Maria found this battle quite intriguing, more so than the first one… Krista looked like she was on the verge of crying, only to activate her soul energy.
'And it's such a beautiful Violet as well,' Maria thought but her eyes still lingered on Rem, who looked to be enjoying the battle ahead, 'I can't sense the emotions that lay within his Soul energy, maybe I should ask Maybel later,'
The battlefield was silent as both Apprentices remained in their respective stances, each of them looking for an opening in the other one's form. The silence was ended abruptly as Cole pushed his body forward, breaking into a sprint as he brandished his blade only for his body to vanish into thin air much to Krista's shock.
'His movements are faster than mine but his Flash movement is rather inferior,' Rem thought, When Cole utilized Flash movement which propelled his body forward in an instant… Cole could only clear the one-meter mark, which was why he timed his movement perfectly to ensure that he could use this downsize to his advantage.
Cole's body appeared behind Krista, his right hand gripping the handle of the chained blade as Rem could vividly hear the sounds of chains clanking – he propelled the blade forward in an instant, the sharpened steel threatening to impale Krista's back only for the girl to duck in a nick of time, the blade soared past her head and her eyes turned around locking onto Cole's figure.
Krista tackled him but Cole was faster, leaping into the air before her feet could touch his and then he stomped on her foot, sending a slight tremor going through the battlefield… That was his mistake though, Krista was not only being fueled by her resolve but now by her will of what she wanted to become, her instincts driving her mad as she bit past the pain and landed a powerful punch laced with soul energy on Cole's face, sending the Crimson haired Apprentice shooting backward as a result.
Cole's eyes blinked slowly as he quickly found himself up against the wall, he stabbed his blade into the wall though and regained his stance-
"That's quite some force," Cole muttered as he slid to the ground, blood trailing down his nose, this battle was slowly reminding him of something that would never change… he didn't have soul energy, not even a freckle of it when he was born. He was an abnormal- a human born without soul energy, Magus said his soul seemed non-existent as it wasn't fueled by the soul energy that was supposed to be there.
It was then… at that moment… that he was titled 'Soulless'!
He could still remember the days when he punched the wall till his knuckles started bleeding, he could still remember the days when he cursed himself under his breath till his lungs got hoarse- they didn't change his title or what he was destined to be, Soulless.
But in exchange of losing his ability to utilize soul energy, he had been granted a stronger body, his punches hit harder and his stomps could bring tremors to the ground.
'But this girl…'
Cole could not envision the Soul energy of others, but he could feel the way the air rattled… the way Krista had struck him in such beastly rage… he was sure that her soul energy had been unleashed.
'Even if this girl has soul energy, I have my Physicality which is higher than any beastkin my age,' Cole thought as he eyed Krista whose predator eyes were fixated on her… he felt like death was looming over him but there was little he could do to stop this feeling.
The Crimson haired Apprentice pushed off the ground, his chains clanking as he thrust the blade forward to meet Krista only for the Beastkin to grab his blade out of the air like it was clockwork. Cole felt tremors going through the blade as Krista's soul energy focused on her right palm, she clenched her palm around the blade and slowly but surely Cole could feel his Magic Weapon shattering under the intense force she was using.
This was the distraction that he wanted, he let go of the chain and speed-blitzed through the air arriving at her side- he had already closed the distance enough to perform Flash movement but his eyes widened as he realized Krista had already seen through his moves.
Cole's eyes drifted to his blade, dropping to the ground slowly as Krista's full attention was directed toward him but a grin still tugged at his lips as his hair flowed in the air.
'My turn,' Cole thought as adrenaline pulsated through his veins, Krista had already thrusted a fist forward and he knew it was laced with soul energy but his grin couldn't help but widen as his body vanished into the air within an instant.
"My domain…" Cole said as he reappeared behind Krista, his fist soaring through the air and landing on Krista's back, threatening to knock the wind out of the Beastkin, "is close combat,"
Cole threw a sequence of punches, each punch laced with offensive force that knocked the breath out of Krista each time they landed… but there was something though, she wasn't giving groans of pain- No Krista was resilient and due to this, Cole decided to up his strength only for Krista to spin toward him, tanking a hit to the face.
Cole didn't stop, adding more speed and power into his strikes but Krista tanked them without even so much as a flinch. To Cole, it might have looked as if his punches weren't landing enough force but Rem felt otherwise.
'A Beastkin's soul energy… it's something else,' Rem thought with a poker face – Krista's soul energy was slowly enforcing each spot Cole hit from the inside so it didn't matter how many times he hit or how much strength he had, in competition against the Soul… Cole was the one losing.
Cole thrusted his fist forward for the umpteenth time, filling it with his full strength despite the fact that Krista was an ally but she caught it, the ground quaking a bit under impact but Krista caught his strike.
"My… turn," Krista spoke in a voice filled with bloodlust.
-
Author's Note:
If you're enjoying the book so far, don't hesitate to add this to your library and throw in some power stones for me, and if you're feeling really generous- you can support me with a golden ticket or two, and a gift too! Support People, Support!