Layla, for a while now, had been trying to rely less on the sword after what happened with her battle against Mundus. For one, the sword's power wasn't her own but borrowed power. However, the real reason was due to how close it was last time to taking her own life.
She had done well increasing the use of her telekinesis along with her Hannya self. The only issue was, against Pine, he could absorb the energy of her attacks. It looked like it was the same for any attack that had Qi in it as well.
Essentially, she was going against an opponent where only the sword could really have any effect. With the level of opponent she was now going up against, she couldn't just test her skills; she needed to use them to the best of her capability.
"Layla, are you sure about this!" the sword shouted in her head, panicked and worried. The sword was able to not only see what was happening to her, but being attached to her, it could feel it as well.