Waiting for movement, Kallias watched Saki’s still body. A variety of expressions transitioned across his face from boredom to woo . ‘I find it hard to believe one shot was enough to kill her. I wounded her, but sidering everything else she shrugged off I expected her to be ba her feet.’ Kallias took a couple of steps to get a better view of Saki. He needed a sign, anything to show some life. ‘…hmm…’

  Nearly a minute passed with no movement. Things started to bee awkward for Kallias. He took a few more steps and then a few main. The longer he waited the less sure he became. ‘It could be a trick, but she was shtforward before, seems a little out of character for her.’ Kallias tinued approag her until he was nearly on top. He stared down, still cautious if it was a trick.

  F a couple of balls, he tossed them at her body to check fns of life. No response came from them, everoying ks of her tunibsp; Kallias checked her once more before he started to test a vein for life.

  Life suddenly resurged in Saki’s eyes. Moving too fast to see, she already had a hand around Kallias’ nebsp; “I’ve got you now! I’m inside your defenses! You ’t do anything about me at this range!” Saki wound up her free fist to put Kallias out.

  Chapter 182 – Guardian’s Answer

  Kallias gritted his teeth in pain from the tight hold she had on his nebsp; It was enough to make him gasp a little for air, but not so far as to feel like he was choking, yet. “Pying dead? Didn’t think you had it in you…”

  “I don’t care about the fight so long as it is ended! I already told you before I’m not doing this for the honor of a fight!” Her fist came in for the finishing blow.

  Pg a hand on Saki’s strangling arm, the look in Kallias’ eyes ged. “Then you won’t mind me doing this.”

  Saki’s punch tio e at him, but no lo the same speed. It was too slow. Her arm felt strange as though a great weight pulled at her. When she realized something was wrong her eyes widened in surprise. It wasn’t just her arm, but also her body. “What?!” She tried to fight the for her arm, but it was to. Her fist never ected.

  Kallias grabbed her arm and pulled it away from him, almost as though she did it herself. He took a step away from her, while rubbing his hand over his sore throat. A bit of a smirk resurfaced when she saw her pig up on the ges. “You never noticed, did you?”

  It made it even more clear to her that he did something to her. She kept trying to fight with her body that wouldn’t move the way she wanted. “What did you do to me?!”

  “It’s the water,” he replied, using his fio point out the water that g to her body. “I haven’t only been firing water orbs at you. They g to you on impabsp; And all water in here is under my trol!” Kallias looked on with anticipation. ‘You’re caught now with no escape. Now show me everything you’ve got! I want more!’

  “…Damn…you…” Saki struggled against the forces on her body. It felt much like when he caught her ier sphere. Nothing responded how she wanted. As though with a to strapped to each of her limbs. It was all enpassing. Fighting it did no good when not even an angle could be made from it.

  ‘She’s down food this time! Stay down!’

  ‘Do you need a little more motivation,’ thought Kallias. Water bullets spun up at his fingers' request. Targeting non-vitals, he released the bullets. Skimming off her skin or making shallow wounds, each bullet found a pbsp; Blood sprayed from the wounds across his fabsp; “e on!”

  Saki gred at him, fighting off the pain. She knew what he wanted. She saw it the eime in the fight. It never ged for him. ‘I won’t do what you want… I won’t succumb to a fight!’ Despites her injuries, she still tried to pull against the water, however it only made her blood flow faster out of her wounds.

  More bullets riddled her body. A lightheaded feeling started to swarm over her. Memories and the present blurred together in her mind. She kept hearing the yelling of the children from the dojo. They taunted her and ridiculed her. It all bleogether in mind, none of it really matters. ‘What should I do?’

  ‘That’s easy! Power up a him up like you always do!’ responded Yuki.

  ‘Eh?! Yuki! Why I hear you?!’

  ‘Because this is a self induced motivational halluation for the sole purpose of providing you the resolve to win!’

  Saki’s face tur listening to Yuki’s answer. It sounded like something he would say, but it was still a little too direbsp; ‘Aren’t you giving away a little too much?’

  ‘It’s fihis is normal for this type of story!’ Yuki closed in with Saki. He reached out his hands to grab Saki. The joking part of him disappeared as quickly as it appeared. ‘You must not think so little of yourself, when you protect me, Saki.’

  ‘But I…he just waertai…I ’t…’

  ‘So you pn to die?’ Yuki’s question stirred Saki in a way she didn’t expebsp; She didn’t have an answer for him. She didn’t have one for herself. ‘Saki, don’t fet proteg yourself is just as important as your promise. Don’t fight for him or even to win. Fight to live!’

  ‘…Yuki…’ A wellspring of energy surged inside Saki. It restored her resolve back to her eyes. Saki discovered her strength returning. The water no longer seemed as heavy. An explosive force burst from her body disiing the water and freeing her from Kallias’ trol.

  A powerful yellow aura surrounded Saki in prote. It caused her hair to flutter to defy gravity turning blonde. ‘No! You didn’t just,’ Yuki protested (just kidding!), ‘Bastard!’

  Saki, normal not super-anything, tightened up her fists. Blood soaked her clothes and coated her body, but none of it mattered to her. “It’s time we ehis!” She disappeared from sight and suddenly appeared in front of Kallias, water already came to prevent her, but then she disappeared again. Saki reappeared oher side of Kallias, but faded away almost immediately. Water kept sprouting up around him with fading images of Saki surrounding him.

  Kallias looked around him through the water. ‘Is she moving so fast there’s leftovers of her?’ A bit of sweat dripped down his neck watg her go at him. There was a tingling in his back, an unknown sense from Saki. He liked the feeling. ‘You’re doing it! Show me everything you’ve got!’

  Keeping up her attacks, Saki started notig that her punches broke through the water more than before. ‘I do this!’ Her speed kept her ing in from multiple angles nearly simultaneously. However, she began to notiething was wrong with her speed. The timing was no lohe same. ‘Why am I slowing down? It’s like my feet are going through…’ She looked down to discover the water level of Kallias’ Field had increased. It was already up to her knees.

  “You didn’t think my Field was so shallow as that trickle of water?” he remarked, as the hits on his water came to a halt. The water defense proteg him returned into the rge pool. “However, you should notiething else about it as well.” His hint to Saki brought a dark grin to his face.

  ‘I barely move! There’s too much pressure!’ Saki tried to get up to any sort of speed, but her legs couldn’t move enough. Her strength failed her. The water tio rise on her up to her waist. ‘I’m a sitting target!’ As right as her thoughts, Kallias summoned up his bullets for her again. She groueeth down at her situation. Her eyes darted around while her legs kept trying to move faster.

  Nothing ged her situation. The bullets sped towards her like a blur, her eyes barely trag them. ‘I see it! Then…’ Saki rammed her fist into the water with all of her strength and dragged across iion. It created a tidal wave that intercepted the bullets. Ripples spread out from the impacts as the water absorbed them quickly. The wave settled back down revealing a more fident Saki. “Objects entering water slow down signifitly and with how dense you’ve made the water it’s pointless.”

  “Getting clever now,” Kallias answered, excitement clear in his voice.

  She k would do nothing to faze him, but Saki still hoped for something. However, it did allow her the time she o free herself from the water. She jumped into the air and came to a nding atop the water. Ripples repeatedly came out from her feet.

  The odd ability dispyed made Kallias narrow his eyes in fusion. He worked over the makeup of the water to ge its properties, but she remained on tardless of what he did. It seemed like she just stood oer. He kept staring at her trying to read the situation for anything he might have missed. ‘If she could do this before she would have shown it rather than struggling. What is her trick?’ Nothing came to him.

  Summoning bullets, he had to test her. He needed more information. The bullets sped towards her with ion from her. They hit Saki square in the chest, then passed through as though toug nothing. It made his eyes widen with curiosity.

  A slight distortion came across part of Saki that sted for less than a sed before it was gone. However, it was enough to alert Kallias. The ripples oer drew his attention down. ‘’t be…but she is…she’s moving fast enough to not break the water’s surface tension, but in a tight enough space to appear as though standing!’ Kallias had to cp, it came suddenly, but he gave her a very brief appuse. “Amazing! The things you do, simply amazing!”

  Saki felt a little annoyed by his response, but forced herself to keep her emotions in chebsp; She required a lot of tration and coordination to keep from sinking into the water. It bought her time, but barely any. ‘I have ao this…it’s going to be the only way to deal with his defenses. It's the best way to defeat someooo gung-ho for eai. I’ll deprive him of it!’

  The idea sparked a fire inside Saki’s chest. She felt an end in sight for her. Suddenly, another Saki appeared o her followed by another. They spread out away from Saki surrounding Kallias with es ting to eight. “Whie is the real ohey all spoke.

  Kallias crossed his arms looking a little bothered by what he saw. “You think you trick me with that? I already know you’re moving too fast for me. It won’t matter which I attack, they're all fakes.”

  “I thought you wao py?”

  “Trying to bait me now?”

  Frowning a little, Saki became frustrated with her initial attempt. She wasn’t ready to give up on her pn. All of the es disappeared suddenly. Massive waves erupted along with ks of earth. Everything cascaded at Kallias with his water blog it. The assault tinued without end.

  Unlike before, Kallias couldn’t see anything. Clouds of dirt along with yers of water made it impossible for him to see anything. He felt the ground quaking each time of the impabsp; It unnerved him a little not knowing what she nning. ‘I’ve just got to keep the defense up. She’ll stop eventually.’

  Yet it did not stop. Sweat dripped down his fad his breathing started to run shallow. The assault tinued for a minute and ran on past. The quaking shook in his legs with them feeling like jelly. He could barely stand. Headaches popped up in his head as soured down his fabsp; ‘’t…no…I haven’t seehi…’

  Suddenly the water evaporated and the pounding ceased. It was all silent. Kallias stood wide-eyed as though something came to him, but uttered nothing. He just stood, void of any other expression.

  Saki reappeared, dry, o Kallias. She stared at him and then turned away. As she took her first step, Kallias colpsed unscious to the ground drenched in his ow. A bit of a smile came across her lips. She won. His mental energy was pletely exhausted. His fun was over, unsatisfied.