During the Dark Era, as each nation fought to survive, they used every available asset in an attempt to defeat their enemies. Espers became the main combat force.
Trained for war from birth, every esper was sent to the battlefield to fight for their country.
Survival of the fittest. It's one of the building blocks of Darwin's theory, however, as Darwin implied, "fittest" doesn't necessarily mean the strongest, but rather, the one who can better adapt to their ever-changing environment.
As a result of their constant slaughter, a new kind of esper appeared. Bred for war, these new espers honed their abilities on the battlefield. They were feared for their ability to drastically change the tide of the war with just their presence. They were called the Wargems.
They weren't exactly stronger than normal espers, however, every time they fought, every time they risked their lives, their ability, and skills increased drastically. Their biggest power was their adaptability and growth potential.
Being able to awaken states, jump steps, and even stages mid-fight made the Wargems extremely dangerous.
Techniques like Energy Manifestation first appeared among the ranks of the Wargems and quickly spread among them. In fact, all fully grown Wargems that didn't die prematurely possessed at least one type of awakened power, either a technique such as Energy Manifestation or a State. Still, a lot of them had both.
Of course, due to the destructive nature of the Dark Era, no one in the New World knew this.
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As Executioner Leywin pulled back her arm ready to throw another ball at Stella, a swift red spark appeared on Stella's palm.
Executioner Leywin grinned and applied more force to the throw. At the same time, a thin red glass-like layer started forming a couple of millimeters in front of Stella's palm.
The manifestation was barely bigger than Stella's palm when the ball hit it.
BANG! Crack
The barrier easily broke however it still slowed down the ball enough for Stella's hand to avoid breaking after such a powerful throw. Still, the force of the impact kicked her arm back as she gritted her teeth in pain.
"Was that-?" before Stella was able to understand what happened she noticed that Executioner Leywin had disappeared from her previous position.
Stella's eyes frantically darted around, trying desperately to find Executioner Leywin who had reappeared to her left and was about to throw another ball at her. With no time to turn around, Stella realized she would have to defend with her left hand and focused on protecting her left hand the same way she had done with her right hand.
As Executioner Leywin let go of the ball, Stella channeled all the energy on her body to her left arm which quickly shot into position. Then, she channeled all that energy and concentrated it on her left hand before trying to compress it on her palm. She focused on grasping the same feeling she had felt last time.
A swift red spark appeared on Stella's left hand, and another glass-like layer started forming a couple of millimeters in front of it.
BANG! Crack
The barrier was once again easily destroyed and the impact force kicked Stella's arm back, yet, this time Stella's hand received even less damage than before.
'The barrier was stronger this time,' Stella thought before she focused again on Executioner Leywin who disappeared and reappeared behind her.
In a fluid motion, Stella turned around as the barrier started forming in front of her hand.
BANG! Crack
Executioner Leywin continued attacking Stella from different angles forcing her to use both hands in order to block the balls. Each throw was faster and stronger than the last, but Stella's barriers managed to keep up with the increasing power. They were still breaking right after impact however they were strong enough to protect Stella's hands from any serious damage.
Executioner Leywin was determined to push Stella to her limits. The more she was able to progress during this understanding state, the easier it would be for her to take the last step to achieve the breakthrough to fully learn the technique.
BANG! Crack BANG! Crack BANG! Crack BANG! Crack BANG! Crack
One after the other Executioner Leywin kept throwing balls at Stella from all directions. However, due to her inexperience, to create a barrier Stella wasted ten times the amount of dark energy contained in the barrier itself. As a result, she was quickly running out of energy. Executioner Leywin noticed this and realized it wouldn't take long before Stella was unable to form barriers.
Swoosh!
Executioner Leywin disappeared and reappeared ten meters away from Stella, positioning herself in front of her. She pulled back her arm and infused it with energy, preparing to throw a ball several times more powerful than the last one.
Stella noticed the sudden increase in power and pointed her right arm at Executioner Leywin while using her left arm to hold it in place. She willed with all her might for the energy to concentrate in the palm of her right hand, and, for the first time, a red electric bolt shot through Stella's hand followed by the characteristic red glow before the barrier started forming in front of it. However, this time the barrier felt significantly more powerful, not only that, but the look of the barrier had also changed. Instead of looking like a thin transparent foil of glass, a honeycomb-like pattern had also appeared on it as it became less translucid.
WHOOOOSH!
The ball shot at incredible speed toward Stella.
BAAAAAANG! Crk! BOOOOOOOOOM!
The gymnasium shook as the ball and the barrier collided. Still, the ball destroyed the barrier, creating a powerful shockwave that sent Stella flying across the stadium.