Queen's Blade Unlimited Story: Chapter 2-1(a)

For the Unlimited vs Classic Leina's poll, there was a surprising tie at the top between "I like Unlimited better!" and "I like them both the same", with 22v-34%, followed by "I like Classic better!" with 17v-26%. Lastly, there was "didn't like before and still don't", with 2v-3%.
Well, it seems she sure got out on top, let's see how the others fare... :)

Next poll, Unlimited Elina's turn?

And here we continue with the 2nd volume of Unlimited, featuring a Risty vs Tomoe match...!

Enjoy!




Chapter 2: A match before her Majesty the Queen (Part 1)

The story thus far…
After being deemed worthy of the title of Beautiful Fighter within the Queen’s Blade, Elina defeated Airi, who’d been chasing after the boy named Michel all this time. Using her winner’s rights, she then enslaves the wraith and, along with the boy, she sets forth on her journey to find her elder sister, Leina, joined by her new companions.

The Warrior Priestess’ Fight

The crowd’s presence filled the amphitheatre seats close to bursting.
Among the cheers and roars of excitement, a beautiful fighter stepped down the path towards the central arena.

That fighter’s name: The Bandit of the Wilderness, Risty, and with her flowing red locks, dusky tanned skin and the tribalistic tattoo adorning her right leg, the title could not feel any more apt. Casually equipped with a massive war club, and seemingly handling it with perfect ease, she only made one thing all too clear to the crowd; this was an individual who stood above and beyond most others, a woman fit to be dubbed a Beautiful Fighter.

“So, you my opponent?”

Standing in the arena already, patiently awaiting Risty’s arrival, was a second beautiful fighter, clad in priestess garb the likes of which were rarely ever be seen on the Continent.
A warrior priestess from Hinomoto, a mysterious country to the east of the Continent.

That a member of that elite group, also known as the bearers of the Sacred Robes, would be participating in the Queen’s Blade was unusual to say the least. Given that fact, the spectators were rightfully enthusiastic, eager to see her in action.

“I am the Warrior Priestess, Tomoe.”

The priestess respectfully bowed, then placed a hand to the sword by her waist. She hadn’t drawn it… yet.

“Okay, okay, we get it. You’re itching to go, but hold on, alright---”
Flowing down from the dazzling radiance of the heavens behind her, an angel with asymmetrical wings spoke in a high pitched voice.

“Cuz if you start fighting before Referee Angel, Nanael’s, say so, then that’ll make this match invalid!”
“Oh, is that how it works?”
“You’re damn straight it is!”
The angel puffed out her chest dramatically, reacting as if Tomoe had asked something incredibly stupid.

“Now, I formally declare this Queen’s Blade match started!”
Risty raised her voice first.
“Bandit of the Wilderness, Risty, here and my demands are simple. Hand over everything you’ve got.”
Risty’s wish stated, her crest emerged before her.
“Warrior Priestess, Tomoe, and I have but one request: I would like ‘Man-Kon-Tan,’ please.”
“Uhhh….?”

Risty’s reaction to Tomoe’s request was an unexpectedly amusing one.
“Ah, yeah, Tomomo? That’s probably not gonna fly.”
The foreigner gave Nanael a quizzical look, hearing her request get shot down.
“But I’d heard that winners of the Queen’s Blade could be granted any wish?”
“Well yeah, but that’s if you win the whole thing tho.”
“Yep, she’s right. I wouldn’t be able to hold up my part of the match deal either, since I don’t got any of that ‘Man-Kon’Tan’ stuff on me to begin with. So uh, sorry but no dice.”
[Hell if I know what that stuff’s even supposed to be anyhow], Risty’s half-stunned look seemed to be telling Tomoe.

“Is that so? Well that is a shame.”
“Anything else you wanna ask for? Something you think Risty could do?”
“Well then… could you clear out the front gate of the arena for me in that case?”
“That’s what you’re gonna go for? You sure you don’t wanna ask for something a little more helpful to ya?”
“That will do. I would have preferred asking for more information regarding Man-Kon-Tan if at all possible, but if she does not know then there’s no helping it.”
“Alrighty, then that works for me.”
And just as Nanael answered, Tomoe’s crest appeared before her as well.

“Now, fight well! O ye beautiful fighters, may all bear witness to your struggle! Fight courageously and without restraint! Give us a battle worthy of the Queen’s Blade!”

The angel proclaimed and as with any official bout, the two emblems both began rapidly approaching one another, like 2 opposing sides of a magnet, before clashing in a spark of light.

“Let’s do this!”
The bandit charged towards her opponent with a battle cry.

In contrast to Risty however, the priestess simply stood perfectly still, seemingly content just watching Risty’s approach with a hand held over her blade. It looked to be a bout between motion and stillness…

But then, the oncoming Risty suddenly froze. Or at least, that’s how it seemed to the audience.
In reality, Risty had changed her mind and opted to keep her distance. It’d just occurred to her that Tomoe might be a practitioner of a relative obscure technique: a move where the priestess would draw her sword in a fraction of a second, strike Risty with a high speed slash and then sheathe it again…

“So you noticed, did you?”
Tomoe’s cool voice reached the red head’s ears.
“Y’know, I almost forgot that was a thing. Chicks like you really are a pain in the ass.”
“I see. Well, you may have seen through my intentions this time, but I assure you that will not happen again.”

With a small metallic clink, Tomoe’s silver blade was finally pulled free from its scabbard.
“For when it comes to speed and reach, I’m confident my weapon can outperform yours.”
“Y’think?”
[Her sword’s out, so she shouldn’t be able to do that quick draw thing anymore.]
Hedging her bets, the amazon swiftly sprung into action and closed the distance, swinging down on Tomoe with her heavy battle mace.
Sparks scattered and a high-pitched metallic wail rang out through the arena.
Tomoe had managed to parry the mace with her sword.
“Y’seriously think that flimsy sword of yours can keep up!?”

Risty brought her mace down repeatedly and with shocking speed. Three blows, each just as powerful as the last, power only made possible through the redhead’s monstrous physical strength and more than capable of caving in even the thickest of armor plating. To Tomoe, it felt as if she were being struck by thunder itself.

Sturdy as the Hinomoto crafted sword was, while it would likely stand the might of Risty’s onslaught, Tomoe’s body would not. In fact, Tomoe hadn’t even attempted to take the full brunt of one of the bandit’s attacks thus far (opting to simply try and parry them instead), and even then, you could see her arms trembling from the strain.
If this went on, Tomoe was sure to lose.
“Ya got nowhere to run now!”
Forced back, Tomoe’s heels clung to the very edge of the arena. Falling down from there would qualify as a ring-out, yet another way to spell defeat for her.

“It is you who has nowhere to turn to now.”
“Wha-?”

Studying. The priestess had done more than merely allow herself to be attacked. She’d deliberately taken to the defensive in an effort to learn the ins and outs of Risty’s attack pattern, waiting for her chance to strike.

Even though at first glance, Risty’s fierce slew of attacks left no gaps, Tomoe noticed a regular flow in the bandit’s follow through. She’d seen that flow three times, and each time, she saw Risty’s swing grow the slightest bit slower and slower… and so, now was her chance.

With a soft ‘clang,’ the amazon’s weapon was flung free from her grip.
“Huh!?”
Shock filled Risty’s face the moment she realized what had repelled her. It hadn’t been Tomoe’s blade, no, that much Risty had done a fine job of keeping preoccupied with the power of her swings. It was an amulet, something Tomoe had been holding in her left hand this entire time, that disarmed her.

“Arrogance in one’s strength can often lead to one’s downfall… I knew exactly when to strike.”

As the ‘priestess’ in Tomoe’s title implied, the Hinomoto maiden could use amulets to manifest the power of the Hinomoto deities, something she’d used to repel Risty’s mace with a burst of force equal to the bandit’s own.

Despite the outcome, the bandit hadn’t been wrong in her assumptions. Had the priestess kept trying to hold on or do something with her sword to change the situation, she likely would have destroyed her own muscles or wrist in the process. As such…

“Kuh.”
Before her foe could try and regain her footing and begin her counterattack, the black haired maiden swiftly brought her sword to the redhead’s neck.

Fully prepared to die, Risty closed her eyes. This was no friendly duel, it was a Queen’s Blade match and to participants, matches like these always carried the risk of death.

However, that moment never came.

Instead, Risty’s clothing gently hit the stadium floor, leaving her generous bosom and toned muscles exposed for all to see.

“My apologies for misleading you. But I never had any intention of going that far.”
“What’d you…? You think this is a game!?”
“Not at all. I agreed to a true Queen’s Blade match and had your club smashed my skull in, then that would have simply been that.”
Seeing the earnest look on Tomoe’s face, Risty’s anger subsided. The woman covered her chest.
“Besides, had I killed you, then who would be left to clean the stadium’s gate?”
“Fine, fine, I lost. Fuck.”

To the audience around them, this must have come as quite the upset because as soon as the bandit admitted her defeat, the crowd went wild, cheering and screaming with even more vigor than before, causing the arena to vibrate as if hit with a small earthquake.

“Aaaaalright, and the winner is: The Warrior Priestess, Tomoe! You lost this one, Risty! So as per the winner’s request, get rii-ght to cleaning!”

***

One gaze in particular remained locked to the warrior priestess even as she bowed and began walking away from the arena.

“Warrior Priestess, Tomoe… what an interesting fight.”

It came from one of the VIP rooms, high above, where one could see the entire arena with perfect clarity.

“Might it be your composure, or do you simply excel at reading your foes…? Either way, that was quite the show you put on for us.”

And with a smile on her lips, Queen Aldra carved Tomoe’s name onto a sheet of parchment.

--

Spoilers? It's an odd coincidence, coming from the same author and all, but one of the QB novels also featured a Risty vs Tomoe fight, apparently with a similar scene as well...