"Don't think for a second that I'd let you kill my favorite elder," Sky said to the possessed.
"Are you stupid?! What are you doing here?!" Damian screamed at Sky.
"You have no idea what this thing is. Run for your life—"
"You underestimate me, Damian. I might be beautiful, but I'm stronger than I look." Sky cut in, making a stance, ready to strike at the possessed.
"Now, let me show you why I'm the highest-ranked member in the holy exorcist guild."
The possessed regenerated its hands in a jiff and immediately charged at her, throwing a heavy punch to her face.
Sky successfully ducked the attack and swiftly attempted to stab its left torso.
However, Just before she penetrated it, she sensed something strange, something she had never felt before and stopped her charge. A huge aura of rinn filled the entire room, continously being emitted by the possessed, although it seemed like the aura was being suppressed by the emittor- the possessed.
She instinctively jumped back a few meters in retreat, thinking to herself.
"That speed... that wasn't any normal possessed speed. This possessed is more advanced than the rest. So why didn't it dodge my attack?"
"A possessed is always aware of its vital spot and protects its heart with all its might. That's Possessed 101. Yet this being... freely let me charge in, knowing it would die if I struck it. Or maybe..." She paused and then laughed quietly.
"Why the hell are you laughing?" Damian asked.
"I just figured it out. Your technique."
she said, pointing at Jeremy's possessed form.
"Its technique? That's right; that's the only reasonable explanation for its ability to survive any attack." Damian thought to himself.
"Your technique is... Equality, or rather, copy." she declared.
Pausing for a moment, she goes on to explain her remark.
"Your technique allows you to attack your opponent with their exact abilities, hence the sledgehammer you used moments ago. You can't use another person's ability against someone else who isn't the person. Therefore, your ability only levels the playing field, and your continuous regeneration keeps you going no matter what."
"Yes, that's it. That's why you deliberately let Damian attack your soul, so you could level the playing field with my abilities and strikes. Or rather, that's what you want us to think."
"What do you mean?" Damian asked.
"What I mean is... this possessed's soul is not in its heart or even in its body." she replied.
"Which means, irrespective of how much we attack it, it's been lingering on my mind for a while now. Possessed are known to be mobile and migratory, yet this one has remained here, alone, without leaving this building." she added.
"With that said, I've made an inference. The reason why it can't leave the building is that its soul is here. And to prove my worth, I'll find it and exorcise it." she added with a confident grin.
Sky charged out of the room, slashing through walls and punching through them with rinn-charged attacks. "Now, where would I hide my soul if I were a—"
Right out of the blue, The possessed appeared afront of Sky throwing a mighty punch at Sky, which she ducks just in time.
The possessed continued to throw punches at her regardless of how much she dodged its strike.
However, Out of nowhere, as it threw another punch, she ducks its attack once more, sending its fist through the wall.
Something unexpected happened—it screeched in pain. Could its fist have caused the pain? Or maybe, just maybe, it had given away the location of its soul. She then pushed right at it and, with a single rinn-charged punch, drove it through the wall. She observed the hole but saw no object that could be the possessed's soul.
"Huh?... where is it—"
The possessed charged at her and hit her, sending her rolling to the other side of the room. All three of its mouths opened up and roared in unison at her.
"Could Ultimate Decipher have been wrong?... no, that's impossible." she thought to herself.
Sky pushed herself up, determination blazing in her eyes. She scanned the room, her mind racing.
"If the soul isn't in the body, it must be hidden somewhere close. But where?" She replayed the battle in her mind, recalling every detail, every sound.
Then, a thought struck her.
"What if the soul is hidden within an object in this building? Something inconspicuous but central. Something that would be overlooked in the chaos." She glanced around, eyes narrowing at the furniture, the walls, the ceiling.
Ultimate Decipher possessed the ability to uncover the truth. By simply activating the technique, the user would be granted unlimited access to whatever truth he or she intended to uncover. With her technique activated, Sky could easily read her opponent's motives, discover its intentions, and understand its technique.
That was the power of Ultimate Decipher-a formidable indirect attack proving incredibly useful in battle. Yet, she was still unable to find its soul.
The possessed's technique was that complex, an ability never seen before-a possessed capable of transferring its soul to an inanimate object.
Despite this, Ultimate Decipher decoded it within minutes.
The possessed realized her ability would be a threat and attacked, once again throwing punches in a frantic attempt to kill her before she could use it effectively. Sky dodged the attacks, barely managing to keep her technique activated. It was no use-the possessed was relentless,
determined to eliminate her before she could fully decipher its secrets.
Finally, it connected with one of its punches, sending her reeling.
Sky retaliated with rinn-charged punches of her own, severing the possessed with each strike, but as expected, the possessed healed almost instantaneously.
It landed another blow, a soft jab, and she countered with an uppercut, sending it flying.
The damage had been done-Sky had taken too much damage. Her vision blurred, and her body bloodied and battered, courtesy of the possessed. The soon to be victor, was obvious.
"Damn it... I can't keep up anymore," she muttered. As she tried to clear her dizziness.
The possessed loomed before her, its fist ready to strike the final blow, but luckily, she pulled out her sword just in time to block the attack, however, its punch shattered the blade and
connected to Sky's guy, sending her flying into the wall meters away from the possessed.
"H...How?" she thought to herself.
"Is this how strong it is?"
She contemplated inwardly as she fell to the floor, hauling out litres of blood.
The possessed, satisfied with its results, began to approach her, as predator closing in on its prey would.
" Should I run?"
The thought crossed her mind. Their opponent was too powerful-Eddy was down, Damian had been defeated, and now she was left alone.
Perhaps it would have been better if she had never intervened. Maybe she would have had a chance of seeing the next day. But now-
"I'm still here, bastard!" Damian screamed, swinging his sledgehammer with all his might.
Unfortunately, the possessed dodged it effortlessly and punched him away, sending him crashing into the wooden stairs. It rose, letting out a slight groan.
"This... this is my chance!" Sky thought to
herself.
"Technique activati-"
She was cut off as the possessed appeared right in front of her, its fist molded and ready to
land the final blow. In her current state, this
strike would likely be fatal, which consequently could cost her life.
Unfortunately, she failed to intercept the attack and so, the possessed landed the blow on her gut, causing drool and blood to gush from her mouth as she was fisted into the wall.
Sky's vision wavered as the pain surged through her. She struggled to keep her focus, knowing that any lapse could be her last.
The possessed which stood afront of her, readied itself, preparing for another strike.
"No... I can't die here." she thought, her mind racing.
"I haven't proven my worth yet. I haven't shown them what I'm truly capable of."
She summoned every ounce of strength she had left, channeling her rinn into one last desperate attempt for survival.
With a roar of defiance, she lunged at the possessed, her body a blur of motion as she aimed a powerful punch at its head, determined to end the possessed, there and then.