Splatoon Manga: NightRoad

Royal Nocturnal

🦇Chapter 40: Noir

Hoo boy.

Emperor was UNPREPARED.

Sure, he had thought it was a trap, but this? This was a little much, he had to admit. This was their leader after all, and unlike Hex and Rider, who were natural leaders, he couldn't handle the pressure of handling the main man himself. He quickly ducked before the two blades could hit him. What did Seira say about his...suction bomb and uh...what, tenta missiles?! What the heck had Seira expected out of him?!

He went for a slash at the waist, only to have both blades parried by one twilight blade. He would need time to think out a strategy, as Noir wouldn't give him the time to put down a bomb OR use his special. Heck, who put this sub weapon and special on swords again? He decided that maybe he could learn while he was fighting. The two had come to a standstill. He scanned Noir up and down, comparing what he was doing to his own stance.

For one, Noir seemed to only have one sword out in front, the other sword sort of...behind him. Maybe it was because he knew Emperor was a beginner and that he wouldn't need to use two? Or maybe that was the proper way to hold two swords? Another thing was the way he held the blades. They were still but steady, and weren't shaking or moving around excessively. Emperor quickly changed his stance, only to spot Noir move out of the corner of his eye. He quickly moved to the right, only to almost run into the second blade.

Dang, he had to get himself together! Though, that was a good idea, using one blade as a distraction and then...
He went for a slash up high with one sword, and when it was blocked with both swords, went for a slash at the waist again. However, instead of either being blocked or actually working like he had expected, Noir had twisted his body so that the blade had hit the chestplate that he always wore. Emperor went for a side slash, only to be parried by the second sword, with the first one still holding up his blade. Well, since neither of those worked, maybe he could try pushing to see if he could get the blades over anyway? He tried, only to get a sudden splash of ink in his face.

A burst bomb.

He quickly ducked as Noir threw the second one, as he had backed away from Emperor. He was furious. THAT WAS THE SUB WEAPON HE NEEDED! NOT SOME TIME BOMB THAT TOOK TOO LONG TO EXPLODE! SOMETHING CLOSE RANGE! He let out a growl of frustration, and dashed forward in order to close the gap between them. They both had the same range, so no need to keep the gap. He took a swing, which was easily dodged, and followed up with a second slash, also dodged.

This was way harder than using guns. He kept up the constant battle of dodges and slashes and parries. He felt horrible, feeling like an absolute amateur compared to Noir. Sure, they had some some training with Seira, but he was so used to shooting and dodge rolls, not actual blade fighting! He was also used to being at the top, knowing what to do, and so on. Noir took a stab at his head and he quickly ducked, heart pounding. Where was the ink in this?! He suddenly remembered Noir's special, which was something about sinking into a shadow and surprise attacking him. He looked up.

Oh my cod. It was nighttime. If Noir used that, he'd be done for. He tried to re-focus now that he was in a panic. This was now a fight against a final boss AND a race against time, which was never usually a good thing. He'd either have to make this a quick fight, or try and survive the special. He went for another close range attack, but this time instead of a parry, Noir leapt back.

"Ooh, nice idea..." he grinned.

Oh cod, what was he planning now?!