At the same time as Yuuki was fighting...
Jose and Emilia were running as fast as they could to reach the the third point. Since another person had already secured two points for them and another one is currently holding it with golems, Jose ought to go secure the last one as that previous person was already forced into fighting most of the enemy forces.
A lot of their allies had engaged the remaining enemy team members and so, he really doesn't have any choice but to go. But regardless of the circumstances, he was already prepared on doing everything in order to win this trial.
"Someone is there…" Jose spoke softly.
"Really? Then we have to hasten!" She upped her speed which Jose was quickly able to catch up with, and just as quickly, leave her in the dust.
"This guy…!"
Jose is running frantically and soon reached the area just outside the point, before stopping in his tracks as he stared down the girl that's occupying it. Her hair is red in color and is quite short like a man's. She is also incredibly tall and her tall stature was covered by tribal clothing comprising of fur and hide from some monsters and beasts. But what's interesting about her appearance is that she possesses a pair of draconic wings.
"Oh? Are you here to take this point?" The girl asked him with a smug.
Without any changes to his neutral expression, he answered. "Yes, and I hoped it doesn't have to be this way."
"Ha! We don't have a choice but to win, don't we?"
"I suppose… Come, Emilia…" He opened his palm as a sudden flash of light quickly travelled from someplace behind him and towards his grasp. Emilia, in her sword form possesses a golden glowing blade with a circular hand guard of a similar color and a cyan hilt. Her appearance shouts elegance as Jose brandishes her a little to get a feel of her weight.
"What the… An Ego Weapon…?" The girl's eyes widened.
As soon as Jose had a firm grasp of Emilia, he quickly jolted forward and threw her towards the girl.
"Dammit…! Without an introduction!? Fine!" She braces herself to catch Emilia, but Jose suddenly appeared right in front of her.
"Wha—!"
Jose caught Emilia mid-air and immediately slashed towards the opponent. However, instead of spilling blood, it simply made a grinding sound.
"Armor…? No… It also feels like scales…!" Jose thought internally.
The girl then reached forward as her once muscular arms began to quickly morph into that of a dragon's. Jose quickly hopped back before the razor sharp claws manages to graze even his clothing.
Jose then activated the vertical lines on both of eyes and threw Emilia forward.
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"Tsk! Again?" The girl smirked. This time, she's braced to properly react to Jose's teleportation. But before she was able to, Emilia morphed back into her human form with a flash of light.
"Wha—?! You're not in a Union?!"
She quickly raised her hands as she was hit by a powerful dropkick but despite successfully guarding it, she was still knocked away by its sheer force.
"Keuk—!" She gritted her teeth as Emilia followed up with a mid-air axe kick after dashing forward.
Whoosh—!
…
Ego Weapons are born into all sorts of strange scenarios, but after they had formed a contract with an individual, they would assume a humanoid form if they're not already in one. However, depending on whatever their circumstances are before this contract, they would keep all of their previous stats and abilities of their previous form if they have one that differs from a humanoids'. In Emilia's case, she was a Grey Wolf who had to constantly fight for survival in a Black Zone. Because of this, she had already grown in stats by a large margin and is way above Jose and even most new climbers in terms of sheer stats and level.
Unlike other Humanoids who need to get Climbing Blessings to remove their naturally low limit of growth to have a fighting chance against other creatures, Ego Weapons have no need for such as they could grow at the same rate and as much as most Monsters and Beasts but in consequence, they couldn't be blessed. This is why scholars in the Tower are unsure where they lies in the Tree of Life.
This is because they possess the characteristics of spirits due to their unchanging souls that posseses similar but not the same personalities each time and being able to carry their inherent abilities throughout their reincarnations, having the unrestricted potential of Animals, and having the appearance of Humanoids.
However, because Emilia's abilities as a Gray Wolf were not magical but rather produced by a special organ, she wasn't able to keep the ability to use sound-based attacks as she's altered in form.
…
"Jose!" Emilia shouted as her previous kick kept the opponent from moving due to how heavy it was. It even managed to drive the girl's feet a few inches down as the ground cracked around her.
The former dashed forward in a hurry, his every steps were heavy but quick. He immediately kicked forward as soon as he arrived, and the opponent tried taking both of their attacks at the same time.
"Damn!" The girl grinded her teeth in determination as she receive some hits around her body but she merely spoke casually. "So your name's Jose, huh? I'm Firan!"
Jose continued his assault without even showing a hint of his expression changing. His stable and unfazed eyes which seemingly look right at the opponent's soul, his calm and free-flowing movement continuously landed hit after hit that's accompanied by shockingly powerful force.
"Seriously!?" Firan roared as while Jose and Emilia was about to land their punches, she blew out softly with bits of flames coming out of her mouth.
Boom—!
The sudden explosion caught Jose and Emilia off guard, blowing them away and sending Emilia tumbling and rolling among the grasses while Jose was able to catch his fall and stay on his feet after landing.
"What… I saw those small things all around us… was that the cause of the explosion? Emilia can't see it because of how tiny they are, but thanks to these lines…" Jose's eyes widened. "Are those…"
As Firan also recovered her stance, she casually spoke with a smile. "Oh? You can see my scales? That's a first… All right. My scales are explosive. They are non-magical like my fire but they have this special trait of exploding when exposed to heat and I can control them with my mind once I shed them. I'm a half-dragon, half-giant demi-human… My scales are like armor and I can breath fire...!"
As Firan was busy yapping, Emilia had already recovered while Jose's mind was racing. "She's… revealing her powers…!" He whispered to himself with a hint of nervousness.
However, what he couldn't say out loud, Emilia was able to casually complain about. "Damn you! Using Exposure immediately?!"
Firan scratched her head as she laughed cheekily. "Have I? My bad! Haha…"
"Whatever! Let's just get this over with!"
"Heh… Sure!"
The three once again engaged in battle as Jose called upon Emilia once more in her sword form.