The Martial Unity

Meera, on the other hand, did not exert any pressure. She truly was a confounding Martial Artist. The pressure that Martial Artists, or any entity for that matter, exerted, simply arrived from the threat of their existence being conveyed once they expressed it by taking a stance and focusing their minds.

Yet, one could not feel any overt threat when one looked at her. One would never have guessed that she was the champion of the Martial Contest at first glance. 

Yet despite that, Rui felt vaguely more discomforted at the sight of her than any of the other Martial Squires. Perhaps it was the fact that she could hide her strength so seemingly well that made him feel wary.

"Begin!"

STEP!

Squire Feoul launched herself at Meera with a shoot maneuver, her arms positioned for a takedown even before she reached her.

Yet, Meera did not move. 

Squire Feoul's eyes widened when the two of them locked eyes.

Despite being a moment away from being part of a takedown, she was relaxed.

She may very well have been relaxing atop a hill overlooking a valley, taking in the view. 

Her body was relaxed.

Her stance was unperturbed.

And yet, at that moment, Squire Feoul felt a boundless chasm of power lurking deep behind Meera's sparkling eyes. She gritted her teeth as she forcefully paused her maneuver, leaping back, putting some distance between them.

"Oh? Squire Feoul has pulled back! Could it be she saw something that we didn't?" The commentator wondered.

"It appears that I underestimated you," Squire Feoul spoke with a grave tone.

"Eh?" Meera tilted her head in confusion. "I didn't even do anything."

"I am not a fool," Squire Feoul coldly retorted, before adopting an even deeper crouch than before, reducing her size even further. 

Her expression intensified as the air drew towards her, growing taut.

Literally.

Rui's eyes widened as he felt something strange with Tempestuous Feel.

Something was off.

The air around her gravitated towards her... before disappearing into her?

'What?' Rui's eyes narrowed as he studied what was happening. 

Tempestuous Feel could feel not just the air around her, but even the air from the skies above drifting towards her, before eventually disappearing into her being!

'What is this?' Rui watched with shock.

It was as though her body was consuming the very atmosphere itself.

Tempestuous Feel was unable to tell him what was causing this. Neither was Seismic Mapping or Primordial Instinct able to inform him on what exactly was happening.

It was only when he peered into her body with Riemannian Echo, that he understood what was happening.

'She's breathing in the atmosphere through her skin.' Rui's jaw dropped as he beheld something he had never seen before. 'Skin breathing. But this is not supposed to be possible in mammals.'

It appeared that her body continuously grew heavier as she absorbed an immense amount of air within her body. The atmosphere seeped into her at a drastic pace, even the size of her body grew larger in response.

Rui's eyes narrowed.

Whatever she was doing, it was something big.

Even as she made preparations, her sharp eyes were fixed on Meera. She refused to lose sight of her even once. Her body began bloating in an unsightly monstrous manner, erasing her femininity.

It was a choice that Meera disapproved of.

"How disgusting," She murmured.

the air grew tumultuous.

The audience froze.

Something had changed.

The commentator was at a loss for words.

The remaining contestants narrowed their eyes.

An avalanche of pressure had erupted from Meera, crashing into all of them. It had a darkness to it that one would never expect looking at her. 

Yet only a fool could miss the bone-chilling malevolence that flavored her power.

"No one is going to steal your heart as long as you wield that technique, you know?" Meera murmured.

"You can have both your heart and your victory stolen." Squire Feoul snarled coldly. 

She was ready.

"Poor thing..." A smile that didn't reach her eyes formed on her face. 

Squire Feoul deepened her shooting maneuver, leaning almost flat on the ground.

"If no one is going to steal your heart, then..." Meera continued like nothing was happening.

Squire Feoul had no intention of letting her ramble on any further.

BOOM!!!

Rui's eyes widened in shock as she launched herself at a speed that was second only to Kane's Godspeed technique!

The tremendous velocity she leaped towards Meera at should have incinerated the very air around her. She should have torn apart the very atmosphere with the momentum of her shoot.

Yet nothing happened.

She seamlessly sped forward, employing her normal breathing to inhale air from the front before exhaling it backward with her skin breathing.

Air resistance did not exist in her vocabulary. 

Not only did the air not impede her, it propelled her forward.

In just a small fraction of a millisecond, she had already arrived.

And then, the world went black.

Her chest felt cold.

So cold.

Ordinarily, she would have charged into Meera, grabbing hold and never letting go.

Ordinarily.

Rui had witnessed many ordinary things in his life.

What he saw next concretely fell into the extraordinary category.

She completely flew past Meera crashing into the other side of the colosseum. 

No one understood.

Why hadn't she charged into Meera? Or grabbed a hold of her?

Why did she fly past her?

The answer presented itself.

BADUMP

...

BADUMP

...

"...If no one was going to steal your heart then..." Meera blushed as a bashful smile appeared on her face. "I hope you don't mind if I do."

The bloody heart she held in her hand continued beating even after Meera extracted it from within Squire Feoul's chest cavity.

Nobody moved.

Nobody wanted to.

Everybody stared at Meera with a mixture of horror and shock.

A medical team had already appeared on the colosseum, quickly administering a whole slew of healing potions to the collapsed Squire Feoul. They disappeared away from the colosseum along with Squire Feoul as quickly as they had appeared.