-not when the battle wheel landed, surprisingly.
"HP Restored!" the announcer called out.
Tifa flashed a cocky smirk as the green light of the recovery magic washed over her, revitalizing her body; not that there was much damage to heal. Having spent virtually no real effort leading up to this point, and the wheel landing on HP Restore for the final fight? That wasn't a handicap at all. This run was in the bag!
"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!" the announcer shouted. "Bring out the final opponent!"
Turning from facing the crowd towards the gate, Tifa took her stance, ready to face the new foe. She brimmed with anticipation, wondering what the arena had in store for her this time? Will it be a giant serpent? Or perhaps a dragon? Maybe even a Tonberry so she could have a real challenge?
"We've got a real treat for you today, folks," the announcer called out as the gate opened up. "With Ms. Lockhart's continuous success, we're bringing out a special, never-before-seen opponent."
A special opponent? Jackpot! Tifa thought, grinning and clenching her fists.
"Making his first debut ever in the Battle Square Arena: he's as sinister as he is conniving, but will that be enough to stop Ms. Lockhart from winning it big? Put your hands together for the abominable Orthros!" he cheered, sending the crowd into tense anticipation.
Out from the gate came something Tifa was not expecting. Making its way into the ring oozed a large, black, translucent, slime creature. The large, rotund pudge-ball was around twice her height tall and just as wide on either side. It was certainly something she had never seen before; slime monsters weren't very common in this part of the world. But, as suprising and intimidating as Orthros was, it appeared to be quite unassuming, just sitting there in place after it had exited the gate.
The crowd wasn't sure what to make of it either, apparently, as Tifa could hear their confused mutterings around her.
"Aaaaand, FIGHT!" The announcer called out, seemingly oblivious of the crowd's dehypening.
Tifa, wound up and ready for action, made the first move, bringing the crowd's focus back to the fight. While she had a feeling that magic would be the better option here, having her materia disabled left her no other choice. Charging towards Orthros, she unleashed her tried-and-true 1-2 combo-punch attack.
*SQUISH* *SQUISH*
"Ooohh!" went the crowd.
"Eugh," Tifa grimaced. Unexpectedly, her arms plowed through Orthrus's exterior, plunging them nearly up to her elbows in his bioslime. Orthros didn't seem too disturbed by her blows, meaning she would have to try something else. But as she tried to pull her arms out, she found them stuck fast!
"What the-!?" Tifa gasped, pulling backwards to no avail.
"Ooo, bad move for Ms. Lockhart," the announcer commentated. "Once he grabs you, he ain't letting go!"
"Wanna bet?" Tifa growled, straightening her hands, digging in her heels, and pulling back all at once. With a loud SQUELCH, her arms slowly, then quickly pulled free. The suddenness of this caught the martial artist by surprise, as she fell back onto the ground, hitting her head against the floor.
"Oof!" she grunted, shaking her head to regain he concentration. She pulled her legs back to stand back up, only to find that she couldn't!
"Is this it for her? Is Tifa going to be taken down so easily?" went the announcer.
The giant ooze had begun to move again, engulfing Tifa's boots as it advanced. With that last comment springing her into regaining her senses, Tifa jiggled her feet to free them from her boots, succeeding and pulling out just before Orthros reached her legs.
Backing away, Tifa fell back into a fighting stance, trying to think of what to do next, only to realize in horror- her hands were bare! "My gloves!" Tifa couldn't help but gasp.
"Whoa-ho-ho," the announcer chuckled. "I forgot to mention, Orthros has a thing for the ladies. And it seems he very much likes our challenger right now, now that he's gotten a good taste of her. Is Tifa's glorious streak going to end here, as a mere morsel?"
Sure enough, Tifa could see the silhouettes of her gloves and boots suspended inside the semi-translucent blob. But that wasn't all she saw. For the first time, she noticed two additional yellow orbs of light near the top of the beast, and a jagged line form horizontally across the front of its body. She fought enough wild creatures to know eyes and mouths when she saw them.
Still, even though she was minus her gloves and boots, Tifa felt pumped. She had asked for a challenge, and here was the first opponent all day where just hitting it blindly wouldn't work. Sure her attacks were weaker now without her gloves and boots, but her fists and feet were still deadly weapons regardless. "I'm just getting started!" Tifa yelled, pointing at Orthros.
"Now there's our challenger!" the announcer shouted back as the crowd started cheering Tifa's name again.
I made it this far, there's no way I'm running or giving up now. It's all or nothing! Tifa thought. Now, for strategy. How should I do this?
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