Aetheral Space

Skeletal Set.

Unlike an actual set of armour, the Skeletal Set didn’t weigh Ruth down. In fact, as she put it on, her weight seemed to decrease -- her speed and power increasing with it. With the full set on, she could move around three times faster than normal. Direwolf was even faster -- but that didn’t mean she had to rely on it. She wasn’t stupid, after all.

She equipped all of the Skeletal Set around her left leg, the metal wrapping around the already-bulky limb like a barrel. With all of that boost focused into one leg…

…Ruth Blaine blasted off.

In an instant, she was right in Violence’s face, weaving through her guard. Shifting her full equip to her arm, she slashed upwards -- carving a bloody gash right into the woman’s chest. For a fighter like this, that shouldn’t be lethal, but surely she’d see Ruth could have gone further and give up.

She did not give up.

“Don’t mock me!” Violence roared, dropping to the ground like a breakdancer and swinging around for a kick at Ruth’s head.

The full equip shifted to Ruth’s other arm -- and she raised it to block, reducing the impact of the attack to little more than a tremor. But, at that very same instant, the claw-marks on Violence’s chest snapped closed. Ruth widened her eyes -- and, using that moment of hesitation, Violence seized her by the leg and hurled her away.

Or, at least, she tried to.

Revolutionnaire Set.

Ruth manifested just the cape, tying it together into a rope to bind Violence’s arms together. Seizing the other end of that rope, Ruth flipped over Violence’s back -- looping it around her chest as she went. Landing on the ground in a crouch, Ruth pulled the rope taut, restraining the giant fully.

“Give up,” she demanded.

“Never!” Violence roared, tearing herself free from the rope with a burst of strength.

What the hell… is this supposed to be?

The Shepherdess’ blood boiled as she took in the shameful display.

What was Ruth doing? She’d said she was going to crush this woman, hadn’t she? Then why wasn’t she? Why was she dancing around, barely using her abilities, incessantly aiming for a cowardly resolution? She was stronger than this. The Shepherdess knew she was stronger than this.

This woman had killed Avaman the Announcer, after all.

He’d been another one the Shepherdess had her eye on, one with potential to be nurtured. If his delusional devotion to Kadmon could have been taken care of, he surely could have blossomed into a splendid Supreme. When Ruth Blaine had stood against that potential and snuffed it out, she’d appeared on the Shepherdess’ radar. The whole reason she’d incited this duel was so that she could get a good look at how Blaine had advanced over the last two years.

And yet… she was barely showing anything. It was as if she had no interest in fighting at all.

This Violence woman, on the other hand, was roughly acceptable. Herschel would be satisfied with the performance of his followers. That power of hers was impressive, too.

After a thousand years of training, it didn’t take long for the Shepherdess to figure out an ability from observation. Healing-type, self-targeted, triggered by landing an attack on the opponent. It seemed the strength of the healing was proportional to the damage inflicted by the user’s blow, healing wounds in the order of oldest first. Even if the attack was blocked, the damage that would have been inflicted by a direct hit still triggered the healing. That was probably an Aether glitch.

Against such an opponent, the best way to proceed would be to dodge rather than block -- then, at the first opportunity, strike them in such a way that death would be instant. Otherwise, you risked getting into a battle of attrition. With Violence being capable of constantly restoring herself to a peak state, that wasn’t a battle that one was likely to win.

Ruth had gotten the dodging part down… but the Shepherdess could see no sign that she was going to follow through. She clenched her fists, standing a short distance away from the fight. The rest of the mall had been cleared out by security after the duel had begun, so it was just the three of them now. If Ruth was afraid of harming civilians, then that wasn’t something she had to worry about any longer.

So what was she waiting for?!

The Shepherdess’ own frustration was mirrored by Violence herself. The Second Branch snarled as Ruth Road zipped by again, inflicting a shallow wound to her shoulder, but again failing to deal significant damage. She swung her arm at the girl, but she just vanished again with that wondrous speed of hers.

“Fight me!” Violence bellowed. Her clear skin was vibrating from anger, creating the illusion of facial features for the first time.

This was humiliating. This girl was using only the barest amount of her strength, participating only to the degree that this was technically a battle, and conducting herself in such a way that nothing could truly begin. The sensation that her momentum was being stolen rather than stopped infuriated Violence to no end.

I’ll crush you, the girl had said.

If Ruth Road had declared that and then failed to carry it out, Violence could have accepted that. But she had made that declaration and then not even tried to follow through. That was arrogance of the highest order. That was something that Violence truly could not abide.

Killing Arts: Oxygen Palm.

One of the original techniques from the School of the Killing Arts, devised by the master Yuk In Ho to help his Aetherless students defend themselves after the end of the Thousand Revolutions. By curving the palm in a particular way and thrusting it forward, a short-range burst of air pressure was produced, increasing the user’s reach by about a meter or so. When properly enhanced with Aether, however?

It became invisible artillery.

Ruth Road’s dodging increased as massive palm-prints, each the size of a car, smashed into the scenery around her. The statue at the mall’s heart was obliterated, as was a jewelry store off in the distance. If she had the time, Violence would have sent one flying at Rae Ruditia -- seeing that wench splatter would surely give Road pause.

Faced with an endless barrage of vicious attacks, Ruth would have no choice but to close the distance and attack in earnest. The battle between them would now truly begin. This would do it… this would do it… this would do it!

It did not do it.

Instead, as the final palm-blow scraped past Ruth’s arm, she just allowed herself to drop onto the ground. Violence glared at her intensely, hands shaking in utter fury -- such fury that she couldn’t reliably pull off another Oxygen Palm. But that had not been Road’s intention. In fact, she had no intention of pushing this fight forward at all.

Violence’s wound sealed shut. Her ability, Violent Delights, took effect when she landed any attack -- whether that was with her fists, a technique, or any weapon. It even restored her stamina: to her body, it was as though the fight hadn’t even begun yet. Ordinarily, that would have been a relief… now, though, it was just a self-inflicted insult.

“Why?” Violence hissed. “Why will you not fight in earnest?”

To her surprise, Ruth answered, a cold but calm expression on her face.

“Two years ago,” she said. “I fought in earnest, again and again and again. I didn’t even have to think about it. It was all I did. It got so bad, I thought I wasn’t good for anything else.” She took a deep breath in through her nose. “That’s not the sort of creature I want to be. I want to be more than just a wild animal. So… I decided I’d only fight as much as I needed to. And I don’t need to fight you.”

Violence’s blood boiled. “...are you saying that I’m too weak for your full strength?” she asked, dangerously quiet.

“You’re the one saying that,” Ruth replied. “All I’m saying is I’ve got no reason to fight you.”

To hell with it all.

If Violence allowed a child like this to mock her, then she wouldn’t be worthy of the Second Branch any longer. She’d trained among their ranks for nearly twenty years, devoted herself to their practices, sharpened her body and mind to their utmost. She wouldn’t allow all of that to go to waste because of the whims of some misguided, pathetic pacifist.

Ruth Road might not fight in earnest…

…but Violence would.

“Absolutian.”

The Absolutian form -- the most prized technique of the Tree of Might, taught only to its most ardent disciples. Most Aether-users devised their abilities for the purposes of maximum utility and potential. This was even common within the Tree of Might itself -- Violent Delights was a prime example. But that wasn’t how people were meant to fight. People were meant to fight and kill using only the power living within their own bodies.

White roots crawled out of Violence’s skin, forming a pale bonsai tree that spread out like a massive pauldron over one shoulder. The physical form of the Absolutian transformation…

…a true Tree of Might.

Absolutian was an ability that enforced the law of the body. By sealing away all other Aether abilities, the user’s physical attributes received a substantial boost, proportionate to the complexity, potency and potential of the discarded powers. Strength, speed, stamina, durability -- all of them elevated into the realm of the absurd.

Right now, a single punch from Violence’s fist would obliterate a human body, even an Aether-infused one. Faced with this, Ruth Blaine would have no choice but to retaliate with all her might. Indeed, the girl took a step back as a wave of veritable pressure blasted past her.

Violence prepared to kick off the ground. “I’m done waiting,” she growled, her voice booming from the enhancements to even her vocal cords. “Show me what you’ve got, or you die.”

Sweat trickled down Ruth Road’s face, but she finally accepted her fate. Opening her mouth, she spoke.

“Monarque Se--”

“Miracle Pop.”

The air exploded -- alone, that would not have been enough to send the enhanced Violence flying, but the floor exploded with it. Sailing through the air, she raised her arms to defend herself -- and a second later, a spear extended out of the smoke to strike, changing Violence’s direction towards the cracked window. The intense Aether around Ruth faded as she ceased the manifestation for Monarch Set, and a grin spread across her lips.

They were here.

Magical Miracle Girl Alice☆Alice hovered into view, a young girl so pale she almost looked taxidermied, wielding a segmented white staff with a gaudy pink orb on top. She stared at the flying Violence expressionlessly, already pointing the staff for a follow-up attack. Rex leapt out of the debris, Omni-Gungnir already changing shape in his hands as he charged towards Ruth.

“You okay?” he called out.

Ruth opened her mouth to answer -- but before she could, there was a thud as Violence finally landed, just a few meters away from the window. Immediately, the Scurrant lowered her body, ready to kick off and launch herself at Alice☆Alice. It was the right choice. When Alice was in this form, she was by far the strongest member of Road and Restorossi. Taking her out was the most prudent move.

It was a shame Violence wouldn’t get the chance.

“Miracle Push.”

With a single spark of pink Aether, the air around Violence changed its function. It smashed against her body like a hail of bricks, pushing her further and further towards the window. An Absolutian really was impressive. If not for that, she’d have been sent off into the distance long ago. She dug her heels into the ground, holding herself in place.

“Honourless…” Violence gasped. “...dogs!”

For a moment, she looked as if she’d overcome the pushing force and make a comeback -- but before she could, Roman Hitch vaulted over a chunk of rubble and sprinted onto the battlefield. He was already prepared to use his ability, the Miracle Tag clutched in his hand. As he jabbed a finger towards Violence, he crushed the dog tag.

“Miracle Tag,” he grunted. “Advantage!”

Crack.

It could only have been sheer coincidence. Roman hadn’t touched the ground near Violence. He hadn’t even gotten near it. But all the same, that section of the floor suddenly collapsed outwards…

…catapulting Violence right into the city-abyss outside.

She vanished in an instant, plummeting out of sight, and for the first time in nearly a minute Ruth allowed herself to breathe. There was no way that fall would kill an Absolutian-equipped Aether-user, but at the very least Violence wouldn’t be making her way back up here anytime soon.

Rex clapped a heavy hand down on her shoulder. His mask was as expressionless as ever, but his voice was filled with concern. “You okay?”

Ruth nodded, an easy grin on her face. “Against a jobber like that? No sweat.”

That had been close. If she’d had to use Monarque against an Absolutian form, this whole building probably would have been blown away. It wasn’t a Set that could be used carelessly. Since Ruth had developed it last year, she’d only found the right circumstances to use it twice.

Her blood had gotten too hot this time. She’d have to watch herself.

Roman stalked over, hands in his pockets, his usual dour expression having returned. “You okay, boss?” he grunted. Behind him, Alice was returning to her human form in a vortex of blood and bone. It was always gross to watch. Ruth glanced away, but Rae Ruditia seemed to be observing the display with some interest.

“Ellis let us know you were in trouble,” Rex explained, standing up straight. “Security cameras and stuff, you know?”

“He was spying on me? That little shit,” Ruth smirked. To be honest, she’d expected that -- if Ellis hadn’t been keeping track of their client at a time like this, she’d have been pissed.

“That was a Tree of Might member, right?” Rex asked, turning his head to look at the shattered window. “You know why she was pissed at you?”

Rae stepped forward, tapping a fist against her temple playfully. “Ah, well… I think that might’ve been my fault. My article on the Tree wasn’t exactly flattering, you see. I guess maybe she took offense? Sorry to cause you guys trouble.”

“If someone like that was enough to cause us trouble,” Rex laughed. “We wouldn’t be in business!”

Even as the group came back together, even as they laughed, they didn’t seem to notice…

…that Rae Ruditia was glaring at them.

…that Rae Ruditia was glaring daggers at them.

Disgraceful.

That was the first thought that crossed Violence’s mind as she pulled herself out of the crater, down in one of the slum-streets of Azum-Ha. She didn’t know quite how many levels she’d fallen. She supposed it truly didn’t matter. No matter how far she’d plummeted, she had faith that her Absolutian, Bonsai, would be sufficient to save her.

As she brushed the rubble off her body, the white roots of the Absolutian began to retreat back beneath her skin. It was a powerful boon, but after using it she’d be weakened for a time. Well, she had access to Violent Delights again, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

More importantly… her heart burned with humiliation.

She hadn’t even been defeated. She had been defeated several times in her life, and she’d been able to accept it each time, using it as fuel to grow. But this time? She’d been toyed with by an individual and then thrown away by a group. The very concept of the duel itself had been spat upon and disgraced. She’d gone after Ruditia to satisfy her own rage, but now it had just been multiplied tenfold.

Rae Ruditia… and Ruth Road. She would no longer go after them with honour in her heart. Just as they had done to her, she would seize hold of them and tear them apart in the most disgraceful way possible. There would be no more mercy for --

Danger.

Violence swung around, fists already raised as her instincts spiked with alarm. The civilians had fled this place after she’d landed, but someone else was still here. She could feel it. She clenched her fists -- then her fingers twitched.

Someone she could feel, but not see? Could it be…?

She tried to move first…

Killing Arts: Empty Eye!

…but too late.

“Nightmare Underground,” said North. “Outer Dark.”

The world became blackness, peppered with specks of white. Specks of terror. As Violence stared into the deadlights, an involuntary scream of horror tore its way out of her throat, as though someone had jabbed their finger into her amygdala and twisted. There was nothing she could do. There was nothing she could do. This entire landscape was sculpted to create an unavoidable, irresistible, intractable fear. An instinct pushed to its utmost.

Beyond fear of loss.

Beyond fear of pain.

Beyond fear of death.

Beyond, beyond, beyond, beyond. This was horror. This was terror. This was fear.

“Ya know…” North chuckled, walking around the flailing Violence. “Personally, I think my boss is too soft for this kinda thing.”

The thought of fighting back didn’t even occur to Violence. This fear went beyond fight-or-flight. All one could do was stand there and drown in it. Blood poured out of Violence’s face, clawed free from the volume of her screams.

“If I had a problem like you, I wouldn’t go with any roundabout schemes or anything…”

The barrel of a gun pressed against the back of her head.

“...I’d just take care of it.”

…and, finally, the fear ended.