The Martial Unity

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Fae unloaded an unbelievable onslaught of attacks onto Avi as the latter struggled to stay on his feet. His arms were broken already and the damage was no longer being restricted to them. Because his arms were broken, they were no longer able to guard the rest of his body effectively.

His ribs, joints and muscles were all reeling from the impact. He had already begun to cough blood due to some internal bleeding in his body.

He wouldn't be able to last much longer!

('Just how much power does she have?') He cursed. Praying she would be done soon.

His prayers were answered.

Suddenly her onslaught stopped, and her arms dropped, dangling freely. Her fair skin had taken on a sickly darker hue.

Time was up.

It was over.

Her mighty feared palms had failed.

Failed her, when she needed them the most.

Avi's eyes twinkled. Yet just as he launched himself at her;

BAM!

"ARGH!" He coughed blood as her kick cratered into his ravaged body.

POW

A high kick struck his jaw, rattling his brain.

The human mind was funny, it often failed to make the most elementary inferences. This was often caused by a variety of factors outside of intelligence. Conditioned inertia, when something abnormal becomes so normal that people forget that it was ever abnormal in the first place. Intense emotions in the heat of suspenseful moments also created psychological blind spots.

For Avi, and perhaps for a lot of onlookers, it was the both of them.

In the past two years, not a single soul had seen Fae kick. It was an unheard-of phenomenon and one that most people wouldn't even conceive of. In that high-intensity situation, when Fae's formidable palms and arms collapsed, he had immediately felt incredible ecstasy and confidence.

In that moment, he had just simply failed to realize that 'hey, maybe she can use those perfectly functional legs of hers to kick me.'

If it was anybody else, he likely would not have dropped his guard and rushed in like he did. But Fae's weakness, or what he considered to be her weakness, turned out to be his.

His ravaged condition, and the final high kick to the jaw rattled his brain, causing immediate brain trauma.

THUD

He hit the ground like a bag of rocks, unconscious.

Avi Seth had lost.

Not just the match, but also his chances of being chosen as the representative.

For several seconds, there was silence.

"W-Winner; Fae Dullahan!" The supervisor shook his head, breaking out of his reverie. He had been so engrossed he had forgotten he had a job to do!

Fae was breathing laboriously. Even the skin near her neck had gone from fairer to the darker hue her arms were completely coloured in. The poison was taking its toll, and she had come in contact with it countless times after she had begun her final assault on Avi.

She didn't even return to her friends. The medical team immediately rushed her to the temporary section and gave her many potions of different colours.

The Academy, of course, knew of all the techniques that the students purchase, since they were the ones who sold them to them in the first place. They were well-prepared for all outcomes, including the poison techniques of Avi Seth.

Soon, her skin retained its original colour, and she was back on her feet feeling invigorated after a rejuvenation potion.

"Great fight Fae." Rui complimented her.

"That was intense." Kane offered. He couldn't help but admit she had a great fight.

"That was close too." Dalen noted.

Fae nodded. "Thankfully I managed to get in that last kick, which along with the earlier damage I inflicted was enough to put him out of commission."

"How are your arms." Milliana asked out of concern.

"Ah." Fae glanced at them. "They're fine. The medical team fed me detox potions that cleared out the poison from my system. "I'm perfectly okay now."

"Good to hear." Rui nodded. He would have been really dismayed if she was not at her peak in her succeeding matches. He would take no please in beating her when she was in a weakened state. With this, he could put aside any worry and go all-out against her when they would eventually fight in the coming days.

They chatted a bit, before it was Kane's turn for the day.

"Apprentice Kane Arrancar." A staff member addressed him. "Your scheduled fight for the day will commence soon. Please wait at the assigned ring immediately."

"Yeah. Will do." Kane nodded. "Alright guys see you later."

He left after having been bade good luck.

The four of them quickly made their way to the ring as Kane's fight was about to begin. Both he and his opponent were already on the ring.

"Who do you guys think will win?" Fae asked as she glanced at Sahar Kal.

"Kane." Rui replied unhesitatingly

"It's hard to imagine Kane losing." Dalen agreed as Milliana nodded.

His shocking performance at the beginning of the preliminary contest had left a deep impression on all of them.

Dalen and Milliana had already fought him and lost miserably. Fae and Rui on the other hand had yet to, and did not think victory would be anything short of extremely difficult.

"Take your stances." The supervisor instructed.

Sahar Kal was a strong senior Martial Apprentice with an all-rounder Martial Art. She adopted a neutral stance, positioning her arms equally defensively and offensively while balancing her weight equally between both legs with a foot of distance between them. The quintessential neutral stance. It was a stance that Rui himself often used when he lacked information on his opponent.

Kane instead nonchalantly relaxed his body and arms, lightly hopping between both feet. It was a stance that catered much more to maneuvering more than a rigid stance like hers. In this stance he would be able to enter top speed in any direction extremely quickly.

"Begin!" The supervisor waved his hand, commencing the match.