"...Oh?"
A wry smile played on Eliza's lips as she slowly crossed her arms over her chest, adopting a more relaxed posture.
"My dear... this has been quite entertaining, but I suggest we leave it at that. I have no desire to go any further than this."
"Urusai!" Asuka shot back, beckoning her over again. "Bring it on!"
That raw, unyielding stubbornness got under Eliza's skin—it was infuriating. Eliza closed her eyes, raising a hand up to her brow, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Hah... you really are fools. You just don't know how to give up, do you?"
Asuka simply shrugged her shoulders, completely unfazed by the warning.
"Hey!" Lili's voice suddenly rang out, hands firmly on her hips. "Did you just call me a fool, Eliza?!"
"If the shoe fits..."
"Eliz—"
Without sparing Lili so much as a glance—or giving her a chance to fire back—Eliza lunged forward.
She clenched her fist tightly and landed a hard straight punch right on Asuka's jaw. Asuka raised her arm to deflect the punch outward while shifting her weight to catch Eliza in a counter-throw.
But as Asuka's hand reached out, Eliza abruptly shifted her footing and dropped low into a swift side-step. Asuka's counter-grab caught nothing but empty air, her body overextending forward.
Before she could recover her balance, Eliza spun on her heel and shoved both hands hard against Asuka's shoulder, forcefully tearing her guard wide open.
"You asked for this!" Eliza hissed.
A dark purple aura erupted violently from Eliza's body—
WHOOOM—!
Eliza's hands instantly unfurled into sharp claws, slashing upward in a vicious, glowing purple X-shaped tear across Asuka's chest, ripping a sharp line across her shirt.
"Gah...!" Asuka gasped, her body locking up from the dark energy.
"Hyah!"
Eliza didn't give her space to breathe. Spinning in a blur of motion, she delivered a rapid succession of back-to-back claw strikes that ripped through the air, opening several more jagged cuts across Asuka's clothing with each fierce swipe.
She then followed up with a high, spinning crescent kick—WHACK!—that caught Asuka right under the chin, lifting her off her feet.
As Asuka was lifted into the air, Eliza gathered a massive orb of swirling darkness between both palms.
"Haah!"
VWOOM—!
She slammed it directly into Asuka's torso, driving her forcefully into the floor.
WHAM!
The impact cracked the floor, sending a shockwave of purple mist across the room as Asuka skidded backward along the ground.
"ASUKA!" Kaido's voice cracked with pure panic as he sprinted forward.
However, when he saw the violent wave of purple mist rushing toward them, he immediately changed direction and pulled Lili sharply against him, wrapping her in a tight embrace as he turned his body around, using his own back as a shield to protect her from the incoming blast.
Anne's eyes widened in horror. She instinctively tightened her grip around Megumi, pulling the one little firmly against her chest with one arm while protecting herself with the other. Megumi cringed, raising both hands over her head, bracing for a devastating impact.
As the menacing dark wave finally reached them—it simply dissolved into thin air.
The terrifying energy dissipated into nothing more than a harmless, cool puff of smoke upon contact, leaving everyone completely untouched.
"Oh, mon héros," Lili cooed, looking up at Kaido as the smoke vanished. She batted her eyelashes playfully. "Je suis absolument charmée."[1]
Kaido barely even registered her teasing. His eyes were wide, scanning her for any signs of injury.
"Are you alright?!"
Lili's expression softened and she gently placed her hand on Kaido's face, brushing her fingers against his cheek.
"Oui... I am perfectly fine, mon chéri"
Seeing that everyone was untouched, Anne's panic turned to relief, but instantly shifted to maternal fury. She snapped her head toward the ring.
"Elizabeth! What is the meaning of this?!"
Without wasting a single second, Kaido dropped his arms, completely letting go of Lili as he whirled toward the arena.
"Asuka!"
"Huff!" Lili crossed her arms annoyed after being abruptly left behind.
Kaido sprinted to the edge of the ring, lifting the rope to slide through. His eyes locked onto the center of the shattered floor. Asuka was flat on her back, struggling to catch her breath, while Eliza stood tall over her, looking down smirking.
"Eliza, you went too far!" Anne marched over right behind Kaido, her face stern.
"Oh, calm down, all of you. How dramatic." Lili strolled up leisurely behind them, her arms still tightly crossed as she rolled her eyes.
"Dramatic?!" Kaido snapped, shooting Lili an angry look. "Asuka just took a serious hit!"
"He is right, Emilie. This has crossed the line from a simple practice match—it is not funny at all," Anne added, her voice dropping into a stern, motherly tone.
"Ah, mon dieu, you both are so incredibly tedious!" Lili groaned, throwing her head back in sheer annoyance. "That was absolutely nothing. She barely took a small impact. If you do not believe me, just wait and see for yourselves."
Both Kaido and Anne blinked, turning their attention right back to the center of the ring. Eliza was walking forward, looking down at the fallen Kazama.
"Do you wish to continue, or have you finally had enough?" Eliza asked, a patronizing smirk returning to her face. "But be warned... next time, I will actually strike you for real, rather than just using that little cloud of dust to put you down."
"Hah... hah..." Asuka covered her face with both hands, her chest heaving as she tried to steady her breathing.
How could I be so stupid?
I actually thought I stood a chance...
I thought I was keeping up, but she wasn't even taking me seriously.
I'm such an idiot…
A complete idiot.
Baka… Baka…
THUD!
Frustration boiled over, and Asuka slammed the side of her clenched fist hard against the floor.
"Baka!"
Everyone fell silent, their eyes fixed on Asuka, feeling the weight of her frustration.
"Yes, yes… you are definitely an idiot. To think you could defeat me… Hn!" Eliza stepped closer with a disdainful look, "But... I will give you credit. You performed much better than my dear soeurette."
However, her expression softened as she extended her hand toward Asuka to help her up.
"What?! I survived against your martial arts far longer than she did!" Lili shrieked from the side.
Eliza immediately frooze shot a cold look back at Lili, not letting her get away with it.
"Do not be naive, Emilie. With you, I was merely playing. Asuka actually forced me to use my martial arts just to make her stop."
Asuka hesitated for a second, staring at the extended hand, before finally snapping out of her thoughts and taking it. As Eliza began to pull her up, Kaido slid under the ring ropes and rushed over to help support Asuka's weight from the other side.
"Hmph... then fight me for real, and you will see what I am truly capable of," Lili spat out her words, tossing her hair over her shoulders.
Eliza instantly froze, letting go of Asuka's hand. The relaxed, smug demeanor vanished in a split second. Kaido immediately tightened his grip on Asuka, noticing the subtle change in Eliza.
A slow, chilling smile spread across Eliza's face before she even turned her head.
"Step back!" Eliza ordered coldly.
[1] I am absolutely charmed.