Rize's movements grew faster, more aggressive than what she was displaying before. Her calm, flowing demeanor gave way to sharp and vicious strikes. She lunged at Kaede with a series of palm strikes and low kicks, each one calculated to unbalance him.
But Kaede… just kept dodging each of them. His movements were minimal, almost lazy, but infuriatingly effective.
"You are like that one slime," Kaede said, dodging another strike. "Annoying, but not dangerous."
She spun again, this time combining her graceful movements with sudden, explosive bursts of power. The ice beneath her cracked under the strain of her Lotus Spiral, a relentless combination of the various fist stances. Kaede's eyes sharpened, his lazy demeanor vanishing for the first time.
One of her strikes connected, slamming into his shoulder. Kaede staggered, his foot sliding on the ice. Rize laughed, "Got you, you lazy bastard! What now? Gonna cry?"
Kaede straightened himself while rubbing his shoulder. Blood trickled down from his lip where he'd bitten it during the stumble. His smirk returned, but this time, it was sharper, more dangerous. "Thanks," he said, his voice colder now. "That's all the data I needed."
Rize blinked. "Data? What the hell are you talking about?"
Kaede's posture changed once again, his body was even more relaxed than before. But his eyes were locked onto Rize with an intensity that made her pause. "Your moves. They are patterns. One predictable side boss you are."
Rize charged again, but Kaede didn't dodge. He met her strike head-on, his hand moving in perfect synchronization with hers. Their palms collided, and for a moment, it looked like they were mirror images. Rize's eyes widened as Kaede spun, mimicking the flow of her arms with eerie precision. His counterattack sent her back.
"Huh?" Rize stammered.
Kaede made the same stance as her. "It's not perfect yet," he admitted, his lip bleeding as he smirked. "But it's enough to beat you."
To Kaede, all her movements were based on the joystick of his console. Considering all the possibilities and the the probability of an event occurring, he was able to use her tactics to his advantage.
Rize was not hopeless yet, instead the pressure around her was intense than before. She lunged forward, her attacks wilder than before but no less dangerous. Instead of dodging, Kaede was taking all her attacks head on, each of his movements calculated to counter her.
His copying wasn't perfect so he stumbled occasionally. Any off-timing and Rize would jump forward to take advantage, she wasn't leaving any stone untouched either. Searching for the right timing, she slammed him with a roundhouse kick that sent him sliding across the ice. Blood dripped from his nose, staining the frozen pond red.
He was not without scratches either. Both of them were well aware that the battle was heading to its final stage. There were cracks and minor holes to the sheets of ice they were standing on. They had to be much more careful than before.
Kaede wiped his face, his smirk faltering. "You… got lucky," he muttered, the first signs of frustration creeping into his voice.
"Oh, what's the matter?" Rize taunted. "Your math can't keep up? Maybe you should've stayed on your couch, loser."
Her next attack was relentless, a barrage of strikes that thrashed the ice beneath them. Kaede struggled, his defenses faltering under the sheer intensity of her strikes. He was falling behind a step now. But with every hit he took, something screamed inside him.
It was a new feeling to him, and it annoyed him. He couldn't lose to her, he is the one who always wins in the end, nothing else matters. His insides were eating him from inside, feeding on his weakness, birthing to something new.
"Enough," he growled, his voice sharper than ever.
Rize's next palm strike was met with a perfectly timed counter. Kaede's hand snapped out, redirecting her energy with surgical precision. His body moved on instinct, his calculations merging with raw talent as they clashed, their strikes shaking the pond beneath them.
Kaede was displaying the same malice and bloodlust as Rize. All of this completely baffled Rize. Well, of course, it's hard to see a raw talent beginning to display its potential, after all.
Rize launched her best attack yet, fueled by everything she had left inside her. Kaede's body screamed in protest but he met her head-on, his knees aching and his body bloodied from her strikes. He was battered, bruised, and barely holding on, but he couldn't stop.
It was the first time he felt something like this. Something that could even overwhelm his sheer laziness and disinterest. He wanted to win it because if he didn't, "Its game over."
"You're still standing? So unfair." Rize spat, her breath ragged.
Kaede staggered, his legs wobbling under him, but he refused to fall.
Rize charged, throwing a spinning kick aimed at his head. Kaede ducked just in time, sliding across the ice to gain some distance. He calculated his next move in fractions of a second, his brain burning.
Her attacks were unpredictable now, driven by desperation and anger. But desperation made her reckless, and that was his opening.
As Rize closed the gap, Kaede feigned a stumble, his knees hitting the ice. She grinned, leaping forward for the finishing blow.
"Game over," she said.
But Kaede wasn't done.
At the last second, Kaede twisted his body, using the slippery ice to his advantage. Her kick whistled past his head as he spun, sweeping her legs out. Rize's eyes widened in shock as she crashed onto the ice, the impact sending spiderweb cracks around them.
Before she could recover, Kaede lunged forward, mimicking one of her earlier moves with remarkable precision. His palm struck her chest, forcing her back. She gasped as the air knocked out of her lungs.
Rize was breathless. It's as if someone snatched the breathing ability from her.
Kaede caught her mid-air as he tried to lunge on him again.
"I've analyzed you," Kaede continued, twisting her arm just enough to make her wince. "Every move, every pattern, every flaw. You're strong, Rize, but high level without control? It's meaningless."
With a final burst of energy, Kaede pulled her off balance, spinning her around and slamming her onto the ice. She coughed, struggling to get up, but the thin ice beneath her broke as she drowned under the the freezing water.
"Stay down," he said, his voice low but firm.
Kaede fell to his knees, staring at the broken ice where Rize had disappeared.
"Fuck this…" He said as the ice beneath him broke and he plunged under the water as well.
*
"Brilliant." Jin said while looking at the television in front of him. He was under the treatment as well, well his condition was worse than me though. And same with Aisaka. He was still unconscious.
Regardless, the fight was amazing. I never imagined the sheer potential in that one room would be this large How long will I be able to survive here?
"This will be the last one…" Taiga said as he clinched his fist as if reminiscing about something.
*
[WINNER OF THE THIRD BATTLE IS]
[!!!KAEDE ARASHIYA!!!]
"Well, that was unexpected." Amamiya said as he removed his glasses and looked at Haruto.
"Shall we?"
"…mmm…mhmm…" Haruto replied.
[THE THIRD BATTLE IS OVER AND THE PARTICIPANTS WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF BY THE MEDICS]
[UPDATING POINTS]
KAEDE ARASHIYA - 120 EGO FRAGMENTS
RIZE KUROGAMI - 80 EGO FRAGMENTS
[THE LAST BATTLE OF THIS ROUND WILL COMMENCE NOW]
AMAMIYA SHION | HARUTO KISHINUMA
YOU BOTH HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED THE ARENA "POT OF GREED"
TRANSPORTATION BEGINS IN 3…2…1…