Sword Art Online: A New Beginning

[Mega90]

The man gave no words in response. Rather, he lowered his stance slightly before bursting forth, his blades wreathed in fire. What followed was an eight strike combo consisting of five continuous thrusts, followed by a powerful downward cut, then an upward slash, and then a final upward cut. He threw his entire weight into the final upper cut, attempting to knock the young girl off her feet.  

[Zarkon90]

Eve's smile widened and her blades moved in a blur, catching or dodging the mans attacks so that only the 3rd and final strike found purchase on her. As the final uppercut contacted her blades, she was lifted off the ground and sent flying backwards. Rather then flying uncontrolled however, she used the momentum to flip mid air and aim for the man that was now bellow her. Her blades glowed a bright green and she was thrust downward my the sword skills activation.

The blonde haired girl seemed to have vanished mid air as she shot forward. She Brought her blades down toward the man in a lateral strike down his entire body followed by two sweeping attacks, crisscrossing across the mans legs before trying to leap away from the 4 hit combo.

Eve's focus was absolute, never taking her eyes off the man or his blades, yet simultaneously assessing her surroundings through her peripheral vision, taking note of any advantages she might be able to exploit in her fight.  

[Mega90]

The man finished his attack with a staggering motion, wincing hard against the attacks that Eve dealt to him. His vision blurred for but a moment before he reached into his pocket and quick selected a healing item. A burst of green energy enveloped him before his health rose once again to near full.

“You hit hard, you little runt, but don’t think that means that you are going to be able to prove yourself worthy to join the Heaven Spire guild!” His words came out as a hiss, and he once again lowered his stance, activating a second sword skill. With swift movements, the dashed forward, kicking himself off the ground and high into the air. He twisted three times before returning to the earth, driving his swords into the ground with great force. The impact was so great that the ground actually shattered in a small circle around him. Blue sparks shot out of the earth in all directions, many of them heading directly for Eve.  

[Zarkon90]

Eve's eyes widened in shock though she quickly recovered, dashing to the side to try and avoid the attack.

No sooner had Eve's foot touched the ground then she was moving again, dashing at the man with her blades held close to her to defend should she need to.

As she closed the distance Eve lowered her blades slightly, causing them to begin glowing a bright golden glow.

"Lets see you dodge this." Eve all but yelled as she once again vanished in a blur of speed toward the man.  

[Mega90]

The man turned to the direction that she was coming and did his best to brace for impact. His eyes were open and focused, doing his best to track where the young girl had gone. There was a moment of silence before metal met metal. The man shook his head, doing his best to comprehend what had happened, as another man stood with a long, black and red sword locked on Eve’s blades.

“Don’t lose your focus.” The man’s voice was low and calm as he thrust his sword forward, driving Eve back. Without a moment’s hesitation for recovery, the man lurched forward, clashing blades with Eve once again. A second powerful push threw her back once more, continuing to nock her off balance. He kept the pressure on, striking three more times before there was even time to blink. Strangely enough, he was only aiming for her weapons, almost as though he was trying to match blades with her. She could sense no intent to kill from him.  

[Zarkon90]

Eve staggered back, waiting until she had a moment to try an leap back, clearing the mans blade and regaining her foothold.

"Why the hell are you interfering? If you want to kill this chump then be my guest if not get out of my way!"

Eve's tone was flustered as she was clearly embarrassed to have been caught off guard by this stranger.  

[Mega90]

The man did not respond as he dashed towards her again. His sword glowed, indicating the activation of a sword skill, and he swung towards her. His sword came down with blinding speed.

“Eve, you have to dodge to the side of that one!” Kaiyaga shouted, drawing his bow and firing at the new figure. The man twisted slightly, narrowly avoiding the arrow and continuing on with his attack.  

[Zarkon90]

Eve dodged to her right, utilizing every ounce of speed she had to avoid the mans blade while simultaneously unleashing a flurry of lightning fast slashes at the mans side.

The young teen gritted her teeth, silently cursing her own lack of awareness. Though it irritated her, the ambush had sharpened her senses to their max, her eyes and body were now in constant motion and she could feel her heart rate increasing. The game didn't have the ability to flood a players bloodstream with adrenaline but it could simulate the effects.

Eve let a small smile cross her soft lips. Her attack was meant to deal this new attacker damage, but it was as much a diversion to make an opening for Kaiyaga as it was a true attack. Eve hated to admit it, but life was far easier with the tall teen around and he complimented her own style well, not that she would ever admit that.  

[Mega90]

The man turned almost instantly to block the blows. Apparently the warning form Kaiyaga had gone both ways. While it had warned Eve against his attack, it had also telegraphed her next move.

With a single swipe, he deflected every one of Eve’s strikes, demonstrating immense skill. He then placed a careful foot on the ground and leaped back, avoiding the incoming attack from Kaiyaga.

The man who Eve had been formerly fighting clambered to his feet and took a few steps back.

“You people are nuts!” He spat as he turned to leave.  

[Zarkon90]

Eve's head snapped to the side, her eyes immediately focusing on the now fleeing man. Taking advantage of her newest opponents step to gain ground, she once more seemed to vanish, leaving only a blur of purple energy in her wake as she shot, not toward the newcomer, but toward the fleeing man.

Eve's blade found purchase in the mans back as she seemingly appeared beside him. Her feet barely touched the ground as she sliced first at his back, then left shoulder, then whirled around to slash his chest before vanishing once more to his left to vanish the final slash of her horizontal square sword skill. Upon completion the floating energy blades that hovered by each slash compounded inward on the man, ending her skills effects.

Eve didn't wait to see if the attack had finished off the man, her attention was already focused once more on the new comer as she placed all her focus solely on him.  

[Mega90]

Eve’s attacks all found purchase on the fleeing man, and he fell to the ground, vanishing into a hail of light shards. When she turned again to look at the newcomer, he was gone.

As Eve’s eyes scanned for the assailant she had been grappling with moments ago, an arrow flew mere inches from her face. It soared past her, and exploded against the blades of the hidden fighter. It was then that she realized…he was standing right behind her.  

[Zarkon90]

Eve shot forward, twisting her daggers in her hands as she did to hold them assassin style, defending her back as best she could.

"What the hell is up with this guy?! I should have seen him move at least some and my detection skill would have alerted me to any stealth attack he had. It's like he just teleports out of nowhere." The girl thought to herself. Her heart was pounding and once she had cleared three feet from her opponent, she whirled around, bringing her blades up across her chest to defend herself.  

[Mega90]

As she turned, he was on her again, his blade raised in attack. He slashed hard onto her own swords, driving her down. He was unable to keep up the assault for long, however, as Kaiyaga payed him another well placed shot. He was able to narrowly avoid it, but was forced onto the retreat for a moment. Even as he moved back, his defense seemed absolute. There were no openings anywhere that Eve could see. He always remained low to the ground, even when moving back. His stance was such that he could change directions in an instant.

“Eve, do you want my help, or do you want to take this guy on your own?” Kaiyaga called as he raised his bow in preparation.  

[Zarkon90]

Eve ground her teeth in frustration before muttering.

"Drop him dead."

With that she shot forward unleashing a blinding flurry of attacks from almost every direction upon the man.  

[Mega90]

The man easily deflected her blows, jumping to the side to avoid an attack from Kaiyaga. As the last of the attacks were avoided, he leaped backwards, putting some distance between himself and Eve. His feet touched the ground without so much as a sound, and he lowered his blade to his side, signifying that it was not his intention to launch another battery of assaults.

“You are competing for no cause. It is not your intention to join the Heaven Spire guild, is it?”