Edward's Martial State elevated his status as a Martial Artist by several bounds, allowing him to break past the limits he currently possessed.
As someone who was able to deal with two Legrises without resorting to this form, facing three of them in Martial State felt like nothing short of child's play.
They were, at best, ragdolls that were being flung at him without an iota of consequences attached to them.
The only major problem was… the black energy.
'I see. So this is what Kuzon meant.' Edward's thoughts trailed as he noticed the corrosive effects the darkness had on him.
Or rather, his Aether.
Edward's body was coated in incredibly dense Aether, and he kept supplying is defenses while getting rid of the corrupt one at a lightning fast rate—much faster than it was taking for Legris to destroy his Aether.
In essence, he had the advantage when it came to his defenses. However, that came at a steep cost.
'It's taking up too much Aether. I've already lost ten percent, and it has only been a minute or so…'
Legris' rate of absorption, and his rate of supply to compensate for his diminishing defenses had created a vicious cycle that made it possible for him to lose a battle of attrition.
'But…'
~CRUNCH!~
Edward crushed the necks—and by extension, the entire spine—of the two Legrises, killing them instantly.
With all three of his opponents dead, he took a slight breather and let go of their corpses, realizing that fifteen percent of his strength had already been diminished thanks to the scuffle.
'Is Kuzon having better luck…?' His spatial sensory abilities were currently unstable due to the interference of so much of Legris' black energy.
Its influence ate up so much Aether and spatial connections around that the entire expanse that they were fighting in felt like a mess.
Plus, Edward was avoiding leaking out his energy, instead focusing on heightening his physical senses so he wouldn't be surprised by any of Legris' sudden attacks.
He couldn't make the same mistakes as Kuzon, after all.
'He proposed this strategy, after all. I'm sure he's fine.' Edward thought to himself.
It was thanks to Kuzon's observations that they were able to fight Legris on such equal, if not superior, footing.
Utilizing Martial Arts was the key—the simpler, the better.
What mattered most was speed and power.
'Right now, we are in the first phase… seeing just how far we can push Legris…' Edward's eyes darted around him, his senses as sharp as ever.
He knew the battle was far from over.
Legris had taken such a bold move, invading the Constellation Realm. There was no way he would just give up due to interference from just him and Kuzon.
He was a very persistent bastard, a trait that made him a pain to deal with even now.
'I can't let my guard down for even a second.'
What made the matter more precarious was how limited they were in their options. Edward couldn't use Martial Zone, and his connection with Aries was so weak that he could hardly tap into his Constellation's Representation.
'I'm on my own, and so is Kuzon for the most part. But…' There was something else that troubled Edward.
It bothered him even more than the Constellation issue.
'What about the others? What's happening with everyone?'
Kuzon also had no idea, and Edward was feeling his concerns growing by the second.
Sure, they were expecting more backup to arrive the longer they dragged out this confrontation, but what was taking the rest to long?
'I came to Kuzon's aid because of what Aries told me. I can't imagine it's the same for everyone else…'
Thinking logically about this, not everyone had a Constellation to inform them of the current situation, so it stood to reason that some of their allies wouldn't be aware of the ensuing conflict.
'No… most of them won't kow!'
The only one who could possibly have a clue was Maria, and given the natire of the fight, someone like her would be more of a liability than an asset due to her overreliance on Magic rather than Martial Arts.
'Right now we have to fight like there's no backup coming.'
Once more, he realized Kuzon must have also thought about this since his plan involved settling things decisively.
'We just have to wait for Legris' next play.'
"Edward." A sudden voice caused him to snap out of his thoughts and instantly focus in the direction it came from.
Much to his relief, it was Kuzon.
"I've gotten rid of the Legrises on my end." He muttered, his eyes glowing golden as he looked around while floating in Edward's direction.
Kuzon's golden hand, which was a substitute for the one he lost when fighting Legris, and his similar-looking leg, warbled, as he drew closer.
Both allies stood side by side, their demeanors shifting from caution to mild relief.
Both of them had managed to defeat Legris, and it worked well for their plans… right?
~WHOOOOOOSSSHHHH!!!~
Edward's fist moved faster than light itself as it rushed to Kuzon's face. It seemed Kuzon had sensed something approaching him, so in reflex, he managed to raise both his hands to defend himself.
Unfortunately, that did very little to stop the overpowering blow that headed in his direction.
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!!!~
The impact that radiated from Edward's blow shattered a huge chunk of the dimensional layers that isolated the ruined world they currently occupied.
Everything trembled violently, and Edward's sudden blow instantly tore Kuzon's face apart.
"You're not Kuzon, poser." Edward smiled, his fist sizzling with dark energy as he shrugged it off casually.
The battered face of Kuzon erupted into puddles of darkness, and his body broke down that very instant.
"Haha… how did you know?" A voice echoed in the vast expanse.
It surrounded Edward, seemingly traping him in a cage of sound. However, the young Martial Artist was hardly deterred by this.
He knew all along that this was a trick.
After all… Kuzon's plans had also accounted for something like this.
'I would have fallen for that otherwise.'
*
*
*
[A/N]
Thank you all for reading!
Looks like this battle won't be as easy as we all thought. Well, I doubt anyone thought it would be easy, to begin with.
Still… let's see where this goes.
