"You look easy enough," Ryoshi remarked, his bravado masking the trepidation that lurked beneath the surface.
"You do too, kid," Beth retorted, her tone tinged with amusement.
"The only thing easy about me is the way I'm finna make defeating you look like," Ryoshi countered, his confidence unwavering despite the looming threat before him.
With a swift motion, Beth expelled multiple balls of air from her mouth, each one hurtling towards Ryoshi with deadly precision. Reacting instinctively, Ryoshi raised his sword, deflecting the projectiles with practiced ease.
"See!" Ryoshi exclaimed triumphantly, his eyes alight with determination.
Beth sighed in exasperation. "I am a user of the sacrificial ability, lung air," she confessed, her admission accompanied by a sense of resignation.
"Ah, so all you do is breathe hard," Ryoshi remarked, his tone tinged with mockery.
"You're not wrong for once," Beth conceded, her frustration evident in her voice.
"Well, that sucks for you," Ryoshi remarked casually, his confidence unfazed by Beth's revelation.
"I hate you," Beth muttered under her breath, her irritation palpable.
Without warning, Beth conjured two tornadoes with a flick of her wrist, their swirling winds threatening to engulf Ryoshi in their deadly embrace.
"That looks... relatively easy to dodge..." Ryoshi observed, his confidence bordering on arrogance as he leaped over the oncoming tornadoes with ease.
"I'm finna end this already!!!" Ryoshi declared, his voice ringing out with determination as he prepared to deliver the finishing blow.
But before he could act, Ryoshi dropped his sword and collapsed to the ground behind Beth, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"Ah, what the hell?!" Ryoshi exclaimed, his confusion giving way to realization as he struggled to regain his composure.
"Are you okay? Blacked out or something?" Beth inquired, her concern evident in her voice.
"Oh, well yes, I did. I can't really breathe right now-" Ryoshi paused, a sudden epiphany dawning on him.
"I see what's going on here!" Ryoshi exclaimed, his eyes narrowing as he pieced together the puzzle before him.
"Hm?" Beth prompted, her curiosity piqued by Ryoshi's sudden revelation.
"You use lung air magic, am I correct?" Ryoshi asked, his voice tinged with a newfound sense of understanding.
"Yes," Beth confirmed, her admission confirming Ryoshi's suspicions.
"I'm pretty sure you have the ability to take oxygen from my lungs," Ryoshi deduced, his tone tinged with a mixture of admiration and frustration.
"You're smarter than I thought, kid," Beth conceded, her respect for Ryoshi evident despite their current predicament.
"Yeah, you exposed my power, but what are you gonna do about it?" Beth challenged, her confidence unwavering even in the face of defeat.
"That's a really good question! I don't know," Ryoshi admitted, his frustration mounting as he grappled with the implications of Beth's abilities.
"Look, kid, my job is to get you injured enough so that by the end of this, you'd only be able to use your sacrificial magic. But if I have to knock you out before that even happens, I don't think Ketori will let you proceed. Losing to the weakest in the group makes you seem like a joke," Beth explained, her words carrying a weight that Ryoshi couldn't ignore.
"Your face in a few seconds finna look like a joke," Ryoshi retorted defiantly, his determination undeterred by the gravity of their situation.
"Aren't you dying?" Beth countered, her concern mingling with a hint of amusement.
"Yeah... but I'm going to use my last breath to cripple you for the rest of your life," Ryoshi declared, his voice filled with resolve as he pointed downward.
In an instant, the ground beneath Beth's feet turned to ice, her legs freezing in place as Ryoshi unleashed his final gambit.
As the icy tendrils ensnared her, Beth's expression shifted from confidence to disbelief, her fate sealed by Ryoshi's cunning and determination.
"How could this be!?" Beth exclaimed, her disbelief echoing through the chamber as she struggled to comprehend her defeat.
"I guess you need focus to keep the oxygen-taking ability going!" Ryoshi surmised, his voice tinged with satisfaction as he rose to his feet, his victory assured.
Beth's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Ah, you defeated me," she conceded, her admission a testament to Ryoshi's skill and cunning.
"Yes, I did! Now, where do I go next?" Ryoshi inquired, his gaze shifting to the door behind him.
"To that door behind you," Beth replied, her voice tinged with amusement at Ryoshi's eagerness.
"Oh, thanks!" Ryoshi replied, his gratitude evident as he made his way toward the next room's door.
But before he could reach it, disaster struck.
Ryoshi stumbled and fell to the ground, his movements halted by an unseen obstacle.
"I can't believe you bought that," Beth chuckled, her laughter ringing out as Ryoshi struggled to regain his footing.
"I can't believe it either," Ryoshi admitted, his embarrassment evident as he dusted himself off.
"Haha, yes, now face the wrath of my traps," Beth declared, her tone shifting from playful to menacing in an instant.
"WAIT! I'M STEPPING ON A TRA-" Ryoshi's warning was cut short as a powerful explosion of air sent him hurtling through the air, his body tossed like a ragdoll by the force of the blast.
"Let's see how good your air mobility is!!!" Beth taunted, her laughter echoing through the chamber as Ryoshi struggled to regain his bearings.
As multiple balls of air hurtled towards him, Ryoshi knew he had to act fast.
"Imma try something new today! Mixing the air with my matter magic," Ryoshi declared, his voice filled with determination as he summoned his weapon.
"What now?" Beth questioned, her curiosity piqued by Ryoshi's sudden change in tactics.
"Surriku No Ha!" Ryoshi exclaimed, his voice ringing out as he slashed the air in front of him with his sword.
As the blade connected with the surrounding air, a wave of cold energy rippled outward, freezing the balls of air in their tracks.
In the midst of a frigid battlefield, where the air itself danced with frozen crystals, Ryoshi found himself in a moment of incredulity. "I didn't even know I could levitate ice..." he murmured, his voice tinged with equal parts awe and confusion.
Beth, her breath visible in the chilly air, regarded him with a mixture of concern and curiosity. "How have you been in the air for this long?" she inquired, her tone betraying a hint of worry.
Ryoshi chuckled, his breath forming wisps of frost in the air. "Oh yeah, right," he replied nonchalantly, "I froze the air under my feet, so I could stand on fucking air. Oh yeah, by the way, your lame ass oxygen sucking ability wore off again."
Beth gritted her teeth, frustration evident in her voice. "Tch—stop. Reminding. ME!!!" she snapped, her words punctuated by the sharp exhale of frosty air.
"Hail yes, I will!" Ryoshi retorted with a mischievous grin, his eyes glinting with mischief.
"Why'd you say hell like that—" Beth began, only to be cut off by a sudden barrage of frozen projectiles hurtling towards her with alarming speed.
"I can just blow this away, idiot!" Beth declared defiantly, summoning a powerful gust of wind that clashed with the icy onslaught, halting its advance.
As she maintained her defense, a warning from Ryoshi shattered the moment of respite. "Behind you!" he shouted, his voice laced with urgency.
Startled, Beth whirled around, but it was too late. Ryoshi's blade slashed across her back, eliciting a cry of pain from her lips. Before she could fully comprehend the situation, the frozen spheres converged upon her, striking her face with brutal force.
The impact shattered the icy restraints binding her legs, sending her crashing to the ground, her face marred by bruises and blood. Beth lay sprawled on the frozen ground, buried beneath a mound of ice, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
Ryoshi, horror etched upon his features, rushed to her side. "Heh—oh shit, I don't want to kill you!!!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with remorse.
Ten minutes passed in tense silence, broken only by the sound of Beth's labored breathing. Eventually, she found herself enveloped in a soothing embrace of healing ice magic, her wounds slowly knitting themselves back together.
"You know, Ryoshi," she began softly, her gaze meeting his, "stay here for a little bit longer. I want to teach you more about sensing mana, so you'll have the ability to passively sense mana."
Ryoshi nodded solemnly, a newfound determination gleaming in his eyes. "That's a good offer," he agreed, "but imma say YES because it's a good idea, and I need all of the training I can get."
Meanwhile, across the room, Ketori observed the exchange with a mixture of pity and anticipation. "Poor Ryoshi," he whispered to himself, his eyes fixed on the two figures before him, "he isn't ready for the final challenger."