Come on, damn it…" Soren tried to force his power to rise, but nothing worked.
"RAAAAAAH!"
"COME ON!" His energy burst around him so intensely that the air itself grew heavier, but he couldn't push any further.
'Damn, he's not getting there… the fight's going to restart', Akyo thought.
"Don't worry, Soren! Go on just like that!" he shouted. 'With some luck, the fight will help…'
BEEEP.
The timer resumed. Both of them charged at each other, ready to strike.
Soren was the first to try hitting his opponent with his fist, but Akyo blocked the blow with his hand.
'Nothing… His attacks are still the same', Akyo thought while receiving the blow.
Soren's energy bursted around them, but in this state, it was nothing more than a showoff.
Soren kept throwing punch after punch, failing to touch Akyo even once. He stepped back to give himself a moment to think.
'It's not working… I can't do it', he thought, realizing his strikes were no stronger than in the previous sequence.
Meanwhile, Akyo waited for Soren's next assault.
'I'll let him attack… hopefully he'll have some kind of breakthrough'.
"Come on, it's not over!" he shouted, snapping Soren out of his thoughts.
'He's right.' , Soren thought, dashing instantly toward Akyo.
'If my punches are still useless, I need a new plan.'
He dashed towards Akyo, who stayed in a defensive stance. Soren seemingly aiming a punch—but in reality, he was feinting, trying to slip behind his opponent.
'Damn', Akyo thought, caught off guard as Soren grabbed onto his back, trying to immobilize him as tightly as possible.
'I just need to hold on until the timer ends…' Soren said to himslef, tensing every muscle to block any movement.
'He's like a snake wrapping around its prey…' Akyo reflected. "But you're still too weak," he said aloud.
'What?!' was all Soren could think before Akyo grabbed his arm and clenched it with his hand.
'How is he this strong?!' Soren wondered while desperately waiting for the timer to make the sound that would signal the end of the fight.
Akyo tightened his grip, seized Soren's other arm, and with sheer strength tore himself free from the hold, Soren meanwhile managed to slip away from his grasp.
Soren let go of the idea of grappling—Akyo was far too strong. 'If he grabs me again, I'm done,' he realized, backing away.
Beep.
'Finally!' Soren rejoiced.
"What are you waiting for? Try again." Akyo said seemingly unbothered
'I need to find that feeling… the same one as last time…' Soren thought. Closing his eyes, he focused every part of himself on that task—and it worked. The sensation began to return.
Beep.
The timer restarted.
'Damn, I was so close…' he thought, disappointed to have been interrupted.
He ran towards Akyo.
'He's not moving again?' thought Soren
Akyo stood upright, ready to defend.
'His energy changed compared to the last sequence. It's less violent, but he still can't manage it', Akyo thought as Soren approached.
Soren opted for punches—a flurry of punches. Akyo parried again.
'What?!'. Akyo noticed Soren's punches were no longer all the same. A fraction of them were much faster—and much stronger.
'I see.. He partially succeeded. Now I can see his unstable energy shifting around him. He can, for an instant, use it. That's very good.' Akyo thought, forced to raise his own strength to match Soren's in response
Soren kept rushing in.
'His marks they're glowing—they're brighter. He's gone to the next level. That means I did it?' he wondered excitedly.
And their clash turned into a storm of strikes and dodges from both sides.
'He's attacking now?' Soren noticed, barely avoiding Akyo's punch as it grazed his cheek.
This is it.
Soren—perhaps out of luck—acted right at a peak of power, ducking so fast that by the time Akyo realized it, he was already being swept off his feet, falling backward.
'How?!' Akyo thought.
'He synchronized his attack with the tiny instant he controlled his energy? Was that intentional?' he wondered as he fell, just managing to shield himself with his arms before Soren struck again—before Akyo even hit the ground.
Akyo took the hit full force, launched several meters away. He managed to stop himself by digging his fingers into the ground, tearing it apart just by his grip.
Soren staring at the marks left by their clash nervously.
'Damn, we damaged the room'
But the gashes in the floor suddenly vanished, the ground healing instantly.
'It repaired itself in an instant? That's why Tachi said we didn't need to hold back?' Soren thought.
Akyo stood up. His body was resilient, but he had definitely felt that hit.
'Not bad at all' he thought as he walked toward Soren.
'That strike its power was far more impressive than the others. This combo was so fast I couldn't prepare.
His markings had turned red, spreading further across his body, reaching almost to his fingertips, and rising toward his face.
'If I move to the next level, he'll have to adapt faster', Akyo thought, wiping his hands that were full of the dust that was on the floor .
Soren watched him, noticing the visible physical changes.
'His markings they're growing, glowing brighter. I've seen this before, he looked at his hands, that means I really did it. For an instant I felt lighter, and throwing Akyo like that felt so easy' he thought clenching his fist, proud of his progress.
He lifted his head—Akyo was approaching slowly.
'What's he planning?' he wondered, uneasy.
Akyo stopped, took a deep breath, and exhaled softly.
Then suddenly he dashed at Soren.
'Shit, he's way faster than bef—'
He didn't even have time to finish the thought; Akyo was already in front of him. Soren retreated quickly, but Akyo stayed on him.
Akyo began throwing several punches mixed with kicks—Soren managed to dodge, but as he focused on avoiding them, Akyo pushed off the ground again, propelling himself in the direction of Soren. Startled, Soren couldn't react in time.
'Oh crap' Akyo had caught him, tackling him. He held Soren tightly and kept running with him.
'What is he—?!' Soren turned his head to see where they were going.
'Shit, he's gonna—!!'
Soren crashed into the wall at full speed, combined with Akyo's immense strength. He was surprised his ribs didn't snap.
Before he fully regained awareness, Akyo grabbed him by the collar and hurled him across the room, sending him flying several meters, head downward.
'I'm getting tossed around'
But before he could hit the ground, Akyo was already there.
'Shit!' he thought. Akyo took a stance you normally have only to score a freekick, clearly preparing a kick far stronger than anything he attempted before—his technique flawless, his timing insane. A genius of hand-to-hand combat.
Soren had no time left to react.
'Damn it… he's a monster!?'