ROAR!
Mia launched a barrage of sound bullets in one go.
WHOOSH!
Ana barely managed to prance between them midair as she swirled, kicking the air and launching a powerful wind blast.
BANG!
ROAR!
It slammed into the ground as Mia summersaulted out of the way, launching even more sound bullets at Ana even mid-flip upside down.
The two danced in a strange harmony, enrapturing every onlooker into their elegant and profound duet.
Not a single person could avert their eyes.
How could they?
Rui was extremely absorbed into their strange fight. Watching their every movement with wide eyes, it had been truly a long time since he had been this shook by a fight.
His powerful mind furiously processed the data his senses and techniques were supplying as he created mental profiles of each of the two women.
Mia Marnt was a threat. There were three elements that contributed most to her formiable combat prowess; her incredibly long range, invisible attacks and the fact that they moved at the speed of sound. This meant she could badger her opponents with attacks that could not be avoided after they were launched from a range.
Furthermore, this wasn't the only problem with her offense. Her sound didn't just do physical damage, it also affected the brain. Since it struck the eardrums incredibly hard, causing pain and disorientation. Furthermore, at close ranges Rui had no doubt whatsoever that she could burst her opponents' ear drums.
Her only limitations and drawbacks were the fact that it was easier to predict the timing and direction of her attacks than conventional offenses, her options were limited and the linear trajectory of the attacks and the preparatory motions needed to launch her sound bullets made it easier to predict their timing.
Of course, very few people would be able to actually practically apply this to mitigate the enormous advantages she held against an overwhelming majority of Martial Artists.
Thankfully, Rui was one of them. The VOID algorithm was perfect for using these drawbacks and limitations to predict and fight in a manner most apt.
Ana Mariane was also remarkably formidable, but not without her limitations either.
Her greatest strengths and advantages were her range, as well as the fact that she could stay out of range of an overwhelming majority of offensive techniques thanks to her flight. Her maneuvering was not limited to the terrain or two dimensions, giving her a boost in her evasiveness, it was why she was doing a remarkable job at avoiding Mia's attacks.
However, her attack suffered. Air was not an efficient medium to try an accelerate. Mia overcome this by focusing and narrowing the direction of sound with her mouth so that the energy remained clamped and was conserved to a much higher degree. However, Ana was not using sound, she was using wind. She created a powerful wind blast via launching high-density air created by her breathing technique and physical movements.
However, by the time the attack reached Mia, a large amount of the momentum of the travelling wind had already been bled off by the atmosphere. Thus, her offensive power was unremarkable.
They were both extremely strong and would easily be top-five in the Hajin Academy, but they were thankfully not without flaws.
Just as he mused about them, there was a change in the battle.
POW!
Ana stumbled mid-air, plummeting a bit as a sound bullet hit her, causing pain and disorientation to her and disrupting her Sky Walking partially.
Mia Marnt eyes narrowed as she pushed her offense to full throttle to unleash a barrage of sound bullets at Ana. She was not going to let this opportunity go!
Ana was already pushing herself to the limit dodging each sound bullet impeccably, but in her state, it was impossible. One thing had led to another as several more sound bullets struck her.
This caused even more pain and disorientation and led to a chain reaction that swiftly tilted the battle in Mia's favour.
POW POW POW!
THUD
Ana grimaced as she plummeted to the ground. Her face morphed into fear as Mia rushed in, closing the distance between them.
BANG!
A singular potent sound bullet struck Ana's jaw.
The blunt force trauma to her brain atop the disorientation she had already been inflicted with was too much.
THUD
She collapsed flat on the ground, unmoving.
"Winner; Representative Mia Marnt!" The referee declared.
The crowd erupted in excited cheers as the spectacular fight ended.
"Aaaand we have a winner folks! Representative Mia will be moving onto round two after her solid victory against representative Ana!"
Rui exhaled, a little tired from his own excitement. He shook his head.
In reality, Ana could have won against Mia, perhaps even dominantly, had she fought more aptly.
Her breathing technique could create high-density air regions. She could have used this to create currents that would alter the direction of the sound bullets by shifting the medium by which the sound was travelling by for a rather low effort.
But it was unreasonable to expect her to apply a principle he studied in fluid mechanics in his bachelor's degree. However, this realization alone showed him the value of his scientific background in this world. It showed him that there was likely massive untapped potential in Martial Art that nobody had yet uncovered. Nobody was qualified to uncover.
This world did not have the scientific foundation needed to uncover and tap into this potential.
In all of heaven and Gaia, he alone was qualified!
How strong would he be if he realized this potential and employed its power in his Martial Art? Just how powerful would he be with the power of science and fantasy on his side?
Just the very thought of it made him extraordinarily excited. Once the Martial Contest ended one way or another, he had a lot of considerations to explore and think about.
There was simply too much he had too accomplish, too much he wanted to accomplish.
Yet this did not discourage him.
No.
It did the exact opposite.
