Alexander POV:
I watched Valier, the way his body was hunched over, the way he breathed, the way his hands were held, and even the way he looked at me. It all resembled a beast. The fighting style he was mimicking wasn't an ordinary one… if it could even be called a style in the first place.
As I inspected him, he ran at me at top speed. Even the way he ran was inhuman. He was occasionally using his hands to propel himself further, and it honestly looked like he had four legs rather than two. When he got close enough, he didn't try to punch or kick me. He tried to claw at my throat! I wasn't expecting this, and, as a result, he reached my throat and successfully drew blood. A piece of my flesh fell to the floor with a grotesque sounding 'plop.'
I took a step back, but Valier then launched himself at me face.
"What the actual fuck???"
I said, falling to the floor in confusion as Valier tried to bite my fucking face. The way Valier was fighting was animalistic and crude, and there wasn't a single technique behind those grotesque movements.
The way Valier "walked" towards me was unsettling to look at. It made shivers go down my spine and caused my hairs to stand on end.
"An animal... you're copying an animal? Is this fight of ours a hunt for you? Am I nothing more than prey in your eyes?"
As if confirming my words, Valier crouched down, as if preparing to pounce.
I sighed.
"Hideous. That form of yours is hideous. Those beautiful techniques are nowhere to be seen, I want to fight Valier, not some rotten beast. So, Valier, stop trying to copy whatever sort of beast it is you're mimicking. It won't do you any good against me."
Then, I stood up and got into a different stance, adjusting my breath.
I dashed towards him, reaching him in an instant. Then, I launched an uppercut at him, it landed right on his jaw, but he countered with a blow to my liver. The blow was ridiculously powerful. I felt my internal organs shake under the power of his blow, but his attack hadn't been a normal blow, it had been another one of his flesh gouging moves.
And so, another chunk of my flesh was torn out, but I wasn't the only one who had taken damage. As if confirming my words, Valier spat out a tooth.
Then, we traded blows again. He went for my face while I went for his stomach.
Blood spewed from our mouths. I felt him grab both sides of my face before he slammed his forehead into my face. He did this several times, before finally looking at me to see if I had passed out yet.
I smiled at him manically. Both him and I had too much endurance and stamina. As a matter of fact, our blows just now had been almost as powerful as they were at the start of this battle. If it weren't for our injuries, our strength wouldn't have decreased at all.
"Let's take this fight up a notch."
As if understanding the feelings behind my words, Valier launched a knee that landed on my stomach. I could feel my body trembling from the power behind his attack.
I vomited blood as I felt my internal organs vibrate from his attack. But then, I launched an attack with a similar amount of power at his liver. This caused him to tremble slightly, but despite the immense pain he was in, he launched a kick at my calf.
"FUCK-"
The pain I was feeling was building up, and my pain tolerance wasn't able to keep up.
Before I could finish speaking, I felt his fist collide with my teeth, causing several of them to shatter, and sending me flying into a tree.
I got up, spitting my dislodged teeth out and dusting myself off.
"Valier, I'm going to kill you now. I didn't want to use this, but I can't guarantee my win if I don't use it."
Narrator POV:
Alexander Ashford altered his stance. His knees were slightly bent, and one of his arms was pulled back and balled in a fist.
Valier stopped moving and got ready to defend. His instincts told him that there was no point in trying to dodge this attack. Or rather, there was no scenario where he'd be able to dodge the upcoming attack.
However, Valier didn't know what the attack was. Even his blessed eyes couldn't discern what sort of attack would be launched. All he knew was that it wasn't the sort of attack either of their bodies could handle without issue.
And then, Alexander took a deep breath, and soon, his heart rate began to increase. His beating heart was now audible, his veins popped, and then he disappeared.
Luna Valkyr POV:
I couldn't understand what happened, one moment, Alexander was standing still, and the next...
"Valier... lost? No... this is a draw."
Alexander's arm had pierced Valier's stomach in a single, horrifying, blow. However, Alexander's arm and his legs had ruptured, and bones were sticking out of them.
Then, Alexander spoke while wincing in pain.
"I know you can't understand what I'm saying right now, but I'll say it anyway. The attack I used now had no weird martial arts technique behind it. What really made it special was the state I was in. The form allows me to accelerate my heart rate and increase my blood flow to my muscles, causing them to get stronger-"
Alexander stopped speaking, and soon, everyone heard the sound of Valier's heart rate increasing. His heartbeat was getting quieter and fainter, but it was getting faster.
"I knew it. I knew you'd be able to copy it, and that's why I didn't want to use it."
Then, Alexander pulled his hand out of Valier's stomach. Valier's guts practically spilled out, and they both fell to the floor. Then, Alexander's body melted into some sort of mud and he disappeared.
Valier was dead. Probably.
There was no metric to measure that man's tenacity and endurance after all.
'What a goddamn freak of nature, fighting Artorius and Leon in a 2 on 1, killing the Elven Princess and reaching a tie with Alexander Ashford. Thank God he's not as talented at Magic as he is physically gifted. If his talent went that far, then it would be over for all of us.'
As I approached his body to see if he was alive, I heard it.
His heartbeat, it was getting faster and faster.