"She's… healing?" Kaito muttered out, eyes wide with shock.
"Hahahahahaahah! Yes! You see, Kaito, pain doesn't weaken me. It fuels me!" Liora yelled out.
Every single one of her wounds began to glow faintly before healing to the point it looked like nothing ever happened. The pink blood on her body seemed to evaporate away. Every bruise, every cut, was gone in a matter of seconds. It was as if the damage had never happened. But worse than that… his CPI scanner showed a figure he could hardly comprehend.
Liora: 395,000 CPI
Finn, watching from the hospital hologram, leaned forward, his face pale.
"She's… she's healing? How's that even possible?" He asked nervously.
Kaeline remained calm, though her eyes narrowed at the sight.
"Pain convergence, an ability that is forbidden across most of the known universe. It allows a person to transform pain and damage they've received over a specific amount of time into raw essence. The more you hurt them, the more powerful they become. Only few know of this ability, which makes me wonder just who is she…"
"So the more she gets hurt, the stronger she gets? That's… insane." Finn muttered out as the realization of the situation hit him.
Kaeline nodded.
"It's an ability that can turn the tide of battle, but it's dangerous. As long as she remains conscious, she'll keep growing stronger. Kaito needs to end this before she completely overwhelms him."
Back in the arena, Kaito's body was aching from the intensity of the fight. The electricity around him flickered, and his muscles screamed for him to stop.
"You've been so much fun, Kaito. But now it's time to end this. I've had enough of playing around."
She lunged at him, her movements even faster than before.
Kaito barely had time to react. Her jagged dagger slashed through his leg, spraying blood everywhere.
"Look at you! You're breaking down! Come on Kaito! Fight back! GIVE ME MORE!" Liora squealed out.
Kaito barely managed to dodge another slash, breathing heavy as could be as exhaustion began to overwhelm every single one of his senses.
Elara, watching the battle intently from the stands, her CPI scanner still flickering as it monitored the fight.
Kaito: 70,000… 57,000… 32,000…
"This isn't good. Kaito's CPI is dropping too fast." She thought to herself, clenching her fists subtly.
Talon stood right beside her even more worried. The urge to jump in and help him was overwhelming her.
"He can't take much more of this…" She muttered.
Back in the arena, Kaito was on the brink of collapse. He was close to blacking out and his body seemed to be shutting down. Everything around him seemed to sound muffled, like he was underwater. Everything besides Liora's voice…
"You've entertained me, Kaito, but you're nearing your end aren't you? What a shame. You were fun for a minute man." She said to him teasingly.
Blood dripped from his face and his legs were shaking uncontrollably. His body had reached its limit, he could feel his consciousness slipping away.
"I can't… I can't fall here. Not now. Not after everything…"
Liora's eyes gleamed with sadistic pleasure as her essence swirled around her like a vortex.
"Time for the climax…"
Her essence flared even more. The ground trembled beneath her feet as she began gathering her power into a single point in her chest.
"I'll explode all over this arena and take everyone with you! What do you think about that, Kaito!?"
The audience collectively gasped as the realization set in. Liora was about to detonate her own body, unleashing an explosion of raw energy that could level the entire stadium.
The announcer's voice echoed through the arena.
"Everyone, evacuate the arena immediately! Get to safety!"
Spectators scrambled to flee as the ground shook more violently and her body began to glow. The crew looked on in horror as the blast built, but it was Elara who acted first.
"Get the civilians out of here! NOW!" Elara instructed.
The crew hesitated, but Elara's stern gaze snapped them into action. As much as they wanted to help Kaito, they knew they had to trust him.
Talon, however, stayed back. Her eyes never left Kaito, not for one second. Every fiber of her being wanted to charge in, to fight alongside him, but she saw the look in his eyes…
He stood there battered and broken as he met her gaze and gave a subtle nod. There were no words, but his message couldn't be more clear.
I got this
"Damn it…don't you die on me rookie." Talon muttered out under her breath.
She turned and rushed off with the others, leading the evacuation as civilians poured out of the arena. Meanwhile, Kaito stood his ground, the stadium now almost empty. The entire arena was bathed in a sickening pink glow as Liora reached the peak of her attack.
"This is it, Kaito! This is the end!" She yelled out.
Kaito braced himself, his entire body shaking from exhaustion, but he didn't move.
Finally, Liora unleashed her attack, detonating her body in a massive explosion of raw essence.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The explosion lit up the sky. The pillar of pink energy stretching high above the moon's surface, visible for miles across the barren landscape. For a moment, there was nothing but silence, only destruction in the wake of Liora's cataclysmic power.
The tournament facilities were mostly destroyed. Debris rained down. In the distance, the starlight crew stopped in their tracks staring back wide-eyed and horrified as the explosion consumed the arena entirely.
"Kiiiidddddddid!!!!!!!" Jinx yelled out dramatically.
Rorik stood frozen, his expression a mix of disbelief and fear.
Finn, still in the medical bay, stared wide-eyed at the screen as he gripped the edges of his bed.
"No… no way." He aired out.
Elara watched the devastation unfold with a slight worried look on her face.
"Kaito… you better still be standing."
As the dust began to settle, a massive crater had formed where the arena once stood. What had once been a grand coliseum, filled with thousands of spectators, was now nothing more than a desolate wasteland.
And at the center of the devastation, Liora stood there laughing maniacally, her body crackling with the residual pink energy of her blast. Her breaths came out in ragged gasps, but the euphoria in her eyes was undeniable... She had the time of her life.
"The buildup… the release… That was truly amazing, my sweet Kaito. No one's ever made me feel like this before." She said as she tried to catch her breath.
Her laughter echoed throughout the destruction, but then it faltered.
Something was wrong.
She felt something.
Something… unsettling.
She turned slowly to where Kaito's charred clothing should've been, and what she saw almost made her eyes jump from her head .
"You… you're still alive?!" She said completely shocked.
Thud-thud
Kaito was still standing, battered and bloodied… but still standing.
His body trembled uncontrollably and the pain was unbearable, but it didn't matter… he was still standing.
He raised his head and what Liora saw struck true fear into her very soul.
A twisted, dark smile stretched across his face.
His eyes were demented and full of pure evil.
That wasn't Kaito.
She began to blink and when her eyelid began to open… his fist was already mere centimeters in front of her face, faster than she could comprehend. His punch connected with such ferocity that it cracked a majority of her skull and caved in her face, sending her hurtling through the air.
The ground beneath them shattered, the force of the blow rippling outward as her body crashed into a far cliffside, embedding her deep into the rock.
The crew and other tournament officials arrived just in time to witness the aftermath. Their eyes widened in shock as they took in the sight of Kaito, still standing, his arm extended from the punch, his body trembling but refusing to fall.
"K-Kaito… Kaito has won! Liora is out of bounds!" The announcer said while riding on Rorik's shoulder.
The spectators who had fled earlier stood in stunned silence, unsure of how to process what they'd just heard.
Myzen's crew, who had been watching from the shadows, moved to retrieve Liora's unconscious body. Myzen himself said nothing, merely turning and walking away. His eyes flicked briefly toward Kaito before disappearing into the shadows.
The silence was deafening as the dust settled over the battlefield like a blanket. It felt surreal.
Kaito's body was fully spent, as he collapsed to his knees. But before he could fall completely, Elara and the others rushed to him, catching him just before he hit the ground.
"Good job, Kaito. Good job." Elara whispered to him.
Back on the Starlight, Talon carried Kaito's unconscious body to the medical bay with her powers. He was barely breathing, his body a complete mess. Elysia worked tirelessly, her hands glowing with a soft golden light as she healed his wounds.
When he slowly came to, he found himself face-to-face with two massive… soft objects.
"Wh-what…?" He mumbled out.
"Good morning Kaito. I was just finishing up your treatment. You were really quite the handful." Elysia said cheerfully while sitting in a chair next to him.
"Eh…?"
He sat up, but when he did, he noticed something. Most of his clothes were missing, leaving him only in his underwear. His face flushed red.
"I wanted to take everything off for more research on your human biology, but Talon wouldn't let me..." She said with a depressed look on her face.
"Uhhhh… but why—"
"I was curious about your essence and wanted to ask you a few questions." She cut him off, not even giving him an opportunity to talk.
Kaito blinked, his mind still reeling from both the situation and her proximity.
"Uh… s-sure?" He replied.
Her smile widened a bit.
She turned in her chair to face him and the fabric of her white robe slipped open a bit, showing more of her soft pink skin. Kaito's eyes looked up and down at a speed that even light couldn't match.
"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"
His face went from confused to completely red as Elysia rolled closer slowly.
"Have you ever heard of the name Ly—"
Her words were cut off by the sound of the door hissing open.
Talon walked in and she froze mid-step as soon as her eyes got ahold of the scene in front of her.
Kaito's head whipped toward the door and immediately began to panic as he tried to push Elysia off him, but she held on playfully.
"Talon! I-It's not what it looks like!" He tried to say but Elysia pulled his face into her chest, taking away any chance of him breathing a lick of air.
Elysia giggled, giving a casual waved with her free hand.
"Oh don't mind us, just a little medical examination. Very thorough as you can see. You can come back later Talon co-captain dear, we're just getting started." She said teasingly, almost as if she wanted to purposely make Talon upset, or even… jealous.
Talon's glare could have melted through steel. Her purple eyes began to glow as she walked in the room.
"If you don't let him go right now, I'll make sure you won't be able to examine anything ever again." She said, her tone low but completely serious.
Elysia waited a long moment, as if she was trying her luck, but eventually she sighed dramatically and released him from her death grip.
She smiled sweetly at Talon, completely unfazed by the deadly aura radiating from her.
"You really need to learn to relax Tally poo. You'll pop a blood vessel if you don't." She said in a teasing manner.
Talon's eye twitched as she marched over to Kaito, grabbing him by the arm and yanking him out of the room. He stumbled, barely managing to keep his balance as he stood in his underwear trying to cover himself with whatever he could find.
"Clothes. Now." She said calmly.
Kaito could only nod, his face still burning with embarrassment as he scurried to gather his clothes.
As he fumbled putting on his pants, Talon shot one last warning glare at Elysia before turning to leave the room
"Call me if you need another check-up, Kaito dear~!" Elysia said playfully.
"I'll make sure he doesn't." Talon muttered out, mean-mugging her to the center of the galaxy and back as she dragged Kaito out of the room.
As they left, Elysia's playful demeanor on her face dropped… everything besides her smile.