'Let's get this over with.'
Taking a step forward, Theodore readied to dash forward with all his strength. Suddenly, Isha vanished from his view and instantly reappeared barely a foot away. Reflexively, he threw a punch, but unlike his expectation, his hand passed through his body.
'Fast!'
In the next moment, he felt something collide with his torso and send him skidding across the floor. Wincing, he looked up only to see that there was no one standing there. Looking back, where Amisha was, he saw her standing impatiently with her hands on her hips.
'What the hell?'
Rushing to his feet and dashing forward, he readied to throw another punch when yet again she vanished from his sight and received another strike to his torso, this time the right side, and sent him skidding across the floor.
Amisha stood there, a picture of confidence, her arms still crossed over her chest.
"Come on, cousin! Is that all you've got?"
Theo grunted as he pushed himself up again. Turning to Amisha and glaring daggers at her.
"How are you doing that?"
"What would be the fun in telling you that?"
"Well then, I guess I'll have to beat it out of you!"
Refusing to learn, Theodore charged in again, and again, and again, but every time, the same thing would happen. He would get put down, thrashed about, and humiliated. Soon, his rage would exceed its limits. But soon, something strange began happening. Theodore realized that no matter how many times he was hit, or how many times he hit the ground and rolled around, nothing happened.
'Hold on...'
He turned to Amisha, who was once again standing absolutely nonchalantly on the other side of the ring. And yet again, she vanished and appeared right in front of him, but this time, he didn't move and kept his eyes locked on her. Just like before she vanished, he was thrown across the ring.
'How is she doing this? A trait? Maybe, but what kind?'
Theodore got up and repeated this, over and over and over again. Making sure to keep his gaze focused on nothing but her.
'Wait!'
Over, and over, and over, and over again he flew from one end of the ring to the other, but still, nothing happened.
'Wait!'
Once more, Amisha charged towards him, and he stood absolutely still until again she vanished.
'NOW!'
This time, Theodore didn't just stand still; his gaze snapped back to where she originally stood nonchalantly and dashed towards it. With all the strength he could muster, he threw a simple left hook, and this time, if only barely, his fist glanced something.
The moment it did, his eyes lit up like a torch.
Theodore swivelled and lunged forward, reaching out and grabbing something. In that moment, a grin spread across his face.
"Finally got you, you slippery rat!"
As if a veil was removed from his eyes, what it was he had grabbed came into view. In his grasp was the arm of Amisha, who stood with an irritated expression. Pulling back and throwing a punch his way, she sent him flying back and skidding across the ground.
This time, though, when he got up, he felt that now familiar sense of heat welling up within him. In that moment, his grin grew even more.
"How did you..."
"How did I know it was an illusion? Come on, only an idiot wouldn't figure it out!"
Amisha's eyes flared violet for a moment.
"Liar!"
"Don't believe me? Well, you might be right, I am a liar. Even attentive people with the highest eye for detail would have missed the clue, those eyes of yours. They really are pretty, but they are a dead giveaway! Every time you cast that illusion, they would change from their normal color to that beautiful violet hue, if only for a moment."
"That still doesn't make sense. how did you know it was an Illusion?"
"Well, wouldn't you like to know?"
Amisha's brow furrowed, and her eyes flashed violet. and In her hand, a stream of light appeared, and from it, a jet black whip came into being.
"Nice trick!"
Focusing on the image of the only weapon in his possession. He imagined the texture of the brown wooden hilt with the ornament attached to it. He imagined the lustless shimmer of the rusted blade, which nearly matched him in height, and in the next moment, it materialized.
"I can do it too."
Theo's grip, grounding him as he faced Amisha, who now wielded the jet-black whip with a menacing grace. The crowd's excitement surged, their cheers echoing in the arena as they sensed the shift in momentum.
"What is that rusty piece of crap? A relic? What sort of relic looks like... that?" Amisha sneered, flicking her wrist to send the whip crackling through the air. "You think a rusty old sword can match this?"
"Why don't you come and find out!"
Theo tightened his grip on the hilt, feeling the energy coursing through him.
"It's not the weapon that matters; it's the person wielding it."
"That's big talk for someone who has no idea how to wield the weapon in question."
Theo raised a brow.
"Oh, how did you...."
Before he could finish, the whip flew through the air and latched onto his torso. The next thing he knew, he was flying towards Amisha. Looking straight into her eyes, he grinned at the sight of her violet eyes.
As he hurtled through the air, Theo braced himself, but just before he reached Amisha, he used the momentum to twist his body, roll, and land on his feet. In the next swift and clean motion, he drew the sword up, cutting through Amisha. Defying his eyes, she swivelled on her heel to deliver a powerful kick right to his face.
Before he could fly far, she grabbed him with her whip and dragged him back to deliver another kick to his back. He flew through the air, but rolled and landed on his feet. By the time he had gotten back to his feet, she was already charging at him
Staring into her violet eyes with a determined grin, he quickly readied himself.
"I've already seen this trick!"
"Are you sure?"
Swivelling and swinging his Odachi in a wide arc in the direction of the voice behind him, he was met by nothing. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the whip crackling through the air again and wrapping around his neck. Theo gasped as the whip tightened around his neck. He struggled to regain his footing, but Amisha was relentless; she yanked the whip, pulling him off balance and sending him crashing to the ground.
"Not so confident now, are you?"
Getting to his feet and dusting off his body, he turned to Amisha and grinned.
"What's with that damn confidence of yours!? Where the hell does it come from!?"
Theodore chuckled.
"What's so damn funny!?"
Theodore continued to chuckle.
"I asked you a damn question!"
Theodore suddenly burst out in laughter.
"Why so angry, cousin? Are you that angry at the fact that we are related? Does my existence bother you that much?"
"Of course it does!"
"Why?"
"Someone like you has no right to be related to me!"
"Someone like me? What is someone like me?"
"A worthless weakling!"
Theo's grin faltered for a moment.
"A worthless weakling, huh? You sure have a way with words, cousin. That hurt you know, but I get it. You think I'm too weak for your family."
Theo raised the blade of faith, gripping its hilt with both hands and pointing the tip of its blade straight at Isha.
"Then, let me show you what a 'worthless weakling' can do!"
All the energy welling up within his core shot out and began flowing through his body.
His blood pumped faster, his thoughts grew quicker, his senses became heightened, and his perception flew past its limits. Along with all this, a heat stronger than what he had experienced till this point rose within him. But he ignored it, focused on the boost he received, and without any concern for anything else, charged forward, his Odachi raised high.
The energy welling up within him suddenly began focusing into his arms and flowing into the blade of faith. At first, it was like a trickle of water down a stream, but slowly it began surging till its rusted blade began emitting a subtle golden hue. The energy coursing through him felt like a raging river.
Propelling himself with an intensity he had never experienced before, he could feel the power surging through his veins, igniting every fiber of his being.
Amisha's eyes widened as she saw him charging at her.
"What the—?"
But before she could even think to react, Theo closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye and swung his Odachi down in a powerful arc. Aiming for her midsection, the force behind the strike was immense, cutting through the air at alarming speeds and crackling with energy.
Quickly raising her whip and pulling it taut, Amisha braced her body for the blow, but Theo's momentum was too strong. The blade connected with the whip, sending a shockwave through them.
\The impact reverberated in both their hands, but the pressure soon became too much, and Amisha faltered. Her grasp on the whip loosened for only a moment, and the blade came crashing down on her.