War For Underworld

The Betrayer And The New Enemy

Medina

As Jaymes vanishes behind her, Medina tightens her grip on her sword. She found it insulting that Jaymes didn't believe she'd be able to fight Eydis, but now looking at her, she was under the assumption the Eydis they'll face would be her friend.

Just by Eydis' eyes alone, any trace of her friend is gone. The girl who stands before her is not the Integrity Knight who doted over Alice or any cute girl in sight, but someone who would (and unmercifully did) cut down anyone her sword touches. Still, Medina has her pride. She fought Jaymes, who wasn't holding back in his fight with her (though he didn't use many Sacred Arts on her, so maybe he didn't fight her like he did Quinella or Vecta), she can fight Eydis. At most, she plans to repel the knight until Jaymes and Ilia can back her up.

But first, she'll try to talk. "Eydis, why are you against us?" Her answer comes as Eydis flies forward, swinging the Dark Slash Sword. Medina holds her sword up to deflect while using her agility to dodge in case the black sword phases through. As expected, it does, and Medina counters with five orange dots over her left hand, firing Thermal arts at the tenth knight's bare chest. Eydis cries out as she's launched back. She lands on her feet, seething as she holds her scalded chest and glares at Medina. This doesn't faze the ninth head of the Orthinanos family one bit.

"Don't make me hurt you, Eydis. I don't want to fight you. We can talk."

"...Why would I talk to the likes of you? System Call..." Dark orbs surround Eydis, about twelve in total, and they all form different-sized blades. Sensing danger, Medina leaps back and runs as the blades are launched her way, parrying about five before she's overwhelmed. She grits her teeth as her body is cut by the remaining blades, none going deeper than deep enough to rip through her armor and draw blood. Falling to the ground, Medina picks her upper body off the ground and glares at the approaching Knight of the Abyss.

"'The likes of me,' you say? What have I done to you?"

"You, just like everyone else in this world, have taken everything from me."

"What-" Medina rolls as an umbral beam nearly cleaves her in half. Rolling to her feet, Medina generates several Thermal arrows and fires them in a flurry. This does not faze Eydis one bit as she expertly deflects arrow after arrow while walking towards Medina. Annoyed by her obvious lack of skill against the much more experienced woman, Medina grabs her sword off the ground and lets it glow bright red. Forget repelling Eydis, she will have to stall her. "Enhance Armament!"

Eydis now pauses. She knows Medina's ability at the enhancing stage is similar to her beloved Alice's, except Medina's control of flowers isn't a metamorphosis of the Mirage Blade. Medina's lycoris petals are formed from Incarnation, and Medina plans to use a similar strategy she used during the war to save Lilpilin the Orc and Kirito's sister Leafa from a crazy dark mage. Her petals are there, hovering in the air, but they're so thin they're invisible to all except Medina. The only way Eydis can avoid them is by sensing them, but with Medina's fine control over the petals, one wrong move will be disadvantageous to her opponent.

And so far, no one has evaded the petals. However, besides Jaymes while he taught her Perfect Weapon Control (and even that's debatable), no one Medina has used them against she hasn't wanted to kill. Eydis might be the first, but Medina will not hesitate to hurt the knight. "Talk, Eydis. What do you mean I've taken everything from you? I've taken nothing!"

"You wish he fell for you. And here you are, at his side, like he's yours. But it doesn't matter, your soul will know despair and pain."