***(Kaori)
"F.R.M."
With such a large difference in stat grades, the only way I would conceivably catch up was to bring myself up to her level, her resolve. I clench my right fist tighter as I held it up to my chest, a habit born from continuously falling down. My heart beats tighter, as if drowning out the background noises to steal my attention like a mischievous child. My muscles have all tensed up, compared to all the rest the opponent in front of me seems to most dangerous.
There were no such tricks she had up her sleeve like deleting my memories, hypnotising me or some other psychological mess she could spring up on me. This fear I feel creaking my bones and nerves was straight forward, it was due to a difference in sheer strength. All her stats are higher than mind, even though she hasn't enhanced her own body with any magic like I did with all of my magic. There was such a difference.
Luckily, I had a technique that would close up this gap. It wasn't so complicated, using my first skill I open the path right in front of me to have zero air resistance or any other resistance. At the same time I use miniature versions of my magic combusting propulsion technique, to precisely launch myself at this gap of zero resistance that I've created. It was pseudo last pace, it allows me to border on light speed though my movements will be quite simplistic.
Visualised with passive in gradient reading, I am creating large lines of zero resistance in the air and I have to propulse myself through those lines. It was a combination of my previous techniques so it may not even count as a new technique, but it was all I could do. I can't create completely new techniques, whether if it was the lack of creativity or ability. After all, I can't perceive magical particles anymore. I can only move these things like how I move my body without the sense of touch, I do it blindly. There is no feedback in my footsteps or my punches nor is there any physical pain.
Even with all these problems plaguing me, my world, I won't let any god just do as they please. If they stood between and my path to the progenitor, then I'll even fight them. I launch body with last pace, throwing my left fist in a straight line. Another feature of pseudo last pace, is that I only need to touch the beginning of the line for it to correct my fist's orientation to shoot straight. Pulling my fist back is a little hard, so I apply these lines backwards to launch the next wave of punches.
*PAH!!*
With a single slap, a loud bass boosted clap resounded in this grey realm. Her fingers were completely outstretched, but she managed to disperse all the force with just that. And all of that took place with absolutely no preliminary movements... I either couldn't follow her movements completely, or she moved beyond light speed... I widened my eyes in shock as another fist had landed on my face in an instant, blacking for a second, weightlessness had engulfed me as my surroundings rush forward like a storm. I was sent flying.
Without any preliminary movements, I can't... Follow her movements... This makes it easy to rush into a physical barrage... My kinetic vision can't keep up if she can somehow bypass the speed of light... I use pseudo last pace to continue fighting her, as it borders on the speed of light it should improve my kinetic vision to even see light speed attacks... But that would only be a difference in maneuvering... If she moved as fast as light, I would still be able to observe her being slightly faster than me and moving more freely than me... But I completely cannot follow her...
It meant that she was faster than light, I need to deal with it somehow. I couldn't figure out how, so I launch a few attacks but they were completely dodged before I threw a wide ranging horizontal right kick. It hit her arm while she was in a relaxed posture... While this should damage her a lot, she stood still with an unfeeling expression and a leg lodged into her left arm. Before I could blink, she was already lowering her posture under mine as she struck low with her fist at my solar plexus, nearly blacking out a second time I grit my teeth while biting my lips. Blood began leaking from my lower lip, but I couldn't feel the pain that is normally associated with it. So I couldn't even force myself awake if she throws an attack above my body's threshold. I need to defend properly, but how....?!
She's essentially teleporting! Not to mention last pace should at least be above her base stats! She can also predict bordering light speed attacks! For pseudo last pace, the zero resistance path and miniature propulsion were just a means to accelerating my body as fast as it could possibly handle. There is still a heavy barrier preventing me from breaking past last pace, so this is essentially my all. I rush forward with all my strength only for a fist to be lodged into the left side of my skull, knocking all my momentum into my own body along with her domineering strength.
My strength leaves my legs, all the recoil and force channeled through my body has already destroyed it this much. But if I stop now, I won't see tomorrow. So I pick myself back up. I form a vacuum blade, giving the air a light slash as if to swing off the imaginary dust. I'll give her something she cannot punch off without getting hurt.
Maximum drilling efficiency vaccum blade + psuedo last pace, I hold my blade in a new stance concerned that she could stop me at any time. I held it pointing downwards and to the left side pointing backwards. I support the blade with my left palm as I shot forward.
As last pace was above her base stats, she shouldn't have noticed. So I swung the blade right before she punched her fist into it. As most of her attack was travelling through the blade, it finally opened her up to take an attack from my left fist. Last pace! I launched my left fist at her face just as her own strikes mine with her instant movement. It looks like her weird teleportation or movement was linked to her skill since... I finally landed a hit on her. It wasn't her innate base speed that's faster than light, but her skill!
Great! This information opens me up to new approaches! She's only human after all! She's only hit me with very hard hitting attacks that send my body flying, they nearly cut off oxygen to my brain just from the blunt force exerted, but I don't feel anything. I must use that with my vacuum blade to launch a surprise attack. Before that I have to lure her in and position myself such that I don't get knocked away before I can pull off the surprise attack. I materialise a second vacuum blade and rush forward once more, this time the tips of each blade to cover the opposite back of each palm, forming a beetle pincer like posture as I my body flew forwards.
Just as she launched her fist at my head, I took it head on and slashed her body up at the same time with the dual vacuum blades. I limped back a few steps with a bleeding nose, opening my damaged eyes to observe her wounds. She clutched her torso, as she now gazed at me with more wariness.
"How... I have... Attack priority!" (Kanou)
So that's what she calls it. Yes, if her skill causes her speed to be faster than anything in existence, it would indeed be the world giving her priority to move first. But that is if her skill was activated... Without that, she shouldn't be able to perceive me during my execution of pseudo last pace...
"Tell me this then... Urgh....! How... Did you punch before I attack. You have some kind of prediction skill don't you... "
"Why should I tell you?" (Kanou)
She quipped before quickly seizing the opportunity to send a wave of punches. My arms holding my blades were down so I couldn't defend myself like last time. It turns out she can use her skill consecutively... The sky darkens with every hit, blood splatters into fine red mist in the air as sound from the world became drowned out by the beatings she inflicted onto my flesh. Yes, this should be the right moment.
There was no pain for me to be occupied with after all, unlike others I can attack in the middle of enemy barrages. Last pace + vacuum blade, I trusted it forward into her torso. A clean stab, her eyes widened in no shortage of astonishment, her assumptions crumbling down before my eyes. She uses her skill to jump backwards, removing the blade from her chest. It looked like I had struck right at her heart as blood leaked continuously through her lips
'Tch, my second skill didn't prevent that attack since she summoned that blade before I launch those skill disabling punches...' (Kanou)
She wiped the blood of her lips with her right hand as the wound regenerated at an absurd pace. In a few seconds, she had grown back her heart and reproduced any blood she lost. It was simply the constitution of an S grade. But I see it now. The way to victory. It turns out even with my weak stats, I still held something over most other magical girls in existence.
My lips stretch into an irresistible arc, as if I was ridiculing the me in the past. Irreplaceable joy welled up in my heart, I pumped back my right fist feeling dignified. She notices the change immediately and becomes on guard, but I'm afraid this is no strategy. No, it is merely the difference in our constitution.
I use last pace to reach behind her, ready to throw a punch but she uses her skill and kicks an entire 180 degrees, landing her feet on my neck with destructive power enough to blow up a country. Sure enough... My body was not enough to hold up to her power... My neck caved in as my the spine was about to snap, but my body quickly recovered as I materialised my vacuum blades......?!
The...the blades aren't appearing. I... I can't use my skill at all, I let the blades dematerialise earlier because it was easier to summon them later when I want to switch between using my fist or my weapons. It didn't bode well for me that her arsenal was as versatile as mine, maybe more. Other than having a sheer difference between our physical capabilities, her magic is also even more absurd than mine.
She launches multiple strikes in a row. With action priority, she can throw as many punches as her will stat permits. Another whole has punctured through my body as my vision begins darkening again, even though I just healed I was given no time to rest. Her legs land at the side of my waist and her punches reach my cheeks no matter how much distance is between us. In a sense, she has rendered the concept of space and distancing futile.
For now, I can only keep dodging or minimise the amount of times that I get hit in order to survive. This is done by running around with last pace until her eyes loses track of me, but the situation was starting to get worse as I only have so much stamina. It wasn't a long term solution, my magical particles may not run out but my mental strength will. It's already on its last legs with how many times I nearly blacked out in this fight alone.
The solution I saw earlier in this battle was gradually becoming too impractical, if her destructive power is this crazy then I'll just die before I manage to pull it off. It was simpler than what people would call a strategy, and initially it was conjured on the premise that Kanou couldn't kill me before we reach that time. However, I was dead wrong. It was still a perilous battle, and I have to keep my wits about me lest I expedite my doom.
My body is receiving a lot of stress. I need to come up with another solution, it doesn't have to be coherent with my previous solution... Just... Anything! Even if I can't feel any pain, she can still cause it to collapse from overstress and prevent it from working properly... That would spell death since I would be a sitting duck.
I crane my neck up to face her once more. It's just theoretical... But I have to push for this last solution, or I'll never make it... I grit my teeth and tensed my entire being.
"... Magia retainment! 110%!!!
OBLIVION MAGIA!!!!!!!!! "