Miles POV:

Her eyes bulged with glee as we traded blows in the middle. I could sense a few Watchers nearby evacuating the civilians, which forced me to be on the defensive.

“Stop hiding!!”

Lucy's Ki flared as her foot crashed into my guard. The ground beneath us split apart, causing the buildings around us to collapse. She moved nimbly through the falling debris, throwing sharp strikes that I narrowly avoided.

I caught her leg by the ankle, and her eyes shimmered, leaving an amethyst trail behind them as she spun. Her foot sunk into my stomach, launching me into the remains of a destroyed building.

‘...That one actually hurt a little.’

I gazed at her ripped burgundy jeans that accentuated the thickness of her thighs as she peered down at me with a smile.

“I told you, Miles, I really can’t wait anymore.”

Her hand speared forward towards my heart just when I sensed that the Watchers had finally returned back to the Pit. My lips curved upwards as my fist left a large imprint on her stomach.

“Heuk..!”

She fell slightly, her head resting on my shoulder as I supported her.

“Who am I? I’m a wild card meant to deal with people like you who slip through the cracks in the Leader's plan.”

“...Mm, I really am going to enjoy this, Miles~”

A cute giggle drifted into my ears before two soft lips pressed against my neck. Lucy released the full extent of her Ki and pushed me away, resetting the battlefield. I could clearly see why she used to be Rank 14; her Ki was incredible.

My fingers took on an L shape as I stood sideways. A small compressed bubble of water formed at the end of my pointed finger.

“This won’t last as long as you think.”

It shot forward, ripping through the air and piercing right through Lucy's right shoulder. Her eyes swivelled down to the injury, amazed by the sheer speed of the attack.

“...Water? How rare~”

Blood gushed out of the small wound, but she paid it no mind as one of the hearts tattooed on her left arm began to glow a light shade of red.

“Heartpiercer.”

I narrowed my eyes as her Ki rose further. Lucy's foot stomped the ground, causing the whole area to shake while she blew me a kiss.

‘...What a beauty.’

I dispelled all of the silly thoughts I had and focused solely on the real battle that was about to start. It was obvious that her physical attributes had been bolstered significantly.

“Good. I love it when guys look at me like that, but you make my heart race like no one else!~”

Her figure left afterimages behind her as her fist shot forward. I twisted my neck, avoiding the blow while slipping inside. Lucy parried the attack with her free hand and jumped forward, crashing a huge knee into my chest.

‘...Damn.’

My Ki Armour cracked as I flew backwards. Lucy didn’t give me any time to recover. She threw kicks and punches from every angle as we destroyed the surrounding area further and further.

I slipped past her fist, landing my own square in her stomach as she winced in pain. The water that wrapped around my hand blasted into her chest with the force of a hydro cannon.

“Heuk!”

Lucy crashed into the rubble only to immediately get back to her feet. She wiped the blood away from the corner of her mouth and smirked.

“Heartpiercer: Love's Wrath.”

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I watched her Ki turn into dozens of black hearts that hovered above her head. They took on the form of male faces contorted in agony as if they had witnessed their last dying moments.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? The expression of their dying faces as I pierced open their hearts, injecting them with the love of my own.”

A dark shade of red ran across the bridge of her nose, and I noticed another heart light up above the first one: that made 2 out of 7 hearts. Her Ki rose again, and the surrounding air became heavier.

“You won’t end up like that. You’re far too valuable to be treated on the same level as them~”

Saliva dowsed her tongue as she lightly ran it over her lips. Her amethyst eyes met mine, and her permanent blush went even darker. Each heart morphed itself into a powerful weapon. Swords, daggers, arrows, spears, axes and dozens of more weapons appeared above her head.

Lucy stretched out her hand, and a longsword whistled forward. She changed her stance while slowly swinging the sword down.

‘What the...’

A powerful wave of Ki sliced through the earth as I kicked off the ground, barely avoiding the slash. I charged towards her when arrows rained down from the sky above.

‘!’

I glanced at a bow pull itself back with multiple arrows attached to its string. I rolled to the side, unable to completely dodge a spear that grazed past my waist.

Lucy bolted forward while more arrows and other weaponry continued to fly towards me. I got tagged more and more as I studied her carefully. Some of the weapons above her head didn’t move, meaning only certain weapons could.

Another thing I noticed was the third heart on her arm was almost half full. It seemed like every time she landed a successful hit that wasn’t blocked; it filled up the heart by a small amount.

‘7 hearts... That wouldn’t mean an instant kill, right?’

It was impossible. I hadn’t heard of any ability that allowed for such an outcome, and if there was one, it would definitely have some crazy conditions to meet.

Her blade skimmed past my chest as her eyes beamed at me with joy. I stepped to the side, avoiding the spear that shot past me while I launched my hand forward. I caught it and snapped it in half instantly as Lucy's face contorted.

“...I won’t be able to get him back.”

She dropped the longsword in her hand while her body trembled. I didn’t miss this opening, immediately dashing into close range.

“Heartpiercer: Demon's Growth.”

Lucy slipped past my fist and wrapped her arms around my waist while whispering into my ear.

“No one can have you but me.”

An ice-cold chill ran down my spine as I quickly pushed her away. Beads of sweat formed on my brow while I doubled the distance between us.

Lucy's demeanour had changed again. Her jet-black hair levitated, and her amethyst eyes went two shades darker. She switched stances while I felt the air around her become even heavier.

‘I might have to use my ability at this rate.’

I shifted my gaze to Esmeralda, who stood far away in the distance with her hands clasped against her chest.

“...I hate it when you look at other people. You only need to look at me!”

Her eyes bulged, and I reflexively splayed my hand. A barrier of water burst forth, pushing Lucy back as she looked at me with insecure eyes. She ripped the newly formed barrier in half like a piece of paper.

“I’m the only woman you’ll ever need!!”

Her pupils dilated as the obsession in her eyes grew. I leaned back to avoid her sharp kick when my jaw suddenly spun.

‘Uh?’

I caught myself from falling and jumped back, avoiding her flying knee in the process.

‘Damn...’

The Ki Armour around my chest abruptly shattered as the air left my lungs.

‘...Extended range?’

I stopped dodging and started parrying her strikes. I leapt into the air as my foot smacked her face away.

“Tch...”

My body arched down the second I landed. I used the momentum like a spring, ascending high into the sky as the ground below grew smaller and smaller.

I splayed both of my hands, forming hundreds of small raindrops in the morning sky. A large sphere of water appeared above my head while the drops of rain elongated into sharp spears.

I recalled the story my mother recounted from her mother about Kunlun. My grandmother had been invited there numerous times over the years, and she was well known for her strength and beauty.

It was unfortunate that her talent had skipped a generation, leaving my mother with nothing but knowledge instead. She passed down all of that to me, and I committed it to memory.

The large water sphere quickly formed the head shape of a Loong. It shimmered under the morning sun, revealing the level of lifelike detail and intricacy that had been crafted into it.

“Torrential Fall.”

The hundreds of spears cut through the air, raining down on Lucy's current location. The Loong opened its mouth, swallowing me whole as the scales formed over its watery body. Its claws grasped the air, allowing it to swim through it.

Our descent was rapid.

Lucy had been caught by several of the water spears, puncturing various places on her body and pinning her to the fractured ground. She lifted her eyes up to the sky as she stared at the giant Loong swimming through the air in disbelief.

“Are you... An Elementalist??”

She broke free from her restraints and immediately kicked off the ground, trying to dash out of the area of impact, but the Loong turned its head and chased after her. I saw her lips move as the Loong opened its mouth while I fanned out my fingers from the inside.

“Not quite.”

A large beam of condensed Elemental Ki shot forward. It vaporized everything in its path, leaving behind a deep fissure that scorched the earth. It covered Lucy in a flash as I directed the beam towards the sky, causing it to explode violently. Raindrops fell to the ground while a small rainbow arched over the horizon.

I watched Lucy's body flop forward. She was bloodied and bruised from head to toe, unable to stand upright as her amethyst eyes locked onto me.

“...You're... Mine...”

I ignored her trembling outstretched hand when my eyes widened abruptly. I focused on the six hearts that lit up along the tattoo on her left arm.

“Heartpiercer: Hopeful Desire.”