Scene #5724: A Challenger Appears!

Owner	Pose
Krusty	Krusty walks up in his heavy armour to the blonde woman standing on the sidelines of the large training area. He looks at her for a moment before asking, "Rieze, why are you here?" Rieze, one of Krusty's second-in-commands in the guild, stands there with her hands clasped in front of her as she replies, "While I have my doubts about your success... As the guild's training officer, I should be as aware of Miss Konno's capabilities as possible, should you win." Krusty nods along slowly, "Makes sense." He turns, takes a couple of steps, then turns again. This time to face the navy blue haired woman standing beside Rieze. Krusty asks her, "Then why are you here, Misa?" The other of Krusty's second-in-commands eyes him intently, "There are still several issues with the Alliance council that are waiting for your attention. I'm here to make sure that you return to work after your little 'diversion'." Krusty ahhhs and nods, "I'd forgotten about those." No he hadn't. Krusty turns away from the two, taking a few steps as he says, "Well then. I suppose that explains your presence." He stops and turns and then asks of the two, "What about them?" He motions behind them. The camera pans upwards to reveal a couple of hundred people occupying that section of the arena stands, all chattering away excitedly while they wait for the fight to begin. It's Rieze who responds, with a bit of a smile, "Well, it's not often you get into a duel. They're of course all here to watch." Krusty rubs the bridge of his nose a little, sighing in humoured resignation, "Fine, fine." He finally turns, heading out into the center of the battle area to greet his opponent today.
Yuuki Konno	While she's not exactly a regular at the Shrine of Adversity, Yuuki's not an unknown either. She's greeted by name by a few of the attendants and workers who seem to cheer somewhat at the sight of her, and she warmly returns the greetings. All kinds of people fight and train in the 'shrine', but for most of them it's something they do because their faction permits them. Few go out of their way to do it for the pure love of nonlethal combat, unless of course they're duelling superstars. Which, in a way, the imp is. But if she's a superstar, she's one of those who always takes time to appreciate others, and her sincerity draws its own fair share of fans, particularly among those who see fighters day in and day out. Yuuki only seems to have brought one companion at her side today. A japanese woman, frail and soft, with wavy shoulder-length hair and a gentle expression. She could almost be Yuuki's mother, though she seems human rather than having the pointed ears and red eyes of an imp. If Yuuki had brown hair though, and human ears and eyes... well, it's possible one might think the pair related. Yuuki comes out alone into the arena however, leaving the woman behind to watch among the audience. Perhaps she and Reize and Misa might find one another and compare notes. Yuuki's here to fight though, and she calls her blade to her side with a few gestures on an invisible menu. She rests one hand on the hilt of the blade familiarly, though casually. "Hi Krusty!" she chirps in greeting. "I guess if we're fighting here, we go all out right?" she grins. "Or would you prefer first blood? I can't afford one of those plans that rolls back most of the injuries so we'll be walking out of here hurt." she offers. She doesn't sound afraid, just curious. "And did you have any special rules or terms? Where I'm from sometimes the duels forbid flying, but it'd be pretty weird of me to fly if you can't chase me, wouldn't it?" she grins broadly.
Krusty	As Yuuki walks up to meet him, Krusty is two retrieving his weapon. With a few press and swipes of his finger, it materializes on his back. However, as he reaches up to draw the large weapon, Yuuki may realize it's not his normal one. At least, not the one she's seen him with in the past. As instead of a large two-handed axe, it's a large two-handed sword. Krusty turns the large blade and places it point down in front of him. He gives Yuuki a smile as she greets him, returning the greeting with, "Hello, Yuuki." To the question of going all out or not, Krusty shrugs, "I'm not concerned about leaving with a little injury. So let's do this properly." He also seems unconcerned about her flight, "And you're welcome to fly if you want. I don't think it'll have much of an impact on the fight. However there is one rule we commonly use in our world that I suggest we adopt here. Namely no use of items during the duel. They tend to prolong things unnecessarily." Raising his large blade once more, Krusty shifts it into a ready stance. Glancing to the side, he asks, "Misa, if you would?" In her rather posh looking uniform, Misa walks up to a point near the two. She glances at each to make sure they're ready, before raising her hand. There's a brief pause... And then she brings her hand down, shouting, "BEGIN!"
Yuuki Konno	Yuuki's no stranger to pretty much any fantasy melee weapon, at least when it comes to her opponents. She doesn't flinch when he brings it forth, taking everything in stride. She smiles at his response. Admittedly there was more to it than just wondering if he feared getting hurt. She hadn't expected that at all really, but she did wonder if he might condescend her own abilities. Some fighters do, but the best generally don't. She readily agrees to his condition, even shifting some items from her hotbar to her inventory. That is to say, taking potions from her belt and other at-hand locations and transfering them to where she'd need to menu to get them. They'll be there for after, but she'd never be able to access them in the middle of any duel worth the actual effort. "That's fair!" she readily agrees. "Spells and abilities are o-kay though~" she chimes, drawing out the word in a singsong. Not that she uses spells, but she often channels magic through her blade. She follows by drawing the blade itself, letting it sit to one side, and then letting it pulse with violet energies briefly before bringing it up to front guard, dismissing the power. She doesn't really seem to be taking this seriously though. Yuuki has a small half-smile on her face and her sword, despite the pulse of energy, is held almost casually. She has no deadly intent, and seems to be viewing this duel as a fun lark rather than anything of real consequence. She doesn't lose the smile as Misa calls the start of the battle. She runs up, sword held before her. At the last moment she accelerates, lunging in hard and very likely earlier than expected, trusting that the sudden burst of speed will bring her in range before a potential counterstrike of that greatsword. And of course if that sword comes at her anyways, if Krusty is fast enough or clever enough to anticipate her, she's prepared to dodge out of his path. Her sword arcs out as Yuuki aims a cut, aiming more to test Krusty's metal, his armor, than to find a weak point or otherwise seek a quick end to the match.
Krusty	Krusty has seen enough of Yuuki's fighting style to have a fairly decent idea of her speed. So he doesn't bother to charge her, knowing she'll be to him shortly. Nor does he try to get in the first hit, knowing it's guaranteed to go to her. Instead he focuses on what his class does best, "Cool Defense." A faint aura of blue light appears across the entirety of Krusty moments before Yuuki's blade strikes. And it strikes hard, Krusty putting no effort into blocking or evading. However, as the blade hits, the faint barrier glows at the point of striking for just a moment. Through her grip on the weapon, and the sound of metal clashing on metal, Yuuki can tell that the weapon struck Krusty's armour as intended. However it appears to not have had the full effect, no doubt due to his defensive skill. Initial attack dealt with, Krusty counters with a wide swing of his large sword. It's impressively fast for its size, but then Yuuki's seen what Krusty can do with large weapons before. Krusty doesn't aim for any particular spot except Yuuki's middle, trying for the best chance to hit the speedster and break through whatever defenses she has with sheer force.
Yuuki Konno	Defensive magic? No, it appears to be a skill. Yuuki's played enough games to suspect that Krusty's command is something different from Alfheim Online's spells. It just remains to be seen then, whether the effect is one that's a damage absorption effect, a shield, or some other form of barrier. She doesn't let any dismay show at the nullification of her attack. Indeed Yuuki's still grinning as she vanishes from the path of the greatsword, knowing better than to oppose force with force. Not halting her momentum, she rushes through the swing, tucking down low to roll past the armored warrior's feet and come up to one knee, spinning halfway around again to face him, sword arcing back and forth in a hamstringing attack. She doesn't expect the attack to do any real harm of course, but it should tell her something about the nature of Krusty's defense. Whether his glow fades after multiple hits perhaps, or if there's some other visual tell, or if it's weaker where he's less-heavily armored. As she completes her attack she darts to the side and cuts again at his other leg near the ankle, hopefully keeping him on his proverbial toes as well as shifting herself presumably away from his most likely attack should he come around swinging.
Krusty	The quick movements displayed by his opponent don't dishearten Krusty. In fact, judging by the look of concentration on his face, he's taking it all in stride... And perhaps a little seriously. But then that's how he has fun. The first attack from Yuuki strike trues, however in a reverse of what she was expecting, the glow from the defensive skill is actually brighter this time round. Combined with the lessened feel and sound of her weapon striking Krusty's armour, it is evidence enough to suggest the barrier has actually gotten STRONGER than it was before. Yuuki's second go at Krusty's ankle however is not as succesful as the large knight jumps away to avoid it. Landing some distance away he swings the large sword towards Yuuki, despite not being in range. However as he does so, the blade glows and a crescent of light launches off it, streaking towards Yuuki and threatening to cut into her.
Yuuki Konno	That confuses Yuuki briefly, the defense appearing to be stronger now. Could it take time to charge up to full strength? Or does it somehow compensate, becoming stronger where his armor is weaker? She'll have to try more things to work that out. She brings her sword up in a sweeping parry as if Krusty were much closer, either reacting intuitively to his attack despite him being too far away, or responding to the slash of light with distressing reaction speed. Her own sword, momentarily glowing violet, strikes the crescent of light and deflects it upwards as if blade catches blade. Or, more likely, darkness energy catching that of light. Yuuki seems pleased though, grinning like an idiot. "Not just a tank then!" she calls out, possibly referring to his dodge, possibly to his attack. She lowers her blade, holding it horizontally across her middle, causing it to glow again. Then she rushes forward, jumping up into a spin with the blade completing a full arc around her, violet afterglow learing a ring of dark-flavored energy at roughly Krusty's shoulder level. Not that the ring itself is the attack. No it's the spinning blade itself that's the threat, with dark energy only enhancing the strike.
Krusty	Krusty has to admit, that's not something he sees every day. He looks a little impressed as his ranged attack skill is deflected away, "Not bad." And at the mention of tanking, Krusty replies, "Actually being a tank is secondary for my build." As Yuuki sweeps in with her spin attack, Krusty quickly raises his arm to block, the Imp's blade striking with another glow from his defense skill, the strongest brightness yet and there's barely any sound from the impact. However, while the damage from the attack is all but removed, it apparently takes its toll elsewhere if the strain on Krusty's face is any indication. And shortly after blocking the strike, the faint blue glow finally fades away, the skill's limit reached. Once more jumping back for a bit of distance, Krusty doesn't leave it like that for long as he levels his blade, point forward towards Yuuki. And then with a push off the ground, he darts forward again for a quick piercing strike from the large sword.
Yuuki Konno	Secondary? Yuuki's not really sure what that means in this context. She'll have to find out, she supposes. She straightens from her low crouch, not quite nonchalantly, still unwinded and mostly unhurried or strained. She holds that posture, lowering her head as Krusty thunders in. Still that faint smile making it clear she's not giving up, even as she remains motionless without defending. Yuuki only moves at the last moment. PAST the last moment, perhaps. There's the long shriek of steel on steel as Krusty's sword strikes. No resistance though, just a slight nudge to the side and the grating sound as her sword's suddenly there, throwing up scintillations as the blades clash. Then she's suddenly NOT there as she throws herself into a whirling spin, disengaging her parry to whip her sword around in a complete circle once again, aimed at the vulnerable side-armor under Krusty's extended arm. Her own arm is raised, sleeve touching Krusty's blade. Seems her outfit's enchanted too. It might not withstand a cut, but it's surely tough enough to resist a casual brush of an edge that has no weight behind its movement. "Mine too!" Yuuki says cheerfully as she bounds away after her strike. Well okay, there aren't really any secondary 'builds' as such in her game. There's just skills and attributes. Still Yuuki's health is remarkably high, higher than most straight DPS, and her armor's quite a bit better than caster gear even if she seems to have traded joint protection in on added mobility.
Krusty	The brief touch upon Yuuki's sleeve is enough for the weapon to register as a hit, which means Yuuki will see a small portion of her HP drain away. It's not much, but as it funnels into Krusty's own it helps offset the strike just a bit. Yuuki's sword strikes Krusty's armor properly for the first time in this fight, but it doesn't do much to phase him. Skidding to a stop and spinning around, Krusty quickly unleashes a swing from his blade towards the bounding Imp. Like before, it glows as it unleashes a wave of light. However, Krusty quickly follows up with a second swing on the opposite diagonal, sending not one but two blasts soaring towards Yuuki. She might have been able to deflect one before, let's see how she does with two.
Yuuki Konno	While Yuuki could probably parry 'slow' attacks all day, she's never had a great deal of patience. She readily agreed with the condition to avoid using items because she has no interest in a long drawn-out fight. To her, most attacks are slow, As fast as her body moves, her perceptions and reactions are even faster. The problem is that Krusty's much stronger than she is. Or at least his attacks come in with enough power, both muscular and magical, that she can't tank them. And she figures if she stands back and tries to block or dodge everything, it'll only lead to him getting one through eventually due to overwhelming force. It's obvious he has skill, and he'll read her well enough that landing a hit's only a matter of time. So with that in mind, Yuuki does what she does best. She attacks. Charging forward, Yuuki meets the incoming blasts with hard parries of her own. Not opposing the strikes directly but pushing them to the side, letting her get past them while taking minor hits. One to a leg, one glanced across her armor as she twists aside. Because she didn't oppose force with force, her forward momentum's unchanged as she leaps into a thrust high, a darting cut low, an abrupt jump high again with her sword rising into an uppercut as she rounds off into a backflip.
Krusty	Krusty definitely admits that Yuuki is good, being able to parry both of his attacks like that. But then he wasn't coming into this fight expecting it to be easy. This is clear as Krusty tries to keep up with the Imp's array of strikes but for the most part fails, each blow to his armor causing him to take a step back. It's not visible to Yuuki, but each blow chips away at his HP bar, the armour not blocking all of the damage and that which it doesn't is adding up with the quick strikes. But Krusty is not completely without options in this scenario as Yuuki wails on him with her combo. If he can just get the timing right... Counter Break! Another of Krusty's skills is activated moments before Yuuki finishes with her uppercut. His weapon moves impressively, one might say almost impossibly, fast thanks to the skill assist. It meets Yuuki's final strike, a big flash of light and sparkles going off as they do and the blow is deflected. It may through Yuuki off balance in the middle of her backflip, but even if it doesn't Krusty quickly follows through. Krusty quickly dashes to close the distance to Yuuki, blade glowing once more as he lets out a battle cry, "Onslaught!" The unleashing of the skill results in a quick series of slashes and stabs from the large knight. Each is powerful in their own right, but combined together into the chain they really add up. Even if Yuuki manages to avoid all of them, the feeling of dread from the near misses will be noticeable. The combination of the flashy effects from the Counter Break, combined with the follow up Onslaught, draws numerous cheers and expressions of awe from the crowd of guild members that had come to watch Krusty fight. However his two lieutenants simply watch on without much reaction. Although Rieze does ask as an aside to Misa, "Why is he calling out the skills?" Misa, who does not look amused with her expression and crossed arms, simply notes, "He's playing to the crowd."
Yuuki Konno	Yuuki's HP bar isn't visible, but she shows wounds in the form of red pixellated slashes; a faint one on one sleeve, a brighter one on her side, and one actually wound-bright on her thigh. She just doesn't care overly much, though the wince as she squeezed past two of the attacks shows that she suffers the injury or at least the pain. She lets out a grunt of effort as her uppercut is deflected. It does send her flying, almost literally, but she's at home in the air and recovers to land well despite having been knocked around. Her eyes widen as Krusty's onslaught begins, but her response might shock him. Rather than cowering in dread she counters, pressing in close, getting quite literally in his face. It makes her take hits from his arms rather than from the blade, but even those leave faint red marks; oval impact 'wounds' rather than slashes. At the same time though, she's attempting to carve into Krusty, using her weapon's shorter length to her advantage. Once she's inevitably pushed into his blade's path rather than being right in his face, she continues her withering attack. Small and fast slashes, but by no means light. Yuuki has a surprising amount of power in her tiny frame, and her weapon's clearly no trivial tool either. At arms-reach she does work to dodge that sword, having more luck avoiding it than she does avoiding Krusty's steel-clad fists, but she only avoids the meatiest parts of the strike. She works on getting him to overextend his swings, opening up vulnerable areas for her to strike. Sacrificing her dwindling health bar in order to deal more and more damage, trying to make her opponent be the one to flinch first as she screams a battlecry, bringing yet more power into her blade.
Krusty	Krusty finds Yuuki getting in close, rather than trying to pull away from his attacks. This puts her in a somewhat troublesome position for him, his larger weapon not working so well in such an unusual situation. An unusual situation calls for an unusual responsse. Krusty doesn't try to move away to gain distance. Neither does he try to continue his assault with his sword. Instead, he simply lunges forward to get even closer and attempt to wrap his arms around Yuuki... Wait, he's trying to hug her!? ... Well, not so much. A hug typically doesn't involve the use of enough strength to crush someone... Usually. The attempt likely resulted in Yuuki's sword scraping across Krusty's armor, dropping his HP further. But it was a calculated risk! Assuming she didn't manage to snake free before his grasp closed in on her.
Yuuki Konno	Yuuki's never minded giving or receiving hugs, but bearhugs are another matter. She squeals in pain as Krusty tries to crush her. She doesn't drop her sword though, using it to inflict as much damage as possible while being crushed. Without leverage that damage will probably be minimal due to his armor, but she gamely struggles to escape what appears to have been a poor tactical decision! Fortunately Yuuki's no stranger to unarmed combat. Leverage comes intuitively to her, and she has some training on how to pit the strongest muscles of her own rather-small body against the weaker muscles of an opponent. She picks her feet up, planting one on Krusty's knee to give leverage, then drawing her legs up further , tucking herself as much into a ball as she can. She's hampered by Krusty's grasp, but he can't really stop her while also maintaining his crushing hold. Once Yuuki manages to wedge herself in as well as she can manage she PUSHES, uncoiling the power of her back and legs, pitting them against Krusty's grip. He may be stronger than her, but not THAT much stronger. Adding leverage to her imp form's natural advantages, Yuuki breaks free. There's a fresh band of red around her ribs now, a sullen electronic glow of damage that seems not exactly severe, but definitely widespread. As she breaks free, Yuuki seems serious finally. Not upset, but she's not smiling any more. She doesn't look angry though, just focussed; determined. Also winded, though that's probably more from being unable to get a good breath than from exertion. "Don't... tell me you're a monk? Or wrestler? Or something like that?" she asks between gasps, clearly a little annoyed at putting herself in such a vulnerable position.
Krusty	Krusty does his best to maintain his grip on Yuuki, crushing her between the plating of his arms and chest armour. But he's not had much experience with unarmed combat. At this point he's basically just taking advantage of certain physical differences between them, particularly size. Finally Yuuki breaks free, the force applied in her escape also forcing Krusty to stumble backwards. He takes a moment to regain his footing, before returning his attention to his opponent. As the questions, he smiles, "No. But like I was saying my main focus isn't tanking. It's rare, but I use an offensive focused build, which is unusual for a Guardian. Among other things, it means a high strength stat." Briefly checking his HP bar, Krusty notices it's getting low. The fight probably won't go on for much longer... So time to up the ante. Krusty smirks at Yuuki as he calls, "Lunatic Armor." A noticeable red aura manifests around Krusty. He explains to Yuuki, "The amount of damage I receive is now doubled." Yeah, definitely not something a tank would do. However, he does add, "But so has the amount of damage I inflict." Considering his already dangerous blows, that's saying something! Krusty launches himself forward to once more close the distance with Yuuki. He begins to assault her with a series of blows, not quite as impressive an assault as the previous attack skill he used, but with the added support of that aura... Dangerous none the less. His movements are also a lot more aggressive and less calculated, going for speed and strength over careful positioning.
Yuuki Konno	Well, Yuuki's definitely learning a thing or two about Krusty! He's tough, he's determined, and he's not afraid to give or take damage. A duel is an excellent way to learn about someone, and also an excellent way to prove what matters to you. Not that Yuuki has anything in particular to prove. She's just here, more or less, to have fun. Although that too is something she values, so in a way it's something she can prove through a determined battle. She doesn't seem particularly worried about that red glow, not when it manifests, and not when Krusty explains it. Instead she smiles. The skill, on the surface, makes little sense. It's a great skill for fighting a boss perhaps, when you have healer support, but it seems pointless for a duel. Her instincts warn her that he's not nearly as vulnerable as he seems, not if he's half as good a fighter as she thinks he is. Yuuki's smile, however, is for the pleasure of the fight and the appreciation of a bold move. Even telling her about it, that seems like a cool thing. Maybe it's a taunting tactic, maybe a friendly one. Either way she appreciates it. "I'll just have to be sure to do more damage than you do!" she says brightly, and dashes forward to meet Krusty halfway. The imp moves like a dream, seeming to be utterly reckless with her damage-taking so long as she can deliver a solid blow in return. And yet, her recklessness is measured and calculated, seemingly by the inch. She dodges exceptionally well, but is perfectly willing to take a shallow cut if it means not stepping entirely out of reach for a well-placed counterblow. It's difficult to predict whether any given attack will find her gone, or if it'll find armor or only draw the shallowest of injuries while she turns up the offensive heat. And with Krusty's damage taken doubled, her cuts are carving their way past armor to health-bar territory. Her damage suffered is surely mounting, but it's hard to tell which of the two are suffering at the greater rate with this calculatedly reckless abandon.
Krusty	The resulting clash between the two combatants is likely an impressive display. Krusty's fierce assault has all the hallmarks of reckless, the man effectively channeling the namesake of his secondary class, Berserker. It's likely a good combination to Yuuki's speed, resulting in a rather chaotic and exciting looking battle. The two are probably keeping a fairly close rate on the damage they inflict and receive. However, Krusty knows it's not going to last. In a pure DPS fight like this one has evolved into, Krusty knows that Yuuki has the advantage with her speed. And unless he can finish her off quickly, it's going to be him that runs out of HP first. So with that in mind, Krusty falls back from their melee and prepares a final skill. One of his favourites. Holding the large sword out to his side, Krusty crouches and begins, "Aura..." The blade begins to glow as Krusty pushes off from the ground. Quickly closing the distance to Yuuki in one of his fastest attacks yet, he dashes past her, swinging out with his sword as he does so and finishing, "SABER!" Designed as it is to ignore an opponent's defence, the blade will pass through Yuuki's like it's not there, to strike her at her most vulnerable. After passing the Imp, Krusty skids to a halt, expecting this fight to be over one way or the other.
Yuuki Konno	It's not like Yuuki carries on an internal monologue when fighting. She's far too quick for that; her moves more a product of practice and skill than that of reason. But fragments of thought, of prediction and calculation, flit across her mind directing her tactics while instinct and reflexes drive her blade and body. She knows, particularly, what's going on with her health and mana bars. She's getting low on health, but not so low that she consciously fears getting hit. Her mana is fine. She's crap at magic and really can't deliver any spells capable of depleting her mana pool. Usually her mana pool's good only for initiating techniques and sword skills. She could do that now, but she's wary about committing to an attack that the wary Krusty could negate with a skill. There really is only one way for her to guarantee landing a sword skill. Strike while Krusty's already executing a skill. Mother's Rosario.... no. While Yuuki could set it up, she couldn't easily set it up to coincide with Krusty's own attack. She needs one of the more basic Sword Skills. Which, well, that depends on where she is when he begins his next skill. As soon as he calls out that attack, Yuuki sets herself, her blade momentarily frozen in place. Her blade glows violet, charged with dark energy. She dives forward, trying to thread the needle. Above her, the greatsword sweeps in a deadly arc. Below her, she needs enough room to swing her own sword around and upwards. No, it's too tight. Not enough room. But she feels she can survive a hit, though she doesn't really know how dangerous this aura saber might be. It doesn't matter really. This is her best available move, and she's not about to fail to pull it off just because she fears to die. Or to lose for that matter! Rage Spike. A diving lunge, sword slicing upwards. It's not the most deadly of Sword Skills. Actually it's fairly basic, little more effective than a common slash or thrust, save for the discharge of energy when the attack strikes home. Yuuki's speed and strength, not to mention Krusty's increased vulnerability due to his berserker skill, ensures she can pierce armor. The darkness energy channels all the extra power of the Sword Skill into an envenomed strike. More of a Skill than spellcasting, it's one of the few ways Yuuki actually uses magic. At the same time Yuuki's struck by the Aura Saber attack. Given its power and Krusty's berserk status, it strikes hard into her left shoulder and chest. Armor deflects some of the blow but by no means all of it. The attack easily tears through her remaining health bar. Not quite a fatal blow, but one that makes it impossible for the Avatar form of Yuuki to continue fighting. She explodes into pixels, spraying outwards in a momentarily-blinding shower of purple, red, gold and white. The pixelburst lasts only a moment, and perhaps what happens next will be the weirdest part of the fight for those who have never seen it before. Yuuki's body continues the path her Avatar had last taken, falling forward, possibly into Krusty's legs. Not as an attack however. This is no longer a battle lunge. It's a collapse. And the figure appears to be unconscious. More than that. Yuuki's form is bloodied and limp. Her wounds are no longer clean pixellated badges of battle. They're messy and organic. Still, it IS Yuuki's form. That might be the weirdest thing of all. She looks the same, save she looks human. And vulnerable too; something the imp-form of Yuuki rarely appears to be. She's not going to move of her own accord, not now. Human-form Yuuki is unconscious if not worse-off, and she'll stay that way until time-reversal powers of the Shrine of Adversity return her to an earlier state. One that leaves her as an Imp, naturally, rather than a frail human girl.
Krusty	The simultaneous strike from Yuuki is a solid hit, which combined with Krusty's current vulnerability pulls his HP bar down to almost the empty point. He skids to a stop from his strike, holding his stance for several moments. That is until the envenomed part of the attack kicks in. Feeling the drain and loss of his final HP, Krusty drops down to one knee as he leans on his sword. A familiar feeling washes over him as he expects to spend the next little while contemplating his failures. However, that doesn't come as Krusty remembers the nature of this place. He glances at his status... 1/15670 1092/7354 Krusty chuckles quietly, muttering to himself, "So this place spares even me..." With the battle concluded, the Shrine's effects activates. Krusty feels strength returning to his mind and body, standing up as it does so. He watches his HP bar climb back up at a speed he's rarely seen. It doesn't go all the way, unfortunately. But enough that he's not going to vanish in a blast of bubbles from a paper cut. The crowd is pretty excited, probably more for the excitement of the battle rather than its outcome. Indeed, with some confusion, Rieze turns to look at Misa and asks, "Does this mean he was victorious?" Misa hmmms in consideration as a response, but doesn't actually say anything.
Yuuki Konno	Yuuki also recovers, though her reversion's a bit more dramatic than just having a health bar recharge. The avatar forms around her in a sort of magical-girl transformation brought about by virtual reality. The change is rapid, and Yuuki's very quickly her former self, albeit stiffly getting up from having been sprawled out on the arena floor. Obviously she's still hurt, as shown by the angry red pixellation crossing her repeatedly. There's little sign of that final 'fatal' blow, but the number of lesser wounds make it clear enough she's been in a war. After testing her body with a few stiff-looking movements she shrugs and bounds to her feet, apparently not all that sore or stiff. Not enough to really upset or slow her at least. Putting her hand behind her neck, Yuuki ducks her head in an awkward gesture. "You really got me there!" she claims, not unhappy. Actually she looks pretty pleased with herself. The fight was fun and, while she does fight to win, it's not the winning that she loves. "Aaah~ such a shame, I wanted to prove the Gatecrashers were worth joining! Guess I'm not a very good member if I can't even prove it by winning a duel!" she grins sheepishly. Again, not upset at losing or at least believing she'd lost. Just a bit disappointed since she seems to feel that strong-enough belief in one's cause can determine the outcome of a duel.
Krusty	Krusty reaches up to place his large sword on his back, before turning to face Yuuki. Judging by what he briefly saw of her condition at the end, he's not surprised she doesn't realize what happened. At her words, he returns a friendly laugh, "I'd say your proof is strong enough. I've not encountered many who can fight me to a draw." Krusty walks over to Yuuki, offering his hand to her for a shake, "Your speed is quite impressive and a lot more intimidating up close."
Yuuki Konno	"Wait, a draw?" Yuuki asks, surprised. She had missed the actual ending of the fight after all. Then she abruptly grins. "I haven't had a draw in years!" She pauses and considers as she accepts Krusty's handshake. "Or a loss, I guess. Well that means I'm still undefeated!" she says, clearly pleased. "At least undefeated since after my first game. I was a TERRIBLE fighter a few years ago!" she admits, not at all ashamed by the confession. "Hm, so what does this mean if we drew? Do we fight again to see who joins the other's team?" Yuuki asks, grinning. They can't really fight again right away. The Shrine isn't set up to work that way. Dying again and again just isn't possible here, nor is it really practical to fight while still half-wrecked from earlier fights.
Krusty	Undefeated? Definitely impressive. Krusty nods in confirmation, "Your venom got me in the end. I'm not exactly sure on the timing of who went down first, but it was close enough that I'd say it was a draw." But at the question of another fight, Krusty chuckles, "I don't think that'll be necessary. As for the wager..." He rubs his chin for a moment, then shrugs, "Well... I suppose a draw means neither of us lost, so we could just say we both won?"
Yuuki Konno	Undefeated, yes, but she's had a few fights that never went the distance. And a few that were incredibly close as well. "There's a lot of really strong people to fight." Yuuki notes almost casually. "But... hm. Both won? O~kay!" she singsongs quite agreeably.
Krusty	Excellent. Now that that's been settled, Krusty waves over his two subordinates. He then looks back at Yuuki, "I expect you'll provide me with the details around joining the Gatecrashers?" He's not quite sure how the guild works, knowing it's less game specific and more Multiverse based. Just as Misa and Rieze join the two, Krusty says, "But in the mean time. I'll introduce you. These are my two lieutenants within D.D.D. You met Rieze on the recent quest you assisted is. She is the guild's training officer and is primarily responsible for teaching the newer recruits. Obviously your combat skills are excellent, so she will focus on training you in how our guild operates during raids." Rieze gives Yuuki a small smile, "A pleasure to see you again." After that, Krusty motions to Misa, "This is Misa Takayama. She is the guild's primary administrator." Misa gives Yuuki a curt nod in greeting, "I'll organize to have you added to the guild. You're not actually an Adventurer so you can't be officially listed. But there are some workarounds we can do to get you close. I will also organize for the creation of your uniform." Krusty smiles, finishing with, "Welcome to D.D.D."