Kazuo vs. Kaya – Part III: Breaking Point

Kazuo surged forward, water curling off his fingers in thin, whiplike arcs.

"Water Magic: Riptide Cutter!"

The beam ripped across the floor, hissing through stone, forcing Kaya to twist aside. It grazed her arm, slicing past the gauntlet's rim — shallow, but enough to draw a streak of red. Her jaw clenched.

She slammed her palms to the floor. "Stone Magic: Pillar Break!"

Jagged columns punched upward, runes flaring white — but Kazuo was already there. His arms shot straight, clapping together with a sharp crack. A slicing stream of compressed water shrieked out, splitting the first pillar before it reached full height. Stone chunks tumbled, spray glittering in the air.

She raised a gauntlet to guard — and hissed as the waterbeam burned across her forearm. It didn't cut deep, but it drove her back a step.

Kazuo pressed in, each shallow strike chewing at her guard, nicking skin when her angles slipped. She blocked with both gauntlets, but the water slipped between them, too fast, too sharp.

His boot heel scraped stone as he closed the last step. The sword lay just ahead — its hilt glinting in the sun. One quick lunge, and the familiar weight slid into his palm.

Kazuo surged forward, blade raised for the strike.

Kaya’s back foot hit the arena’s edge. Sunlight flashed off the killing spikes below. Her stance faltered — then she straightened, planting both feet, gauntlets rising into a sealed, airtight guard.

Her voice rang out.

“Esoteric Art…”

Kazuo froze mid-step. His grip tightened, breath catching. What? Esoteric Art? She’s awakened hers? Now?

Setsuna’s words from training slammed into his head — the trump card, body and soul as one, a move that could take a life in exchange for victory.

He slid back, blade raised in both hands, bracing for her move.

The arena held its breath.

But nothing happened.

Her eyes flicked up, a faint curl at her mouth.

A fake-out. To gather some time and distance.

Crap… she pulled something like this earlier. He'd fallen for it again.

Kaya straightened, arms loosening just slightly. "Don't underestimate me."

She slammed both hands onto the floor. "Terrain Enforcement: Dominion Field!"

The rune circle beneath them flared, glow shifting from pale white to deep earthen gold. The arena floor groaned — stone reconfiguring in jagged bursts. Spikes jutted like teeth, ridges curved into ramps, the flat ground reshaped into a brutal maze.

Kazuo's eyes darted across it. Terrain enforcement… like Setsuna's Chilling Reign — but rougher. And now… I'm on her field.

Kaya moved, and the difference was instant. Her bare feet skimmed polished ridges as if she weighed nothing, skating from spike to ramp with perfect traction and control.

From the captains gallery, Jin nodded. "Clever girl. She's forcing him into a no-win zone."

Setsuna's eyes stayed sharp.

A sudden voice cut through the Squad Stands. "Don't you dare lose!"

Lyria stood there next to Tetsu, Sora, and Aoi.

Sora blinked. "Uh… where did she come from? She wasn't there a moment ago."

Kaya's field moved with her — spikes bursting from the floor, ramps slanting, walls curling to shield her approach. Her gauntlet smashed against his guard, driving him back.

Too close, too fast. I can’t hit her with Riptide Cutter like this… I need both hands free.

His gaze dropped for half a heartbeat. Is this why she fights barefoot? Every step’s in perfect contact — she can feel the terrain shift before it moves.

His eyes shifted to the sword in his grip, the steel catching the light.

An idea flickered — reckless, costly. He adjusted his hold, water coiling up the blade in a spiraling sheath. Pressure mounted until the steel itself sang with a low, dangerous hiss.

He stepped in and swung.

The nearest spike split clean in two, the top sliding off in eerie silence before crashing to the floor.

Kaya’s eyes widened. “You couldn’t cut my stone before — let alone my gauntlets. How…?”

Her shock lasted only a heartbeat. She swept her hands outward, and the arena floor answered — jagged pillars burst up in sequence, a wall of stone surging to crush him back.

Kazuo’s stance tightened, water coiling up his blade in a spiraling sheath. It works… but it drains me fast. If I push too long, I’ll faint.

He slashed forward. The blade carved clean through the first pillar, then the next, each cut tearing open a narrow path. Shards scraped across his arms and cheek, leaving fresh lines of blood, but he pushed through, step by step.

By the time he broke clear, Kaya was already there, gauntlets raised to meet him.

Steel met stone in a thunderous clash, the impact jarring up their arms. Dust burst into the air, clinging to sweat-slick skin as blade and gauntlets locked, each refusing to yield.

Steel and stone collided in a storm of sparks. Kaya twisted, her gauntlet deflecting his slash, and drove her fist straight across his face. Blood burst at his lip as his head snapped sideways.

Kazuo didn’t fall. He shoved forward, driving his knee up hard into her chin. The crack echoed, forcing her head back.

She answered with a sharp elbow into his ribs, and he slashed low, cutting across her thigh guard. Neither gave ground until the force of their collision finally hurled them apart.

One last clash had left them staggered, each at opposite ends of the arena.

Kaya’s body ached, but her eyes stayed locked. I need to win — failure isn’t an option.

Kazuo’s ribs screamed from earlier hits. I have to survive… for Gramps.

Kaya moved first — a bounding leap that split the floor beneath her, sending a wave of spikes racing toward him.

Kazuo didn't wait. "Water Magic: Torrent!"

Kaya reacted instantly, stone snapping into a ramp beneath her feet. She shot upward, bare toes gripping polished rock, propelled like a missile straight toward him.

Midair, Kazuo shifted first. He hurled his sword — a gleaming arc of steel screaming toward her.

Caught off guard, Kaya snarled and swung her gauntlet, deflecting the blade wide. The clash rang through the air — but the moment she opened her guard, he was already there.

“Argh!” she cried as his elbow slammed into her torso, driving the breath from her lungs.

Kazuo’s body twisted with brutal precision, Torrent surging again beneath his feet to accelerate the fall. The two of them plummeted, his strike carrying her down like a hammer toward the arena floor.

The impact shook the arena, stone cracking in spiderweb patterns. Dust burst upward.

When it cleared, Kaya lay flat on her back, arms flung wide from the impact. Her gauntlets scraped against fractured stone, but she couldn’t rise — her chest heaved, body refusing to move. Kazuo stood over her, feet braced in the shattered floor, his sword lying somewhere forgotten beyond the dust. His stance was steady, eyes locked on her as the silence of the arena stretched. Both gasped for air, blood trickling from split lips. Kaya's eyes burned with refusal; Kazuo's with grim resolve.

The announcer's voice rang out over the crowd. "Kaya is unable to continue! Victory — Kazuo!"

The arena erupted in noise, a mix of roars, cheers, and stunned silence.