Percy smiled.
"Sure."
He made his move.
Dashing forwards, he ignored the patches of molten glass as he stopped a meter or two in front of Mitsuna and spun around while raising his leg.
Kicking it towards one of the patches of molten glass, his leg picked up a small amount of the burning liquid like glass as it travelled towards Mitsuna.
Taking a back step, she dodged the kick but Percy just hopped forwards, doing the same kicking motion.
Ducking down, Mitsuna avoided the attack as she landed an uppercut on Percy's jaw.
Percy was slightly pushed back.
Checking his shoes, he noticed they were destroyed so he took them off.
"My first ability."
He started talking as he cracked his neck and started attacking again.
Punching at Mitsuna, his attack was met by hers as a slight stalemate occurred for a moment.
"Power of The Poor is an ability that permanently gives me more strength the more I fight. It also makes all the attacks I deal to my enemies unhealable if I am less than 50km away from them."
Percy punched again.
The attack was dodged but a scratch somehow appeared on Mitsuna's cheek.
Mitsuna grabbed onto Percy's fist and jumped towards him as she landed a kick to his chin.
The both of them slightly backed off.
Mitsuna touched her cheek as Percy rubbed his chin and spoke.
"Oh, right. It also gives me perfect control of aura. I don't even need a weapon to use it."
Mitsuna wiped the blood off her cheek as she checked her other injuries.
'I guess he has no reason to lie. But damn. Kind of unfair.'
The glass that was keeping most of her wounds closed was slowly cracking and getting weaker as time went on.
'I need to finish this.'
Mitsuna looked at Percy and the damage he has sustained till now.
'It seems that he doesn't heal either though, maybe it's a side effect?'
Mitsuna searched her skills for any other card she could play.
'Ah. Of course. I always forget about this one.'
The fire on her hands dissipated.
'It does use mana, so I should conserve it until I find a chance to attack.'
As she looked at Percy, she heard him mutter while striking the air in front of him.
"My second ability."
Invisible aura attacks came at Mitsuna.
She managed to dodge and block them all but in exchange, she needed to use magic on the surroundings to make a few walls of glass.
As the glass shattered and no attacks landed, Mitsuna was surprised to see Percy already next to her, ready to land a punch.
Blocking it, she was pushed back by quite a bit as some of the glass on her wounds shattered and her arms started stinging in pain.
"Strength of The Weak makes me heal no matter what type of damage is dealt to me. In exchange, I heal extremely slowly and have no access to mana. But instead of mana and health, I have willpower."
Percy moved again as he stomped his feet to make shockwaves.
Mitsuna jumped so that she could avoid losing her footing but that turned out to be a mistake.
Percy appeared next to her and delivered a guillotine kick, sending her to the ground.
Dust rose as Percy spoke.
"Strength of The Weak also has the side effect of me needing to fight strong enemies to grow. I can not grow if I defeat weaker enemies."
Percy walked through the dust.
"I was searching. For so so long. To find someone that could help me grow higher than the others. Someone like me, who could survive even if our vitals were punctured and smashed. And I found you. I do not need nor want you to die. You are my key to fighting those bastards on their high thrones. In honesty, we are equal in power and difficult to kill, that is why you are my perfect match. If we keep fighting, I can grow and so can you."
Percy reached a small crater which she had kicked Mitsuna to.
It was empty.
"Hah! Hahaha! See!? You keep surprising me with your tenacity even now!"
Percy let out his aura as the dust cleared and he sensed Mitsuna behind him.
"What do you say? Fighting with each other would continue to make us grow higher and higher like there was no limit! We can become the most powerful duo in the world!"
Mitsuna did not answer.
Turning around, Percy found that Mitsuna was not looking towards him.
All the glass on her body had shattered, her wounds leaking blood.
She did not move an inch.
"Well?"
Percy asked.
Mitsuna's skills were all deactivated.
She turned around, her eyes seemingly glitched.
"Hmm."
Her voice and her temperament seemed different.
...
In the past, when Mitsuna's skill [Determination] had activated.
Mizuki, her past life, was absorbed.
Mitsuna and Mizuki became one.
Their abilities and personalities merging and creating the person now taking part in the Sword Saint festival.
A girl who does what she wants when she wants and acts how she wants when she wants.
She is both childish and grown up.
Both a mage from her time as Mizuki and a warrior from her time as Mitsuna.
But although the two became one, that doesn't mean that either one was lost or destroyed.
Mizuki was still there.
Whether Mitsuna was aware of this, that her emotionless, terrifyingly intelligent and violent side was still there or not was only known to her.
And currently, that side of her had made their appearance.
...
"So the plan was to use [Dissolve] as a timed activation Skill after touching him enough, completely melting large parts of his body in a moment. Hmm. A good plan."
"What are you talking about? Have you gone crazy after fighting with me?"
Percy asked.
Mitsuna, or rather, Mizuki, turned towards him.
"No. I was just forced out because it seemed that my still naive self couldn't deal with you effectively."
"Huh?"
"Now..."
Aura flared around Mizuki.
"It seems I have to study up on the theories I made back at the Dungeon Lab and in that Void."
The ground started shaking as the surroundings turned darker, yet darker.
And Mizuki's face was hidden in the shadow of the sky, only her figure being visible.
"You mentioned being able to heal no matter what type of damage you take, correct?
Let us test that theory."