Her Quetzalcoatl technique carried the very same devastating dividing cut that opposed the effects of the Divine Departure.
Both sides held their ground as if equally matched as the two forces battled for supremacy.
A wide grin appeared on the face of Alyssia as she maintained her stance, pushing against the sabre. "So this is what you are capable of. How fun."
She could tell that he was already at a level where few could challenge him when it came to his mastery over Conqueror's Haki.
If she had not gone up against Garp some time ago, then perhaps she would not have been able to hold off that kind of attack without taking on a potentially fatal wound.
Even if she was at the peak of her physical endurance and everything else, she could still not afford to overlook people like Shanks, who could still wound her should they have stronger Haki than her and a much greater mastery over it than she.
That was why she had always been trying to improve herself so much and chose her opponents more carefully.
Garp would only use his fists in a battle, while he would not aim to kill.
Perhaps there would be some broken bones, bruises and other stuff, but such things were not nearly as scary as being stabbed through her body or having a limb cut off.
Those who wielded weapons were different since any wounds created by them could cause numerous complications.
The clash between them created a distance between them as the two forced collided without the need for them to make contact with each other to do any harm to the other.
They remained separated a little as the two forces between them pushed against each other, creating a powerful effect that spread out and split the skies above.
The clouds above parted ways as a result of that, as if the hearvens themselves had been divided.
They parted ways and took a small distance between them before engaging once again.
The stance of Alyssia changed just as her style of movement became a little more unpredictable.
She swayed around erratically as if following no specific set pattern.
She stood on one foot for two feet while switching to have herself supported by her two feet on the ground, along with her tail.
Her weight would shift as she bent her body and swayed from side to side.
Her body would occasionally spin vertically, horizontally or diagonally as she would spin, flip and handstand into new positions.
Each movement was followed by a whip-like movement of her leg or tail, striking out toward each attack that was coming at her.
Her body built up more momentum with each movement she made, while each of her movements kept becoming more difficult to detect the flow of her every move or the exact direction that she would attack.
In some ways, it was similar to the style that Blue Gilly used in that it gave off the illusion that her swaying movements created illusions of her legs and other parts, creating afterimages or something similar.
Her own movements were so quick that it was difficult to keep track of where an attack would come from, and the afterimages helped to distract anyone too busy paying attention to that aspect and trying to figure out her next attack.
Just when it seemed like she shifted her stance to one specific stance suited for attacking, she would change very quickly to another, resulting in her leg whipping out at another angle.
Not only was she adjusting to fighting Shanks, who kept putting pressure on her, but he was being forced to adjust to her.
Each clash continued to create the same effects as they would come together and part ways again.
Each clash made them stand still long enough to become more visible once more, as they could be seen in various poses that they had maintained before leaving behind an afterimage.
Shanks did have an advantage when it came to his mastery over Conqueror's Haki and using such a famed sword, but that difference started to gradually disappear the more they clashed.
It had reached a situation where two sides clashed of equal or almost equal power in an unending struggle.
Both sides would keep struggling against each other until they both reached the point where they would run out of Haki and physical strength.
As they were clashing, a shadowed figure could be seen sitting on one of the large branches of the giant trees nearby.
He looked a little under eighty years old, and he had wild grey hair tied in a bushy ponytail and a wrinkled face.
He had a long beard that was braided at the chin, a flame-shaped scar over his right eye and a pair of round black sunglasses.
His outfit consisted of a flower-patterned Hawaiian shirt, shorts and dark boots, which were complemented by a kasa and a striped coat. "Wow... Shanks is really struggling. The world has certainly become a lot more exciting."
If anyone was familiar with him, then they would know him by reputation.
He was once an infamous person on the seas, and his name was still feared and widely known to those who had known about his and his crewmembers' exploits.
He was known as Scopper Gaban, the left hand of the Pirate King, whose fame was said to rival that of his crewmates Gol D. Roger and Silvers Rayleigh.
He had been watching from afar from a good vantage point some time ago, upon hearing about the duel that was taking place.
Scopper Gaban was curious to see what the outcome would be, while he intended to step in should things get too out of hand.
He had been living on Elbaph for quite some time, while Shanks was a regular visitor there who maintained a good relationship with him.
Gaban and Shanks had long shared a connection between them as they were once crew members on the same ship as Gol D. Roger.
Shanks was brought up from a very young age on the ship, so that kind of connection would not disappear.
Alyssia had been trying to pin down the location of Shanks for quite some time, making use of sightings of him in various places, until she was able to notice how he was seen in locations around Elbaf at times.
She tried to keep track of such movements as much as possible, allowing her to find the right timing to meet him.
What she never expected was that such a famous figure would be there to witness her fight against Shanks and would be playing the role of an observer and referee for it.
Her whole attention was on the man in front of her, as a single mistake could result in her defeat.
She continued to push her Haki to their limits as she kept making use of all three types all at once to keep up with him enough to avoid letting him get a hit on her.
It seemed to be the very same for Shanks, who was able to avoid being harmed while matching each of her attacks with his own.
She had seen ahead of time different potential outcomes, allowing her to adapt and change her tactics to avoid harm and to fight back each time.
She was sure the same could be happening for Shanks as the two of them continued to clash.
Each path ahead of them resulted in a straightforward clash without any other paths ahead of them that ensured a better result.
Alyssia had been able to test out what she had learned so far as she applied it and tested the limitations of her physical body.
She gradually started to add more techniques that created other effects as she was trying out her base form and layering on what could be placed on top of them.
Even without using Electro or any other effects like her Inferna technique, she was still able to catch up to Shanks in terms of combat power and mastery over each area.