(Kata POV – Clearing in the Forest)
I wish I could sigh at Mirko's behaviour... but I don't even have time for that.
'She's already moving.'
She rushes me at a speed invisible to the naked eye, raw force packed into every muscle, and I instantly activate my quirk.
'I'll block her first.' I decide.
My awareness dives into the earth beneath us, dragging jagged slabs of soil and stone to the surface. I smash them together and compress them with brutal precision into a dense wall, reinforcing its structure on a molecular level, folding carbon bonds tighter than steel, harder than diamond.
'Just in time.'
BOOM.
A thunderous impact rocks the clearing as Mirko slams into the wall with enough power to rattle my teeth. The shockwave slams against me as air and dust whip through the clearing. Deep cracks spread like spiderwebs across the wall, as an ugly, massive crater forms in its centre.
I blink. 'She dented that? It should've withstood a missile without harm. Isn't she a bit too strong?'
Still, I don't hesitate. I collapse the wall in on itself—folding it from both sides like a Venus flytrap snapping shut around its prey. A dull thud echoes and of air bursts forth as the two halves collide, pulverizing stone to dust.
I expect a satisfying thud. A groan of pain. Something.
Instead—
"Too slow, brat! What goes around, comes around!" Her voice cackles behind the rising dust cloud, followed by a CRACK as something slams into the wall's remains. I narrow my eyes just in time to see her spinning through the air—leg extended, white hair trailing like a comet—kicking what remains of my wall back toward me at supersonic speed.
I raise my palm, my expression neutral. 'You dare use my own spell against me?'
With a thought, I fire a diagonal arc of pure, compressed Telekinetic energy... silent, invisible, and deadly. It slices through the air like a scythe, dissecting the hurtling slab mid-flight. The wall is cut smoothly into 2 halves that fly harmlessly to my sides.
I might have lost sight of her, but she never left my radar.
She jumps out from behind what remains of the wall, having used it as cover.
"You're persistent." I say and send another slash towards her torso.
She dives beneath it, plants her hands into the dirt as she launches a twisting kick toward my chin like a cannon round. "You love it!" She laughs.
'I can't dodge that in time.'
I can keep track of her, but she's currently much faster than me.
I flood Telekinetic Energy through my body, amplifying my body by eightfold, the max I can do without sacrificing precision. My muscles hum with energy and vitality, and I just barely manage to lean back, causing her heel to miss my face by inches.
"Noob." She grins.
Then she moves her arms, causing her other foot to swing around with brutal momentum, catching me clean in the chest.
Crack.
It's like getting hit by a freight train. The wind is driven from my lungs as I'm blasted backward through the air, shockwaves thundering in my wake.
My hero costume—despite it's sturdy design—is torn to shreds across my ribs. The armor plating inside splintered and scratched my skin, but failed to cut through.
'That hurt.' I note dispassionately, mentally filing the pain away and turning it to background noise.
I stabilize midair with a pulse of Telekinesis, saving myself from crashing into a tree or eating dirt.
Mirko is already chasing me like a bloodthirsty missile.
I frown slightly, focusing on the space directly above her... and slam my power down from above.
A meteor of force crashes toward her, hammering into the clearing like a giant invisible fist.
Mirko swerves left a fraction of a second before impact, grinning wildly as the entire forest floor behind her is obliterated in a deep fifty-meter crater of fractured rock and pulverised earth.
My eyes narrow. 'Can she see the energy? Even then... She's fast enough to dodge it.' I smile slightly.
She moves to charge again, but this time, I try to grab her directly, which she manages to dodge, turning into a game of cat and mouse.
I focus harder and wrap her in Telekinetic Energy, grabbing her midair and lifting her body further into the sky. I clench my fingers, applying omni-directional pressure, and crushing her from all sides.
"You can't do anything now. Let's just call it a day." I offer her a grin, keeping my tone casual.
Mirko just throws her head back and laughs in an unhinged, gleeful and slightly deranged voice. "You think this is enough to hold me, brat?! Don't get cocky!"
'It's not cocky if you can back it up.' I think, rolling my eyes.
"You can't run around anymore. I'd rather not hurt you more than necessary." I increase the pressure, and hear her bones creak. "Don't make it necessary."
"Then you're in the wrong fight!" She snaps, eyes wild with excitement. "Come on, Kata! Is that all you've got?!"
I raise an eyebrow. She's grinning even now—caught midair in a telekinetic vice, bones creaking under forces strong enough to crush steel—and she's still taunting me?
I push harder causing her to groan.
Then she does something ridiculous.
Her eyes narrow in focus. Her legs coil like springs. And with a sudden snap, she stomps—on nothing.
A shockwave ripples outward, and she jumps off the air itself.
"...You've got to be kidding me." I murmur.
Mirko blasts herself upward with a laugh, breaking free of my hold with sheer brute force. The air compresses beneath her feet as she pushed off it faster than it can be pushed away.
'The rabbit's gone airborne...' I stare as I process the situation.
I watch her tumble through the sky, twisting midair to face me—then kick off again, faster this time, a streak of silver and muscle hurtling toward me at supersonic speed.
My smirk returns. "Alright then." I whisper. "Let's get serious."
(Mirko POV – Clearing in the Forest)
I laugh as I rocket through the air toward Kata, blood pounding in my ears like war drums.
'I've never felt so alive!'
My muscles hum with boundless energy, every fiber of me primed to break, crush, and destroy. Then—that feeling again. The new, but familiar tingling that runs along my skin as my ears twitch.
My instincts screaming.
Move—NOW!
I don't hesitate. I twist midair and stomp upward against the air, blasting myself higher just as the world below is set alight.
A kilometer-wide infernal pillar blooms in a hellish ring beneath Kata, flames devouring the forest floor in purgatory light.
I grin wildly, adrenaline crackling like electricity through my bones.
"He was gonna burn me to a crisp...?" My laugh borders on a cackle. "Awesome!"
Ever since he juiced me up with that quirk of his, my body's been in overdrive. It's like I've got early warning radar built into my bones—letting me feel what he's about to do before he even does it.
"Don't think you can hide in there forever!" I shout through the flames, my eyes gleaming, before my instincts flare again.
I twist hard just as a sharp, invisible force slices through the air—narrowly missing where my ribs were a heartbeat ago. 'Probably one of those energy blades.'
"I wasn't planning to." Kata's voice cuts in calmly, and then I turn to find him floating behind me, probably having teleported.
I lash out with a kick, and this time he doesn't dodge. His arm meets my foot mid-strike, a shockwave pulsing through the air as our limbs collide.
His skin occasionally flares with wisps of white energy, testament to the power bubbling just beneath the surface. Even as his costume shreds around him, his flesh doesn't so much as bruise.
"You're tough." I say with a breathless laugh, throwing a punch. He leans back, levitating with that annoying calm of his, drifting like a leaf on the wind as I start to fall.
"And you're fast. Ranged attacks are too slow..." He says, but he's smiling now. Not politely or reluctantly... but excitedly. "So I'll have to get close."
I kick against the air again, propelling myself upward with another sonic boom, and crash into him mid-flight. My knee slams into his elbow. His counterpunch snaps toward my head instantly, and my instincts shriek.
Time slows.
My arm catches his strike, but it's like pushing through water, and my muscles drag. He's interfering, tugging at my body with that pesky quirk of his.
I growl, twist my head just in time to avoid a direct hit, and lock his arm in place with mine.
"Nice try, brat." I grin, and slam my forehead into his face.
The impact cracks through the air.
He reels back, dazed, head knocked up and back like I rang a bell in his skull. Serves him right.
'His close combat's crap.' I think. 'I'm supposed to be training...? Eh. Who cares? All that matters is that I thrash him!' I grin ferally.
I kick off the air again, launching myself into a twist as I flip him under me.
'Will this work…?'
"Only one way to find out!" I snarl, muscles straining, air friction tearing at my skin—but I push harder, faster, igniting the atmosphere with sheer velocity as the air ignites, heat licking at my skin.
BOOM!
But right before my foot connects, his body vanishes downward, gravity suddenly stronger for him, dodging by falling faster than should be possible. I miss, spiraling out of control, spinning midair like a kicked can.
"Shit—!"
Before I can steady myself, a shadow falls over me.
I glance up—and my stomach lurches.
A massive gauntlet, glowing grey and rippling with telekinetic energy, looms above me. It's shaped like the one from the Sports Festival—but bigger... And definitely packing a bigger punch... literally.
'And it's too fast to dodge—'
BOOOOM!
The impact is thunderous. I feel my brain rattle in my skull as the construct smashes me downward, slamming me down to ground like a meteor. My vision blurs, both from the spinning and from the sheer force of the hit.
But even now, my instincts howl.
I grit my teeth and kick off the air—barely—just before I hit the ground. Instead of being smashed into a crater, I skip across the earth like a stone on water, tumbling once, twice, and skidding to a halt in a blast of dirt and blood, as a loud explosion erupts as the construct crashes into the ground, shaking the earth from the force.
'That would've flattened me.' I stagger to my feet, laughing even as blood fills my mouth. I grin wide, canines bared.
"Time for Round two!" I shout as I face him, arms spread.
Kata floats down opposite me, landing smoothly, energy still flickering around him. He's smiling now, more openly than before.
"So I won round one?" He asks, eyes gleaming.
I bark a laugh. "Hell No! Like I'd let you win." I scoff.
"Then round one never ended—because I'm not losing."
We lock eyes. No words this time.
And we move simultaneously.
Faster than sound. Faster than thought.
He surges forward with an army of constructs forming behind him—swords, spears, fists, all crackling with elements. Some blaze with fire, others hum with lightning or shimmer with frost.
'I love it.'
I feel the pull of gravity twist and spike—my limbs grow heavy as invisible forces hinder and fight my every movement. But I push through, sprinting, dodging, diving.
'This is it. This is the thrill I live for!'
I laugh, a wild, manic sound, as our fists collide midair. The force of it sends out a shockwave, but I roll with it, letting it knock me back just enough to dodge a spear construct radiating frost and duck under an electrified fist.
Invisible slashes scream past me—blades of Telekinetic force meant to end me in one clean stroke.
I dance through them, blood flying, fists flying faster.
I hit him.
He hits me.
I bleed. He bleeds. And we keep going.
Pain means nothing. Victory even less.
I don't care if I win. I don't care if I lose.
All I want is this.
"HAH!" I scream as I spin into another kick, the air itself burning from the motion. My bones ache, my skin tears, but I don't stop.
This is the kind of fight you can't walk away from.
The kind I'll never forget.
(Kata POV – Clearing in the Forest)
"It's over." I mutter, exhaling slowly, relieved it's finally over.
Across from me, Mirko's still trying to fight, even with two sword constructs impaled through her thighs, blood running down her legs, with burns and cuts littering her body like badges of honor.
She pants hard while trembling. "No... I can still fight..." she groans, trying—and failing—to push herself up again.
I sigh. 'I made sure she'd stay down after she kept getting up... but she's relentless.'
"I admire the spirit," I say, "but you need to know when you're beat."
She glares at me like I've just insulted her ancestors.
"Even if this was a fight to the death, I wasn't going to kill you." I continue.
She grits her teeth in frustration—less about the loss and more about not being able to keep going.
"Keep yapping and I'll kill you!" She snaps.
I shrug. "I can't die, so be my guest. So... what's it gonna be? The easy way, or the hard way?" I ask with a soft, innocent smile that I know will piss her off.
Her eyes narrow. "What's the hard way?"
"I knock you out and drag you back to the house."
She growls. "I'll take my way!" and tries again to stand—muscles trembling—before crumpling under her own weight.
"Easy way it is, then." I sigh, deconstructing the swords. She collapses immediately, but I catch her before she faceplants.
"What the hell do you mean easy way?!" She groans.
"Just the normal method." I reply as I lift her effortlessly into a princess carry. Her body is too battered to resist. I heal her just enough so she doesn't accidentally die.
She narrows her eyes at me suspiciously. "What do you think you're doing?"
"This is the normal way." I say as I start walking toward the house. "You challenge me, I beat you unconscious, then I carry you back like this before healing you. It's the routine I've used each time, but usually you're not awake for this part. Honestly, it's your fault for refusing the hard way."
Her brow twitches. "...How is this the easy way?"
I glance down at her. "I'm not dragging you across the ground?" I deadpan.
'Not that I ever would, even if she somehow managed to piss me off.'
"Tch. Whatever," She mutters, sulking. "Just hurry up and fix me already."
"Yes, ma'am. You're the boss." I say with exaggerated obedience.
She snorts. "Damn right I am."
"...You want me to remove the boost?" I ask after a moment. "Fights might feel boring after this otherwise."
She's quiet for a moment. "Nah. Leave it." she says finally. "I'll get used to it—and then beat your smug ass next time."
I glance at her, amused. "What makes you think there'll be a next time?"
She smirks at me with a wide, knowing and cocky smirk.
"I saw it in your eyes." She says with certainty. "You enjoyed fighting me."
I stay silent for a moment. 'She's not wrong.'
"Besides," She adds with a teasing smile, "you agreed to visit every second week, remember?"
I let out a small, helpless smile. "Fine. I did have fun... Even if I had to hold back a lot."
That triggers something.
Her eyes blaze, and she glares up at me like I just declared war.
I chuckle. "There it is."
"If I had even half my strength—" She starts, but cuts off with a frustrated huff. Her body's too wrecked to even throw a weak punch.
I snicker again, which earns me a death glare she can't follow up on... yet.
'I'll pay for that later.'
'Wait... can my shields even hold up after those upgrades?'
I pause for a moment in silent contemplation.
'...Doesn't matter. Worst case, I just become intangible, indestructible, or regenerate the damage.'
I look down at her again. Despite the bruises, the blood, the prideful scowl—she looks satisfied.
*************
A/N: Hello everyone. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. And if you did, please consider leaving me some comments, reviews, or powerstones. It really helps the book out.
So this is the fight. I personally think it was quite satisfactory. Rumi obviously lost, but both of them had fun. She gave him a bit of a challange (given how strong she is now), without making anyone weaker than they are (-instant death skills for Kata, -Regeneration for Kata, -Intangibility or indestructibility, -barriers, and so on). My point being that this is just him using pure offensive Telekinesis without any of the powerful and dangerous ways of using it. And against all expectations, no one died. Wow! Rumi was set on killing him, but it seems like she couldn't... Too bad. She'll try again soon🤣.
I'm also 7 chapters ahead on Patreon, at:
P@treon.com/AMV_WEAKLY
Anyway, that's all from me. Have agreat day😁