Despite going to sleep upset at his father, Jacob woke up with a positive attitude. Afterall, today was the day he and Maria were going to show off all the hard work they had been doing the past week. He was more excited than anything. Not only that, but it also seemed like his father stopped controlling his blood. Perhaps he saw the state Jacob was in yesterday and decided to give him a break until he recovered.
However, Jacob felt more powerful than he has ever felt before. His blood roared with power. He was confident he could run for thousands of miles and not break a sweat. His legs also grew an entire size overnight. His normal training pants were starting to rip around his thigh when he put them on.
'I'll have to ask Eden if she can get me a new pair later.'
Jacob improvised and decided to cut the fabric himself, creating makeshift shorts to wear. He quickly gathered his things and bolted through his bedroom doors towards the training grounds.
When he arrived, Maria was already there, waiting for him in the center of the sparing ring. Her face was completely calm; she wore her usual servant attire. Now that he could see in her in better detail up close, her arms looked like they grew another size. Jacob had no doubt her legs were stronger as well. Something felt completely different from when they last met, like the very air around her was changed.
"Long time no see, Maria. I can tell you've been working hard."
"I couldn't let you become stronger by yourself. I need to be there to help you too and I don't want to hold you back. Are those new pants?"
"I don't think you've ever held me back. I mean... you've definitely almost broken my ribs a few times, but besides that you are fine in my book! And no. My legs outgrew my other pair, so I had to improvise."
Maria let out a small laugh and walked over to the table of weapons to grab a long wooden stick. Jacob grabbed one too and followed her back.
"I'm not going to hold back, Jacob. I want to show you first-hand how much I've improved."
"I would hope you wouldn't hold back. If you do, you may end up back in the hospital."
"Oh? You're that confident you will win?"
Jacob chuckled.
"On the contrary. I'm actually terrified right now. I hope I live up to your expectations."
"As do I. Let's stop talking and start swinging. I'm ready whenever you are."
"I'm ready. Prepare yourself."
With that, Jacob and Maria through themselves at each other and swung their wooden sticks down. A massive bang sounded through the entire room; dust flew around them and both their sticks they were holding snapped in half.
The two looked at the sticks in their hands with no emotion. They threw the shards away and continued the fight hand to hand. Jacob was at a disadvantage when it came to combat using his body, but that didn't mean he couldn't put up an amazing fight.
Maria's speed was incalculable. She was whizzing around Jacob trying to throw a punch in any opening he let happen. However, Jacob was keeping up with the pace. Every punch he blocked, he threw a counter punch aiming at her stomach trying to slow her down.
'Damn she's fast. Is she enhancing her legs?'
Just then, Maria did a back flip, bringing her leg down to slam against the top of Jacob's skull. He had hardly any time to react and put his hands up to block the attack. When they collided, Jacob felt an immense pressure pushing him towards the ground. His bones started creaking, his arms went numb and his legs started to shake.
There was no doubt in his mind that if he didn't strengthen his legs, he would be flat on the floor right now. Maria didn't expect Jacob to still be standing after that attack and quickly jumped off the ground with her other leg, sending it flying towards his face.
Jacob anticipated this. He swerved around the kick, wrapped his arms around her leg and threw her body to the ground. The floor quaked underneath the force. Despite being so disoriented, Maria managed to get her legs around Jacob's neck and throw him over herself. Jacob hit the ground just as hard.
'That damn curse. It's so unfair.'
Both of them got off the ground and looked at each other panting.
"You've gotten a lot stronger."
"And you're controlling your strength a lot better."
"I haven't even showed you how good it is yet."
'What is she-'
Before Jacob could finish the thought, Maria seemingly teleported in front of him. The area that she pushed off of left a small crater in the ground. A fist was soaring towards Jacob's face before he could even blink.
Jacob knew there was no way he would get up from a direct hit from Maria. In a desperate gamble, he threw his elbow up to block the attack.
Maria's fist collided with it. A loud crack echoed in the training room. Jacob's elbow was completely broken. The pain immediately set in, causing Jacob to clench his teeth. To his surprise, Maria didn't follow up on her attack. That was because her fist was now mangled after trying to punch through Jacob's bones. They were still even.
Without saying anything they continued. Jacob had to mostly rely on kicks, but his strengthened legs allowed him to unleash devastating force on Maria's defenses. Both of their arms were bruised from blocking each other's attacks.
Jacob sent a kick flying at her side. Maria caught it and sent an elbow in his stomach. Before he could react, three more punches connected on his face followed by a kick to his side. He was getting overwhelmed. Maria was unleashing a devastating assault on him and all he could do was take each hit.
She seemed to be moving her strength into her fist and legs with every hit, making it feel like she was punching holes into his body. Maria's face was full of no emotion; she was so focused it looked like her eyes could only see her victory.
Falling to the ground, Jacob tried to catch his breath, but Maria didn't let him. She was already on top of him attempting the throw more punches and elbows into his face and body. Jacob spat blood into her face which caused her a moment of hesitation. He took the opportunity and twisted her off using his legs.
Jacob swiftly got up and sent a kick flying into her cheek. He followed it up with another kick aimed at her knee. It was Jacob's turn to go on the attack. Every kick that connected was met with devastating force, but something felt off. It looked as if Maria was hardly affected by the hits at all. Even when Jacob got a clean hit, it felt like he was trying to kick a tree down.
'No way. Has her control really improved by this much?'
Maria seemed to realize this, and to Jacobs utter horror, she stood completely still glaring at him as if daring him to throw his hardest attack. This was his only chance. Jacob wounded up the most powerful kick he could muster and sent it flying directly at Maria's head.
The kick connected, sending a shockwave around the entire room. However, Maria's figure didn't budge a single inch. His leg was still pressed against her face where it had landed. With a small smirk, Maria grabbed hold of Jacob's leg and threw him on the ground, causing it to crack under the force.
His body was far too broken to continue. Jacob had been defeated.