R down at Miyako, the transformation Kaede had undergone did more than alter her shape. She now stood at a greater height than Miyako. Hunched over, the height easily surpassed two meters with no effort. With a head half the size of her own body, Miyako stared up into teeth and fme.

  She could only look undaunted. Nothing human remained ihe bd red eyes of the beast. Only through plete fidence could she make the instinct driven monstrosity not attack immediately. Her look made it question if it could win as Miyako looked like she was only on a whim not pletely destroying it. Her well-practiced death stare returned. It gave her the look of plete trol and superiority, whily she knew not to be true. It had lost any sense of rational thought, fetting that they had already been fighting.

  Another roar coughed up some fmes into the air. They didn’t touch Miyako, but she could feel the intense heat from just the proximity. It was worse than the near miss she had. Then the heat was brief enough that she could only feel the power that passed by. It nearly felt like it had dripped hot coals on her fabsp; The stinging in her skin didn’t go away even after it stopped r. “I didn’t think your mouth could get more foul.”

  Almost in response, as though it uood Miyako, it roared back at her, getting even more in her fabsp; ‘It’s testing me. To see how I reabsp; It wants to see my fear. She really has just bee a mindless beast… What sort of power is this and how does this even ect with the rest of her powers?’ She had too many questions. But questions were not for the moment. Their standoff would not st forever.

  Someone had to make a move.

  Chapter 336 – Back-to-ba the Jaws

  Miyako wao be the first to act, but she didn’t know what to expect from the transformation. Speed and power were already far more than she even thought ossible. There was no guessing what other secrets might be stored in the new body.

  She began to slowly pace around what remained of Kaede. It merely watched her seeing what she would do. Instinct told it that Miyako was still dangerous. It gave it pause in immediately attag.

  Yet that wouldn't st forever. Something that seemed to carry over from Kaede was impatienbsp; A drawn out stare down wouldn't happen. After thirty seds of Miyako’s pag and sizing up her challehe beast sigs charge with a roar that carried over into its attack.

  The danger of the situation was something Miyako uood acutely. A near miss was enough to leave her feeling as if a train had hit her. She didn't want a direct hit. It was the main reason she paced arouarget. Since she was already in motion, it made it easier for her to dodge quickly to the side. Not that it was pletely without risk.

  Even using her arms as a shield during the charge, the force still knocked her off her feet and flew backwards into the rui over from their earlier fight. Laying prone once more, her body didn’t want to be moving, but she forced it to get going. It was still a struggle. “Damn, I k was fast, but still this is stupid…” She ched her fists keeping them ready as though that was the only thing she o fight. “I k was ing and I was still too slow.”

  The train had already started back up though, as the sounds from it grew louder. Miyako pined and cursed under her breath watg the embodiment e st at her. She jumped out of the way just in time, but noticed that it still would have missed her.

  Miyako watched it crash into the ruined wall of the school grounds, a remihat they had been fighting within the crumbling building. “I was right. It gained all this power and speed, but ’t trol it. That may be the only thing w in my favor. Not that I know how much of a favor it actually is to have…”

  She began to make her legs move again w towards the beast. It already turned around, recovered from its collision. Already looking pissed off, it was hard to tell if it was any angrier from the failure. ‘I o keep moving… It’s my only shot…’ Miyako charged forward with a sluggish start that quickly became more natural.

  As she came charging in for the creature, it lowered a little rearing up for an attabsp; She spun around kig at some of the rubble arouhrowing up a s in front of her. Some of it was smoke and the rest high-speed projectiles.

  Small ks pelted the monster with the fmes coating most of its body vaporizing them quickly. The rger pieces were enough to make it howl in annoyanbsp; But it did enough to distraiyako to get in close. ‘Just need one good blow…’ She had everything that she needed lined up. The ce wasn't going to get aer than the one she had.

  Winding up for the throw, Miyako pushed herself faster than she had ever been before while her muscles yelled at her to stop. The creature was still thrown off by everything. Even its defenses were down. Only the fmes were in her way.

  Cloth ed iorn shirt, it was all that protected her fists from the intense heat as she came in swinging. Anyone else would have told her that she was an idiot to run in swinging with her fists against something that could fry her up like an egg (well everyo Seiji, he’s cheering her on), but something like stupid or smart didn’t factor into the problem. She had fists and they still worked, mostly, so she was by hell going to go swinging.

  Miyako’s strht arm released from its hold as she fihe distanbsp; Hitting square in what robably the bridge of the here was a loud crack. Fmes fshed up around her looking for more to e, but struggled to get a hold of her flesh.

  “Damn, bastard!” she roared in pain feeling the heat, but worse than that. The crag sound didn’t e from her breaking the skull of the beast. It came from her hand. “Hard headed bastard!” Not that it stopped her from swinging in with her other arm, somehow still w.

  Not as loud, but there was another crabsp; It became clear to anyone what was happening, but that didn’t stop her from tinuing. “Just go down!” She kept smming her fists into the head of the creature with nard for her hands or limbs. If she had she would have started biting at it, if it helped.

  Iire fight so far, Miyako never had the best shots. Each punch easily surpassed the fight before and each bloreceded it. It seemed impossible, but her power actually increased despite her injuries that mounted with each throw.

  Yet the beast only seemed to be fling from the attacks. The force of the blows pushed down its head a little, but returo position quickly. However, as time passed groans came from the creature signaling signs that it might actually be feeling what was happening. Miyako saw it as such a sign to keep delivering the pain. “Feeling that now! I just o warm up!”

  A loud roar broke through the blows as the monster jumped away in a blur. Miyako was left with net other than the ground, which came up quickly to her fist. The collision exploded earth and debris in all dires and filled the whole area with smoke.

  Rather than wait on the wind to clear things out, the creature roared in the dire of Miyako blowing away all of the smoke. All that remained was a crater so deep that Miyako couldn’t be seen. The beast had to walk up to the edge of the crater that ed nearly the entire blobsp; Down at the epiter of the bst stood Miyak up at the thing that had been Kaede. The fmes of Kaede still lingered on the edges of Miyako’s fists ging to the cloth strips.

  Giving the creature her full attention, Miyako threw up her fist challenging it for another round. “Afraid now? I told you! This is monster sying!” She snapped her arms down to her sides, suddenly snuffing out the fmes.

  The monster opes mouth filled with loh that were easily as rge as her hand. Fmes lit up the throat until it coughed up a stream of fire. Slower than the normal attacks from the beast, Miyako jumped into the air with ease to avoid it. Though the attack was already unched. Hardened arcs of fire that looked more crystallihan fluid flew at her.

  “What?!” Miyako could do nothing to dodge them. It wasn't as though she could actually fly like others. She was pletely open to the attabsp; Putting up her arms for prote once more, the first arc missed her, like before its aim was something that left a little something to be desired. However, it was a storm. It didn't try for accuracy when it was c the entire field. One would hit, it was a certainty.

  Which was very true. O collided with her forearms. It sliced into her flesh with ease. However, before it could go all the way through, she verted the forto something that she could use to ge her dire. Allowing most of the energy from the attack to be deflected away, she pushed off from it. Blood trailed off her arms once more.

  She tried to use the attack to throw her in range of the beast for atack, but it came ready for it. It no longer seemed to be hesitating in fighting her. Whether it feared or not, it khat it had no other choice but to fight. Su outlook made it more dangerous than before.

  It swiped its cws out at Miyako as she came in read far before she could even think of nding any meaningful blow to it. The cws themselves did little to her that the previous attack hadn’t done worse. Rather, it was the ford weight of the arms that she felt. It was that which sent her flying through the air and bato the crater of her owion.

  Crashing in the wall of the crater opposite of the beast, Miyako groaned from the pain. “Damn, still got plenty left in you, huh?” She ripped her limbs free and began to dig the rest out when a fireball greater than herself filled the entire view. “Bastard!”

  Her voice disappeared into the noise of the bst left behind by the fireball.

  Crumbling debris rained dowhe area where Miyako had been. There was nothing but smoke ah in the whole site.

  As the s started to fade away, a figure appeared through it all. It was Miyako panting heavily from the effort. Surrounding her, a new crater, not nearly as rge, appeared. I moments, she used the force of her own attack to attempt to cel out the fireball. It mostly worked. Much of her skin was red and raw from the attack, fortunately it did mao act well to seal up her wounds.

  Frustrated that Miyako still stood, it roared down at her. She smirked back, keeping up her fidence, even if it was unfounded. “Thought you killed me, didn’t ya? Yer gonna have to try harder than that! Yer still half assing it, I see that part of you hasn’t ged!”

  It robably an uhing to taunt the creature. Only its ck of uanding of nguage saved her from an immediate attabsp; Yet, it still uood the i delivered at it. It was a decration, a challeo do better. Instinct told it that much, she could tell.

  Smashing an arm against the earth, the ground started to rumble and pin once more. Strange noise came out from where Miyako stood. She looked down in the dire that it came from. “…the hell is that?” Her instincts told her to dodge, which was still too slow.

  A pilr of fire broke through the earth o her. Accuracy still being something to ask for, it had missed a direct hit against her. But it still ed her right arm, her still good arm (mostly good at this point). Miyako howled in pain pulling out of the fires, but not before it already cimed what it wanted.

  Her arm was gone.

  Ied in the fmes, all that remained was half a stump from the upper arm. She groueeth through the pain and smmed her feet into the earth for support. “You think that’ll be enough to stop me!” Without thinking, Miyako jumped forward at the beast.

  Ready to receive her for the finishing blow, it prepared the attabsp; However, Miyako surprised it by not actually eg with it. Her aim was below it. Her remaining injured fist rammed into the earth underh it. The wall of the crater she made exploded around both of them.

  Crumbling and throwing debris in all dires, the beast fell off bao the new crater that Miyako created. She nded on top of it with her eyes lit with fury. “I only need one fist to kill you!” The first blow she made cracked the earth using the body of the monster. The sed and third expahem until she pu into a new crater. She yelled the eime, uo stop with each punch getting stroha.

  Something cracked, it was low and dull, but something had broken. This time it wasn’t Miyako (she didn’t really have much left to break iate). The beast roared in pain, feeling blow after blow now. The fmes around it did nothing to save it from the fury of Miyako.

  However, it had enough of the pummeling and threw Miyako off its body. R once more, it jumped into the air after Miyako still suspended before the fall. She caught the edge of the body with her hand as it crashed into her. The force of the impact coughed up blood from her, but not before she pushed off and spun around kig it in the head to shoot it back to the ground.

  A massive pilr of smoke kicked up from the crash of Kaede’s monster body. Miyako dropped to the ground on one knee feeling the pain in her body. The st hit was nearly direct, only being in the air softe a little. It was still not enough to pletely shrug it off for Miyako. Blood dripped over the earth as she coughed. “Damn…I ’t feel anything…I don’t know even know if I’m alive or dead anymore…”

  Hearing a roar of the moold Miyako all she o know about the dition of it. She pushed off her leg with her left arm. “Not that it matters. My fight isn’t over yet…” It started walking towards the crash site, but that was an unnecessary effort.

  Though crashed, it recovered quickly. It came charging out of the smoke with one eye closed. Buried in all of the fmes, it was hard to tell the injuries that it sustained, but it actually felt them now. Charging straight for Miyako, there was no ce it was going to miss her this time.

  But Miyako didn’t make any signs to dodge the attabsp; She could see it ing, but did nothing to save herself.

  The two smashed into each other with the beast winning the fight with ease. There was no effort or challeo be had going straight against the raw strength. Miyako didn’t have a bsp; But she did it anyway.

  She pnted her feet into the earth as the force of the beast’s charge drug her through carving out trehe size of her feet. Blood coughed up again from her mouth as this blow was real. There was no padding or escape. It was a full on collision that Miyako lost. Crimson liquid streamed down her lips and mouth in amounts that questioned how she still stood

  Yet she did.

  After the initial collision, Miyako somehow mao recover. Her hand came up and grabbed the beast around the neck. The fmes burned into her arm, but she hung on to it despite it. Not being able to feel anything helped her out more than she knew. “You’re not going any further!” Miyako pressed her feet into the earth f it into a battle of strength once more. The momentum was against her though. Their battle pushed her far away from the school and through ruined buildings. But even that started to ge. The signs of Takako’s destru started to fade away.

  The beast’s forrogress started to slow and not because it had stopped. Miyako had somehow actually mao push babsp; Her legs were half buried nearly and the street was pletely torn up. But she held in against it. “I’m stopping yht here!” Leaning even more into her position, she began to move her feet rather than holding. It did little to ge the course, but it was making slress.

  It took several blocks, but she had ma the beast to a halt. Their battle of strength renewed now with both struggling. her could make the other budge, but the beast roared in ahat it could do nothing anymore.

  Miyako tightened her awkward grip around the beast’s ned threw everything she had into it to push it babsp; It was slight, but it slid away. It was on the defensive. “I won’t allow you any further! This is a lihat you ’t cross!”

  Behind Miyako, as she already knew, stood the homes and buildings of people that still survived. If their fighting pushed any further, they would be in danger. All of their effort to recim the territory and save the people would have been wasted if she smashed it up from their fighting.

  However, it didn't seem to uand that point. It didn't care about those things at all. Only destru was on its mind and it had to kill Miyako. And anger fueled it more knowing that it was losing suddenly in strength. The beast roared and pushed back against Miyako with everything it had.

  She bumped up as it all surged through it. Her feet lost tra and they charged forward with her uo stop the charge. Around her she saw the signs of the neighborhoods passihe signs that he koo well.

  Life.

  Miyako screamed through her whole body. Her faarrowed and sharpeo that of a demon nearly as she threw herself into the earth bringing them to a grinding halt. “I said no further! And I meant it!” The beast challenged her still, but she hung in against it refusing to move. Fmes on the body jumped out trying to burn her, but she cmped down tighter on her.

  She began to push it back out of the neighbor and bato the ruins. It struggled with her uo do what it wanted.

  “I am the wall that protects! I will not break! This is my sole purpose!” She roared again, bringing everything that she had left to bare in her body. Her muscles tightened and expanded as the earth crushed under her feet. “You will not take another life!” eling everything through only one hand, she mahe herculea of actually starting to lift the beast off its feet. “This is where you fall!”

  She pulled the monster pletely off its feet and swung the entire being through the air. Miyako smmed it back down into the street. A massive crater grew out of the collision that ate up the whole block, fortunately she had taken them ba far enough to safe limits.

  Down at the bottom of the crater with the beast, she uned her arm, but was caught on something. Buried deep in all the fmes, she found a hairpin. Miyako forced her arm free, taking the hairpin with her by act. Partially embedded in her arm, she ripped it free with her teeth and dropped it in her hand. “The girl was wearing that in her hair…”

  Then suddenly, the fmes went out on the beast causing Miyako to step baot sure what was happening. Aransformation seemed to be happening, but it was reversing the ges. It wasn't long before the girl known as Kaede resurfaced, though unscious.

  Victory finally came to Miyako. She lifted up her arm over head Kaede. “This will put ao it all…” Miyako quickly threw her fist down, but coughed up ane amount of blood. Her body had finally reached the end. The fight was over and it could no lree to keep going. She colpsed on top of Kaede passing out.