*In the snowy forest, Raika and Gallus were staring each other down as Dust stood back to give them enough room to fight. He looked up at the sky before looking back at them and sighing*
(Dust): Would you two stop standing around and start fighting! It’s very cold out here!
(Gallus): Sounds like your friend is impatient for his death. I guess I shouldn’t make him wait long.
(Raika): You left-handed or right-handed?
(Gallus): Right-handed. Why?
*Without warning, Raika does a quick shot with the gun in her left hand and shoots Gallus’s right arm. He screams out in pain but grits his teeth as fire gathers around his left fist. Before he can take a swing at Raika, she kicks mud into his eyes to temporarily blind him. Raika takes advantage of this and delivers a knee to the stomach of Gallus followed by a pistol whip to the side of his head which causes him to stagger to the left. Once he regains his footing he wipes the mud off his face just in time to see Raika run toward him and jump up to lock him in head scissors with her legs wrapped tightly around his head and neck. At first, Gallus thinks he has the advantage seeing as how he was bigger and stronger than Raika, but she points her guns toward his head and fires. The impact from the lightning bullets causes Gallus to plummet to ground backward as Raika leaps off him to do a flip through the air and land on her feet*
(Hibana): Woah, good start. I think she won.
(Dust): Don’t be so sure.
*As if hearing Dust, Gallus immediately rose to his feet baring his fangs and tossing off his now-broken glasses as blood slightly poured from his head*
(Gallus): Fire Grid Form 213: Fist of the Fire Beast!
*Pulling his left hand back and thrusting it forward, Gallus unleashed a firefall at Raika that morphed into the face of a bear. Raika quickly dodged the attack by jumping out of the way and fired four shots at Gallus who held out his right hand*
(Gallus): Fire Grid Form 181: Fire Screen.
*A screen of fire formed in front of Gallus’s right hand and destroyed the bullets. Gallus fires another fireball at Raika which takes the form of a bear. Raika rolls out of way getting her left shoulder slightly burnt from the fireball. She continues to fire at Gallus who blocks the bullets with his shield and throws fireballs at Raika to return fire*
(Hibana): How did that guy recover from Raika’s attacks earlier?
(Dust): Easy, winter skin. During the wintertime, bears make their bodies heavier and thicker to survive the season. The same can be said about demihumans. In order to survive the winter their skin becomes a lot thicker to keep them warm.
(Hibana): Oh man, so Raika’s at a huge disadvantage here.
(Dust): Not quite. If it was any other knight I would say yes, but he’s fighting against someone who knows her animals.
*Raika kept running a circle around Gallus who continued shooting fireballs at Raika while blocking her bullets. She kept dodging Gallus’s fireballs which were creating a ring of fire around them. Raika finally ran out of bullets and stopped running to catch her breath as Gallus smiled. He began closing in on Raika feeling confident that he had worn her out*
(Gallus): Ha! All that running and talking and this was the best you could do. I have you now. Fire Grid Form 93: Heat Palm.
*As Gallus prepares to hit Raika, she dodges the attack with ease by spinning out of the way and delivering a left thunder jab to rib area of Gallus causing an electric shock and pain to run through his body. Gallus attempts to deliver another palm strike to Raika but once again she dodges the attack by ducking and hits with a one-two punch to the chest and face to make him stagger backwards. Gallus recovers*
(Gallus): Fire Grid Form 137: Heatwave Stomp!
*Before Gallus can stomp his foot on the ground, Raika reaches into her pocket and tosses a capsule at Gallus’s face which unleashes a gas that swims up his nose*
(Gallus): AHH~, vinegar!
*With his nose running and eyes watering, Gallus became defenseless, and Raika takes advantage by unleashing a barrage of thunder punches attacking the stomach, chest, and face areas of Gallus. One of her punches struck the rib area of Gallus and they both heard an audible crack indicating that Raika had broken one of his ribs. Gallus fell to one knee feeling woozy and clutching his rib area*
(Gallus): What the hell is going on. Why do I feel so tired? Why can’t I keep up with you? I’m bigger and stronger.
(Raika): For someone who looks smart and a demihuman you sure don’t know a lot about bears. Let me ask you something, have you been taking a lot of naps and falling asleep a lot sooner these days?
*Gallus thinks for a second*
(Gallus): Yes.
(Raika): There’s a good reason for that, it’s the cold season. Your winter coat or in this case skin is causing you to overheat and get tired quickly. And being surrounded by fire isn’t helping you cool down. You need to rest more to restore your energy and I’m willing to bet it past your naptime.
*Feeling insulted by Raika’s comment, Gallus lights his fists on fire and attempts to lunge at Raika but she once again dodges his attack with sidestep. She then sweeps his leg with kick causing him to fall face first into the snow*
(Raika): You bears also aren’t very agile creatures. Making you very weak against the more agile predators and prey out there.
*Gallus gets back up and starts swinging at Raika wildly with his flame fists. His attacks don’t land and he moves at a slow pace with Raika able to dodge his attacks easily. Every time he swings he exhausts what little stamina he had left and the flames on his fists began to die down. Tired of dodging, Raika throws another capsule at Gallus’s face that releases a gas of vinegar in his face*
(Gallus): Ahh~ my eyes! My eyes!
(Raika): Bears can’t stand the smell of vinegar as well. Although to be fair, I’m not much of a fan either. Since we were passing through the forest, I figured I’d make a few just in case.
*As Gallus struggled to regain his eyesight, Raika stood there calmly putting her guns away and taking out a double-barreled one-hand shotgun. Once she finished loading up the shotgun shells, Gallus regained his eyesight just in time to see Raika pointing the shotgun at him. Before he could react, Raika fired the shotgun hitting Gallus in the stomach. He fell to his knees clutching his stomach in pain. Raika then walked up to Gallus and held the shotgun to under his chin*
(Raika): Sweet dreams.
*Raika pulled the trigger and sent Gallus flying backward through a tree which landed on him. If he wasn’t already knocked out from the shotgun blast then the tree landing on him was sure to do the trick. Raika smiled and put the shotgun away realizing that she had beat her opponent*
(Raika): Shall we continue?
*Dust and Hibana’s drone walked over to Raika and the three continued to walk through the forest*
(Dust): How you gonna end the fight on that line?
(Raika): Shut up. That was a good line. I took him down half the time it would have taken you to beat him.
(Dust): If it hadn’t been for your wife’s medical knowledge we’d be here for an hour.
(Raika): Screw you. Move your ass.
(Dust): Next time pick up someone in your own weight class.
*The two continued to joke and bicker with each other as they walked through the forest*
***
*Elsewhere, up in the sky, Mumen and Alita were flying toward Zegkirche*
(Alita): We still have quite a while until we reach our destination. How are you holding up, Mumen?
(Mumen): I’m fine. Let’s keep moving.
*As they continued to fly a large fireball came flying toward them. They quickly move out of the way only for dozens of more fireballs to come flying toward them. They begin dodging the fireballs and look down to see a number of catapults loaded with wooden balls about to be set on fire*
(Alita): Friends of Zegkirche?
(Mumen): No. We’re too far away from the city. I believe these are the Citizens of the Sun.
(Alita): Incoming!
*Alita dodged out of the way and fired a light beam from her eyes to destroy a fireball*
(Alita): I agree with your hypothesis. Continuing to fly will prove to be difficult with a barrage of fireballs.
(Mumen): I’ll take them out. Please fly up and then downward.
*Alita flies higher up into the air while she continues to dodge and destroy fireballs with her eye beams. She flew high above the clouds as Mumen took a deep breath before his and Alita’s body became surrounded by a green circular force field made of lightning magic. Alita flew back down at amazing speed. They ignored the fireballs shot and flew past them to land by the catapults which were being operated by the Citizens of the Sun. Upon landing, Mumen struck the ground with his shakujō. This released all the stored up lightning magic he had within his body sending out a wave of magic that blasted the Citizens of the Sun and destroyed their catapults. Those who were struck by the wave fell unconscious. As Mumen stood up to survey the area, satisfied with the damage he had done he saw eight Citizens of Sun come out ready to fight him. They all looked young except for one man staying behind the others. He looked to be a middle-aged man with black eyes and short blue hair wearing a black business suit and tie with a white shirt underneath*
(Mumen): Your catapults have been destroyed and your comrades struck down by the powers given to me by Midori. Allow us to pass through peacefully and no harm shall come to you.
*The young adults were shaken by his words and seemed to be ready to give up*
(Man in suit): Don’t listen to him! Have you forgotten who you are? You are rays of hope. The ones who will rule the new world and lead it toward a better tomorrow! Don’t let this blasphemous demi-human intimidate you! Show him the error of his ways and beat him right here and now!
*As if hearing the words of a god, all the fears and worries of the young adults disappeared and they faced Mumen with renewed confidence*
(Young man): Yeah, Mr. Mevette is right! We’re the chosen ones. We were chosen by Lady Cinder for this very reason.
(Young woman): Yeah, screw that striped cat let’s take him out.
*The young adults began to cheer pumping each other up as Mumen stood there unamused and turned his attention to Mevette who was smiling mischievously*
(Mumen): *Inner thoughts* Fools poisoned by the words of a cobra.
*Sticking his staff into the ground, Mumen pulled down the upper half of his monk outfit to reveal a black undershirt that clung to his body and defined his muscles. He then untied a green bandana from his staff and began to tie it around his head. As he was doing this one of the young adults who was a boy with bleached blonde hair that was short charged at Mumen confident that he could take him down easily. As everyone cheered him on, Mumen calmly finished tying the bandana over his head. When the boy swung at Mumen with his fist on fire, Mumen grabbed the wrist of the boy, twisted it, delivered a chop charged with lightning magic to the boy’s neck with his free hand, and then swept the boy’s legs to bring him to the ground writhing in pain as everyone watched in shock at what just happened*
(Mumen): Stand down. Except for you.
*Mumen pointed his finger toward Mevette*
(Mumen): I have some divine punishment for you.
*Mumen began to walk toward Mevette with the only thing standing between them were the young adults who got over their shock and held their positions ready to fight. The young man who he knocked down was back on his feet and attempted to do a sneak attack from behind with a kick. Mumen caught the kick with his hands, lifted it up in the air, and then swung the man’s body around so that he would crash into another young man who had curly red hair, orange eyes, and a pierced nose. The two men fell to the ground from the collision. A third young man with a brown mohawk and yellow eyes sidestepped his two comrades and launched a fireball at Mumen who dodged the attack and blocked his punches before pushing him away with an electric shock. The last two young men, one with wavy grey hair, green eyes, and glasses, and the other with medium-length wet hair that was blonde and brown eyes charged at Mumen who blocked all of their punches and kicks with ease. When they both launched a fire fist attack at Mumen, he dodged it by leaning back grabbing hold of their arms for support. The flames just missed his face. Pulling himself back into an upright position, he slammed the two men into each other and pushed them away where they tumbled to the ground. The next two to face him were two young women who were elves. One had long braided blue hair with red eyes while the other had short feathered hair with highlights that were mint green and green eyes. The two women approached with caution on both of his sides. Mumen watched carefully waiting for which girl to strike first. The girl with the blue hair went first and attempted to kick Mumen with a flame kick only for him to duck and get behind her. The woman attempted a back fist but Mumen caught the attack by grabbing her arm and wrist. The other woman attempted a flaming bicycle kick but accidentally kicked her friend thanks to Mumen who used her as a shield. Mumen pushed the blue haired girl out of the way to focus on the green hair girl who attempted to punch Mumen but he grabbed both of her wrists. Sensing the final girl attempting to attack him from behind, Mumen spun the green hair woman behind him where she was punched in the stomach by the third woman who was a dark elf with dark violet straight hair and red eyes. Mumen then tossed the green hair girl up into the air where she landed on her stomach. She let out a pained grunt. The young man with bleached hair came into Mumen’s view and he quickly attacked Mumen with his flame fist. Using his quick footwork, Mumen dodged the punches and returned his focus to the dark elf who attempted to strike him from the right side. Grabbing the girl’s wrist and twisting the arm, Mumen tossed the dark elf into the man and they bumped heads with each other. The man with the pierced nose attempted multiple flame kicks but Mumen was able to block them and knocked the man down with an electrified chest bump. The girl with blue hair returned trying to punch Mumen but he caught the punch by grabbing the wrist. The girl used her free arm in an attempt to pull it away but had no luck. With no other choice, she tried to deliver a rising knee to Mumen’s chest but he blocked it and then swung the girl around by lifting her up. The girl would accidentally kick two of her male comrades and once she landed she tried to use her flame breath on Mumen, but he used his free hand to cover her mouth and then spun her around where he removed his hand and the girl shot her flame breath on one of the men’s faces burning him severely. The man screamed out in pain as he felt his face burning and fell to his knees. When Mumen spun the girl back to her he was about to deliver an electric punch to her face but stopped himself. His teachings as a monk of Midori forbid him to attack females and children. With no other option, he let the elf girl go and just in time as one of the young men who was previously kicked returned to his feet tried to punch Mumen but he deflected the punch back toward the girl to hit her in the cheek and knock her out. Mumen then grabbed the young man by the collar and headbutted him to send him falling backward to the ground. The five remaining citizens surrounded Mumen and charged at him from all sides attempting to kick and punch him. Mumen either dodged or blocked their attacks as well as pushed them away so it never became two or more on one scenario. He managed to slide underneath one of the citizens to escape the encirclement and grabbed his staff. Mumen then charged at the citizens where he jumped over the first two girls who shot fireballs at him. Using his staff, Mumen swept their legs causing them to fall to the ground. The remaining three men charged at Mumen. The first being the one with the mohawk whose frustration was boiling over. Mumen had made him and everyone else look like a fool and he’d had enough. He was going to take Mumen down no matter what. In his anger, his moves were readable and Mumen was able to dodge his kick, sweep his leg with the staff, and bring him up into the air where Mumen delivered a lightning palm strike to his chest which took him out. The remaining two men didn’t fare any better as Mumen caught the first one’s punch in the hole of his staff, spun him around, and drove him headfirst into the stomach of the other man to stagger him and then he kicked him in the butt to bring both of them to the ground. With nothing standing between him and Mevette, Mumen rushed to the cowardly man who had a look of terror on his face and was sweating*
(Mevette): Wait! I admit it! I manipulated them for my own gain! It was wrong. But it was the only way I could survive as a citizen. Please, spare-
*Before Mevette could speak another word Mumen lifted his staff up and lightning shot from it shocking Mevette for a few seconds. Mevette’s body convulsed from the lightning and when it was done he fell to the ground unconscious. Burnt marks were all over his body and the confidence of the young adults was no more as they saw what happened. Mumen turned around to face them*
(Mumen): Retreat.
*Heeding his words, the young adults picked up the man and retreated. Alita landed by Mumen who took a sigh of relief that the fight was over*
(Mumen): May the cobra’s poison be bleached from your soul and allow you to walk your own path.
(Alita): A most impressive show, Mumen. You defeated all of them without so much as using your powers.
(Mumen): A good thing, too. If I had used my powers they would have been seriously injured.
(Alita): I’ve never seen anyone fight like that before.
(Mumen): Sometimes you attack your opponent with the ferocity and relentlessness of a tiger. And other times you let your opponents beat themselves. Just like there are an infinite number of ways to use magic there are an infinite number of ways to fight.
(Alita): An infinite number of ways to fight? Interesting. I shall keep that in mind for the future. Thank you for this valuable insight.
(Mumen): *Chuckles* My pleasure. Now let us continue. We still have a way to go and I’ve wasted enough of our time here.
*Nodding, Mumen and Alita took off into the sky flying toward Zegkirche*
***
*In an undisclosed location, Ryuuji regained consciousness and found himself in a dark chamber with his arms and legs chained up. Ryuuji tried to break them but had no luck*
(Cinder): Don’t bother trying to break those chains. They’re made of pure Dispelium.
*Cinder came out of the shadows walking slowly toward Ryuuji*
(Cinder): Do you like them? I had them made specifically for you.
(Ryuuji): Hello Cinder. It’s been a while.
(Cinder): Indeed. Fate has brought us back together.
Author’s Note: Another chapter down. Two more until 100. This time we get two really good fights from two different people. Raika overwhelms her opponent with knowledge of his weaknesses and Mumen wins by having his opponents beat themselves up because of their lack of experience. For Mumen’s fight choreography, I took inspiration from an unlikely source, The Karate Kid. The one starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. I know that movie isn’t well-liked by many fans, but it had some good moments within it. One of them was Jackie’s fight against the kids and how he beat them without throwing a punch. That was my favorite scene from the movie and stuck with me even after all these years. In keeping with the monk theme for Mumen, I knew I couldn’t make him attack his opponents, so instead I would have him react to his opponents and counter them. Mumen’s fighting style is defensive; he doesn’t attack his opponents, he counters them. With that in mind, I decided to make him a master of defensive martial arts, which includes Aikido, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Wing Chun, and Krav Maga. In the end, it’s ironic. You have this buff and intimidating tiger, yet he chooses not to attack, but instead defends himself. It’s exciting and different from what everyone else has been doing up to this point. Get ready for the next chapter because we’re going to see Rika fight next. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.