The wave of energy that had been emitted from the blade of the human continued forth, on a straight course toward Mian.
Even with the impending energy slash of doom that was bearing down on him, Mian felt no fear. He did not even feel the slightest hint of nervousness.
No.
All he felt was pure, unadulterated power and confidence. He could win.
With a calm motion, Mian raised his right arm up, putting it on the path of the approaching wave of energy. His fur was ruffled as the force of the violent wave of energy reached him first, and then, in the next moment, the wave of energy reached him.
But then... It disappeared.
The threatening wave of energy that had completely torn through Daven's shoulder disappeared from right within Mian's grasp!
"What?! Impossible!" The human sputtered as his eyes grew as wide as saucers upon seeing his attack vanish into nothing.
Mian directed his gaze to his open palm, closing and opening it as he felt a new rush of energy flow through his veins.
[Evolution Points: 15,532]
He had already gained an immense store of Evolution Points from just those two attacks. How many waves of energy had the human Pillar released earlier? It had already surpassed a dozen. That was basically a hundred thousand points gone to waste.
Mian erupted into a laughter that startled both Daven and the human pillar that was clad in black armor. The man's face contorted in rage as he saw Mian casually brushing off his attack and burst into a fit of laughter. It was degrading for something he always regarded as beneath him to belittle him.
"YOU SCRAGLY PIECE OF CRAP!" The man burst out in rage. "HOW CAN YOU DO THAT?! LET ME TEACH YOU A LESSON!"
After that outburst of rage, the man lunge forward, his two swords at the ready by his sides. Mian was already prepared. A substantial amount of Evolution Points that ere in his possession was spent all at once!
[Evolution Points: 7,120]
Mian felt as though he could lift the world atop his shoulders when the Evolution Points turned into raw power. He too, lunged forward to meet the human midway. Ten five-inch long claws grew out from his finger tips. Each of them glistened and looked as deadly as the sharpest blade.
CLANG!
Claws and swords clashed multiple times as they exchanged blows, shocking both the human and Daven. Not even Daven had tried to block even one of those slashed directly, yet Mian was meeting each blow, and diverting it easily with his claws, while also gaining ground on the human.
Unknown to them, each time Mian clashed with the swords of the powerful human, he siphoned more and more Natural Energy from the energy shell that covered the human.
Daven just watched all this from the area where he had retreated to in fear of getting hit by either of them. Aside from Mian, he was the only one able to notice that the golden-brown shell of energy around the human Pillar was dimming with every clash between the two fighters.
[Evolution Points: 30,033]
Mian kept playing along with the human. In the man's rage, he had failed to notice that his strikes no longer released energy waves, and that he energy cover around him had long since dimmed.
It was at that moment that Mian got a prompt from Hana.
[Greater Strength Gift detected. The Evolution System will now absorb this Gift.]
Mian felt his world shift, and his vision shake, and thought his was losing consciousness. That feeling only lasted for a moment though, and Mian was able to regain his bearings quickly, but that moment of disorientation was enough for the human to capitalize.
In a moment's notice, he had already swung his blade toward Mian's head, aiming to cut it in half and put an end to the demi-human who had dared to make him look weak.
Only for his sword to be stopped by Mian's hand. The man looked at his sword, only to notice that the golden-brown cover of energy had completely vanished. In place of the bulky muscles that once covered his arms, all that was left was stretched, slacked skin and withered muscles.
"What..?" Even his voice seemed frail. He stumbled back, and fell onto his back, drawn by the sudden weight of his blades. He had suddenly reduced to his former stature, but even worse. His body lacked the energy that once filled it, and his armor felt heavy and suffocating.
"What did you do to me?" He whispered. "This is impossible! I can not lose! I CAN NOT LOSE TO EVOLUTION'S MISTAKE!" He yelled with a crazed light in his eyes.
"Evolution's mistake?" Mian scoffed. If his king, demi-humans, were truly Evolution's mistake, then he doubted that he would currently be in possession of the Evolution System. After all, he still remembered it clearly. When Hana had told him that the System had deemed him worthy.
If he was truly Evolution's mistake, then he would have died the moment he touched the water, just as Hana had told him that the other creatures that had been unworthy had died.
"If I am truly Evolution's mistake, then I should be dead." Mian voiced his thoughts, resulting in a spike of wild emotions in the human.
"GAAAHH!!! I WON'T LOSE! GREATER STRENGTH! THIRD PHASE: GOLDEN GLADIATOR!"
The human finally lost the last thread that held him together. As he called out yet another phase of the Greater Strength Gift that was quickly fading from his body, a sudden spike of Natural Energy flared about him, surrounding him in a bright golden corona of energy. His body regained the energy it had lost rapidly, and the formless energy around him took the shape of golden armor. Indeed, he was a golden gladiator.
Startled by the sudden move, Mian leapt back, only just dodging the swipe of the golden sword that was aimed for him. His eyes narrowed as he saw this. The man was not yet out of commission.
A corona of golden Natural Energy covered his extended claws as he lunged forward to face the enraged man in direct combat. His claws clashed with the swords of the man continuously, and he even got a few good slashes in.
That said, the human Pillar was in no way weak. All those years of experience he had on him were put to use here. He had never needed to go all out ever since he received the Greater Strength Gift, but today, he went all out.
He cut, and slashed, and lunged. His swords split through the air, and dug through the ground. But even with all the missed opportunities that he had to end his enemy, he still managed to slip in some hits.
His blade cut through Mian's skin, piercing through his flesh, and spilling his blood. A satisfied grin spread across his face at that, but he couldn't feel it.
Before he could raise either of his swords again, they dropped to the ground, along with both him arms.
"Ah? My... arms..." He looked at the bloody stumps of his shoulders where his arms were connected only a few moments ago, before shifting hs gaze to the demi-human standing before him.
"I..." He never finished his statement. Before he could get the next word out, he felt his vision go hazy, and his body grow distant. Darkness was all that followed.