Dominated Balance

Mana particles hung in the air as cracks formed along the ceiling. Extra weight pressed into each attack as the two pushed the intensity further. Enhancements pushed the body to superhuman capacity, starting to defy common sense. Fists moved in a blur, only tracked by enhanced sight. And yet, for Yori, it was rare that he had to fully utilize such a thing. No one he encountered outside of the Saioji family matched his speed.

Sorcerers on this side trained their mana, but still leaned on magic over their bodies. And yet Dai Kago continued to surprise him, as annoying as it was to accept. There was no short outcome with this man. He needed to create an opening; there wasn’t going to be one that he could find.

As their fighting intensified, breaking more of the weaker ceiling material, Yori’s foot punched through. Their fighting floor was never designed to be stood upon, especially with the strength applied. The sorcerer took the opportunity immediately to strike through a loose defense. His reinforcement still protected him, but it bruised and made him cough.

Yori pulled back and kicked the ring over, sending it to the wall as they tumbled through the air with gravity moving again. It spared Yori the moment of recovery before stepping back into the fight. The wall didn’t make for a perfect surface, but it held better than the ceiling as they exchanged heavy martial blows.

The wallboard in the hall still produced cracks, but he had more trouble stepping around paintings that hung in the ornately designed interior. Even for a hall, they didn't spare effort to make it look gaudy. Yori kicked up a painting and punched through it, shattering it into a few pieces. He didn’t know what value it had; it was purchased by criminals, what did he care? Everything had to be a tool.

And Dai looked to be of a similar mind. He didn’t baulk at the destruction and only saw it as a welcome stepping up of the conflict. Light fixtures, paintings or even tables, nothing was sacred anymore. Splinters of wood, chunks of metal and scraps of paper flew through the air as their violence tore through the hall in almost gleeful fare.

It started to turn into almost a bar fight as the violence barreled through the passage. Gravity flipped and changed nearly constantly as both of them fought to break the other's stance. They had almost become accustomed to the altering gravity, allowing their fight to continue while letting their feet find footing.

Dai ended up taking the advantage. A shattered part of the floor caught Yori. It gave the chance for a direct kick that sent Yori flying through the doors into the back rooms of the auction. Thrown off their hinges, the metal doors loudly clattered to the concrete as it drew even more attention.

Yori coughed, spitting up a little blood from the kick. ‘That definitely cracked a few things… It’s going to slow me down…’ Wiping away the blood, he picked himself back up. Around him, there were a dozen sorcerers in different stages of confusion and panic. It was hard to know if it was because of him, the war he started or Miho. She was around somewhere. Or maybe escaped with her sister, he hoped.

“Oh don’t tire out on me so soon. It was just getting to the best part!”

“The part where you shut the hell up, I hope.” Brushing away the blood from his chin, Yori took a breath to find his center again. He should have had the advantage, but was struggling. The normal methods weren’t working for him. The same tricks were worthless. This was a man born in magic. A man who lived in the dark underbelly of the world. He must have seen it all and fought constantly.

His body wasn’t going to hold up well to the continued beatings. He hated the choices, but he needed to move them away to keep himself standing. Yori clapped his hands together, letting the rings chime out. From out of the void, he retrieved his sword once more. It wasn’t a secret anyway, and should help change the fight, even if it did increase the lethality. The same would be the case for Dai as well.

A whistle came from the sorcerer, admiring the special blade. “A storage spell, clever.” He tapped a finger in the air as a portal opened up. Within the space, several weapons appeared. Motioning with his hand, a sword hilt emerged from the dimension as he removed it from the sheath. “Glad someone else appreciates the usefulness of always having your weapon on hand.”

“Should have known…”

“It’s not a complex spell.”

“No.” Yori held himself back from further comment. A lot of the sorcerers, part of the yakuza, did such things. Made it frighteningly easy to smuggle weapons past guards or the law. It was completely undetectable and had a lot more flexibility than the simple storage ring he possessed.

As much as he despised it, the man seemed to love taunting him with an equal fight, while still dominating every move. He worried about what sort of swordsman they would be. Yori’s training did cover kenjutsu, but it wasn’t his point of expertise.

Once more the battle resumed with Yori sprinting into reach of Dai. They stood with the same look of superiority and domination as before. It was unwavering. And he only showed a little scuffing up from the fight. Most of the damage fell on Yori.

Their blades clashed, sparking from the metal collision. Yori felt the shaking through his arms. It felt like he swung at a concrete pillar. His body complained about his movement, but he just had to ignore it. He couldn’t stop.

Slashes and swings rained down as Yori tested once more the talents of the sorcerer. It didn’t feel like they were a master, but their skill level wasn’t so far apart that he could best him. And his body wasn’t any happier with the continued effort.

His Sumeragi blade wasn’t meant for this sort of fighting, even if it was capable. The edge looked to be holding, though Dai’s blade seemed to have some cutting ability. There were minor nicks that he was finding. Yori pressed on, running around the room trying to use the crates and shelves. The sorcerer sliced through cleanly and received Yori even as he dove in through the falling crates.

Yori pressed in with the weight of his body as his strength drained away. Whatever damage Dai did to his chest only got worse with each minute. As the added pressure didn’t help, he kicked over debris, changing up the man’s stance to get a minor cut in. Only a momentary opening, and all he got was a small drop of blood.

‘Dammit… I really wasn’t prepared for this sort of fight!’ Yori spun around as they separated from the strike. However, Dai closed in retribution, applying a fierce strength to his weapon. Yori kept his balance, but they altered their hold, turning Yori’s blade away and reversing the hold to slice up his arm. Blood sprayed out, almost completely disabling his right arm.

Biting through the rising pain, Yori gripped his sword in his left hand, trying to keep focused. They were now just toying with him. Casually swinging at him, breaking his stance and taking shots at him. A slice over the shoulder, a stab in the thigh and a prick to the waist. He really was just playing with his food now. Yori blinked, trying to keep himself together. ‘I hope Miho got out… This ain’t looking good anymore…’

Dai swung one last time, completely breaking his hold. Yori’s sword flew back and clattered to the ground. Too far out of reach. Sword pointed at his face. It was over. ‘Shit…’

Before a final strike could be made, a black and white snake appeared, wrapping around Dai’s arm. Yori immediately went in, grabbing the sword arm and throwing him over his shoulder into the concrete. He went for a kick to the ribs, but missed. It wasn’t enough to stun him; Dai slipped away.

“Yori!” called Miho from behind him. He turned in shock to see her bloodied and barely standing up straight, with a dazed woman at her side.

For as bad as he felt, Miho looked even worse. “Miho…a sight for sore eyes. You found your sister.”

“Yes, but more importantly.”

Dai was already back to his feet and ready to take them both on. “Of course, both dogs would be here. I do love finishing things neatly.”

Miho rushed up to join the beaten Yori. Two bloodied souls to challenge a sorcerer. “We’ll do this together!”

“Something I can agree on.” Yori fought a smirk even as his body rejected any notion of gest. They needed to take him down quickly. Neither of them looked good for a long fight anymore.