiming for. As she was lunging backwards, Shichiro then capitalized on his position by simultaneously placing his left hand on top of her head for grip to make sure he didn't fall off during her lunge while dropping both of his knees onto each side of her shoulders into a double knee strike, the first one being his right knee closely followed by his left knee. If both of the hits were successful, he would have succeeded in knocking her out.

Esperia's eye narrowed as she felt Shichiro's foot land on her upper-back. It was clear that despite his injuries Shichiro was still nimble, leading to the silver-haired witch to raise her arms up at the same time Shichiro's hand moved toward her head. With his hand steadying his balance she attempted to grab a hold of Shichiro's arm, whether it was his wrist or lower-arm didn't matter to her, all she cared about was grabbing a hold of him before he could properly steady himself for the attack that he was surely going to make.

Using all her strength she attempted to throw him off her, similar to a judo-throw that if it connected would had been enough to shatter the ground at the point of impact! And even then, not willing to let go after she tossed him, if the man was still concious she would continue by attempting to kick the side of his head with her right foot!

Esperia couldn't help but feel herself growing more concerned, her armor broken and the earlier hit meant that if she let Shichiro have his way, an attack like the one he had planned would surely knock the lights out of her!

While placing his hand onto his opponent's head, she had reacted to it by reaching up with both of her arms onto his own and attempted to throw him over her body. With that last throw, Shichiro had been flip over and thrown onto the ground, letting out a loud grunt of pain before laying motionless on the ground. He had lost this battle today. Between losing his right as and this final throw, he was out of commission. It was a good fight but unfortunately, he was quite out of his league at this moment. As he faded out from losing consciousness. Shichiro thought to himself as he made a few excuses as to why things would have been different should he had came with a bit more preparation. Still, if he had his werewolf powers for just a bit longer, he'd have a better chance in this fight. Ah well, can't win them all. He would now just be another person that tried for a high risk bounty and failed. Smiling, he figured he'd have to get stronger before he attempted to go after another high value target like this. With that last thought, Shichiro finally closed his eyes into unconsciousness.

The powerful throw had done its work, even then with respect to the strength of her opponent Esperia intended to go all-out, letting the power of her helmet transfer the restorative fluids into her body to heal her for some of the damage she had suffered, and panting as she gazed onto Shichiro she spoke, her tone softening.

"You were a worthy opponent Shichiro. To answer your earlier question: I did this for the sake of balance and redemption. But for now: rest, rest and grow stronger, and shall you desire it, I will face you again in the future."

Watching Shichiro slowly losing consciousness Esperia staggered backwards, her body almost giving in to the pain from before, but gritting her teeth she endured it, she had to remain strong, so that Shichiro's fight would be one he could be proud of. He had lost against a strong foe, and he had almost won, should things had been slightly different the roles might had even been reversed.

Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps Esperia turned toward the person, a man clad in a doctor's coat. "Thank you for listening to my selfish request  Doctor Gerard."

The doctor smiled weakly at her. "I don't mind working overtime every now and then but... are you sure about this Esperia? Why not just surrender and explain your intentions?"

But to those words Esperia simply shook her head in return. No, surrendering herself without a fight wasn't an option. "I can't do that Gerard, I can't do this alone. If I want to succeed I need the help of others, those who are strong and possess the resolve to bring forth change."

Doctor Gerard looked worriedly at Shichiro's unconcious body, approaching the man as he knelt down beside him. "You believe he is one of those people?"

Esperia shrugged her shoulders lightly, a brief smile lingering on her lips. "Perhaps, at the very least he is strong. Very strong, if his heart is in the right place then perhaps he can become someone who can deal with the corruption within the Rune Knights."

Watching the girl walking away from the arena Doctor Gerard sighed softly "I'll put their treatment on your bill!" To which Esperia answered with a playful wave of her hand, disappearing among the trees.

Doctor Gerard smiled weakly as he rose onto his feet and stretched his arms. "Guess I better get to work." And with those words, he prepared to carry Shichiro to the hospital, ensuring that the Rune Knight's injuries would be tended to by the time he woke up

-Topic exit-

Drifting off to a slumber, Shichiro had vague dreams of seeing his family and friends from his birth place. For once, he was sincerely happy being around people he was familiar with and didn't have his usual grumpy and passive self. He also noticed he was a tad bit younger than he was currently, as if he had restarted his teenage years. Running around and playing with his family, Shichiro was quite content with this until his dream violently shifted to when he first arrived in Fiore. This was around the time he joined a bandit camp and played an active role in thievery and pillaging.

He knew the time where he would violently resign would come soon and tried to prepare himself as best as he could to fight. Fortunately for him, the dream had shifted into a different part of his psyche. He had just finished joining the Blue Pegasus guild with four other individuals. he couldn't seem to remember them too well as their faces were blurred out. Afterwards, he had came too, receiving medical treatment from a familiar face. He wondered how he got here and just as he was about to ask, he figured it was in his best interest not to ask. Instead, he just thanked Gerard, placed his hands into his pockets and then headed to a nearby exit.

[Exit.]