Valeria's gaze snapped towards the battlefield, her heart pounding as she drank in the scene.
The memory of her own fight with Klaus surged back to her, the taste of defeat still bitter on her tongue. But as she watched him in action now, her breath hitched in her throat.
"He..." The word fell from her lips, unfinished, her hand gesturing weakly at the spectacle playing out before them. Klaus seemed to dance around the battlefield, his movements growing more fluid with each passing second.
His onslaught of punches and kicks rained down with an uncanny precision that left Valeria reeling.
"Is he gifted with photographic memory?" Valeria managed to sputter, her eyes widening as Klaus mirrored her own fighting style with an eerie accuracy.
Beside her, Margaret shook her head slowly. "Not photographic... eidetic, I believe." Her voice was laced with disbelief, her eyes reflecting the shock they both felt.
It was a chilling revelation, one that left them grappling for understanding.
Meanwhile, Keira remained embroiled in the thick of the fight. With each of Klaus's attacks she deftly deflected, a frown of consternation deepened on her face.
The reasons behind Valeria's defeat were no longer elusive to her.
"This... needs to end," she murmured, her voice a ghost on the wind as she nimbly sidestepped Klaus's swinging fist.
With a swift adjustment of her stance, she launched herself forward, shifting from defense to offense. The tide of the battle turned with her move.
Klaus was now the one evading, his movements quick and decisive as he sidestepped, ducked, and danced out of the way of Keira's barrage.
But what Keira did not realize was that, to Klaus, every one of her movements was a lesson. His sharp eyes observed and analyzed her attacks as he dodged them.
There was no moment of respite for Klaus; every new wave of attacks only fueled his excitement, making the pulse of battle rush all the more thrillingly through his veins.
Bang!
With a thunderous impact, Keira's knee rocketed into Klaus's midsection, driving him a few paces backward. Before he could recover, she was there again, her palm slamming into his chest with the force of a freight train.
Reeling from the blow, Klaus stumbled back, a thin line of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He swiped it away, his eyes flaring with a fierce glare as he locked on Keira, who smirked in response.
Her expression was a mirror of condescension, a blatant mockery.
"Did you really think you were sparring with Valeria again?" she taunted, her voice sharp as a whip crack. Her lips curled into a sneer and, with a dismissive flick of her wrist, she beckoned him forward.
Klaus took a moment to gather himself, a deep breath steadying his resolve. As he moved again, his motions were fluid, direct, forcing Keira onto the defensive.
"He's...he's mimicking me," she said, her voice barely a whisper.
Her gaze flickered to Valeria and Margaret on the podium. Their wide-eyed, open-mouthed astonishment, followed by a series of emphatic nods, confirmed her suspicion. Her heart pounded in her chest as she came to the realization that Klaus was indeed copying her movements.
Klaus lunged forward, his palm slicing through the air towards her. But Keira was ready for him. She side-stepped his attack, her movements as fluid as mercury.
Her fingers curled into a tight fist, and she drove it into Klaus's knee, causing him to buckle slightly. Without wasting a moment, she followed up with a swift double hit to his shoulders.
The impact of the blows reverberated through Klaus's body, making his limbs tremble with weakness. He looked at Keira, shock etched across his face.
"What...what did you do?" His voice was a frail whisper.
A paralysis took hold of him, stemming from Keira's precise strike, leaving him immobilized in the dust. His eyes remained wide open, but the rest of his body might as well have been carved from stone. Each cell, each bone felt as if they had slipped into a state of hibernation.
"You witch!" The accusation burst from Valeria, her voice ringing across the battlefield. Her gaze was a storm of fury as she zeroed in on Keira.
She sprung from her seat, her expression demanding answers for the sudden turn of events.
Keira merely shrugged in response, an infuriating smirk playing on her lips. "I didn't break any rules. What's all your shrieking about?" Her words were laced with a mocking tone that only added fuel to Valeria's anger.
"Deception! Your strike was meant to paralyze him. We're not blind. Anyone could have done that. I could have done that, but that's dishonorable!" Valeria's words echoed with a fierce intensity.
Keira met her fury with a smirk. "Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. You attacked him with magic, didn't you? Isn't that a bit hypocritical?" Keira's words were sharp, her tone unyielding. "And besides, it was either this or I went all out on him."
"In other words, paralysis or death." Her voice turned cold, a note of certainty ringing clear.
A sly grin then spread across Keira's face. "Or would you rather have him dead, Valeria?" Her gaze shifted from Valeria to Margaret, her words setting the air alight with tension.
"Of course not!" Valeria was quick to retort, her voice echoing with a fervor that left no room for doubt.
"Are you sure about that?" Keira pressed on, her voice laced with a daring challenge. "You seemed quite upset about the paralysis when the only other option was death. Almost sounds like you'd prefer him dead."
"Do you want him dead?"
"Silence!" Valeria's outburst cut through the air, but Margaret's voice swiftly followed, tempering the tension.
"Enough, Valeria. Keira is the victor." Her tone was firm, her expression unreadable as she rose from her seat.
As Margaret approached the stage, she bent over Klaus, pressing two fingers to his neck. With a sudden jerk, he snapped back to life.
A look of terror haunted his features as he remembered the paralysis. He flexed his fingers and toes, his gaze finally landing on Keira.
"How did you do that? Can you teach me?" he asked, his voice a whisper of curiosity and awe.
Keira shook her head adamantly, her eyes flashing with a hint of anger. "No!" Her refusal was a growl, a fierce declaration that left no room for negotiation.
Klaus turned his gaze to Margaret next, extending his hand. No words were needed; Margaret understood his silent request. She handed him the three beast cores without hesitation.
Klaus then turned back to Keira. "Can you help me absorb these now?"
For a moment, Keira hesitated, her expression unreadable. But then she gave a slight nod. "Yes, in fact we can go now," she agreed, her voice carrying a quiet determination that echoed in the silence that followed.