Dual Combat

He was right, to be honest. The way he fought was like nothing I've ever seen before. He was a complete brawler, yet his armament haki and devil fruit were incredibly strong. If I made a single wrong move, it could all end there.

He swung the hammer on his right arm, and as it came at me. I was able to dodge it, but as I did, a shockwave followed it, pushing me away.

"That was close," I muttered. "I've gotta make him lose his cool."

I charged up a ball of energy in my palm, firing it directly toward him. He took it head-on, but it didn't seem to do much damage. He swung at me again, and I dodged, but as it passed by me, another shockwave came, hitting me in the side and sending me flying.

"Tsk," he clicked his tongue. "You're not so bad, are you? I can't keep wasting my time like this. If you want to win, then show me something better!"

"Oh, I will," I replied. I held out my palm, charging up a ball of energy, but instead of firing it at him, I aimed it at the ground. I knew that it wouldn't hurt him much, and he realized that, too. As the ball hit the ground, the gravity around us changed slightly. He was being sucked toward the sphere, losing his balance for a single moment.

I took the chance to appear behind him from a wormhole. From there, I extended my arms, making a claw shape, and clung to the fabric of the space between us.

Space Quake!

By rapidly expanding and contracting space in a localized area, I could create seismic disturbances. And so, as I pulled the space between us, a shockwave was formed. It pushed him away from me, launching him across the field.

"W-what? Damn... What the hell was that?" he muttered. "The air?"

"That's where you're wrong," I smirked. I conjured a ball of energy again, this time throwing it toward him. He dodged it, but he was caught off guard by another one that followed right after it. I created another wormhole and threw two shots at once.

"Ah! Guh!! Damn it, how many tricks do you have?"

"As many as I need to kill you."

I charged up another sphere of energy, this time forming it like a tiny bullet. I compressed the air around it and fired it toward him. As it reached him, it exploded, releasing the compressed air. It was a powerful shot, but he was able to defend against it with his armament haki and hammers.

"Oh wow... I'm plowing through all the tricks I taught myself, and you're still standing?"

He was on his knees now, puffing and panting. His body was battered, and he was covered in cuts and bruises. "D-damn it, you really are strong..." he muttered.

"Yeah, but I think it's almost over," I replied. "You don't look like you have much left in you."

"Heh, you're right," he smiled, looking up at me. "But I still have enough left to finish this!"

From his pocket, he pulled out a vial of pills, popping all of them into his mouth. Immediately, he stood back up, and a huge shockwave blasted from his body. He seemed to grow twice the size in an instant, and I could feel his bloodlust and haki growing stronger and stronger.

"What? It's the energy steroid from the fishmen!"

"Ahhh, I feel so good!" he laughed, smashing the ground with his fists.

"Damn it, I didn't expect him to have something like that," I muttered under my breath. "This might be a little tricky."

***

Lillian POV:

"I thought your captain was alone," I said, keeping my eyes on the woman who had appeared out of nowhere. She must've been incredibly fast to catch me off guard like this.

"You were right. He's a tough one. But I think he's about to lose, so I thought I'd help," she replied. "Get out of my way, young lady. I'd hate to hurt someone as pretty as you."

"Tsk, I can't let you do that." I gripped my sword, taking my stance. "Thanks for the compliment though, Diana Sugerheart."

"Huh, so you know who I am? That's pretty surprising. I never knew I had fans like you."

"I'm not a fan."

"I see."

"If you leave now, then I won't attack you," I said. "You'll be free to go. Just don't get in my way."

She laughed, putting a hand on her hips. "You really think you can stop me? I'm the vice-captain of the Silverhair Pirates. I'm worth 70 million!"

I didn't respond. Instead, my mind was racing with thoughts of what to do. It was just one girl, but she was strong. I didn't know if I'd be able to defeat her. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, I'm so screwed..." I thought to myself, trying my best to keep my poker face up.

She initiated an attack, dashing behind me as she drew her blade. I managed to block it with my own sword, but her rapid attacks that followed made it difficult for me to parry.

"Damn, this woman's strong," I thought to myself, jumping back to create some distance between us. But she was on my tail, never letting up. The next moment, she appeared behind me again, slashing at me from a different direction. I blocked it with my sword, but I could feel the immense force pushing me away. If I weren't coated in armament haki, then I would've been in trouble. Thank god I worked so hard during my practices with Eden. I couldn't afford to lose here.

"Hmph, you're quite good. Are you sure you aren't a fan?"

"Shut up and fight me," I yelled, charging at her.

"I like your spirit."

She held out her sword, swinging it at me as I dodged. But the wind pressure was too strong, pushing me back again. I decided to jump up in the air, swinging my sword down at her. She was quick to react, blocking the attack. But the force was enough to send us both flying backward.

I took this opportunity to conjure up some of my haki, but it was too difficult for me to focus on while fighting like this.

"This isn't working..." I thought to myself.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my arm, and blood splattered everywhere as I screamed. She had cut me deep with her sword, and I was barely able to defend in time.

"I didn't mean to do that, sorry," she smiled.

"I don't need your pity! I'll beat you!" I yelled, rushing forward to attack again. I swung my blade down on her, and she blocked it, but I followed up with another attack. She dodged downward, right into my armament haki-coated kick. It knocked her straight into a tree, cracking it in half. I swung my sword again through the sawdust, but she blocked it with her own, creating yet another shockwave.

"You're good," she grinned, wiping the blood from her lips. "I'll have to get serious now."