The giant open space of the training arena spread out in echoing expanse around the Chairman of Cerberus Corporation. It felt strange to stride onto the sand floor of the massive, vaulting space. Technically he owned all of this and had control over it yet he was about to face a combat challenge on it. All of the eyes of his agents would be on him here. It was up to him to prove himself worthy of standing here.
He waited for his opponent, a man he'd heard quite a lot about. It hadn't escaped his attention that the guy was an honest-to-goodness MI5 operative. He was, for all intents and purposes, James Bond. Caleb Fletcher had raised a lot of eyebrows and now Zakki was about to find out what the man was really made of.
The Chairman of Cerberus waited standing tall but loose in the centre of the cavernous space. He felt surprisingly at ease here and was ready for whatever was about to happen. It'd be interesting if nothing else.
However, while Chairman Shihara was patiently waiting for his opponent to arrive, said individual had already been completing his own intelligence operation. Caleb Fletcher stood no more than a foot away from Zakki, donning an outfit that seemed quite out of place considering his usual fare. Instead of the expensive suits he preferred to wear, something more practical was selected. He wore a pair of black jeans and similarity colored sneakers. A somewhat tight, dark-blue V-neck shirt and black jacket completed his outfit.
Holstered on his back was the immense barrel of his Miss Moneypenny, and to his side was M. He stood still for a moment, unseen and unnoticed by the world in its entirety. To be honest, he did not know what to expect in his upcoming fight. Outside of the information on Cerberus provided to him by his superiors, there was little he truly knew about Mister Shihara. However, being the leader of one of the prolific companies on Earth did make him slightly hesitant.
He glanced down, picking apart his target for a moment. A lanky build, poor muscle tone, and few signs of previous engagements... The quick analysis surprised him, as Zakki appeared to be more likely to appear in a sick ward than in a tournament. Then again, Caleb knew personally that first impressions were always taken with a grain of salt.
Stepping back, he casually began to walk away from Zakki. Stopping at the far end of the hallway, he grabbed the Noblesse from his back, loading a single round carefully. He took his time, adjusting his sights, lining up the shot from invisibility. It was only after the many preparations he took that he began to act.
The mesmerizing effects of his technique were dispelled as he revealed his presence; instead a staggering force of reiatsu greeted Zakki. Reiatsu shattered away from his body, as three reticles appeared lining up to guide his shot. A whir of electricity echoed through the area as the devastating shot was fired without even a moment’s notice, aimed directly for the man’s forehead.
However, before Zakki could even get a look at his attacker, he already had disappeared, his staggering speed allowing him to disappear and blend into the shadows of Cerberus Fukushima.
[377]
Things
Rolled a LUCKY SEVEN.
Caleb Fletcher - Initiative: Orpheus Reiatsu: 37,000 ~ License to Kill ~ 40,700
~ Live and Let Die ~ 48,100 Combat: 12,000 Agility: 20,000 Resistance: 5,000 Items: The Quartermaster
- Noblesse AS50 - “Miss Moneypenny”
- Épitaphe SAA - "M"
- Pyre Rounds
- Telsa Rounds Feats: - Nobody Does It Better
Had Nobody Does It Better to hide his presence from Zakki and set up the shot. The shot is one from the Noblesse augmented with a Tesla Round. After that he gogogadget super agility'd into the depths of the hallways.
With every sense on alert, the Chairman reacted almost instinctively to the shot. Using the uncanny Advent ability to slow time to a dead crawl in his mind, he could see the bullet coming for him. A blast of pure, concentrated reiryoku threw him sideways, to the left, with blurring speed and as he fell, his glowing body was surrounded by a shell of mephitic radiation. With his head clear of the shot, the bullet struck the radiation shield, plowing into it near his shoulder and Zakki smiled as the vast majority of its force was dissipated by his powers. He was barely bruised by it and the useless casing fell to the ground with a soft tinkle. The lean young man was on his feet again and a blast of four orbs of radiation, full of superheated plasma that would destroy flesh on contact, exploded in the direction of Caleb’s last movement. Even if he didn’t hit anything, Zakki wanted to see where his target was and any damage would be a bonus. This opening gambit had shown that he’d need to watch everything his assailant did like a hawk. [191/366]
The power of Zakki’s Awakening lies in the manipulation of various forms of ionizing radiation. Its most literal application is Abunai Seishou. By expending 3% of his reiatsu, Zakki generates a burst of radiation from his palms -- heating the oxygen in the air to the point that it becomes a highly volatile plasma. These swirling orbs of superheated gas and molten matter can be fired at opponents, causing severe tissue damage at the point of impact.
Ability: Youshi Kanshou
“Proton Buffer”- 0% Resonance
Despite its palpable offensive ability, Nejigarandou’s prowess lies in its versatility. By expending 2% of his reiatsu per turn for three turns, Zakki can surround himself with a shell of mephitic radiation. This shell functions as an effective barrier, enhancing his “True Grit” base technique by the amount paid for the duration of the ability.
[ Tamatoki ] - "Bullet Time”
An Advent Human, devoid of the supernatural abilities most other races have, must often rely on sheer reaction time in order to accordingly act against the various powers that other beings throw at them. For those who possess these supernatural reflexes time seems to slow, allowing them discern inbound abilities with post-human acuteness. While this does not make an Advent Human physically faster, they are able to detect and parse attacks that would otherwise be too fast to perceive. This does not increase the physical ability to react.
[ Hitoshi ] - "Push”
While a skilled Advent may be able to detect and react to attacks with post-human speed, there are times when even their spiritually-enhanced bodies can’t keep up with what they’re perceiving. Recognizing an inbound attack is useless if one is unable to parry it. Thankfully, what Advent’s lack in physical speed when compared to other races they more than make up in ingenuity. Hitoshi allows the user to -- upon detecting an attack -- generate a dense pulse of reiryouku designed to push the user's body out of harms way. When used, the Advent spends 500 reiatsu to thrust themselves up to 5m in any direction, with a single direction per use. Such propulsion is separate from any other physical movement and as such can even be used while falling. Push can only be used once per round, with the Advent gaining an additional use for every 5k in their Agility stat.
A smirk appeared on the sniper’s face as he continued to move through the tight hallways. The instantaneous reaction of the Chairman gave him faith that this fight wouldn’t be a walk in the park. The detonation of the plasma behind him caught his attention, the sheer heat of assault engulfing him. The blinding light caught him off-guard, as he shielded his eyes from the attack. Instinctively, he swiped down on The Quartermaster, as the device emitted a burst of reiatsu.
His form blurred away completely, his reiatsu suppressed for those few seconds. To Shihara Zakki, Caleb Fletcher was nowhere to be seen. The double agent reappeared seconds later, much farther down the long corridor. The heavy air of reiatsu began to settle down, a claustrophobic energy bearing down on the Chairman. It was as if he was being viewed from every angle, his position tracked by an invisible eye.
Clear as day, the lanky youth’s energy was pinpointed in his mind. With skill reflecting his agent training, he turned his body and continued to run backwards. He grabbed Miss Moneypenny once more, as he lined up his next shot. Within an instant he formulated a trajectory, firing it with almost unmatched precision.
The round erupted into flames, as it zipped through the corridor. As it approached the corridor it suddenly elbowed down the other hallway. The shot whirred forward, locked onto Zakki’s position. A sheen of gray energy encapsulated the shot, the reiatsu sharpening to a point to pierce through the man’s defense.
[631]
Activated The Quartermaster to micro-stealth when the plasma balls lit up the corridor. Also activated For Your Eyes Only to get positioning on Zakki while he runs through the multiple corridors. Since you still got hit by the Tesla round last turn I can activate my From Russia With Love. It's a Pyre Round augmented with Pierce.
The Quartermaster - A-Rank
Taking the form of a small circular device that is clipped to Caleb’s belt, The Quartermaster appears to a somewhat odd, but rather unmemorable object. The device is smooth to touch, while possessing a texture that is neither metallic or plastic based. A hexagonal red LED sits in the center of the forward face, glowing when active.
The material of The Quartermaster is an artificial, reiatsu-conducting, alloy. The device is specifically attuned to Caleb’s reiatsu, as it draws in a small portion of his reiatsu while he activates it. By releasing the reiatsu in microbursts, he can use it to scramble visual and spiritual reads on him. To an outsider, he appears to blur out of view for one second before reappearing. Spiritual tracking on the other hand will cause him to vanish before reappearing soon after. The Quartermaster costs 500 reiatsu to activate. This cannot be used to reactivate Nobody Does it Better.
For Your Eyes Only - 0% Resonance
By paying 1% of his reiatsu per turn activated, Caleb refines the sensing capability of his Reiatsu Nouken immensely. He is automatically able of getting detailed positioning information of all targets within the range. All noise is removed when For Your Eyes Only is activated, refining Reiatsu Nouken to the point where he can individually identify reiatsu signatures that he has met before.
He is able of simulating and analysing multiple possible vectors at once, granting him the enhanced capability to tracking their movement and the possible paths they can take. This manifests itself as the ability to recognize high-speed movement techniques as long as he has at least 35% of the target’s movement stat.
From Russia With Love - 0% Resonance
Passively, From Russia With Love drastically increases Caleb’s baseline accuracy. By manipulating the targeting reticles he is granted the ability to pick apart the target’s body to know exactly where to strike.
After landing a successful hit, Caleb is capable of memorizing the exact trajectory of the bullet that caused its successful strike. By paying 3% of his reiatsu he can lock-onto the previous hit and recreate the optimal trajectory to land the strike. The next bullet he fires, empowered by the reiatsu he paid in, will home-onto his target, following them until they either strike their target or are stopped.
[ Shimiru ] - "Pierce”
Advents at their core are about momentum: once they get going, there's very little that can stand in their way. Nowhere is this fact more evident than when they are faced with a barrier or other impediment. Just as an Advent's spiritual power permeates their physical form, so to can it permeate other spiritual constructs. When striking a barrier, an Advent Human can -- to some extent-- augment their attacks to bypass the obstruction, dealing concussive damage equal to 500 reiatsu through the barrier. This does not reduce the barriers durability. Each use of Shimiru costs 500 reiatsu.
Shot: 1500 (Noblesse) + 20 (Pyre Round). If it hits Zakki, it'll do an additional 500 damage because pierce (but the bullet damage will be lowered by the defenses).
The moment Zakki heard the shot, he reacted. His hand blurred to a hidden square-shaped container and squeezed the bulb inside of it. Immediately a cloud of white smoke erupted from the container and shot forward just as the bullet came in contact with it. With his ability to perceive and parse each action, the pale Chairman of Cerberus Corporation had timed his motion perfectly.The bullet was caught within the bonds of the Redutiycin but with enough force behind it, it flew threw the barrier. The substance had done its work, however, and the bullet’s momentum was greatly reduced. Due to the handicap Zakki had chosen to be imposed on him, he’d had to reactivate his shield but now he turned swiftly to the side and the projectile exploded relatively harmlessly against his upper arm, cutting him and leaving a painful burn from the Pyre round.
He turned on his heel and began to run at high speed through a tunnel that appeared to loop around to Caleb’s probable location. It was difficult to tell but Zakki was fairly sure of where the shot had been fired. Turning into an intersection of tunnels he saw the bare outline of Caleb and sent four more crackling, blazing, irradiated plasma orbs winging towards him with terrifying force.
[216/582]
Abunai Seishou-Described Above
Yoshi Kanshou-Described Above
[ Redutiycin ]
Packaged in a square shaped container, when pressure is added to the bulb, a single burst of the chemical is expunged. Travelling linearly forward, the shimmering white smoke expands outwards in a cone formation.
Effect: On contact with non-spiritually active materials, the chemical binds with the surface of the material. Locking together into a tight, yet porous, intermolecular structure. The first object, or person, to come in contact with the adhesive is instantly bound to the surface. The rapid adhesion and setting acts as a potent binding effect. The user pays 500 reiatsu to activate.
Cost: 4,000₢
Caleb gritted his teeth in annoyance as his mental map showed the Cerberus Chairman continuing to move unimpeded. As the lanky youth began to approach he upped his speed, pulling forward in tune with the man. The sizzling approach of the orbs caught his attention once again. He turned once again, the Noblesse primed to fire once more. In a single fluid moment he ducked to the side in order to dodge of oncoming attack.
The first strike struck true into his shoulder, the heated plasma searing easily through his jacket. However, he continued to move through the pain, transitioning through the oncoming strike. Digging low once more, his superhuman agility took hold once more as the orbs seemed to slow in his visual frame.
A smirk appeared on his face he appeared to react in a single instant. He moved rapidly in the tight corridor, his dexterity allowing him to deftly maneuver between two more of the orbs. Energy already began to coalesce in his right hand as prepared for his counter-attack. He swung outwards violently, slamming his hand into the fresh orb in front of him with staggering force.
The attack seemed to rebound, flying back towards it creative with destructive force. In the same moment, he shot once more with the Noblesse, a cracking shot following in close pursuit. Reiatsu flowed out of the brown-haired man’s body, surging him forward with a blast of momentum, setting him on the move once more, this time propelled far ahead of Zakki.
[883]
Sorry for the delay school/life/panic attack crushed my time/ability to write.
Used Bullet Time to parse the incoming attack. Got hit by one, weasel'd my way around two other orbs. Used Reverse on the last to send it flying back with a gift from the Noblesse. Used Push to rocket away and keep Caleb ahead of Zakki. Resonance Attack GET.
Having his own energy thrown at him was an annoyance but Zakki had the speed and agility to dodge it as it was flung backwards. It slammed into the wall next to him with devastating force but did little actual damage to the Chairman. It did, however, distract him and he shouted in surprised agony as the bullet struck him in the left arm. He cursed and immediately began channeling energy into healing the wound.
Just as Caleb had surged forward, Zakki mimicked that blast of energy to throw himself closer to the Orpheus agent. As he flew forward he concentrated a massive surge of radiation around his galactically glowing form. Particles were violently bombarded by his internally generated radiation until they were unable to contain the energy being thrown at them and in an explosion of terrifying energy they erupted forth. Everything around him for ten metres was drenched in explosive force and decaying radiation. The shockwave that followed made a dull whump and the blazing heat, smashing force and blinding light enrobed Caleb in their deadly embrace.
Landing on his feet, the Chairman stood and waited to see what effect his attack had on its intended target. It was a fair certainty that he’d made a proper impression on Caleb.
While many inhabitants of earth might consider spiritual power a simple cudgel to be wielded against an enemy, very few recognize it’s capacity for healing. Advents of sufficient skill can mold their energies in such a way as to exponentially increase their ability to both weather and heal from wounds. Actively, Nankou allows the user to stabilize their wounds in combat, halting bleeding or any persistent damaging effects at the cost of 100 reiatsu per turn. Passively, this ability allows the user to heal their wounds out of battle much faster than a normal human being, taking only a day or so to heal from major injuries that would normally incapacitate a regular human for much longer.
[ Hitoshi ] - "Push”
While a skilled Advent may be able to detect and react to attacks with post-human speed, there are times when even their spiritually-enhanced bodies can’t keep up with what they’re perceiving. Recognizing an inbound attack is useless if one is unable to parry it. Thankfully, what Advent’s lack in physical speed when compared to other races they more than make up in ingenuity. Hitoshi allows the user to -- upon detecting an attack -- generate a dense pulse of reiryouku designed to push the user's body out of harms way. When used, the Advent spends 500 reiatsu to thrust themselves up to 5m in any direction, with a single direction per use. Such propulsion is separate from any other physical movement and as such can even be used while falling. Push can only be used once per round, with the Advent gaining an additional use for every 5k in their Agility stat.
Resonance Attack: Mijinheki
“Ion Burst”- 25% Resonance
Upon reaching 25% Resonance, the true pinnacle of Zakki’s Awakening is unleashed. By expending 10% of his reiatsu, the Advent can create a tremendous amount of radiation and release it in an omnidirectional explosion. This blast deals damage across a significant radius (about 10 meters) and blinds anyone within its area of effect for two turns after activation due to the intense light created by the attack.
Almost instinctively the man raised his arm to cover his eyes. The blinding radiation seared his body with a vicious force that served as a testament to the Chairman’s strength. It was becoming evident to Caleb Fletcher that Shihara Zakki was not a foe to be taken lightly. His vision blinded, the spy instead diverted his focus to the mental map in his mind, using it to plot out his next move.
Resonance reaching a breakpoint, he tapped into his powers once more. His body flicked from view, moving at a pace that caused him to all but vanish from the world. His location lost completely for a moment, it appeared as if Caleb Fletcher merely ceased to exist.
The whine of oncoming shots was the first and final warning given to Zakki. The first flew with deadly accuracy at his throat from far in front of him, alight with a brilliant flame. At the same moment, a second shot flew in tandem to strike the same location. However, the second shot, surging with a torrent of electricity, was lost to Zakki, flying from behind unannounced with a marksman’s precision. Both appeared to be sharpened, the piercing ability of humans applied to each.
Caleb flickered back into view once again as the two-pronged attack was completed, this time behind the lanky youth. Bursting away once more, he continued his run through the corridor, shooting away in the opposite direction with an already calculated motion.
[1127]
Using my minimap ability to work around the blinding effect, though the damage hit. Caleb used his resonance attack, which can't be tracked unless you have the same agility as Caleb, so to Zakki it's almost as if he just teleported behind him. Two shots were fired with the ability, augmented with Pierce.
Pyre Shot: 1520 + 500 Pierce
Tesla Shot: 1550 + 500 Pierce + 1850 (You Only Live Twice)
There was only one option open to Zakki and he rapidly took it. Bullet time allowed him to parse out what was happening and in a sudden flash of pure, brilliant light his resonance peaked and he became a being of lambent brightness. Gone were the swirling patterns of galaxies and he was glowing inhumanly before at once he wasn’t visible at all. Every spectrum of light was absorbed by his ‘black body’ until he was rendered invisible. With the invisibility came the blurring speed he needed although it came too late to avoid injury.
Twisting and dodging, he contorted his body enough to take the first piercing shot in his right shoulder. It burned and then left him with a dull throb of agony that was only going to get worse. The second shot took a chunk out of his upper arm but missed any major damage other than leaving a painful burn. It did, however, bleed and add to the level of agony he was already feeling.
Immediately he began using his powers to stabilize the wound while searching for a sign of Caleb’s energy signature. All that he had to go on was the direction he’d seen the Orpheus agent running in but he couldn’t stay with him. Instead he sent out a deadly outrider. A wave of burning, nauseating, destructive radiation came pouring out of him in a tide that spread for thirty metres in every direction around him. If Caleb was caught up in it, he would start to slow the hell down. That much was a certainty.
[263/1057]
Ability: Kuroshigai “Black Body”- 50% Resonance
With his increased mastery over various forms of radiation, Zakki also gains the ability to cancel out certain types of radioactive energy. By imbuing his own body with these properties, Zakki can create what is known as a “black body” in physics -- something that absorbs most or all forms of radiation, including that in the ultraviolet spectrum. This renders Zakki’s form almost completely invisible. While in this state Zakki’s agility is greatly augmented, allowing him the benefits associated with the Ryoku base technique free of cost. For each turn Kuroshigai is active Zakki must pay 500 reiatsu. Any attack or technique activated during Kuroshigai immediately ends its cloaking effect, and the ability may not be activated again for another two turns once it has been deactivated.
Ability: Kahoukai “Alpha Decay”- 50% Resonance
Somewhat of a spiritual successor to the Advent’s earlier ability Youshi Kanshou, Kahoukai expands the energy field present around Zakki to cover an area equal to thirty meters. This zone is understandably, highly volatile and radioactive, afflicting any enemies in its area of effect with what amounts to radiation sickness. This constant, damaging radioactive field affects all those within its radius, dealing damage equal to 3% of Zakki’s reiatsu per turn for every turn active.
[ Nankou ] - "Salve"
Zakki Shihara, by a nose. Both of you played this fight really well. I'm particularly impressed with you, Moon, as your ability to really write and maintain the flow of fights has greatly improved over the course of the tournament thus far. Good job! Arun as well, played his character flawlessly and leveraged his superior awareness and range to great effect. Both of you got some wicked scenes, took some big hits and made some great plays, but in the end I feel that Zakki, at the time the thread closed, had the edge. If this had gone on longer? Who knows. I'd really have liked to see this continue. I was just getting into it when it cut off
