The air cracked. One moment Taro was across the clearing, the next his fist connected with Kazuishi's guard. The impact wasn't just physical; it was a shockwave of pure force that sent her skidding backward, her boots carving trenches in the dreamscape earth.
"Impossible speed! Impossible strength!" she thought, her arms ringing from the block. No more testing. Her hands flew up, weaving complex patterns in the air. The atmosphere itself groaned as she drew power, condensing it into a massive, swirling sphere of violet energy that hummed with the intent to unravel existence itself. "Concept Erasure: Annihilation!" she yelled, unleashing the blast. It consumed the space where Taro stood, washing over the area in a silent, expanding wave of nothingness.
Kazuishi panted, the effort of the technique draining her. A sliver of surprise cut through her focus. "It's over? I didn't actually think he'd just stand there and ta—"
Her thought was severed. A presence behind her—a pressure so immense it choked the air from her lungs. A sickly, familiar green light, her own violet energy now corrupted and magnified beyond reason, washed over her. She turned, slow and dread-filled, to see Taro standing (with only minor injuries), holding her own annihilation attack—now a churning orb of emerald power—casually in his palm. The look of sheer terror on her face was that of someone witnessing the impossible.
"Heh," Taro smirked, a glint of predatory amusement in his glowing green eyes. "Who would've thought I could just... catch this? Let's see how you handle your own medicine." The energy in his hand flared, vibrating violently. "...But let's make it interesting." It grew fifty times in size and intensity, its hum becoming a deafening roar. "...Times fifty."
He didn't throw it. He simply opened his hand. The amplified annihilation blast lanced toward her, not as a wave, but as a concentrated beam of pure erasure.
Instinct took over. Kazuishi crossed her arms, manifesting a multi-layered hexagonal barrier of solid light. "Absolute Guard!"
The beam struck.The first layer shattered like glass. The second vaporized. The third held for a millisecond before buckling. The force of the impact slammed into her, throwing her through the air like a ragdoll. She crashed hard, rolling to a stop on one knee, her uniform scorched and torn, her glasses cracked. The ground around her was scorched barren.
She was barely standing, every muscle screaming. I didn't even perceive the counterattack. It was just... there. Instantaneous. A familiar, warm glow began to ignite in her core—her innate regeneration ability, activating to mend broken bones and burned skin." No matter. I can always heal. I just need a moment to—"
The warmth sputtered and died like a snuffed candle. A cold, hollow emptiness flooded her being, a void where her energy should have been. She collapsed forward onto her hands, utterly drained. "What's... happening?" she gasped, her voice a raw whisper. "I don't feel... an ounce of power left..."
Taro looked down at her, his head tilted with genuine curiosity. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. I stole the energy you were using to heal. I guess Mexus was right it really is unnoticeable after all."
Despair washed over her, making her pale. "A-Absorption? He can siphon energy without a trace, even the energy I'm channeling internally?" But then her eyes, sharp even in defeat, caught a detail. As she watched him, the minor cuts and bruises from their initial exchange were vanishing from his skin, healing at an impossible, familiar rate. "Wait. How is he healing? It's... it's a perfect mirror of my technique. But far more efficient. Flawless. Did he... did he steal my ability itself? Before I even fully activated it?"
She let out a pained, defeated grunt, her body refusing to obey her. There was no fighting this. He was a predator she couldn't comprehend. "I... concede," she forced out, the words tasting like ash.
Taro's triumphant expression melted into confusion. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"YOU HEARD ME!" she screamed, her voice cracking with a mix of fury and utter humiliation. "I CONCEDED! SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"
Taro was taken aback by her outburst. "I-I'm sorry, I just didn't—"
Suddenly, Mexus appeared in a blur of motion. He knelt beside Kazuishi, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder before turning a stern look to Taro. "Well done, Taro. Consider this your first official win." His eyes narrowed. "...But don't get cocky, kid." In the next instant, they were both gone.
Taro stood alone in the silent, scarred clearing. A slow, disbelieving smile spread across his face. "Yesssssss!"Taro dropped to his knees" I won! For the first time, I won against a Dremapol!"
But then his smile faltered. The euphoria faded, replaced by a prickling doubt. "But... I crushed her before she could even fight back for real. She was testing me, and I used a finishing move. If she knew... if she came prepared for this... would it have been this easy, no rather would I have won at all?"
He pushed the thought aside, shaking his head and raising a triumphant fist to the shimmering sky. A genuine, happy laugh escaped him. "But still... thank you, Mexus. This win...it was only possible because of you Mexus.... Hehehe!"