Victoria dodged Emma's strike with a quick lateral step.
Emma reacted instantly, retreating barely a step before launching an attack at Victoria's legs, slamming her into the wall.
As Victoria felt the impact, a red bubble cut through the air toward her.
She dropped deliberately, rolling across the ground to evade the attack, and when Emma tried to grab her legs, Victoria drove her elbow hard into Emma's back.
Emma lifted her head and began throwing a series of blows aimed at Victoria's face.
Victoria managed to block the first strikes with her left arm, forcefully deflecting each impact, but one slipped through and struck her in the face.
At the same time, almost instinctively, she invoked her spear with that same hand and thrust it straight toward Emma's stomach. The blade flashed as it cut through the air, forcing Emma to retreat quickly, narrowly avoiding the strike.
Victoria seized the opening and, with a skillful spin, landed a kick that pushed Emma back, freeing herself.
But in her focus, she failed to notice the red bubble approaching at high speed. She could only raise her already useless right arm to shield herself.
The explosion hurled her several meters away, forcing her to roll across the ground before rising with effort.
Her right shoulder was in a miserable state: Jhon's shot had already caused significant damage, and now Liora's red bubble explosion only worsened it, sending sharp, constant pain through her body.
Liora could not believe how much Victoria was still moving while fighting with only one arm.
Fortunately for Victoria, Liora was not in optimal condition either.The many cuts scattered across her body limited her close-combat ability, and the healing was still incomplete.
Moreover, she could not afford to heal herself. Her ether reserves were nearly depleted, and every remaining fragment had to be focused on her attacks.
Even so, Victoria was certain of one thing. If this had been a one-on-one fight, she was sure she would prevail.But it wasn't.Emma had entered the fight.
Together, Liora and Emma formed an exceptional team. Their abilities complemented each other with unsettling naturalness. The two worked together flawlessly.
In addition, Emma was barely injured and showed no signs of fatigue, giving her a clear advantage at this stage of the battle.
Emma took the frontline role. She hurled herself into close combat against Victoria with brutal ferocity, using her strength as a constant weapon, pressing relentlessly. Even for someone like Victoria, facing her head-on was no simple task.
Meanwhile, Liora assumed the support role, attacking Victoria whenever necessary.
Liora used an ether technique with Emma.
The only one she knew.
Ether Technique: Mental Link
The Mental Link is a simple technique in concept, but difficult in execution. The user uses their ether to project thoughts directly into another person's mind, as if whispering from within.It is neither an invasion nor mind reading. The transformer only sends information: words, simple images, or clear intentions. The other person does not need to do anything to receive it.
However, if the recipient consciously rejects the connection, the link breaks instantly. That is why it cannot be used offensively or by force.
The real difficulty lies in control. Liora must keep her ether extremely stable and focused. Any distraction, damage, or loss of concentration distorts the message or cuts it off completely.
Additionally, the more intense the combat, the more costly it becomes to maintain the link.
—Emma, I need you to distract her as much as you can. I'm going to try to end the fight soon. I know I told you before not to fight that way, but go ahead.
Liora's voice echoed directly in her mind, clear and urgent.
Emma did not respond.
She didn't need to. A wild, almost primal smile spread across her face. It was the kind of smile born not of joy, but of anticipation.
She planted her feet on the ground, tensed her body…And launched herself at Victoria without hesitation.
Victoria adjusted her spear and settled into her stance, but something immediately caught her attention.
Up to that point, Emma's fighting style had been what anyone might call "basic": direct, predictable movements, no distinctive style.
What kept her alive and effective was not technique, but her sheer strength and speed, exceptional for someone of her size.
Emma advanced on all fours, her body low and agile, and leapt toward Victoria with brutal momentum.
Victoria spotted the opening instantly: Emma was in the air, where it was difficult to dodge. Without thinking, she aimed her spear at her.
Emma tilted her torso but did not completely avoid the blade; the edge tore across her shoulder, leaving a superficial wound, but enough to pass by her and preserve her momentum.
And threw a right punch empowered by her Primordial Strength.
Victoria barely managed to dodge, but the blow left a hum in the air; the force and speed of the strike made it resonate through the chamber, surprising even the veteran fighter.
Emma did not wait to touch the ground. She twisted in the air, swinging her leg forward in a precise, powerful kick.
Victoria instantly realized that taking the blow to the head would be suicide; she raised her right shoulder—the one still injured—to absorb the impact. The kick landed with force, sending sharp pain through her arm and torso.
She tried to counterattack with her spear, slicing the air toward Emma, but Emma slipped beneath the blade with an agile movement. From her crouched position, Emma lunged at Victoria's legs, using her body as a lever.
Victoria braced herself to resist the takedown, but instead took a direct shoulder impact from Emma that knocked the breath from her lungs and slammed her hard into the wall. The force of the charge kicked up cave dust around them.
Victoria tried to regain her composure, lifting her spear and aiming forward with calculated precision.
Emma, still crouched, watched her closely, evaluating every movement and measuring the distance.
She tried to close the gap, but Victoria adjusted the spear's tip with a fluid motion, blocking the advance with apparent ease. Both were locked in a moment of tension, neither able to move without exposing themselves, their rapid breathing marking the silence between them.
Until Victoria decided to change strategy.
She dismissed her spear and adjusted her stance, adopting a hand-to-hand combat position. Then she advanced without hesitation, throwing a left jab that Emma blocked, countering with one of her own.
Victoria dodged with agility and replied with a middle kick; Emma, fearless, took the impact, absorbed the pain, and wrapped her arms around her opponent's leg.
Victoria's blue eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected move.
Emma's entire body began to glow with an orange light as she activated her trait. The energy spread through her body, enhancing her completely.
And she hurled Victoria against the opposite wall. Victoria crashed into it with force, the air bursting from her lungs as sharp pain shot through her back.
Emma did not wait; she lunged again, seeking to end the fight, but Victoria managed to dodge with effort.
The pressure was constant: some blows were blocked, others landed, slowly wearing Victoria down. In a desperate attempt to regain space, Victoria kicked Emma in the chest.
Emma endured it, rebounded off the ground, and gathered her Primordial Strength into a fist prepared for the final blow.
The fist surged forward with terrifying speed and power.
Until it stopped.
Victoria, cunning, had invoked her spear just in time. Emma was impaled along her own trajectory.
Without wasting time, Victoria dismissed the spear and, with a quick and precise motion, delivered a direct punch to Emma's face, knocking her to the ground.
Emma rolled backward and forced herself up.
Despite the pain and the blood staining her mouth, her gaze remained fierce, unbroken, hungry for victory.
She wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand and charged at Victoria again, ready to finish the fight.
Displaying a tolerance for pain and an absolute determination—two qualities Victoria deeply respected.
Without hesitation, Victoria responded with equal resolve, launching herself forward to end the battle.
But then something unexpected happened.
A blue bubble formed around Emma, stopping her dead in her tracks.
Victoria, confused, glanced aside for an instant at the only person capable of that. The person she no longer considered a major threat.
And there she saw her, kneeling, her body marked by cuts and blood, breathing heavily.
But firm, with her palm extended toward her.
Floating above Liora's hand, a red bubble the size of a car pulsed with a life of its own, radiating power and concentration.
Then Liora hurled it toward both of them.
Victoria immediately understood the purpose of the blue bubble protecting Emma and evaluated her options in an instant.
Dodging was impossible: the corridor was too narrow and low, and removing the bubble was not viable either. Quickly, she clung to a single alternative.
She raised her spear over her shoulder and used a technique taught by her clan.
Ether Technique: Spear Throw.
Spear Throw is an etheric technique of reinforcement and transfer. The user selectively enhances the parts of their body involved in the throw—legs, hips, torso, shoulder, and arm—amplifying the kinetic chain to its limit.
At the same time, ether is channeled into the weapon, reinforcing its structure and turning it into a conduit of energy.
Synchronization is critical: body and spear must act as a single entity. An error in ether flow or coordination drastically reduces power or deflects the trajectory.
When executed correctly, the weapon is launched with speed and force far beyond the user's physical limits, maintaining lethal precision until impact.
The spear flew with a whistle toward the bubble.The contact between spear and bubble triggered a deafening explosion, a burst of light and force that shook the entire chamber.
Liora remained unharmed, protected by her own bubble and by the blue one surrounding Emma, which absorbed much of the impact.
Victoria, however, did not fare the same. The shockwave hurled her backward with merciless violence, as if the corridor itself had rejected her.
Her body was flung several meters and slammed into the ground with a dry, brutal impact; the blow tore the air from her lungs and a dull crack ran through her back.
Dust and fragments of rock rose in a thick cloud as her body rolled uncontrollably.
Before she could react, she was thrown against the side wall. The impact twisted her torso at an unnatural angle; her right shoulder, already battered, took the worst of it. A searing pain shot through her arm, as if something inside had torn or shifted.
Her body was dragged further by inertia, bouncing once more against the ground.
She finally came to a stop several meters away, motionless for an instant.
Blood slowly trickled from a gash on her forehead, sliding down her cheek and staining the ground beneath her. Parts of her skin were marked by burns from the explosion, steam rising from them.
Liora observed the result of her attack, but the effort took its toll: she vomited blood, her mouth filling with it as a sharp pain pierced her head. Dizziness hit her hard.
The bubble that had protected Emma dissolved, and she touched the ground with agility. She ran toward Liora, worried.
—I'm fine —Liora said, breathing with difficulty—. I've just used too much ether in too little time. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to carry me to the exit. Can you?
Emma nodded firmly, without hesitation. She enhanced her body with her trait, increasing her strength and endurance, and with an agile movement placed Liora over her shoulder.
Then Emma surged forward, following Liora's barely audible instructions.
Her breathing was ragged as she ignored the burning pain of the wound in her stomach, focusing solely on keeping Liora safe and reaching the exit as quickly as possible.