All of her unnecessary ons remaiored in the deeper parts of her mind. The style that she developed focused around martial arts. Her strength was fighting aing her oppo directly. Yet in her assigo the border, she found none of the abilities that were her strengths in the academy to be of use. Those that praised her for talent and skill meant nothing outside of the walls. It forced her to adapt to a different need.

  The need oe was capture through nohal and generally non-violent means. The academy didn’t specifically train her for violence hting. However, they also didn’t tell her otherwise. Her training was simply the usage and refi of her abilities through whatever came natural to her.

  ‘What? You’re only thirteen? Well I guess the Captain of the Guard was just as young, maybe that’s why she’s assigned here.’

  Nerine charged forward with her fists prepared. The metal that surrounded her arms moved with her body no longer restrig her movement. It became like liquid, yet kept the hardness. Her glow increased with iy the closer that she came to Seiji. A white shine developed over the metal bringing light to the dark Field. “Yoing to want to dodge this.” She saw that Seiji made no move to get away from her. He looked to be welitack.

  Seiji gri her. He liked the sound of her words and the iy of the attabsp; “I’ll be the judge of that!” His hands rose up to meet her attad take it head on. Seiji dug his feet in wanting to measure the strength that she brought to him. A worthy fight had to be struck fist to fist without retreat.

  Hesitation swelled in her chest reag sharply to her fists’ desire. She switched ons because she hem. The doubt was only around to hold her babsp; ‘I’ve got to strike with everything!’ Neriightened up her arm and fist only a meter away from Seiji. She o knock him down.

  An explosion of wind and ks of earth erupted from the epiter of their csh. Only the light created from the two fists smmed together bloated out the destru. The fighters disappeared from sight with the engulfing bst expanding quickly beyond them.

  Chapter 150 – The Debate of Fists

  Nearly a minute passed before the vibrating calmed and the light started to fade. Expectations of figures within the ter failed. It took most of the time to settle out to a thinly veiled cloud before Seiji and Nerine’s body surfaced. Both of them id on the ground prone several meters apart and unclear how ret they entered such positions.

  Seiji pulled himself up first with a little smoke rising from his body. His hands looked a little beat up and red, but still hel strong. He wiped away the crappy earth that found its way on top of him. Across from him, Nerine’s movement alerted him. Anrin appeared on his face, very pleased with the situation. His hands tightened into fists, being eager. “That was a damn fine punch!”

  She had some expectations for the oute. Unfortunately, they nearly pletely failed to be realized. ‘Damn, I was hoping for a little more out of that… I’ve got more left to use, but I figured I’d make more progress…’ Her body felt sore as if she went several rounds in a boxing matbsp; The sight of Seiji appearing nearly unged by the attack fueled her to stand. It eled the pain away from her mind and focused everything on him.

  The sight of Seiji wanting ano with her made her sigh a little. ‘He’s just waiting for another ce…’

  “Let’s keep that up! I actually felt your fist this time! I might actually be able to make use of more of my strength!” Seiji pounded his hands together starting to appear as if he wao go on the offensive.

  ‘More strength? Just how strong is he supposed to be?’ The thought made her a little uled. However, she khat she had more ons to rely on. She just o find a different approach for him.

  ‘I guess she’s just a child after all… Nothing special about her…’

  Nerine charged forward still wielding her same ons from st time. Dirt kicked up behind her suddenly as though bsted away by something. She struck out for Seiji, but this time he actually dodged out of her way. He moved around to ter her, but found himself back forced to dig in as a gale blew down on him.

  The annoying ass wind threateo push Seiji over as he pressed his feet into the crag earth of Nerine’s Field. He held up his arms trying to see through the shitty winds. As quickly as the winds began, they faded away. However, a powerful force smmed through Seiji’s face, sending him off his feet and spinning wildly out of trol through the ground. The force of his body dug a trento the earth until he finally came to a stop.

  Standing with aended arm out, Nerine revealed herself as the reason (not that it should be a surprise). She pulled her hand bad looked down at Seiji measuring out the distance he flew. The effect of her fist pleased her more tha exge. She mao deal a severe blow to him she felt. “I told you that you would regret it.”

  “Not at all. I don’t regret it!” echoed Seiji’s voice from the distanbsp; His darkened figure in the night surfaced from the trench.

  Nerine slid her foot back to return to a defeanbsp; “’t be…he doesn’t sound affected at all!”

  ‘Who’s the woman? What she’s just a kid?!’

  Seiji began his march bato Nerine’s Field. Once he returo her vision, he wiped away the stream of blood from his that started at his lip. Tears in his tunic showed what little damage he sustained, but it still mao hold. “This is starting to feel like a great ass fight! Damn! I ’t wait to see what else you do!” He charged forward fists raised going on the offensive.

  It took her a little by surprise that he no longer pyed defeh her. The look in his eye definitely ged. She could easily see it as pin as the moon in the sky. He wao fight her and no longer cared about gender or any other differenbsp; His wait ended.

  The speed of his movements took her off banbsp; It felt like he became a blur. ‘It’s like before…’ She remembered how fast he moved to protect her. Her eyes couldn’t follow him then, so she assumed it was a tri his Field. Yet she saw him moving inhumanly fast. Her pause left her pletely open. The only hope she had was a weak instinctive defeh her arm to block him. It wasn’t enough.

  Seiji’s fist struck her armored left arm with enough force to knock her up into the air. She went careening through the night air as carelessly out of trol as she sent him earlier. Her head went bnk for the moments that the air scraped over her fabsp; Nerine slowly came back around not unscious, just empty. It took her another few moments to remember her situation and the all too familiar situation. Arouhe ons followed her, floating without any thought to their master.

  She saw the damage to her on. Bent bdes and twisted metal filled Seiji’s strike. It survived.

  Nerine sed ons and cwed at the air. She came to a slow stop. The neon attached past her shoulders and ected along her colrbone. Her metal sparked alive no longer with a glow, but electricity. Freely flowing bolts of eles jumped across her forearm. The metal c her fingers had a cw-like appearahat dug into the air. She threw herself through the air back at Seiji. The streak of her through the sky became white lines from the trails of electricity.

  Pleased that she wasn’t finished and charging back for another round, Seiji prepared for her.

  The first strike she made blew out bolts of electricity all around them seeking out a ground. Her armored fist smmed into Seiji’s testing out his resistao her forbsp; It made the earth quake and break up around him to drive his feet into the ground. However, the moment she saw him holding against her she spun around and smmed her fist into the air. She threw herself through the air getting behind him to strike his back.

  Seiji barely had the time to read stumbled forward. His torn tunic ripped to shreds at the point of impa his babsp; It built a hole with hanging coarse fabribsp; The hit did little to stun him and he quickly pulled around to return the favor. His fist was too te. Electricity ran up his arm in her wake numbing him slightly. She came up behind him again smming another fist into him. Seiji staggered forward and fought with his body to respond.

  Neri like she finally had an advantage for the first time in the fight. She dealt him blows that damaged him and she kept out of his grasp. ‘I do this! I beat him!’ Excitement and fideuro Nerih each success. She didn’t want to feel eager, but she couldn’t help a little smile.

  She bounced around the air preparing a strotack to rally her position. Her arm came in behind him destined for a powerful hit. However, she came th stop that nearly threw her arm out of her shoulder joint. Before she had time to recover, the wind rained down on her face as she sailed through the air. She scrapped the air to return trol to her. ‘What happened? He did it, didn’t he?’

  ‘It’s all just an absp; She just pensating, that serious mature speech of hers.’

  On the ground, Seiji flexed his hand as he started to have feeliurn to it. Once he finished, he looked up at Nerine. “You know a trick like that only works a couple of damn times. You have to make the first ass one t. You’ve been using it too mud became predictable.” He grinned up at her looking no less worse than a little redness from minor bruising on his back.

  ‘I see, I still have the speed to get around him…’ She threw herself bato the fight. Taking advantage of the air maneuver, Neri herself around to the side of Seiji. She threw in her fist sg a hit, but he didn’t budge. Her eyes drew in narrowed before widening a little in surprise. He threw up his arm in defense, defleg much of the force away from him.

  Electricity sparked off his arm where he blocked her attabsp; He brought in his free arm to terattack, but she was already out of his range. ‘She’s fast…’ Arike came at him, but he dodged it. She backed off from him and worked around him again.

  Each attempt she made felt as if she was losing ground. The advantage she eroded before her hands. He was getting closer to her with each pass. ‘Is he reading my moves?’ Her attack had his fist grazing over her arm. The force shook around her arm rattling down to her bone, while ing the metal. It reformed quickly, but left her a sign. ‘I need something more…’

  Nerine dodged around Seiji’s punches narrowly keeping up with his increasing reflexes. She jumped around the air tinuing to move without letting him stay on her for long. Her o gettis and tears as he got closer. ‘I’ve got to do something now…’ Nerine pushed bad built up a charge towards Seiji being obvious to invite him into an exge.

  Seiji eagerly accepted her offer and cshed fist with fist against her. The two fists rattled and shook with loud ass shockwaves exploding off them. However, fmes suddeed from her arm and damn near swallowed Seiji whole with no ce to react.

  The Atntean backed off waiting to see how much damage she dealt him. He surprised her when he brought up his hand and tore away the fmes from his body. Her fire id on the ground quickly burning through the tunibsp; Seiji lost his top to the fmes and only came out with light burns that tanned his skin.

  “I see you’ve got more tricks up your sleeve. e on! I’m enjoying the hell out of this!” He pounded his fists together. His well-toned body didn’t have extreme muscle development, as one might guess for his strength. Seiji held a fairly lean appearance, but had clear muscle definition. The fading fmes lit up his body, making him glow a little with the sweat that covered him. He slid down into a fighting stance ready to tinue.

  Neri a clear look at him. She knew how much punishment she dealt him a he tinued. ‘He doesn’t even look tired… I’m going to need my stronger ones…’ Her on disappeared, sing out for one of the many that followed around her. The neon held a sleeker appearand appeared more fluid thahers did. It only covered up to her upper arms. She cwed forward, charging at him. Her left arm shot forward firing a rge stream of water at him. It immediately froze up to incase him.

  She jumped up running along the surface at him. As she closed in with him, the ice broke, throwing her off banbsp; Seiji aimed for her, but she air punched away. Nerine appeared from underh, throwing out her fist. Stone grew out of her arm, another ge. It raced away from her smming into Seiji. He went flying into the air as the rocky n expanded up.

  Bsting into the sky, Nerine followed him. She threw out fmes, her on gi again. Seiji blocked the fmes with his arms and put them out by throwing out his arms. He caught sight of her closiween him dealing with the attabsp; She caught a hit on him altering his dire bato the ground. His body sped into the earth cratering and tossing up rge ks of earth. Neri after him.

  However, Seiji already recovered from the long ass fall and had his fist ing out to meet her as he expected a frontal assault. She mao take his punch with another on s, but it ed severely rippling through the metal. The force finally went through her body a her flying away. Seiji jumped out of the deep crater. He dusted himself while waiting for her to nd.

  Once she recovered and came charging for him again, Seiji sped for her. His speed increased past what she became aced to dealing with. He got around her and barely had a ce to dodge his attabsp; His punch flew over her, but ged into a swing down once he extended fully. She blocked with her armored arms and smmed into the ground coughing up blood.

  The metallic taste of her blood came as a new sensation for her, but she didn’t have time to uand it thhly. Seiji pressed the attaing at her with faster punches. She backed away from him only for him to close again. Her armor kept her from taking serious damage, but she felt it tearing at her limbs. Pieces of his strength made it through to her.

  Seiji pressed her back, but failed to make a e with her. He ged up his pattern and dug his foot through the earth bringing up rge ks of earth that battered her. However, it was only a s for him. Seiji rammed his fist through the debris he created. Nerine already instinctively had her arms up to block, but didn’t expect the foring through at her. She went flying backwards.

  He gave chase to her and caught her while still in flight. His fist stretched out to deliver a finishing blow. Nerine managed enough crity to block with a thick on. Jets bsted out from her ons stopping her body, but Seiji’s momentum carried through to her slowly pushing her. His fist pressed against the thick metal ing it.

  Nerine caught the taste of surprise from the force that he applied, managing to ter the thrust of her on. ‘He’s smashing my on! I ’t let it…’ The on suddenly repaired itself while his fist tried to crush it. Seiji didn’t stop with the charge and tio apply his strength, breaking down the armain. It repaired itself again, the cycle repeating.

  In the end, Seiji threw her off him and slid to the ground with his speed in flight no longer terihrust. She came to a quick stop. Her hand wiped off the blood that dripped from her lips. They stared off at each other.

  Seiji smirked, feeling satisfied with the fight. “You’re impressive. I might have to resider my code.”

  Nerine found herself grinning a little, not immediately reizing it herself. She didn’t feel the uainty or doubt anymore. It all disappeared while she fought him. He didn’t see her as she saw herself, but just another person to fight. It felt oddly fortable for her. She wao see what more he had to offer a it against her own. “I might still make yret that thought.”

  “Oh?”

  A glow came from Nerine’s body pletely masking her uniform. The on on her arms disappeared along with all of the ons in the Field. “I’ve never dohis before for anyone. You’ll be the first to see my final battle form!”