Chapter 15

“There’s four…….no wait, five.” Ise counted the approaching figures.

“This is more than I expected.” Ace commented as she watched the figures leave the shadows.

Evan had sent five fighters to deal with Ace and Ise. Ordinarily, they’d each have to fight two or three if they wanted to survive. But Ise was not a fighter.

“With this many, I don’t know if I can protect you.” Ace said as the foes neared.

“Ha! Are you concerned about him? Sweetie, you should be worrying about your own life here.” One of the assailants laughed. From his clothes alone it was clear he was a bandit.

“Don’t degrade them, Theo. We were sent here to do a good clean job. Don’t make it personal.” Another person spoke up. He wore a business suit and turned his nose up at the others.

“Get off your high horse, Waller. I hate that ‘Mightier than thou’ attitude of yours. You’re not in charge.” The third opponent, a tall buff woman wearing clothes like Theo’s, scoffed.

“Just shut up, Theresa. They’re not going to listen. Just let them be and focus on yourself. Apparently, this target will be trouble, I don’t want you dragging us down.” The fourth one, a rather ordinary looking girl, sneered and cackled as she taunted the other girl of the group.

“You’re all insufferable; especially you, Scars. I’m going to sit this out. I’m not a team fighter. If you need me………I guess, you’ll already be dead.” The fifth member was separated from the group. He sat in a tree and looked at the horizon, disinterested. The mysterious man had dark skin, and a deep red jacket. Dark glasses hid his eyes, and a sword hung on his back.

“You’re not better than us K.W.! Just because Evan said you’re the ‘leader’ doesn’t mean you’re better than us!” Theo didn’t like K.W.’s insult.

“I don’t care what Evan said or didn’t say. I’m only here because I owed him a favor. I’m not going to exert myself for him anymore than I please.” He still sat in the tree uninterested.

“Enough! Are we going to stand here and bicker or are we-” Waller was interrupted as a green orb of energy blasted past him.

“That bitch!” Theresa screamed. If she hadn’t pushed Waller out of the way, the attack would’ve connected.

The green ball of energy blasted through all that was in its way, carving through trees, boulders, hills. Everything in its trajectory was destroyed until it was out of sight. No one would’ve been able to block it.

Ace stood in the center of the grove; her arm outstretched. Ise sat behind her on the stump. Despite the team sent to kill her, Ace had thrown the first attack.

“Let’s get this over with. I don’t want to fight more than I must.” Ace’s voice was full of resolve.

“Strong words coming from a witch with a healer behind her! If you’re so confident than why bring Mr. Hunk back there?” Theresa laughed at Ace’s confidence. Against four enemies, all bigger than her, there wasn’t much a normal witch could do.

“The healer isn’t for me……He’s here to make sure I don’t go overboard and kill any of you.” In an instant Ace fired off another energy orb attack. Her four opponents jumped out of the way.

Despite the disrespect they were showing her, it was evident that they feared her attack. The orb was fast, and as it blasted through the terrain around them effortlessly, its power was even greater.

They all faced off. No one dared make the first move towards Ace. They could tell that her next attack was ready and whoever approached first would be blasted. It would be suicide. Neither Theo, Waller, Theresa, nor Scars wanted to be the bait.

Sweat dripped down their noses as they stared at Ace, who stood with her arm outstretched, ready to aim at whoever came first. Suddenly, an explosion sounded in the sky.

“That’s the signal, it’s Lee!” Ise yelled out.

All at once, they shot in like hyaenas towards their prey. Ace fired off her attack, but they all jumped to the side, avoiding it completely. Ace had made the trajectory too obvious.

“Too easy!!” Theo was the closest to Ace. With a foe who wields such a powerful ranged attack, it is common sense that it takes some time to build up the energy before it can be fired again. Theo was aiming for the opening in the gap between shots.

The earth shifted underneath Theo’s steps, propelling him forward. It became malleable like a giant gelatinous liquid under his command. He stuck his hand towards the ground as he turned, like a skater shifting their weight to turn. He was fast.

Rocks came up from the ground and coated his arm. His power was simple, but powerful: Earth manipulation. He jumped off the ground as it propelled him forward. One punch was all it was going to take.

“Die!” Theo yelled. His glee lasted but a moment.

Green light decorated the forest. Another ball of energy was blasted at Theo. It was too fast to dodge. Too powerful to block. In his haste, he had dug his own grave.

Before the attack connected with him, an unseen force pulled him to the side. The attack grazed his shoulder, leaving a perfect cutout where it passed through him. His arm was barely attached as he fell into a hole in the ground.

“Theo! You idiot…...I shouldn’t have to save you.” Waller stayed back. From his words, it was clear that the force that saved Theo had been him.

He hesitated to approach, getting close to Ace to check on Theo could be suicide. With an injury like that, Theo was out of the battle.

“How did she charge that attack up so fast?” Theresa clenched her jaw. This was going to be tougher than she expected.

“If it was anyone other than me, you’d be dead.” Ace pointed her finger at Theo as he lay in the hole. Externally she was calm, and cold. Internally, she was cheering and celebrating that she hadn’t killed him.

“Ise, come heal him. If you use only his energy to heal him instead of your own, he should be out of the fight for good. I don’t want him bleeding out.” Ace watched the three remaining opponents, who hung back cautiously.

“Of course. Good job, that wound will be easy to heal and will use a great deal of energy. Excellent work Ace.” Ise began to walk towards the hole.

“Shut up! I don’t need any help! Especially from the enemy!” Theo struggled to get back to his feet.

“If you exert yourself, you will bleed out.” Ise hung back but his concern for Theo was visible. He was a doctor to his very core.

“I don’t need your pity! I can handle myself!” Rocks came up for the ground, filling in the hold in his shoulder and coating his arm.

“I can still fight.” He panted as he tested the movement of his arm.

“Ok……Guess I’ll just shoot you again.” Ace fired off another shot. Despite his confidence, Theo was still too close to dodge on his own.

The ball of energy shot towards Theo, but Theo was pulled up and away, like a puppet being controlled by invisible strings.

“That’s another time I had to save you.” Waller clenched his teeth.

“This is sloppy! We need to work together!” Theresa growled at the group.

“If Theo is gonna die, let him! Focus on yourself Waller.” Scars rolled her eyes.

“She’s tough. We can’t afford anymore mistakes. Theresa, you go left. Theo, you go right. Scars….you do you. I’ll play support in the middle.” Waller barked orders.

“Wow, that’s like textbook cheesy dialogue. I swear Lee said that exact line when he was ranting to us about it.” Ace turned towards Ise and shared a chuckle.

“Don’t take this so lightly!” Theresa yelled as she ran in. Energy glowed around her hands and feet as they took on the shape of animal claws. She bound towards Ace on all fours like a wolf.

Ace jumped back, dodging Theresa’s attack which was aimed at her throat. Ace raised her hand out, pointed it at Theresa, but Theresa was pulled out back out of the air, dodging the shot.

“That support ability is troublesome.” Ace frowned as she tried to jump back again.

“Going somewhere?” Scars giggled as the ground at Ace’s feet froze in an instant.

“You’re too green! You make your weakness too obvious!” Theo charged in.

Ace’s inexperience in battle was showing in her fighting style. She had a month to train before this and had majorly improved her energy control. Before, she would’ve never been able to restrict her output to the size of the energy blasts she was using now. The minimum amount of energy she could output was the beam that killed Naught.

She never learned how to properly fight because anytime she fought, it was instant destruction. From the eyes of her opponents, she was a witch with above average energy attacks, but nothing outside of that.

She ran when they got close, her aim wasn’t that accurate. Sure, she was able to fire off attacks consecutively much faster than should’ve been possible, but her flaws were too glaring. Her lack of fighting experience shown, and her reliance on ranged attacks made her lack of confidence in a physical fight apparent. All they had to do was get in and it was over.

She was like a Guile holding ‘back’ and firing sonic booms, but she was neglecting to hold ‘down-back’ so the threat of a flash kick was gone. Once they got past her zoning, it would be over.

Theo created a ramp out of the earth and jumped at Ace. With her feet frozen, she had nowhere to run. With Theo in the air there was no risk of Ace’s attack hitting any other teammates. Theo had made himself the distraction.

“Theo! Don’t be a hero!” Waller yelled at him. It was clear from the desperation in his voice that he would not be able to pull Theo to safety this time.

Ace raised her hand up and shot. Green light enveloped their faces as the powerful attack hit Theo. Or at least it should have.

Theo’s arms were coated with thick rocks, which slowed the attack for just enough time for Waller to pull him slightly out of the way. It was a bluff, and Ace fell for it.

Ace couldn’t fire off a shot fast enough to hit Theo again. They had found their opening. Ace leaned back and raised her arms; she couldn’t retreat as the ice had frozen her to this spot. She prepared to take Theo’s punch head on.

“Ha! You’re brave I’ll give you that!” Theo swung his fist, aimed for Ace’s face. A shattering sound was heard, no doubt from the impact of the punch. Ace had nowhere to go, the attack had surely hit, but Theo felt no impact.

Ace had broken the ice and sidestepped the attack. Theo had no time to react before a spinning kick connected with his face, launching him back into the tree line. He was so sure his attack would hit that he put no energy into defending himself.

“Dang…. I was hoping to have more practice holding back my shots in the heat of battle…. I guess it’s time to put those martial arts Roku taught me to use.” Ace took a fighting stance. Her bluff had worked.

“Good job Ace! Your growth in your control has been amazing to see. I cannot believe you have attained this confidence in only a month.” Ise praised Ace as he hurried over to heal the unconscious Theo. He would stop the bleeding and close the wounds, but Theo was not going to wake up anytime soon.

“Lee’s lessons in magic…. I mean Ego control have been a great help. But honestly, I think I’m still more nervous when fighting Roku. These guys aren’t big enough threats to make me nervous enough to lose control.” Ace’s voice was nonchalant.

“Dammit. She mocks us?” Fear was painted on Waller’s face.

“She played us! Her projectile attack is strong enough to kill us in one hit, she can fire it off with virtually no charge up, she’s physically strong enough to decimate Theo. It makes no sense! No one should be able to have everything!” Theresa’s voice was full of anger.

“No……there is one way. Maybe she is holding back. If the projectile attack isn’t charged up, but instead the minimum power she can make it, then it makes sense that she can attack that fast. And if it’s just the base power, then it stands to reason that she can devote her power to physical attacks too. She isn’t a jack of all trades. Her ceiling is just higher.” Scars voice was full of admiration.

“Shut up! Shut up! There’s no way that’s true! If she’s that strong she’d have killed us already! She’d have no reason to conceal her power. You just think she’s pretty!” Theresa yelled.

“Yeah…maybe.” Scars giggled playfully.

“It doesn’t matter. We have got to beat her. Arguing over how her abilities work won’t change anything. We need to come together now more than ever. I’ll watch out for the green attack and make sure none of you get hit. Scars will immobilize and offer protection with her ice. Theresa, I need you to get in. Even if she knows some martial arts, she shouldn’t be able to defeat you.” Waller commanded.

“You’re not the leader. We don’t need to listen to you. You’re completely missing the obvious point too. We should take out the healer first!” Scars shot a flurry of icicles at Ise.

“No!” Ace jumped towards Ise, trying to stop the icicles, but felt herself being kept in place by an invisible wall.

“Worry about yourself!” Theresa’s claws slashed through her side, leaving bloody claw marks on her stomach. Ace shot an energy blast at her, but she jumped out in time.

“I’m okay. I can handle myself. Focus on them.” Ise’s voice was calm. Ace clutched her bloody wound and looked up towards him. He had safely dodged most of the icicles. A few were embedded in his shoulder, but he showed little care to them. In just a few moments, it was as if they had never struck him.

“I don’t have to kill your healer; I just have to make sure he doesn’t get to you. Sorry about that.” Scars giggled.

“She’s a wolf-lady…the guy is a psychic….and the other girl uses ice magic…...I got it now.” Ace stood up and took her stance again.

“You have us all figured out. So what? It won’t matter with a wound like that.” Theresa sneered proudly.

“Wound? Oh, you mean these cat scratches? I guess they’re bothersome, mind handling it for me, Ise?” Ace smiled.

Ise nodded back, and steam began emanating from the cuts along Ace’s stomach. It was slower than normal, but they were being healed. Soon the only evidence of the attack would be the rips in her shirt.

“Healing from a distance? I didn’t know that was possible.” Waller gasped.

“Enough gawking over me, lets get this done.” For the first time since the start of the fight, Ace was the one on the offensive.

She fired a blast at Waller. Green light filled the forest as the attack came careening towards its target. Waller didn’t have time to fully dodge, but used his ability to push the attack up, narrowly avoiding it.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

As his eyes looked away from the threat of the energy attack, a fist connected with his unguarded chest. Ace’s punch was strong. The intensity of the blow was amplified by the surprise of it.

“Waller!” Theresa screamed as she charged in at Ace and pounced. Ace squatted to dodge the attack aimed at her head. Theresa’s claws connected, but not with Ace.

“Dammit!” Theresa ripped up Ace’s hat in her hands, angry that her attack had missed.

“M-My hat! That was my favorite hat!” Ace’s voice was full of genuine sadness.

“If you have time to mourn your hat, you have time to fight!” Scars blasted a whirlwind of ice and snow towards Ace. White snow and Ice crashed where Ace stood, obscuring the battlefield for a few moments.

“Surrender or she gets it.” Ace stood where scars was, holding her by the hair with one hand, and aiming her other hand at Scars’ head. She had used the cover of the snow to catch Scars off guard.

“Shit! Do something you psychic douche!” Theresa yelled at Waller.

“I can’t do anything. It takes so much force to move someone as powerful as her. My barrier barely held her punch!” Waller held his side where Ace’s punch had hit.

“Ace! What do you think you are doing?” Ise asked sternly.

“Trying to get this over with fast. We need to group up with the rest of the team.” Ace responded.

“A good thought, but I would feel a lot better if you did it without taking any hostages. It is just in bad taste.” Ise asked politely.

“I wasn’t gonna hurt her! I was just mad they ruined my hat…. But alright, I’ll let her go.” Ace rolled her eyes.

“I know you weren’t going to hurt her, I trust you. I just do not like hostages, that’s all.” Ise sat back down on the stump to continue observing the fight.

“So carefree.” A chuckle sounded from K.W. who was still observing from the tree line.

As Ace went to release her hostage, Scars hand slipped down, blasting Ace’s body with ice, freezing solidly around it.

“Ouch! That’s cold!” Ace reeled back in shock.

“Ha! Got her! Finish it, Theresa!” Scars giggled with glee.

Theresa shot towards Ace, like a beast on the hunt. Ace jumped back to avoid her opening strike, but it still connected, hitting her in the stomach and shattering the ice in that area.

Ace landed and got in a fighting stance as Theresa continued her attack. They exchanged blows. Feints, blocks, parries, but no connections. Theresa’s animal-like claws were proving difficult to stop. Ace was forced back onto the defensive.

Despite her seemingly boundless ocean of energy, Ace was inexperienced. She had learned practically nothing when it came to fighting before she joined Ise’s group. She had little to no energy training that she could remember before meeting Lee. All other teachers had refused to teach her out of fear when they saw her lack of control over her destructive power. She had no practical martial arts training before Roku, she had feared her own strength too much to try.

One month of experience was nothing. It would never be enough to face off against highly skilled assassins such as these. One month of experience is futile.

Ace dodged an attack aimed at her neck and threw a punch to counter. Theresa blocked the blow with her free arm. Ace continued to throw punches and kicks, taking the offensive. But they all weren’t enough to get passed Theresa’s defense. One month of training is not enough.

Ace blocked a punch from Theresa and threw her own. She put more power behind this one than normal, even though it was blocked, it created distance.

“Block this.” Ace put her hand up and pointed at Theresa’s heart. Her energy rose as she prepared to fire the attack.

Waller readied to pull Theresa to safety or construct a barrier to block the attack. Scars shot icicles towards Ace to try and stop her. Theresa held her arms up in front of her in a futile attempt to block the attack. They could tell death was near. Theresa was too close to the attack.

“Or not.” Ace stopped her attack and grabbed Theresa by the arm. They fell for her feint.

She swung Theresa around in a circle before throwing her towards Waller. Waller’s mind had been focused on building a psychic barrier to stop Ace’s blast, he didn’t have enough time to course correct. Theresa hit him like a bowling ball as they both rolled along the ground.

“HA! I thought of that on the spot!” Ace pumped her fist in triumph. Her white hair flowed through the wind, freed by the absence of her hat. Her aura burned with the intensity of a fire, melting what little ice remained on her body. She was beginning to look like a real fighter.

One month of training is not enough, unless you are a prodigy like Ace.

“I quit. I resign. I’m out. You can drain my energy or whatever, I don’t care. I’m done.” Scars threw her arms up in surrender as she walked towards Ise.

“Here. Have a seat.” Ise stood up and directed Scars to a spot on the stump.

“Ugh. What a gentleman.” Scars rolled her eyes as Ise began draining her energy and healing what wounds she had.

“Two left. Come on guys, don’t hold back on my regard.” Ace smiled confidently. For the first time in her life, she was enjoying a fight.

“No. It’ll be just one.” K.W. said as he jumped down from the tree, he was observing from.

“Even while holding back, you still misunderstand the level of your strength. Theresa hit Waller strong enough to break multiple bones, and Waller put so much energy into that barrier to stop your attack that he popped a blood vessel in his brain. He was out cold before Theresa even hit him.” K.W. picked up his unconscious teammates and tossed them towards Ise.

“You’ve intrigued me a bit. I’ll indulge my curiosity.” K.W. tossed his sword to the side and mirrored Ace’s fighting stance.

“One-on-one is a lot simpler than four-on-one.” Ace took her stance, not being intimidated by K.W. matching it.

They stood still for a moment. Feeling out each other’s energy. Waiting for the slightest indication of hostility or bloodlust. Or at least that’s what K.W was doing. Ace was just happy she hadn’t killed anyone today.

“Now.” K.W. calmly threw the first attack. His red jacket flowed behind him like a cape as he and Ace began to dance.

They calmly exchanged blows. Ace was strangely confident. She had never, to her own detriment, met anyone she couldn’t kill. As she finally began to gain control over her power. Being able to fight without killing, being able to restrict her energy blasts to an orb four feet in diameter, she had gained control. But in her back pocket, she had the security that her life was never in real danger. If all else failed, she could always kill them. It was a twisted appreciation of what she usually viewed as a curse.

K.W. was calm as they exchanged blows. He had seen Ace’s performance, and was intrigued, but not impressed.

“You’re still holding back.” K.W. remarked as he blocked her punches without much effort.

“You don’t look like you’re taking this seriously either.” Ace smiled. Without the risk of death, and with her newfound control over her powers, fighting had become fun. She had nothing to lose, so it had slowly started to become like a game to her.

K.W.’s face turned serious for a moment as he ducked one of Ace’s punches and countered. His fist connected with her face and sent her flying into a tree.

“I despise people like you. This isn’t a game. Those are people’s lives you are dealing with. I get it, a fight is thrilling. But people like you disgust me, treating it like your own personal playground. Holding back just to make them think they have a chance to beat you. It’s wrong. A fight is only a fight when you put your life on the line.” K.W. walked over to his discarded sword and picked it up.

“You’re wrong! That’s not why I fight! I fight to-” Ace was interrupted as her left arm was severed.

K.W. stood with his sword now in his hand. He had unsheathed it and attacked fast enough that Ace hadn’t noticed it.

“Ace!” Ise ran over to heal her. K.W. stood and watched as her arm was healed. It was clear that his attack was a message.

“T-Thanks.” Ace shivered. K.W. was more than a step above the rest.

“I could kill you if I wanted to. But I don’t want to. Not yet. Instead, I will allow you to be healed so I can continue to enjoy this fight. See how that feels?” K.W.’s voice was angry.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Ace’s breathing had quickened. She was nervous.

“Prove me wrong then. End this fast. Quit holding back.” K.W. motioned for her to attack.

“Grah!” Ace screamed out as she fired a blast of green energy at K.W.

Before it had even connected Ace was rushing in behind it. If K.W. dodges he’ll be vulnerable to Ace’s follow-up. If he blocks it, she’ll be able to repeat what she did to Theresa. It was a solid plan.

K.W. swung his sword down in front of him, splitting the energy attack in half. The blast disintegrated the trees behind him as the energy was freed from its contained form. Explosions from the released energy shook the ground they stood on.

Despite her shock at her attack being stopped, Ace jumped in with a kick. It was too late to panic or second guess herself. K.W. blocked her attack with his sword and a close-range scuffle began again.

Ace began to mix in energy blasts between her punches. If this tactic had been used against any of the others, the fight would’ve been over instantly. But K.W. was built differently from the rest. He dodged, blocked, and reverted the attacks elsewhere, all while defending from Ace’s flurry of punches and kicks.

Cuts began to appear on Ace’s arms and legs as K.W. skillfully used his sword amid this close-range fight.

“Ace is incredible!” Scars said, watching the fight from the stump with Roku.

“She is starting to get hurt. I’m beginning to get a little nervous for her.” Ise put his hands out and started long-range healing her.

“No, really. She is incredible. Not just anyone can hold their own against K.W…...He’s even stronger than Evan! What Evan must have done to get K.W. to owe him a favor must have been huge……” Scars’ energy had been drained but witnessing a fight of this level was keeping her awake.

“Ace…...Do not lose. I have faith in you.” Ise said to himself.

Ace was beginning to feel panic welling up inside her. She still had the security of holding her full power back, but releasing it was beginning to seem like a necessity, not a last resort.

Ace had never needed to fear for her own life before, but K.W. was beginning to make her. His blows didn’t carry the same power as Roku’s, but there was something beyond that. The way he fought, the way he carried himself, he had a factor that defied classification.

Ace aimed a kick at K.W.’s head, only to be blocked by his sword. The sharp side of the sword. Ise’s long range healing was helping, but she was gaining injuries faster than he could heal them. Ace was not used to pain like this.

“I’ll finish this.” K.W. sighed in disappointment as he kicked Ace across the field and into a large rock.

Ace rolled across the ground from the force of the blow. She was hurt. She was scared. She was losing. K.W. lunged at her with his sword, aiming to pierce her heart.

Ace held up her hand in panic, aiming a blast at K.W. Green light enshrouded the forest as the blast was let loose.

But something was different. This was not an attack like the orb, she had lost control. A beam of energy was unleashed. It was not contained or controlled. It was not molded into a shape like the green orbs. It was like a waterfall of pure power being shot from Ace’s hands.

“No! No! No! Not again! Please not again! Ise! Ise help!” Ace cried out in panic. The attack was instant. It was not charged up like the beam that killed Naught, but it was damn close to it. Ace still lacked the control to change the output in her attack. She had a minimum strength, and a maximum strength. No in-between.

Ise began to rush in as Ace collapsed to her knees in tears. As the dust began to settle, K.W. was on his knees, missing half his upper body. His left arm was completely gone, and a portion of his chest was missing with it. An ordinary man would be dead.

“Not again! Not again! Not again!” Tears streamed down her face as she grieved. Despite all her growth, she had lost control and killed again.

“I’ve misjudged you. I’m sorry.” K.W. said as he stood up to his feet.

“He-He’s alive?” Ace wiped the tears off her face. She was still breathing hysterically, and her eyes were blurry from the tears. It took a minute to see what was happening.

K.W. stood strongly as he began to heal his own wounds. Skin and bone formed in his chest where the hole once was. He had survived.

“Some help would be appreciated for my arm. Regenerating a whole limb takes a lot of time and energy on my own.” K.W. turned to Ise.

Ise stood in shock for a moment, before running over and helping to heal K.W. After just over a minute, all the remaining evidence of the attack was a half destroyed jacket.

“I’m sorry Ace. I insulted you earlier and completely misunderstood you. You’re not holding back for fun. You’re holding back because you can barely control your power, and you don’t want to kill. Even in the heat of battle, even with us trying to kill you, you showed kindness. That’s very admirable. Before you had my interest, but now you have my respect and admiration. I will not kill you for Evan.” K.W. bowed his head in thanks.

“Thank you. I’m just glad you were strong enough to survive my mistake……...I can’t have another death on my hands.” Ace was still shaking.

“You got it wrong. I won’t do Evan’s dirty work. I won’t kill you for him. This is far beyond repaying a favor to him. To be honest I wasn’t too keen on doing this for him in the first place. But now, I’m gonna fight you for me.” K.W. ripped what remained of his jacket and sheathe off and threw them aside. His sword had disintegrated from Ace’s attack. He had no weapons save for his own two hands.

“Please…. I don’t want to fight anymore.” Ace sloppily got back into her fighting stance.

“It is precisely because you don’t want to fight that we must.” K.W. began his attack. He threw his punches even faster and fiercer than before.

Ace’s reluctance had quickly been crushed. This was a battle. She had to be focused. As they exchanged blows, the shaking in her hands began to stop.

“Good. Stay focused.” K.W.’s attacks quickened even more.

Ace no longer had to worry about his sword, but his punches were just as dangerous. She could not compete in hand-to-hand combat against someone as skilled as K.W., despite being the prodigy she was.

“Start mixing in those orb attacks again. I can’t cut them anymore.” K.W. commanded as he hit Ace again.

Ace obeyed, mixing in feints and energy blasts once again. Ace was slowly catching up to K.W.’s pace. The shock of losing control and almost killing him had rattled her emotionally. Compared to that, the fight was simple. She was calm.

K.W. blocked and swatted away the balls of energy as if they were flies. The balls exploded as they made contact with a tree or the ground behind him. Their fight was destroying the landscape.

“ ‘Why can K.W. block those?’ I hope you’re wondering that. Your energy control is weak and unrefined. All that energy shaped into a ball is easy to deflect if I focus my energy into a single point. It is inefficient. If you want to beat me, you’ll learn efficiency.” K.W. hit Ace with a roundhouse kick to the face, sending her tumbling along the ground.

“Ace! Are you okay?” Ise and Scars said at the same time as she landed near them.

They both gasped in shock as they saw the expression on her face. She wasn’t hurt, she wasn’t panicking like before. She was calm. It was as if she was in a trance, completely oblivious to all around her. She stood back up and walked back to her fight.

“What is your ability, Ace?” K.W. asked as she rejoined the fight.

“Hm? Magic energy blasts, right?” Ace was confused by his question. She thought she had used it enough that it was clear it was her ability.

“Wrong. That’s not an ability. That’s just outputting Ego as pure energy. There is a lot you don’t know about Ego, and a lot your teacher doesn’t know about Ego. You’re like a bird who has yet to leave the nest.” K.W. changed his stance, mirroring the pose Ace takes as she fires her energy blasts.

“No……You’re messing with me.” Ace was taken aback. This had to be a bluff. The spike in K.W.’s energy said otherwise.

“Shit!” Ace said in shock as she took her stance and readied her attack.

They fired off their attacks simultaneously. Ace’s orb of green energy, and K.W.’s orb of red energy. They shook the forest as they collided. The attacks were evenly matched and exploded after a moment of struggle. A crater was left in the ground from where the deadly blasts had collided.

“You perfectly matched mine…….” Ace was in shock.

“I could’ve made it slightly bigger; I could’ve made it absorb yours, I could’ve made it smaller and denser and have it shoot through yours. That’s efficiency. That is control. I’ll admit I can’t match your full power energy beam, but I can come somewhat close. I have other ways of dealing with it as well. People now adays get so stuck into their own idea of what Ego is or what their powers are. They put all their eggs into one basket. Do not let anyone tell you what your powers are. Do not let anyone tell you what is and isn’t possible. Ego is the power of freedom, and it is unique to everyone. It is a beautiful, personal thing.” K.W. smiled for the first time as he spoke. His words were full of kindness, but his attacks were real. The contrast between his words and actions had shocked Ise & Scars.

“Ace is amazing.” Scars eyes were full of wonder, admiration, and astonishment.

“K.W…….What are you planning?” Ise wondered out loud.

“I am now going to fire off a blast bigger than yours. It will overpower it, absorb it, and kill you. If you fire off your full power, it will beat mine and kill me. There is only one way for us both to survive.” The rise in K.W.’s energy showed he was not bluffing.

“You don’t mean!?” Ace was shocked. She lacked the control to match his attack. What could she do?

“Sink or swim.” K.W. gave her no time to think as he fired off his attack.

Ace hadn’t been pressured during a fight before. Even during training against Roku, there was always the safety of the fact it was training. Her life wasn’t in danger, his life wasn’t in danger, and she had no reason to put others in danger. This was a new feeling.

In an instant within her, the stars aligned. The calmness and relief of having not killed, the enjoyment of finally having control over her power, the safety and security of knowing Ise was right beside her to fix her mistakes. Ace was in the zone.

The power she usually contained within an orb was let out from a single point. The laser pierced K.W.’s blast, the explosion was as big as their combined attack, the force of it pushed all spectators back, yet Ace’s attack did not falter. The laser’s trajectory stayed true and pierced through K.W.’s chest.

“I did it!” Ace shouted with glee.

“Good! Perfect!” K.W. coughed up blood as he held his wound and began to heal it.

Ace was truly a prodigy. She had not only gained further control, but a stronger attack as well. Lee’s teaching was well meaning but misguided. He saw Ace’s power as already being at its peak. The shared goal with her training was to get her to a level around 40% power, where she would be strong enough to defeat her foes but have enough control to not kill them.

What they both failed to realize, is that Ace was still far from her peak. Strength does not come from power alone; it comes from control. This was the lesson the fight with K.W. was passing on.

“Great performance under pressure. Now we are even.” K.W.’s kindness vanished as bloodlust filled the air.

“What do you mean?” Ace was taken aback by the sudden shift in the mood.

“That was payback for letting me use your healer. If you had any desire to, you could’ve ended it when you blasted off my arm. Now we are even, and better yet, we can have an actual fight.” A smile spread on K.W.’s face, this one was more sinister than before.

“This is the last thing I will show you, Ace. This is the pinnacle of Ego. Ready your strongest blast, you’ll need it. Even with all your power, it will still be unable to kill me.” K.W. assumed a pose as his energy began to rise further than ever before. This was not a bluff.

Ace could tell he was not lying. If this was to be another beam attack, she couldn’t pierce it with a laser, she couldn’t stop it with an energy ball, she’d need to let loose.

“Don’t make me do this!! Get back Ise!” Ace gritted her teeth as she charged up her attack.

Ise and Scars grabbed the unconscious bodies of Theo, Theresa, and Waller. If this was going to be a beam clash, the destruction would be unlike anything they had ever seen.

“I already told you! I can’t match your beam with my own. This is something different. This is my own ability!” The ground shook from the power of K.W. and Ace.

“Culmination of Self-Obsession!” K.W. bellowed.

Before their respective attacks could be unleashed, Ace’s focus was brought elsewhere.

“Ace!!! Help me!!! Ace!!!” A scream echoed from off in the distance.

“Lee!” Ace’s attention was diverted for a moment, before turning back to K.W. If he had unleashed his attack, she’d be dead.

“Ugh…..dammit…..this fight’s over.” K.W. sighed in disappointment.

“I guess I got ahead of myself. It would be a waste to kill you now, when you’ve just barely started to scratch at your potential.” K.W.’s power began to dip.

“You mean that? You’re not going to attack me when I turn my back?” Ace was cautious.

“I said I’m not doing Evan’s dirty work. I’ll kill you on my own time and my own terms. Get stronger. Next time I won’t be so lenient.” K.W. sighed in disappointment.

“Thank you for everything.” Ace bowed her head in thanks.

“Huh? I beat you up and you thank me? Maybe I should finish you off.” K.W. said.

“Too late! Let’s go Ise!” Ace began to run in the direction of Lee’s cries for help. Ise and Scars ran beside her before K.W. grabbed Scars.

“Where do you think you’re going? We need to go over the story you’re going to tell Evan.” K.W. said to Scars as he carried her over to the rest of her team.

“No! I want to go with them! Ace, you strong beautiful angel, wait for me! Wait for me!” Scars yelled out for Ace, who kept running without turning back.