Post

Region: The Great Chili

He had to thank Utu after this for warning ahead of time that Wabachan's for force a sense of false intuition upon their opponents in a fight. It's likely part of the reason why the Zeroes were making so much of a difference in the current unholy war. Even with the power gap, it was still a useful tool to have in their arsenal.

Though now that he was aware of it, he took that away from Kiysa. And she looked visibly shocked that he failed to fall for her feint.

In truth. He was hardly thinking of paying back Utu. He really wasn't thinking much of anything now as he focussed on his barrage of simply stabs, each growing more vicious and true with each moment passed. His mind growing ever more empty of distractions and only becoming more and more engrossed in the now, in the fight. Letting petty worries, useless thoughts and random distractions all fall away. But just because his mind was emptying of distractions does not mean that he does not acknowledge that she was adapting, growing more used to his relentless and ever growing assault.

Though as her own speed increased in counter to his own, Kiysa would notice that his eyes grew more burdened. Having trouble in keeping up with her own movements now when it earlier excelled in bridging the gap and keeping him a step ahead, even analysing her movements so he could counter or react faster than he humanly should. But now, as they grew faster and faster, they were failing. The Golden Cross in each eye began to fail and flicker weakly. Though as they failed, underneath it was his normal eye that glowed a luminous yellow, the same colour as his lightning.

And those eyes did not fail to capture her movements, hunting her every move before crackling back to the failing Eyes of Cross. Though the intervals between these failing eyes and his own were growing shorter and shorter with each fleeting moment... He was forgetting that he even used the Eyes of Cross, so too was he forgetting that he was using Accel or Metal nature, he just needed his body to be as he desired. His desire to simply see her, to comprehend his movements and move faster was growing far more than his memory of activating his ancestral boon in the first place.

That memory becoming steadily eclipsed by the desire to win as he began to more thoroughly embody what the human race excelled at... Persistence.

That was the perfect word to describe Duncan's relentless growth. Persistent..

Though this relentless evolution wasn't without a price. He was undertaking a toll, he was changing the world while remaining ignorant to its pushback. He hasn't had to deal with it in his dreams like Vance had, though it will certainly hit him once this fight was over. But for now he was ignorant to the reluctant denial of the world.

The relentless barrage was becoming too easy for Kiysa to deal with, he saw that she was adapting too quickly. He needed to switch things up again. At the end of his next stab he would suddenly switch into a horizontal slash, trying to catch her in her dodge. Following it swiftly a newfound effort. Switching his campaign of stabs to seek her blade in a flurry of vertical and horizontal slashes to bait her into a clash again, preparing a trap. He needed to get into another clash again so he could shock her. To create an opening and secure his victory.

The physical and mental strain is building rapidly. Kiysa has seen less and less of the world around them the longer this fight has went on. Now the entire world is gone, a black haze that only contains herself and Duncan. She has become blind to the burning in her lungs and the numbness in her arms and legs. Powered purely on adrenaline and her indomitable spirit. One final thrust she dodges by the slimmest margin, but she sees his hands clench and the muscles in his arms bulge. This thrust will change to become a horizontal swing. In an instant she sees her winning move. She has to instigate a clash. From there she can win. She will win!

Power Duncan has not experienced strikes his blade as Kiysa twists with new vigor and parries his strike, knocking it aside as she goes to cut him down with the same flow. With great power and determination Duncan does the same, bringing his blade back and stopping her return fire. Over and over they trade, standing their ground as they both sense the end. Kiysa's spirit has evolved, refining itself for one final explosive push, burning everything as if there will not be another day. Duncan can feel it, each attack she throws has an intensity even beyond where he is now, forced to block most of them now as they have become dangerous to attempt to parry. But he has to keep up the assault. They both were searching for the same thing. And when both Kiysa and Duncan sense that the other is just a hair out of place, they knew it was time.

Their blades clash. They grind together with one final burst of strength. Still, Duncan is physically stronger. His victory condition is met.

Which meant Kiysa's victory is guaranteed.

With Duncan's focus on the clash, he does not see through Ideal Girl. Duncan met Kiysa's blade in a way where he can still brace to have a hand free to grab Kiysa's arm with his left hand. The shock on Kiysa's face almost hides something from him. And it is from the periphery of his left eye that he senses it. Defeat.

ZOCOM

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