Jacob was struggling to remain conscious. His vision was heavily obscured by the metal visor. Through the small slits, he could see Maria turning to face the man he failed to defeat. Using some of his remaining strength, he gave Maria a final warning.
"His power... he has a blessing."
Maria remained emotionless and simply nodded.
Without wasting any time, she planted her right foot into the ground, moved her power to her leg, and kicked off toward her opponent. The ground beneath her crumbled under the force. As she flew toward the man, she threw a right hook, aiming to crack the man's skull open. As her arm flew through the air, she could feel it slowly growing weaker.
Taking advantage of this, she decided to gamble on her opponent's mastery of his power. She used the momentum of her punch to twist her body and throw the back of her heel against his jaw, all while moving her power to her leg to maximize the damage. The leg connected with a deafening crack, sending the man flying backwards to the ground.
Being only able to power one part of her body with strength allowed her to bring vicious attacks on anyone she chooses. However, his power opposed her twice-fold. Therefore, that left her with two options: grow in mastery by a whole level before he can overpower her or accurately predict which parts of her body he will weaken and take advantage of it.
She chose the option that she deemed most plausible at the moment.
Maria didn't let up on her assault. The instant the man hit the floor, she was already above him ready to devastate his ribs with her elbow. Veal was able to move in the last moment while Maria came down and easily cracked through the polished floor with her arm. He looked at the woman dumbfounded.
"What the hell?! You crazy bitch! That hurt!"
In the next moment, the man closed the distance by sending a kick aimed at her chest. Maria caught the leg with ease and brought her arm down ready to break it. The man predicted this, but instead of weakening her arms, he weakened both her legs.
Immediately, Maria lost her balance and missed her mark. A punch was now making its way toward her head in retaliation. She should have been able to see the attack, but the man weakened her eyes so they couldn't register it in time. She took the full brunt of the hit, but instead of reeling back, she bit through the pain and pulled the man closer using his leg that was still caught in her iron grip.
Veal immediately weakened her open arm and leg in advance to prepare for a counterattack. But to his surprise, Maria instead got in close, reared her head back, and headbutt him right on the nose. Blood splattered like a geyser out of his nostrils and his head was flown back from the impact.
Maria fought with the grace of a dancer. She meticulously dodged each of her opponent's attacks while throwing devastating counterattacks when she got the chance. Each time the man slipped up or made a mistake, Maria punished him severely for it.
Both fighters were covered from head to toe with blood. The floor around them was no longer the pristine condition it was before. It was layered with a multitude of cracks, shards of stone were scattered about, and it was now colored a light shade of scarlet.
Maria was rapidly losing energy. Being unable to control her strength meant that she had been going full throttle since the start of the fight whereas her opponent seemed much less fatigued. She had to finish this soon. Both opponents stared at each other panting heavily.
"You don't have to protect him you know. He's using you. You're nothing but his slave."
Maria stared at him. No emotion appeared on her face. Her green eyes resembled that of a snake ready to strike down its prey. The man chuckled.
"Damn, you are one creepy person. I think I'll enjoy separating your head from your torso."
Without a moment to waste, the man and Maria clashed once more. Veal was able to catch Maria and throw her to the ground, but as he got closer to use this advantage, she grabbed shards of rock from the battered floor and threw them at his face to buy herself some time.
To her surprise, one of the shards lodged itself in the man's left eye. This was her only chance. Using all her might, she dashed forward attempting to push the shard deeper into the man's skull with a punch. However, Veal was ready for this. As she sent her arm flying towards his face, he ducked under her punch and tackled her to the ground. A thunderous boom sounded from the impact of his massive body hitting the small woman.
Marias ribs were shattered. She could feel pieces of them pushing into her lungs with each breath. Before she could let out a scream, Veal grappled himself to her back, gained hold of her neck and rose her into the air. Now unable to breathe, Maria clawed and punched with all her might, but it was no use. Unable to use her arms, she steeled herself with one final, desperate gamble.
She lined up her head in front of Veals, sent her power to her leg, then kicked her own head into his. This surprise attack caused both of them to fall back closer to Jacob, who was now trying to raise himself up to check on his servant.
Despite such a disorienting attack, the same if not more damage was done to Maria than was done to Veal. In the end, she couldn't overpower such a strong opponent.
The man tightened his iron grip and faced Jacob while Maria was going limp in his arms. Jacob desperately tried to move but his body was beyond beat. He had multiple broken bones, a few broken ribs and a bloodied, swollen face.
He was no match for the man in front of him. And because of that, he was going to get someone killed, while all he could do was helplessly watch.
"Let her go. It's me you want, right? What good is she to you anyway? She's nothing but a slave, a house servant."
"Then why are you so eager to save her?"
"Because she's still a citizen of Iron Kingdom. If I can't protect one, I'll never be able to protect them all. Even as disgusting as they all equally are, what is a prince without his people?"
Veal chuckled and spat up a bit of blood.
"Oh... then try not to hold it against me when I do this in front of-"
Before he could finish his sentence, a crimson red spear shot from a pool of blood and penetrated him through the back of his head and out of his mouth. Immediately, his body went limp.
Maria was dropped to the floor coughing up blood and gasping for air. Before long, she went still. Jacob dragged himself over to her. Every movement he made was pure agony. When he reached his servant, he took off his helmet and listened for a heartbeat.
"Man... You really are the worst meat shield to ever exist. Remind to me to fire you if we survive."
Jacob joined Maria laying on the floor, struggling to remain conscious. Both of them shared shallow breathes while staring into each other's emerald eyes. A strange thought creeped into Jacob's mind.
'Has she always looked so...'
Before he passed out, Jacob could see the silhouette of his father slowly walking over to them behind Maria's mangled body.