The tension in the air was unavoidable. The children that Seiya had freed ran from the female who appeared, recognizing her as the very person who threw them into this prison. They wished to be free of this place and Seiya had to hold up his end of the deal.
These kids needed their freedom. He could tell that some of them had been weaker than others, the ones who had been here longer who were left at the mercy of the crystals that siphoned their life force. Seiya needed to stall for time but the lady who stood before him had been impatient and prepared to move, trying to tackle both Seiya and swiftly deal with her escaped kids seeing as how time was of the essence.
Seiya held out his hands, creating a giant wall of ice in front of him to stop the female's advance but it shattered near immediately by her speed and force as she advanced. The towering wall of frozen crystals was rendered useless as Seiya put his hands in front of his face reflexively.
'' Were you expecting this brittle little thing to hold me back? ''
The female's words ridiculed Seiya's attempt at keeping her at bay, only for her to physically grab him by the shirt and throw him at the ceiling with the strength that broke apart the ceiling as he made contact with it. He would inevitably fall from the ceiling, only to attempt once more at combat as he was falling.
'' You still have some fight in you. I'll at least give you props for not losing heart. ''
The Dark Hand Commander slightly admired his bravado, seeing Seiya create various shards of ice aimed to overwhelm her with their numbers but she would not fall so easily. The constant shards of ice were nothing to the Commander who merely brushed them off as she leapt into the air. Seiya was unable to react in time, seeing her go from standing to being directly in his face.
He tried to adjust to her speed and react but by the time he knew what was going on, he was thrown by her towards the kids she wanted to stop from climbing the stairs that led out of the outpost.
'' My power Mother's Warmth allows me to funnel the emotions and life force of children into a natural amplifying source of strength for me. This is also my method of cultivation and I've no intention letting some kid stop me from what I've been doing nor should you think you have even the basic qualifications to even stand on the same ground as me as defiantly as you are. ''
Seiya grinded his teeth as he had gotten up slowly, the female before him hit hard and moved faster than he could even perceive but he couldn't just run now. He knew she would just catch him plus there were others here that he needed to regroup with as well as the idea that this would be the day that he'd see his sister again. He couldn't let this be his end, as bad as his body was hurting. He knew his entire body was hurting, not even taking into account how his sense of fear was coming into play. He felt like he was ready to give up but he couldn't just turn tail not after everything that's pushed him along this far.
'' I need to stand my ground. If I can hold out for as long as possible, then they'll have regrouped up with me after freeing anyone else that I may have missed. ''
Seiya thought to himself, his heart was beating heavily but he couldn't allow his impulses take control. He needed to think calmly but she was preparing to move again so he did what he had to do. He used Friegen's explosive power again, using it to bombard the Commander's line of sight which worked for a time until she ran through the field of clouds he had made.
He knew she would go through the clouds and as a result, he released another explosion right where she was coming from, causing her to be sent flying backwards. A grunt was heard but not one that came from a person that would be considered wounded.
'' You really are trying to stand your ground against me. Your attacks don't pack much of a punch, you should know a futile endeavour when you see it. Why don't you just go back into the cage? I will take care of you until you give me all that you have to offer. I can't afford to spend much more time here, not when there is an intruder lingering here doing god knows what. ''
The female had tried to juggle her thoughts in her head on what she should prioritize seeing that Seiya kept trying to fight back despite his obvious inferiority to her. The only reason he wasn't put down immediately was the fact he had been in Azure Legend and his body was also channeling the Iron Skin skill due to his Sprout Rank. She still did more damage than he could try to hopefully take for any further extended periods of time but this did not stop him from trying.
'' Why are you with the Dark Hand? Why are you so obsessed with these children? What made you this person? ''
Seiya tried to tackle her from another angle, his words would hopefully give him a way to make her hesitant. He hoped that maybe, just maybe this would work. She didn't speak immediately to him but her mind did wander.
'' Fine, do you really want to know? You are the first person in a long time that's ever asked me. I will offer you a glimpse into my past. ''